Wanderers: A Warriors Fanfic

Jungle of Secrets

Snowflake watched her kittens chase the mouse around the room. They were five moons old and Snowflake couldn't take her eyes off them for more than a second without them getting into trouble.

The mouse darted into a hole in the wall. Midnight stuck his paw in the hole.

"Aww. It got away," Silver complained.

"Let's go play with Mom!" said Sunny.

"No way, I'm waiting for the mouse. It can't hide forever," said Midnight. Silver, Cookie, and Sunny ran to Snowflake.

"Attack!" Cookie shouted as she and Sunny pounced on Snowflake's back. Snowflake laughed and waved her tail around. Silver dropped into a perfect hunters crouch and eyed her tail. Snowflake watched in awe as Silver crept towards her tail. Silver pounced and Snowflake jerked her tail away.

"Fox-dung!" Silver spat.

"Where did you hear that?" Snowflake asked. She was always careful to never swear in front of her kittens.

"Hey guys! Look at this," Midnight was sniffing wooden square with a piece of twisted metal on it. He stuck out his paw batted at the strange object.

Snowflake gasped and stood up quickly. Sunny and Cookie fell to the floor. "Midnight! Don't touch that!" It was too late, Midnight pounced on the object. There was a deafening snap and Midnight wailed. Snowflake raced to her son. Midnight's leg was crushed in between the wood and the skinny piece of metal. Snowflake pried the mouse trap off her son's leg and immediately started cleaning the wound.

"No no no," she said between licks. He whimpered quietly. His littermates watched quietly. Silver had a wad of cobwebs in her mouth. She stepped forward and set the cobwebs beside them. Snowflake wrapped the cobwebs around Midnight's leg. Snowflake was too troubled to wonder how Silver knew to bring cobwebs.

"Is Midnight going to die?" asked Sunny.

Snowflake didn't reply. Cookie walked over and laid by him. Her sisters followed her lead. Snowflake didn't know how long they laid there, it could have been moons. Eventually, the kittens drifted to sleep. Midnight's breathing was growing shallower. Snowflake looked down at the tiny runt, he was only half the size of his sisters but just as strong. No matter how much he fought to live, Snowflake didn't think it would be enough.

Snowflake couldn't leave her son here to die. She stood up, careful not to disturb her kits, and walked to the window. She pressed her paw against the edge of the hole. Slowly, the glass started to chip away. She ignored the pain in her paws where the glass cut her.

"What are you doing?" asked Silver. Snowflake jumped, and winced as the glass cut her paw.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Snowflake kept working.

"I can't sleep," said Silver. Snowflake didn't even turn.

"Lay down and close your eyes," Snowflake said. She struggled to hide the irritation in her voice.

"Sunny thinks it's her fault," Silver said it like it was an explanation to why she couldn't sleep.

"What's her fault?" asked Snowflake.

"Sunny think it's her fault Midnight was injured," Snowflake stopped working. Her anger vanished as Silver continued. "She thinks that if she hadn't suggested we play with you and if we had waited for the mouse, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"How do you know?" Snowflake asked.

Silver looked uncomfortable. "She... uh... told me."

Snowflake was quiet she was sure that Sunny was still asleep.