Honeyleaf died after a few moons as an elder. She hadn't wanted that role, but Stonestar had forced it upon her. Hawkfeather had offered to let her help him, but she'd always replied, if Stonestar valued his medicine cats, he wouldn't have dismissed her. And what answer could Hawkfeather give to that?
Meanwhile, Frostwind and Skyfeather had finally agreed that they were ready to have kits. Frostwind wasn't sure if she would be a good mother, but Skyfeather had begged and pleaded with her, and Frostwind wanted his happiness more than anything. She agreed, albeit reluctantly, and they both awaited the day when she would know if she had kits.
The only problem was Stonestar didn't want her to have kits. Since a few moons had passed, Hickorypaw would be fully trained by the time Frostwind needed to move into the nursery. Hickorypaw had shaped up well with Frostwind's training. Surprisingly, her brothers had done so too, even under Cloudbeam and Windecho.
Stonestar came up to Frostwind for the umpteenth time, his irritation showing. "Look, no kits for you. I need a stable bodyguard, and I don't need a mother. I already have one, and I want you focused on your duties."
"What about what I want?" Frostwind asked softly. "What if kits are what I desire?"
"I know you don't want them," Stonestar said huffily. "It's Skyfeather, isn't it? Maybe he should go."
Frostwind stared, affronted. By now, she knew that go meant die. He was going to kill Skyfeather because of their decision to have kits? Well, the answer was no, and she spat the word in his face, leaving him groping at his face as she stormed away.
"Hey, Frostwind! I'm done with the elders' ticks, and changing their moss, and bringing them prey!" Hickorypaw bounded over gleefully. Despite their starting anger at each other, Frostwind and Hickorypaw had grown quite close. Frostwind never forgot that Hickorypaw was Stonestar's niece, though, and it was hard to be extremely kind to her when she had a psychopath for an uncle.
"Good job! Did I promise you something?" Frostwind asked casually when Hickorypaw gave her a sly grin.
"Yeah, you did. Hunting, remember?"
Right. Why had she forgotten? She'd been promising to take Hickorypaw hunting all week, but it had been raining and raining. It was autumn and slippery drenched leaves on the ground didn't help with hunting. Hickorypaw had slipped on several occasions. Her brother Smallpaw had sprained his ankle recently. His warrior ceremony was pushed back, and the tom was anything but happy. Still, he never argued, and stayed in the medicine den under Hawkfeather's watchful eye without complaint. The Clan was still morning Honeyleaf, and Frostwind had to admit, she missed the grumpy golden she-cat. She could be annoying at times, but she had her heart in the right place. At least now nobody was pressuring Cloudbeam to become a medicine cat; he had even become jittery around Hawkfeather, who had never once mentioned the idea.
Windecho and Cloudbeam had been growing apart for a while. Cloudbeam mainly locked onto Twilightmoon nowadays, and Frostwind was glad for him. Being away from Windecho's negative influence might do her kindhearted brother some good. She knew why he'd mated with Twilightmoon; Cloudbeam was a softie at heart and he needed true love in his life, didn't he. And of course that true love had to be a she-cat about twice his age. But Frostwind hadn't meowed a word, since that might offend him. She was on thin ice already.
But today was the apprentice ceremony for Cloudbeam's kits after a while of waiting. "I'll take you hunting later, Hicky," Frostwind meowed casually. Her apprentice glared daggers at her.
"What did I tell you about Hicky?" the brown she-cat grumbled unhappily.
"I wasn't paying attention, did you tell me anything?" Frostwind said indifferently. Hickorypaw pouted but she had long given up on telling Frostwind to stop calling her names.
"Redkit, Talonkit and Flamekit, you have reached the age to be apprenticed," Stonestar announced levelly. The three kits lined up excitedly and their parents looked on, their kits' excitement reflected in their eyes. "From this moment onwards, your names will be Redpaw, Talonpaw and Flamepaw.
"Redpaw has requested to walk the path of a medicine cat, thus her mentor will be Honey- er, Hawkfeather. Hawkfeather, you received excellent training from Honeyleaf, and I expect you to pass those skills down to Redpaw."
Hawkfeather was smiling warmly at Redpaw but the glare he shot at Stonestar was anything but friendly. Frostwind hid her devilish grin and turned to Skyfeather.
"Who will get Talonpaw and Flamepaw, do you think?" she asked lightly. Her mate's eyes twinkled.
"I don't know, you'll see," he said confidently, but he was moving towards Stonestar and Talonpaw and Frostwind realized he had been selected as a mentor! She was happy for him, of course. Had he had an apprentice before, other than her, the badly behaved chump? She suppressed a laugh.
"Talonpaw, your mentor will be Skyfeather. Skyfeather, um, one of our warriors trained you well and I trust you will pass down all those skills to Talonpaw," Stonestar said uncertainly. Frostwind almost burst out laughing. Stonestar and Skyfeather were cousins, and he couldn't even remember Skyfeather's mentor's name? Not that Frostwind knew, but that wasn't a very important thing anyway.
Skyfeather and Talonpaw touched noses. Frostwind beamed at her mate but he didn't see her past his new apprentice's glossy gray fur. Talonpaw pranced in a circle, happy for himself.
"Lastly Flamepaw, your mentor will be myself," Stonestar announced.
Cloudbeam and Twilightmoon instantly looked at each other, unhappy with this choice. "Er, Stonestar, could you, um, choose another mentor?" Cloudbeam spoke up. "We think you'd be a bit busy with Clan matters and won't pay much attention to Flamepaw, he's a great cat and he needs a real mentor."
"I am a real mentor. Sit down, Cloudbeam. And you, Twilightmoon, stop huffing. And Shimmerpelt, my own sister, why are you doing that?" Stonestar said, annoyed.
Everyone turned to look at Shimmerpelt. On the ground, she had written:
HERE LIES FLAMEPAW, A BRAVE APPRENTICE WHO WAS UNFORTUNATELY APPRENTICED TO STONESTAR AND DIDN'T SURVIVE HIS FIRST DAY.
"What?" Shimmerpelt asked. "I thought it might come in handy. Oh, wait, hang on."
ALSO, EVERYONE OBJECTED TO THIS ARRANGEMENT, BUT STONESTAR WAS ADAMANT, AND THUS, FLAMEPAW WAS SADLY KILLED DURING AN ACCIDENT.
Even Flamepaw burst out laughing and it was about his death. Stonestar glared all around.
"Frostwind, back me," he snapped.
"Continue," Frostwind gestured to Shimmerpelt.
THE POOR CHILD DIED A HERO, FIGHTING EVIL AND TRYING TO FREE HIS CLAN FROM A CAT SENT FROM THE DARK FOREST'S REIGN. FLAMEPAW WILL BE RESPECTED BY ALL. BUT LET IT BE KNOWN THAT WE ATTEMPTED TO HAVE HIS MENTOR CHANGED AND FAILED.
"Done," Shimmerpelt said proudly. "Your grave, Flamepaw."
"Um. What?" Flamepaw said.
The rest of the Clan burst out laughing, only leaving out Stonestar. "That isn't funny and you don't find it funny, do you, Flamepaw?" Stonestar asked. Flamepaw shook his head and the Clan leader glared triumphantly around at his Clan. "See! It isn't funny!"
"OH, WAIT, IT'S A JOKE," Flamepaw said, realization dawning in his eyes.
Then he burst out laughing too.
Stonestar's eyes flashed with impatience and Frostwind could hardly contain her giggles. She'd only done so because she'd wanted to keep on his good books, but then wondered what was the point and let out a loud squeal of laughter. Nobody looked at her because everyone was laughing their heads off too.
"I. WANT. SILENCE! FROM. YOU. OR. ELSE. I. WILL. EXILE. ALL OF YOU!" Stonestar bellowed.
The Clan became an eerie quiet, and some cats turned ghostly pale. "Can he really do that?" Duskcloud asked. "Exile a whole bunch of us?"
"I'M CLAN LEADER AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT! ARE THERE ANY MORE ARGUMENTS ABOUT FLAMEPAW'S MENTOR?" Stonestar shouted.
Twilightmoon stepped forward. "Yes, there are. I object. Flamepaw doesn't feel safe with you, and if you feel any offense take it. He won't be able to train properly under you so he won't be a full warrior and all of that nonsense! I think it's safer if he gets another mentor."
"OOOOHHHHH, painful insult!" said Hairypaw with glee.
All eyes turned to him and the hairy apprentice flushed, but he didn't apologize. His Clan leader's eyes were boring into him but he seemed adamant. "What, I made a comment, is talking wrong now?" Hairypaw asked rebelliously. Stonestar's eyes flashed.
"No hunting for you for a week, and you'll only eat one meal a day," Stonestar declared.
"WHAT?" Shimmerpelt and Duskcloud rushed protectively to Hairypaw. "He'll starve!"
"He'll last a week. Winter is worse. Yes, that's his punishment."
"But it's autumn! If he doesn't get fat now, he'll never survive winter!" Shimmerpelt protested indignantly. "Stonestar, I've tried to be quiet to you but this is going too far!"
"You're tried to be quiet to me? Then what about the grave?"
"It was a joke okay!" Shimmerpelt said evasively. "But starving my son is no joke!" She glared daggers at him with her eyes icy cold. "You're no brother of mine. My brother died moons ago."
"I'm still alive," Stonestar croaked.
"No," Shimmerpelt said, "I know you're alive, but my brother was Shadowflight, Frostwind's father."
Frostwind frowned. She'd completely forgotten that she and Shimmerpelt were kin through Shadowflight. She grinned sheepishly when Stonestar's eyes flashed over her, but for once, the leader had nothing mean to say, and he stared blankly at his sister. Frostwind smiled faintly. She remembered this exact situation, when she and her brothers had had their falling-out. They hadn't made amends since, but they still had each other.
The Clan dispersed to do various other things. Frostwind frowned, realizing that Skyfeather had gone to lead a hunting patrol without her. She'd hoped to bring Hickorypaw on a patrol with the most amazing tom in the world, but she also didn't want Hickorypaw starting a love life.
"So, we're hunting, right?" Hickorypaw prodded Frostwind.
Frostwind blinked her eyes open. Had she been daydreaming or what? "Oh, right, sorry," she said drowsily. "Right, let's head off now."
She was overcome with fatigue, but she made it through the entire hunt, even making some spectacular catches, thanks to her amazing stamina reserves. She'd had a lot of time to practice and build up her stamina; if stamina was water, she had a well.
"Hey, are you alright? You seem kind of tired," Hickorypaw meowed, concerned. She was the worrying type, just like her mother, Shimmerpelt. Frostwind smiled faintly.
"No, I'm okay. It's been a long week," Frostwind said, although she knew exactly what was causing the problem. She didn't want to worry Hickorypaw extra, though; her apprentice deserved a good mentor and not an absent one. "Although I daresay you may hear a patter of tiny paws soon."
Hickorypaw frowned in confusion and Frostwind stifled her laughter. Young cats never did seem to understand subtlety, did they, and Frostwind was a young cat herself. Skyfeather wasn't the youngest but he was a youth at heart with his sunny personality.
Hickorypaw never figured out what Frostwind's words meant and Frostwind saw her approach Shimmerpelt later on. What a silly kit. Frostwind thought she'd educated Hickorypaw a little on basic life lessons, but clearly the brown apprentice was a slow learner! She purred in amusement but made her way to the medicine den to be absolutely sure.
Hawkfeather was poring over his herbs but when he looked up, his eyes were bright for the first time since Honeyleaf's death. "Hey, can I help you?" he asked cheerfully, before adding darkly, "Please tell me it isn't another war."
Frostwind laughed. "No, quite the opposite." She felt strangely lighthearted, like she didn't have a care in the world. She hadn't felt this way in a long time, but it was a freeing feeling and she purred blissfully. "I was wondering about something else, actually." She waited for the effect.
Hawkfeather wasn't giving it to her. "Oh, I see what you mean," he said flatly. "You think you're expecting?" Frostwind nodded, just a tiny movement of her head.
"I might be," she clarified. "I'm suddenly more tired and it's odd, really. But it's great too. Am I?"
Hawkfeather sighed in relief and Frostwind gave him a quizzical look. "You're not one of those queens," he sighed appreciatively. "You should have seen either Shimmerpelt or Twilightmoon! They rambled and rambled and didn't let me tell them anything! And there was Dawnfire, too, but she never ended up expecting. Silly dolts. They rambled on about having kits and they never did let me clarify with them."
"Dawnfire was here?" Frostwind asked, interested.
"Yeah, she was. Dunno who she thought she mated with, it certainly isn't any of the toms around here, but you know Dawnfire. She goofs a bit."
Frostwind purred in amusement. Then she recalled something. "Hey, you're Amberfrost's sister, right?"
Hawkfeather stiffened and shot her a glare. "I'm her brother, yes."
Frostwind flushed. "Oops! Sorry, it just slipped out. So, um, how's Amberfrost? I've noticed she and Stonestar have been fighting less lately."
Hawkfeather gave her a weird look, then had a look of dawning realization. "You don't know," he said, and he almost looked disbelieving.
"Know what?"
Hawkfeather looked around. "Come deeper into my den, Frostwind."
She obliged and entered.
"Amberfrost's planning a rebellion against Stonestar."
"Another civil war? Hawkfeather, this is ridiculous."
Hawkfeather glared at her. "I did mark you out as a Stonestar lover."
"Excuse me?" Frostwind flared up. "I do not support Stonestar! But you saw the mess with Sunstar," she added imploringly.
Hawkfeather shook his head. "The plan is set. We strike in four moons." He gave her an odd look. "Your kits will be born by then, by the way."
"Oh!" Frostwind said. Her mouth hung open. "Oh, I... I guess they will, won't they?"
"I just told you so."
"Does Skyfeather know about this plan?" Frostwind asked.
"Amberfrost should have told him on the hunting patrol. Nobody supports Stonestar, so this should be a breeze," Hawkfeather said coolly.
"Don't take it so lightly," Frostwind chided.
"Why? You won't be standing beside him, will you?"
"Haven't I spoke out against him at every single Clan meeting?" Frostwind demanded, feeling irritated.
Hawkfeather nodded. "So you did. So you did."
Word count: 2319
A/N
Did this on my ipad so there's no bolding I'm sorry. Here's your chapter, hope you like it!!