A Misty Flame part 21

The RiverClan patrol led the half-drowned ThunderClan cats back to their camp. Mistyfoot's heart ached as she padded through the familiar reeds and smelled the familiar scents. She let out a sigh. This isn't home. Home was just destroyed.

She walked beside Bluestar, letting the exhausted leader lean against her. Stonefur walked on her other side, his eyes wide with concern fir his sister. Her mother seemed entirely defeated by the destruction. Her head was bowed and her tail dragged against the ground. Mistyfoot felt a pang of concern for the frail she-cat.

They soon reached the island where RiverClan made their camp. Crookedstar waited at the entrance, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Leopardfur came to stand before him and explained, "They were fleeing the fire."

Crookedstar asked quickly, "Is RiverClan safe?"

Leopardfur nodded. "The fire won't cross the river. Especially now the wind has changed course."

Mistyfoot felt her brother shift beside her. "I'm sorry about your territory." He said quietly. "Other then thatvelder there, did all of your Clanmates make it?"

Mistyfoot shook her head sadly. "Halftail and Yellowfang got trapped back at camp. We don't know what happened to them. Patchpelt died from too much smoke, and the fire caught Mousefur after she sprained her paw. She was carrying Willowpelt's kit; we're not sure what happened to him." Darkstripe, who was sitting nearby, glared at Mistyfoot as she spoke to her brother, but she didn't care. This was Stonefur, her brother; she trusted him.

On her other side, Bluestar rasped, "The forest is gone, and so are our Clanmates. Spottedleaf told me that fire would save the Clan, but she was wrong."

Mistyfoot gave her frail mother a quick lick between the ears. "Don't worry." She said in a soothing voice. "The forest will grow back in time."

Bluestar just shook her head, her eyes glazing over with pain.

The next day, Fireheart was padding beside Graystripe through the desolated and blackened forest. His heart ached as he looked at the dark ruins of the forest. His home was destroyed. He had come back to see if he could find Yellowfang and the others, but it was a distant and faint hope outweighed by grief and despair.

Graystripe was the first to break the silence. "How are things going with Mistyfoot?" He asked with forced cheeriness.

Fireheart's heart warmed at the thought of his brave mate. "She's doing fine. Our kits are due in a moon."

Graystripe let out a purr of pleasure. "That's great."

Suddenly, Fireheart froze, his ears pricked. "Listen!" He could hear a faint mewling coming from a rock several paces away. Fireheart rushed over to see that there was a small opening beneath the rock. A small black head poked out from underneath. "Fireheart?"

Fireheart felt relief wash over him. "Sootkit! Thank StarClan!"

The small black kit wriggled out from under the rock, his pelt fluffed out in terror. "Is the fire gone?" He asked in a small voice.

Fireheart nodded, forcing his voice to sound cheerful. "Yes, it's gone. Your mother's been worried about you."

Sootkit looked up at them with wide, frightened eyes. "Mouefur tripped. She told me to keep going, but I got scared, so I hid." He scooted over to lean against Fireheart's leg, trembling.

Fireheart leaned down and began to clean the soot off the kit's soft black fur. "You did the right thing. Willowpelt will be very proud of you." He felt a shaky purr rumbling in the kit's chest, and joy swelled up in his heart. Sootkit had survived; maybe the others had too.

They soon started off towards the camp again, Sootkit dangling feebly from Graystripe's jaws. Fireheart led them into the camp, instantly frozen in horror. The camp was completely destroyed. The dens had been burned away to nothing, and black scars of ash covered the camp. Fireheart gulped, forcing himself not to turn and run from the horrifying sight.

Graystripe set Sootkit down and offered gentley, "I can go look for them while you stay with Sootkit."

Despite his fear, Fireheart shook his head. "I'll go." He replied firmly, trying to hide his growing fear. What if Yellowfang was dead when he found her?

He padded down the ravine into the camp, his fur fluffed up. "Yellowfang? He called out cautiously. A weak mewl answered from somewhere in the medicine den. Hope rose in his chest. He padded into the den, hoping beyond hope that Yellowfang would be alright.

Halftail's dead body was strewn on the floor of the cave. Yellowfang was there too, alive but only just. Fireheart tried to tell her to rest, but she ignored him, telling him to listen to her. "You're a brave warrior, Fireheart." Her orange eyes stared fiercly into his. "I could not be prouder of you if you were my own son. And StarClan knows how many times I have wished that you were, instead of-" She drew in a hoarse, grating breath, pain filling her eyes. "-Brokentail."

Fireheart leaned forward and licked her eyes, desperatly trying to give comfort to the dying queen. Yellowfang continued painfully, "I killed him. I poisoned him. I wanted him to die."

Fireheart's heart broke as he listened to the she-cat's confession. He already knew this; he had watched in secret as Yellowfang had killed her cold-hearted son to save ThunderClan. He mewed gentley to the she-cat, "Hush. Save your strength. Let me fetch you some water."

Yellowfang snapped a retort at him, forcing him once more into silence. The dying medicine cat rasped painfully, "I wish you'd been my son, but I could not have borne a cat like you. StarClan gave me Brokentail to teach me a lesson." Fireheart opened his mouth to protest, but Yellowfang cut him off with a fiercle glare. "Promise me, Fireheart. Promise me you will be a better parent than I was. Your kits deserve better than what Brokentail had."

Fireheart's heart wrenched at her pleading tone. "I promise." He whispered."

Yellowfang relaxed, her eyes closing. "Thank you." She murmered. The flame-colored tom bent his head and began licking her fur frantically, as if trying to rouse some life in the near-dead queen. A few moments passed before Yellowfang spoke again. "Fireheart."

The deputy paused hopefully. "Yes?"

Yellowfang rasped, "Thank you for bringing me to ThunderClan. Tell Bluestar I have always been grateful for the home she gave me. This is a good place to die. I only regret that I will miss watching you become what StarClan has destined you to be. May you and Mistyfoot have more luck in this life than I." Her voice faded away to nothing, and her painful, ragged breaths ended. The medicine cat was dead.

At RiverClan's camp, Mistyfoot stood beside a silent Bluestar, quietly watching Graystripe and Fireheart depart. The ThunderClan leader seemed entirely defeated by the destruction of her home. Her head was bowed, her tail lay limp against the ground, and her eyes seemed dull and unseeing.

Mistyfoot looked down at her mother, concerned for the elderly she-cat. StarClan, help her through this, she prayed fervently. Suddenly, she had an idea. She leaned down and mewed quietly to her mother, "Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

The elderly leader didn't respond, but obediantly stood as her daughter nudged her to her paws. She followed Mistyfoot without a word, her tail dragging limply behind her and her head still bowed dejectedly.

Mistyfoot led her to the apprentices' den and stuck her head inside. Four young cats lay asleep, their gentle snores filling the air. Mistyfoot felt a purr rumbling inside her at the sight of them. She called out softly, "Graypaw? Dawnpaw? Swallowpaw? Reedpaw?"

The four young cats lifted their heads, their eyes widening at the sight of the cat before them. Dawnpaw was the first to speak. She got slowly to her paws and took a shaky step towards Mistyfoot. "Mother?" She croaked, hope and pain shining in her eyes.

Mistyfoot nodded, purring loudly now. "Yes, it's me."

Dawnpaw tottered unsteadily towards Mistyfoot, as though dazed by the sight of her. She stopped in front of her mother, distrust in her eyes. "You left us." She accused quietly.

Mistyfoot nodded. "I'm sorry. But my heart belongs to ThunderClan now. That doesn't mean I can't still love you and be your mother." Thinking of Bluestar, she added, "Even Clan boundaries can't change that."

Dawnpaw hesitates, then came up to her mother, rubbing her muzzle against Mistyfoot's cheek, a weak purr beginning to grow stronger from within her. After a moment's hesitation, Reedpaw approached his mother as well, followed by Swallowpaw and Graypaw. Soon, Mistyfoot was being embraced by all four of her children.

After a few moments, Mistyfoot pulled back. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet. I'll introduce you outside the camp. I'll go talk to Crookedstar, then we can go. Okay?" The four apprentices nodded.

Mistyfoot exited the den, briefly telling Bluestar to wait by the camp entrance for her. The former RiverClan queen padded confidently towards her leader, who sat alone near his den. She stopped before him and spoke quietly. "Bluestar and I want to go hunting, if that's alright. We were hoping we could take my kits with me." She spoke the words my kits firmly, leaving no doubt that she did not intend to let any Clan laws to keep her kits from her.

Crookedstar looked surprised for a moment, then confusion faded to shrewd understanding. "You can go." He told her formally, although his eyes held warmth for his niece. Mistyfoot blinked gratefully at him, then turned and walked away.

She led her mother and her kits deep into RiverClan territory, not wanting any cat to overhear what she was going to say. Finally, she stopped beside the river, where the chattering of the rushing water would make any eavesdropper's job difficult.

Mistyfoot turned to her kits. "You know how Graypool is my and Stonefur's mother, right?" She asked. Bluestar didn't appear to be listening to any of what was being said. She was sitting with her head bowed and her tail wrapped around her paws.

The four young cats nodded. Mistyfoot took a deep breath, and plunged into the story of Bluestar's losses and sacrifices, of how she had given up her kits to protect her Clan. Her kits listened with wide eyes, excitement and confusion flashing in their eyes. Mistyfoot ended the story with, "My real mother is here now. Young ones, this is my mother, Bluestar. Bluestar, these are your grandkits."

These words finally seemed to rouse the tired leader. "My grandkits?" She asked in a low murmered. Mistyfoot nodded encouragingly. Bluestar got to her paws and began to slowly circle the kits, inspecting them as though from a distance. She looked at Dawnpaw's short, very pale gray coat and bright blue eyes, and at Graypaw's pale gray tabby coat and calm blue eyes. "They look like you, Mistyfoot." The leader murmured softly.

She then looked at Reedpaw's lean, leggy build, black pelt, and dark blue eyes. "You look like your father." She said in a slightly stronger voice. She turned back to Mistyfoot and asked, "Their father was Whiteclaw, right?" Mistyfoot nodded, encouraged by her mother's interest in the apprentices.

Bluestar's gaze lingered on Swallowpaw's thick, dark brown tabby pelt and lead-green eyes. Bluestar's eyes widened slightly, her voice faltering as she breathed, "You... you look just like Oakheart."

The apprentices tolerated the inspections, their curious gazes trained on Bluestar the whole time. The leader finally stopped circling them, her gaze clearing significantly. "Hello little ones." She said warmly. "I'm glad to meet you."

The four apprentices exchanged glances, bewildered by her behaviour. One by one, they went forward to cautiously greet their grandmother. Bluestar began to purr, quietly at first, but steadily louder as she began to speak with her grandkits for the first time.

Mistyfoot watched them converse with a proud smile. She knew that later she would have answer her kits' questions about why she had to leave again. She knew that later she would have to remind her kits that they could never tell anyone the truth about her mother. But for now, she simply enjoyed the sight of her family.