falling petals | warrior cats story

twenty six.

twenty six.
lilystem.

"I'm going to visit my mother." My voice was sturdy as I spoke, my decision clear.

Antstar looked up to me with his round, yellow eyes. "Clovertuft?" He questioned, a bit taken aback. "In the twoleg nests?"

"That's right," I confirmed.

He thought about it for a while, not speaking just yet. "I'm unsure if that's a wise decision." The leader finally spoke, his tone bland.

"Why?" My head tilted to the side, confused.

He paced a few steps, "You wish to visit your mother like Petalheart did, yet, many of us speculate that she died on her way coming back here." Antstar's brow raised.

"I didn't know that," I said truthfully. My mind was so busy with other questions, I had forgotten about why she was out there in the first place.

"It was no mystery," he replied.

"Antstar,"

"Listen, Lilystem. I know you need your mother right now, but we can't afford to lose another cat to...whatever is going on." Antstar shook his head, his tone hardening slightly.

I blinked, almost preparing to accept defeat. "No, you know what, no." I laughed, denying his wishes. "That's unfair for you to say, especially when you don't even know if Petalheart's death was an accident." I found my voice raising too.

"It was."

"It wasn't." I spat back.

He looked at me, his expression complex and close to not being readable. "No cat is stupid enough to simply slip off of the side of a cliff like that." I kept my voice down now. "I knew Petalheart better than anyone else. And so did my mother, and that is why I am leaving to go see her." I heaved, my breath catching up after going off on Antstar like that.

I was so agitated, I turned away from him and started to walk away from the situation.

The black tomcat was quiet at first, "Lilystem." He called after me.

I halted in my pawsteps, "What?" My gone came off snappier than I wanted.

His eyes locked into mine as he paused, almost as if he forgot what he had wanted to say. "Just..." His voice trailed. He left his sentence incomplete.

"Be safe," he said, turning away from me and entering his den.