Warriors: A New Life ~Series 2 Book 1~

Chapter 23: Final Chapter

Stormstar's POV:

The night came when Stormstar had to meet Petalstar by the beach. He had pondered in his den on whether he should or shouldn't go. He felt like he was betraying Silverstar by meeting another she cat and being unloyal to his clan.

But just as he was about to make up his mind and not go, Skystar's familiar voice whispered in his head.

Follow your heart.

And that's what he was doing. Following his heart. His heart yearned to be with Petalstar. It was odd to have that affectionate feeling again. Love was confusing.

Stormstar sighed softly as he slunk through the darkness of the night, paws skimming the ground and belly fur brushing the grass as he went. He was nearing the beach. Just a few more fox-lengths.

On the last bound, his paws hit soft, cold sand and Stormstar felt a shiver run down his spine. The sound of roaring waves in front of him was somewhat calming as he made his way further out onto the beach. He saw the silhouette of a cat beside the lapping waves. It was Petalstar. Her long brown tail with black and white stripes twitched beside her as she face the vast expanse water.

Stormstar neared the brown she cat, seeing that she was completely lost in thoughts. He felt a small smile rise on his lips as he gently tapped her haunches with his paws. "Hey there." He greeted.

Petalstar jumped in fright but quickly calmed, "Oh, it's just you..." She smiled sweetly at Stormstar and flicked her tail to invite him to sit with her.

Stormstar gladly settled down beside Petalstar, their pelts brushing ever so slightly. The Smallclan leader let out a soft purr. "It's beautiful."

"The sea?"

"Yes." Petalstar flashed Stormstar a mischievous grin. "Did you think I was complimenting you?"

Stormstar looked away from her so that she didn't see his embarrassment. "No." He lied.

Petalstar raised a brow and leaned in to whisper. "When you lie, your nose twitches."

Stormstar scowled but didn't hold any hard feelings towards Petalstar for long. Instead, he twitched his whiskers with a smirk. "You're observant." He commented, the smirk still playing on his lips. "It seems that you are interested in me."

Petalstar twitched her ears in surprise, "You havn't noticed? Stormstar, you really are clueless." She shook her head with a sigh. "I am crazy about you."

Stormstar couldn't help but purr. It was nice to have someone care about him this much again. Guilt swam through his mind but he pushed it away. Silverstar isn't here anymore.

"Is something wrong?" Petalstar blinked at Stormstar.

"I'm fine..."

Petalstar narrowed her eyes. "You're guilty about something. Why?"

Stormstar tried lying, but he felt his nose twitch subconsciously. Petalstar's gaze intensified. Stormstar sighed. "I had a mate."

"Had?" Petalstar queried.

"She's in Starclan.."

"Oh." Petalstar meowed, her voice sad. "I'm sorry. How did she die?"

"Greencough. She was a leader as well. Her name was Silverstar. She was the best and bravest leader we could ever ask for. She saved the clan multiple times with her pow-." Stormstar found himself rambling and quickly stopped himself. In the back of his mind, he knew that Petalstar was still part of an enemy clan and that she could try and pry information from him. Stormstar also didn't want to mention powers just yet. He didn't know how Petalstar would react.

"Do you have kits?" Petalstar thankfully changed the subject.

"Yes," Stormstar meowed with a small smile. "Three. Blackleap, Rosegaze and Iceheart. We had a fourth, but he was... killed by an evil cat."

"What was his name?" Petalstar's gaze held sympathy and warmth.

"Who? The evil cat or my kit?"

"Both."

Stormstar looked down at his paws, grief washing over him. "The evil cat was Rabbitstar." He spat, venom dripping in his voice. "The leader of Magiclan. He killed Birdkit and made me and Silverstar watch."

"That's terrible!" Petalstar pushed her muzzle into Stormstar's cheek and gave him a warm lick before pulling away awkwardly. "S-Sorry that was uncalled for." She shuffled her paws.

"It's okay." Stormstar meowed. "I liked it."

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Nutwhisker's POV:

"Are we low on watermint?" Nutwhisker asked as he eyed the herb in front of him.

"I don't think so." Watersplash replied. "But it would be best if we got a couple fresh ones just in case."

Nutwhisker nodded and plucked some of the watermint from its roots, leaving enough to grow for later. He carried his herbs onto the large leave with the rest of the herbs.

He and Watersplash had found that it was quite effective if they did large bundles of herbs once every few days. It left them more time to sort out their den. Even though the clan had settled down completely, the medicine den still needed some work. The walls were crumbling and the roof was bound to cave in if they didn't fix it soon.

Shinewing popped her head up from a dense patch of bushes. "I found some chervile!"

"Brilliant!" Watersplash praised as she headed towards Shinewing. She squeezed through the twigs and leaves to help Shinewing with the chervile. "Wow there's so much. This is great."

Nutwhisker decided to busy himself by counting how many herbs they had. The bad thing about gathering large bundles was that it was hard to carry it all in one go. Usually, Watersplash and Nutwhisker carried the bundle between them.

They had gathered a numerous amount of tormentil and tansy. Nutwhisker was grateful they had a large clump of tansy growing in the territory. Even during leaf-bare the herbs shouldn't completely dry out. Tansy was good for treating coughs so if there was never a shortage of it, Lightclan would stay healthy all throughout leaf-bare.
"Nutwhisker? A little help?" Watersplash's voice shook Nutwhisker from his thoughts.

He turned to see her struggling with the chervile she carried, trying not to drop them as she made her way through the tangled leaves and twigs. Nutwhisker trotted over to her and took the herbs, carrying them to the pile.

Watersplash smiled gratefully as she finally dragged herself out of the dense brush, followed closely by Shinewing. The three medicine cats gathered around the pile of herbs they had collected.

A moment of proud silence fell between them until Watersplash spoke up. "Come on, let's get back to camp and put these herbs b-" Watersplash was cut short when her entire body tensed and a small cry of pain escaped her lips. Nutwhisker felt a flash of fear for the grey she cat and he raced to her side just as she fell over. He gently eased her onto the ground where she lay panting, eyes stretched wide.

Shinewing narrowed her eyes and meowed suspiciously, "What's going on?"

Nutwhisker stared at Watersplash as the she cat writhed, her jaws parted in a silent wail. Her voice finally came, but it was filled with pain. "M-my kits! They're coming!"

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The end!

Cliff hanger ending hehe

Bonus chapter will be arriving soon.

Hope you enjoyed reading book 1.

I tried to make this chapter longer but I didn't know what else to add in. It's pretty rushed but whatevs...

Ehh....

See you in the bonus chapter x3