Snowstar sat in her den. "He's really gone..." She whispered to herself over and over again. And Sparrowlight too. She was only a few moons away from her kits. Both of them had gone too soon. It had been three days since they left on the walk. Three days without a trace of their disappearance. Three days of pretending she was fine. She wasn't fine. She missed Rustyfoot. He was right too. This morning, Shadepaw woke Snowstar up, and Snowstar scratched her cheek. Shadepaw took it well. Snowstar got up from her bed, and padded out into the clearing. Sundrop was watching her kits, Dewkit and Thornkit, play with a ball of moss. Reedpool, Lakeripple, Toadstone, and Rockdapple were chatting in the midday shade of a tree. Iceflower was busily arranging patrols and covering for Snowstar. Poor Iceflower. Every time that Snowstar was sick, sad, or asleep, Iceflower would always take care of anything that Snowstar couldn't. Iceflower would make a wonderful leader. Snowstar padded up to Iceflower. "Thank you Iceflower. I can take the leader duties from here." Snowstar said. Iceflower nodded, and went back to arranging patrols. "How did that mud serpent die?" Daisyheart asked. "It appeared to be clawed under the chin. That could very well be a weak spot." Snowstar said. "Are we safe?" Dewkit had moved to the front, Sundrop and Thornkit were close behind. "We are-" Snowstar hesitated. They weren't completely safe. "We are safe enough." She said. A few cries of distress came from the small crowd that had formed. "We need to move further away from the swamp!" A demand came from somewhere in the crowd. "No! We will not leave our home! We may have figured out how to kill them! Rustyfoot killed one!" Snowstar exclaimed. "Well, he's not here to say how, is he?" Someone yelled from the crowd. Snowstar stared into the crowd. "Who said that?!" She screeched. Nobody answered. "WHO SAID THAT?!?!" She yowled. Tears filled her eyes. Her breaths came heavy and slow. She flexed her claws. She lunged into the air, but didn't land in the crowd, but behind. She dashed past them and out of camp. She ran until she calmed down. Which wasn't long. She sat down, and let the warm tears stream down her face. At least Sparrowlight wouldn't need to mourn. She was gone too. But Snowstar lost her best friend. No more morning hunts. No more evening StormClan border patrols. He would never even get an apprentice or meet his kits. A loud growl rose behind her. She turned slowly, and to her horror, was staring directly into the dark red eyes of a mud serpent. End of Part Eight
Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/505861964 Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/503517996 First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/489682159 Oh noooo Short chapter, sorry :P
