#branchwriting

The Night Before…

The air felt tense after Doecall made the announcement.

The silence stretched for what felt like hours, and Doecall was very aware of the pounding in her heart. She shifted, staring at Wolfstep, taking in his rigid posture, his slightly narrowed eyes, and his…Well, his everything.

Nobody spoke. After a pause that felt far too long for both of them, Wolfstep exhaled through his nose.

He shook his head. “You’re joking.”

“No, I’m serious.” Doecall insisted. She laughed, using her front paw to lightly bat at Wolfstep’s shoulder. “I’m gonna be having kits in…What, two moons? Is that how long it takes?”

“Yeah, it is.” Wolfstep rumbled in reply. He responded to the shoulder batting with a huff, though it didn’t seem to be of annoyance. “But…You’re being so, so incredibly stupid, Doecall.”

“How? A lot of cats in this clan have outsider mates!” Doecall chirped.

Wolfstep’s eyes narrowed. “And those cats don’t come home nearly in tears in the middle of the night. Those cats don’t tell me that their mates treat them like…Like dung!”

Doecall flinched, feeling a jolt of hurt at the older tom’s tone. Her ears laid flat against her head, and she felt the fur on her back start to bristle. The smile on her face faltered, despite her struggle to keep it.

“Wolfstep, you’re my best friend,” she said, voice low. “I thought…I thought you’d be happy for me.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy for you! I am!” Wolfstep insisted, holding up his front paws in a gesture of defense. “I’m just…I’m more worried about you than I am happy. Can’t exactly give congratulations when there’s a little voice in the back of your head going, ‘hey, Wolfstep, your best friend, who you care about so much, is being taken advantage of and won’t listen to you’!” 

Doecall fell silent. Wolfstep took that as invitation to continue his rant.

“He’s mistreating you,” the gray tabby grumbled, ears flattening. His claws unsheathed and sheathed over and over, subtly clawing into the ground where they were sitting. “I’ve seen it. I’ve heard about it. Mates aren’t supposed to make you cry the way he does, Doecall. He’s going to kill you one day, you know. Those kinds of relationships never end well.”

Doecall looked away. Shame burned through her, but she forced it down, instead replacing it with defiance. “...I wanted someone to love me.”

“I love you, Doecall!” Wolfstep exclaimed. “Your littermates love you! Stars, your FATHER loves you!”

“I don’t want that kind of love!” Doecall snapped back, standing. Her tail was lashing violently behind her, her pupils narrowed into slits of black. “I want the kind of love that everyone else has! I want to be cuddled and have a family and…I want someone to look at me as if I put the stars in the sky myself.”

Her voice broke, and she took a deep breath, looking away so Wolfstep didn’t see her tears. She took a second to compose herself, then looked at Wolfstep. “I wanted you, Wolfstep, and you didn’t want me.”

“I did- No, I do want you, Doecall.” Wolfstep confessed. “I just…What would the clan think? I don’t want anyone to think I’m a monster.”

Doecall stared at him. “They don’t judge Burnetgoose and Glintshade. Or…Any of those other cats.”

Another stretch of silence, this one heavier. Doecall waited, watching Wolfstep’s expression. The gray tabby tom finally let out a sound that was both an exasperated groan and a sob, his shoulders slumped.

“Dammit, Doecall…” He muttered. “...This is hard for me, you know.”

Doecall waited. Wolfstep closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them.

“Tell you what,” he grumbled. “You leave that tom. Don’t go talk to him, don’t go looking for him, don’t even think about him. And I…I will consider being your mate officially, but in the meantime I’ll step up. I’ll be a father for your kits. Raise them the way my dad didn’t get to raise me. Does that sound fair?”

“...I want him to know.” Doecall said.

“No.”

“He deserves to know. What if I disappear and he comes looking for me?”

Wolfstep ran a paw over his face as if to symbolize his agony. “Fine. Fine! You go tell him, but you better be careful. Take Lionfoot with you. He’ll protect you.”

“Okay.” Doecall sat next to Wolfstep again, their pelts brushing, and leaned against him. Wolfstep leaned down and gently licked the top of her head.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The Morning After.

It was cold. Too cold.

Wolfstep’s mind had been racing with thoughts since he heard the news. 

Doecall was dead. She was gone, her wound too infected to fully recover.

He’d already yelled at Lionfoot. He blamed his brother for what happened ever since he saw that gash in her throat and the way she had forced herself to smile about it. Lionfoot had insisted it wasn’t his fault- He was too fast, too strong, he had said, but everything just sounded like an excuse.

Now Wolfstep would never see Doecall again.

His best friend was buried. The vigil last night had been somber. Wolfstep didn’t like thinking about it, repressing the thought until it was a blurred image in the back of his mind.

He didn’t want to remember Doecall like that.

“Stars damn it…” He hissed, as an ache began to settle deep in his joints. His condition was manageable most days, but on days when he was stressed it always seemed to heighten. Today was absolutely one of those days.

He’d been pacing since he woke up, his paws burning a hole into the camp grounds at this point. He was restless, and agitated, and trying so hard to suppress the feelings…But he couldn’t anymore.

Taking a deep breath, Wolfstep turned and stalked out of camp. He was blank, his mind forcing all of  the thoughts away until he reached his destination. The burial grounds.

He stalked around, looking at all of the mounds of dirt, until he found hers. The dirt was still fresh and slightly damp, his paws sinking into it a little as he approached.

Someone had placed white flowers on her grave. Wolfstep swatted them away, hissing. “She likes blue. Not white.” He growled, though he didn’t know who he was talking to.

Then, he looked at the grave itself- No, not the grave. He was staring through it, at wherever Doecall was buried.

“I told you,” he scolded, taking a step closer. Then another step. Then he was in front of the grave. His legs were shaking. “I fucking told you not to go, Doecall. Why couldn’t you just listen to me? Why do you have to see the good in fucking everything? Now you’re dead. Look at you…Maybe it’s my fault. I should’ve went. I should’ve protected you. I’m sorry.”

He sighed heavily, sinking down until he was lying on the grave. The tears he’d been trying to hold back started to fall, and all he could let out was one final sentence before breaking off into a fit of sobs.

THE TUNNELS

This takes place during Moon 250. <3

“Didja know there’s secret tunnels in the mountains?”

Auburnpaw grinned as Thrushpaw looked up at him, eyes wide. The younger tom had just become an apprentice that moon. His mother Hopstep had died three moons prior, after an unfortunate run-in with whitecough, leaving Thrushpaw alone. The other apprentices had been told to treat him nicely, and over the last few days Auburnpaw found that the two of them were close. Thrushpaw always listened to him, and was one of the few cats in the clan who didn’t give him strange looks.

“Secret tunnels!?” Thrushpaw exclaimed. He began to bounce from paw to paw, pelt bristled in excitement. “Show me, show me!”

“Okay,” Auburnpaw dipped his head, nudging Thrushpaw forward with his nose. “But you can’t tell anyone. It’s secret. And I’ll get in trouble if I show you.”

Thrushpaw clamped his muzzle shut with an audible click, puffing out his chest fur. “I won’t thell a thoul!” He chirped, voice muffled from him keeping his mouth shut.

Auburnpaw chuckled. He began to pad away, flicking his tail in a gesture for Thrushpaw to follow. “Come on, then. Let’s see if we can get there before it gets dark.”

The two ginger toms padded along the edge of the rocks, chatting idly amongst themselves. The chilly leaf-bare air blew at them in large gusts, making them shiver. Auburnpaw pressed himself against Thrushpaw.

“To keep you warm,” He quickly explained, noting Thrushpaw’s widening eyes.

Thrushpaw nodded, but didn’t say anything.

They continued until they reached a pathway that split into two smaller paths. Auburnpaw recognized the first- It was the path that led to the forest, where BranchClan had originated from. He remembered hearing stories about the forest from Briarburn and the other elders- Stories about the taste of rabbit, the scent of the trees after a fresh rain, and the way the camp looked. There was a day, in the middle of leaf-bare every year, when the senior warriors would travel to the old territory and bring back a feast. They would return the next day dragging massive deer carcasses and inviting the clan to dig in. Just the thought of the way the deer tasted on his tongue made Auburnpaw’s belly rumble.

But that wasn’t the path they were going on. Instead, he turned to the other path. It was a darker path, the cat-scent fainter there. Some of the warriors had made an attempt to block the path off from curious apprentices, stacking some stones in an attempt to make a wall.

Auburnpaw crouched, wiggling his hindquarters before jumping up on top of the wall. He looked over his shoulder at Thrushpaw, grinning, and playfully flicked his tail at him.

“Coming up?” He meowed.

Thrushpaw took a few pawsteps back, then ran forward and jumped up onto the stones. He stumbled a bit, struggling to find his footing, before settling at Auburnpaw’s side.

By my side is where you should be. Auburnpaw thought, before shaking his head. What a silly thought! Thrushpaw was his friend. Just his friend, nothing more. 

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Auburnpaw asked, his voice soft. “If you wanna go back home, we can go.”

Thrushpaw shook his head. “Nope! We came this far, so let’s go!”

Before Auburnpaw could stop him, he jumped down from the wall and ran along the path. Auburnpaw sputtered, jumping down to run after the other tom.

“Thrushpaw! Wait!” He exclaimed. 

But Thrushpaw had already gone, having vanished into the large, dark, gaping hole in the mountain. Auburnpaw sighed. Apprentices.

Auburnpaw made his way into the tunnel, his ears flattening against his head as he crept around. The tunnels were massive, and his pawsteps echoed as he walked. Large, glistening stones towered above the ginger-furred tom, looming over him. When Auburnpaw looked, he could see his reflection.

Wait a moment. Auburnpaw paused, head tilted as he gazed at the figured reflecting off of the rock, staring at him.

That wasn’t him.

The figure, much older than him, stared back at him. It was a tall, handsome tom, with a pelt so similar to Auburnpaw’s. His eyes were a dark, piercing blue that seemed to be staring into Auburnpaw’s soul. 

Auburnpaw blinked, and the figure changed.

Now, the face was distorted and grotesque. His legs began to bend at unnatural angles, and blood began to spill from his nose, mouth, and eyes. Before Auburnpaw could say anything, the figure’s head fell right off, landing with a gross, echoing thud.

“AUGH-!” Auburnpaw stumbled backwards, eyes wide. He looked away from the reflection, and when he looked back, he was met with only his own face. He panted, his heart pounding in his chest.

What was that? Was that a StarClan cat? Was that an omen of things to come?

Maybe Sweetwing would know about this.

“Auburnpaw?”

Thrushpaw’s voice snapped Auburnpaw out of his thoughts. He turned, still trembling slightly, and saw him standing a few tail-lengths away. Thrushpaw’s face was that of both confusion and concern, and he tilted his head, tail swishing.

“Are you okay? I heard you scream.” Thrushpaw questioned. 

“I’m fine. I just…” Auburnpaw trailed off, looking at the reflection stones one more time. Just his own reflection. Just him.

“It’s nothing.” He finally mewed in defeat, turning back to Thrushpaw.

“Good…Hey, I heard something weird.” Thrushpaw meowed, pointing his tail in the direction Auburnpaw assumed he came from. “It’s coming from over here. Check it out with me? I don’t want it to attack me!”

“Haha, someone’s scared of a little echoing?” Auburnpaw teased. He stood up straight and padded the way Thrushpaw pointed. “It’s okay, little Thrush. The big, strong Auburnpaw will protect you!”

“I’m not scared! Just…Cautious. Yeah. Cautious. Really cautious.” Thrushpaw insisted, following after Auburnpaw.

The two made their way deeper into the tunnels, and Thrushpaw suddenly froze. “There. I heard it again. Did you hear that?”

Auburnpaw froze. His ears swiveled back and forth, trying to listen.

Then, he heard it.

A low, pained moan.

Ohhhh…..Help me…

Auburnpaw huffed, undeterred. “Who is that? What are you doing on BranchClan territory?”

“Hello..?” The new voice called out. “Oh, gosh, did someone finally come…? Can you help me?”

“Are you a rogue?” Thrushpaw replied.

“A what? N-no, I’m…I dunno. Just a cat.” The voice meowed back. “Please, I need your help…I’m hurt really bad!”

“Fine. Promise you won’t attack?” Thrushpaw asked.

“Promise.”

The two apprentices pressed forward, back fur bristled. They kept their steps cautious and their claws ready to attack, just in case. 

As they grew closer, the scent of blood filled Auburnpaw’s senses, making him wrinkle his nose. “Gosh, you’re really hurt…Where are you?”

“Over here!” The voice replied. “Hurry, please…”

They turned a corner, and what they stumbled across made both toms pause.

A young cat, barely older than ten moons by the looks of him, laid on the ground. He was a brown tabby, his muzzle and paws white. His eyes were a bright golden color that seemed to glow in the darkness of the tunnels. His hindleg was caught underneath a large stone, and Auburnpaw figured that was where the blood scent was coming from.

The tom let out a pained wheeze, looking up at the two with flattened ears and a pitiful, desperate expression. 

“Please,” he begged. “Get this rock off of me.”

Auburnpaw looked at Thrushpaw. “You comfort him. I’ll push the rock.”

“On it.” Thrushpaw meowed. He padded forward, crouching down in front of the tom and beginning to gently groom his ears. “It’s okay, we’re here. We got you.”

“Thank you…” The brown tabby meowed, lowering his head.

Auburnpaw padded forward, placing his front paws on the stone and beginning to push. After a few attempts, the stubborn boulder rolled a few feet away, freeing the young cat.

The tom sighed in relief. He tried to stand, but the moment he put weight on his injured leg, which was clearly broken and twisted at an angle, he hissed in pain and collapsed again.

“No, no, no!” Thrushpaw exclaimed. “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself!”

“It hurts…” He whimpered. “Please, don’t hurt me…Just gimme a second and I’ll leave…”

“Who said anything about you leaving?” Auburnpaw meowed, wiggling underneath the tom and hoisting him onto his back. “You’re coming back with us. What’s your name?”

“Gill,” The tom panted out. “I’ve been stuck there for days now…I’m so hungry and thirsty, I just want to find my dad…”

Auburnpaw nodded. “I see…Well, we can help you back at home. Our healers can fix your leg, and…If you wanna leave, you can go find your dad. How’s that sound?”

“You guys would really do that?” Gill asked.

Thrushpaw nodded, already starting to pad away. “Everyone back at the clan is so nice! I’m sure Hopestar would accept you!”

Confrontation

This takes place Moon 250, after The Tunnels. <3

Cws- Discussion of murder

Spiderheart had hidden his pregnancy well. 

He didn’t announce it to any other cat. His long, thick fur hid his belly, and anyone who was suspcious was met with the excuse of him eating more “to gain weight for Leaf-bare”. Everyone bought it.

And now, he was in the nursery, two tiny, mewling kits at his belly. Two sons. He had named them Caterpillarkit and Beetlekit. 

The clan was shocked, understandably, but they didn’t complain. Spiderheart’s parents, Echoheart and Fireflypool, were two of the first to visit the new additions to the clan. Fireflypool chirped excitedly about his new grandsons, while Echoheart let out a soft grunt of acknowledgement, though Spiderheart could see the way the corners of his muzzle turned up into a smile. 

Now, he was left alone…For the most part. Goosekit was staring down at the newborns intently, his eyes wide. 

“So…They’re your kits?” He asked, looking up at Spiderheart.

Spiderheart nodded. “Mhm.”

“But…How? You don’t have a mate!” Goosekit chirped.

Spiderheart blinked tiredly. “Well-”

“Did they come outta nowhere? Are they aliens??” Goosekit gasped. “They’re aliens!! Aliens are real!!”

“Goosekit!” Hopestar called from the other side of the nursery. “Leave him alone, you’re exhausting him!”

“Sorry, mama…” Goosekit mumbled. He shuffled away from Spiderheart and back to his mother, curling up at her side.

Hopestar purred, leaning down to gently groom the top of Goosekit’s head. “Stars, you’re just like your grandfather…He ranted and raved about ‘aliens’ to any cat who would listen.”

Spiderheart purred, looking down at his own kits. They were curled up, quiet. He laid his head down, resting it on his front paws, and just stared at them. He first counted all of Caterpillarkit’s toes- all eighteen- then he counted Beetlekit’s- again, all eighteen toes were intact. Perfect.

“Spiderheart?”

The voice made him jump. He looked up, his ear twitching as he caught sight of an orange-furred tom.

Pumpkinpounce.

His brother. His littermate.

A murderer.

Pumpkinpounce looked exhausted, far older than the fifty-two moons of age he had. He slowly turned his head to look at Hopestar. 

“Hopestar,” he meowed, dipping his head in a gesture of respect. “Permission to enter?”

Hopestar’s expression was unreadable, but she instinctively curled her tail around her kits. Burnetkit, who was sleeping, let out an annoyed mewl, while Shinekit and Goosekit just cuddled closer, staring at Pumpkinpounce with wide, curious eyes. 

“Did you finish your tasks for the day?” Hopestar asked.

Pumpkinpounce nodded. “Yes. I organized the elder’s den and got rid of their ticks, I caught all of the prey you wanted me to watch, I remarked our borders, and I organized the dirtplace the best I could. That’s everything you’ve asked of me for the day.”

“Very well. You may enter…” Hopestar’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Pumpkinpounce. “We’re watching you.”

Pumpkinpounce nodded. He entered the den, looking around until his gaze landed on Spiderheart. Spiderheart felt a prickle of unease creep through his body. He shifted a bit, nervously clearing his throat. 

“I just came to see my nephews.” Pumpkinpounce meowed.

Spiderheart’s ear flicked. “You shouldn’t even be in this clan.”

Pumpkinpounce’s face fell, and for just a moment Spiderheart felt sorry for him. That was his brother, after all, and he’d noticed the way Pumpkinpounce seemed lonely ever since confessing to Smokewhisker’s murder. He only ever stayed around Nightsoar, their littermate, or his friend Lichensong. Everyone else either blatantly avoided him, only spoke to him if they needed someone to do a chore, or straight-up told him that he was a murderer, a piece of goat-dung, or other worse insults. 

Pumpkinpounce spoke again, softly, “Would you please just…Come talk to me for a second? Hear me out…?”

Spiderheart slowly turned to look at Blackwing, who was sitting near the nursery wall. His eyes were narrowed, and he was eyeing Pumpkinpounce suspiciously, keeping his own kits close to him.

“Can you…?” Spiderheart trailed off, gesturing to Caterpillarkit and Beetlekit.

Blackwing nodded, standing. He stretched, padding over to Spiderheart’s nest and taking his place. 

He glared at Pumpkinpounce. “Murderer.” He hissed.

“I’m your nephew!” Pumpkinpounce exclaimed.

“Doesn’t matter.” Blackwing grumbled, settling down. The kits crawled on their bellies, following the scent of milk, and immediately began to nurse from Blackwing. He blinked down at them slowly, but didn’t say anything else.

Spiderheart followed Pumpkinpounce to the spot just outside of camp. Once they were out of earshot of other cats, the ginger tom stopped and turned to Spiderheart. His blue eyes flashed with desperation.

“You don’t understand, Spiderheart,” Pumpkinpounce meowed pleadingly. “Yes, I killed Smokewhisker. But you don’t understand! It had to happen! Donut said so-”

“Donut? Who is that?” Spiderheart questioned.

“He’s the one who…I talked to about the murder. He did it for me.” Pumpkinpounce confessed. “But he told me it was a good thing! He said that Smokewhisker had to pay for what he did!”

“What did Smokewhisker do to him?” Spiderheart asked.

Pumpkinpounce shuffled nervously. “I…Don’t know.”

“So you’re telling me,” Spiderheart snarled. “That some random rogue convinced you to kill my friend because he was allegedly wronged, and you…You BELIEVED HIM?”

His voice rose, his pelt bristling until he looked about two times his size. Pumpkinpounce lowered his head.

“I thought I was doing the right thing-”

“Well, you WEREN’T!” Spiderheart snapped. Tears began to fill his eyes. “Stars, Pumpkinpounce, do you even realize what you’ve DONE!? You KILLED somebody! Smokewhisker is dead! Gone! Finished! And he’s not coming back, because of YOU.”

“And what if he was a bad cat!?” Pumpkinpounce growled back, suddenly defiant. He raised his head, his tail lashing behind him. “What if I did a good thing?”

“You didn’t,” Spiderheart rumbled. “But if you did, by some stars-forsaken twist of fate, then you still went about it wrong. You should’ve gone to Hopestar! Gathered more information! Something! My stars, Pumpkinpounce, you’re such a-”

Pumpkinpounce’s pupils narrowed to black slits. “A what? Go ahead, say it.”

“Why? So you can kill me too and leave my kits orphaned?” Spiderheart retorted.

The two brothers stared at each other. Spiderheart continued, after a pause.

“You didn’t just ruin your reputation,” he stated. The anger in his voice lessened slightly, replaced instead by a soft, weary tone. “You ruined our entire family. You tore us all apart, Pumpkinpounce. And sometimes…Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if things would be better if you just left.”

He padded past Pumpkinpounce, leaving his brother standing there with a bristled pelt, a lashing tail, and a look of anger and mild bewilderment on his face.

“I’m going home. My sons need me.” Spiderheart said. “...You can either come home and continue to be shunned, or leave. Go find Donut. See if he really cares about you.”