Ivypool's Lament

|Chapter XVII|

Ivypool opened her eyes to see lush hunting grounds. She stood up, recognizing it as StarClan.

"Dovewing is being stubborn I see."

She turned around and saw Bluestar padding towards her. She walked up to the former ThunderClan leader.

"MS is just making it hard for her to trust him," Ivypool meowed.

"MS does that to show Dovewing that he can be trusted," Bluestar told her. "Him taking Rainkit was a trust exercise. He did come home safe, yes?"

She hadn't thought about it like that. Dovewing was just taking things the wrong way, that gave her at least some hope. She opened her mouth to say something, but the dream faded away into nothing but an ordinary dream.

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Ivypool padded towards the Gathering Island, ready with her weekly report. She saw Breezepelt talking to a cat she didn't recognize, then started walking to the Island. Ivypool just turned her gaze back to the Island, thinking about what she was going to say for her report. Breezepelt called to her.

"Hey! Ivypool!"

The dark furred tom ran towards her, his long legs quick and steady.

"What are you gonna say for your report?" He asked, his eyes curious.

She was about to make a rude remark, but stopped herself. Breezepelt was actually being nice to her, something that didn't happen often.

"Just the usual stuff, you know?" She meowed.

Breezepelt looked down for a second, then back at her, "You usually get there early."

"Usually doesn't mean always."

The WindClan tom blinked at her, but didn't say anything. The rest of the walk was silent, and they met Beetlewhisker at the treebridge. Once they had gotten on the Island, they waited for Tigerheart, starting small conversations between themselves. They were interrupted by MS showing up.

"We'll go ahead and begin since Tigerheart decided to be a no-show," MS meowed, his empty eyes looking at them.

Ivypool went first, then Beetlewhisker. By the time it was Breezepelt's turn, Tigerheart showed up.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Tigerheart meowed. "I just lost track of time and-"

"It's fine, sit down," MS ordered, seemingly a bit irritated.

Tigerheart shut his mouth and sat down, flustered. Breezepelt went back to his report.

"Heathertail had three kits," Breezepelt meowed, dipping his head to show that he was finished.

MS nodded and turned to Tigerheart, "Everyone else can go home, I'm going to talk to Tigerheart."

Ivypool shot a glance at the former ShadowClan tom. He looked a little scared, his face showing suprise. She waved her tail goodbye and left the Island, Breezepelt and Beetlewhisker following her. She stopped half-way back to her old territory, remembering Rainkit. She started to run back, trying to make up for lost time. She stopped at the treebridge when Tigerheart came out of the undergrowth on the Island. He looked a little rattled, as if something weird had happened. He crossed the treebridge without a word and starting padding back to his home. Ivypool looked after him for a second before crossing the fallen tree.

MS was sitting in the clearing, his eyes closed. He looked a little tired, as if something was bothering him. She quietly walked over to him.

"MS?" She meowed.

His eyes snapped open, his left one a bluish-green, and his right one nothing but a black void. She stepped back, a little scared. MS shook his head, his eyes going back to normal.

"Sorry, I was just... Thinking." He meowed.

Ivypool didn't say anything in response, she just stood there, unsure of what to say.

"You're back to see Rainkit, right?"

Thank StarClan, he asked my question for me!

She nodded, eager to see her sister's kit. MS teleported her up to his den, where Rainkit was playing with a leaf. He was still wearing his jacket, its blue color standing out against all the green. Rainkit looked up from his leaf, his eyes lighting up at the sight if Ivypool.

"Ivypool!" He squeaked, barreling into her.

She fell over, acting defeated, "Ah! You got me!"

She pushed Rainkit off of her and stood up.

"I missed you!" Rainkit mewed, his eyes hinting loneliness.

Ivypool looked over at MS, "Do you play with him?"

"A little bit, but most of the time I'm looking over the territory," MS answered, his eyes still empty.

She looked back at Rainkit. He needed someone to play with, he seemed bored all by himself.

"Would it be okay if I... Stayed here? So Rainkit has someone to play with?" She asked, a little skeptical about what she was asking.

MS looked a little suprised at first, but he quickly regained his composure.

"That would be fine," he meowed, sitting down. "I suppose he does need someone to play with."

Her eyes filled with triumph. She looked at Rainkit, playfully batting at him. It was like she was already a queen in the nursery, playing with her own kit.

She quietly sighed, wondering if she would ever have kits to call her own.

|I'm so sorry this was so bad I'm mentally punching myself. I was cringing while writing this. Also, thank you sooooo much for 430+ reads! Like seriously! It was at 390 yesterday and I woke up to 432 reads! I was so happy, and I still am. Thank you readers for supporting my story! Read on!|