Dying Starlight

Chapter 5

Mintbite watched as Quince was escorted out of the camp by Mossystripe after bidding the Clan and kits a final goodbye. The plump gray kittypet flashed him a dazzling smile before the two she-cats left the camp to safely bring Quince back to her twolegs. He watched the two mollies go with Hawkkit and Birchkit at his paws. The two kits played with a ball of moss they'd brought from the den and seemed to not notice or care much that their foster mother was leaving.

"They've gotten so big!" Timberpaw's voice made Mintbite smile as the young tom approached, a goofy grin plastered on his face. The pink slashes that split his face in two were healing nicely, but would definitely scar. The hawk had gotten lucky with its desperate attempts to free itself, but not lucky enough. "Hey, kits!"

"Timberpaw!" Birchkit fumbled over her paws as she ran toward the apprentice, her tail sticking up in the air. "Did you do anything cool during training today?" She wove between his legs, purring while Hawkkit hurried to join his sister. "Did you fight any SkyClan warriors?"

The pale-patched tom licked the top of the kits' heads and purred. "No, I didn't fight any SkyClan warriors, Birchkit." His voice was amused and his eyes shone with affection. "I just did a little hunting and border marking so we don't have to fight more SkyClan cats." His eyes flashed with pain and sorrow as he swallowed hard. "We've...done enough to them."

Mintbite met Timberpaw's eyes and gave him a small nod. He knew Timberpaw consistently beat himself up over Briarslip's death and a part of him wished the young tom didn't. It's not his fault. "Hey kits, why don't you go see Stoatkit? I'm sure he's awake now and eager to play." The two kits raced off before he could finish his suggestion, scampering across the clearing and nearly tripping Halfstar as he headed for the prey-pile.

His brother looked up and met Mintbite's gaze. The indifference in his green eyes made Mintbite narrow his eyes. The air grew thick and suffocating as the tension grew in the stare. Neither cat blinked or moved, just held eye contact for what felt like an eternity. Mintbite dug his claws into the ground as Halfstar's eyes burned with a fierce intensity he hadn't seen since they were starving rogues so many moons ago. For a moment, Halfstar looked at Timberpaw before returning to lock eyes with Mintbite. I'm going to suffocate on the tension. Just as he was about to break eye contact, Halfstar did it first. He turned away and began to nose through the prey selection. Mintbite let out the breath he was holding in, letting himself relax.

"You haven't spoken to him, have you?" Timberpaw's voice was quiet and Mintbite twitched his ear and looked at the apprentice. He wore a look of guilt on his young face and pulled his ears back in shame. Poor kit.

Mintbite shook his head, looking back to his brother. Scorchwillow had joined Halfstar and they were talking quietly with their heads close together, a salmon between them that Halfstar had picked from the prey-pile. "No, I haven't." He confessed, watching the leader and deputy with anticipation. "I wouldn't know what to say to him. He said his piece and didn't let me get a word in. He took her side like always."

Timberpaw was quiet for a moment and Mintbite felt bad that he'd overshared with the young cat. He shouldn't have to see the leader and medicine cat not getting along. His skin twitched with irritation. He shouldn't have to see the entire higher-ups in the Clan not getting along. "When Rainstone and Miststalk aren't getting along with each other, they give each other the silent treatment. I don't get it, to be honest. Why ignore your flesh and blood because you got into a spat with them?" The apprentice sat up and gazed across the camp. "I love my siblings and I hate to see them fight. I think that if I fought with either of them, the last thing I would do is punish them by not talking to them. At the end of the day, they're the only siblings I'll get, right?" He laughed to himself as he added. "Stoatkit's too young to understand anything, but he's still my little brother. Don't...don't be too hard on each other, okay? In the end, Halfstar and Mudholly are your brothers and you only get them in your life. You can be bitter and let it consume you, or you can swallow your pride and connect with your brothers."