Secrets in the Snow

Squirrelflight blinked sleepily and frowned slightly.

It was a very cold night out, the kind of night where you feel relieved to finally retire to your nest after a long, cold day of Leafbare.

She glanced around and yawned, wondering what had woken her up. She felt a purr rise in her chest when she recognized the muscled tabby sleeping peacefully next to her- Brambleclaw, her beloved mate. He was so handsome, even asleep.

But suddenly, Squirrelflight felt a shuddering pain hit her stomach, and she gasped, heart beginning to thud painfully. She realized that it had been the pain that had awoken her, but what was it coming from?

She kneaded her nest uneasily and a few seconds passed before another agonizing pain clawed at her stomach.

The pain subsided after many long moments, and finally she shakily stood up, deciding she should go see Leafpool.

Stepping carefully around the many sleeping forms of her Clanmates, Squirrelflight finally scrambled from the warrior's den, and shook herself from the biting cold than immediately made her want to fly back to her nest.

Snow had fallen over the night. The sky was still a pale black, and as she gazed up, tiny, soft specks of snow were fluttering gently from the sky. It had already wrapped a bitter blanket on the camp, and Squirrelflight shivered to think of what the poor morning patrol would have to go through.

The pain was still clawing at her belly, a little less harshly now but still alive, as she quickly padded across the dark clearing and trudged her way through the snow. Finally she came up to the medicine-cat den and poked her nose into it.

Her sister, Leafpool, was the medicine-cat, and Squirrelflight was sure that she'd know what herb would ease the mysterious pains in her belly.

"Leafpool?" she whispered, narrowing her eyes from the damp darkness of the medicine-cat den. With a surprised jolt, Squirrelflight realized that her sister wasn't there.

Frowning, trying to ignore the rapidly-growing pains in her belly, Squirrelflight wondered where in StarClan's name her sister could be at this time of night.

Squirrelflight sniffed the air, and then glanced down at the snow. Of course! There were her sister's paw tracks in the snow, leading away from her den. Squirrelflight knelt down and sniffed them gentle, flicking an ear as she tried to read the scents.

She then straightened up and followed the tracks with her eyes: they led out of the camp and into the forest.

Narrowing her eyes, Squirrelflight was now wide-awake and semi-used to the cold snow hugging her paws, and she knew she couldn't ignore the pains in her stomach. So, deciding to go find her sister, she began padding off quickly in the tracks' direction.

Squirrelflight reached end camp's entrance and she raced out, eyes kept steadily on her sister's tracks. They looked fresh, as if her sister had only just left, and this only added to the questions forming in Squirrelflight's mind. Why had Leafpool left so abruptly and early?

Squirrelflight's mind automatically raced to one possible answer: Crowfeather. Had she gone to meet him?

But as soon as the thought finished, Squirrelflight furiously rebuked herself for having even considered that. Yes, Leafpool had disobeyed the warrior code and fallen in love with the frosty WindClan warrior, Crowfeather, and had even run away with him a few moons ago. But Leafpool had left him and returned for her Clan, and Squirrelflight knew she should have more faith in her sister.

Squirrelflight had been following the tracks for several minutes now, and the pains in her stomach had grown to an intensifying racking. For whatever reason, Leafpool had tracked far from the camp, and it was mainly Squirrelflight's fierce curiosity that kept her going.

Her breath made tiny clouds in the cold air, and her paws felt numb. Squirrelflight stopped suddenly and gasped, ducking her head and shutting her eyes as the worst pain washed over her. Great StarClan, she felt like she was giving birth!

Pelting through the dark, snowy forest now, dodging between dead clumps of bushes and the naked trees that rattled in the wind, Squirrelflight abruptly began to feel fearful, and ashamed, and more unhappy and grieved than she had ever felt before.

But there was something different about these feelings. Squirrelflight realized in a flash that these feelings, these pains, were not hers, but Leafpool's! Just like when they were younger, the mysterious connection between them clearly still thrived.

Squirrelflight began to feel panicky. Was her sister dying? Is that why she left so quickly? But that didn't explain the vast array of feelings her sister was suddenly sprouting...

She paused to sniff the air, and then her whole body froze when she heard something ridiculously alarming.

A kit's wail.

She glanced around wildly and could hear the blood roaring in her ears. She tasted the air- yes, there was the distinct scent of a mother's milk, and newborn kits....

Her heart pounding painfully now, Squirrelflight felt dread burrow in her heart as she called out hesitantly, "Leafpool?"

There was a startled meow to Squirrelflight's left, and she quickly swung her head around, pelting towards the noise. And finally, finally, she came to a large tree trunk that had a small space inside where a fox might live....

Instead, to her shock, she stuck her head in and saw Leafpool, looking devastated, and three wriggling kits suckling her round belly.

Leafpool gasped and her eyes widened when she recognized her sister. "Squ- Squirrelflight," she meowed shakily.

Squirrelflight could not stop gawking at the kits, and she slowly swiveled her head to look at Leafpool as she slowly slipped into the dark den with her sister. "What's this?" she hissed.

Leafpool looked horrified as she sank her head into her paws, sobbing. "Squirrelflight- I- I never wanted this to happen-"

"Leafpool!" Squirrelflight said suddenly, staring blankly at the kits. "These- these aren't- are they-"

"They're Crowfeather's," Leafpool whispered, voice cracking.

A shocked, horrified silence followed, and Squirrelflight couldn't stop shivering suddenly.

"Oh, no. Leafpool- no!"

Leafpool's whole body was shaking, and she looked broken. "I had no idea... until a few moons ago... I realized I was pregnant, and I've kept it a secret..."

Squirrelflight bit her lip, swaying slightly, but did not hesitate as she pressed herself against her sister. So this explained all of the confusing pains and feelings...

"Shh, shh," she whispered, trying to calm her sister. "It's okay, Leafpool-"

"It's not! I'm a failure! I should be killed!" Leafpool wailed, disturbing one of the kits, a golden-furred one.

"Stop it!" Squirrelflight told her firmly. "You didn't want this. Look, I- I'm going to help you get through this. We'll be fine. I- I can take them on as- as my own..."

Leafpool shook her head and swallowed hard. "It makes no sense, no one would believe..."

"I'm mates with Brambleclaw, and I could say I just had no idea. Anyways, I've still got a bit of a belly from all of the prey before Leafbare..."

Leafpool gazed at her as one kit, a dark gray one, let out a pitiful mewl. "You'd- you'd do that for me? You don't hate me?"

Squirrelflight stared incredulously at her. "Hate you? Leafpool, I'm your sister! I'll always love you, no matter what happens! And I'm going to fix this. We can just... just keep it a secret. No one will ever have to know."

Leafpool was staring at the three kits with a lost look on her face. "No secret can stay buried forever. Imagine what StarClan must think of me...!" She let out another soft wail, and Squirrelflight touched her nose to Leafpool's shakily.

"Please... please, Leafpool, they must understand, you never wanted this, it was all a mistake. We're going to make this work. I promise you." Squirrelflight still felt shocked at the sudden revelation of her sister's pregnancy, but she had to be strong for her sister. She had to help her.

Leafpool, shivering, touched her paw to Squirrelflight's muzzle. "Thank you... thank you... thank you..." she whispered, her voice fading, as the exhausted new mother dropped her head upon her paws, eyes dark.