Warriors: Starlight

Chapter 11 and 12

"On this night, we pray to StarClan for Speckletail, who we lost in a gruesome and unprovoked Shadowclan raid. She was an excellent warrior and a loving mother to all. We know you'll accept her with open paws into your starry home, where she will hunt in your pastures free and lively. We celebrate her life and mourn her death. We will have fair retribution for the misdeed that has been dealt to not a warrior, but a nursing queen too old to defend herself. Thunderclan will not stand for such actions." Bluestar then gazed across the clearing.
"Goldenflower as chosen to care for snowkit, her mother's last surviving kit." To this, Goldenflower nodded. The look on her face was one of despair, and hatred. Fireheart couldn't blame her, and his heart was broken for poor queen.

Bluestar finished her prayer for Speckletail and pressed her muzzle into her fur, then licked her cheek a couple times, and moved on. 
Each cat took their chance to share tongues with the old queen one last time. Come sunset, Fireheart stepped forward last and decided that he'd stay vigil for her with her daughter, goldenflower. It's the least he could do after all she had done for him, as well as spending her last breaths of life protecting the nursery and all the kits inside. An honorable memory for an honorable cat.

Unfortunately after spending half the vigil wrestling with the thoughts of spite and vengeance for her death, he'd finally given in, and what was meant to be a loving goodbye, turned into a brooding session. He hated that the felt anger toward her murderer overshadowed the sadness toward her death. He prayed he'd never learn the identity of the cat who's dealt these blows, because he wasn't certain that he'd be able to control himself if he were to face off with her foxheart murderer.

So instead, Fireheart decided to respectfully leave the vigil early and go calm down in the nursery as to stop disrespecting Speckletail's body with his bloodlust, and to instead go and cuddle with his kits.
On his way there, he'd been intercepted by his old apprentice, turned medicine cat.
"Hey Fireheart." She mewed, touching noses with him affectionately.
"Cinderpaw. What're you doing up so late?" He asked, noticing the obvious fatigue in her movements. It hadn't been an easy moon for her or Yellowfang. The old medicine cat said that some of the herbs are dying and they were not sure why.
"Well I was about to go and check on Featherkit and Stormkit on order of Yellowfang while you were at the vigil, and while they're asleep, but I see you're back early. Something the matter?" She asked? He shook his head.
"Nothing you need to worry about." He mewed.
"Welp, I guess I'll be going", She began to move off, her injured leg dragging behind her.
"Wait, Cinderpelt"- he called in a hushed tone "you check up on them now. I'm in no hurry." He mewed.
"Thanks!" Gratefulness flashed in her eyes. strange. She seemed desperate to check on them. So he sat at the entrance, staring back out at the moon and feeling the incoming Leafbare breeze flowing through the camp for a couple heartbeats, before the medicine apprentice turned her head and looked at him strangely.
"You can come in as well, furball. No point in you getting sick from sitting out in the cold." She mewed. He turned to her and shook his head.
"Oh don't worry, I was planning to." He mewed, getting up ducking into the nursery, and sat at the edge of the nest, tail folded over his paws as the medicine apprentice did her examination,  sifting through their fur, checking in their ears, sniffing their breath, checking their temperature with her nose, and lastly, listening to their breathing. It's a miracle they didn't wake up. One that he welcomed with open paws.
Satisfied, she bowed her head respectfully, and he nodded back, touching noses with him in a friendly manner, and she turned around to leave.
"Wait, what about them?" He whispered, referring to Brindleface, and Frostfur, and Goldenflower's kits, Bramblekit and Tawnykit, who occupied the other three corners of the nursery. Specklepelt had had her nest in the middle for warmth, given her age.
"I'll give them their checkups tomorrow once they're awake. Best not interrupt them. I only came for your kits because I thought you were outside." She mewed distractedly, before trotting hurriedly back to the medicine cat den. With that, he shrugged and climbed into his nest where his kits were curled up and wound himself tightly around them. They were almost too big to do this anymore. A sad thought. He pressed his muzzle underneath Featherkit's chin, which was hanging over the side of the nest, and hoisted it back into the warmth of his chest. Thankfully, they didn't stir, but instead instinctively burrowed deeper into his fur, for which he was grateful. The warmth of his kits seemed to lighten his grief and hold it in the air instead of in his chest. At least for the time being.
At ease and comfortable, he shut his eyes and let sleep take him over.