Warriors #5: Heart of Fire

Chapter 12

Goldenshine's POV

The camp was eerily silent as I made my way into the warriors den for the night; many cats were already asleep, and the last border patrol for the day was to return at any moment. Not even one creature or bug seemed to be stirring out in the forest.

I had just returned from a brief hunting trip with Hollyleaf and Nightwing, and when I say brief, I mean brief - as per usual in leaf-bare, prey was scarce. Along with that, the three of us were tired enough to sleep on our paws, so we unfortunately had had to give up as quickly as we had started.

I'm going to go out and try again first thing tomorrow, I decided as I settled down in an empty nest. I then let out a quiet, satisfied grunt as I thought about how nice was it to be able to commit to things without having to worry about tending to a little one first, as I had had to do when I was caring for Swiftpaw just a few quarter moons ago.

I still stand by my decision to not have more kits, that's for sure! I thought as I briefly looked back on my conversation with Dustystorm once again. Yes, kits bring new life and new warriors, but I'm bringing life to the Clans through my help in hunting and patrolling!

Just as I was closing my eyes, I noticed movement from the den entrance through my two slits. I lifted my head, peering over a few sleeping bodies to see Dustystorm making his way in. I tried to suppress a purr of amusement as my mate scanned the den, clearly struggling to see through the darkness.

"Psst!" I whispered to Dustystorm, waving my tail in the air. "Looking for me?"

Dustystorm's head had shot in my direction as I spoke, his eyes lighting up once they fell on me. "There you are!" the sandy-gray tom whispered back, licking my head before lying down beside me. "Great StarClan, leaf-bare doesn't only bring the coldest weather, but the darkest nights!"

I let out a quiet purr of amusement. "That's for sure!" I meowed softly as I snuggled into Dustystorm and leaned my head on his shoulder. Now, speaking of darkness... "So, how was training with Swiftpaw today?"

Dustystorm snorted. "Great StarClan, you sure think highly of your son, don't you?" my mate teased, sounding sarcastic.

I narrowed my eyes at Dustystorm's comment. "What do you mean?" I questioned as I began to fill up with confusion.

I watched as Dustystorm hesitated for a few heartbeats, and then proceeded to shrug. "I don't know... the Goldenshine I know doesn't typically sound condescending when she speaks," he purred, touching his nose to my ear.

Condescending? Did I sound condescending? I wondered as Dustystorm's words sunk in. Almost instantly after, I found myself trying to push down guilt. Has it really come to that? Is my relationship with Swiftpaw so strained that I now sound condescending whenever I talk about him without even thinking about it?

"I... I wasn't trying to..." I murmured, then trailing off.

"Hey, it's alright," Dustystorm insisted, and I felt him brush his muzzle against my cheek as I stared ahead. "Forget that I said that."

Oh, trust me, I'm going to try, I tried to convince myself, barely being able to handle the regret I was feeling. Great StarClan, do I miss my son...

"It's alright, love," I then whispered, touching my muzzle to Dustystorm's briefly. "Anyways... Swiftpaw's training today?" I inflected my voice in a way that made me sound cheerful in the hopes that Dustystorm would return it, because despite Swiftpaw's behavior lately, I couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of optimism when it came to hearing Dustystorm's report.