Warrior Cats; Smokeskull's Revenge [ 1 ]

Chapter 12

Lionstripe!
Smokekit's heart lurched at the name. She hadn't seen him for a three sunrises now.
Willowkit spun around too. Her long pelt sprang around as she turned to gaze up at the warrior with loving eyes.
"What is it?" Smokekit meowed with longing eyes. She missed the friendship they once had.
The pale tabby's eyes overflowed with excitement. Every inch of his massive fur was trembling. "Hollywish is going to have her kits in less than a moon!" He purred, bouncing up and down.
As he did, Smokekit felt the floor vibrate by his big paws. She suddenly turned and raced straight for the nursery. Her paws filled with power and hatred as she charged forward.
Willowkit was not far behind. With her brows bent forward, the two stormed into the nursery.
Just as they entered, Whitewind squealed out in shock. Her stomach churned and the queen's face twisted in pain."My kits! My kits they're coming!"
Coalstorm got up right away and dashed out into the clearing. She wasted no time in getting Echoleaf to come forward into the nursery to drag the queen out.
When they left, Smokekit twisted her ears back to hear them leave for sure. She noticed Willowkit's eyes focused directly on Hollywish.
"What are you planning?" Smokekit stomped her tiny paw in front of Hollywish's nose. The black queen's eyes shot open and Smokekit flexed her unsheathed claws in front of her face. "Speak!"
Willowkit's glare was not too far off from Smokekit's, but instead she sat and forced along with her sister. "She's probably too weak to speak her opinion. Maybe her 'kitting' is just her being lazy." She repeated from a moon before.
Again, Smokekit chuckled.
Hollywish raised her head but didn't move her body at all. "What are you talking about?" She meowed, giving her chest a lick. The queen turned and stared Willowkit in the eye, frightening her to the bone.
"Enough with the games!" Smokekit growled and swiped her paw at Hollywish as a warning. "Why are you in the nursery? You're not a queen! I know you don't actually love Lionstripe. You're using him!"
The queen was taken aback by the accusation. "I would never!"
"Shut your muzzle, foxface!" Smokekit snapped harshly, "I'm not done."
Hollywish's eyes opened widely but her pupils shrunk into slits.
"You have been out with Bluesong." Smokekit told her, "You have been lying to everyone about everything! You don't care about Lionstripe, you just know he's gone kittypet-love-struck over your stupid mousebrained face!" She hissed and smirked, her eyes flared green blazes as she told the queen all of her recent disasters.
"You wouldn't know!" Hollywish snapped back and heaved herself up. "You're just a kit! No cat will believe you or your lies! You're poisoning this poor kit," -she flicked her tail at Willowkit- "with all of your sickening accusations! Now get back to your mother to suckle or I'll make you!" Hollywish growled in Smokekit's face.
It seemed she thought since she was bigger, she was more powerful. All until her eyes swished from annoyed to horrified from one glance at the entrance.
Lionstripe must have followed Smokekit and Willowkit back into the nursery after they had left him in the clearing. Now he knows the truth! Smokekit sneered at Hollywish, but the queen didn't even notice.
She was glued to Lionstripe's torn silhouette and jaw-dropped in dead-eyed silence with her mate. "L-Lionstripe, I-"
"Forget it!" The Tom turned and trotted away into the clearing, running out of the exit and into the thick willow.
Hollywish fell, completely expressionless, into her nest and curled up sadly.
Hovering over the fallen queen, Smokekit laughed in which she had heard only once before...it was the same laugh Adderstrike had echoed in her dream.

One cat is bold, yet another will hold! The Clan will soon mourn, and so will you; be torn. The prophesied words loomed tall over Smokekit's mind. It was beyond her understanding.
It had been two sunrises since Smokekit had exposed Hollywish's secrets and lies, and the whole Clan had been treating her differently. But, to Smokekit's surprise, she remained in the nursery.
As the early morning sun rose into the dim-lighted sky, Smokekit lifted her head and peered out of the kits' and queens' den. She felt the morning dew slither its way into her thick fur. It was usually colder in the morning than during the day, and today proved it right again.
Green eyes grazed the room, hoping once again to find that Hollywish had been moved back to the warriors' den. But still, she lay unmoving in the back of the cold-aired den.
A small pair of ears poked out of Coalstorm's waist. Willowkit's eyes soon shown green emeralds that reflected Smokekit's.
Without a word, Willowkit scrambled over her mother and padded over to the exit. Her eyes lost Smokekit's gaze and drifted off into the sunrise.
Pink, orange, and blue strings of colour hung down from the sky as the stars of Silverpelt began to fade. With Willowkit's perked ears in the way, Smokekit couldn't get a clear view of the outside.
A huff came from her throat as she arose from her warm nest and padded over to join her sister. "I'm sorry. Yesterday was so intense, I didn't know she'd yell back at me." Smokekit's words seemed to tumble out of her mouth without thinking. Her tail wrapped around her paws in hot embarrassment.
"No cat had ever been yelled at by a queen, or warrior." Willowkit said. Her face was puzzled and she made it hard to find her main emotion.
Smokekit sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry."
"Then you should apologize to Hollywish, not me." Willowkit turned to face her, sadness and fear clouded her eyes painfully.
Smokekit was shocked by this expression... Did Willowkit not understand anything? Was she willing to give up their friendship for a worthless lying fleabag? She blinked, trying to understand. "I would never, could never and will never." Smokekit replied, trying not to flinch.
"But why?" Willowkit cocked her head to the side slightly and let a tear roll down her face. "Why are you so focused on hating everyone?"
A tear came on, and Smokekit instantly looked away. Traitor! The sinking voice yowled in her head. Leave her to the crows! But now, Smokekit flinched unexpectedly. Her green eyes turned to solid ice. "I just...I'm not." She put her paw down sternly.
"You told me to never give up. What is this? You giving up?" Willowkit's head fell to her paws. "You told me you'd be there for me...was that a lie, too?"
Smokekit's heart lurched. "I told you not to give up on yourself-"
"You told me not to give up on you." Willowkit's eyes saddened. "Well," She closed her eyes and turned away, tears dripping from her eyes now. "This is me giving up on you."
A thumping, broken heart and a dry throat was all Smokekit needed to tell herself everything won't be okay. Is that what the voice meant by 'One cat is bold, yet another will hold. The Clan will soon mourn, and so will you; be torn.'? But the Clan isn't mourning...at least...not yet.
The words of the prophecy rung echoing in Smokekit's ears. She shook her head back and forth in her sleep, twisting and turning her grey-furred body. With hackles raised, Smokekit's eyes split apart. She raised her head and looked around the nursery. Smokekit spotted Willowkit just as she crossed the floor and darted into the clearing.
With a twisted face, Smokekit heaved herself up and trotted after her. She followed until Willowkit was at the edge of the clearing. Was she going to go off of CloudClan territory?
Smokekit nosed her way through the thicket and under pine trees as she followed Willowkit with the wind brushing her face to her tail.
The trees overhead swung around like tall blades of grass. Their thick pine needles poked out and scrapped at Smokekit's pelt as she followed her sister's scent into Tallpines.
Sunlight was gleaming brightly as it filtered through the trees, giving long strings of glow to the dirt underpaw. Smokekit trailed into the undergrowth, tracking Willowkit's scent with her nose pointing upwards.
Then, Willowkit stopped in her tracks. Smokekit was unaware of it, her eyes were glued to the view over her head.
With a thud, Smokekit's hackles raised as her sister spun around and snarled.
"Oh," Willowkit sniffled. "It's just you."
Smokekit's brows bent. "Why are you sneaking away?" She asked, giving her sister a lick on the shoulder.
"I'm not sneaking away!" Willowkit snapped.
"Then where are you going?"
The pale kit turned away. Her face painted with sorrow, and Smokekit saw her try to hide it. Willowkit's fear-scent grew stronger. "I'm just going for a walk." She retorted abruptly.
Smokekit sighed. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not!" Willowkit snapped back, whirling around and snarling again.
"I would know if you were lying." Smokekit stood still, forcing her fur to lay flat on her shoulders. "I followed you to see where you would go-and how far."
The pale tabby she-kit arched her back defensively. "I'm going there to be alone."
Smokekit's face screwed up as she smelled her surroundings. Had they entered Darkpelt yet? "I needed to talk to you." She meowed, sitting down.
Her sister's fear-scent lowered as she realized Smokekit was not a threat. Willowkit sat up and licked her paw, but her hackles remained steady. "Talk to me."
"I'm sorry." Smokekit bowed her head.
Willowkit's ears perked up. Her pelt went smooth again, showing her sympathy and understanding. "I am too." She whispered, "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."
"But I was being fox-hearted." The grey kit looked at her paws. "I knew you were young, but I continued to tell you things you didn't need to know a moon ago."
"I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"I shouldn't have forced your to something you didn't want to do."
The two purred and pressed up against each other. Willowkit brushed her tail against Smokekit's neck affectionately as she swiped her tongue across Willowkit's ears.
"We better make it back to camp before the morning patrol leaves-"
"You mean us?" Growled the cats behind them.