MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/2/19

### Chapter 19: Mousekit and Begoniaclaw

Mountainpaw was in the apprentices' den comforting Icepaw and Swanpaw. Zebrapaw and Quailpaw were comforting Shadowpaw.

He wondered how it could have happened. *Wasn't she perfectly healthy before?* he thought.

Mountainpaw remembered what Icepaw told him. *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 was in pain before she gave birth to Mousekit and Petalkit, Mountainpaw knew. *But what could have happened?* He usually visited his mother and kit siblings in the nursery whenever he had spare time, and that meant meeting Goldenlily, too. Goldenlily seemed normal, but always longing for something she could just never realistically reach.

"There is no more life," Shadowpaw was muttering. "There is no more life!" Mountainpaw didn't know what it meant but he thought it was creepy. He wondered if it had something to do with StarClan.

As time passed closer to Goldenlily's death, she started becoming more and more in pain for something. And she just saw something that no one else could see. *StarClan?* Mountainpaw wondered.

He thought it was too much to think about and decided to leave, since Icepaw and Swanpaw were sleeping. The other three older tom apprentices noticed him leaving but didn't say anything. They were just blank.

Mountainpaw decided to go the the medicine cat's den. He noticed the area where Birchpaw and him were talking in, right before Goldenlily's kitting. *It is unbelievable that things were so peaceful just a minute or two before the tragedy...* Mountainpaw observed woefully.

Then he saw Lilypool and Rainpaw. Rainpaw was sleeping, albeit in a disturbed way, so Mountainpaw didn't really pay much attention to her. But Lilypool was just sorting herbs in a deliberate manner. She also looked very disappointed about something.

Mountainpaw decided to ask Lilypool about Goldenlily and what was wrong with her when she started kitting. Lilypool just sighed in a downcast way.

"Well..." Lilypool began. "We did check-ups on her, and..." Mountainpaw noticed she was pausing every once in a while, kind of like her niece through Maplestripe, Primrosepaw. *What a weird situation the Clan is in,* Mountainpaw noticed miserably. But he was ever-patient for Lilypool's words.

"We noticed that her belly was slightly smaller than expecting queens' bellies..." Lilypool said very softly and unconfidently, as if she didn't really want to say this, or anyone else to hear this. "Rainpaw knew, too, since she saw pregnant queens before. She also said that she was feeling very nauseous from time to time. She vomited more than normal queens did. Her appetite also didn't seem to change. I didn't find this behavior in her first or second litters, so I knew that something might be wrong, so I gave her some herbs to try and regulate it..."

Mountainpaw blinked, very shocked by this. He was worried about what Lilypool would say, but he didn't know it was this bad. Of course, medicine cats didn't tell Clanmates about sensitive things like this, but he wondered what other Clanmates could have done to help her. He also wondered if it made a difference now, but he just had to know the reason why, in order to console his Clan.

"...and then I noticed that she was complaining of fatigue around her thighs, and she also seemed to be straining to get up. Rainpaw also noticed this but she didn't know what to make of it. But I did. I knew that the pregnancy was exhausting her, but how?" Lilypool continued. She seemed very perturbed.

Then Mountainpaw tried to think of what happened. Lilypool and Rainpaw had checked Goldenlily out when she said that she had been feeling nauseous, and she was expecting. Goldenlily seemed pretty normal in the beginning, but she was always feeling nauseous. "Were there any problems with the kits?"

Lilypool looked really depressed now. She sighed in exasperation and melancholy and said, "Well... Petalkit... she is fine; she is just a little small."

Mountainpaw just blinked a few times, then nodded. That was a good answer. But then he worried about Mousekit greatly.

"But Mousekit... we- I did an intense check on her, too... I found out she had a major complication which would hinder her life."

Mountainpaw grew hot all of a sudden. He was so shocked that he mouthed the words, *Major complication...?!* Lilypool nodded very slowly in a sense of defeat and turned her gaze towards Rainpaw's sleeping figure. She said, "Rainpaw... I couldn't bear to tell her this... since she was already depressed from Goldenlily's death. Being a medicine cat, especially... she felt failure in not being able to save her... but there was nothing that could have been done. Goldenlily already had a huge tear... in her kitting area. Which is why she was bleeding so much. There-there was nothing that could have been done in time."

Mountainpaw was very disturbed by now. He knew that there was something wrong with Goldenlily but he had no idea it was so severe. He thought that learning the answers would give him solace, but hearing about Mousekit's condition was really, really distressing.

"What... what is wrong with Mousekit?" Mountainpaw just barely breathed. His heart felt tight and he was not at all sure that the answer would be even okay.

Lilypool sighed and said nothing for a few seconds. "She... has a problem... with her lungs. Her lungs... have mucus in them, and she is coughing out a lot. In fact... she is here right now... so that I can monitor her."

Mountainpaw blinked in sheer distress. *Lungs?!* he screamed internally. *Mucus?!* Even Swanpaw and Primrosepaw didn't have a condition that was even on the scope of being that bad. He looked around for Mousekit and saw her tiny figure was sleeping in the corner on a small moss bed.

Lilypool just nodded. "I am giving her herbs in the form of a paste and trickling a little bit of it into her mouth, such as blessed thistle. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want the Clan to worry for Mousekit so much. I only told Snowstar, and even he was very distressed. A kit dying after birth is a terrible thing for the Clan to handle. Much more if the mother died to give birth to them..." She sighed again.

"I also thought about the second litter of Goldenlily. Her belly was normal size for holding two kits. And it didn't seem like there were any stillborn kits. But when Swanpaw and her sibling were born, the birth was normal but the kit was dead, and Swankit was mute. I don't know if the pregnancy had a serious problem, but the kit may have been deprived of nutrients somehow. Sometime before giving birth, she had whitecough, but it subsided right before giving birth. But maybe that did something..."

Mountainpaw was just downright shocked. He wasn't sure who he could tell at all, or if this information could even be processed by anyone. He wasn't even sure if he could tell Birchpaw.

So he just nodded and said he needed to go. Lilypool understood and went back to her sorting.

*Where do I go now?* Mountainpaw wondered. The camp's energy was too sad for him to handle, and he wondered if he should leave for a patrol. His mentor, Petuniaheart, was still with Snowstar and Sealbranch and talking about what they should do with Mousekit and Petalkit. *Do Petuniaheart and Sealbranch know?* he thought. *Probably not...*

He looked around for his friend, Birchpaw, but didn't see him anywhere. He decided to ask Birchpaw's father, Snowstar. He told him that Birchpaw went on a patrol with Primrosepaw and Stonepaw. He was a little surprised about Primrosepaw and Stonepaw going with Birchpaw, since Primrosepaw had a condition and was only six and a half moons old, and Stonepaw was pretty unpredictable and her punishment just ended today, but he was mostly fine with it.

Mountainpaw understood and told Snowstar that he also wanted to go. Snowstar said that they just left so Mountainpaw could find them if he wanted to, but he had to be careful along with the other three. Mountainpaw just nodded and bounded off into the forest.

He didn't have to look for them when he noticed Stonepaw pouncing on a mouse and Birchpaw and Primrosepaw were just behind them. All three noticed him and looked a little surprised.

"Mountainpaw! What are you doing here?" Birchpaw exclaimed in pleasure. Mountainpaw figured that he was happy because his friend of the same age and gender was here. After all, Stonepaw and Primrosepaw were both she-cats and a few moons older or younger. He was always grateful to Birchpaw for including him in his games and being friendly to him. He was a very likable and headstrong cat, and he didn't think he would have any enemies or rivals. From the same Clan, anyway. He was also good at his duties, which is why Mountainpaw thought he was patrolling with them in the first place.

"Wow... did you find us?" Primrosepaw added. Mountainpaw nodded. He liked Primrosepaw because she was also a kind soul, but very emotionally strong, too, and never willing to give up by sticking to the path of a warrior. She was sad for Goldenlily's death but didn't feel too burdened by it either and processed her emotions correctly. Even if it was only her Clanmate, but she still knew Goldenlily from the nursery. Primrosepaw tried to comfort all of the apprentices, too, especially her sister who she was the closest to. Mountainpaw thought she could be a good warrior, deputy and even leader... if it weren't for her condition, but still. She already had exceptional skills for someone of her age and condition.

Stonepaw just shrugged. "Why did you follow us?" she asked in disinterest. Mountainpaw flicked his tail uneasily. Stonepaw was a good hunter and fighter, but not necessarily a good Clanmate. Like what probably most cats in the Clan did, he too lost respect for Stonepaw when she pushed Swanpaw, a cat with a special condition, into the ditch. Her violent public fight with Icepaw the day before Goldenlily's death was also very shocking for most cats, and he doubted Peonyclaw, Zebrapaw, Swanpaw and Icepaw looked at her the same way again. Or in even a better way. So he didn't know how to trust her. But he just forced himself to be neutral to her since she was going with his two other Clanmates.

"Well, I also wanted to patrol with you, too, of course!" Mountainpaw exclaimed in delight to answer all three of their questions simultaneously. "Snowstar told me where you went." He looked around the vast forest and hoped nothing more would be wrong. "Will we be safe?"

Birchpaw sighed and said, "Hopefully, but let's be optimistic! That is good that you want to patrol with us since now we will have four apprentices. Four apprentices is better than one warrior."

Primrosepaw beamed since she had also learned some fighting and hunting training. She couldn't fight by herself completely, but with other cats assisting her, she could be a good fighter and be safe at the same time. Stonepaw had stared at her as if she didn't think Primrosepaw completely counted as one of those apprentices.

Mountainpaw nodded. "Hopefully! Primrosepaw has been training hard, right? So have I and Birchpaw!" he exclaimed, beaming as well. Then he looked at Stonepaw. "Hopefully Stonepaw did, too," he added in an unsettled way.

Stonepaw just groaned. "Of course I did otherwise I wouldn't be here. And keep it down mouse-brains! Especially you Mountainpaw, otherwise the prey will get away."

Mountainpaw narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, fine. Good catch anyway."

Stonepaw just rolled her eyes at him. "Well, thanks, if you actually *mean* that, but that is just a mere morsel, and easy for me to catch." She also narrowed her eyes at him.

Birchpaw and Primrosepaw briefly exchanged worried looks as they didn't want Stonepaw to pick a fight with Mountainpaw now. Birchpaw and Primrosepaw were usually calm and collected and usually, so was Mountainpaw, but he could also be ticked off with enough effort.

"Whatever, but we need to actually hunt instead of talking," replied Mountainpaw. To Birchpaw and Primrosepaw's fright, Stonepaw retorted, "Right, with your incessant chatter, we will now be able to catch nothing!"

*"Um!"* Primrosepaw said very loudly to get everyone's attention. Since she couldn't speak quickly, she adopted another technique to get cats' attention, which was high volume. Swanpaw couldn't do this, of course, but she had told Primrosepaw it was a good technique. All three cats looked at her. "We can... always go to another... place," she suggested thoughtfully. "We shouldn't... be too far but... we have a big... territory. So we can... catch prey from a lot... of areas in our terri...tory, since it is the... end of new-leaf."

Birchpaw and Mountainpaw instantly agreed with her, but Stonepaw just stared at her in an unenthusiastic way. Then she just shrugged and buried her mouse.

They went to Rabbit Residence, an area which the four apprentices had memorized the route to. Birchpaw and Mountainpaw had secretly hoped no fox followed them back to the camp, or even showed up right now, which would still be worse than the former. Zebrapaw and Sandleap had told the rest of the Clan about the fox and how it followed them back.

"Well... we need to stick... together... at least *I* should with... one of you," Primrosepaw alerted the patrol. "Because... you know..." She pointed to her legs.

Birchpaw nodded in empathy. "We know you have this condition, but you are still an equal! So yes, we should stick together."

Mountainpaw nodded eagerly as well and reminded them in a quiet tone, "We also need to walk quietly so the prey won't hear us. Especially since there are four cats all together, albeit smaller, but still together."

Birchpaw and Primrosepaw nodded, recalling this piece of information, while Stonepaw just rolled her eyes as if that was already obvious to her. They went behind a huge bush that was there, probably the largest in the plains area, and waited for a brown hare. Then one came into sight and started going near the bush. Stonepaw was the first to pounce and she caught the hare.

"I did it," said Stonepaw to no one in particular. "Pretty easy, though. You should probably spread out just a little bit to get a chance, too," she recommended. Birchpaw thought that although Stonepaw had some serious flaws, she didn't come without strengths. She was a really good hunter and had good tips, too.

The three other cats nodded and spread out just a little bit. Primrosepaw found a small bush that would only conceal her as she was the smallest of the four, and Mountainpaw and Birchpaw found a medium-sized bush. A few hares came by the bushes and they managed to catch them. They caught five in total.

"Well, this is a good haul," remarked Birchpaw in a positive light. "This will be good to feed the Clan."

Stonepaw quickly nodded and replied, "We can still catch more. Us cats can carry two pieces of prey at a time, and if possible, three." They all nodded and went back to their respective bushes, after burying the hares, of course.

They all looked at the border between MoonClan and AdderClan. The two Clans didn't have custody over the entire Rabbit Residence, instead it was shared, but MoonClan had more of the territory, marked by a line connecting a tree and a rock. The border was usually the place AdderClan used to invade, and because of this they were being careful. Any cat that crossed the border was considered to have overrun the border and allowed to be fought off.

They noticed a cat running on the other side of the border. It was running towards the border. Then it became closer and closer to the border. Then they saw another cat chasing that first cat. The cat that was being chased looked wild and frightened of everything that was happening. Then it crossed the border which made the four MoonClan apprentices shocked and frightened (except for Stonepaw) as well.

Stonepaw looked a little surprised but then she hissed at the trespassing cat in a threatening tone. Then the cat looked confused and looked around. Stonepaw jumped out of the bushes in the pretense of an ambush onto the cat. The cat looked shocked but then dodged and said quickly, "No, no, you don't understand!" It sounded like a she-cat.

Birchpaw and Mountainpaw paid attention to the cat that was chasing her. It growled fiercely at her, saying, "That is what you get for mating with an enemy cat from an enemy Clan! Sorrelkit and Brownkit are definitely half-SnowClan!" It sounded like a tom.

The four apprentices were confused, so the other three that were hiding came out. The she-cat looked much more intimidated that she was before and tried to step backwards but she noticed her chaser again and stopped. Her chaser noticed the four apprentices and looked startled as, as Birchpaw had said, four apprentices is much better than one warrior. Stonepaw looked almost as big as a young warrior and no one outside of the Clan knew Primrosepaw's condition so he was also intimidated by Stonepaw as he must have thought she was a warrior and Primrosepaw, too.

Primrosepaw asked the she-cat in a very firm tone, "What are you doing? You... crossed the tree and the rock line... which marks the border between... our Clan's hunting territories." The other three apprentices had never seen Primrosepaw talk so fast and loudly.

Stonepaw nodded and hissed, "You'd better explain what is happening with you quick! Before we claw you out for trespassing!"

Birchpaw and Mountainpaw just nodded as they were confused about the tom's words, too. The tom figured that they wouldn't cross the border, so he looked less intimidated but he was still keeping an eye on them. Birchpaw also kept an eye on him.

"No, no, you don't understand," the she-cat repeated in a pleading tone. "I'm being chased out of the Clan! AdderClan! Because they were accusing me of breaking the warrior code! You saw it yourself while hiding in the bushes, right?"

They did agree with that. But Mountainpaw decided to ask, "Were they accusing you of mating with a SnowClan cat?" The she-cat nodded.

"Precisely," she replied.

Stonepaw narrowed her eyes. *"Did* you do it?" she asked in the same intimidating tone.

The she-cat narrowed her eyes back. "No," she replied calmly.

The tom snorted, "As if, you will obviously deny it. But the kits not having a father should be evidence enough! Or did you mate with a medicine cat instead?"

The she-cat gasped in surprise. "What, no! Not Reedthorn or Bristlefeather!"

Birchpaw looked her up and down. She was a copper cat with green eyes, and nothing about her really seemed evil. But he was still wondering about one thing. "How do we trust you?" He wasn't sure if AdderClan could have set this up or anything, so that this she-cat can enter the Clan and spy on them. It did seem authentic, though.

Before she could answer, another AdderClan cat came and asked the tom, "Windwing, did you make sure that traitor Begoniaclaw never comes back?"

Windwing, the tom, nodded and replied, "She's gone forever now, Hareclaw! Hopefully she never comes back otherwise we will kill her! And her kits will nurse from Lizardfang or Yellowstripe instead."

Hareclaw just said, "Why don't we leave now and see what we should do with her kits?" Windwing just nodded and left along with his Clanmate.

Begoniaclaw, the she-cat, watched them leave before looking back at the MoonClan apprentices in fright. "Did you hear what they said?! I am never welcome back!" she shrieked.

Birchpaw, Mountainpaw and Primrosepaw were processing this information in quite a lot of surprise but Stonepaw just shrugged and said, "So what do you expect *us* to do? You're still not a MoonClan cat!"

"Wait," Birchpaw said, thinking about something the AdderClan warrior, Windwing, said. "Windwing said something about her kits nursing from another queen... so-"—he turned to her abruptly—"Are your kits under two moons old?" Begoniaclaw looked quite surprised, but she nodded quickly.

Mountainpaw and Primrosepaw seemed to realize this, too, and exchanged looks with Birchpaw. Primrosepaw's body nerves may have been slow, but her brain nerves weren't. In fact they seemed to be quite fast as she was also intelligent. Stonepaw blinked as she realized it as well.

"Does that mean you are nursing?" asked Mountainpaw in realization. Begoniaclaw blinked a few times in confusion why they would ask that, but she just simply nodded.

Birchpaw then explained about Goldenlily and how she died giving to her kits, Mousekit and Petalkit, and how they could really use a nursing queen.

Primrosepaw nodded and said in much delight and relief, "It... would be very good! A good deed... too. Like... a miracle from StarClan." Mountainpaw and Stonepaw nodded, Stonepaw less eagerly, but still agreeing. Birchpaw just added positively, "Yes, and we will also invite you into MoonClan." He blinked, remembering Clan loyalties and continued more firmly, "As long as you can be trusted, of course."

Begoniaclaw's eyes lit up in so much delight and relief, too, and accepted the offer in the same way since she was homeless anyway. "I can only nurse for one more moon, though, because my kits are one moon old," she told them in advance. The MoonClan apprentices just nodded, with Birchpaw telling her about his sister, Sandleap who would be giving birth and dug up their hares, with Begoniaclaw carrying one, and went back to camp with the good news.

#### Afterwards

Snowstar was about to take a mouse from the prey pile along with his mate, Petuniaheart, and their daughter and deputy, Sealbranch, until he noticed the four hunting apprentices come back from the forest with a good mood and positive vibes. Snowstar wondered what the good thing that happened was until he spotted another cat come with them. He recognized the cat from the last AdderClan battle, and it was an AdderClan warrior named Begoniaclaw, which made him alarmed. She wasn't a formidable enemy, though, as she was usually overpowered by a MoonClan warrior in battle, including Sealbranch who just became a warrior, so he thought that four apprentices, even one with slower nerves, could easily subdue her. But he noticed the hare in her mouth, which he thought was very odd.

Sealbranch and Petuniaheart also noticed them and Begoniaclaw, and shared the same feelings as Snowstar. Sealbranch flicked her tail, remembering her old opponent in that AdderClan battle. Snowstar had only chosen her as the deputy since she was born to be an excellent fighter and hunter, despite being only fourteen moons old and never had an apprentice, but she still thought Begoniaclaw was a weakling compared to the rest of AdderClan. But she was confused at why Begoniaclaw was carrying a hare. Petuniaheart just figured that Begoniaclaw was being a good cat to them instead of an enemy cat which is why they were happy.

But they noticed that neither of them had scratches, except for Begoniaclaw, but they didn't seem that new. Then the five cats noticed them at the prey pile immediately, and Birchpaw and Mountainpaw immediately started running towards them. They told them everything that happened, with Begoniaclaw inserting a few things.

Snowstar, Petuniaheart and Sealbranch were very shocked but grateful to StarClan for this miracle, since she could nurse the two kits. Snowstar had asked her if she did mate outside of the Clan, and Begoniaclaw's reply to that question was simply no, since she was a good warrior. Other cats had already noticed what was going on and watched, including Shadowpaw, Swanpaw, Icepaw and Zebrapaw, who were all very surprised at what happened, the four of them especially at Stonepaw being with them.

Stonepaw had already put the hares in the prey pile and started eating one, disinterested in the conversation, and mostly just listening to her own thoughts. Begoniaclaw seemed like a good cat, although she seemed to be too good, which Stonepaw thought was why she was exiled from AdderClan, a Clan of emotionally dead cats.

The other three apprentices had already told everything to the leader and deputy of MoonClan, and Begoniaclaw felt great anticipation for good things to come. But she still wondered about her kits, Sorrelkit and Brownkit, who would be prejudiced now and be nursed from another queen for another moon. She shivered at the thought of anything bad happening to them just because of some stupid cats with no proof of anything. *Hopefully AdderClan takes pity on* kits *at least...* she hoped. She never really liked Fangstar since he had the same ideas as the original leader, Adderstar, who was also his great-uncle, but she never thought that he would exile her just because of mating with a SnowClan cat. He didn't seem like the type to follow the warrior code to the dot, especially when he also crossed into MoonClan territory... for reasons Begoniaclaw thought were against it, similar to hers.

Swanpaw and Shadowpaw went up to Begoniaclaw and thanked her in great appreciation for nursing their siblings. Begoniaclaw just nodded in reply, and was glad that MoonClan was such a hospitable Clan. She could never think of attacking it again after their kindness to her. But the only awful thing that was on her mind was what her kits would have to go through.

The entire Clan had heard what happened, including Lilypool and Rainpaw, and most welcomed her with open arms. Some were skeptical of what she could do and if she would spy on them, or if she was lying, including Birchpaw, but they just welcomed her, too. But most cats thought it was a blessing from StarClan, and hoped it would be, with more happy things to come.

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

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 18: The Sadness of MoonClanNext Chapter: Chapter 20: Shadowpaw's Exams →*

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