Twisted: Bluestar's Prophecy
Crookedstar’s eyes narrowed, focusing on the five white-clad cats that had walked into the RiverClan camp. They were all shivering - well, most of them, anyways. There were two adults, one of which he easily pointed out as his brother, and three kits. Upon a closer glance, the RiverClan leader could tell something was wrong. The kit his brother was holding was oddly still, as if frozen in a sleeping position. Beside him, the other cat was shuddering, spasming as she held the other two kits. For a brief moment, her eyes opened and a sudden rush of nostalgia came over the tom.
“Bluefur?” He asked, incredulous. Both the she-cat and Oakheart looked up, and Crookedstar could tell his guess was correct. Covered in snow, carrying her - and what he could only guess to be Oakheart’s - kits, Bluefur had the same stoic look that was evident on her face the first time they had met. He rushed down, pressing himself closer to her and her kits, hoping to StarClan that they weren’t sick.
Oakheart didn’t move, and instead kept the oddly-still kitten clamped in his mouth.
“Oh, StarClan, what are you doing here? And with kits? You know this is no sort of weather - Ottersplash! Please come here, quickly! - for children and Oakheart, is she -”
Bluefur let out a small snarl, startling awake the two kits she carried. The she-kit began to mewl in her brother’s ear, who squirmed to be let down.
“Mother, it’s cold!”
“Mother, where are we?”
“Mother, this tom has a funny face!”
Crookedstar couldn’t help but chuckle a small bit, but flicked his tail for Ottersplash to come closer when she began to hover a few tail-lengths away, eyeing the ThunderClanner warily.
“Ottersplash, please take these kits to the nursery. Warm them, feed them, make sure they’re alright. Brambleberry will be along shortly. And Bluefur, please don’t argue with me.”
Bluefur reluctantly allowed her kits to be taken from her, folding her ears down as they began to mewl louder in confusion. She pressed herself closer to Oakheart, who still refused to put down the kit he was carrying. Crookedstar was beginning to feel that not all of Bluefur’s children had made it through the blizzard.
“Come with me, please.” He murmured, making his way to the leader’s den. Once inside, he sat down on the far side of the area, watching as Bluefur curled into Oakheart’s warmth, still hiccuping a bit between breaths. Oakheart finally put the kit down at Bluefur’s feet, and Crookedstar could see him bite the inside of his cheek as the she-cat sank down and began to helplessly lick her child, sobbing into its cold fur and mumbling to herself.
Oakheart turned his gaze to his brother, and his green eyes stayed dull as he spoke.
“I found her at the border. Three kits at her paws. She was going to cross the river, or at least try. She was raving, rambling about destiny and Thistleclaw and ThunderClan. I managed to convince her to come with me, at least until the storm blows over. She had already lost…”
He looked down at the small mass between the queen’s paws, and he trembled for a heartbeat.
“RiverClan is fair, and we have always been such. I doubt you would throw them away simply on the grounds of their allegiance.”
There was a hint of a challenge in his brother’s voice, as if he were fully ready to fight for the safety of these ThunderClanner’s if Crookedstar pushed him to it. Crookedstar flicked his tail once, twice, three times in thought. He could sense Mapleshade lingering next to him, invisible to the other two, judging his next words.
“Tell me something.” He said quietly, to which Oakheart’s ears had to swivel to hear.
“Were those your kits?”
Bluefur’s ice-cold gaze turned on the red-brown tom, pricking her ears for his response. She seemed to be as judgemental as Mapleshade was being, but for what reason, Crookedstar could not explain.
Oakheart’s head dipped almost imperceptibly, and voice had dropped into a whisper so low that Crookedstar had to tilt his entire body to catch it.
“Yes.”
Crookedstar nodded, getting up to escort them out of his den.
“In that case, they will be allowed to stay. Bluefur, please allow Oakheart to escort you to the nursery. You do not have to stay if you don’t want to, but I order you - as a leader and friend - to stay until your kits are strong enough to reliably go home. I’m sure their foster-father will be very worried?”
Bluefur looked shell-shocked, but Oakheart seemed not to care about about the “other father” comment, and simply let the queen lean against him, supporting her as they walked. It was the first time Crookedstar had ever seen the blue warrior allow herself to be dependent upon somebody, and he had a nagging suspicion that it wouldn’t be the last.
&
“Bluefur? What are you doing?” Oakheart’s eyes were wide, worried. Stonekit and Mistykit growled at this new cat, but the queen swept her tail over her kits’ mouths. Her wavering gaze was focused on the red-brown RiverClanner.
“Go! Wait by the river. I haven’t told them who you are yet!” The she-cat snapped at him, and her snap became a snarl as he continue to stare at her and her kits. She glared at him, and watched as his face began to solidify.
“No.” He said very softly, and pointed to the lifeless kit that was poorly hidden in Bluefur’s paws.
“You’ve already lost one kit. You’re coming with me. Bring the kits.”
Bluefur’s hackles began to rise, but Oakheart seemed unwavering.
“No. Listen to me for once. Follow me. Quickly.”
Bluefur woke up again, maybe the third or fourth time that she had counted that night. Stonekit and Mistykit seemed perfectly content curled up at her belly, but for Bluefur, the river was much too loud. The absence of hoots and hisses of the forest was much too apparent for her taste, and the water seemed to roar in her ears. She wondered briefly how Ottersplash and Graypool could sleep soundly with all the noise, and how they could think that such noise was good for their kits. Mistykit and Stonekit certainly weren’t used to…
The blue she-cat sighed, getting up slowly so as not to disturb her sleeping kittens. Her paws seemed to be controlling themselves, steering her to the center of the RiverClan camp. It was very quiet, except for the roar of water that was constantly assaulting her ears. At least they were still enclosed by trees, which provided a bit of comfort.
Bluefur shivered once, her short pelt allowing the wind to chill her to the bone. She huffed, bounding across the small island to the warriors den, her long ears brushing the top of the entrance as she poked her head in, looking for a particular burly tom.
Oakheart was sleeping curled up, his long tail nearly touching his nose. The other warriors mimicked his position, though none of them were touching. Odd. ThunderClan warriors would’ve been in a pile on a night like this. The queen shook her head once, ridding herself of ThunderClan thoughts as she settled down next to Oakheart’s belly, setting her nose close enough to his so she could feel his breath on her cheek. Another sigh, this one of contentment, escaped from her maw. A bit farther from the river, Bluefur focused on the tom’s heartbeats, and felt herself slipping into sleep far more easily than she would’ve in the nursery.
&
Bluefur purred as she stretched, feeling very warm on a decently cold morning. She could feel Oakheart stirring next to her, his pelt prickling as he realized that he had been sleeping next to another cat. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, and Bluefur watched as he began to relax, noticing who exactly had invaded his nest.
“Sneaky little one, aren’t you.” He chuckled, plopping back down on his moss with a grin. “Did you even bother to tell Ottersplash about your little excursion before you left?”
Bluefur opened her mouth to give a retort - Mistykit and Stonekit were very well-behaved kits and wouldn’t cause any trouble - but she was interrupted by another, much drier tone, before she could do so.
“You would think she would?” Ottersplash meowed, her meow accompanied by two excited mewls.
“Mother, mother! Loudkit taught me how to catch a minnow!”
“Mother! Do I have to eat it? Mistykit says I have to because she caught it. It smells funny.”
“Mother, he won’t eat my catch! Tell him to eat it!”
Oakheart’s chuckle turned into a rumbling laugh, a sound that startled the chattering kittens. Stonekit’s eyes widened, and he looked to Ottersplash as if she were going to do something about this massive rumbling creature. Mistykit, however, decided that she was going to approach him.
“Are you from ShadowClan? You’re too big and dark to be a RiverClan cat.” She stated rather matter-of-factly. “Tell me what you’re doing in RiverClan territory! What’s your name?”
Bluefur stifled a laugh as Oakheart bent down to the little kit’s level, his head roughly the same size of Mistykit’s entire body.
“I am a RiverClan cat. My name is Oakheart. I’m your father, Mistykit.”
Mistykit snorted immediately, not believing this for a moment.
“No you’re not. Thrushpelt is my father.”
Oakheart’s mouth closed, his face becoming stony. He turned his face to Bluefur, and the she-cat could see Ottersplash ushering Mistykit and Stonekit out of the warriors’ den to avoid the oncoming storm of words.
“So.” He started calmly, his green eyes cold. “You took another mate, or at least had one on standby in ThunderClan?”
Bluefur matched his steely gaze with her own, her tail lashing behind her.
“Thrushpelt is my friend. You was helping me with the kits. You certainly couldn’t while you were here, now could you?”
Oakheart glared at her for a moment, processing this information. He took in a deep breath, and started again.
“Your clanmates assumed…?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t…?”
“No.”
“And you don’t…?”
“He’s my friend.”
“Thank StarClan.”
The red-brown tom laid his chin on her shoulder, breathing in her scent, curling his tail with hers.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He was rambling, but Bluefur didn’t care. She purred, pressing closer to his burly body.
“They’ll come around. I promise.”
When Bluefur returned to the nursery, Mistykit and Stonekit were already settling in for their first nap of the day. They each gave one squeak as their mother settled down beside them, and those squeaks turned to mumbles and those mumbles into murmurs as they drifted. Bluefur smiled down at her children, feeling a strange sense of contentment - even with the river still bubbling in her ears. A small chuckle escaped from another she-cat, a laugh that she easily associated with Ottersplash, despite their brief acquaintance.
“What are you giggling at?” Bluefur snapped quietly, trying not to wake her sleeping kits.
Ottersplash only shook her head, not at all seeming perturbed by the blue queen’s aggression. .
“You’re a first-timer. Grinning at those little ones like they’re the first sleepers you’ve ever seen. I know ThunderClan has had more kits than yours, right?”
Bluefur wanted to roll her eyes, wanted to point out that her two ‘sleepers’ were no different than any others. But something in the orange-and-white she-cat’s tone suggested that she wanted conversation, and her friendliness was just intriguing enough to at least answer.
“Yes. My sister had a kit before she died. He’s going to be a warrior soon. And Swiftbreeze had another litter of kits a few moons ago. They’re apprentices now, I think.”
Ottersplash’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward.
“You think? Were you only around your clan during sunlight-hours? Only interacted with a few cats? I don’t blame you, ThunderClanners are a self-righteous lot.”
Bluefur’s tail lashed and she could feel her hackles rising.
“ThunderClanners are the most loyal cats in the forest!”
Ottersplash snorted, disrupting her daughter momentarily.
“Of course. That’s why you fell in love with a RiverClan warrior?”
Bluefur snapped her jaw shut, eyeing the she-cat with distrust.
“Do you loathe me for doing so? Are you insinuating that I am not a proper warrior because of Oakheart?”
To Bluefur’s surprise, Ottersplash laughed.
“I’ve known Oakheart since he was a kit. He could charm the petals off a flower! No, my dear, I don’t loathe you for following your heart. Just know that RiverClanners are closer than salmon. We stick together, and we would all be happy to see you join our school of fish. At least, I’m sure Crookedstar and Oakheart would. Just don’t make yourself a loner. You have souls who want to know you, and a clan that is willing to give you another shot. Don’t blow it.”
