Leafpool's Choice

Chapter 9

"Leafpool, this is wonderful!" Crowfeather purred, rubbing against his mate's cheek.

Leafpool stared into space, still shocked. She saw one flaw. A huge, fatal flaw. I know how much Squirrelflight loves her clan, especially Brambleclaw. I don't ever want to keep her away from that. She isn't going to stay here forever. 

"Leafpool?" Crowfeather asked, nudging her cheek with the tip of his nose. "Everything alright?"

Leafpool shook off her daze. "Yeah, everything's fine." Leafpool gave Crowfeather's ear a lick. 

"Everything's gonna be alright," Crowfeather reassured her.

"I know. I don't doubt your words. I think I just need a walk to clear my head. Maybe I'll gather some herbs, or catch us some prey." 

"Of course," Crowfeather purred. "I know it must be quite a shocking realization, expecting kits all of a sudden."

"I just need to have some time to myself, you know?" Leafpool touched noses with her mate, a friendly goodbye, before padding away, into the tall grass.

Leafpool didn't want to seem suspicious, so she swiftly caught and killed a mouse. Not much prey was out and about at that time of night, but she managed.

Leafpool turned, away from the moors and towards the old Clan territories. She began to run, gaining speed with every pawstep, until she was traveling swiftly across the open moors. 

Finally, Leafpool skidded to a halt. She padded down the ancient stone path, spiraling slowly into the earth. She could feel the divots made by her ancestors' paws walking this same path. However, she no longer felt connected to them. 

Leafpool knelt down at the edge of the water. She looked into the pool, searching for the reflections of the stars above, but even though stars speckled the sky, she could see none in the pool. 

The Moonpool. The place Leafpool discovered herself, as a wee little apprentice, so long ago.

Leafpool knelt down, staring into the pool. She touched her nose to the water.

Nothing. 

Leafpool had made her choice, and Starclan wasn't coming back to her anymore. 

I may miss the guidance of Starclan, but I regret nothing. I can make my own decisions.

Leafpool understood that whether Starclan came to her or not, the ending result would be the same. She would have Crowfeather's kits, and her sister would probably leave before then. 

That was when Leafpool decided that she wouldn't tell Squirrelflight about her kits. She didn't want to hold her sister back. 

Leafpool stopped to gather some stems of borage and retrieve her mouse, before returning to her mate and sister.

What they don't know can't hurt them.

~~~

I'm sorry that the last few chapters have been a bit drab, but I'm building up to something big. 

Leafpool is supposed to be a bit attached to Starclan, constantly looking to them for guidance, so without them, she will have her struggles. After discovering the Moonpool and bonding with so many Starclan cats, she tends to be really close to them. Coping is going to be one of her obstacles in the future, although it's hard to tell at first.

Thank you so much for all of your support! I'm overjoyed that all of you appreciate my writing and continue to come to me for more chapters. I know that there hasn't been much time between this update and the last one, so this is how I am thanking all of my loyal readers!

Thx!

~Hollyfeather