Unexpected Grief: Fall of the Birds

Chapter 6

"Sparrowpaw?" I hear Badgerthump meowing into the apprentices' den "Pollenpaw?" I yawn, stretching out and sit up. I carefully arouse Pollenpaw awake and we pad over to our mentors. "Oh, you guys were already awake!" Sproutleaf smiles but Pollenpaw sniffs

"No, there aren't any nests for us." I meow softly

"Well today instead we're going to make nests!" Sproutleaf exclaims with a smile. Pollenpaw nods happily at her mentor and we head off to find some twigs.

Not too far there's a weird, small bush and its twigs, as Badgerthump says, are good for nests. We pluck the twigs of and learn how to weave them together. It takes a while but soon Pollenpaw and I have the base of a nest! We run around together to find the softest moss and race back to our mentors.

"Good job!" Badgerthump meows with a smile. We line our nests with the moss and carefully haul them back to camp.

As I enter the busy camp I see my father sharing tongues with Ambershine. He sends me an innocent smile but I know the truth, the horrible, ugly, truth. After putting our nests in the den, Sproutleaf looks up at the sky and then pads over to us.

"We still have some daytime left. Do you two want to practice some hunting skills?"

"Yeah!" Pollenpaw and I meow happily in unison. Badgerthump leads us out of the camp and to the apprentices' "learning area" which is a space in the forest where trees don't grow and there's just grass.

"Okay, 'paws," Sproutleaf starts while she adjusts herself into a perfect hunting crouch "Bend your legs like this and lean forward. Then scrunch your front paws like this." I slowly lean down while Pollenpaw wobbles. She falls over with a thump.

"Aaagghh!" She yowls. Sproutleaf prods her with her paw.

"You're fine silly. Get up. It's your first try." I inch forward a bit and Badgerthump smiles

"Good job Sparrowpaw!" He praises. Pollenpaw jokingly frowns and tries again. Sproutleaf giggles

"Closer!" Badgerthump meows, then glances at the ever so setting sun. The sky is filled with oranges and yellows and tipped with lavender. "Time to head back to camp." Sproutleaf, Pollenpaw and I nod and skip back to camp.

Stepping into the camp, our bellies rumble and Pollenpaw giggles at the sound. Before I can react, Pollenpaw runs and grabs a nice, plump vole. We sit down, watch the sunset and munch slowly on the tasty vole. Once we finish the prey we share tongues until the stars are the only light in the sky.

All of a sudden, the leaves rustle right behind us and we shoot up.

"Who's there?!" Pollenpaw whispers violently

"Fox-dung!" It hisses, stepping out and revealing itself. I gasp I horror at the sight of the cat

"Poolpaw?!" I whisper "What are you doing out of camp so late?" She scrunches her face up and rolls her eyes

"None of your business, runts." She spits and pads back to the apprentices' den. Pollenpaw and I hesitantly follow her back and slip into our new nests only to find them shoved into the corner, away from the others with Goldenpaw's nest the closest. I frown, unscrunch our nests and lay down, a strange feeling drifting me into sleep faster than any other night.

I wake up in a beautiful forest, scuffling with prey. This isn't the apprentices' den. I think, missing the warmth of Pollenpaw by my side. I look down at the warm dirt and it is littered with soft, red, orange and yellow leaves. A sweet, familiar, scent fills my nose and I squeal with delight.

"Mom!" I smile, brushing my muzzle against hers "I've missed you." Her eyes spark with sadness and a tear rolls down her cheek, landing on a leaf. "Wait, I'm in StarClan... Why?"

"Well, sweetie," My mom nervously smiles "I have a message for when you were a bit older but I really miss you so I decided to give it to you early."

"O-okay." I whimper, waiting for my message

"Your life will be filled with grief, terrible grief, and no cat, not even the great StarClan cats can change that, but I want you to see the positivity in every twist and turn life throws at you. No matter what happens, know that StarClan loves you and is not punishing you. I'll never forget you my brave little Sparrowpaw, and may you always remember that I'll be with you, every single step of the way. Goodbye my love..."

"Mom! No! Help me! I don't understand!" I yowl but I'm too late. Her black and white fur is quickly disappearing and I awake with Pollenpaw looming over me.

"Is everything alright?" She meows, licking my head. I start to sob and cry out

"No! And it never will be!"

Thank you guys SO MUCH for reading and over 1,000 reads! It means so much! The next chapter might be out in a couple hours, as I am feeling very inspired! :3 I hope you enjoyed! ~Swifty

PS: I'm hanging out with WarriorCatMoon335 for vacation so why don't you check her out? *wink wink*