When The Time Comes

The wind blew hollow over her pelt as she stared at the pools of water surrounding her. Mudmask was gone. Just like that, he had died. At least, that was what she'd heard from a WindClan she-cat, Amberberry. Mudmask, her charming Mudmask, dead. Gone. Just like that. When would the Clans stop suffering? ShadowClan had no medicine cat, both Ebonypaw and Oakleaf were dead. RiverClan and SkyCLan had lost many warriors. Owlstorm, Softbreeze, Honeytooth, Pebblepaw, Thistlepaw... But Mudmask's death hit her hardest. He'd been so special to her. She'd loved him. And he hadn't even gotten to meet his kits. Oh, her kits... Mudpaw had his lean build and eyes, and she could see him in all of them.

Her kits. Her kits were coming to meet her. She was going to tell them of their father, his wonderful smile, his humor, his charming eyes. He was a wonderful hunter, and so charming too.. His independence was admirable, his fiery spirit was inspiring. Oh, how she missed him so. "Oh, Mudmask...!" She wailed, hunching over, digging her claws into the hard, stone cold dirt. Her grief was strong, coming off her in waves. She didn't regret meeting Mudmask. She didn't regret falling in love with him. She didn't regret having his kits. She only regretted that he'd died too soon to meet his kits.

"Momma? Momma! Are you okay? Momma!" A small wail rose up from the she-cat's daughter as she rushed forward to brush her mother's flank with her muzzle. Mudpaw glanced up, looking over at her littermates. "Lily, Maple! Guide Swift over, Acorn too. Something's wrong with Momma!" Her command ended in a pitched wail as the young apprentice turned back to her mother. Breezebranch's flank shook as she sobbed, hunched over. She'd told all her kits, except Brindlekit as she had whitecough, to meet her here. But just a minute, she needed just a minute to settle her grief before she could face her kits.

Lilypaw hurried towards her mom. ”Mudmask? Who is that?” she said, starting to guide her sister Swiftpaw towards Breezebranch. ”What’s going on?” she asked Brezebranch. Had Smoke come back? What was going on?

Swiftpaw followed after lilypaw in a quick run. She didn’t know what was happening but once she saw her mother she knew it was urgent. Swiftpaw padded up to her mom and wrapped her tail on breezebranch’s back in comfort.

Maplepaw had tilted his head, trailing behind his denmates as they met up with their mother. He wasn't sure why she was going on about some..Mudmask. All he cared that his mother is okay, and..perhaps she was suffering something that made her think up of some random cat she'd probably met at a gathering once.

Maplepaw's eyes twinkled with concern for his mother, his tail swishing back and forth, dust floating up from the ground. He shuffled his paws - all signs of his nervousness. Maplepaw had so many issues stacking up - with his health problems, and now with his mother being ill. He gave her space, unlike his siblings who were fretting like mother hens. He sat down on the ground, his tail tip constantly moving, which showed his anxiety.

The turbulent air was sour with the stench of despair, an unfamiliar twinge of bitterness that twisted and festered in Breezebranch's mournful call. Peering over the the hard jut of Maplepaw's hip, Acornkit remained stationary behind the larger figure of her littermate, chin resting softly against the mottled pelt of her brother. She couldn't help the writhing mass of concern and wariness that bubbled up from somewhere low in her being, frightened by the uncharacteristic display of emotion on behalf of her mother. Yearning for the comforting presence of Lionpaw, the little tortoiseshell simply watched her siblings and mother with wide eyes. "What's wrong?" Acornkit whispered, twisting to give Maplepaw a confused stare.

He wasn't entirely sure why he was out this way, he knew Breezebranch had wanted to speak to her biological kits today, although the contents of what they would be talking about was far beyond the tom. His small excursion throughout the territory, one to take in the gentle regrowth of spring had lead him to Breezebranch's scent eventually, and against his best interests he followed it, figuring he could show off how great he was at tracking scents - she was his mentor after all - and only prayed to StarClan he wasn't about to interrupt a genuinely important thing he wasn't meant to witness.

But arriving at the gathering of scents - his mother's had been joined by that of all his siblings, bar Brindlekit who was dealing with an aggressive bout of whitecough in the medicine den. Even Acornkit had made the journey out of camp, accompanied by the small legion of cats that comprised his adopted family. Worry began to settle into the pit of his stomach, and Lionpaw found himself putting on a burst of speed at the keening sound that echoed into the pit of his heart.

"Breeze?" His voice was no more than a murmur, akin to the gentle breeze that rocked the branches nearby, and he instinctively reached out with a large forepaw to brush across her shoulder, a very soft sign of his presence. As his siblings rushed over, he backed away, settling with Maplepaw and Acornkit, giving her a swift lick on the top of her head, hoping to provide comfort to his younger sibling. The tomcat was entirely unsure of what was going on, only that the cat who raised him looked like she was breaking in two in front of his family, and he didn't know what to do.

It was time. All her kits were here, and Lionpaw too. Only Icepaw and Brindlekit remained away, but she'd tell Brindlekit another day. Icepaw didn't have to know, but if he asked, she'd tell him, too. "I'm alright, lovelies.." She croaked out, giving Mudpaw a nuzzle. "There is something you must know, Lionpaw, you may hear it as well." She murmured, sitting up. Her eyes were grief stricken and she could bare no longer to keep this secret. "Your father is dead." She mewed, voice almost a whisper.

"Father? But, Momma... Who is our father?" Mudpaw gave voice to the question lingering in the minds of all her siblings.

Breezebranch took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to wipe her grief away temporarily, so that she could tell her kits. "Your father was the bravest tom I knew, he had the spirit of fire, and I loved him. But.." She paused, opening her eyes and gazing out over her kits. Would they hate her for this? They were half-Clan, but surely that wasn't important? They were formed from the love of two cats, and love could never be bad, surely? She traced her paw in the dirt, before continuing. "Your father's name was Mudmask. And he was a WindClan warrior."

Mudpaw gasped and looked at her mother with wide orange eyes. Wind.... WindClan? Her father was WindClan? But... But that... That meant they were half-Clan.... Mudpaw was speechless, doing nothing but stare at the shapes her mother drew on the ground. A heart, a tree, and a wind symbol. They were for Swiftpaw, obviously, who couldn't hear. Her mother, a SkyClan cat, was in love with a dead WindClan cat. This was not what she had expected to her.

Lilypaw was confused. She had simply assumed her father was already dead, but apparently not. It had never really crossed her mind. As Mudpaw asked the question that Lilypaw so wanted to know the answer to. Mudmask? Who is that? she wondered, not ever hearing the name before. As Breezebranch answered her unspoken question, she let out a small, confused noise. She and her siblings were half-clan. Momma loved....a Windclan cat. she realized, looking down at the dirt, her head spinning.

Swiftpaw looked at the drawings and gasped also. She didn’t know she was half clan adding to her deafness. She really was the outcast of the clan. She sat down next to her mom and curled her tail across breeze’s back. She didn’t say anything as she was lost in thought.

Maplepaw obviously didn't belive her. He glanced back at his sibling, Acornkit, and shrugged. "Some nonsense, as you heard." Scuffing, he narrowed his eyes at his mother.

"Sure, you can say all you like but lying won't bring him back." Maplepaw was clearly rejecting whatever he was being told. He already knew he was a freak, he looked like a she-cat more than anything. He didn't want to add being a half-breed to his list of problems. His wish was be the best Skyclan cat ever, and being a half-breed would make that hard. He already knew the trust issues of the other clans, as he didn't want to be mistrusted because his mother was silly enough to lie about their heritage.

He roughly turned around, while making sure not to bump into Acornkit, and stomped off towards camp. He refused to listen to any more of her lies. His father was a true, and proud Skyclan cat, and nobody could say otherwise. Only if his true father, (not whoever this Mudmask is), showed up, He could tell her how much of a lie that was. Oh! Maplepaw could ask Silverstar! He'd surely know that Breezebranch was lying.

The anguish that burned in Breezebranch's eyes was enough to make the tomcat feel sick to his stomach, and yet he remained firmly planted by Acornkit's side as he awaited the words of their mother. Mudmask? the name was vaguely familiar, and as she said the next few words he felt his mouth go dry in shock. This molly who raised him and made him into the tom he was today, she had broken the code in one of the worst ways possible by not only falling in love, but falling pregnant with the kits of an enemy clan. Maplepaw's outright dismissal of the admission shocked him further, and Lionpaw watched with a blank gaze as the other tom went off to tell Silverstar about their parentage. His paws felt like they'd taken root, and for a brief second he wished they had - because that would mean he wouldn't have to deal with the fallout of this, or deal with his conflicting thoughts.

On one hand, he loved Breezebranch like his own mother, he had been there for the birthing of these kits and he loved them as fiercely as he'd love his own kin. But this was against everything he knew and had been taught, there was not a single part of this that Lionpaw knew to be right and yet... he couldn't hold it against her. The molly had fallen in love, plain and simple, who could fault her for it? Love was a powerful emotion, it doesn't discriminate and it doesn't give you the option to be choosy. Her love had led to him being able to stand here strong today, and had imbued him with confidence and respect for every cat he'd ever met.

The part of Lionpaw that respected the warrior code was not strong enough to overpower the love he had for Breezebranch, and he teetered forward on unsteady legs to rest against her. "Whatever happens, I love you. It'll be okay," the cream tom murmured, his tone soft and gentle, thinly masking the affection beneath. "Silverstar will understand, they'll be loyal SkyClan warriors," he continued, praying to StarClan his family wouldn't be banished for Breezebranch's mistake. He couldn't lose them.

Gaze honeyed with the presence of discomfort and muscles rigid with tension, Acornkit couldn't help but shift her weight idly- wincing as the stark flavoring of agitation hung heavily upon the air, weighing upon the disconcerted cluster of kin with the menacing presence of a brewing storm. Features creasing up with a mixture of blatant revulsion and confusion, the little tortoiseshell found herself watching haplessly at Maplepaw's obvious rejection of the unfolding situation, while Lionpaw seemed relatively accepting, and the remainder of her littermates seemed to be suspended in a similar place of disbelief.

"Why would you tell us this?" She eventually inquired after a long moment of staunch silence, soft voice uncertain- certainly there were things better left unsaid, right? It was her burden to bear, not anyone else's. Purposely avoiding making direct eye-contact with the grieving shape of Breezebranch, Acornkit suddenly found the various expressions decorating her littermates featuring to be much more interesting, especially in lieu of attempting to properly come to terms with her mother's unwelcome revelation.