[TB] STARLIGHT -- Chapter 12 (Patreon)

<< INDEX || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || From the Beginning >>

The walk back to WindClan territory happened in relative quiet. Crowflight led Ryewhisper and Shadepaw to the river, pausing to make sure both medicine cats crossed the tree-bridge safely before crossing it himself – that seemed only polite.

On the WindClan side, Crowflight took the lead again, weaving through the trees in their little patch of forest before emerging onto the moorland, the dry grass rattling in the stiff wind that chilled Crowflight’s pelt. He paused their patrol, taking in the scents – a rabbit here, a mouse there... a WindClan patrol hadn’t been by since this morning...

“Snow is on the way,” Ryewhisper muttered behind Crowflight. “I’ll bet my whiskers on that...”

“I hope not!” Shadepaw sighed, dropping her herb packet for just a moment to speak. “At least, I hope it waits until we’ve built up a stock of herbs to fight against whitecough or greencough...”

Ryewhisper nodded his small, neat head. “It would be a shame to have just arrived in our new home, only to be beset by sickness!”

Crowflight cleared his throat, glancing back at the medicine cats. Ryewhisper’s ears pricked, and he stammered, “R-Right! We need to get back...”

Shadepaw’s whiskers twitched in amusement as she picked up her herb packet, nodding to Crowflight that she was ready to go.

Crowflight walked on, fighting to keep his tail from twitching. The Clans hadn’t been living beside the lake for more than a few days, but already the other Clans seemed like hostile strangers again – medicine cats, on the other paw, felt nothing of the sort. It was strange hearing Ryewhisper and Shadepaw chat as if they were denmates, and it made Crowflight ache a little.

I want to talk like that with her again, he thought, bitterly. He had felt so sure that the Clans needed to separate once again, and he still did – it was for their own good - but when it came to the idea of not being able to speak with Shadepaw as if she were his friend? That made him want to caterwaul.

Soon enough, the rowan tree came into view, its dark branches clawing against the sky. Crowflight led his patrol around the hill, beneath the tall rock that stuck out from it, and they passed into the WindClan camp through a gap in the camp wall.

Tornear met him there. The gray warrior’s paws were clotted with dirt, and he looked like he’d gotten into a fight with a bush – which made some sense, if he’d been working on the camp wall.

“Hey, Crowflight,” he meowed, flicking his ear. “You’re back!” He nodded to Ryewhisper and Shadepaw, his eyes lingering on the packet of herbs in the ThunderClan she-cat's mouth.

“It's tansy,” Crowflight offered, answering the unspoken question that crossed Tornear’s gaze. “For Whitetail.”

“Good!” Tornear breathed. He looked relieved. “She’s wheezing away with Barkface. The whole Clan is worried!”

“Then we’ll waste no time!” Ryewhisper chirped. “Come, Shadepaw – you'll like our medicine den! We found an old badger set under those boulders, see, and...”

He quickly trotted away, Shadepaw at his heels. Crowflight opened his jaws and then shut them, wishing he could linger to speak with Shadepaw. She’s got a job to do, he told himself. A really important one.

Word quickly spread at the sight of Ryewhisper and Shadepaw. Crowflight guessed that news about Whitetail had flourished in his absence, thanks to Smokewillow and Robinwing, and work on the camp had ground to a halt as a result. Still, a glance to the bushes arranged at the foot of the hills told Crowflight that it seemed as if rain dens were finally being formed, at the very least.

A dark shape appeared from within one of those half-formed dens – Mudclaw. The former deputy pulled himself out of the dugout, his belly and paws caked in dirt. There was even mud on his muzzle, but Mudclaw flicked it away before approaching Crowflight.

“So?” he asked, gruffly.

Crowflight flicked an ear. Behind him, Tornear turned back to his duties. “So, what?” Crowflight asked, tipping his head.

Mudclaw’s amber eyes flashed. “You were in ThunderClan territory. Their camp - what was it like?”

Crowflight swallowed. Mudclaw wasn’t lowering his voice, or making any attempt to conceal his interest – other cats were now looking their way, ears angled curiously, and a few, Duskwhisker included, were edging closer to better listen in, not at all bothering to disguise it.

“It was fine,” Crowflight answered, his tone clipped. Is this really something to discuss while Shadepaw is in camp? She might be in the burrow of the medicine cat’s den, but that didn’t mean she was utterly deaf. She certainly wouldn’t forgive him divulging any of her Clan’s vulnerabilities. “They seem well-situated. It was a good choice for a camp.”

Mudclaw flicked his tail. “That’s good,” he mused. “They have their dens set up?”

Crowflight fought the urge to curl his lip in response. Onewhisker was hardly three tail-lengths away, his eyes flicking between Mudclaw and Crowflight – Mudclaw had to know that he was listening, too. Was this all some ploy to make Onewhisker look even worse?

“Construction takes time,” Crowflight answered simply. “They’ve got the basics, but ThunderClan uses different materials than we do. I have no idea how far along anything is – they didn’t exactly give me a tour or anything.”

Duskwhisker scoffed, “I’ll bet a whisker they’ve got a place to shelter when it snows!”

“Now, now,” fretted Webfoot. The senior warrior approached, his tail twisting behind him. “ThunderClan doesn’t sleep under the stars like we do. Dens are a must for the other Clans!”

Still, Duskwhisker’s words were enough to send some cats mumbling. Bramblefur mentioned something about no proper nursery yet, while Softbreeze wondered where their future elders might rest. Crowflight tried to hide the alarm building beneath his skin – was Mudclaw trying to start an argument right in front of Onewhisker, not to mention Shadepaw?

The idea made Crowflight’s pelt blaze. He resisted the urge to flash his claws. How could Mudclaw justify this? Was he hoping that Shadepaw might overhear and tell Tinystar that Onewhisker was an unfit leader? What would that possibly accomplish?

But Onewhisker wasn’t saying anything, either, and that was incredibly apparent as speculations and worries ran rampant. While Emberfoot was complaining about being buried under the first snows, WindClan’s leader was instead focusing on the medicine cat den, his tail curled tightly around his paws. Ashfoot was talking to him, but it didn’t seem like he was listening to her.

Say something! Crowflight urged. He wanted to yowl, but he knew it wasn’t his place. Please! If ever there were a time to show strength and create a hopeful dialogue...

Before the chatter could escalate much further, the medicine cats emerged from the den. Barkface trotted up to Onewhisker directly, while Ryewhisper took to the crowd, Shadepaw just behind him.

“Well?” asked Softbreeze, her tone impatient. “How is she?”

“The tansy has been administered,” Ryewhisper reported. He blinked at his Clanmates, confused by the surprise of tension in the air. “Barkface thinks we caught it just in time.”

Shadepaw nodded along. “Any later and it might not have been as effective,” she agreed, her tone chipper. If she sensed the upset around her, she was clearly trying to push it away. “The sickness wasn’t thick in her lungs yet.”

“So, she’ll be okay?” wondered Weaselpaw.

Shadepaw nodded, her gaze encouraging to the young apprentice. “With a lot of rest, yes!”

A sigh passed through the crowd. Crowflight couldn’t help but join them, relief cooling his pelt. Whitetail was a senior warrior, and a very prominent figure in the Clan. Losing her would be devastating – especially right now.

“She’ll still need to be quarantined, of course,” Ryewhisper went on, “but I could see her returning to her duties in a few days.”

“Good,” Duskwhisker agreed, her eyes flashing at Mudclaw. “We need all the paws we can get right now!”

Crowflight glanced at Mudclaw. That was clearly a pointed statement, attempting to fly on the back of his assertions about how slow WindClan’s development has been; but the dark warrior was not paying attention – his gaze was, instead, focused on Onewhisker.

The Clan leader was finishing up his conversation with Barkface. Both he and Ashfoot looked as relieved as the rest of the Clan when they turned to their Clanmates. Onewhisker loudly cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention over the buzz of slightly happier conversation.

“On behalf of all of WindClan, I’d like to thank you, Shadepaw,” Onewhisker announced. “Without your help, Whitetail might never have had the chance to recover.”

Shadepaw’s ears pricked, and she looked surprised. “Oh!” she breathed. “Thank you, but I’m sure Mothwing would’ve helped, too, if we couldn’t; or Littlecloud, even...”

Onewhisker shook his head. “ThunderClan has ever been WindClan’s friend and ally, and you’ve always sacrificed so much for us,” he went on, gratitude in his eyes. “This is just another example of our Clan’s strong relationship. I worried about what I might do to show our thanks, and I’ve arrived at a solution...”

Crowflight swallowed. The entire camp went silent at Onewhisker’s words. Is he daft? Crowflight thought, glancing at Mudclaw. Praising ThunderClan right in front of Mudclaw is the surest way to start a fight! The tabby tom’s expression was unreadable, but his muscles were coiled and tense as if he might pounce at the slightest provocation.

“... ThunderClan is free to mark the forest across the tree-bridge as their territory, from now on,” Onewhisker declared.

The entire Clan exploded at once.

“What in StarClan’s name?” cried Duskwhisker. Beside her, Webfoot was bristling to the ends of his fur and Weaselpaw’s eyes were wide as small moons.

Tornear was snarling. “We were not consulted!”

“Ashfoot, did you agree to that?!” demanded Emberfoot, glaring at the Clan deputy.

Ashfoot struggled to respond, looking just as caught off guard as the rest of the Clan.

“Are you serious?” Mudclaw’s snarl cut through the clamor like a tooth through bone. He stepped forward, his eyes blazing dangerously. Crowflight saw the flash of claws. “You’re trading a whole stretch of territory for a pawful of healing herbs?”

Onewhisker, to his credit, stood his ground, though his eyes did flash to Mudclaw’s unsheathed claws. “We’ve no use for a forest on our territory,” he said, his voice firm. “WindClan has never relied on forest prey before, we don’t need to now. Besides, WindClan so far has the largest territory around the lake – it's only fair.”

“How can you be so certain?” demanded Softbreeze. The fur along her spine was lifted up straight. “Leafbare is just beginning, we can’t risk being stuck without prey!”

“There are other directions to expand in,” Webfoot pointed out. He was hesitant, but he seemed to at least be trying to reason through the idea. “The moors go on for quite a ways. We probably don’t need the forest...”

“But reckless expansion like that could doom us!” Duskwhisker snapped. Her muzzle whipped about the crowd, beseeching all the cats there with a sharp gaze. “Do you want to walk for whole day just for a rabbit or bird?”

“What about the herbs in the woods?” wondered Emberfoot. She swung her gaze over to Barkface, who was clearly trying to come to terms with what was happening. “Wouldn’t those be useful to us, too?”

Crowflight could sense the tension crackling in the air like thunder. Glancing at Shadepaw, who was cowering under the storm of opinions being flung over her head, Crowflight could only dare to wonder when the lightning might strike.

“You need to talk to us about this!” Mudclaw snarled. His shoulder fur was bristling. “You can’t just make decisions like these without consulting your Clan, Onewhisker!”

“My decision is final!” Onewhisker snapped. His eyes blazed, and the timbre of his voice caused the arguing to stutter out. The lean brown tabby’s tail was lashing, bristling, and he was glaring at his Clanmates one by one, as if that alone was enough to silence them. It seemed to be, for now, but Crowflight could see that more than one cat was still very displeased.

Onewhisker turned to Shadepaw. In a voice tight with control, he meowed, “ThunderClan has the forest, now. You can tell Tinystar your warriors are free to hunt there, so long as they do not cross our new markers.”

“I...” Shadepaw swallowed. She glanced this way and that, finally to Crowflight, who had to quickly shake his head and silently urge her not to speak out. Her voice would add nothing but more strife to this issue.

Shadepaw conceded, though she looked incredibly uncomfortable. Dipping her head, she meowed congenially, “Very well. Thank you, Onewhisker.”

Onewhisker nodded, as if that settled that. “Crowflight, take Shadepaw home,” he ordered. “Her Clan will worry if she’s being kept for too much longer.”

Crowflight nodded, swallowing. On one paw he was grateful for the chance to leave this hostile situation and be with Shadepaw, but on the other, these were his Clanmates, and this fight was clearly not over yet. What would he come back to?

He obeyed, though, and brought Shadepaw close to him with the curl of his tail. Together they left the camp, ducking between the unfinished bracken-and-gorse walls. They walked as fast as their paws could carry them, as if both were aware of just how uncomfortable it was behind them and wanted to create as much distance as possible.

When they were far enough away, and the rowan tree was no longer visible, Crowflight slowed his pace and sighed. “I’m sorry about that,” he told Shadepaw.

Shadepaw braced herself against a gust of wind. “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s not your fault. Personally, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have done that, though.”

Crowflight felt stung by her comment. Of course, anyone could tell how bad an idea that was, even a medicine cat. Especially a medicine cat!

Shadepaw went on, “If Onewhisker wants to be kind, that’s one thing; but if you’re going to give land away, the reason why had better be good. I’m sure that tansy would grow in those woods in newleaf...”

Crowflight bristled. “He was thanking ThunderClan!” he defended.

“I heard what he said the same as you,” Shadepaw countered. The fur between her shoulders lifted, slightly, as her temper flared. “Onewhisker can thank us all he likes, but there’s gratitude and then there’s taking it too far! You know that as well as anyone, Crowflight!”

Crowflight snapped his jaws shut. “I don’t want to talk about this,” he growled, turning his muzzle away from her. “It’s WindClan's business.”

“I agree,” Shadepaw mewed, her tone softening. She pressed subtly against Crowflight’s pelt, her warmth seeping into his fur like a calming wave. “But, Crowflight, I’m worried... Your Clan is fighting, and sooner or later, my vision-”

“Don’t,” Crowflight told her, his voice tired and weak. “Please... I don’t want to think about that right now.”

“If you aren’t going to think about it, some cat has to.”

Crowflight laid his tail over her’s. He wanted more than anything to go back to how things had been on their journeys, where it had been just the two of them, lying on their backs counting the stars, their only worries being what direction to put their paws on next, and what waited for them at the end.

“Has there been any signs of a new Moonstone?” he dared to ask.

Shadepaw shook her head. Her response was a quiet whisper of, “No, I’m sorry.”

Crowflight swallowed around the lump in his throat. His paws itched with foreboding. Shadepaw’s vision of a broken moorland, of a broken WindClan, seemed to loom closer than ever.

But what can I do about it? He thought helplessly, putting his paws back on the path to ThunderClan territory. It’s not my place... I’m just a warrior now.

He glanced at Shadepaw, and marveled at the way the pale light touched her shoulders.

Just a warrior.