Diverging Paths (Warrior Cats Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

"Highwings!"

The she-cat perked up. Even as she and her Clan stumbled tiredly into camp, exhausted by the events of the Gathering, a little bundle of pure energy was rushing towards her. "Highwings! Highwings, how was the Gathering?"

"Oh, Whirlkit!" she gasped, a bit surprised by the kit's suddenness. "Well, it was quite something! I'm a bit tired right now, so maybe after I sleep the rest of the night, I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Aww, why not now? Gatherings aren't that tiring!" he complained, stomping a paw of his.

"Uhh, well, it's kind of mental exhaustion and not physical, uhm...it's kind of hard to explain," she stammered.

"That's not as bad!" Whirlkit pouted. "Cats just talk at Gatherings. It can't be that bad!"

"Believe me, they can be," Hollowfortune remarked, coming up behind his sister and smiling down at the kit. "Battlestar was being mean again. And we kept having to argue with him. Have you ever argued with someone?"

The light gray, dark-swirled kit angled his ears forward, his eyebrows raising as the tom turned the conversation to him. "Yeah! I've argued with Tornkit and Skinnykit all the time before. One time, Tornkit took my moss ball and said it was his! And then Mom told me to share! I was so angry!"

"So you know how tiring it can be, then?" Hollowfortune remarked with a grin.

Whirlkit seemed to finally get the message after this. "Oh, yeah, I guess. I just wanted to sleep with Dad all the time after we argued. Because they're so tiring!"

"Then maybe you can understand how we feel. How about you bug your dad instead?" Hollowfortune gestured to where Deepeyes was with a tail. "I'm sure he'll tell you all about it. And if he doesn't, you can complain to your mom."

"Oooh, I will! Thanks, Hollowfortune!" the kit trilled, running off to search for the silver, black-striped tom that was his father.

Hollowfortune watched the kit go with a smile, and Highwings was absolutely awed at how clever he was in the interaction. "Thanks for that," she mewed, twitching a whisker, her mouth constantly in a small gape from her awe. "I would've never thought to make him think of his own experiences."

"It's not like I'm fighting a whole Clan, Highwings," her brother laughed a bit. "Kits are really easy to deal with."

"Not for me, they aren't," she murmured, her eyes locked on Whirlkit as he began pestering Deepeyes about what had happened. "I never know how to handle them. They're crazier than a fox in a fit!"

"Why don't you know how to deal with kits anyway? Every she-cat does," Hollowfortune remarked with a little, sarcastic smirk.

His smirk was instantly lost when, instead of responding, Highwings just looked at him with a very hurt expression. The one he so often gave to others when they commented on his lazy eye. Empathy and regret overwhelming him, he laid his tail over her back. "Oh, Silverpelt above, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"It's all right. It's not really something you should apologize for," she sighed, reverting her eyes to her front paws and messing around with a pebble.

"Let's just go to sleep," Hollowfortune invited her. "There's still some time before sunup. I want to get at least some rest in."

"Okay." Highwings did her best to put a smile on, and perked up a bit. Her brother had no ill will towards her, she knew that well. So she followed him to the warrior's den along with the vast majority of ShadowClan's warriors who still wanted to get in a wink of sleep before morning.