#and Snowfrost up there in the corner alone | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

signs-of-the-moon · 4 years

Text

Moon Rise: Chapter 34

Throbbing pain greeted Swiftcloud when consciousness return to her. Her ears were ringing so loud she could barely hear the thoughts circling within her own mind. With effort, the white and black patched she-cat peeled open her eyes. She blinked, adjusting to the harsh light that managed to sneak in behind the ivy tendrils blocking the den's entrance.

Goldensong and Mistypaw were sitting a tail-length in front of her, talking about who knows what. Herbs, maybe. Swiftcloud couldn't tell; their words sounded muffled and distant in her ears. Clearly she hadn't fully woken up yet. When she blinked, the medicine cats were talking. When she blinked again they had turned, landing their focus onto her.

"...ear me?" Swiftcloud barely managed to catch the last couple of words Goldensong spoke. The warrior flicked her ears, straining them to focus.

"Swiftcloud." She heard Mistypaw's mew, which grew clearer with every word. "Can you hear us?"

"Y..yes," she managed to respond, head pounding. "Ngh...where am I...?"

"You're in the medicine den," responded Mistypaw. Goldensong gently nudged her aside to sit directly in front of Swiftcloud.

"Follow my movements with your eyes," the golden molly instructed, lifting her tail. She slowly moved it in the air to the right, then back towards her left side with the same speed. Swiftcloud watched closely, wondering what this was about. "Good. Now flex your claws for me, please. One paw at a time, then all four if you can." Swiftcloud followed the directions. "Very good." Goldensong extended her paw, placing it on the pad of Swiftcloud's.

"Now squeeze my paw, squeeze as hard as you can. Don't worry about your claws for the moment, I won't mind if I get pricked by them a little."

Though she was hesitant, Swiftcloud flexed her toes. She felt the fuzziness of the golden molly's fur on her pawpad as she tensed her muscles to grip as tight as she could manage. Goldensong nodded, pulling back after a couple of heartbeats.

"Do you know what your name is?" She asked.

The patched warrior blinked, utterly perplexed. "My name is Swiftcloud," she responded surely.

"What clan do you hail from?"

"I'm from Grassclan," Swiftcloud answered without even having to think.

"What is your rank?"

"I'm a young warrior. A Hunter, and Spy. And a mentor."

Goldensong nodded once more. "Excellent. It seems that there is no serious damage to your brain. Though I wonder, how does your head feel?"

"It hurts. There's a drumming in the top of my skull like thunder. And... the light, it's killing my eyes."

"Sounds like a concussion," Mistypaw concluded, poking her claw against the base of Swiftcloud's neck. Swiftcloud jolted, yelping in surprise. Her legs kicked out in response, her warrior instincts making her poised for a battle that wouldn't happen. Mistyleaf let out a tiny giggle, mewing an apology. "Seems like she isn't paralyzed either. That's a huge relief."

"Indeed. But, unfortunately, she isn't fit enough for her warrior duties."

"Why? What's going on?" Swiftcloud was desperate to know. What was with all these questions and tests?

"You hit your head against our den and fell unconscious," Goldensong answered simply.

"I...I was battling against Nightshade. And then Thornberry came out of nowhere.. and he threw me," Swiftcloud remembered.

"Sounds about right with what Tigerfang said," Mistypaw mused, whiskers twitching.

"Your neck and shoulder have been torn quite severely on top of that concussion of yours," Goldensong meowed. "You'll have to stay within the confines of camp until you've healed."

"But what about hunting? Leafbare is just around the corner, I..I have to be able to hold my keep!"

"Settle down," Mistypaw soothed, placing herself by her friend's side. She purred deeply in an attempt to calm Swiftcloud's nerves. "I'm sure there's plenty you can do in camp. You like spending time with the queens, right? I'm sure they'd appreciate the extra help around the nursery. Meanwhile, the apprentices can do the hunting for you."

"The apprentices...oh no, Tulippaw! What's going to happen to Tulippaw while I'm stuck here?"

"You can have one of the other mentors handle her training for the time being," Goldensong replied.

"But she's my apprentice. I promised Ambereye I would take care of her..." Swiftcloud rested her chin on her paws, ears lowering with disappointment.

"Then maybe she could still teach her when Tulippaw is in camp? And then outside the camp another warrior can keep an eye on her," Mistypaw suggested. "Would that work?"

"Hm, well, I don't see why not," Goldensong mewed. "As long as Swiftcloud does not overexert herself or open her wounds, it should be fine."

Swiftcloud perked up at the idea, her eyes glittering with hope and gratitude.

"But you should worry about Tulippaw's training later. For today, at least, you should rest." Goldensong turned her attention onto Swiftcloud for a few heartbeats before turning back to her apprentice. "Mistyleaf, will you take care of Swiftcloud's treatment while I speak to Whitestar about her condition?"

"Of course, Goldensong," Mistyleaf replied, standing with a stretch. As the golden she-cat turned and walked away, Mistyleaf nudged Swiftcloud to her paws. She assisted her with walking, setting her down in a nest deep in the den. It was dark here, no sunlight seemed to be able to reach this far back. Relief came to Swiftcloud's eyes in the shade, and the drumming in her head seemed to dull, if only slightly. As the patched warrior made herself more comfortable, Mistyleaf turned, returning a few moments later with a pair of poppy seeds and few flowers which looked like tiny daisies. The fragrance from them could only be described as sharp and tangy.

"Eat these, they'll help with your head and give you good rest."

Swiftcloud nodded, licking up the herbs without a second thought. She shivered in disgust as the plants slithered down her throat, bitter on her taste buds. A wad of soaked moss was provided to her to wash out the taste. She lapped up the water greedily, receiving a pat on the head by Mistyleaf's tail. The medicine cat apprentice turned once more, leaving Swiftcloud alone in the peace and quiet. Drowsiness claimed her before she could even realize the poppy seeds had taken effect. Her head drooped and eyes closed as sleep welcomed her into its realm, blanketing her with comfort and entertaining her with sweet dreams.

***

"Are we really going to let those fox-hearts take advantage of us again?" An outcry came from beyond the medicine den, pulling Swiftcloud from her slumber. Swiftcloud rose to her paws with a painful stretch, hobbling to the den's entrance. Outside she spotted Ashwhisker speaking, his ear torn and flanks still bloody. "They busted into our camp, attacked our injured warriors, and nearly fought an innocent kit. We have to make them pay!"

Yowls of agreement came from clanmates all around camp. It would appear that Whitestar called a meeting. But no cat seemed happy with how she was treating the invasion. The clan wanted revenge, to go after the cats that had woken them in the middle of the night for a needless battle. But Whitestar forbade it.

"Isn't their defeat enough?" Cloverpetal piped meekly in defense of the clan leader's choice. A few cats around her hissed, making her shrink back.

"You are correct, Cloverpetal," Whitestar responded calmly, "but it won't be enough to stop them for good. We will give it a few days, so that we may have time to recover and plan, and then we will strike back once again."

"But what if Treeclan comes back?" Heatherwing queried.

"I highly doubt they'll be so quick to invade Grassclan's camp again after the beating we gave them. Besides, they know we'll be expecting their return," Tigerfang commented.

"Regardless, I will ask that more guards keep watch over camp. Just in case some Treeclan warriors are still feeling bold. For now though, everyone should get some rest."

Whitestar dipped her head to her warriors. Then she jumped down from Tall Stone, marking the end of the meeting. Swiftcloud watched as Whitestar mewed a little bit by the entrance of her den, summoning her son out from inside. Swiftcloud could no longer hear what the leader was saying, but she guessed she was telling Thornkit to get himself examined by the medicine cats. Snowfrost gave the little tom a quick look over, padding to her den to undoubtedly gather supplies. Swiftcloud stepped aside to allow her to enter. She watched the lynx point molly as she sorted through her herb supply, a sour look on her face.

"Stars, did no one think to check the medicine den?" Snowfrost yowled as she rudely pushed past her guest to reemerge into the clearing. "Our herb stores have been raided. Half of our supplies are gone or destroyed!"

"Do we still have enough marigolds and cobweb?" Goldensong quiered as she walked over to investigate.

"Thankfully, yes. But we'll have to fetch more later today."

Goldensong nodded in understanding, following her former mentor back into the hollow tree. Swiftcloud sat in place and observed the medicine cats as they worked. Were their herbs really taken? And if so, how did Goldensong and Mistyleaf not notice earlier?

"Swiftcloud." The warrior turned in response to the cat who called her. Mistyleaf had come to stand in front of her, a soft smile on her face. Her eyes twinkled and fur glittered in the light of the day. She looked stunning. She seemed so much more grown up than before. Swiftcloud walked forward to emerge fully into camp.

"Hello Mistyleaf," Swiftcloud purred her friend's new name, adoring the sound of it. "How are you? Did your ceremony go well?"

"I'm well, thank you. And yes. It was lovely. I'm afraid I can't share much of the details though."

"That's alright. I wish I could've been there to see it. But I'm glad you were given such a beautiful name. Not..not that any other name you might have gotten wouldn't have as pretty! I just mean-"

Swiftcloud was cut off by Mistyleaf's giggling, followed by a lick to her cheek. "I know."

Swiftcloud's fur felt like it had caught fire, her skin hot with emotion. Flustered, she bowed her head, unable to meet the other molly's gaze. This only caused Mistyleaf to giggle more. She flicked her tail under Swiftcloud's chin, prompting her to lift if.

"How are you feeling by the way? How is your head?"

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore. But I'm still pretty sore," Swiftcloud confessed.

"I thought you'd say that. Well, make sure you take it easy, alright? I have to go check on some other cats. We'll catch up more later." With a nose touch and a wave of her tail, Mistyleaf walked away. After a heartbeat, Swiftcloud did the same.

By the warrior's den she saw the shape of Shadowfang sitting as his wounds were being checked. Ashwhisker studied the black tom carefully.

"You need to stay off you paws for a while, bunny," he chided, touching his nose to Shadowfang's leg. "You've been injured too greatly and too often to keep joining battles. If you don't give yourself time to heal you'll wind up having to retire early. You don't want that do you?"

Shadowfang hunched over self consciously. He looked a little guilty, although Swiftcloud could still notice a small twinkle of mischief in his green eyes. "No, no of course not."

"Then you'll stay in camp. If I have to move you to my den just to make sure you don't go volunteering to join any more raids, I will." Ashwhisker turned. "Swiftcloud, make sure this tom of yours heeds my words. This is serious business."

"Dad, this is embarrassing. I'm not a kit anymore! I can take care of myself."

"Oh I'll keep my eye on him, you don't need to worry about that," Swiftcloud assured, licking Shadowfang's ear as she came to sit beside him. With her tongue she could feel the flustered heat that the tom must be feeling beneath his pelt. It was adorable. Ashwhisker gave a satisfied grunt, rising to his paws and taking off to go check on some other clanmates.

Across the way, Swiftcloud spotted Dewstone. She was alone, and seemed to be observing the activity of the clan. Though Swiftcloud wanted to be with her mate, there was something more important to attend to right now. This might be the perfect opportunity to tell her my theory.

"Hey, I have to go talk with Dewstone for a little while," Swiftcloud meowed as she stood up. "I'll catch up with you later." Shadowfang let out a grunt of acknowledgement, turning to clean himself as Swiftcloud marched forward on her mission.

"Dewstone, may I have a word?"

The white and silver patched molly perked up when she heard her own name. Her eyes flashed with interest at the sound of importance in the younger cat's mew. "Of course. What's on your mind, Swiftcloud?"

"I've been having some suspicious thoughts lately. About the deaths of some of our warriors. I think there may be a connection. A specific cat might be responsible, but I'm not sure who." Swiftcloud explained all of the overlapping evidence she had come up with in relation to the deaths of Waspwing, Butterflytail, and Ambereye. The way all three cats were positioned, the berry juice she'd found on two of the cats, and the connection to Treeclan.

"At first, I thought it might've been a Treeclan warrior who's killing our cats. But I know Butterflytail and Ambereye both came back and died in camp. So I started to think maybe...someone in Grassclan could be responsible. But now that Treeclan knows where our camp is, I'm not so sure anymore. However, I'm completely sure that something is going on. There's too much in common for it all to be coincidence."

Dewstone was quiet for a little while, her eyes flickering in contemplation. Her tail swished as she lifted her chin at last to address the warrior in front of her.

"You have brought forth some interesting information. Though it sounds more like a conspiracy than something credible. However, I will help you with this investigation, if only to see if your theories are correct. If someone is targeting our cats, then we will bring them to justice."

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats ocs #Signs of the Moon: Moon Rise #Signs of the Moon #Moon Rise #chapter 34

0 notes