#pumpkinpounce

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.”