Dawnflower's Sorrow

Chapter 11

Another four moons have passed since the kit's apprenticeship. Dawnflower and Blackpaw are already best friends but she hopes she won't eave him like how Blackfoot left her. Happiness has been a constant thing in Dawnflower's life, and she knows things are finally looking up. She couldn't sleep and since it was newleaf, she woke Tigerstorm up and went out for a walk. "I couldn't sleep." She explaind once they were out of camp. "Oh ok." He said and licked her ear.

They padded to their secret place and she laid down on a moss bed and gazed into Tigerstorm's green eyes. She smiled and placed her tail over his and bit at his ear playfully. He laughed and got to his paws and invited her to play. She recirpocated the movement and tackled him. They rolled a couple times and Dawnflower ended up tackling him again. There was something in his eyes that she had only seen a couple times before, when she was teasing him. She smirked and so did he.

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They woke and Dawnflower felt a lot better than she had a couple days ago. That's because she was in heat for the past week. "Good morning." She said as she turned and faced Tigerstorm, who went out hunting and got prey. She ate hers quickly and after a few minutes, they walked back to camp. They ran into Flamepelt, her sister, who had recieved her full medicine cat status and name many moons back, even before Dawnflower earned her warrior name. "Hey Dawnflower, Tigersto-" She said but she rapidly started sniffing Dawnflower. "What? Do I smell like mouse dung?" She asked.

"You smell... different. Like something changed about you and that something is totally different." She said. She looked between the both of them. "Wait, why are you out so earl-" She started but then gasped. "Oh my StarClan!" She yowled in surprise and backed away. "You... you..." She said but she couldn't finish. "Yes, I know." Dawnflower said with a smile and laugh and Tigerstorm smiled. "Well, I'm just going to fnish gathering herbs." Flamepelt said awkwardly and shuffled away into the undergrowth.

They laughed and padded the rest of the way to camp. Willowpelt saw them walk in and she padded to them. "Walking in early and with no prey. I wonder what went down." She said with a wink and a smirk. "Is everyone going to say that? We didn't do anything." Tigerstorm said with a smile, trying to cover up his lie. "You're a bad liar." Willowpelt said with a smile as she padded away. "So I guess now everyone knows. But that doesn't mean we have kits. It doesn't always happen." Tigerstorm said Dawnflower nodded. For some reason, it kind of stung to know that they might not have kits at this time after all.

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"Great, Blackpaw!" Dawnflower said as he successfully hunted a mouse for the first time. He purred and waved his tail around excitedly. He then dug a small hole and buried it to take for later. "You're getting better everyday." Dawnflower said with a smile. "Well with my best friend as a mentor, how couldn't I do good?" He said as he tried nuzzling her but only ended up nuzzling her chest since she was taller than him. An excited, warm feeling pricked at her heart knowing that Blackpaw considered her a best friend. She nuzzled him with a purr and hen he asked a sudden question.

"What was my father like?" It taken Dawnflower aback and she felt a pang of sadness tug at her heart but she shoved it away; she was happy now, and that's all she needed. She didn't want to live in the past anymore. "Well, he was an amazing tom. The day he died, he fought with courage and bravery and that's what any cat asks of another and he did that perfectly. I was best friends with him and when he died, I blamed it on myself." Dawnflower admitted.

"I was never told that before. Why did you blame yourself?" He asked softly. "Well a badger attacked our camp and it flung me into a rock when I attacked it and then it went for Blackfoot and..." She said and she cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "And I saw that badger kill him and I was just laying there, acting like a kit doing nothing and hiding in a corner when I could've done something. And then after, I fell into a deep dark hole of depression. And then Tigerstorm saved me; literally. And ever since the day he saved me, I was getting better until he asked me to be mates with him and that was the one thing I was missing; love. And that's what brought me to the cat I am today." Dawnflower said with a smile.

He smiled too. "It's a happy ending. But how did Tigerstorm save you?" He asked and Dawnflower looked away. "That's another story for when you're older." She said with a forced smile. "So, back to training." She said, eager to change the subject.

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They arrived back at camp with prey in their jaws. They each took a piece and Dawnflower padded over to Tigerstorm. "How did he do today?" He asked once she laid down beside him. "Great. He caught his first piece of prey today." She said with a proud smile. "That's good. Rainpaw learned a new scent today." Tigerstorm said with a laugh. "Oh no, which one?" Dawnflower asked, worried it might be a predator. "Skunk." He said as he burst into a fit of laughter. "Did she get sprayed?" Dawnflower asked with a laugh. "No, we just smelt it on our way to catch prey." He said with a smile. "Oh, well that's good." Dawnflower said. After a moment, she broke the silence. "Blackpaw asked me about his father today." She said softly as she looked at her apprentice.

Tigerstorm stopped eating and looked at her with concern. "I was fine. I just told him about him. I also told him about you and how you literally saved me. From the fox." She said as she looked at him. He was frowning and then sighed. "But I told him that was a story for when he was older." She noted and he let out a breath and he nodded and continued to eat. Once they were done, Dawnflower retreated to the warriors den and she fell asleep quickly.