Warrior Cats: The Deaf Warrior

Chapter Fourteen

Goosepaw woke up to see Scorchpaw, Fuzzypaw and Dawnpaw sitting next to him.

"You're awake!" Scorchpaw meowed, pressing himself against his brother happily. He could feel Scorchpaw shaking. He's purring.

Dawnpaw and Fuzzypaw both looked relieved, too.

"Goosepaw," Fuzzypaw mewed, looking down at the floor and shuffling her small paws, "Please don't be... well, upset. There's a scar across your face. But it's not bad! It's a battle scar! And now we both have scars... it's like, we're scar friends!" She smiled awkwardly.

Goosepaw wasn't upset about the scar. He could already tell it would result in more bullying, but that wasn't something he should be worrying about right now.

"I'm fine," he told Fuzzypaw. "Fuzzypaw... what happened to your mother?"

Fuzzypaw froze, grief flashing in her eyes. Goosepaw immediately got to his paws, feeling guilty for asking. He pressed against her, and she rested against his shoulder. Turning to him, she mewed. "I got pinned to the ground. Someone noticed my injury and covered my eye," she took a deep breath. "And then another cat started attacking my mother. It was slow and painful, I could hear her screeching and crying out. The ShadowClan cats were laughing. They... wanted me to hear Ravenflight as she died. I nearly freed myself but another cat helped the first pin me. Then she stopped yowling and then-" She lowered her head.

Goosepaw was stunned. He hadn't known Ravenflight well, but he knew that she had always been a kind and loving mother to Fuzzypaw. She had promised to show Fuzzypaw how much she loved her, but now she was dead.

Fuzzypaw feared she wouldn't come back from this battle alive. That's why she was so scared. And her fears came true.

"Fuzzypaw, I'm so sorry." Goosepaw mewed. He didn't know what to say. At least that cat didn't physically see that I was deaf. Maybe it's for the best I keep that hidden.

The fluffy she cat blinked at him. "There's nothing you could have done for her," she told him. "I sat vigil with her body all night, and the elders are burying her now."

Scorchpaw gave a nod. "She was by Ravenflight's body when I went to sleep and still there when I woke up," there was sympathy in his green gaze. "I can tell how much you love her."

Fuzzypaw turned to Scorchpaw, briefly saying something, before turning back to Goosepaw. "Dawnpaw sat vigil, too."

Goosepaw was surprised by that. Dawnpaw obviously saw how confused he was, and explained, "It doesn't matter to me how well I know a cat. I'll sit vigil, no matter who died."

Goosepaw felt himself smiling a little. Dawnpaw may act tough, but he could tell she was actually one of the kindest cats in the Clan. "That's really kind of you, Dawnpaw."

Fuzzypaw smiled at the tortoiseshell. "It was," she paused. "Lilypaw blames me for Ravenflight's death, and she's right. It's my fault."

Goosepaw wasn't surprised at all that Lilypaw had blamed Fuzzypaw. He felt sympathy for the speckled she cat - she had lost her mother, just like Fuzzypaw had. "It's not your fault." He told Fuzzypaw. That's all he had to say.

The fuzzy she cat didn't answer, sadness in her eyes.

Suddenly, something caught the attention of Goosepaw's friends.

Dawnpaw pelted after her, Scorchpaw on her tail. Fuzzypaw mewed to Goosepaw, "Sheepcloud's threatening Whitestar."

Sheepcloud screeched, "Whitestar, if there's a single scratch on my son's body, I'll shred your pelt off, claw you in half and watch as the blood spills out of your body!"