6. HollyleafXFallenLeaves

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Hollyleaf slept beside Fallen Leaves. On the rare chances he agreed to rest with her, she seized it and held it close dearly.
As much as she tried to soak up his warmth, she only felt the cool, crisp touch of the stone floor.
Hollyleaf sighed and turned to gaze at the sleeping form of the cat who had saved her. She still remembered that dreadful day.
Hollyleaf felt as if the world was crumbling beneath her paws.
The warrior code didn't matter; nor did she.
Her life was slipping right from between her paws.
Leafpool, a medicine cat, was her mother, with Crowfeather, a WindClan warrior, as her father.
Hollyleaf looked at her brothers.
Jayfeather and Lionblaze sat side by side a few tail-lengths away.
Hollyleaf swallowed the lump in her throat. This Gathering would shape the whole future.
She turned, gazing up at the moon. It was still full and bright, not even a wisp of cloud to block it's gleam. That meant StarClan would approve of her decision.
As Blackstar finished speaking, Firestar stepped forward, and Hollyleaf felt dizzy, but stood up with no hesitation.
"Stop!" she yowled.
Jayfeather and Lionblaze both looked at her like she was crazy, but they wouldn't understand.
Hollyleaf turned, gazing up at the Great Oak.
Her paws felt light as air and she was able to gaze calmly at Firestar as he hissed, "Hollyleaf! What is the matter? You don't interrupt leaders at a meeting!"
Oh, it is important, Hollyleaf thought darkly.
She lifted her head, her eyes glinting with defiance.
She turned to the crowd of cats behind her.
"You may know me and my littermates," she yowled.
Jayfeather stiffened, Lionblaze unsheathing his claws in terror.
I'm sorry, but I can't live wrapped up in lies anymore!
Hollyleaf swallowed again and was surprised to see how steady and eerie hee voice sounded.
"Our parents, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, are liars! They are not our real parents!" she yowled.
Brambleclaw leaped to his paws, his eyes wide with fury and his tail lashing.
"What? Squirrelflight, what nonsense is she speaking?" he demanded, turning to Squirrelflight, who sat with a stiff and shocked look on her face.
She bowed her head, unable to deny the truth.
Satisfaction surged through Hollyleaf when she was pulled sharply from her memories by a stabbing pain in her stomach.
Blinking, Hollyleaf groaned, shifting in her nest as her stomach was gripped tightly with spasms.
"What's wrong?" Fallen Leaves asked, lifting his head up from where he rested beside her.
"My stomach," she gasped, fighting to gain back her breath.
She inhaled sharply, then relaxed as the contractions faded into a dull ache.
She trembled with relief and licked her lips, which were dry as dust.
Fallen Leaves was sitting up beside her, gazing at her with worry in his dazzling green gaze.
Hollyleaf scrambled to her paws, shaking bits of moss off her long black pelt.
"I'm fine," she lied at his anxious stare.
Fallen Leaves didn't reply, only turned his head away towards the underground river that flowed a few badger lengths away from them.
"Go get a drink. Maybe it'll help to wake you up and clear your head," he murmured.
Hollyleaf obeyed silently, picking herself up and padding towards the river.
Her pawsteps felt heavy as the rock and stone that surrounded her as she sat down, her flanks swollen as they protruded from beside her.
She bent her head down, her tongue flicking out to collect the droplets of water.
Hollyleaf lapped eagerly, the water sliding into her mouth and rolling down her throat, coating it in an icy chill.
She drank until her tongue became numb. Drawing back, Hollyleaf swiped her tongue over her jaws, collecting any stray droplets that were left on her whiskers.
Shaking out her pelt, she glanced down to see a glint of silver as minnow rushed past.
Stiffening, Hollyleaf flashed her paw out to where she knew the fish would be, scooping it out of the water and pinning it onto the stone beside her.
Her claws hooked into the minnow's gills and she killed it quickly.
"Nice catch," Fallen Leaves purred, appearing at her side.
Hollyleaf purred, brushing muzzles with the ginger-and-white tom.
She turned, the scent of minnow tempting, and began eating. She didn't think to offer Fallen Leaves any, only greedily wolfed down the minnow.
When nothing but a frail skeleton remained, Hollyleaf scraped the fish scales from her claws before gnawing hungrily on a bone.
Looking up, her pelt flushed and she dropped the bone, shuffling her paws at Fallen Leaves' amused gaze.
"Someone's hungry," he commented, his ears flicking playfully.
Hollyleaf looked away, her stomach still groping for more food.
She shook her head vigourously before turning and almost colliding with Fallen Leaves.
"Do you have something to tell me?" he asked.
Hollyleaf blinked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
Fallen Leaves shook his head, and his eyes looked heavy, as if he hadn't been sleeping.
"Hollyleaf, I think your expecting kits," Fallen Leaves whispered, his breath nearly catching on the breeze that blew in from a narrow tunnel towards the left.
Hollyleaf blinked again, feeling the ground swept from beneath her paws.
She was tumbling through the empty air, reaching out but finding nothing.
Swallowing, she shook her head to clear her thoughts, trying to deny what Fallen Leaves said.
But the facts were all true. Hollyleaf knew that.
"Hollyleaf," Fallen Leaves meowed quietly.
"I know you understand that you are expecting kits. But...... but they might not live."
Hollyleaf jerked around to face him, her eyes blazing a cold green fire.
Her heart swelled with fury and she felt a small wiggle in her stomach as if to say, Hey!
At her look, Fallen Leaves shook his head quickly and murmured softly, "Hollyleaf... I've been lying to you."
Hollyleaf felt her body turn cold.
No..... no more lies!
She felt the ground slip again from her paws. Before Fallen Leaves could explain she turned and fled towards the tunnel she knew led outside.
"Hollyleaf! Wait! Please!" Fallen Leaves pleaded.
She heard his pawsteps thud against the stone but she ran faster until the edges of her vision became blurry.
Finally, she burst outside, knowing Fallen Leaves wouldn't follow her out.
She turned and plunged into the nearby brambles, roaming as far as she could into them before collapsing, flanks heaving.
She stared at her swollen stomach.
I might have regretted Squirrelflight and Leafpool, and their decisions, but I don't regret mine. I will let you know the truth. No more lies.
Hollyleaf lifted her head to the stars that were beginning to appear in the sky past the trail of bramble tendrils.
And one day I will forgive him. Whatever his lie is, he saved me, and will give me my kits. I... I love him, and always will.

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