Post by Dreamer on Oct 23, 2015 1:02:40 GMT
He had no choice.
That was what the tom kept telling himself as he crouched as low as possible in the thinning undergrowth. Leaf-fall was upon the clans; it wasn’t long before sundown, and chattering squirrels bickered over the best nuts for their Leafbare store. It seemed peaceful, with the bright reds and oranges of fall, a whispering wind stirring the trees, bringing leaves spiraling down to the brittle undergrowth. Yet for Tempeststar these things were muted. The colors barely called him, the wind barely touched him. All he could hear was the pounding of the blood in his head and ears. He crouched in the thick, browning undergrowth, his eyes narrowed, waiting.
He still could not believe he was doing this, no matter how much he tried to convince himself it was right, he knew very well it wasn’t. What he was about to do, if he were found out, would bring more punishment on his clan than even now it suffered. And not just from the other clans. The gray tom couldn’t help but glance up once more at the faded blue sky, searching for the stars. In a way he wondered if he should even care anymore, after all, wasn’t Starclan supposed to watch over the clans and send them aid? No, he would not consider the dream to be aid.
A crunching sound drew the gray tabby tom’s attention. Perking his ears, he checked to make sure he was downwind of the sound, and then rose slightly from his hiding place to see who it was. A slender young she-cat padded along the forest floor, the browns and gingers of her pelt matching the colors of the forest, except for her blue-green eyes.
Laurelsky.
Once again Tempeststar’s resolve wavered, but it was too late. The she-cat froze, her fur fluffing up, as she opened her mouth to scent the air. He heard her hiss, “Fox.”
The leader had to smile at the irony. Oh yes, it was foxes, but not the type she would expect. Tempeststar slinked through the undergrowth until he got to a tree, and then he rose and padded around, revealing himself to the medicine cat.
“Hello Laurelsky.”
The Thunderclan she-cat started, and she turned to see who had spoken. Confusion clouded her eyes, and her ears went back slightly.
“T-tempeststar? W-What are you doing here? This is Thunderclan territory. Do you want to see Cedarstar?”
The nervousness in her voice was obvious. Most likely because of the fact that he was covered with the scent of fox, and smelled nothing of Riverclan. With the barest of smiles he approached to within a few pawsteps of her.
“No Laurelsky, I’m here for you.”
Confusion filled her face, along with fear, and she warily took a step back.
"What?"
Tempest star lifted his gray tail casually, watching with slitted eyes as three of his warriors , Rockshade, Troutleap, and Branchsnag slithered out of the nearby undergrowth to surround the chocolate tortie she cat. Laurelsky glanced back and forth, nervously trying to understand what was happening. Tempeststar forced himself to approach calmly, his face expressionless, knowing that if he could not keep his emotions in check he would not be able to go through with this.
"I need your expertise, Laurelsky, Cricketleaf is... Indisposed."
"What do you mean? I can't go anywhere with you, I need Cedarstar's permission first. Y-you need to come with me to camp."
"Not today.... And for you… maybe never again."
She stepped back, trying to escape his advance, but her tail brushed against Rockshade's front paws and she jumped forward again, eyes flickering between the faces of the different warriors.
"I don't--"
"Just come with us and you'll see."
Her ears were flattened to her head and her fur was fluffed up, and she trembled slightly as she stood straight. Her expression was a mixed one, defiant but fearful. Growing up in Thunderclan had taught her to never back down. She looked about ready to attack, but Tempeststar doubted she would. In a way he was thankful that medicine cats usually had less battle training, this way she would be less trouble to him, but he also pitied the young medicine cat. His prisoner. He forced that thought away.
"I-- No! Are you crazy Tempeststar? What do you mean? You have no right!"
When she said those words, his calm composer broke. How dare she say he had no right! He knew more pain than she would ever know, or at least, than she would know now. His lips curled back in a feral snarl and he thrust his muzzle near hers.
"I gained the right when the other leaders denied me help, when Cedarstar laughed at my request. When Thunderclan looked on in amusement while Riverclan suffered. I gained the right when my mate died before my eyes!"
He noticed the absolute horror in her expression, and pulled back, turning away from her, breathing sharply to regain his composure.
Finally he turned to her once more, little expression other than pain in his eyes.
"Now, are you coming or do we have to dunk you in the lake until you're unconscious?"
"I'm going to call for help."
"So much the better. In fact..."
He stepped forward and motioned for his warriors to hold her still, they crowded around her and though she struggled they pinned her helplessly. Once she was relatively still he reached forward and slashed her leg, enough to let blood begin to drip to the ground. She hissed fiercely and pulled back, yowling desperately, but the Riverclaners restrained her, not cruelly, but firmly.
Tempeststar hated this, he hated the fear and even hatred that he knew she must feel. The cruelty that he was inflicting upon her, the pain, the betrayal…. There was no excuse. But he had no choice, he was determined to save his clan. So he nodded to Rockshade, who grabbed Laurelsky by the scruff and began dragging her in the direction of the lake. She fought every step of the way, crying for help, digging her claws into the ground. The other warriors helped Rockshade, pushing Laurelsky along, while Tempeststar stayed back for a few moments. It took all his strength to ignore the accusation in her eyes, the question. Why? He shook his head and turned to survey the scene. Hopefully the fox scent would cover any Riverclan scent. The gray tabby tom took a few moments to spread Laurelsky’s blood as well as make it obvious there was a scuffle, and that she had been dragged off. Thunderclan would mourn the loss of its younger medicine cat, who must have died at the claws and fangs of the fox that had been wandering Thunderclan territory. But Riverclan would survive another day.
--
After arranging the scene to his satisfaction, Tempeststar bounded after his warriors, urging them to greater speed. They could not be caught on Thunderclan land. By now Laurelsky had little energy to fight the cats and as dusk descended the Riverclanners slipped into the lake, taking turns helping Laurelsky to keep her head above water as they followed the shoreline. It was the ideal time, in that they were least likely to be seen as darkness descended. Hopefully they would be far enough out that when the evening patrol arrived at the scene of the “attack” any possible scents or discrepancies would go unnoticed. The clouds gathering at the horizon would also help to aid their escape. At first Tempeststar was grateful, Starclan must be accepting of his choice, unless the clouds were a sign of their displeasure.
The leader didn’t have a chance to wonder, as suddenly Laurelsky floundered in the water by Troutleap. Without a second thought he dove under her, pushing her up so she could breathe. She came up spluttering and he steadied her, oblivious to the looks of his clanmates.
“Are you—Can you manage?”
He had almost said okay, but how could she have answered that? She was being taken away from everything she had ever known, forced to swim even though she had little experience, and then held prisoner in another clan. She didn’t respond, but seemed to try instead to steady and match her paws to his. He drew away when she leaned against him slightly for support, allowing Branchsnag to take his place.
Rain began to fall, meeting the water with soft plinking sounds, as they emerged from the lake onto Riverclan territory. None of the cats spoke, and a heaviness lay upon them, for quite obvious reasons. Tempeststar couldn’t help but notice the guilty and frustrated looks his warriors shot at Laurelsky when they thought he wasn’t looking. To her credit she walked, almost strode, head high. Her Thunderclan pride lent her an extra measure of courage, but even so he could see the way she shivered slightly. Now that he was back on his own territory Tempeststar felt more at ease. He had succeeded! At least for now, anyway. Who knew how long he could keep the clans from being suspicious, keep them from finding out. Nonetheless he felt a sense of triumph, Laurelsky would heal his clan, and then Riverclan would be strong again, and no more cats would have to feel the pain that Tempeststar himself had felt. This triumph died as soon as they neared camp, when the wailing started.
“Nooo! Robinkit!”
Everyone froze and the warriors looked at each other in dismay. Troutleap cursed fiercely and sped off to comfort his mate. A grim look settled on Tempeststar’s face once more. He pushed forward through the entrance without even caring to make sure that Laurelsky was following.
There was Shellfrost, his deputy, slowly carrying Robinkit’s body from the medicine den, which she set down in the midst of the rather wet and muddy clearing. All cats that were well enough to stand and were in camp were there, watching the scene with dull eyes. Swanstep, Shellfrost’s sister, looked on apprehensively from just inside the nursery, sheltered from the rain, a paw on her own swollen belly. Troutleap lay beside his wailing and sobbing mate, Honeystream, trying to comfort her, but it was obvious he himself was having a hard time. Tempeststar felt as if he were stuck in mud, which he somewhat was, and it wasn’t just the rainwater that weighed down his pelt. He had been so close, so close. But yet another cat added to the tally of the dead. Laurelsky inhaled sharply beside him, and he jumped slightly, he had completely forgotten her.
“A kit…. What is happening here Tempeststar?”
She gazed at him intently, her fur hanging limply in the rain, her ears back at the somber and macabre scene. Tempeststar still couldn’t move, but it wasn’t the scene that held him now. It was her eyes. Shaking himself he turned to watch the scene stoically.
“Come.”
So they padded from the shadows, slowly, the leader with his shoulders hunched, hollow. As soon as Laurelsky emerged, Swanstep noticed her, the pregnant she-cat scowled fiercely and stood up precariously, waddling towards the medicine cat while taking great care where she stepped. Laurelsky didn’t seem to know what to do, and shuffled her paws slightly, looking at the ground. Swanstep sneered and glared at her coldly.
“You! You knew, but you didn’t help! Filthy Thunderclanner! Medicine cats are supposed to care of any cat in need, but we have to make you help us instead. Now how are we even supposed to trust you to heal us? You would probably just be happy to kill us all off and be done with Riverclan. You’re not worthy of even being called a medicine cat!”
Tempeststar thrust himself in front of Swanstep, head and tail high, voice filled with command that came from leadership.
“Enough. She is our guest, and she is to be treated as such. You should be grateful that you don’t have to have your kits alone now.”
Swanstep turned away, flicking her tail in condescension, and went to sit by Honeystream, murmuring comfortingly to the sobbing sandy she-cat. Tempeststar saw his warriors’ fluffed fur, their narrow-eyed glares, and Laurelsky’s obvious discomfort. It would not be easy for her, but then he had known that when he started this venture. So why couldn’t he just make himself accept it?
“Come with me Laurelsky.”
Ignoring the cats in the clearing he padded to the medicine cat den, acutely aware of Laurelsky’s presence just behind him. He hesitated at the entrance, allowing the chill of the rain to remind him that this was not a nightmare, and finally pushed through. Immediately the scent of sickness washed over his senses and he had to keep from holding his breath. Without a medicine cat, the little that his clan knew of caring for the sick was being done, but one by one the caretakers fell sick as well. That’s why they needed a real medicine cat. Inside lay the crumpled, moaning, and weak bodies of Beetlepaw, Goldpaw, Mosswing, Dewsplash, and Sunflame. Only Larksong and Brookpaw remained caring for the sick cats, and they looked about ready to collapse themselves. Laurelsky’s gasp did not come as a surprise this time, and he knew that she was truly understanding the full complexity of the situation now.
“Half your clan is here Tempeststar… but, where is Cricketleaf?”
“He was the first.”
She nodded, seeming numb, and Tempeststar shook his head slightly before looking straight into her eyes.
“Care for them…. Please.”
As soon as she nodded in vague ascent he whirled and left the medicine den, escaping the scents of sickness, escaping his failures. Hopefully now his swirling stomach would calm away from them, away from her.
In the clearing, the cats had calmed slightly, now they were preparing Robinkit’s body for vigil. The rain made their attempts rather futile, and the kit’s fur was dull as she lay. Before he joined them, Tempeststar approached Branchsnag, beckoning him. Once the brown tabby tom was close enough, Tempeststar kinked his tail in the direction of the medicine den.
“I doubt Laurelsky would want to leave any cats in need, but just to be sure…. Stand watch near the entrance to the den.”
The warrior nodded, seeming relieved to escape the depressing atmosphere of the vigil.
“Yes Tempeststar, after what we went through to get her we wouldn’t want her finding her way back.”
Tempeststar didn’t respond at first because he was distracted by the sight of Acornkit, Robinkit’s brother, gently nuzzling his sister’s ear. Branchsnag followed his gaze and looked at his leader pityingly.
“You made the right choice, Tempeststar, and sooner or later the rest of the clan will see too.”
Then the brown tom padded away and Tempeststar joined the vigil, sitting quietly between Troutleap and Shellfrost. Honeystream was quieter now, simply burying her head in her daughter’s cold fur. For several moments all was silent, and then Honeystream spoke hoarsely.
“She was so close to being apprenticed… she couldn’t wait to get her name. But now she’ll never have a chance.”
The injustice of the situation caused Tempeststar to lift his head to the sky and growl slightly at the stars. Where was Starclan now? Mocking his pain? The gray tom joined Honeystream and touched her shoulder with the tip of his tail, motioning her to step back. At first she stayed planted there, but finally reluctantly backed up.
“I Tempeststar, stand witness before Starclan. Robinkit may have been young, but she showed great courage in insisting on caring for her clanmates, even when it was obvious that there was little she could do. So in the presence of Starclan I name her Robinspirit, for her truly loving manner and her unwillingness to back down. We let her go to you now Starclan, that she may be happy and watch over us.”
Tempeststar took a step back, surprised at the amount of gratitude in the eyes of his clanmates, the peace that he now felt from them. Starclan was still watching. Unfortunately, Tempeststar didn’t feel that peace. As the vigil went on, the rain eventually stopped, and only a soft dripping sound was what could be heard in the clearing. Soon Tempeststar found himself swaying on his paws, near to collapsing from exhaustion. Shellfrost approached him.
“Tempeststar, you need to rest, come on, let’s go to your den.”
Stubbornly he shook his head, but she pushed him to start walking, he tried to move towards the medicine den, but Shellfrost kept him on a path for his own den.
“Wait, I should check on Laurelsky—“
“Tempeststar, she needs to be allowed to do her work, and I don’t think she’d really appreciate it.”
“But—“
“Do you realize exactly what you’ve done? We may be saving Riverclan, but it will be quite the short term solution. We can buy maybe two moons before the other clans become suspicious. In the end Laurelsky will be caught in the middle of a war at best, at worst she will have to die. Whatever may happen, you’ve doomed her to be a prisoner for the rest of her life…. However long that may be.”
Tempeststar was now at the entrance to his den, he paused, head down and whispered,” I know,” then he disappeared inside to sleep.
---
Bramblethorn enjoyed Leaf-fall, though not necessarily this one. It had been rather wet, which had caused him to get easily chilled. Already he had had to ask Brackenflame for herbs to fend off a cough. He had not as of yet gotten truly sick, though that was partly thanks to Laurelsky’s attentiveness, but he wouldn’t be surprised if sooner or later he did. The clouds gathering on the horizon told him there would be rain at least once more, but then hopefully a dry spell would come and the next thing that fell from the sky would be snow.
Now as he padded along with the dusk border patrol he noticed his apprentice, Leafpaw sniffling and snuffling a bit. He smiled lopsidedly and flicked her slightly with his tail.
“Your snuffling is probably scaring prey away from here to the border. Why don’t you go see Brackenflame and Laurelsky and see if they can get you something for that?”
The little brown tabby looked at her paws, her ears back, clearly embarrassed.
“Well, I didn’t think I was sick enough for that I don’t want to waste any herbs or anything.”
He cuffed her over the ear playfully.
“Mousebrain! How do you think you keep from getting sick? Don’t worry, if it makes you feel better I’ve been taking some myse--“
Bramblethorn’s words were interrupted by a high-pitched yowl. The other cats on the patrol, Thunderclan’s deputy Flintfire, Tigerlily and Poppypaw all froze mid-step and dread filled Bramblethorn’s heart. Without a second thought all four cats pelted in the direction of the cry. Even so, Bramblethorn knew they would be too late. They were too far away. If somecat was in danger they would not be able to get to them in time. Fllintfire caught up to Bramblethorn, a grim look on his face.
“Do you know if there are any hunting patrols out at this hour?”
Bramblethorn shook his head, before weaving around a tree.
“No, all cats were accounted for in camp sharing tongues except…”
The brown tabby tom stumbled and almost fell forward headlong, his eyes filled with dread as he stared at his deputy.
“Laurelsky!”
He leaped forward, running faster than he had known he ever could. He barely heard Flintfire call to Leafpaw to fetch Cedarstar. The smell came before the sight. Nasty fox smell slammed Bramblethorn’s senses, as he leaped over a log, causing him to land awkwardly, twisting his paw. Ignoring the pain, the tom pushed on at a quick jog, until he came to the scene.
What struck him most was the scuffle, the fear scent. And the blood. The brown tom’s eyes were drawn to it, as he breathed hard. He hardly registered the arrival of his clanmates. Their voices were indistinct, silenced, until Flintfire came to his side. The deputy seemed frustrated, perplexed, as he and the rest of the patrol looked over the scene. What had happened?
Flintfire muttered under his breath.
“I knew we should have driven out that fox days ago…”
The gray tom seemed only then to notice Bramblethorn’s expression, his locked limbs and unsheathed claws.
“Bramblethorn, she’s not here. There’s no body. She could still be alive.”
It took several moments for those words to sink in, but just as they did, he felt the first raindrop, the brown tabby hissed and lurched forward.
“No! I must find her!”
As the first drops fell he quickly but franticly searched for clues. He found it strange, the fox scent was quite strong, but somewhat stale, as if the fox had rolled in its own dung… disgusting. There was also a strange faint scent beneath it, a scent he couldn’t place. In the end, the scent that bothered him most and caught his attention most was his sister’s fear scent.
Bramblethorn loved his sister, just as any two littermates might be close. Since their mother died, he had watched over her, and though he hadn’t agreed with some of her decisions when she was younger, he had supported her. In many ways he had been her silent protector, he had always vowed he would never let her get hurt and now….now she could be dead for all he knew.
Soon the clouds poured out their water on the territory, and Bramblethorn wondered if they weren’t crying for him. He quickly searched for a trail, for her scent and that of the fox that had been wandering the territory. In a stroke of luck, he spotted another spot of blood, a compressed area, where she had been dragged away. As rain fell about him, he followed the trail as best he could, until he came to a point where the rain had washed all signs away. Then he stopped and yowled angrily at the sky. By now, Cedarstar had finally come, the leader approached Bramblethorn, rage glinting in his eyes, his fur spiked, his fangs showing.
“We’ll find Laurelsky, Bramblethorn. The fox can’t have gone far.”
So the search began. Most of the clan set out to look for their sweet medicine cat. They looked for hours, until the rain had stopped, then one by one they returned, disheartened. Bramblethorn had to be dragged back by his clanmates as he seemed determined to look all night. When all the searching cats had returned, Cedarstar leaped up onto Highledge.
“We have not yet found a trace of Laurelsky, it could be that she has escaped the fox and is somewhere in the territory, but it might also be that she has been lost to us forever. We will look for her tomorrow, but if in a few sunrises she cannot be found we—we will have to assume the worst.”
So Thunderclan went to their nests and slept, unaware that their young medicine cat now labored in an enemy camp. And Bramblethorn decided he would never give up on his sweet sister, until he saw her in Starclan.
---
It was her first gathering, not half a moon after her apprentice ceremony, and already she had lost her mentor. The small tortie apprentice stumbled around, eyes wide, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cats and scents and voices and words. Pelts swirled together and became unrecognizable, and everything began to close in on her. Fearfully she started darting between cats, searching for a face she recognized, until she ran smack into somecat’s chest. Tumbling backwards, she glanced up to see bright amber eyes on the face of an older apprentice, who seemed around the age of becoming a warrior. He chuckled and came forward, helping her up.
“You look a little lost. First gathering right?”
With wide blue green eyes the she-cat nodded vigorously, and the tom’s smile widened even more.
“Well, I’m Tempestpaw of Riverclan. What’s your name?”
“I-I’m Laurelpaw, o-of Thunderclan.”
His expression was a curious mixture of friendliness and something else which Laurelpaw could not understand.
“Laurelpaw, what a pretty name…”
A cough jolted Laurelsky out of her dream, and she lifted her head wearily and looked around the dimly lit den. The first few days she had woken with a start, confused and fearful of her surroundings, now it was just normal. How did she feel about the whole situation? Well obviously the fact that she had been kidnapped, wounded and forced to heal other cats had scared her half to death. But in a lot of ways, Laurelsky felt guilty that she hadn’t come sooner. Thunderclan had caused the death of several Riverclan cats with their pride, in many ways Tempeststar had had no choice. That still didn’t mean she was particularly happy with the arrangement. There was always a Riverclan warrior guarding the entrance to the medicine cat den, watching her every move.
Although most cats in Riverclan were on the way to recovery, Laurelsky still had a lot of work on her paws. Some of them had been sick for nearly half a moon, and it would take them just as long to recover. Soon they would be good enough to leave the den, but they would still need to build up their strength. She didn’t want to think of what would happen to her when her usefulness had ended. But then again it would never end, they had no medicine cat, and not even an apprentice that could have been jointly trained by the other clans’ medicine cats. Now all they had was her.
Laurelsky stood, shaking a thin layer of dust from her pelt and padding over to where the herbs were stacked in neat rows in grooves. She drew out Catmint, horsetail, feverfew and a few other herbs, noticing how depleted they were. She would have to ask to speak to Tempeststar about it, when she saw him next. Once she had mixed the herbs together in the proportions needed to treat the rasping coughs and fluctuating fevers, she went around the den murmuring sympathetically and forcing the cats to eat the herbs. The sicker cats accepted the herbs gratefully, but those who were nearer recovery were more difficult. Their prickled fur and narrowed eyes portrayed quite obviously their distrust of this she-cat, who was obviously not of their clan. In the end they all took their herbs, and also drank some water, then most went back to resting. Only one cat, Sunflame, refused to sit still.
“Come on Laurelsky, I’m fine, the cough’s gone and I have plenty of energy! Now can I please leave the medicine den? I’ll stop bothering you.”
She looked him over shrewdly.
“Fine, one last check-up.”
So she came and felt his heartbeat, strong and regular, she smelled his breath, which showed no sign of sickness, and had him walk in circles to see if he would cough again. In the end he really did sound like he was better.
“Alright Sunflame, you’re free to go.”
“Thanks Laurelsky.”
Without another word, the tom bounded out into the main camp. Laurelsky sighed and turned once more to look at her patients, but for now there really wasn’t much more she could do for them. So she tentatively padded to the entrance to the den. Just outside she found Rockshade’s stoic figure. He said nothing, just watched her, and she didn’t even step paw out of the den, only sat in the entrance and watched the morning procedures of the clan. Swanstep was sitting with Honeystream, talking with her. The grief was still strong for many cats in the clan, as Robinsoul had been the fifth to succumb to the sickness, but they were slowly overcoming the grief and beginning to smile more often again. Shellfrost was taking her apprentice, Brookpaw, and Troutleap and his apprentice Icepaw out for training, and the ginger and white she-cat was arguing with the dark gray tabby tom, who good-naturedly riposted her every comment. Beechfur, the now sole elder of Riverclan stretched in the sun dozing. All other healthy warriors were either out hunting or on border patrol.
Laurelsky turned uncertainly to Rockshade.
“I’m – Can I go check on Beechfur and Swanstep?”
It would give her something to do. The elderly tom was remarkably resilient for his age, and hadn’t even caught the sickness yet, at least not as of yesterday. Laurelsky thought it would be good to check on him. Swanstep was soon to have her kits. Most likely it would be not long after the full moon, or maybe even around that time. Laurelsky would have to miss the gathering, she wouldn’t want to be…. She realized her train of thought halfway through, and her heart sank. What was she thinking. She’d never be able to go to a gathering again, never be able to see her clan again, not unless she escaped. And that she wouldn’t try for sure until Riverclan was free of this sickness. As much as this was painful for her personally, the medicine cat code was so ingrained within her that she wasn’t about to leave any cat in need. Especially not under these circumstances.
Rockshade finally nodded silently and stood to follow her. The she-cat smiled sheepishly and then took the lead. Halfway to Beechfur she paused when she heard her name called. Curious she turned halfway, to find Swanstep watching her.
“Don’t bother Beechfur now, let him sleep. If you want, you can check me first.”
Her tone was rather curious and Laurelsky had a hard time discerning what was in it. Was Swanstep still disdainful of her presence, was she just tolerant, or was she actually warming up to Laurelsky? The chocolate tortie came and joined the two she-cats already there. Honeystream smiled at her slightly, while Swanstep nodded in greeting then shifted her eyes to the ground once more. For several moments there was only silence before Honeystream finally bobbed her head uncomfortably.
“So how are you settling in Laurelsky? Have you… have you been able to accommodate yourself well?”
It was obvious that Honeystream was grasping at something to talk about, but her words made Laurelsky wince slightly. Such a flippant thing her situation was made. Settling in? Hah, half the clan hated and distrusted her, the other half was grudgingly thankful to her. For them she was an outsider. Nonetheless she knew it was hard for them as well. The fact that they had become so weak that they had had to seek outside help frustrated them, but also, they were still coming to terms with the many deaths that had shaken their clan.
Before Laurelsky could respond, a brief shuffling sound came from behind her, and she noticed that both she-cats straightened slightly.
“Good morning Laurelsky.”
Of course, it had to be Tempeststar. The chocolate tortie forced herself to remain composed as she looked up at him. The weak and watery sunlight shone softly on his gray pelt and caught his eyes, lighting them up with amber fire. Laurelsky had always been taught that while fire may at first seem to be warm and comforting, it always scorched and burned. It seemed that this statement had proven true many times over. At his paws lay a thrush, obviously one that Tempeststar had hunted himself. The leader looked rather self-conscious shifting from paw to paw, while keeping his chest puffed out. He wanted to look in control, but he wasn’t necessarily doing so well.
“I caught this for you, I thought… maybe it would…. Make you feel better?”
The whole situation was rather comical, but also distressing. Laurelsky couldn’t ignore her past, but it certainly wasn’t helping that other cats kept bringing it up. Yet she couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture. So she nodded and stooped, picking up the thrush in her jaws. He motioned with his head toward the other side of camp, where she might eat in peace and she quietly, resignedly padded over. To her surprise Tempeststar followed, waving Rockshade off.
“I think I can take care of it don’t you think Rockshade?”
The warrior said nothing, only nodded and left camp to do some solitary fishing.
When Laurelsky sat, Tempeststar sat down beside her and as she ate she could feel his stare on her, but she refused to meet his eyes again. After a few moments he spoke.
“Do you have everything you need? Are you comfortable?”
She knew what he was asking, but at the moment she didn’t feel the least inclined to answer. Gathering together all the remnants of her shattered pride and self-image she gave him a look from veiled eyes, her lips twitching slightly back.
“No actually, I’m running out of some herbs. I’m going to need more to replenish the stocks. Of course you could always just steal from the other clans if you prefer.”
The words affected him just as she had hoped. He winced visibly and looked away for a second before giving her a hard look. Oh she would show him that there was still strength in her, she wouldn’t give up. Riverclan needed her help now, but when the time came she would find a way to escape. Unfortunately she didn’t know if she could bring herself to do that. The words once out of her mouth had fizzled, and she had to look away, heat filling her face. She really had not needed to say them, it was her bitterness working against her.
“I’m sorry Tempeststar, that was uncalled for.”
Yet when she found the courage to look at him again, all she saw was pity and pain in his eyes.
“No Laurelsky, you had every right.”
Once she had finished her thrush, Tempeststar got to his paws.
“How about we go for a walk through the territory. We need to talk.”
Knowing that she had little choice, Laurelsky followed him, ignoring the curious glances of the Riverclan cats as she passed through the entrance. Tempeststar waited for her by the bank of the small island that composed the camp. The water swirled lazily by, but even so its deep blues, caused Laurelsky to hesitate. Tempeststar confidently entered the water until his belly fur, and then must have noticed that she hadn’t followed her, because he turned to look at her, curious.
“Well? Don’t you know how to swim?”
She glared at him but finally entered the water gasping at the cold. The rain from a few days ago had cooled the air and now the water was freezing. Already she could feel herself shaking.
“I know as much as any cat knows.”
Tempeststar smiled mischievously and entered the water completely, pushing across the creek with strong confident strokes. Laurelsky followed more carefully, trying to remember what she had learned about swimming.
He reached the other side and pulled himself up onto the bank, sitting and curling his tail around his paws.
“Come on now, it’s not that far!”
The she-cat narrowed her eyes grimly and pushed forward. Upon reaching the other bank she pulled herself out of the water, shaking as much water out as possible. Her teeth chattering, she started to lick her fur the opposite way so as to keep warm. Laurelsky sniffed when Tempeststar stepped up beside her, ignored his hearty laugh.
“Come on Laurelsky, it’s not that bad. We’re only in Leaffall right now.”
“You’re fur is th-thicker than mine… and more slippery.”
“That’s because of all the fish I eat.”
As refreshing as the banter was, Laurelsky was still anxious of being there alone with Tempeststar.
“Why—Why did you bring me here?”
“I felt that we needed to talk…”
“You know what I meant.”
It was obvious from his expression that that was what he had been hoping to avoid talking about. Without saying anything he moved away from her towards the edge of the bank, staring bleakly into the dull water.
“You were my only choice Laurelsky… I wasn’t about to deprive a clan of a medicine cat, not when leaffall was on the way, but Thunderclan… at least Thunderclan has Brackenflame, they can survive the winter. If you hadn’t come Riverclan would have ceased to exist.”
The tortoiseshell shook her head in disbelief.
“Surely Starclan would never allow that to happen, they would have sent aid, a guide, a prophecy!”
The leader whipped around.
“You were the prophecy.”
Laurelsky did not know what to say, she could only stare at her paws and avoid looking at him as much as possible. He sighed deeply.
“I may have taken you from your family, but I hope we can become a new one to you. I hope in time, you will come to love my clan as much as I love it. And maybe…. Maybe more.”
Laurelsky looked back to camp, unsure. After everything that had happened…
The only answer to his question was silence.
---
Silver moonlight shown in dappled patterns on the damp ground, filtering through the few lonely leaves that remained limp on the trees. Paws pressed into the earth, leaving distinct prints in the soft soil, as several shadowy cats picked their way across the ground to the edge of the lake. The tom who was ahead lifted his gray muzzle and opened his mouth to scent his surroundings. From behind a white she-cat with ginger patches huffed.
“Tempeststar, why are you taking so long? The coast is clear, everything will be fine.”
Tempeststar nodded at Shellfrost absently, his mind occupied with other things than just safety. Tonight was the night of the gathering, and he had to decide what to say…. And what not to say.
It had been nearly a quarter moon since he and Laurelsky had talked, and although she now seemed to be more cheery, the onset of the gathering had made her day, and his, very gloomy. Of course the depressing weather didn’t help one bit either. Although it wasn’t constantly raining, the sky was overcast and dark, and the damp penetrated into everyone’s nest, making easy for cats to be bone-tired. By now most sick cats were well enough to leave the medicine den, although because of the weather all the cats in the clan were eating preventative herbs to keep from getting sick again. The medicine cat den was oddly empty except for Laurelsky. Tempeststar had left behind two guards instead of the one she usually had. He had to take precautions, he trusted her, but if she couldn’t keep herself from taking this opportunity to return to her home and family….. Well the consequences for Riverclan would be disastrous. Not only would Thunderclan be ready to go to war, but most likely the other two clans. Cats from all the clans would be furious that they had so broken the warrior code.
Not that Tempeststar felt any better about it still. It had been more than painful to leave her there, her wide eyes pleading.
He shook his head vehemently, there was no time for this. Forcing his thoughts away from Laurelsky, he led his clan onto the log that formed the crossing to the island. Tempeststar tread slowly and carefully. Over the many seasons, claws and the natural elements had slowly degraded the log-bridge. Even now there was talk of finding another way to the island, or finding another gathering place. The former was the most likely one, and Tempeststar knew it was likely that Riverclan would be consulted as to a good method to do so, but he wasn’t sure when.
Finally his whole clan made it across the log, to find that both Shadowclan and Windclan had already arrived. Skystar and Adderstar were conversing calmly, though warily, up among the branches of the large tree that the leaders usually sat in. As Tempeststar padded into the clearing he forced his fur to lie flat, and kept himself from glancing all around. He was starting to get paranoid, no one could possibly know about Laurelsky being in Riverclan. She had only left camp twice, and that had been with Tempeststar himself. Unless another warrior had been trespassing on Riverclan land, he would’ve known if she had had any contact by now. Riverclan would have been attacked.
Tempeststar climbed the tree and sat in the fork of a branch near where it met the trunk. He only nodded soberly in greeting to the other clans’ leaders, staying a branch below them. His clan, or at least the small contingent he had brought, fanned out and began to converse in low tones with other cats. They were agitated, all of them, but that was because of the deaths in the clan itself. How would Tempeststar even be able to relate them to the other clans? Would the other three clans believe them weak? Would they be tempted to invade? Riverclan may have lost some cats, but they weren’t about to lie down and let the other clans just take their territory. Riverclan was still strong.
A slight crackling sound drew Tempeststar’s attention, and he watched as Thunderclan streamed in. Soon Cedarstar leaped up into the tree beside the other leaders, smiling as if he was leader over everything. Tempeststar said nothing as Adderstar muttered gruffly from above.
“You’re late Cedarstar. We don’t all have all the time in the world like you do.”
Skystar inclined her head slightly.
“We should get this gathering going…. The moon is shining right now, but it might not be long before it is obscured by clouds.”
All leaders nodded at that, and Adderstar stepped forward impatiently. With a fierce yowl he quieted the cats on the ground, who soon sat in their clan groups. Adderstar nodded as if satisfied.
“Greetings cats of all clans! Shadowclan has good news to report. Our hunting has gone well, and we have had two kits born into the clan. Also we have a new warrior, Russetblaze!”
The brown tabby paused for a moment as the cats in the clearing cheered heartily. The calico tabby she-cat whose name had been called puffed up with pride. She was well known as a fierce and loyal cat, and was popular at gatherings.
“That is all I have to report.”
Adderstar stepped back into the shadows, and Skystar took his place.
“Windclan has had a prosperous last moon, we have been well fed and our preparations for leafbare are well on their way. Although we do not have any new warriors or kits, we have recently added two apprentices, Heatherpaw and Gorsepaw.”
The she-cat stepped back, and the other three leaders looked at Tempeststar. The gray tabby motioned to Cedarstar to continue, which made the other three leaders’s eyes narrow, their tails and whiskers twitching. The dark brown Thunderclan leader stepped forward, stoic as he watched the cats below.
“Thunderclan has felt a deep loss this moon. Our young medicine cat, Laurelsky, was killed by a fox on our territory. Although we avenged her death and expelled the fox, we were not able to find her body.”
The leader bowed his head for a moment, and murmurs of sympathy spread quietly across the cats…. Except from Riverclan. Tempeststar saw a large brown tabby and white tom kneading the ground angrily. Bramblethorn. Laurelsky’s brother looked frustrated if anything, but otherwise healthy.
“Otherwise Thunderclan has been doing well, our hunting has been fruitful and Thunderclan remains strong.”
The Thunderclan leader nodded slightly and then stepped back, as Tempeststar stepped forward.
The time had come, Tempeststar looked down upon all the cats, searching for those in his clan he had brought. Shellfrost met his eyes and nodded encouragement, and the leader took a deep breath.
“I am sure that you have all noticed that Riverclan’s delegation is smaller. As most of you know, a sickness swept through Riverclan. In this sickness five cats died, Lilypetal, Raindapple, Carptail, Robinkit and Ripplefur. Cricketleaf is not here this night as he himself is recovering.”
Tempeststar paused and looked back to the other three leaders, satisfied to see the shock there.
“But we have recovered, we are strong, and now we have no inhibitions as to protecting ourselves. Soon we will have new kits and new warriors.”
Tempeststar paused for effect, eyes glinting dangerously.
“We are ready. This gathering is over!”
Tempeststar leapt down from the branch, landing smoothly and stalking off, as cats parted for him. He could see the shock and in some cases embarrassment on their muzzles, for some even grief. Some of those cats had been friends, and one an esteemed elder, but now they were gone.
And the other clans knew they were to blame.
Tempeststar and his clanmates paused at the other end of the log bridge, and were surprised to see Skystar picking her way across the log quickly after them, her clan close behind. The silver tabby leaped off and approached Tempeststar, her face at first emotionless. But when she got closer to him she allowed sympathy and shame to show through.
“Tempeststar…. I apologize for all the other clans for the damage done to yours. Should you need aid again… we will be there.”
“It’s too late now.”
Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and made sure no one from her clan or the other two was close by and whispered.
“If another clan decides to attack, Windclan will come to your aid.”
Then she swung around imperiously and bounded off with her clan to her territory, leaving Riverclan to begin its trek home.
--------
Laurelsky busied herself with her herbs, trying not to pace. She could see even from here the shimmering moonlight at the entrance to her den, but also the shadows of her two guards, and once again she felt a pang in her heart. The Gathering. Tonight Brambethorn and the rest of her Thunderclan clanmates would be preparing for the gathering, or at it. Brackenflame would be complaining about having to walk so far. Her smile at the thought of her clanmates froze.
Would they be mourning?
She had been missing nearly half a moon…. Even the most optimistic of her clanmates would have given up. Poor Bramblethorn, he would have been furious and at the same time desolated. He would have felt that he had failed her. She missed his warm and loving banter, but also his wise words. He might have been leader of Thunderclan one day, if he were to pursue it. And Brackenflame would have blamed himself. The tom was fringing on elderly, he had wanted to step down, since little Petalkit was becoming quite interested in herbs, or had been at the time. It wouldn’t be long before she was made an apprentice, and now Brackenflame would need to train someone to take over for him, since Laurelsky was, well, gone.
Speaking of older kits…. Acornkit padded into the den slowly, cautiously.
“Laurelsky?”
The she-cat smiled at the little tom, but it was a stiff smile, and it wavered slightly.
“What is it little one? Is Honeystream alright?”
The small brown tabby shuffled his paws hesitantly.
“Yeah… I’m actually here about something else. Laurelsky I want to be your apprentice.”
The last words came out in a rush, and he seemed to grimace slightly. Laurelsky could only stare at him, her mouth slightly open.
“I-I don’t know…. Are you sure about this Acornkit?”
He puffed his chest out and nodded.
“I want to be able to take care of my clanmates, so that no one has to go like Robink—soul.”
Laurelsky could only nod, eyes glazed.
“Well we’ll have to talk to Tempeststar, but he’ll probably say yes…. The clan needs one of its own to take care of it.”
The little kit looked puzzled and opened his mouth to reply but suddenly there was a thud of pawsteps at the entrance of the medicine den and Honeystream stuck her head in.
“Laurelsky, Swanstep has started kitting!”
Immediately the medicine cat whirled around and scrambled over to where the herbs were, rapidly pulling out Borage and Poppy Seed, she flicked her tail absent-mindedly at Acornkit.
“You want to help you might as well start now, fetch a small stick for Swanstep to bite on when the pains come.”
She turned just in time to see the little tom nod and squeeze past his mother out of the den. Honeystream was watching her with an unreadable expression, but stepped out of the way without saying anything. Laurelsky’s guards, Branchsnag and Troutleap, were standing just outside. Branchsnag was glancing nervously in the direction of the nursery while still trying to keep an eye on Laurelsky. The medicine cat nodded at them and padded quickly over to the nursery.
She entered the den in time to hear Swanstep moan with the pain of a contraction. Honeystream followed, and Branchsnag stuck his head in questioningly, but Laurelsky flicked her tail at him.
“Wait outside Branchsnag, there’s not enough room for you in here.”
He opened his mouth to protest but then reluctantly left, just as Acornkit darted by into the nursery with a nice-size stick in his mouth which he placed by Laurelsky. Laurelsky nodded, opening her bundle of herbs and bringing out some poppy seeds.
“Here Swanstep, take two for the pain, any more though and you’d be asleep.”
The she-cat, gritting her teeth, nodded and swallowed the poppy seeds, then took the stick in her mouth. Laurelsky turned quietly to Acornkit.
“You said that you want to be a medicine cat apprentice, well this will be just the beginning. Tonight you will find out if this is really what you want. Watch closely.”
The young tom nodded, and Laurelsky glanced at Honeystream. For a moment she seemed stoic, but then she nodded. Laurelsky sighed and turned her attention again to Swanstep.
“It’s going to be a long night.”
---
Tempeststar finally stepped into camp, relieved that the gathering was over, but utterly exhausted. Going there, having the gathering, and coming back had taken most of the night, soon dawn would come. The leader was surprised to see the amount of cats in the camp center, they should all be sleeping. Then he noticed Branchsnag pacing in front of the nursery, muttering to himself.
Tempeststar felt a great relief, Swanstep must have had her kits. With a smile on his muzzle he turned to Shellfrost.
“See if you can get most of the cats into their dens, they’re going to need their rest so that they can all be ready for hunting and patrols tomorrow. They can always visit the new arrivals tomorrow.”
His deputy nodded, her usually stiff demeanor more relaxed. She likely wanted to go make sure her sister’s kits were well, but she wouldn’t mind waiting. Once he had given the order he picked his way through the cats to the entrance of the nursery just in time to hear Laurelsky call Branchsnag in. The brown tabby rushed inside, his fur fluffed out. Tempeststar held in a chuckle, before following the tom inside.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he was able to make out the forms of several cats. Swanstep lay in a large nest, disheveled and exhausted, but she seemed to have a glow about her, a beauty. Branchsnag sat by her side, staring in awe at the three tiny balls of fur snuggled at her belly. New parents were always a wonderful sight, the plain joy and love on their faces, for each other, and their tiny kits. Laurelsky hovered hesitantly at the edge of the nursery. She looked nearly as exhausted as Swanstep, but in a different way, she seemed satisfied though.
Tempeststar decided to leave the young couple murmuring to themselves, and instead approached Laurelsky. She looked up at him wearily and nodded her head shakily, before looking away.
“You did well Laurelsky.”
“I did what I had to do, Tempeststar. I had plenty of help from Honeystream and Acornkit as well.”
At that she looked up, focused.
“About Acornkit…. He asked to be my apprentice.”
Tempeststar blinked, surprised. That he had not expected.
“That is good I guess, but is that what he really wants?”
“It is.”
Acornkit stepped forward from the shadows to the left of Laurelsky. He seemed to be trying to stand as tall as possible.
“Someone has to learn how to take care of the clan eventually, why not me? Cricketleaf always said I had a good memory.”
For a moment the three cats said nothing, as Tempeststar considered it. In truth it was the best he could hope for, maybe he could get this to work for him.
“Alright, we’ll hold the ceremony tomorrow, its been overdue anyway.”
Acornkit relaxed, his fur spiking in excitement as he bounded off to find his parents.
Laurelsky sighed quietly, which led Tempeststar to look at her questioningly. She shook her head slightly.
“How did—“
“Tempeststar, Laurelsky, would you to like to be with us while we name the kits?”
Laurelsky’s words faded away as she turned with a slight smile and joined the young parents. Tempeststar could not help but be relieved at the interruption, he knew what Laurelsky had been about to ask.
Once Tempeststar had joined the other cats, Swanstep began to speak.
“Branchsnag and I have decided that we should name our kits in honor of those who passed on.”
She started by gently touching her eldest, a grey and ginger calico.
“This little on shall be known as Lilykit.”
Next she placed her paw on her second kit, a gray tabby kit.
“This tom will be known as Rainkit.”
Then she hesitated over her last kit, a white she-kit with brown tabby patches.
It was not surprising she hesitated, the last names she had to choose from wouldn’t work very well with her kit. Cricket was a more tom-like prefix, as was Ripple, and when it came to Robin….. that memory was far too fresh.
“I-I name you Leafkit, in honor of our last medicine cat, who fought for us with such fervor that he himself passed on.”
All the cats hung their heads for a few moments, honoring those that had once lived among them. Then Laurelsky lifted her head as Honeystream entered the nursery, trailed by a fluffed up Acornkit. The light brown tabby she-cat looked over them all and then sniffed.
“Alright all of you, out. Swanstep needs to rest.”
Tempeststar nodded and hurried to the entrance, where he paused when Swanstep spoke.
“Laurelsky?”
The medicine cat, who had been a few steps behind Tempeststar, paused and turned.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
The words seemed to have shaken Laurelsky, as she pushed past Tempeststar and nearly ran to the medicine den. Branchsnag, who had emerged from the nursery at his leader’s side, cleared his throat. Tempeststar’s tore his gaze from the medicine den to his young warrior. Branchsnag seemed to have a gleam in his eyes, was it mischief?
“You should probably go talk to her Tempeststar, I think you’re the only one who can help.”
Then the brown tom disappeared into the warriors den, leaving the leader standing there debating with himself.
That was what the tom kept telling himself as he crouched as low as possible in the thinning undergrowth. Leaf-fall was upon the clans; it wasn’t long before sundown, and chattering squirrels bickered over the best nuts for their Leafbare store. It seemed peaceful, with the bright reds and oranges of fall, a whispering wind stirring the trees, bringing leaves spiraling down to the brittle undergrowth. Yet for Tempeststar these things were muted. The colors barely called him, the wind barely touched him. All he could hear was the pounding of the blood in his head and ears. He crouched in the thick, browning undergrowth, his eyes narrowed, waiting.
He still could not believe he was doing this, no matter how much he tried to convince himself it was right, he knew very well it wasn’t. What he was about to do, if he were found out, would bring more punishment on his clan than even now it suffered. And not just from the other clans. The gray tom couldn’t help but glance up once more at the faded blue sky, searching for the stars. In a way he wondered if he should even care anymore, after all, wasn’t Starclan supposed to watch over the clans and send them aid? No, he would not consider the dream to be aid.
A crunching sound drew the gray tabby tom’s attention. Perking his ears, he checked to make sure he was downwind of the sound, and then rose slightly from his hiding place to see who it was. A slender young she-cat padded along the forest floor, the browns and gingers of her pelt matching the colors of the forest, except for her blue-green eyes.
Laurelsky.
Once again Tempeststar’s resolve wavered, but it was too late. The she-cat froze, her fur fluffing up, as she opened her mouth to scent the air. He heard her hiss, “Fox.”
The leader had to smile at the irony. Oh yes, it was foxes, but not the type she would expect. Tempeststar slinked through the undergrowth until he got to a tree, and then he rose and padded around, revealing himself to the medicine cat.
“Hello Laurelsky.”
The Thunderclan she-cat started, and she turned to see who had spoken. Confusion clouded her eyes, and her ears went back slightly.
“T-tempeststar? W-What are you doing here? This is Thunderclan territory. Do you want to see Cedarstar?”
The nervousness in her voice was obvious. Most likely because of the fact that he was covered with the scent of fox, and smelled nothing of Riverclan. With the barest of smiles he approached to within a few pawsteps of her.
“No Laurelsky, I’m here for you.”
Confusion filled her face, along with fear, and she warily took a step back.
"What?"
Tempest star lifted his gray tail casually, watching with slitted eyes as three of his warriors , Rockshade, Troutleap, and Branchsnag slithered out of the nearby undergrowth to surround the chocolate tortie she cat. Laurelsky glanced back and forth, nervously trying to understand what was happening. Tempeststar forced himself to approach calmly, his face expressionless, knowing that if he could not keep his emotions in check he would not be able to go through with this.
"I need your expertise, Laurelsky, Cricketleaf is... Indisposed."
"What do you mean? I can't go anywhere with you, I need Cedarstar's permission first. Y-you need to come with me to camp."
"Not today.... And for you… maybe never again."
She stepped back, trying to escape his advance, but her tail brushed against Rockshade's front paws and she jumped forward again, eyes flickering between the faces of the different warriors.
"I don't--"
"Just come with us and you'll see."
Her ears were flattened to her head and her fur was fluffed up, and she trembled slightly as she stood straight. Her expression was a mixed one, defiant but fearful. Growing up in Thunderclan had taught her to never back down. She looked about ready to attack, but Tempeststar doubted she would. In a way he was thankful that medicine cats usually had less battle training, this way she would be less trouble to him, but he also pitied the young medicine cat. His prisoner. He forced that thought away.
"I-- No! Are you crazy Tempeststar? What do you mean? You have no right!"
When she said those words, his calm composer broke. How dare she say he had no right! He knew more pain than she would ever know, or at least, than she would know now. His lips curled back in a feral snarl and he thrust his muzzle near hers.
"I gained the right when the other leaders denied me help, when Cedarstar laughed at my request. When Thunderclan looked on in amusement while Riverclan suffered. I gained the right when my mate died before my eyes!"
He noticed the absolute horror in her expression, and pulled back, turning away from her, breathing sharply to regain his composure.
Finally he turned to her once more, little expression other than pain in his eyes.
"Now, are you coming or do we have to dunk you in the lake until you're unconscious?"
"I'm going to call for help."
"So much the better. In fact..."
He stepped forward and motioned for his warriors to hold her still, they crowded around her and though she struggled they pinned her helplessly. Once she was relatively still he reached forward and slashed her leg, enough to let blood begin to drip to the ground. She hissed fiercely and pulled back, yowling desperately, but the Riverclaners restrained her, not cruelly, but firmly.
Tempeststar hated this, he hated the fear and even hatred that he knew she must feel. The cruelty that he was inflicting upon her, the pain, the betrayal…. There was no excuse. But he had no choice, he was determined to save his clan. So he nodded to Rockshade, who grabbed Laurelsky by the scruff and began dragging her in the direction of the lake. She fought every step of the way, crying for help, digging her claws into the ground. The other warriors helped Rockshade, pushing Laurelsky along, while Tempeststar stayed back for a few moments. It took all his strength to ignore the accusation in her eyes, the question. Why? He shook his head and turned to survey the scene. Hopefully the fox scent would cover any Riverclan scent. The gray tabby tom took a few moments to spread Laurelsky’s blood as well as make it obvious there was a scuffle, and that she had been dragged off. Thunderclan would mourn the loss of its younger medicine cat, who must have died at the claws and fangs of the fox that had been wandering Thunderclan territory. But Riverclan would survive another day.
--
After arranging the scene to his satisfaction, Tempeststar bounded after his warriors, urging them to greater speed. They could not be caught on Thunderclan land. By now Laurelsky had little energy to fight the cats and as dusk descended the Riverclanners slipped into the lake, taking turns helping Laurelsky to keep her head above water as they followed the shoreline. It was the ideal time, in that they were least likely to be seen as darkness descended. Hopefully they would be far enough out that when the evening patrol arrived at the scene of the “attack” any possible scents or discrepancies would go unnoticed. The clouds gathering at the horizon would also help to aid their escape. At first Tempeststar was grateful, Starclan must be accepting of his choice, unless the clouds were a sign of their displeasure.
The leader didn’t have a chance to wonder, as suddenly Laurelsky floundered in the water by Troutleap. Without a second thought he dove under her, pushing her up so she could breathe. She came up spluttering and he steadied her, oblivious to the looks of his clanmates.
“Are you—Can you manage?”
He had almost said okay, but how could she have answered that? She was being taken away from everything she had ever known, forced to swim even though she had little experience, and then held prisoner in another clan. She didn’t respond, but seemed to try instead to steady and match her paws to his. He drew away when she leaned against him slightly for support, allowing Branchsnag to take his place.
Rain began to fall, meeting the water with soft plinking sounds, as they emerged from the lake onto Riverclan territory. None of the cats spoke, and a heaviness lay upon them, for quite obvious reasons. Tempeststar couldn’t help but notice the guilty and frustrated looks his warriors shot at Laurelsky when they thought he wasn’t looking. To her credit she walked, almost strode, head high. Her Thunderclan pride lent her an extra measure of courage, but even so he could see the way she shivered slightly. Now that he was back on his own territory Tempeststar felt more at ease. He had succeeded! At least for now, anyway. Who knew how long he could keep the clans from being suspicious, keep them from finding out. Nonetheless he felt a sense of triumph, Laurelsky would heal his clan, and then Riverclan would be strong again, and no more cats would have to feel the pain that Tempeststar himself had felt. This triumph died as soon as they neared camp, when the wailing started.
“Nooo! Robinkit!”
Everyone froze and the warriors looked at each other in dismay. Troutleap cursed fiercely and sped off to comfort his mate. A grim look settled on Tempeststar’s face once more. He pushed forward through the entrance without even caring to make sure that Laurelsky was following.
There was Shellfrost, his deputy, slowly carrying Robinkit’s body from the medicine den, which she set down in the midst of the rather wet and muddy clearing. All cats that were well enough to stand and were in camp were there, watching the scene with dull eyes. Swanstep, Shellfrost’s sister, looked on apprehensively from just inside the nursery, sheltered from the rain, a paw on her own swollen belly. Troutleap lay beside his wailing and sobbing mate, Honeystream, trying to comfort her, but it was obvious he himself was having a hard time. Tempeststar felt as if he were stuck in mud, which he somewhat was, and it wasn’t just the rainwater that weighed down his pelt. He had been so close, so close. But yet another cat added to the tally of the dead. Laurelsky inhaled sharply beside him, and he jumped slightly, he had completely forgotten her.
“A kit…. What is happening here Tempeststar?”
She gazed at him intently, her fur hanging limply in the rain, her ears back at the somber and macabre scene. Tempeststar still couldn’t move, but it wasn’t the scene that held him now. It was her eyes. Shaking himself he turned to watch the scene stoically.
“Come.”
So they padded from the shadows, slowly, the leader with his shoulders hunched, hollow. As soon as Laurelsky emerged, Swanstep noticed her, the pregnant she-cat scowled fiercely and stood up precariously, waddling towards the medicine cat while taking great care where she stepped. Laurelsky didn’t seem to know what to do, and shuffled her paws slightly, looking at the ground. Swanstep sneered and glared at her coldly.
“You! You knew, but you didn’t help! Filthy Thunderclanner! Medicine cats are supposed to care of any cat in need, but we have to make you help us instead. Now how are we even supposed to trust you to heal us? You would probably just be happy to kill us all off and be done with Riverclan. You’re not worthy of even being called a medicine cat!”
Tempeststar thrust himself in front of Swanstep, head and tail high, voice filled with command that came from leadership.
“Enough. She is our guest, and she is to be treated as such. You should be grateful that you don’t have to have your kits alone now.”
Swanstep turned away, flicking her tail in condescension, and went to sit by Honeystream, murmuring comfortingly to the sobbing sandy she-cat. Tempeststar saw his warriors’ fluffed fur, their narrow-eyed glares, and Laurelsky’s obvious discomfort. It would not be easy for her, but then he had known that when he started this venture. So why couldn’t he just make himself accept it?
“Come with me Laurelsky.”
Ignoring the cats in the clearing he padded to the medicine cat den, acutely aware of Laurelsky’s presence just behind him. He hesitated at the entrance, allowing the chill of the rain to remind him that this was not a nightmare, and finally pushed through. Immediately the scent of sickness washed over his senses and he had to keep from holding his breath. Without a medicine cat, the little that his clan knew of caring for the sick was being done, but one by one the caretakers fell sick as well. That’s why they needed a real medicine cat. Inside lay the crumpled, moaning, and weak bodies of Beetlepaw, Goldpaw, Mosswing, Dewsplash, and Sunflame. Only Larksong and Brookpaw remained caring for the sick cats, and they looked about ready to collapse themselves. Laurelsky’s gasp did not come as a surprise this time, and he knew that she was truly understanding the full complexity of the situation now.
“Half your clan is here Tempeststar… but, where is Cricketleaf?”
“He was the first.”
She nodded, seeming numb, and Tempeststar shook his head slightly before looking straight into her eyes.
“Care for them…. Please.”
As soon as she nodded in vague ascent he whirled and left the medicine den, escaping the scents of sickness, escaping his failures. Hopefully now his swirling stomach would calm away from them, away from her.
In the clearing, the cats had calmed slightly, now they were preparing Robinkit’s body for vigil. The rain made their attempts rather futile, and the kit’s fur was dull as she lay. Before he joined them, Tempeststar approached Branchsnag, beckoning him. Once the brown tabby tom was close enough, Tempeststar kinked his tail in the direction of the medicine den.
“I doubt Laurelsky would want to leave any cats in need, but just to be sure…. Stand watch near the entrance to the den.”
The warrior nodded, seeming relieved to escape the depressing atmosphere of the vigil.
“Yes Tempeststar, after what we went through to get her we wouldn’t want her finding her way back.”
Tempeststar didn’t respond at first because he was distracted by the sight of Acornkit, Robinkit’s brother, gently nuzzling his sister’s ear. Branchsnag followed his gaze and looked at his leader pityingly.
“You made the right choice, Tempeststar, and sooner or later the rest of the clan will see too.”
Then the brown tom padded away and Tempeststar joined the vigil, sitting quietly between Troutleap and Shellfrost. Honeystream was quieter now, simply burying her head in her daughter’s cold fur. For several moments all was silent, and then Honeystream spoke hoarsely.
“She was so close to being apprenticed… she couldn’t wait to get her name. But now she’ll never have a chance.”
The injustice of the situation caused Tempeststar to lift his head to the sky and growl slightly at the stars. Where was Starclan now? Mocking his pain? The gray tom joined Honeystream and touched her shoulder with the tip of his tail, motioning her to step back. At first she stayed planted there, but finally reluctantly backed up.
“I Tempeststar, stand witness before Starclan. Robinkit may have been young, but she showed great courage in insisting on caring for her clanmates, even when it was obvious that there was little she could do. So in the presence of Starclan I name her Robinspirit, for her truly loving manner and her unwillingness to back down. We let her go to you now Starclan, that she may be happy and watch over us.”
Tempeststar took a step back, surprised at the amount of gratitude in the eyes of his clanmates, the peace that he now felt from them. Starclan was still watching. Unfortunately, Tempeststar didn’t feel that peace. As the vigil went on, the rain eventually stopped, and only a soft dripping sound was what could be heard in the clearing. Soon Tempeststar found himself swaying on his paws, near to collapsing from exhaustion. Shellfrost approached him.
“Tempeststar, you need to rest, come on, let’s go to your den.”
Stubbornly he shook his head, but she pushed him to start walking, he tried to move towards the medicine den, but Shellfrost kept him on a path for his own den.
“Wait, I should check on Laurelsky—“
“Tempeststar, she needs to be allowed to do her work, and I don’t think she’d really appreciate it.”
“But—“
“Do you realize exactly what you’ve done? We may be saving Riverclan, but it will be quite the short term solution. We can buy maybe two moons before the other clans become suspicious. In the end Laurelsky will be caught in the middle of a war at best, at worst she will have to die. Whatever may happen, you’ve doomed her to be a prisoner for the rest of her life…. However long that may be.”
Tempeststar was now at the entrance to his den, he paused, head down and whispered,” I know,” then he disappeared inside to sleep.
---
Bramblethorn enjoyed Leaf-fall, though not necessarily this one. It had been rather wet, which had caused him to get easily chilled. Already he had had to ask Brackenflame for herbs to fend off a cough. He had not as of yet gotten truly sick, though that was partly thanks to Laurelsky’s attentiveness, but he wouldn’t be surprised if sooner or later he did. The clouds gathering on the horizon told him there would be rain at least once more, but then hopefully a dry spell would come and the next thing that fell from the sky would be snow.
Now as he padded along with the dusk border patrol he noticed his apprentice, Leafpaw sniffling and snuffling a bit. He smiled lopsidedly and flicked her slightly with his tail.
“Your snuffling is probably scaring prey away from here to the border. Why don’t you go see Brackenflame and Laurelsky and see if they can get you something for that?”
The little brown tabby looked at her paws, her ears back, clearly embarrassed.
“Well, I didn’t think I was sick enough for that I don’t want to waste any herbs or anything.”
He cuffed her over the ear playfully.
“Mousebrain! How do you think you keep from getting sick? Don’t worry, if it makes you feel better I’ve been taking some myse--“
Bramblethorn’s words were interrupted by a high-pitched yowl. The other cats on the patrol, Thunderclan’s deputy Flintfire, Tigerlily and Poppypaw all froze mid-step and dread filled Bramblethorn’s heart. Without a second thought all four cats pelted in the direction of the cry. Even so, Bramblethorn knew they would be too late. They were too far away. If somecat was in danger they would not be able to get to them in time. Fllintfire caught up to Bramblethorn, a grim look on his face.
“Do you know if there are any hunting patrols out at this hour?”
Bramblethorn shook his head, before weaving around a tree.
“No, all cats were accounted for in camp sharing tongues except…”
The brown tabby tom stumbled and almost fell forward headlong, his eyes filled with dread as he stared at his deputy.
“Laurelsky!”
He leaped forward, running faster than he had known he ever could. He barely heard Flintfire call to Leafpaw to fetch Cedarstar. The smell came before the sight. Nasty fox smell slammed Bramblethorn’s senses, as he leaped over a log, causing him to land awkwardly, twisting his paw. Ignoring the pain, the tom pushed on at a quick jog, until he came to the scene.
What struck him most was the scuffle, the fear scent. And the blood. The brown tom’s eyes were drawn to it, as he breathed hard. He hardly registered the arrival of his clanmates. Their voices were indistinct, silenced, until Flintfire came to his side. The deputy seemed frustrated, perplexed, as he and the rest of the patrol looked over the scene. What had happened?
Flintfire muttered under his breath.
“I knew we should have driven out that fox days ago…”
The gray tom seemed only then to notice Bramblethorn’s expression, his locked limbs and unsheathed claws.
“Bramblethorn, she’s not here. There’s no body. She could still be alive.”
It took several moments for those words to sink in, but just as they did, he felt the first raindrop, the brown tabby hissed and lurched forward.
“No! I must find her!”
As the first drops fell he quickly but franticly searched for clues. He found it strange, the fox scent was quite strong, but somewhat stale, as if the fox had rolled in its own dung… disgusting. There was also a strange faint scent beneath it, a scent he couldn’t place. In the end, the scent that bothered him most and caught his attention most was his sister’s fear scent.
Bramblethorn loved his sister, just as any two littermates might be close. Since their mother died, he had watched over her, and though he hadn’t agreed with some of her decisions when she was younger, he had supported her. In many ways he had been her silent protector, he had always vowed he would never let her get hurt and now….now she could be dead for all he knew.
Soon the clouds poured out their water on the territory, and Bramblethorn wondered if they weren’t crying for him. He quickly searched for a trail, for her scent and that of the fox that had been wandering the territory. In a stroke of luck, he spotted another spot of blood, a compressed area, where she had been dragged away. As rain fell about him, he followed the trail as best he could, until he came to a point where the rain had washed all signs away. Then he stopped and yowled angrily at the sky. By now, Cedarstar had finally come, the leader approached Bramblethorn, rage glinting in his eyes, his fur spiked, his fangs showing.
“We’ll find Laurelsky, Bramblethorn. The fox can’t have gone far.”
So the search began. Most of the clan set out to look for their sweet medicine cat. They looked for hours, until the rain had stopped, then one by one they returned, disheartened. Bramblethorn had to be dragged back by his clanmates as he seemed determined to look all night. When all the searching cats had returned, Cedarstar leaped up onto Highledge.
“We have not yet found a trace of Laurelsky, it could be that she has escaped the fox and is somewhere in the territory, but it might also be that she has been lost to us forever. We will look for her tomorrow, but if in a few sunrises she cannot be found we—we will have to assume the worst.”
So Thunderclan went to their nests and slept, unaware that their young medicine cat now labored in an enemy camp. And Bramblethorn decided he would never give up on his sweet sister, until he saw her in Starclan.
---
It was her first gathering, not half a moon after her apprentice ceremony, and already she had lost her mentor. The small tortie apprentice stumbled around, eyes wide, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cats and scents and voices and words. Pelts swirled together and became unrecognizable, and everything began to close in on her. Fearfully she started darting between cats, searching for a face she recognized, until she ran smack into somecat’s chest. Tumbling backwards, she glanced up to see bright amber eyes on the face of an older apprentice, who seemed around the age of becoming a warrior. He chuckled and came forward, helping her up.
“You look a little lost. First gathering right?”
With wide blue green eyes the she-cat nodded vigorously, and the tom’s smile widened even more.
“Well, I’m Tempestpaw of Riverclan. What’s your name?”
“I-I’m Laurelpaw, o-of Thunderclan.”
His expression was a curious mixture of friendliness and something else which Laurelpaw could not understand.
“Laurelpaw, what a pretty name…”
A cough jolted Laurelsky out of her dream, and she lifted her head wearily and looked around the dimly lit den. The first few days she had woken with a start, confused and fearful of her surroundings, now it was just normal. How did she feel about the whole situation? Well obviously the fact that she had been kidnapped, wounded and forced to heal other cats had scared her half to death. But in a lot of ways, Laurelsky felt guilty that she hadn’t come sooner. Thunderclan had caused the death of several Riverclan cats with their pride, in many ways Tempeststar had had no choice. That still didn’t mean she was particularly happy with the arrangement. There was always a Riverclan warrior guarding the entrance to the medicine cat den, watching her every move.
Although most cats in Riverclan were on the way to recovery, Laurelsky still had a lot of work on her paws. Some of them had been sick for nearly half a moon, and it would take them just as long to recover. Soon they would be good enough to leave the den, but they would still need to build up their strength. She didn’t want to think of what would happen to her when her usefulness had ended. But then again it would never end, they had no medicine cat, and not even an apprentice that could have been jointly trained by the other clans’ medicine cats. Now all they had was her.
Laurelsky stood, shaking a thin layer of dust from her pelt and padding over to where the herbs were stacked in neat rows in grooves. She drew out Catmint, horsetail, feverfew and a few other herbs, noticing how depleted they were. She would have to ask to speak to Tempeststar about it, when she saw him next. Once she had mixed the herbs together in the proportions needed to treat the rasping coughs and fluctuating fevers, she went around the den murmuring sympathetically and forcing the cats to eat the herbs. The sicker cats accepted the herbs gratefully, but those who were nearer recovery were more difficult. Their prickled fur and narrowed eyes portrayed quite obviously their distrust of this she-cat, who was obviously not of their clan. In the end they all took their herbs, and also drank some water, then most went back to resting. Only one cat, Sunflame, refused to sit still.
“Come on Laurelsky, I’m fine, the cough’s gone and I have plenty of energy! Now can I please leave the medicine den? I’ll stop bothering you.”
She looked him over shrewdly.
“Fine, one last check-up.”
So she came and felt his heartbeat, strong and regular, she smelled his breath, which showed no sign of sickness, and had him walk in circles to see if he would cough again. In the end he really did sound like he was better.
“Alright Sunflame, you’re free to go.”
“Thanks Laurelsky.”
Without another word, the tom bounded out into the main camp. Laurelsky sighed and turned once more to look at her patients, but for now there really wasn’t much more she could do for them. So she tentatively padded to the entrance to the den. Just outside she found Rockshade’s stoic figure. He said nothing, just watched her, and she didn’t even step paw out of the den, only sat in the entrance and watched the morning procedures of the clan. Swanstep was sitting with Honeystream, talking with her. The grief was still strong for many cats in the clan, as Robinsoul had been the fifth to succumb to the sickness, but they were slowly overcoming the grief and beginning to smile more often again. Shellfrost was taking her apprentice, Brookpaw, and Troutleap and his apprentice Icepaw out for training, and the ginger and white she-cat was arguing with the dark gray tabby tom, who good-naturedly riposted her every comment. Beechfur, the now sole elder of Riverclan stretched in the sun dozing. All other healthy warriors were either out hunting or on border patrol.
Laurelsky turned uncertainly to Rockshade.
“I’m – Can I go check on Beechfur and Swanstep?”
It would give her something to do. The elderly tom was remarkably resilient for his age, and hadn’t even caught the sickness yet, at least not as of yesterday. Laurelsky thought it would be good to check on him. Swanstep was soon to have her kits. Most likely it would be not long after the full moon, or maybe even around that time. Laurelsky would have to miss the gathering, she wouldn’t want to be…. She realized her train of thought halfway through, and her heart sank. What was she thinking. She’d never be able to go to a gathering again, never be able to see her clan again, not unless she escaped. And that she wouldn’t try for sure until Riverclan was free of this sickness. As much as this was painful for her personally, the medicine cat code was so ingrained within her that she wasn’t about to leave any cat in need. Especially not under these circumstances.
Rockshade finally nodded silently and stood to follow her. The she-cat smiled sheepishly and then took the lead. Halfway to Beechfur she paused when she heard her name called. Curious she turned halfway, to find Swanstep watching her.
“Don’t bother Beechfur now, let him sleep. If you want, you can check me first.”
Her tone was rather curious and Laurelsky had a hard time discerning what was in it. Was Swanstep still disdainful of her presence, was she just tolerant, or was she actually warming up to Laurelsky? The chocolate tortie came and joined the two she-cats already there. Honeystream smiled at her slightly, while Swanstep nodded in greeting then shifted her eyes to the ground once more. For several moments there was only silence before Honeystream finally bobbed her head uncomfortably.
“So how are you settling in Laurelsky? Have you… have you been able to accommodate yourself well?”
It was obvious that Honeystream was grasping at something to talk about, but her words made Laurelsky wince slightly. Such a flippant thing her situation was made. Settling in? Hah, half the clan hated and distrusted her, the other half was grudgingly thankful to her. For them she was an outsider. Nonetheless she knew it was hard for them as well. The fact that they had become so weak that they had had to seek outside help frustrated them, but also, they were still coming to terms with the many deaths that had shaken their clan.
Before Laurelsky could respond, a brief shuffling sound came from behind her, and she noticed that both she-cats straightened slightly.
“Good morning Laurelsky.”
Of course, it had to be Tempeststar. The chocolate tortie forced herself to remain composed as she looked up at him. The weak and watery sunlight shone softly on his gray pelt and caught his eyes, lighting them up with amber fire. Laurelsky had always been taught that while fire may at first seem to be warm and comforting, it always scorched and burned. It seemed that this statement had proven true many times over. At his paws lay a thrush, obviously one that Tempeststar had hunted himself. The leader looked rather self-conscious shifting from paw to paw, while keeping his chest puffed out. He wanted to look in control, but he wasn’t necessarily doing so well.
“I caught this for you, I thought… maybe it would…. Make you feel better?”
The whole situation was rather comical, but also distressing. Laurelsky couldn’t ignore her past, but it certainly wasn’t helping that other cats kept bringing it up. Yet she couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture. So she nodded and stooped, picking up the thrush in her jaws. He motioned with his head toward the other side of camp, where she might eat in peace and she quietly, resignedly padded over. To her surprise Tempeststar followed, waving Rockshade off.
“I think I can take care of it don’t you think Rockshade?”
The warrior said nothing, only nodded and left camp to do some solitary fishing.
When Laurelsky sat, Tempeststar sat down beside her and as she ate she could feel his stare on her, but she refused to meet his eyes again. After a few moments he spoke.
“Do you have everything you need? Are you comfortable?”
She knew what he was asking, but at the moment she didn’t feel the least inclined to answer. Gathering together all the remnants of her shattered pride and self-image she gave him a look from veiled eyes, her lips twitching slightly back.
“No actually, I’m running out of some herbs. I’m going to need more to replenish the stocks. Of course you could always just steal from the other clans if you prefer.”
The words affected him just as she had hoped. He winced visibly and looked away for a second before giving her a hard look. Oh she would show him that there was still strength in her, she wouldn’t give up. Riverclan needed her help now, but when the time came she would find a way to escape. Unfortunately she didn’t know if she could bring herself to do that. The words once out of her mouth had fizzled, and she had to look away, heat filling her face. She really had not needed to say them, it was her bitterness working against her.
“I’m sorry Tempeststar, that was uncalled for.”
Yet when she found the courage to look at him again, all she saw was pity and pain in his eyes.
“No Laurelsky, you had every right.”
Once she had finished her thrush, Tempeststar got to his paws.
“How about we go for a walk through the territory. We need to talk.”
Knowing that she had little choice, Laurelsky followed him, ignoring the curious glances of the Riverclan cats as she passed through the entrance. Tempeststar waited for her by the bank of the small island that composed the camp. The water swirled lazily by, but even so its deep blues, caused Laurelsky to hesitate. Tempeststar confidently entered the water until his belly fur, and then must have noticed that she hadn’t followed her, because he turned to look at her, curious.
“Well? Don’t you know how to swim?”
She glared at him but finally entered the water gasping at the cold. The rain from a few days ago had cooled the air and now the water was freezing. Already she could feel herself shaking.
“I know as much as any cat knows.”
Tempeststar smiled mischievously and entered the water completely, pushing across the creek with strong confident strokes. Laurelsky followed more carefully, trying to remember what she had learned about swimming.
He reached the other side and pulled himself up onto the bank, sitting and curling his tail around his paws.
“Come on now, it’s not that far!”
The she-cat narrowed her eyes grimly and pushed forward. Upon reaching the other bank she pulled herself out of the water, shaking as much water out as possible. Her teeth chattering, she started to lick her fur the opposite way so as to keep warm. Laurelsky sniffed when Tempeststar stepped up beside her, ignored his hearty laugh.
“Come on Laurelsky, it’s not that bad. We’re only in Leaffall right now.”
“You’re fur is th-thicker than mine… and more slippery.”
“That’s because of all the fish I eat.”
As refreshing as the banter was, Laurelsky was still anxious of being there alone with Tempeststar.
“Why—Why did you bring me here?”
“I felt that we needed to talk…”
“You know what I meant.”
It was obvious from his expression that that was what he had been hoping to avoid talking about. Without saying anything he moved away from her towards the edge of the bank, staring bleakly into the dull water.
“You were my only choice Laurelsky… I wasn’t about to deprive a clan of a medicine cat, not when leaffall was on the way, but Thunderclan… at least Thunderclan has Brackenflame, they can survive the winter. If you hadn’t come Riverclan would have ceased to exist.”
The tortoiseshell shook her head in disbelief.
“Surely Starclan would never allow that to happen, they would have sent aid, a guide, a prophecy!”
The leader whipped around.
“You were the prophecy.”
Laurelsky did not know what to say, she could only stare at her paws and avoid looking at him as much as possible. He sighed deeply.
“I may have taken you from your family, but I hope we can become a new one to you. I hope in time, you will come to love my clan as much as I love it. And maybe…. Maybe more.”
Laurelsky looked back to camp, unsure. After everything that had happened…
The only answer to his question was silence.
---
Silver moonlight shown in dappled patterns on the damp ground, filtering through the few lonely leaves that remained limp on the trees. Paws pressed into the earth, leaving distinct prints in the soft soil, as several shadowy cats picked their way across the ground to the edge of the lake. The tom who was ahead lifted his gray muzzle and opened his mouth to scent his surroundings. From behind a white she-cat with ginger patches huffed.
“Tempeststar, why are you taking so long? The coast is clear, everything will be fine.”
Tempeststar nodded at Shellfrost absently, his mind occupied with other things than just safety. Tonight was the night of the gathering, and he had to decide what to say…. And what not to say.
It had been nearly a quarter moon since he and Laurelsky had talked, and although she now seemed to be more cheery, the onset of the gathering had made her day, and his, very gloomy. Of course the depressing weather didn’t help one bit either. Although it wasn’t constantly raining, the sky was overcast and dark, and the damp penetrated into everyone’s nest, making easy for cats to be bone-tired. By now most sick cats were well enough to leave the medicine den, although because of the weather all the cats in the clan were eating preventative herbs to keep from getting sick again. The medicine cat den was oddly empty except for Laurelsky. Tempeststar had left behind two guards instead of the one she usually had. He had to take precautions, he trusted her, but if she couldn’t keep herself from taking this opportunity to return to her home and family….. Well the consequences for Riverclan would be disastrous. Not only would Thunderclan be ready to go to war, but most likely the other two clans. Cats from all the clans would be furious that they had so broken the warrior code.
Not that Tempeststar felt any better about it still. It had been more than painful to leave her there, her wide eyes pleading.
He shook his head vehemently, there was no time for this. Forcing his thoughts away from Laurelsky, he led his clan onto the log that formed the crossing to the island. Tempeststar tread slowly and carefully. Over the many seasons, claws and the natural elements had slowly degraded the log-bridge. Even now there was talk of finding another way to the island, or finding another gathering place. The former was the most likely one, and Tempeststar knew it was likely that Riverclan would be consulted as to a good method to do so, but he wasn’t sure when.
Finally his whole clan made it across the log, to find that both Shadowclan and Windclan had already arrived. Skystar and Adderstar were conversing calmly, though warily, up among the branches of the large tree that the leaders usually sat in. As Tempeststar padded into the clearing he forced his fur to lie flat, and kept himself from glancing all around. He was starting to get paranoid, no one could possibly know about Laurelsky being in Riverclan. She had only left camp twice, and that had been with Tempeststar himself. Unless another warrior had been trespassing on Riverclan land, he would’ve known if she had had any contact by now. Riverclan would have been attacked.
Tempeststar climbed the tree and sat in the fork of a branch near where it met the trunk. He only nodded soberly in greeting to the other clans’ leaders, staying a branch below them. His clan, or at least the small contingent he had brought, fanned out and began to converse in low tones with other cats. They were agitated, all of them, but that was because of the deaths in the clan itself. How would Tempeststar even be able to relate them to the other clans? Would the other three clans believe them weak? Would they be tempted to invade? Riverclan may have lost some cats, but they weren’t about to lie down and let the other clans just take their territory. Riverclan was still strong.
A slight crackling sound drew Tempeststar’s attention, and he watched as Thunderclan streamed in. Soon Cedarstar leaped up into the tree beside the other leaders, smiling as if he was leader over everything. Tempeststar said nothing as Adderstar muttered gruffly from above.
“You’re late Cedarstar. We don’t all have all the time in the world like you do.”
Skystar inclined her head slightly.
“We should get this gathering going…. The moon is shining right now, but it might not be long before it is obscured by clouds.”
All leaders nodded at that, and Adderstar stepped forward impatiently. With a fierce yowl he quieted the cats on the ground, who soon sat in their clan groups. Adderstar nodded as if satisfied.
“Greetings cats of all clans! Shadowclan has good news to report. Our hunting has gone well, and we have had two kits born into the clan. Also we have a new warrior, Russetblaze!”
The brown tabby paused for a moment as the cats in the clearing cheered heartily. The calico tabby she-cat whose name had been called puffed up with pride. She was well known as a fierce and loyal cat, and was popular at gatherings.
“That is all I have to report.”
Adderstar stepped back into the shadows, and Skystar took his place.
“Windclan has had a prosperous last moon, we have been well fed and our preparations for leafbare are well on their way. Although we do not have any new warriors or kits, we have recently added two apprentices, Heatherpaw and Gorsepaw.”
The she-cat stepped back, and the other three leaders looked at Tempeststar. The gray tabby motioned to Cedarstar to continue, which made the other three leaders’s eyes narrow, their tails and whiskers twitching. The dark brown Thunderclan leader stepped forward, stoic as he watched the cats below.
“Thunderclan has felt a deep loss this moon. Our young medicine cat, Laurelsky, was killed by a fox on our territory. Although we avenged her death and expelled the fox, we were not able to find her body.”
The leader bowed his head for a moment, and murmurs of sympathy spread quietly across the cats…. Except from Riverclan. Tempeststar saw a large brown tabby and white tom kneading the ground angrily. Bramblethorn. Laurelsky’s brother looked frustrated if anything, but otherwise healthy.
“Otherwise Thunderclan has been doing well, our hunting has been fruitful and Thunderclan remains strong.”
The Thunderclan leader nodded slightly and then stepped back, as Tempeststar stepped forward.
The time had come, Tempeststar looked down upon all the cats, searching for those in his clan he had brought. Shellfrost met his eyes and nodded encouragement, and the leader took a deep breath.
“I am sure that you have all noticed that Riverclan’s delegation is smaller. As most of you know, a sickness swept through Riverclan. In this sickness five cats died, Lilypetal, Raindapple, Carptail, Robinkit and Ripplefur. Cricketleaf is not here this night as he himself is recovering.”
Tempeststar paused and looked back to the other three leaders, satisfied to see the shock there.
“But we have recovered, we are strong, and now we have no inhibitions as to protecting ourselves. Soon we will have new kits and new warriors.”
Tempeststar paused for effect, eyes glinting dangerously.
“We are ready. This gathering is over!”
Tempeststar leapt down from the branch, landing smoothly and stalking off, as cats parted for him. He could see the shock and in some cases embarrassment on their muzzles, for some even grief. Some of those cats had been friends, and one an esteemed elder, but now they were gone.
And the other clans knew they were to blame.
Tempeststar and his clanmates paused at the other end of the log bridge, and were surprised to see Skystar picking her way across the log quickly after them, her clan close behind. The silver tabby leaped off and approached Tempeststar, her face at first emotionless. But when she got closer to him she allowed sympathy and shame to show through.
“Tempeststar…. I apologize for all the other clans for the damage done to yours. Should you need aid again… we will be there.”
“It’s too late now.”
Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and made sure no one from her clan or the other two was close by and whispered.
“If another clan decides to attack, Windclan will come to your aid.”
Then she swung around imperiously and bounded off with her clan to her territory, leaving Riverclan to begin its trek home.
--------
Laurelsky busied herself with her herbs, trying not to pace. She could see even from here the shimmering moonlight at the entrance to her den, but also the shadows of her two guards, and once again she felt a pang in her heart. The Gathering. Tonight Brambethorn and the rest of her Thunderclan clanmates would be preparing for the gathering, or at it. Brackenflame would be complaining about having to walk so far. Her smile at the thought of her clanmates froze.
Would they be mourning?
She had been missing nearly half a moon…. Even the most optimistic of her clanmates would have given up. Poor Bramblethorn, he would have been furious and at the same time desolated. He would have felt that he had failed her. She missed his warm and loving banter, but also his wise words. He might have been leader of Thunderclan one day, if he were to pursue it. And Brackenflame would have blamed himself. The tom was fringing on elderly, he had wanted to step down, since little Petalkit was becoming quite interested in herbs, or had been at the time. It wouldn’t be long before she was made an apprentice, and now Brackenflame would need to train someone to take over for him, since Laurelsky was, well, gone.
Speaking of older kits…. Acornkit padded into the den slowly, cautiously.
“Laurelsky?”
The she-cat smiled at the little tom, but it was a stiff smile, and it wavered slightly.
“What is it little one? Is Honeystream alright?”
The small brown tabby shuffled his paws hesitantly.
“Yeah… I’m actually here about something else. Laurelsky I want to be your apprentice.”
The last words came out in a rush, and he seemed to grimace slightly. Laurelsky could only stare at him, her mouth slightly open.
“I-I don’t know…. Are you sure about this Acornkit?”
He puffed his chest out and nodded.
“I want to be able to take care of my clanmates, so that no one has to go like Robink—soul.”
Laurelsky could only nod, eyes glazed.
“Well we’ll have to talk to Tempeststar, but he’ll probably say yes…. The clan needs one of its own to take care of it.”
The little kit looked puzzled and opened his mouth to reply but suddenly there was a thud of pawsteps at the entrance of the medicine den and Honeystream stuck her head in.
“Laurelsky, Swanstep has started kitting!”
Immediately the medicine cat whirled around and scrambled over to where the herbs were, rapidly pulling out Borage and Poppy Seed, she flicked her tail absent-mindedly at Acornkit.
“You want to help you might as well start now, fetch a small stick for Swanstep to bite on when the pains come.”
She turned just in time to see the little tom nod and squeeze past his mother out of the den. Honeystream was watching her with an unreadable expression, but stepped out of the way without saying anything. Laurelsky’s guards, Branchsnag and Troutleap, were standing just outside. Branchsnag was glancing nervously in the direction of the nursery while still trying to keep an eye on Laurelsky. The medicine cat nodded at them and padded quickly over to the nursery.
She entered the den in time to hear Swanstep moan with the pain of a contraction. Honeystream followed, and Branchsnag stuck his head in questioningly, but Laurelsky flicked her tail at him.
“Wait outside Branchsnag, there’s not enough room for you in here.”
He opened his mouth to protest but then reluctantly left, just as Acornkit darted by into the nursery with a nice-size stick in his mouth which he placed by Laurelsky. Laurelsky nodded, opening her bundle of herbs and bringing out some poppy seeds.
“Here Swanstep, take two for the pain, any more though and you’d be asleep.”
The she-cat, gritting her teeth, nodded and swallowed the poppy seeds, then took the stick in her mouth. Laurelsky turned quietly to Acornkit.
“You said that you want to be a medicine cat apprentice, well this will be just the beginning. Tonight you will find out if this is really what you want. Watch closely.”
The young tom nodded, and Laurelsky glanced at Honeystream. For a moment she seemed stoic, but then she nodded. Laurelsky sighed and turned her attention again to Swanstep.
“It’s going to be a long night.”
---
Tempeststar finally stepped into camp, relieved that the gathering was over, but utterly exhausted. Going there, having the gathering, and coming back had taken most of the night, soon dawn would come. The leader was surprised to see the amount of cats in the camp center, they should all be sleeping. Then he noticed Branchsnag pacing in front of the nursery, muttering to himself.
Tempeststar felt a great relief, Swanstep must have had her kits. With a smile on his muzzle he turned to Shellfrost.
“See if you can get most of the cats into their dens, they’re going to need their rest so that they can all be ready for hunting and patrols tomorrow. They can always visit the new arrivals tomorrow.”
His deputy nodded, her usually stiff demeanor more relaxed. She likely wanted to go make sure her sister’s kits were well, but she wouldn’t mind waiting. Once he had given the order he picked his way through the cats to the entrance of the nursery just in time to hear Laurelsky call Branchsnag in. The brown tabby rushed inside, his fur fluffed out. Tempeststar held in a chuckle, before following the tom inside.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he was able to make out the forms of several cats. Swanstep lay in a large nest, disheveled and exhausted, but she seemed to have a glow about her, a beauty. Branchsnag sat by her side, staring in awe at the three tiny balls of fur snuggled at her belly. New parents were always a wonderful sight, the plain joy and love on their faces, for each other, and their tiny kits. Laurelsky hovered hesitantly at the edge of the nursery. She looked nearly as exhausted as Swanstep, but in a different way, she seemed satisfied though.
Tempeststar decided to leave the young couple murmuring to themselves, and instead approached Laurelsky. She looked up at him wearily and nodded her head shakily, before looking away.
“You did well Laurelsky.”
“I did what I had to do, Tempeststar. I had plenty of help from Honeystream and Acornkit as well.”
At that she looked up, focused.
“About Acornkit…. He asked to be my apprentice.”
Tempeststar blinked, surprised. That he had not expected.
“That is good I guess, but is that what he really wants?”
“It is.”
Acornkit stepped forward from the shadows to the left of Laurelsky. He seemed to be trying to stand as tall as possible.
“Someone has to learn how to take care of the clan eventually, why not me? Cricketleaf always said I had a good memory.”
For a moment the three cats said nothing, as Tempeststar considered it. In truth it was the best he could hope for, maybe he could get this to work for him.
“Alright, we’ll hold the ceremony tomorrow, its been overdue anyway.”
Acornkit relaxed, his fur spiking in excitement as he bounded off to find his parents.
Laurelsky sighed quietly, which led Tempeststar to look at her questioningly. She shook her head slightly.
“How did—“
“Tempeststar, Laurelsky, would you to like to be with us while we name the kits?”
Laurelsky’s words faded away as she turned with a slight smile and joined the young parents. Tempeststar could not help but be relieved at the interruption, he knew what Laurelsky had been about to ask.
Once Tempeststar had joined the other cats, Swanstep began to speak.
“Branchsnag and I have decided that we should name our kits in honor of those who passed on.”
She started by gently touching her eldest, a grey and ginger calico.
“This little on shall be known as Lilykit.”
Next she placed her paw on her second kit, a gray tabby kit.
“This tom will be known as Rainkit.”
Then she hesitated over her last kit, a white she-kit with brown tabby patches.
It was not surprising she hesitated, the last names she had to choose from wouldn’t work very well with her kit. Cricket was a more tom-like prefix, as was Ripple, and when it came to Robin….. that memory was far too fresh.
“I-I name you Leafkit, in honor of our last medicine cat, who fought for us with such fervor that he himself passed on.”
All the cats hung their heads for a few moments, honoring those that had once lived among them. Then Laurelsky lifted her head as Honeystream entered the nursery, trailed by a fluffed up Acornkit. The light brown tabby she-cat looked over them all and then sniffed.
“Alright all of you, out. Swanstep needs to rest.”
Tempeststar nodded and hurried to the entrance, where he paused when Swanstep spoke.
“Laurelsky?”
The medicine cat, who had been a few steps behind Tempeststar, paused and turned.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
The words seemed to have shaken Laurelsky, as she pushed past Tempeststar and nearly ran to the medicine den. Branchsnag, who had emerged from the nursery at his leader’s side, cleared his throat. Tempeststar’s tore his gaze from the medicine den to his young warrior. Branchsnag seemed to have a gleam in his eyes, was it mischief?
“You should probably go talk to her Tempeststar, I think you’re the only one who can help.”
Then the brown tom disappeared into the warriors den, leaving the leader standing there debating with himself.