MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/2/17

### Chapter 17: Finality

The next day after hunting training, Birchpaw thought about Stonepaw and Icepaw while sitting in a relaxation area close to the medicine cats' den. There was a tree there that gave cats shade from hot sunlight, especially when it was green-leaf, and right now, it was almost the end of new-leaf, and after training, he felt hot. It was peaceful there alright, since medicine was usually a peaceful practice. Although they would still have to act quick when treating cats, but that didn't matter to him that much right now, since no cats were very hurt, except for Stonepaw, maybe, since she was too grumpy about everything, but she would most likely heal on her own.

Birchpaw thought that the two older apprentices were acting pretty strange, alright. But he knew it had something to do with his mentor's son, also his maternal cousin, Zebrapaw. *Why do they act like this?* he thought all of a sudden. He wanted to find out the answer to this, so that he could be a good, understanding Clanmate, but he wasn't sure he had an idea, except that they were fighting about Zebrapaw, but that wasn't really enough information for him to come to a good conclusion.

Then he spotted Mountainpaw coming with a mouse. "Hey, Birchpaw, I wanted to talk to you about something. Or some *things."* He winked. His light gray fur brushed the tree and he sat on the very green grass next to the tree.

Birchpaw replied calmly, "Okay, what do you want to talk about? Is it important?" The cats who were sleeping while the awful incident between Stonepaw and Icepaw was happening were told about it, the quarreling apprentices, and Mountainpaw was one of them. Birchpaw wondered if he wanted to question about it.

Mountainpaw shrugged. "Well, I guess it may be? For starters—I want to start the topic light—have you noticed something lately?"

Birchpaw just smiled and said humorously, "I have noticed a ton of things lately, so yep."

Mountainpaw smirked back. "Well, let me be specific," he said and went a little closer to Birchpaw and whispered, "Zebrapaw and Swanpaw have been spending some time together lately!"

Birchpaw blinked in surprise, but then he chuckled. "That was it? I thought it would be more interesting," he replied casually. Mountainpaw shrugged. "Maybe it isn't that juicy to you, but it is to me! Especially since you know what happened yesterday..." He winked again.

Birchpaw blinked again. He remembered Stonepaw and Icepaw's squabble, which quickly evolved into a real fight between two cats.

Mountainpaw shrugged again. "It was really weird, though, since Icepaw is in you-know-what with Zebrapaw. And since he and Swanpaw are spending time together now, more time than it is normal"—he winked again—"what do you think will happen? And why do you think they are spending so much time together?"

Birchpaw shrugged back to him, then replied informally, "If I had to guess, it would be the same reason as Primrosepaw and Quailpaw. They both fell off the fox, remember?"

He noticed Zebrapaw and Swanpaw were within earshot of them and they stopped what they were doing to look at them.

Mountainpaw blinked a few times before saying a little enthusiastically, *"Ohhh!* So that is why! That is still pretty weird though! I had never imagined that two cats could fall in love with each other after being in an accident together! So it is still a very fresh idea for me! *Imagine that!* Like how Primrosepaw and Quailpaw both fell off as kits, don't you think it is weird? It must be destiny or something!"

Zebrapaw and Swanpaw probably blushed now. Birchpaw chuckled again. "If StarClan wills I suppose both pairs can get together. Maybe they planned that to happen, so that they can feel empathy for each other since only they were in that situation. But that probably isn't the weirdest way two cats fell in love. Wisdomheart once told me a story about how a young tom-cat, in the Mountain Tribe days, anyway, protected a family's den from a fox that attacked the Tribe. One of those cats in the den was young apprentice age at the time, and she noticed what happened and saw the tom rescued them. Sometime after, the Mountain Tribes got sorted into Clans, but they were both sorted into the same Clan, MoonClan. The she-cat apprentice was delighted to be in the tom's Clan, and with Moonstar, too, and she fell in love with him. Later on she became a warrior and the tom noticed her and fell in love with her, too. Then they mated and had a kit."

Mountainpaw was very intrigued and overflowing with curiousity. *"Really?!* Who were they?"

Birchpaw smirked and paused in anticipation for the big surprise. "They were your grandparents, Honeyflight and Barktail!" he said enthusiastically. "They were still young in the time of MoonClan's creation, you know."

Mountainpaw, Zebrapaw and Swanpaw were pleasantly surprised by this piece of information.

Mountainpaw exclaimed, "Really?! That is a great twist! And it is interesting, too, since she only fell in love with him because he protected her den from the fox! It is truly intriguing!"

"Young love is amazing," Birchpaw agreed. He did wonder about Zebrapaw and Swanpaw, though. They didn't seem like the type to be in love with each other—as senior apprentices, anyway, maybe older—but they did seem like great friends now. He still remembered that huge drama that happened when they were kits and Zebrapaw was a young apprentice. They definitely weren't on good terms with each other, but to Birchpaw, it seemed like they were way past that now. Especially since they were both related to Stonepaw and Icepaw in some way.

"Well, speaking of which, I did visit the nursery to see Flipsnow and my younger siblings!" Mountainpaw said proudly. "I also saw Icepaw there."

Upon hearing Icepaw's name, Zebrapaw stiffened and Swanpaw raised an eyebrow.

Birchpaw didn't think much of it. "Really? What did you do together?"

"She was visiting her mother, Goldenlily, of course. It seems like she will give birth soon," Mountainpaw explained in a softer tone that he had previously. "So Icepaw wanted to see her. She also met Lilackit and Jumpkit, who are two and a half moons old, and Thymekit, who is three moons old. We all played together. We even invited two kits who would almost become apprentices in a half-moon, Robinkit and Soarkit, to play. Their mother, Heronwing, my mother and Goldenlily were happy. Sandleap and Redwater were also entertained by it."

Birchpaw blinked. He knew that there were a lot of kits and apprentices in the Clan, but he wondered how many would keep coming. He was happy that Icepaw seemed to be back to normal, though, since she played with the kits normally. But then he realized something. "Wait, doesn't Icepaw's punishment still last for one more day?" he asked questioningly, anticipating an answer.

Mountainpaw blinked twice before shrugging. "She said she asked Snowstar if she could see her mother in the nursery since she would give birth soon, and he said that was fine, since he didn't want to separate them both. Goldenlily did say she was worried about Icepaw after all. Snowstar did want her to return to her punishment soon, though."

Zebrapaw and Swanpaw didn't anticipate that answer but they were fine with it, since she was distracted on the kits instead of Zebrapaw or Stonepaw.

"We also saw Applefall in the nursery. She recently moved in after Lilypool and Rainpaw checked her out and she was expecting!" Mountainpaw continued happily. "Her mother, Daisyfoot was happy, and so was Snowstar, since he wanted to welcome more kits into the Clan since there is a surplus of supplies. Rainpaw was also happy that there were more kits, too. And Flipsnow, Goldenlily, Heronwing, Sandleap and Redwater were happy to have another queen in the nursery, too!"

Birchpaw nodded and asked, "Were the kits happy, too?"

"Yup, because more queens equals eventually more kits, and for them, it means more friends! It applied to us, too. There were a ton of kits in the nursery when we were kits, so I suppose the same pattern will still be there for a few more moons with them!" Mountainpaw answered delightfully. "Although Robinkit and Soarkit will become apprentices soon but they can still play!"

Birchpaw nodded again. He remembered the good old days when he could just play all day as Birchkit. There were so many kit friends that he could have, especially his kit siblings, Quailkit and Rainkit. His earliest memories were when he was around one or two moons old, but he remembered them vividly in a positive light. Especially since there were no hardships during that time. The worst thing that happened was the AdderClan battle, but at least there weren't a ton of casualties. Moonstar was soon going to die anyway, and everyone was prepared for it. Now, though, he knew there would eventually be more hardships to come, soon going into the stage of a warrior, and more deaths to come.

He was still wondering about one thing, though. "What about Applefall's mate? Who is he? No she-cat can become a queen on their own," he asked humorously.

Mountainpaw smirked. "Well, to me, it is like a secret, but Applefall said that it wasn't a secret because everyone should know. But I like to think it is a secret."

"Don't beat around the bush and actually beat it," Birchpaw coined in amusement.

Mountainpaw shrugged and wagged his tail in great anticipation for the big moment. "It is Violetrain's littermate, Fireclaw!"

Birchpaw, Zebrapaw and Swanpaw were all surprised. But in a good way.

"Really? When did that happen?" Birchpaw inquired, his excitement reaching the roof. He wasn't normally interested in gossip but he did want to know what was happening in the Clan so that he could be prepared for everything.

"Well, unlike Icepaw and Violetrain and some *other* cats," Mountainpaw joked, winking. "They actually went to a secluded area where no one would look at what they are doing, when they had already done all their responsibilites."

"That's good," Birchpaw said, nodding. "I suppose it won't interrupt anyone else, then."

Mountainpaw thought about Goldenlily, however. Goldenlily's kits were about to be born, which was good. But he agreed with Icepaw about something. *Do you notice something is off about her, Mountainpaw?* Icepaw had whispered into his ears. *Well, now that I think about it, there might be,* he had replied.

Goldenlily mostly seemed longing for something that she just couldn't get for some reason. And she seemed to be in pain for some reason, too. She did enjoy that her daughter was playing with the other kits, but she seemed to be thinking about something else that he just couldn't put his paw on. It somehow reminded him of StarClan.

*Hopefully, nothing bad happens...* hoped Mountainpaw, since things were tense with Stonepaw and Icepaw's fight yesterday.

"I have a question," started Birchpaw, breaking Mountainpaw out of his thoughts. "Did anyone ask about Icepaw's fight with Stonepaw in the nursery?"

Mountainpaw thought about it. "Well, Lilackit did. She said that her playing session with the other kits got interrupted when she heard the commotion. Icepaw just said that Stonepaw had cursed her so she tried to protect herself. I didn't say anything though."

Birchpaw nodded, which led Mountainpaw to think about Icepaw and Stonepaw's fight. He was sleeping like Birchpaw was when the entire thing happened, so he only got information from the cats that *did* witness it, like his mentor, Petuniaheart and his other friends and acquaintances like Thymekit, Rainpaw, Swanpaw, Zebrapaw, Shadowpaw and Redwater. He knew that Icepaw was in love with Zebrapaw, that was for sure. She was a moon older than him and Stonepaw, and a half-moon away from warriorhood like Shadowpaw and Quailpaw. Mountainpaw wondered if Swanpaw would try to be with Zebrapaw. He didn't think they would be like Icepaw, Violetrain, Sandleap or the latter two's partners. *At the very most, they would probably be like Applefall and Fireclaw,* he figured hopefully.

But he didn't think it was like that. They seemed mostly just like good friends. He also remembered when Zebrapaw had yelled at everyone, especially Birchkit, Swankit and him. They were all wary of him until he tried to act nicer to them, as he realized that they were only kits. Mountainpaw knew that, and now Swanpaw and Zebrapaw were spending time together. He wondered how Icepaw would fit into this equation and how she would react once she found out about this, especially since Swanpaw was her younger sister, but he did not even give a hint of this to Icepaw, of course, to protect the pair since he didn't want any more drama than usual. Or anyone for that matter, except for Birchpaw since he knew he wasn't at all a gossip lover or tattletale. The fox incident did happen some time ago, so he figured it was some other similarity like with Primrosepaw and Quailpaw.

*Although it is funny to think that they are in love,* he thought with amusement.

Birchpaw then asked him something that Mountainpaw never thought of, and it was scary, too. "Do you think Icepaw will try to take Zebrapaw by force?" Birchpaw looked over at Zebrapaw and Swanpaw who looked shocked. Mountainpaw followed his gaze and spotted them. He hadn't realized that they were there so he was taken aback. He also wondered why Birchpaw didn't say anything.

The three latter apprentices looked at each other trying to figure out the question, and Mountainpaw was additionally wondering about what they would think about what he said. Then he started worrying if Icepaw heard something. *That would be unstoppable chaos,* he thought.

However, no one got to speak when they heard irregular screeching from the nursery. All four apprentices immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed there. Mountainpaw took his uneaten mouse with him, too. Other cats had already rushed there, too, including Icepaw who ran out of the elders' den, ignoring the punishment rules. Birchpaw and Mountainpaw didn't see Stonepaw anywhere and figured she was still inside the elders' den.

Shadowpaw and Snowstar were about to go on patrol until they realized what was happening and also went to the nursery. All the kits and queens inside of the nursery became alert and Birchpaw and Mountainpaw spotted Rainpaw and Lilypool rushing in. The entirety of Birchpaw's family and all the kits' fathers which were Littleclaw, Fireclaw, Watereye (pretend, Birchpaw knew)) and Nightnose (Mountainpaw thought it was interesting for Watereye and Nightnose to become fathers at around the same time when they were father and son) immediately dropped everything and rushed to the nursery. Even Honeyflight came to the nursery from the elders' den.

*"She's kitting!"* exclaimed Lilypool. *"Goldenlily is kitting! Clanmates, get me supplies! Rainpaw, get a stick!"*

At the mention of Goldenlily's name, Swanpaw, Shadowpaw, Icepaw and Watereye all looked shocked. But they did anticipate the kits to come in a positive light. Then Pinetail also rushed out with Honeyflight when he heard his daughter's name.

All the kits were also shocked, but they were eager to see the kits come. Although Birchpaw and Mountainpaw were both a little worried. *What if something bad happens?* After all, the screeching didn't sound like a normal birthing queen's cry, like Flipsnow's or Redwater's. It seemed like she was in exceedingly more pain that she should be in. A few apprentices and warriors came from their dens, too.

Then every cat in the camp heard the screech of Goldenlily again, as it pierced the air. It definitely didn't sound normal. Lilypool looked shocked and yowled, *"Oh no! She is bleeding!"*

*Which made everyone freeze in fear.*

*"She's bleeding from the kitting area!" Lilypool continued, and Rainpaw seemed to be very anxious all of a sudden. She immediately picked up the cobwebs and tried to cover up the kitting area, but to no avail. Blood leaked out onto the nursery floor, but so did two bloody kits.*

*The kits started wailing because they had never seen something so horrifying before. Watereye, Petuniaheart, Snowstar, Pinetail, Honeyflight, Littleclaw and Zebrapaw all looked shocked. Icepaw's breath caught in her throat and she seemed to be gasping for air. Her chest felt very heavy all of a sudden as she feared the worst to happen.*

*Lilypool looked at Goldenlily's kitting area and saw that there was a huge tear that couldn't be fixed in time, not even with cobwebs. When she made this unimaginable observation, she administered some thyme to the bleeding golden queen, to let her go in less pain. Then she checked the two kits for heartbeats and hoped there were. To her relief, there were. Then Goldenlily choked in pain, "M-M-Mousekit... Petal...kit..." The three older kits of Goldenlily had anguished faces.*

*To every cat, Goldenlily looked very close to StarClan now. Then she laid down on the floor and her eyes darted upwards. She murmured something that almost no cat could hear except for Lilypool and Rainpaw. "Greenheart..." It was her mother's name, who was in StarClan at this moment.*

**This is a chapter subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 16: Peaceful talk... Stonepaw & Icepaw's competitionNext Chapter: Chapter 18: The Sadness of MoonClan →*

*← Previous Part: Part 1: Little Birchkit's LifeNext Part: Part 3: Birchcreek's Selflessness →*