Picking Up the Pieces [Ashstorm]

"A little bit," Ashstorm responded.  She recalled when she went hunting with Mountainheart and the pain that was brought upon both of them at the mention of Sneezingpaw's name.  However, that didn't just affect Ashstorm when her daughter's name was said, it was also like someone was stabbing her through the heart when she would see Mountainheart and all of the memories came flooding back to her mind.  That was one of the reasons why it took her so long to talk to Mountainheart.  She knew it wasn't fair to her younger sister, but no matter how hard she tried the memories of Sneezingpaw were always there.  "We went hunting one day."

"That's good." Smokefeather mewed, tail flicking once as she shifted positions, stretching out on her side and facing Ashstorm. The heat made her not even want to move that much. Despite the words, she could tell that Ashstorm wasn't exactly happy, and a tired sigh escaped the elder. It... wasn't hard to guess why, either. Smokefeather's daughter had returned, and Ashstorm's... hadn't.

"She... Told you about Sneezingpaw?" Smokefeather asked softly, "I'm sorry, Ashstorm."

Ashstorm completely zoned out, staring at her own paws for a moment.  She thought all about what could have happened to Sneezingpaw.  Ashstorm's mind snapped back to reality when her mother asked about Sneezingpaw.  It was sort of weird, as if her mother could read her mind when she asked that.  However, it soon became clear to Ashstorm that it would be an easy guess, considering how close Mountainheart and Sneezingpaw once were.

"It's fine," she said.  "I wasn't really expecting her to ever come back or either or them for that matter.  I'm just happy that Mountainheart did."  A sigh escaped her.  "The only part that pretty much sucks is that I don't know what happened to her again, you know?"

There was little Smokefeather could say at Ashstorm's words, other than a quiet hum of agreement.

"Yeah... I hate not knowing." Smokefeather murmured. It was a fact of life unfortunately, as unpleasant as that might be. For a while Smokefeather remained quiet after that, gazing absentmindedly toward the trees. Her mind wandered to thoughts of Featherkit, as it so often did when the subject of Mountainheart was brought up. Whatever Sneezingpaw's fate was, Smokefeather just hoped that it hadn't been a violent one. Maybe it would be better if they didn't know at all... But she didn't have the heart to say so.