A New Horizon Book 3: A Frozen Heart {COMPLETED}

Chapter 8

Falconpaw dragged his paws through the thick snow, grumbling as the snow clung to his pelt. He despised the snow, it made hunting hard and stuck to his pelt. He was constantly shivering and his paws burned. With stinging ear tips, Falconpaw trudged through the snow beside Cherryleaf.

He glanced at his mentor who had a look of intense concern on her face. Throughout the entire journey, Cherryleaf had a look of fear in her eyes and Falconpaw couldn't place what it was. He was concerned for Cherryleaf, but he couldn't get her to tell him what was going on. They had been travelling for several days now, and he just wanted to stop. He missed his home and he missed sleeping in the apprentice den. Most nights the Clans slept in tiny dens without much moss. He longed for a den with only his fellow apprentices.

The Clans hadn't been in a forest in over two days and Falconpaw felt exposed. The mountains were getting closer, but still seemed so far away. The Clans followed a large gorge that had been going on for a long time. It was deep and every cat was warned to stay away from it for a risk of falling.

As they continued walking through the snow, Cherryleaf caught his attention even more. He narrowed his eyes at his mentor and finally decided to confront her. He weaved through the group of cats until he reached Cherryleaf.

"Hello, Falconpaw." She greeted kindly, but avoiding his gaze. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Falconpaw replied. "How are you?"

Cherryleaf became visibly nervous. "I'm fine as well."
"You sure?" Falconpaw questioned. "You seem worried about something, and more worried than the rest of us. You looked scared."

Cherryleaf swallowed, flattened her ears every so slightly. "Don't worry about it, Falconpaw."

"So something is wrong." Falconpaw snorted. "I'm going to worry because you're my mentor and my Clanmate. If something is wrong I want to know."

Cherryleaf finally looked at him, flattened her ears and letting out a sad sigh. "Very well, I guess I should tell you. The only other cats who know are Pebblestep, your mother and Cloudspots, so don't go spreading it around, okay?" Falconpaw agreed, relieved to finally learn what was wrong with her. She lowered her voice and continued. "I'm expecting Cloudspots's kits."

Falconpaw's jaw dropped, that was the last news he had been expecting. "You're expecting kits? When did you find out about this?"

"Before we left." Cherryleaf mewed sadly. "I'm about a moon along." Falconpaw looked at Cherryleaf closer, she did seem bigger than usual.

"Wow." Falconpaw said, exasperated and unable to think of any other words to say. He sighed. "So, you'll be having them in about a moon."

Cherryleaf nodded slowly. "Yes." She said quietly, her voice pained. "I'm so scared for them, what if they're born while we're still travelling? How will they be strong enough to travel?"

"Maybe you should talk to Mosswind of MoonClan, she's expecting kits too right?" Falconpaw looked for the tortoiseshell she-cat. "Maybe you could be friends or something."

"Maybe." Cherryleaf seemed unsure, she also didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it anymore.

"I know I'm just an apprentice but," Falconpaw said awkwardly. "If you need any help, just let me know. I'll make to sure work extra hard for you and your kits when they're born."

Cherryleaf let out a soft purr. "Thank you, Falconpaw. That means a lot." Falconpaw and Cherryleaf continued walking until Cherryleaf went to go talk to Briarrose. Not far from him, Breezepaw, Sorrelpaw and Fogpaw had started playing together.