Cloudstar's Journey/Chapter 10

==Chapter description==
:Birdflight is giving birth to her kits, wailing at the pain she is feeling. Cloudstar crouches over her, urging her to keep pushing as the first kit is nearly ready to be born. The she-cat fixes him with a furious glare, and hisses at him not to make it sound so easy, as he has no idea what it is like. Fawnstep mews that it is the same for all toms and Cloudstar is doing the best he can. The SkyClan leader grimaces as Birdflight sinks her claws into his front leg, but reminds himself that this is nothing compared to what the queen is feeling. Birdflight's belly spasms as the first kit slips out onto the moss, and immediately the medicine cat nips the birth sac. It starts to wiggle around as Birdflight leans over to start licking it. Fawnstep announces that the first kit is a tom as she nudges him closer to his mother's belly, and Cloudstar gazes down at him in delight, noting his spiky dark brown fur.
:Birdflight gasps that another kit is coming and Cloudstar meows that that is good because they wanted four, which causes Birdflight to glare at him. With one last heave, the second one is born, and it raises its head and wails before easily finding its way to Birdflight's belly. After announcing that the second kit is a she-cat, Fawnstep runs her paw along the queen determines that there were only two to be delivered. The medicine cat tells her to get some sleep while she brings her some soaked moss. She slips out of the nursery, and Cloudstar hears Hazelwing ask her about the kits. He bends down and rubs his muzzle over Birdflight's ears, murmuring that he is very proud of her for bringing them a son and a daughter, and she apologizes for not giving him two more. Cloudstar tells her not to be mouse-brained because these kits are perfect, and will surely keep them busy for moons to come, before studying them and asking his mate what they should call them.
:Birdflight raises her head to look at the newborns, and suggests Gorsekit for the tom, as his fur is spiky like a tuft of gorse. Cloudstar mews that it's perfect as he runs his paw over the she-kit, pointing out the fact that her fur is turning dappled as it dried, and says she could be Spottedkit. Birdflight murmurs their names as she drifts off and Cloudstar pads out of the den. He thinks about how this should be the most joyous day of his life, but not even the birth of his kits can stop him thinking about the Twolegs destroying the forest. The many trees that had formerly circled around them have been cut down, the Twolegs leaving their yellow monsters behind. As he pushes through the brambles and walks into the empty and churned-up place where tall birch trees used to stand, he asks StarClan if they can see his new kits, and if they will watch over them or abandon them like they have the rest of the Clan.
:He suddenly feels very tired, having spent the whole day hunting in the reeds by the river, the only place where they can hope to find prey now. Cloudstar slips into sleep, and wakes in StarClan's hunting grounds. The SkyClan yowls that they are all cowards for abandoning his Clan, challenging the starry cats to come face him. The tom abruptly awakens, and scrambles out of the way of a yellow monster coming towards him. Starlingfeather meows to Cloudstar that their ancestors probably don't even recognize their old home, but the leader refuses to accept this. He tells the elder that he will ask the other Clans for more territory, as Duskstar once gave some away. 
:At the Gathering, Cloudstar brings every member of his Clan. The other leaders are skeptical and surprised at this, but he announces that he has done this because they cannot live in their territory any longer. Cloudstar tells them that it has been destroyed, and asks the other Clans for help. One by one, each leader refuses, until the SkyClan leader questions what he's supposed to do. Redstar meows that they should leave, and the other cats present agree, snarling that SkyClan doesn't belong here and they should be driven out. Cloudstar hisses a parting shot, saying that his Clan has seen what the warrior code is worth. He jumps down from the Great Rock, where Birdflight tells him that their kits are too small to make a long journey. Kestrelwing offers them a place in ThunderClan, so with a very heavy heart, Cloudstar bids goodbye to his mate. The tom leads his Clan out of the hollow, and as they leave, Redstar bids that StarClan go with them. Cloudstar hisses that the starry cats may go where they please, because his Clan will never have anything more to do with them. The SkyClan leader then pads out of the hollow, silently promising to himself that someday he'll find his family again.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Trivia==
*This chapter aligns with the prologue of Firestar's Quest.
==Notes and references==
de:Wolkensterns Reise/Kapitel 10fr:Le Voyage d'Étoile de Givre/Chapitre 10
Category:Cloudstar's Journey
Category:Novellas
Category:Chapter subpages