Diverging Paths (Warrior Cats Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

Highwings hung around at the entrance of the medicine den, even though many of her friends had told her not to. She couldn't help it.

Two days after the incident where she had met Tiltpaw, and now Mellowsigh had come back as a figure in her life. Well, not on purpose. In fact, Mellowsigh had outright told Highwings to stay away. But Highwings found she couldn't stray from the entrance of the medicine den, not while her former mentor was giving birth to her kits.

Kits...Highwings wondered what Mellowsigh would name them. What they would be like. What they would look like. If Mellowsigh would teach them to hate her. Could I ever talk to the kits? Approach them? Look in their direction? No...Mellowsigh would never let me.

And if that were the case...why did Highwings feel the need to linger outside the medicine den? What was the purpose? She looked at her claws, extending them to flex them a bit and scratch the muddy floor of the camp, before retracting them in again. Maybe it was regret for taking their father away from them. Seemed likely enough, as she already knew logically that she had no chance of ever fully recovering her relationship with Mellowsigh, so that couldn't be why her paws forced her here.

She saw Whirlpaw cast a glance at her from a distance, as Bounceback rounded up him and Moorpaw for training them together. This was by Highwings' request, as she refused to leave Mellowsigh until she was done with her kitting. And though she didn't necessarily like Bounceback, he had his uses. He was willing to do this for her, so why not let him?

She listened as there were cries of pain from inside the medicine cat den, and winced as she thought of that happening to her. How do she-cats find this appealing? she thought to herself, just as a loud, drawn-out scream of pain emanated from within. It sounds like the Dark Forest is torturing her.

Remembering her brother's situation, she shut up her mind from referencing the Dark Forest, and focused on what was happening right now. Nimblereach encouraged Mellowsigh, continuously shouting, "Push! Push!" and other various chants. As she imagined what the kitting must look like, Highwings physically cringed back from the image in her head, sick to her stomach. Why was it so repulsive to her? Every other she-cat seemed fond of the process except for her.

It was then that Archpounce sat by her, her swollen belly showing more now than before. Highwings quivered a bit in her sister's presence. Not that she hated Archpounce, but that didn't make their relationship pleasant.

Archpounce mewed rather bluntly, "You do realize this isn't gonna make her like you, right?"

Highwings blinked rapidly, wheeling her muzzle to stare at her sister head-on. Defensively, she growled, "I know. That's not the point."

"Oh? Then what is the point?" she laughed, examining a paw rather than meeting Highwings' eyes. "You're always out to get it for yourself. What's Mellowsigh to you?"

Highwings wrinkled her muzzle in utter disgust. How can she speak to me like that?! She wished she could prove her wrong. Tiltpaw was a good example. She wanted to yell at her about how she was helping Tiltpaw out, and that that surely made her a good cat at heart. But of course, she wasn't supposed to be doing that in the first place. Come to think of it, boasting about how she was helping a helpless cat would probably actually prove Archpounce's point anyway. So she just turned away with a huff, looking ahead instead.

"She was like a mom to me ever since apprenticeship," Highwings grunted a halfhearted response. Well, at least it's true.

"Oh? That's all, huh?" Archpounce snickered.

"What? What do you want from me anyway?" Highwings hissed, snapping her head back to again meet eyes with Archpounce, who by now had turned her own head to do the same. "Why don't you focus on those precious kits of yours?"