Warriors: High Tides

Chapter 20

Rookheart could feel his heart pounding in his chest. They were moving off calmly, but inside he was utter turmoil. They'd left Ivystream behind: and Ice, now, too, for he'd promised to stay and search for her. And they were also leaving Gorsewhisker and Harekit to the elements; not that he cared much about Gorsewhisker.

Waspwhisker's belly was pendulous. She looked exhausted. Her lustrous fur was paled by constant travel and sleepless nights, brought on by morning sickness and kicking kittens in the deep of the night. Rookheart had to respect her resolve.

"If you want to rest," Thistlepaw mewed, "We can stop for a while."

"Not with that crazy tom on our tails," Waspwhisker said with a frown. "I'm not stopping 'til I can't see Twolegplace anymore." She meowed. "Clan Cats simply weren't meant to stay around Twolegs or their dens."

Rookheart sighed and looked over his shoulder. The Twolegplace was slightly blue in hue from their small distance away, and he sighed slowly.

"How are you feeling?" Bramblefoot asked tenderly, ears flat. "Anything off?"

"I feel heavy," Waspwhisker said with a long, slow sigh. "Very heavy."

"How many kits do you think you'll have?" Thistlepaw asked, cocking her head a little.

"Oh, not a very big litter," Waspwhisker said gently, "Maybe three or four. Five, if StarClan really hates me." She purred.

Rookheart chuckled softly, his heart pounding eagerly as they walked along, flicking his tail back and forth. He couldn't wait for the kits to arrive: to see them squirming at Waspwhisker's belly, mewling, new Warriors into the new Clans.

He blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Guys," He meowed, "Do you think Gorsewhisker left so he could found one of the new Clans?"

The entire group took pause to consider that. "It would make sense," Thistlepaw mewed, "He's been bent on it since this journey started. Remember when we healed that farm-cat, Bramblefoot?"

"Yes, I remember." The middle-aged Medicine Cat sighed. "But where did he go? And why didn't he say anything?"

"You know how he was," Waspwhisker sighed. "He could never trust any other cat but himself. Why would he tell us anything?"

They agreed unanimously on this. "I wonder where we'll have Gatherings," Thistlepaw mewed slowly.

"Somewhere in the center of all the territories, like the Island," Waspwhisker said.

"But if we don't know where Gorsewhisker's camp is," Thistlepaw meowed, "How will we know what's in the middle and what isn't?"

"Who cares about Gorsewhisker?" Rookheart meowed, lashing his tail. "He didn't care about any of us throughout this entire journey. I doubt he wants to socialize now." He wrinkled his nose, ears flat. "If he does, he can do it by himself and let us know personally. If he doesn't, I say we spare ourselves the stress."

Everyone stared in surprise, and he realized how uncharacteristic his outburst must have seemed to them. But it's true, he cried mentally, he didn't care about anyone...

"We could stay here," Thistlepaw mewed, flicking her tail back and forth curiously. "We still are able to have contact with the Twolegplace - where Ice and Ivystream are. And we have a direct course to the forest south of us - I have a feeling that's where Gorsewhisker went off to."

Bramblefoot looked at her nine-moon-old apprentice. "What about Rookheart and Waspwhisker?"

"Well, we could walk them along until we find a good spot to set up a border. Then they could found a Clan if they want, and we could too."