All Seedpaw saw around her sister
anymore was
red.
Oh, how I hate her, Seedpaw thought of
Lilypaw as she watched the dark tabby and Millie march out of camp.
“Seedpaw, over
here!” called a voice. Seedpaw whipped around, fur bristling. It was
Brightheart, motioning with her ginger-striped tail for Seedpaw to help clear
the fallen tree.
Seedpaw trudged
over, glaring at her dusty paws. Why
couldn’t I have been killed by this stupid tree, and not Firestar? Then my life
would’ve been a whole lot easier in StarClan.
Any warrior that
wasn’t chosen to attend the Gathering was helping remove dead, brittle branches
and stalks of bracken that had collapsed along with the lightning-struck tree.
Hazeltail,
Icecloud, and Cinderheart took turns gently singing the two kits to sleep.
However, Smokykit kept opening one eye and letting out the shrill wail of,
“Where’s Foxleap?” He’d wake up his brother, and the process would start all
over again.
Seedpaw
squeezed in between Dewpaw and Rosepetal, heaving a loud, obnoxious sigh. She
pricked her ears, taking in her surroundings and desperately trying to listen
for sounds from the Gathering. But it was no use- the Island was way too far
away.
Night had already
closed in on the cats of ThunderClan. Seedpaw was tickled to see Lionblaze, the
camp guard, attempting not to fall asleep.
Seedpaw dragged
one last moistened limb over to a pile the cats had formed on the side of the clearing.
The branch she added to the heap had a smoky black strike on it; Seedpaw
figured it had been in the lightning bolt’s target area.
“You can sleep if
you’d like,” Brightheart told her. “Wake up to hear the Gathering news. Or,
feel free to eat before you go to your nest.”
The ginger
she-cat decided to have a quick snack ahead of her nap. Seedpaw clomped over to
the fresh-kill pile and stared at her choices. Eventually Seedpaw picked out a
skimpy mouse. It’s good enough, she
thought.
Crunch. Chew. Munch. Seedpaw enjoyed the
whole thing, and when she swallowed the final leg bone, Seedpaw rose and
stomped over to the apprentices’ den.
“All cats old
enough to catch their own prey gather beneath me to hear the Gathering news!”
Bramblestar’s yowl rang in Seedpaw’s ears, and she jumped up, meeting wild
gazes with Amberpaw and Dewpaw for a heartbeat. Then they darted out of their
den, Seedpaw feeling excited for the first time in a while.
The Gathering
cats had settled in the first row, and Seedpaw secretly glowered at Lilypaw
behind her littermate’s back.
“First,”
Bramblestar interrupted any extra conversations, and his tail whisked back and
forth, waiting for the excess talking to stop. Then he said, “ShadowClan’s
news: Two new elders, Applefur and Toadfoot. One death: Littlecloud. Two new
warriors, new medicine cat Mistcloud.
“WindClan:
Ashfoot had to speak for Onestar, as he is under the weather. Kestrelflight’s
new apprentice is Moorpaw. Finally, RiverClan- Mistystar is dead.” Seedpaw could
hear quiet sobs from cats that knew Mistystar well.
“Reedstar is the
new leader of RiverClan. His deputy is Graymist, and RiverClan has one new kit,
Beetlekit, the son of Troutstream and Mintfur.”
Seedpaw shrugged.
That’s it? Wow, I guess I didn’t miss
much after all. She rushed back to the apprentices’ den, determined not to
be caught by Lilypaw.
But her sister
was ahead of her plan wise.
“Seedpaw! Hey,
Seedpaw!”
Seedpaw gritted
her teeth and moved faster, racing to the den. She skidded into it and slammed
her body down on her nest, sending it flying across the den. Seedpaw clenched
her teeth harder and stole Lilypaw’s nest. She evened her breathing and
pretended to have fallen asleep.
“I know you’re
awake.” Lilypaw’s voice said with a hint of a purr. “If you don’t listen to me,
that’s fine. But if you do, here’s what I have to say.”
Seedpaw’s ears
perked up, but she made sure it wasn’t too noticeable. Fine, I’ll listen, Lilyperfect.
Lilypaw commenced
to talk, but it was drowned out by the sound of another cat speaking. “Don’t
listen to herrrr… you mustn’t listen to herrrrrr…”
The pale ginger
apprentice screwed up her face, frustrated. Who
are you? You sound familiar… hey, the same cat from when you told me to ignore
Lilypaw’s prodding and poking the other time…
Yes, it is me. I am Honeyfern, your deceased
older sister. Do you know me?
Seedpaw smiled as
she silently replied over Lilypaw’s muffled meowing. Yes. Poppyfrost and Cinderheart told me and Lilypaw a lot about you and
Molepaw when we were kits.
A faint figure
appeared before Seedpaw, shimmering with shiny little stars. Ah, but you must listen to only me now, Seedpaw. When Lilypaw wants to “talk
to you”, ignore her. Create a swift excuse, or do anything to get away from
her.
Er… okay, Seedpaw replied, though one
question of hers needed to be answered first: Why can’t I speak to her?
However,
Honeyfern had disappeared. Seedpaw sat up, searching madly for her starry
companion, but the mysterious she-cat was gone.
“Seedpaw? Are you
listening to me?” Lilypaw questioned as a sharp paw rammed into Seedpaw’s
flank.
“Ouch. No… I
mean, yes,” Seedpaw winced and shuffled farther away from her sibling. “I was.
Just leave me alone right now, alright?”
Lilypaw’s
shoulders fluttered up then down again, and she sighed. “Fine. But one thing
before I leave you: can I have my nest back, please?”
Seedpaw couldn’t
help but grin a tiny smidge as she heaved herself out of Lilypaw’s nest and
nosed it to her sister. “Sorry. Good night.”
“’Night!” Lilypaw
responded while Seedpaw retrieved her nest and dragged the moss and ferns back
over to her and Lilypaw’s side of the den.
Soon, soft,
average breathing could be heard from Lilypaw’s nest. Seedpaw, though, couldn’t
sleep. She tried closing her eyes and not opening them for anything, not even a
yawn from the night watch, Brackenfur. Seedpaw relaxed all of her tensed
muscles completely. I have to sleep
tonight, or I’ll be a wreck tomorrow.
Eventually
sleep overtook Seedpaw’s active mind.
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