Warriors: The Broken Code #4: Darkness Within

Part Two of Ivywhisker’s Truth Epilogue!

A small brown tabby she-cat stepped up silently to her, along with a fawn-and-white she-cat with amber eyes.
“Ivywhisker, this is Ivystar. She was the leader who welcomed me to ThunderClan, but was killed after I came. I was alive for long enough to watch her die, and Jaggedstar lose his first three lives to a fox, WindClan, and redcough. I am your grandmother, Doeheart, and I was a kittypet. Mossyleap has told you this, but here I am.” the fawn-and-white she-cat said in a voice smooth like silk and flowing like a river.
“Oh, Doeheart, you named me for her? A leader?”
“Yes. I influenced your mother from StarClan. And you weren’t named for a leader… Ivykit was.”
“Who?”
Doeheart stepped over to a small puddle on the ground. She touched it with her paw and it grew bigger and deeper, showing a white-furred queen in the ThunderClan medicine den, biting down onto a stick. Songflower was gently pushing on her belly, glancing over at Wisesight to make sure she was doing it right.
“Oh! Littledusk!” •The queen I saved,• she added silently to herself. As they watched, a last kit entered the world.
“Three beautiful kits! Two she-cats and a tom.” announced Wisesight.
Littledusk looked at her mate for confirmation as she named them.
“Nickelkit,” she said, pointing to a white and brown splotched tom-kit.
“Lilykit,” she continued, indicating a pure white she-kit.
“And Ivykit.” Ivykit was a tiny black-and-white she-kit.
“Oh, that kit is destined for greatness.”
She was out of the vision again.
“What do you mean?” Ivywhisker asked.
Ivystar had spoken in an elegant, soft, yet commanding voice.
“She will do great things in this world. The Clans keep growing, and with all these huge territories, it’s hard to make a difference. But she will. You can count on that.”
Ivywhisker decided not to say any more. She’d never considered herself a leader, preferring to lead her life and excel in her role of a warrior. She couldn’t bear the thought of leading her friends and family into battle against other cats (that she might know as well) knowing that some of them might not return.
Does Ivystar mean that I was a leader? Ivykit was named after me. Perhaps I was a leader in all but name. I really hope not… I didn’t make the best choices. I’m not exactly a role model or someone who the elders tell stories about.
A small voice said in the back of her head, •I saved Littledusk.
Anyone would have done that.
But nobody else did.
I just got there first.
You could have been an elder.
I couldn’t live without Birch.•
Her mind came to an impasse. She pushed it to the back of her brain and concentrated on Ivystar and Doeheart.
“I’m sorry, little one, but you must stand trial.”
Applefoot loped into view, his brown fur shimmering with stars. She could see that he had a limp once, and couldn’t help but wonder if that was why he had been a medicine cat.
“I’ll take you to the others.” he said gently.
Ivywhisker looked back at her family, her mates, her kits. She wished she could stay here forever, but she knew what she had to do.
She followed the creamy brown tom into the midst of the cats of stars.
~
EEK! It’s been almost a year since I made the note for the first chapter of Ivywhisker’s Truth in February. Thank you for reading, tolerating my cliffhangers, and being patient (I said I would release this at Halloween… it’s Christmas)!
(Also, for anyone who’s wondering, Ivywhisker gets into StarClan!)
|vy
~Leafwhisper~ (prologue of her fanfic coming soon!)