Warriors: Rise Again

Chapter 3

"Sage?" He called, looking around for the she-cat who had disappeared. All at once, the sandy-colored cat popped out from behind a small crevice, her fur matted with moss. She seemed to be quite surprised to see another cat in her den, but the surprise died down when she realized it was Dusk.

"Yes, Dusk? How can I help you?" Sage asked, setting down a wad of moss at her paws and scooting it to a larger pile on the side of her well-insulated den. She seemed to be pretty peaceful in here, which is why he knew she enjoyed this little hobby more than she would hunting or fighting off stray predators.

"I had a dream last night. It was about a strange cat who gave me words of warning, but I don't know whether to confide in you or just outright ask everyone if they had a similar dream to mine. I have to find four more cats, Sage. And Bramblestar, the cat that talked to me, said I don't have much time left to find the others before everything goes extremely, extremely bad," Dusk rambled, not realizing his voice was growing in volume every time he continued on.

Sage's green eyes grew wide and she began to shush him, shaking her head with a frantic "no" motion. "I get it, I get it. The dream you had was probably some sort of a prophecy. And, according to what you received, there should be four other cats in this exact group that received a similar dream? That's all they gave you?" The she-cat asked, a bit of exasperation in her voice. "What do you even do when you find the other cats?"

Dusk looked down at the ground, a sudden frozen tone taking over when he opened his mouth, "We have to leave, and we can't come back," he spat, ears lowering as a silent anger took over him.

Sage frowned, head tilting slightly as she thought about that for a moment, but she was also entirely confused about why the male was so incredibly angry. Then, she got it. Light was about to kit, and if they had to leave within the moon, he couldn't take the tiny things with him. Except, he would have to leave Light behind as well, which was incredibly sad. "Oh," she said.

A yowl interrupted their stirred silence. It was most definitely Light's. Both cats froze, taking off towards the Mother's Den. Berry had already excused herself, her three kits beside her playing in the snow, sneezing and laughing, oblivious to the struggles of a mountain cat. They did however, notice Sage and Dusk barreling their way, and immediately scampered behind their mother, wondering what exactly was going on.

Light was in severe pain, and Dusk noticed as he looked over his squirming mate that she was having major body spasms. Sage looked him dead in the eye and stated, "You can't be in here while I do this, if you want to be helpful, you get her a stick to clamp down on!" The she-cat ordered, a tone of authority taking over. Dusk nodded, slipping out of the den with a shake of his head.

He quickly found Light a suitable stick that was thick enough to where it wouldn't snap, and dipped back in to drop it before Sage before slipping back out. He noticed Reed and Whisper were back, and most of the cats were gathered in the clearing, including Bear who looked extremely agitated, "God, she-cat's birthing process is so annoying. I wish somebody could shut her up!" Bear growled, not noticing his own mate, Leaf, flinch at the offensive remark towards her gender.

Dusk's tail lashed at the remark, but he didn't comment on it, preferring to instead pad off, sitting next to Sun who was calmly playing with Mouse and Bounce. "Hey, Dusk!" The cheerful golden tom meowed, his voice laced with amusement as Mouse tried to attack his tail as it swished back and forth in the snow. "I know you're probably really worried, but Sage is amazing. She'll totally make sure Light is fine! I can't imagine being a father, I bet it'll be wonderful!" The golden Tom continued to go on, and Dusk couldn't help but purr at the other male. He was so young, but so full with energy and optimism; he couldn't imagine a cat like Sun having any worries.

All of a sudden, a new voice spoke up in the conversation, and Dusk recognized it as Eagle. "Being a father is wonderful. I have three amazing kits, and an even more fantastic mate," the tom said, a homely tone to their conversation. It was almost as if their lives were normal when they had conversations like this. "You'll want to spend all your time with them before long," the male laughed, nuzzling his mate as he watched the kits play with Sun.

Before long, Sage had come to collect Dusk, telling him that the birthing was a success and he was the father to three healthy kits. Dusk had to be brimming with pride...and guilt. Dusk entered the den, a warm feeling in his chest as he looked at Light, who was suckling three tiny bundles of fur. The she-cat looked up to him, happy and very exhausted. "As the father, I'm guessing you want to know their names," she said softly.

Dusk nodded, a slight hum in his voice as he responded, "I would," he said, laying down in front of his mate as he watched the wonderful sight before him. It was the best feeling in the world, it's like nothing you've ever felt before. It's more than pride, and in reality, it's even better than happiness itself.

"Their names are Scorch, Lucky, and Storm," she said, nuzzling her mate softly.

That's when Dusk knew he had ruined their lives.

Heyyyyy guys! How'd you like the chapter? I made it extra long to make up for the lack of the chapter last week. Turns out, our finals were cancelled so, none of that! I am proud to keep this story going, so keep watching for updates!

Peace out! -Sunny