salt in the wound || warrior cats

chapter 1

happy deathday

~~~

"VIOLETDUST!" 

Through the boasts of apprentices, gossip of the elders, conversation from warriors forming a loud, happy atmosphere in ThunderClan's camp on a sunny, greenleaf day, Violetdust almost missed the call. But her ears - hypersensitive to her best friend's voice after their seasons together - caught it, and the ginger-and-white she-cat glanced up.

The pale, gray-furred queen was padding Violetdust's way, her belly swollen with unborn kits. Her jaws parted in a loud yawn, sleepiness still lingering from the nap she'd just taken. As she neared, Violetdust purred and flicked her friend's ear lightly in greeting. "Hi, Swanfrost. Hungry?"

"Starved." Swanfrost licked her lips, looking down at the half finished pigeon at Violetdust's paws. "I think I must be eating for five or something, with all the prey that I'm consuming."

The ginger-and-white she-cat gave her friend a fond look, pushing the bird over. "It's all yours."

Swanfrost didn't waste time digging in. She made quick work of the meal, and by the time she was about done with the prey, the entrance to ThunderClan's camp rustled, announcing the arrival of a border patrol. Cats from around the camp got to their paws and padded over to greet their returning Clanmates.

In the patrol's lead was Frostsky, Swanfrost's mate, and the pale gray queen's eyes lit up when she spotted him.

Violetdust had no idea how her best friend's plan of mating with Frostsky worked, but it did. The two had started interacting a lot more after Swanfrost became a warrior and now, they're expecting their first litter.

Swanfrost got to her paws with a little help from Violetdust and trotted over. A loud purr rumbled through the gray queen as Frostsky licked her ears as Violetdust bypassed the two altogether in favor of her mother Blossomsky, who was standing near the end.

Blossomsky's eyes were heavy. They always seemed to be, and Violetdust couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her mother's gaze bright and happy. It was probably before Honeykit died, a sight enveloped in the ginger-and-white warrior's fuzzy, kithood memories.

But today was the day, out of all days, the dappled she-cat looked the most pained. The yearly anniversary of Honeykit's death was always a sad day for the family.

Violetdust pushed her muzzle into her mother's fur, inhaling Blossomsky's scent deeply. "How was the patrol?"

"Same as usual," Blossomsky replied a little dully, but drew a tongue over her kit's cheek nonetheless. "SkyClan's stopped pushing borders, which I'm sure your father will be happy to hear. That issue's been bothering him and Lilystar for moons."

Violetdust pulled away, observing her mother's appearance with a sharp flicker of anger. How could StarClan do this to a cat? How could they ruin a loyal warrior's life like this?

"StarClan's awful." The mutter came out before she could stop it. "They should've helped. They should've saved Honeykit."

Blossomsky gave her a sharp look. "StarClan doesn't like it when we talk ill of them," she meowed, words Violetdust has heard several, several times. "I'm sure they tried their best to save Honeykit, but these types of things happen."

"Then what's the point?" Violetdust lashed her tail. "If Honeykit's death was StarClan trying their best, why do we care about them so much? They can't do anything."

"They're still our warrior ancestors," the dappled she-cat replied. "We must still honor them."

The ginger-and-white she-cat rolled her eyes, and just as she did so, she felt someone bump her shoulder roughly. "Violetdust, are you arguing with Mom about StarClan again?"