Froststar's Destiny

Chapter Thirty-three

Painful.

She turned to face Windecho and almost told him to leave again when he spun around, his tail slapping a SpringClan cat in the face and stormed away, bristling.

"You'll regret this when WinterClan wins the war!" he snarled.

"He thinks they'll win because of him?" Dawnfire snorted in derision, and Frostwind had to agree.

Although... She felt a twinge of sorrow. He was her family, and she'd thought their bond had been remade, but he had fooled her and Cloudbeam together. He had manipulated her. She should never have given him a second chance.

She'd tried being like Skyfeather and had paid the price for it.

So... Maybe, she should just stick to being herself. Paranoid. A killer. She felt sadness well up in her. She was never going to be the mother Pebblepaw deserved. Pebblepaw deserved someone who cared for her and looked after her. That cat wasn't Frostwind. Frostwind loved her daughter but she could only protect her, not bond with her.

She was a killer and a monster. That was all she was good at.

At least she was good at something, though.

"Are the SpringClan cats well enough to travel?" Frostwind called.

"No!" Redleaf scrambled for more herbs. "It's been a day, Frostwind! Okay, some of them are. But that's it! Here, these three."

They were still a little ragged and patched up with cobwebs, but they stumbled to their paws.

"They're not done being treated yet, but they can get to our camp. Hawkfeather and Pebblepaw can continue treating them there," Redleaf explained. 

"Alright. Cloudbeam, Talonflame, stay here; Dawnfire and Firespark, you can come back to camp. I'll send some other warriors to relieve the rest of the SummerClan warriors. No, SeasonClan warriors." Frostwind smiled with pride at the name.

"Frostwind?" Twilightmoon asked. "May I request to remain here with Cloudbeam, Talonflame and Redleaf?"

She wanted to stay with them, as a family. Frostwind could respect that, even if she'd never had a true family to rely on. No, she had Pebblepaw and Cloudbeam, at least. She gave Twilightmoon a nod and the she-cat beamed at her mate before bidding her sister goodbye.

Dawnfire and Firespark followed Frostwind back to camp, their pelts pricking with anticipation. "So, Windecho's a traitor," Dawnfire meowed warily. "Who next?"

"No one, I hope," Frostwind meowed, and she meant it.

"Yeah," Dawnfire muttered.

"Dawnfire-"

"It just seems weird, isn't it?" Dawnfire asked quietly. "Everyone had their families broken up, but my siblings are all alive. Duskcloud and Twilightmoon are fine. Healthy. But... I don't know if it'll stay that way."

"Of course it will," Frostwind meowed, baffled.

"But can you promise me that, Frostwind?" Dawnfire asked. "Can you promise me they won't die in battle?"

No. No, she couldn't.

"No, I can't," Frostwind murmured.

"You see? There. You can't promise me. They're going to die, I know they will. Duskcloud and Shimmerpelt and Twilightmoon and Cloudbeam because war divides families." Dawnfire took a deep breath. "Can't we do this differently, Frostwind? Can't we make a difference, change our ways? Can't we assassinate Mousestar and Stonestar and Snowstar and leave it like that?"

"Dawnfire..."

"We're cats, Frostwind. We're not monsters."

"I think you're mistaken," Frostwind meowed heavily. "I am a monster, and when you put a monster at your head, you have to become monsters to follow."

"No, we don't." Dawnfire met Frostwind's eyes. "We don't have to. We are who we want to be. You said it yourself, Frostwind! We can choose our own destinies. Cloudbeam told me you said that, and... I believe you, Frostwind, can inspire them. To be different. Not like me."

"No," Frostwind meowed with a small smile, "you've inspired me, Dawnfire."

Dawnfire shifted slightly. "I hope so. I just.... It's too much killing. Doesn't it do anything to you?"

"I hardly feel it anymore," Frostwind meowed quietly. Maybe wistfully.

Dawnfire looked away, nodding. "Yeah, just... Keep it in mind. Killing isn't the only solution."

"Yeah. Yeah... I know."

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟏𝟓𝟕𝟗

𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐚! 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?! 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞. 𝐁𝐲𝐞!