Warriors #5: Heart of Fire

Chapter 24

Goldenshine's POV

My heart felt like it was almost physically weighing me down as I followed Brambleclaw into the medicine den. Emberkit, who I was carrying, had been shivering so much that I thought she would shake herself right out of my jaws. I could hear Wrenkit coughing and wheezing from behind me.

I screwed my eyes shut, feeling extremely overwhelmed with everything that had just happened. Mistpelt's death had only occurred moments ago, but the amount of grief and worry I held currently was enough to be built up throughout an entire lifetime.

And losing Mistpelt was too much to bear already; now the lives of more of my kin were at stake. Mistpelt had managed to save Lightningkit, Emberkit and Wrenkit, but they had all initially fallen into the water. Ice cold water. And they were kits. The cold could conquer them before they even have the chance to conquer it!

And Lilypetal had pushed herself far beyond her limits, so far that she hadn't even been able to save her mother from drowning.

I watched anxiously as Jayfeather quickly gathered together a nest for the kits. I prayed to StarClan that the moons and moons of training that this medicine cat had received wouldn't fail him now.

Jayfeather then turned away from Brambleclaw, Cloudtail and me as he flicked his tail towards the clump of moss he'd just gathered together. "Put the kits there," he commanded as he arrived at his herb stock. Then, as the three of us complied, he slightly turned his head back and asked, "What happened?"

"These mouse-brained little furballs were found out on the lake," Cloudtail began to explain after he put Wrenkit down. "Mistpelt saved them..." The white tom then trailed off, clearly reluctant to share the next piece of information.

I flashed the older warrior an appreciative look before deciding to continue for him. "Mistpelt saved them at the cost of her own life, just as a true warrior would," I meowed, my voice shaking the more that I spoke. I then glanced down at the three shivering kits. "All three of them surely would have drowned if it wasn't for her."

For a few heartbeats, Jayfeather didn't say a word, simply sighing and closing his eyes as he shook his head slowly. "She'll be happy and young again up in StarClan," was all he said in reply.

"For sure," I whispered just as the sound of a new set of pawsteps came from the den entrance. I turned around to see the light brown tabby pelt of Leafpool.

"Jayfeather, start gathering some more moss for another nest," the former medicine cat commanded. "Thornclaw, Whitewing and Lilypetal are on their way in."

I then raised my eyebrows in surprise as I heard Jayfeather let out a hiss. His eyes were blazing as he turned to face Leafpool. "You may be an extra set of paws, but don't forget, you're not my mentor anymore!"

"Jayfeather!" I exclaimed without thinking. "Now is not the time!" For once, I'd like you to put your own personal issues aside to make my mother a gosh darn nest!

Luckily, Leafpool didn't seem to want to deal with Jayfeather's bitterness either. She simply shook her head as she made her way past her son, taking it upon herself to gather some moss.

And thank StarClan, Leafpool had just finished with the second nest once Lilypetal arrived, Thornclaw and Whitewing still helping her to stand up and walk. My heart nearly broke as Lilypetal practically fell into her nest, as if she didn't even have one sliver of strength left in her body.

I then exchanged an anxious glance with my father as he sat in between the kits and Lilypetal. "Well?" Thornclaw then asked worriedly, his eyes wide and his tail twitching as he turned to face Leafpool and Jayfeather. "What are you going to do for them? Are they going to be okay?"