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"I Want To Erase Every Nasty Thought That Bugs Me Every Day Of Every Week."
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Gentle rain pattered the ground, Leaf-Fall was in full swing.

The trees which stayed evergreen towered above, their green faces soft and forgiving. They swayed in the brisk wind.

Brief splashes of colour stood out, in reds, oranges, yellows and golds. They didn't blend in as flawlessly as the evergreen trees. The few deciduous trees were swiftly losing their leaves, creating strange patches of chroma on the ground.

Dawnclaw stood in the shelter of the medicine den, the cramped space made her uneasy. But her aversion to water kept her hesitating, despite the fact that the rain was quite light.

Many of her Clanmates were avoiding her, or giving her nasty looks, and her relationship with Pinetuft was very inconsistent. Strong one day, and the next it wavered, Dawnclaw didn't know when everything went wrong.

Actually, she did. And if she were a better cat, it wouldn't have happened. Someone who was good, who was pure, would never emotionally neglect their kit. But Dawnclaw wasn't a better cat, nor would she be anytime soon. But hey, she certainly didn't plan on more abuse.

She shivered as a tail rested on her back.

Swiftear gave her a sympathetic smile.
"You can't stay here forever. Off you go." His kind, yellow eyes blinked, and Dawnclaw wanted to curl up against him and cry, like a kit needing their mother.

She was over her head in water, and the current was washing her away. Colour was bleeding out into the water, her fur colour, her eyes, her nose. She was now just a faded grey creature, no resistance, no thoughts. Mindless, spineless, boneless.
She was nothing.

Her father, Poplarpelt, was very distant these days. He had hated having to retire to the elder's den, and Dawnclaw wasn't going to risk her tail talking to him! Tawnymask, Dawnclaw's mother was not speaking to her after hearing about Sablekit, and had chose to give Dawnclaw the cold shoulder.

The last half moon had been torture. Ever since the Clan had found out about Sablekit's diagnosis, two quarter moons ago, there had been a large rift in SpruceClan. Most cats stood with her and supported her, largely due to Snakestar and Swiftear's speech, but there were still many who blamed and disliked her.

The Nursery itself was horrible. Brindlebee was furious at Dawnclaw, and had tried to persuade Dawnclaw's kits to come to her on multiple occasions, through small acts of kindness. Dawnclaw wasn't too worried, she knew that her kits loved her and stood up to every cat who was rude to her. After some family therapy, the kits had come to understand that Dawnclaw wasn't at fault for what happened. (Well, not completely.) And they had forgiven her.

Sablekit, to Dawnclaw's extreme happiness, had made progress, albeit only a small amount. But it was tremendous. The progress was really only in analyzing when he developed this disorder and why, but it was still very important, particularly as he was young, and still learning to analyze and evaluate his feelings.

Dawnclaw sighed.
"Alright," before sprinting across the camp; right into the Nursery.

Inside, Brindlebee was talking quietly to her mate, Swallowpelt, while Dawnclaw's kits played quietly. The wet weather had that sobering affect on everyone. Swallowpelt flicked a tail at Dawnclaw, she knew that despite his mate's feelings, he was more inclined to stand with Dawnclaw, admittedly non-verbally. After all, Pinetuft was his littermate.

Pinetuft's siblings have taken over the Clan, and there's only four of them, including him! StarClan knows what it'll be like with mine!

She began to purr; it was broken by the withering look that she was given by Brindlebee, the tortoiseshell turned her back on Dawnclaw. But Dawnclaw didn't miss the very anxious look on Brindlebee's face.

What was going on?

Everything was quiet until the moon started to dip into early morning. Dawnclaw's kits were asleep, and Pinetuft had spent a while with Dawnclaw before leaving
Brindlebee and Swallowpelt stayed together, their voices too quiet to catch.

Dawnclaw had drifted into a dreamy haze, the pleasant, fleeting moments between sleep and wake.

But the scream ended that.

Dawnclaw woke when a shrill scream of pain sounded.

Brindlebee. Her kits were coming!

But they couldn't be. She had moved into the Nursery just under three quarter moons ago! Kits took two moons to arrive!

Everything became a flash.
Dawnclaw ran to help.
Brindlebee hissed at her, but was incapable to do much due to the pain. Swallowpelt pushed her away, panic causing his eyes to grow wild. Swiftear and Aquiver were there.
The screaming was loud, too loud. Sablekit's ears were flattened, he was shaking.
Pinetuft was taking the kits out of the den.
Dawnclaw helped.

Sunrise coloured the sky in pale hues, the rain had stopped somewhere around moonhigh.

The screams carried on and on, until everything was quiet. A brown molly walked out of the nursery, exhaustion running off her face in rindles.

"The kits were a half moon early, she didn't retire to the nursery for a while into her pregnancy. She had four kits, one a stillborn." Aquiver informed her.

Dawnclaw bowed her head. Any kit born dead was a tragedy. Their soul was not yet formed, they would run with the wind for eternity, as a half formed afterthought.

"If you ask me, only one looks like it'll survive. You'd best stay away from the nursery, if they are to survive, they'll need their own place. Tomorrow, we'll construct a small den for Brindlebee and the kits, provided they live. In the meantime, you can sleep where you like."

She slipped away into the night, like a silk shadow. Dawnclaw's kits had all fallen asleep outside, in a pile for warmth and comfort. With the exception of Sablekit, who had curled up alone.

With a sigh, Dawnclaw awoke her kits; they mewled sleepy protests. She directed them towards the apprentices den, her voice soft.

"What happened?" Martenkit mumbled, curiosity sweeping under her tiredness.

"Never you mind, little one. It's time to sleep." Dawnclaw replied wearily.

"I mind very much." Martenkit said indignantly, but her words were masked by a yawn.

All the kits were too tired to make much of a fuss, and in the apprentice's den, when Dawnclaw was drifting off, she heard Fishpaw speaking to Deerpaw, and her words chilled Dawnclaw's spine.

"I really feel like something's about to happen. It's crackling the air, I can feel it touching my whiskers."

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Fact Of The Chapter: At the beginning of Leafbare, the Clans all have a truce that lasts for a quarter moon. They are able to go into other Clan's territories and talk, and hunt as much as they like. It's a reminder that no matter how Leafbare goes, the Clans will remain together as a society.