A warm breeze was blowing, promising the warmer weather of green-leaf and fun times to come. In a small meadow, tall grass stained golden by the morning sun was gently tugged by the wind, parting like water as a lone figure made it's way through the crowd. Vineripple reached her den, where the grass grew shorter and a tree lay across the ground, propped up on one end by a small, sharp incline in the ground. Outside sat two young toms, now more than six moons old and looking so much different than they had as kits as they spotted their mother. The tabby she-cat purred, her eyes warm with love. They reminded her so much of their father. Once she reached the den, she dropped the fat rabbit she had caught. Hunting was very good here. "Hey, mom." Crush purred. The young, gray tom's shoulders had broadened and he had a sturdy, strong build. He had large paws-larger than Thornstar's-but the same spiky fur. His eyes were rounder like Thornstar's, and the same shade of forest green that reminded her of him every time she saw their son. Crush was taller than his brother. "I almost expected you two to still be asleep." Vineripple smirked teasingly, love shining clearly in her eyes as she playfully flicked her tail over his ears, making the large tom duck his head with a grin. "Mom," Fox piped up, butting into the conversation. Vineripple turned to her smaller, more lithe son. "Can you teach me some more battle moves?" His green eyes shone brightly whenever he thought about the fierce viciousness of battle, and Vineripple couldn't help but smile at his eagerness. She snorted, turning away and beginning to tear apart the rabbit for them to eat. "Honey, you're already a better fighter than I was when I was your age." She saw her russet-furred son frown out of the corner of her eye. "I want to be able to defeat Nightshade!" Now Vineripple paused, smiling softly to herself at her son's words. On her other side, Crush looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "Trust me, Fox." She mewed, lifting her head up to smile lovingly at him. "When the time comes, you'll kill her for me." Fox smiled and she leaned forward, licking her head. "And I'll be so, so proud of my little boy." Fox purred, nuzzling his mother with his eyes shining with happiness and love as he began to eat. Crush soon joined him. Vineripple knew that Crush was less comfortable talking about these things, but that was okay. He was softer. More gentle. She might have to toughen him up a bit, but that would come in time. "Mom?" Crush pulled away from the food and Vineripple noticed a somewhat wistful, longing expression on his face. Vineripple lifted her head to look at him, her ears perked. "What-.. What was ThunderClan like?" Vineripple smiled. Her kits asked her this a lot, and she tried to tell them as much as she could. "It was wonderful, Crush. The forest was green and prey was bountiful. The cats were kind and followed the Warrior Code like they were supposed to..." Her eyes darkened. "Until they didn't. Nightshade was a kittypet, but was still accepted into the Clan. This in itself wouldn't have been breaking the warrior code, but only when she continued to meet with her kittypet family, it became a problem. And when the Clan figured out about it, nothing was done. She was allowed to keep seeing her kittypets, even when it's strictly against the code. And then she killed a leader who wasn't attacking her. And ThunderClan was about to kill me when I was being held /prisoner/." Crush wrinkled his nose, and she knew that even he hated ThunderClan for this. "When I was completely defenseless, and none of their cats had been killed. ...Yet. I think the cat that really tainted the Clan was Nightshade. She broke the code three times, and was never punished. The Clan soon followed suit, and when I tried to fix it, they refused to listen. Your father refused to listen to me time and time again, instead trusting Nightshade's word over mine." Fox's eyes were dark with fury, his long claws digging deep into the ground, though she doubted he even noticed. "He loved us both, and to this day I still love him, no matter how many times he broke me heart. He was a good cat, but was too afraid that I didn't truly love him. He listened to Nightshade too much, and was too protective of her, even when it was her who hurt me. It was his own fault for losing me, but I could never stop loving him.” Fox spit at the ground, fur bristling. "I /hate/ Nightshade! I promise you, mom. I /promise/ I'll kill her for you." His eyes darkened and a coy smile played on his face as he added, "Painfully."
Vineripple smiled, licking his forehead as beside him, Crush almost looked sick. "I know you will, sweetie. Nightshade is a cruel, vicious killer, who covers it up with fake mercy and quiet words. She only cares about herself and manipulated those around her, playing the victim in every situation she’s apart of. She doesn’t see others as actual living beings, she only sees them as /things/ she can use to her advantage. She’s evil, manipulative, and selfish, and I know that you’ll be able to do the things I was never able to. I know you’ll put an end to her.” Fox smiled, nuzzling into her mother’s fur. Meanwhile Crush looked away, his ears flat. Nightshade didn’t seem /bad/ and he knew his father loved her... Sure she had probably done bad things like Vineripple said, but killing her? He fought back the bile rising in his throat as Fox spoke. “I will, mama. I promise.” Vineripple pulled them close with a smile, noticing Crush’s sick expression and licking his face until he smiled, forgetting about his concerns. “I love you both so, so much.” They both smiled and pressed into her fur, purring. “We love you too, mama.” —————————— In ThunderClan, things were peaceful. The Clan had moved on. Some had almost forgotten Vineripple’s plague, even. But some had not. Some had definitely not. And one of those cats was Heronfeather. The old Medicine Cat padded to the medicine den, his breath short and labored, and eyes slitted. He had just gotten back from the Nursery, checking on Honeypool and Nightshade, who were both expecting. Suddenly a brand new apprentice ran in front of him, her brown and white pelt soft in the sun. “Hi, Heronfeather!” Poisonpaw purred, sending a claw through his heart. Time and time again the small she-cat tried to talk to him, knowing how close he and her mother had been. She desperately wanted to know more about Vineripple, but time and time again, Heronfeather could never tell her. She reminded him too much of her. She reminded the whole Clan of her mother. And at least for Heronfeather, it hurt. It hurt too much. So, the old Medicine Cat simply turner and limped past her without a word, leaving the she-cat to sadly stare after him, her ears flat and tail lying on the ground. As he entered the Medicine Den, Petalheart looked up from where she sat sorting herbs. His tired, yellow eyes raking over her work as she held her breath, waiting for either a sharp word or a simple nod of approval. He have the latter before turning away and ever so slowly making his way to his nest, his breath rattling in his lungs. Petalheart jumped to her paws with a smile, rushing to his side and helping him settle down into his mossy bed. Heronfeather grumbled something along the lines of “I don’t need you young cats to help me. I’ve made it this long, I can last a little longer.” But nevertheless, he didn’t push her away. His muscles relaxed and he let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes. “Dad!” His eyes angrily flashed open at the loud yell, his heart catching when he saw Poisonpaw run up to Thornstar from where he was leaving the Nursery. He purred, and Heronfeather was able to see the wistful, sad look in his eyes as he nuzzled his daughter, eyes full of love. “Hey, Poisonpaw.” “How’s Nightshade?” Poisonpaw asked, her amber eyes bright. She had her mothers eyes. Thornstar must’ve thought this as well, because Heronfeather could’ve sworn he saw Thornstar’s eyes mist over slightly. The gray tom then closed his eyes and smiled, lifting his head to the sky as a wind tugged at his fur. “She’s great, Poisonpaw. We’re all great.” Thornstar was another cat who remembered. He was happy with Nightshade-joyful, even. He was by her side every night, nuzzling her and keeping her by his side. She was, truly, the perfect cat for him. But, every once in a while, when the sun was setting and when the wind was just right, he could almost hear another she-cat’s laugh in the breeze, dancing joyfully around his heart and lifting his spirit. Sometimes the sky was the fiery, amber shade that matched her wild and untamable spirit so perfectly. It reminded him of an older time. When he was younger and less experienced. When had loved a cat, and she had loved him. But, that didn’t always mean it would work out. He would always carry a part of her with him, in everything that he did. And now, he had his daughter to remember her by. Thornstar smiled and licked Poisonpaw’s head, resting his tail over her shoulders. “Why don’t you show me those hunting moves you’ve been practicing?” He asked, leading her out of camp. Next Part: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/416516313/
