Wait For It | ▪︎ Tigerclaw

chapter 30

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

THE NEXT MORNING, Whiterose pushed her way out of the warriors' den, hoping the routine of the day would distract her from the chilling cold. Whitestorm, Mousefur and Longtail were waiting near the camp entrance, preparing to leave on patrol. Fireheart was a few tail-lengths away and Sandpaw bounded out of the apprentices' den to follow the patrol as it pounded out of camp.

Whiterose shook out her pelt and padded across the clearing towards Redstream in front of the medicine den. She was sitting alone, grooming her tortoiseshell fur. Brindleface was squeezing her way out of the narrow nursery entrance. A speckled kit followed her, then one more. A third pale grey kit with darker flecks like the other, tumbled out and fell to the ground. Whiterose recognised them as Fernkit, Ashkit and Tulipkit.

Brindleface picked Ashkit up by the scruff and placed him back on his paws. The tenderness of Brindleface's action made Whiterose's heart warm. One day, maybe she'll have kits too. Then, a pang of sadness washed over her. Brindleface's fourth kit, Elderkit, died soon after it was born, but she seemed to love the remaining kits so fiercely now.

Whiterose sensed her brother stop beside her and she turned her head, "Hi."

"Do you remember that she-cat in the woods yesterday by Twolegplace?" Fireheart spoke suddenly and she nodded. "Yes, why?"

"That's Princess."

Whiterose felt a wave of shock then recognition, "Of course! She did seem familiar..."

"I want to see her," Fireheart meowed. "I asked Graystripe and Runningwind if they could take the apprentices today."
Whiterose shook her head and padded away toward the entrance of the camp, her brother at her tail.

As the Twolegplace came into view through the trees, the two warriors dropped into crouches. Fireheart opened his mouth and breathed in the cold morning air. Whiterose watched as he relaxed his muscles and then they both slowly approached the Twoleg fence where they saw their sister disappear. Whiterose sniffed around the bottom and looked around, watching Fireheart leap onto the fence post in one easy jump. Whiterose leapt beside him and could not see any Twolegs—just an empty garden with its strongly scented plants.

Whiterose felt exposed on the fence. The branch of a tree hung low overhead. Its leaves were gone, but it would be easier to hide there. The two warriors silently laid down to wait, flattening themselves onto the rough bark of the tree.

Whiterose felt like they should forget about this and run back to camp before they got caught. She was about to say so when they heard a loud clatter. Whiterose and Fireheart looked up to see their sister pop out through the swinging flap. Whiterose felt her fur ripple with anticipation and anxiety.

They waited until their sister had reached the end of the grass, then they crept to the tip of the branch and slipped down onto the fence. Fireheart then called softly, "It's us! Rusty and Star!"

The she-cat stopped dead and looked around, Whiterose followed her brother out of the bushes.
The she-cat's eyes widened in terror. Whiterose knew how they must appear to her—lean and wild (except she was still small), with the sharp forest scents on their pelts. The she-cat raised her hackles and hissed ferociously. Whiterose couldn't help feeling impressed by her courage.

"Princess! It's us, Rusty and Star, your littermates!" Fireheart meowed. "Don't you remember us?"
Princess remained tense. Whiterose watched as Fireheart dropped into a submissive crouch, and hope soared in her chest as she watched Princess' expression turn from fear to curiosity.

"Rusty? Star?" Princess sniffed the air, wide-eyed and wary. Whiterose took a careful step forward. Princess did not move, so the white she-cat edged closer. Whiterose stopped a mouse-length away.

"You don't smell like Star and Rusty," Princess mewed.

"We don't live with Twolegs anymore," Fireheart meowed. "We've been living in the forest with ThunderClan. We carry their scent now."
Princess stretched her nose forward and rubbed her muzzle cautiously on Fireheart's cheek. "But our mother's smell is still there," she murmured and Whiterose tensed.

"Of course," Princess looked at Whiterose, confirmation in her amber eyes. "I knew it."

"We saw you yesterday in the woods," Fireheart explained. "I had to come back to speak with you."

"Why?"

Whiterose shuffled her paws, "Because you're our sister." Surely Princess must feel something for them?

Princess studied them for a moment. To their relief, her guarded expression lifted. "You're both very thin," she mewed critically.

"Thinner than a kittypet, maybe, but not thin for a Clan—a forest—cat," Fireheart replied. "Your scent was in my dreams last night. I dreamed of you and our brothers and sisters and..." Fireheart paused, holding a hostile look then. "Where is our mother?"

"She's still with her housefolk," Princess answered, a dark look in her eyes. "And I hope she stays there."

"What about...?" Whiterose trailed off and Princess guessed what she was going to ask. "... our brothers and sisters? Most of them live near here. I see them in their gardens from time to time."

They sat silently for a moment; then Fireheart asked. "Do you remember the soft den we made outside when mother kicked Whiterose—Star out of the den?"
"Oh, yes," Princess purred. "I remember liking the cool wind drafting through the leaves and the soft moss under our bellies in the bushes."

"Will this litter be your first?" Whiterose asked and Princess nodded, uncertainty in her eyes. Fireheart purred, "You'll be fine. You look as though your Twolegs treat you well. I'm sure your kits will be healthy and safe."

Princess moved closer to them, pressing her fur against their flanks. Whiterose felt her heart swell with emotion. For the first time since she was a kit, she caught a glimpse of the Clan cats must take for granted; the closeness of kinship, a common bond determined by birth and heritage. Of course, she had Fireheart, but that was like saying Tigerclaw had whole of ThunderClan.

"Do you know about the Clans?" Fireheart asked.

Princess gazed at him, mystified, "You mentioned a ThunderClan."

Fireheart nodded. "There are four Clans together." He went on, the words tumbling out. "In the Clan, we take care of each other. Younger cats hunt for elders; warriors protect the hunting grounds from other Clans. I trained all Greenleaf to become a warrior – Whiterose, too. Now we both have apprentices of our own."
Whiterose could understand by Princess' expression that she couldn't understand everything he was telling her, yet her eyes brightened with pleasure as he spoke.
"It sounds as if you enjoy your new lives," Princess mewed in awe. "I wish I could join you, but I have kits to raise."

A Twoleg voice called from inside the den, and both warriors instantly darted under the nearest bush.

"I should go," Princess mewed. "They'll be worried if I don't go back, and I have many tiny mouths to feed. I can feel them moving inside me." She glanced at her swollen belly, her eyes soft.

"Go, then," Fireheart meowed. "We have to return to our Clan anyway. But we'll come back and see you."

"Yes, I'd like that!" Princess called over her shoulder. She was already trotting back toward her Twoleg nest. "Goodbye!"

"See you soon," Whiterose called. Her sister disappeared from view, and she heard swinging of a cat flap shut behind her.

Once the garden was silent, both cats crept through the bushes to the fence. They jumped over it and ran into the forest. Whiterose paused at the top of the ravine and looked down at the ThunderClan camp. Fireheart told her he was going to hunt for a bit, and she nodded, going down back to the camp.

Tigerclaw was sitting below Highrock, his eyes narrowed but shone with slight relief at the sight of her. "I noticed that Cinderpaw and Shinypaw spent the day with Graystripe and Runningwind," he meowed as Whiterose sat beside him. "Where were you? And where's Fireheart?"

"Fireheart went hunting and I just needed some time alone for a bit," Whiterose shuffled her paws. Tigerclaw nodded, his eyes going from concern back to stern. "That's fine, but Shinypaw's training is your responsibility."

"I understand, Tigerclaw," she pressed her nose in his shoulder. "I promise to take her out tomorrow."

"Good," the deputy nodded and shared tongues with her just as Fireheart entered camp, dropping prey on the pile before carrying over some fresh kill to Graystripe who laid beside the warriors' den.

Whiterose silently scanned the clearing. She could see Sandpaw, Dustpaw and Midnightpaw outside the apprentices' den. Dustpaw was busy ripping into a rabbit, Sandpaw was looking towards the warriors' den and Midnightpaw was bathing in a patch of rare sunlight.

Cinderpaw and Shinypaw lay beside an old tree stump where Whiterose shared meals as an apprentice. They were both chatting with Brackenpaw, who nodded from time to time while plucking out feathers from a sparrow. Seeing the three young cats—brother and sisters—lying together, so at ease, reminded Whiterose once more of Princess, and for the first time in moons, familiar sights of her Clan made her feel uneasy. She had been careful to lick her sisters smell from her fur before returning to camp, but it was her scent that lingered in her nostrils as the sun disappeared in the horizon.

Whiterose had found the closeness she had missed, but it had given shape to a sense of loneliness that, until now, had lain vague and nameless in her heart.