if they love you to death never die on them

[frosty]

Gravelpelt tilted his head back to stare at the sky, narrowing his dark green eyes ever so slightly at the dim glare radiating from the cloud-choked sun. A soft breeze sighed, disturbing the fluffy wisps, sending them racing across the graying sky. In the distance, looming, dark clouds threatened the horizon. The bulk of the clouds no doubt contained rain in their stormy bellies. Now the vapor masses were travelling across the sky, searching out the perfect place to release their load. It was a dull day indeed, the wind tasting of a promising rainstorm within the next day or two. The powerful gray tom had decided today would be a good time to take Pebblepaw out of camp. And now, he was waiting for her to emerge from the yellow-green fronds at any heartbeat.

The camp had been buzzing with anxiety and excitement. Flickerstorm had begun kitting that morning, and had been in labor all day. The day had been so warm and pleasant during its first half, but the weather quickly turned chilly and shadowy. Some warriors had begun speculating a bad omen, but neither Birchstar nor Leopardfur had confirmed this. Gravelpelt had been so uneasy that he had to get away from camp, his Clanmates buzzing like bees around the nursery, praying to StarClan that the unborn kits would be alright. The dark silver tomcat could not bear to listen to his mother's eerie wailing any longer. The raw agony pierced his heart as if he could feel Flickerstorm's labor pains himself. But he knew he physically wasn't, only mentally he truly was. The burden of his mother's betrayal weighed down his shoulders, as if he were carrying the whole of the mountains on them. No living cat but Starlingstorm of MarshClan knew who the father of his unborn siblings was. And that was only because Starlingstorm himself fathered Flickerstorm's latest litter, making them half-Clan kits.

Shaking his head, Gravelpelt let out a long, ragged sigh. He couldn't comprehend how his mother could've made such a stupid decision. But then again, Flickerstorm had never been one for love. His father, Blizzardclaw, had quarreled with Birchstar far too often for them to work out as mates. So when StarClan called him away on a long mission and he broke the news to his mate and kits, Flickerstorm had turned her back on him. That mission had divided the family - Featherstorm and Flurryfoot had gone with their father, while Gravelpelt and Shellfang remained in DustClan with their mother. But Flickerstorm had lost her mind during that time, disowning her kits, whom were only apprentices at the time, and Blizzardclaw as her mate. That was when Pantherfoot, another DustClan warrior, had soothed Flickerstorm until she was stable again. But the two cats had fallen in love with each other, and soon Flickerstorm gave birth to two sons, Gravelpelt's half-brothers, Cougarheart and Beechtail. Pantherfoot had later died at the claws of Starlingstorm's best friend, Batstream, who claimed the murder had been accidental. Blizzardclaw returned, refusing to take Flickerstorm back after he learned of her betrayal to him and the family he had tried so hard to preserve. Blizzardclaw later died, along with Flurryfoot, Featherstorm, and Shellfang. Later, Flickerstorm met Starlingstorm after accidentally straying across the MarshClan border. The two fell in love after opening up to each other and Flickerstorm became pregnant for a third time. Today was the day that his mother would give birth to a litter of half-Clans, but Gravelpelt held nothing against his half-siblings. His had greeted his mother with cold contempt, but he was atleast happy she recognized her mistakes and promised she'd make no more. It was about time to get her family back on track and be a good mother to this new litter.

Gravelpelt didn't understand why his mother found it so hard to love. He himself had eased into the emotion like a beech nut slipping out of its husk. He was lucky enough that his affections were always so close to him. He loved everything about Pebblepaw - the curiosity that danced in her light amber eyes, her stubborn yet loyal attitude, the way sunlight shone on her silver tabby pelt and gleamed off her white chest. To him, she was perfect. There was no other cat like Pebblepaw, not in DustClan, not in the Appalachains, not in the world. Gravelpelt could never replace her, like Flickerstorm replaced his father with Pantherfoot then Pantherfoot with Starlingstorm. She was one of a kind. Pebblepaw was the one cat that he looked forward to seeing every morning, the cat that he always tried to go that extra mile for, that cat who he would always love regardless of any actions or words that passed between them before they joined the ranks of StarClan.

His head filled with clouds, Gravelpelt continued to watch the sky as he waited for his lively apprentice.

[Dawn]

Sadness to come...
...has cats to help through it.
We can't allow it!
We can't stop it.

Pebblepaw felt herself leap to wakefulness, away from her misty and shadowed dream as though a rock had been dropped beside her, physically jolting her back into the real world. What had that been about? What in the name of StarClan had she been dreaming about? It hadn't made much sense.

Pushing herself to her paws, the little silver tabby she-cat stretched and yawned, her mind still upon the dream she had been thrust into. She recalled the setting as a dark misty place, a place where she could not see any farther than the line of trees that divided her solitary clearing from the rest of the forest. Words had seemed to whisper through the dense air but she couldn't remember what they had said.

The foliage in the place had been lush and thick, more forest-like than the DustClan territory she knew and loved. But while it had been green and growing, the mist had obscured the sky and cast a shadowy light upon the place. The air had been thick and moist and she could almost feel her fur sticking to her pelt as though drops of water clung to it.

Deciding it was better to push the strange dream from her mind, Pebblepaw shook her head and stretched again, her lithe body rippling under her fur as the blood began to flow more actively. She should probably be getting out into the camp, Gravelpelt would probably be waiting for her, and she didn't want to keep him waiting. She loved her training sessions with her mentor, and loved how much she was learning.

Deeper down though, there was another reason she loved her lessons so much. The little tabby apprentice had a soft spot for Gravelpelt that went beyond friendship between mentor and apprentice. Not that she wanted to show it off - he was a strong and respected warrior and she just an apprentice. He probably had other, better she-cats to choose from than the likes of her.

Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Pebblepaw looked around the den. It was still dark inside though she could see movement from some of her fellow sleeping apprentices. She didn't much want to wake any of them so she carefully stepped around them, making sure to not step on any tails. She reached the entrance of the den and took one last look back into the den, mentally preparing herself for the day ahead of her. A day of training with Gravelpelt and trying to hide her feelings towards him; fun.

She gave a slight sigh then composed her face into a bright, happy mask and exited the apprentices den, blinking in the sudden dapple of sunlight that hit her face. After her eyes became accustomed to the light, she looked around and spotted her mentor immediately. Ignoring the little fluttering in her stomach, she approached him, her usual bright smile on her face.

"Good morning Gravelpelt!"

[/color] She chirped happily, stopping to stand before him. She looked up into the stormy green eyes set deep into his handsome face. "What's going on?"[/color] She asked, suddenly aware of the unusual level of activity in the camp as multiple voices caught her attention. It looked like it was all emanating from the nursery, but she couldn't be sure. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[frosty]

Gravelpelt purred as he watched Pebblepaw exit the apprentices den, a huge smile plastered on her face. He admired her carefree nature, and wished he was as relaxed as she was. But he had never, ever been able to act so calm. Even during his apprenticeship, family drama occupied all his time, pushing him to the limits. Hunching his shoulders at the thought of his dead father and sisters, he curled his tail around his paws. Then he remembered Pebblepaw, standing right in front of him. Gravelpelt straightened up immediately, twitching his ears in embarrassment at his moment of weakness. He had to focus on the present, which was right before his eyes, not his dark past, which was nothing more than a distance memory that left a hole in his heart.

"]Flickerstorm went into labor this morning. She's been kitting all day. I think Leopardfur is with her, but Birchstar just left the camp. I think she was stressed and needed some fresh air," he explained uncertainly. Why his grandmother had left his mother's side was completely beyond Gravelpelt. When he was in the nursery with Featherstorm, Flurryfoot, and Shellfang, Birchstar had barely left their side. Even with Cougarheart and Beechtail, the leader was often found with her daughter and grandkits. He wondered what had bothered the creamy brown tabby so much that she had abandoned her only kit during her kitting. Quite strange, he decided. But he didn't want to arouse Pebblepaw's suspicions. She was just an apprentice; no need to disturb her.

"]Do you want to go to the Dry Pond for some battle practice? It'll be good to get away from all this commotion. Come on, Birchstar's got the right idea," he meowed, flicking his tail over her ear with a smile.

[Dawn]

Pebblepaw saw Gravelpelt's shoulders droop then push back up again. She wondered for a moment what had been on his mind, but decided not to ask him. He might not want to answer and she didn't want to make him angry or anything.

"Flickerstorm went into labor this morning. She's been kitting all day. I think Leopardfur is with her, but Birchstar just left the camp. I think she was stressed and needed some fresh air,"

Pebblepaw blinked, comprehending now what was going on. "Oh, I see."

[/color] She mewed, her voice sober and knowledgeable. She had been in the nursery when Gravelpelt's brothers Cougarheart and Beechtail were older. Granted, she had been very small and they very large and her mother had never allowed her to speak to them, let alone anyone else, but she remembered it.

How time flew! It seemed just yesterday that she had been trapped in her mother's hold and watched enviously as Cougarheart and Beechtail escaped the oppressive nursery. Of course, it probably hadn't been that way for them, she had just been unfortunate. What with her mother's controlling, crazy nature.

Now she didn't even speak to her mother. She hadn't even seen her all that much since she had left the nursery. After burying Cloudkit, Pebblepaw's mother and father seemed to have melted away. It was like they didn't exist anymore. Of course, that was somewhat of an improvement of what life had been like beforehand, but she was jealous of those cats who were able to say that they had that family connection.

Oh well, at least she had Buzzardfang. He had come around and began to be a big brother to her upon hearing how she fought against their mother while in the nursery. He had accepted her even though he despised their mother and she was grateful. At least she had him; that was enough.

She wondered vaguely where Buzzardfang was, but upon looking around, she decided that he must be out in the territory somewhere. He had never really liked big crowds which was why he had always been somewhat uncomfortable at gatherings. Undoubtedly, the large crowd waiting for the birth of Flickerstorm's kits had caused him to want to leave the place to be on his own.

"Do you want to go to the Dry Pond for some battle practice? It'll be good to get away from all this commotion. Come on, Birchstar's got the right idea,"

Gravelpelt's voice snapped Pebblepaw back into the present. She smiled at her mentor and tried to hide the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach at his touch. "Alright, sounds like fun! Let's go!"[/color] She mewed brightly and started off towards the entrance of the camp, pausing at the entrance to wait for her mentor.

"Why did Birchstar choose to leave the camp instead of stay with Flickerstorm?"[/color] She asked curiously, looking up into Gravelpelt's handsome face. It seemed a bit odd that the leader would not be present with her daughter during the birthing of a litter, when Birchstar had always seemed so close with all of her grandkids.

Perhaps the noise and the heat had bothered her. It scared Pebblepaw dearly, but Birchstar was getting older. Pebblepaw considered for a moment the death of the old leader and shivered. She had grown up with Birchstar as the leader of DustClan and couldn't imagine it any other way. It just seemed odd to consider some other cat giving out orders and preforming ceremonies.
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