Hello everyone and welcome back to Everlasting Miracles II! This is the first chapter of the final story in the series. I hope that you all enjoy this installment.
NOTE: If you have yet to read The Raging Storm or any of the other books from A Vision of Shadows, then please stop here. This story contains heavy spoilers due to it being based on The Raging Storm with an added crossover twist.
DISCLAIMER: This story contains elements from Warriors, Code Geass, Sword Art Online, Final Fantasy XV, and Fire Emblem: Awakening. I own nothing from any of these series.
Warriors Everlasting Miracles II Turn End: The Final Quest
Chapter 1: Infected
Noctis followed behind Twigbranch and Finleap, along with their apprentices, Snappaw and Flypaw. He wasn't doing anything back at camp, and when that was the case, he usually stuck around with the two warriors. At least it's spring. I didn't expect to be in this world long enough to live through the winter. Still…nothing serious has happened ever since me and the cats from other worlds spoke with Spottedleaf.
"Noct?" The black tom shook his head and looked over at Twigbranch. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just thinking."
"You? I doubt that." The she cat joked, letting out a small laugh.
"Y'know, I'm starting to think you're trying to keep me away from hanging out with you." The blue-eyed tom stated. "If you wanted some alone time with Finleap, just ask." A blush formed on the she-cat's face.
"Can we just hurry up and go place our scent markers?" She quickly stammered.
"I don't know why you get so flustered all the time, Twigbranch. The whole Clan knows." Finleap told her with a smile. "Maybe I'll start telling Noct when we need some alone time. He's really my only competition for you, and he doesn't even try!"
"What can I say?" The black tom boasted. "Seriously though, you don't have to worry, Finleap. Twigbranch likes you more than me, I promise." Noctis looked over and saw the two apprentices running off. "Maybe you both should take care of that."
"Flypaw! Get back here!"
"You too, Snappaw!" The two mentors chased their apprentices, Noctis slowly following behind. He caught up to the rest of them when they reached ThunderClan's border with ShadowClan.
"Can you try and keep up Noct? We can't be waiting for you!" Flypaw complained.
"Alright, alright, sorry, Flypaw." The tom apologized. "You really have your work cut out for you, Twigbranch." The tom whispered.
"You have no idea." She let out a sigh. She then looked over at Noctis, the tom raising his nose in the air. "ShadowClan seems to be placing their scent markers more often lately."
"It's not that…" He closed his eyes and tasted the air again. "Blood. It's fresh, and so is the ShadowClan scent along with it." Noctis walked along the border, the other cats following behind him.
"Hey! We have to at least be a bit quiet!" Finleap warned, but his plea fell on deaf ears as Noctis continued at the same pace.
"I'm sure whatever it is won't be threatening." He assured them. A sudden groan of pain rung through Noctis' ears and he quickened his pace. When he arrived at the source, he saw that it was Puddleshine, the tom trapped underneath a bundle of barbed wire between two trees. "Hey! You alright?" Noctis ran to the injured tom's side. He was in horrible condition. Blood seeped from every wound on his body.
"Puddleshine!" Twigbranch ran over, worry in her voice.
"What is all this?" Flypaw wondered.
"Don't touch it!" Noctis swatted her paw away with his tail. "It's barbed wire. I don't know what you Clan cats call it."
"Silverthorn." Finleap meowed. "I have no idea why Twolegs would just leave this out here" He looked over at Flypaw. "Can you go back to camp and get help? We'll need as many paws as we can, and a medicine cat, too."
"I'll go." Noctis offered. "We'll need help as soon as possible."
"Right. Try to hurry, Noct." Twigbranch meowed. The tom nodded and broke out in a quick run, warping around the forest constantly until he made it back to camp.
Over in ThunderClan, cats around the clearing were talking and sharing fresh-kill together. They all suddenly leaped in surprise when Noctis suddenly warped into the clearing.
"Alderheart! We need to go!" He yelled towards the medicine cat's den.
"Noctis, what's going on?" Bramblestar asked as he approached the tom.
"It's Puddleshine. We found him stuck under some barbed…I mean, silverthorn. We need as much help as we can get."
"I'll come along. Kirito! Bumblestripe! Blossomfall! We need to go, now!"
"Is what I heard true? Is Puddleshine hurt?" Asuna asked as she followed behind Kirito and the other cats. "Bramblestar, I have to go."
"There's no changing her mind, y'know." Kirito told the leader.
"Believe me, I'm aware." He meowed, letting out a small smirk. "Very well."
"Okay, I'm ready!" Alderheart ran out with a bundle of herbs. Once the cats were together, Bramblestar looked over at Noctis.
"Lead the way."
When they arrived at the tree, Asuna looked at Puddleshine in horror. The silverthorn stuck into his coat in too many places that it was hard to count exactly how many wounds he had.
"Can't Twolegs dump their rot in places other than our land?" The ThunderClan leader meowed. "No offense you two."
"Forget that, we need to help Puddleshine as fast as possible." Asuna walked over to the ShadowClan medicine cat, cautious for any other wire that might be nearby. "It's going to be okay, Puddleshine, I promise." The she-cat swiped a paw down and was surprised when no menu screen popped up.
"Asuna, it's okay. I brought poppy seeds for him." Alderheart assured her. Sorrow filled the she-cat's hazel eyes. I'm so useless now. I need my powers. What if this was a life or death situation? Her heart sank when she remembered the reason she lost her ability to carry herbs in her inventory. Briarlight was close enough where I could use my powers to check on her, and I didn't.
"Asuna." The she-cat shook her head and turned when Bramblestar called her. "We need you to push Puddleshine off while we lift the silverthorn. Can you do that?" She nodded and watched as he, Kirito, Noctis, Bumblestripe, and Blossomfall got around Puddleshine and took a piece of the silverthorn carefully in their paws. "Twigbranch, Finleap, you both help remove any thorns in his pelt while Asuna pushes him." They nodded and stood beside Asuna. "Alright, on my mark….One, two, three!" They lifted the mesh up, Puddleshine letting out a gasp of pain.
"You're going to be okay, Puddleshine." Asuna comforted the tom as she began pulling him away from the silverthorn. She noticed his body being lifted up by the wire and looked back at the two warriors. "Twigbranch, Finleap, here!" She pointed at the thorn with her tail, the two working together to remove it from Puddleshine's pelt. Asuna pulled him free slowly, the two removing the countless thorns out of his pelt before finally, he was freed.
"Alright, put it down!" The leader commanded. "Excellent job, everyone. No injuries?"
"I'm fine over here." Kirito meowed. "I think it's just Puddleshine." They looked over at the ShadowClan medicine cat, Asuna and Alderheart sealing his wounds quickly with cobwebs. Bramblestar padded over to them and looked at Puddleshine.
"How is he?"
"Some of his wounds were deep. We've sealed every one, but there's still a chance of infection."
"If I still had my powers I could check…" Asuna looked down at her paws in shame. Bramblestar placed his tail on her shoulder.
"Your powers would be helpful, but they aren't necessary, Asuna." He assured her. "We'll need some cats to go and tell Tigerstar what happened." His amber gaze looked over at the group of warriors. "Finleap, Twigbranch, go tell Tigerstar what happened. Don't bother waiting at the border. I'm sure he'll be more than relieved on how we've taken care of the situation." The two nodded and ran towards ShadowClan. "Noctis, Bumblestripe, try to carry Puddleshine as carefully as possible back to camp." They stood near the drowsy tom, Noctis looking over at Bumblestripe.
"Ready?" The black-striped tom nodded and the two lifted the medicine cat onto their back.
"Great. Let's go, everyone." Bramblestar took the lead, the warriors and apprentices following behind as they made their way back to ThunderClan.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Just put him down here carefully." Alderheart meowed as he guided Noctis and Bumblestripe to the nest Asuna had quickly made for him. "Careful…" He watched as they meticulously put down the injured tom, letting out a sigh of relief when they were finished.
"You don't need to tell us to be careful, you know? We know how much pain he's in." Noctis told the tom.
"Sorry, just a bit worried is all."
"Comes with the job, I'm sure." The black tom retorted. "We should get going. You all will probably be busy for the next few days."
"Thanks again for the help you two." The medicine cat meowed as the two toms left.
"How did this happen?" Leafpool wondered as she looked down at Puddleshine. "He looks horrible."
"He got trapped under some silverthorn. He was trying to collect some borage." Alderheart told her. As he was explaining everything to Leafpool and Jayfeather, he watched as Asuna made her way to the den's exit. "Asuna? Did you want to help?" Jayfeather's ears twitched and his blind gaze looked over at the cream she-cat.
"We won't mind. We can use the extra paws." He stated.
"I…" Asuna shook her head. "I'm sure you three can take care of him. Thank you, though…" Her voice trailed off as she left the medicine cat's den, Jayfeather letting out a growl of annoyance.
"It's not your fault, Jayfeather. If it was she wouldn't have set paw in here." Leafpool assured him. "When a cat as sweet as her is hurt, it takes a bit longer for that pain to go away."
"Right. When she saw Puddleshine, she was devastated that she didn't have her powers."
"Well we offered to let her help and she declined. What does she want?"
"To regain her confidence as a medicine cat." Leafpool stated pragmatically. "Briarlight's death is still consuming her. Asuna is showing that she wants to continue her medicine cat duties, but at the same time she's doubting the skills she's learned. She'll need to spend more time on her own to heal and when she's ready, she'll be in here with us again, I'm sure of it."
In the nursery, Asuna sat down with Lucina and Kirito, the three playing with Foxkit and Swiftkit. The small silver and white kit was busy playing moss ball with Kirito, while the gray tabby was playing with Lucina's tiara.
"How's Puddleshine doing?" Ivypool asked the cream she-cat. "From what I saw he seemed really hurt."
"He was…but I'm sure the others will be able to take care of him." She assured her.
"You want to help them, don't you?" Lucina stated, the she-cat nodding her head.
"I do…but I'm not ready yet."
"Are you sure you're not the one holding yourself back, Asuna?" Lelouch asked her.
"You're an amazing medicine cat, you know that." Ivypool added. "You can't let this one mistake haunt you forever."
"I know, but…" She sighed. "It's complicated." She felt a ball of moss hit her face, the she-cat looking back at her mate. "Really, Kirito?"
"I-It was Swiftkit, I swear!" He quickly stammered.
"Was not!"
"Swiftkit…" Lelouch looked down at his daughter, the kit avoiding his violet gaze. She stood silent for a while until she couldn't stand her father's judgmental gaze.
"Okay…it was me…but Kirito told me to!"
"That one's true." The gray-eyed tom admitted.
"But it was only to try and make Asuna feel better. I promise!"
"It is a Kirito-esque thing to do." Ivypool said with a giggle. "Just don't think every cat will feel better by throwing something at their face, Swiftkit."
"Yes, mom." Asuna gave her a lick to the ear.
"You're sweet, Swiftkit. Just try not to learn from this one." Her hazel eyes looked over at Kirito and sighed. "You're sweet, too."
Lucina watched as Foxkit's paws traveled through the dirt, the tom looking at her tiara from time to time before he continued. The she-cat tilted her head as she watched. She noticed that he seemed to be drawing her tiara in the ground.
"He likes to draw." Lelouch told her as he watched as well.
"It's adorable just watching him. I never knew cats practiced the arts."
"They don't. He asked me what Twoleg kits in my world did at his age and well, drawing was the first activity that came to my mind."
"I think it's done." Foxkit meowed. "Father? Lucina? Does it look good?" They both looked at the drawing and were both surprised at the detail the kit put into it.
"The design on my tiara is simple, but even so you drew every detail. It looks wonderful, Foxkit." Lucina praised him.
"She's right. You should be proud." Lelouch gave the tom a lick to the ear.
"Thank you, father. You too, Lucina." He padded over to where Ivypool was and tugged at her paw.
"He wants to show you his drawing." The violet-eyed tom told his mate.
"I'd be honored to." Ivypool got to her paws and looked down at the picture drawn in the dirt. "What is it?"
"My tiara. Maybe knowing that will help you see it." Ivypool looked over at the tiara and then at the drawing, letting out a smile when she saw it.
"Oh, I see it now! Amazing job, Foxkit." She gave her son a lick on the cheek.
"Hey, I wanna see!" Swiftkit ran over to where her brother was and looked at the drawing. "Wow! You're so talented, Foxkit!" Her blue gaze looked over at Lelouch. "Dad, can you teach me how to do that next? Please?" She begged, causing the tom to laugh before nodding his head. "Yay! I love you soooo much!" Swiftkit pressed closer into her father's black fur. Asuna looked at the loving display with a smile, but it didn't reflect the turmoil that she was feeling on the inside. Will I ever be ready to return to the medicine cat's den again?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Nightheart sat down beside Asuna, Suguha, and Lucina, each of them enjoying a piece of prey. It had been two days ever since Bramblestar and the others brought Puddleshine into camp.
"Seriously? You've eaten bear before, Lucina?" Suguha asked in surprise after taking a bite of her mouse.
"Yes. It's quite alright if prepared correctly. Frederick was always the most proper when it came to cooking it." The she-cat let out a small laugh. "Aunt Lissa was definitely not fond of it at all."
"I've heard tales of bears before, but my guess is that it's much easier to fight them as Twolegs." Nightheart stated, Lucina replying with a nod.
"I can't imagine taking one down as a cat. If I was in this form I'd run away, to be honest."
"I'm sure we all would." Asuna assured her jokingly. Their ears all suddenly twitched and they turned to look at the entrance to camp.
"ShadowClan? Twigbranch did say they'd pick up Puddleshine in a few days." Nightheart stated.
"But he's in no condition to move! Tigerstar has to reconsider." The cream she-cat said. They watched as Fernsong and Brackenfur surrounded the ShadowClan patrol as they were guided into camp.
"Aunt Dovewing!" Nightheart got up and ran towards the patrol when she caught sight of her pale gray coat. When she got close, she noticed Scorchfur let out a hiss, causing her to step back.
"Hey, she just wanted to greet her kin." Molewhisker meowed, placing his tail in front of the she-cat defensively. Nightheart looked around the camp and saw the same hostility she saw in Scorchfur's eyes.
"N-No, I was being rash. I apologize." She backed away from the group, Bramblestar now approaching them.
"Can I assume you're here for Puddleshine?" The leader asked Tawnypelt, his sister leading the group.
"Yes. We told your two warriors that we'd be here in two days." She replied. "Is he ready to leave?" Tawnypelt followed her brother's amber gaze and noticed that he was staring at Dovewing. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, I'm just surprised that you brought her here. Tensions are still running high about her decision to leave."
"She's a member of ShadowClan now. Your warriors can accept that whether they want to or not." His sister retorted.
"Shouldn't she be with her kits in the nursery?"
"I wanted to see Ivypool." The pale gray she-cat finally spoke.
"Why should you be able to? When you left your Clan you left your kin behind." Bumblestripe spat.
"I left because it's what I believed the right thing to do was." She replied.
"Hey, that's Dovewing, right?" Nightheart looked over at the nursery entrance and saw Swiftkit leave, Foxkit following behind. From inside she saw her father's violet gaze fall on her, while her mother stared at her paws. Nightheart led the two kits over to where Dovewing was, Molewhisker following behind.
"This is our aunt, Dovewing. You both probably don't remember her." Nightheart explained.
"You look so much like mom! Well…except for the white splotches…and green eyes." She meowed. From the nursery, Daisy let out a sigh.
"Kin is kin, no matter what Clan they're in."
"Clan loyalty is more important than that!" Cherryfall meowed, moving closer to Bumblestripe. She stared at her brother defiantly.
"They're right. Loyalty to one's Clan triumphs all." Lionblaze stated.
"C'mon, you all can't be serious." Noctis joined in on the argument. "You're telling me that if your siblings were in another Clan you'd fight them? No problem at all?"
"Yes!" Bumblestripe responded. "It might be hard for you and the others not from here to understand, but that's how the warrior code works."
"Noct is right." Molewhisker stated. "If somehow Cherryfall and I were in different Clans, I'd never lay a paw on her." From the nursery, Jayfeather padded over to the medicine cat's den, letting out a hiss of annoyance.
"If cats didn't keep falling in love with the wrong mates a lot of trouble would be avoided." His blind gaze touched Squirrelflight, the deputy looking at him in surprise.
"Really? Don't blame me for what Leafpool did. I only did it to help her because I love her."
"And look at everything that happened because of it."
"Jayfeather, you know that's not fair." Asuna told the tom, but it fell on deaf ears as he entered the medicine cat's den.
Dovewing looked over at the nursery, hoping to get some sort of response from her sister. A glimmer of hope appeared when she saw her blue eyes looking at her. Ivypool…please…
"Mom says you have kits as well. Do they look anything like us?" Swiftkit asked, breaking Dovewing's gaze away from the nursery.
"Shadowkit does, sort of. Lightkit and Pouncekit look more like their father." She looked over at Nightheart. "Just like how your older sister looks like her father." Nightheart let out a smile, brushing pelts with her aunt. "How is everything? Are your siblings giving you a hard time?"
"Not at all, although Swiftkit might in the future. Foxkit spends most of his time around father, but he loves to play when he gets the chance." Nightheart followed Dovewing's gaze over to the nursery. "Mother? Please come out. If not for aunt Dovewing, at least do it for me?" In the nursery, Lelouch nudged the she-cat out with his nose, Ivypool now making her way towards her sister.
"I'm sorry that I'm being like this. It just…feels so strange that you're living in another Clan and that our kits won't be able to play with each other." She confessed. "How are they?"
"They're doing well. I hope you can visit them sometime soon. The same goes for your mate over there." Dovewing shared a smile with the violet-eyed tom in the nursery.
"That won't be happening anytime soon." Scorchfur stated. "Tigerstar isn't welcoming any guests at the moment." He turned his gaze towards Bramblestar. "So, where's Puddleshine?" Alderheart now stepped forward.
"He's too sick to travel still."
"What? Have you not cured him yet?"
"He's trying his best." Bramblestar answered. "But his wounds seem to be healing at a slow rate."
"I've tried everything, but his wounds are infected. I haven't found the right herb to cure him yet."
"Your Clan has four medicine cats?" Tawnypelt meowed in disbelief.
"Three." Asuna corrected her softly.
"Regardless, you all should know some way to heal a silverthorn wound!" Not willing to wait for a response, Tawnypelt locked her gaze onto the medicine cat's den and padded towards it, Bramblestar and Alderheart following behind.
As Dovewing rested down and admired Ivypool's kits, Nightheart pulled Molewhisker aside to speak with the tom.
"I just wanted to thank you for defending me, Molewhisker."
"It's no trouble at all, Nightheart, really."
"Yes it is. Nearly every cat in this Clan puts loyalty over kin. I'm happy to know that you're not like everyone else." A sudden blush formed on the tom's face. "Are you not worried that your sister has a different stance on this?"
"She can do what she wants. If we disagree, we disagree." He replied. Suddenly, the tom heard his stomach growl, causing Nightheart to giggle. "S-Sorry about that! I just started eating before ShadowClan came."
"That's okay. You should go finish your prey." The she-cat suggested with a smile. The brown-and-cream tom returned a smile of his own before making his way back to the mouse he was eating.
"Aha! I knew it!" Nightheart let out a yelp of surprise when Suguha appeared behind her.
"Great StarClan, Suguha! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Well I didn't want to interfere with you and your mate." Nightheart's face began to burn.
"M-Molewhisker and I are not mates!" She quickly stammered.
"I agree with Suguha. The way he defended you reminded me of some of the romance stories I've read." Lucina meowed.
"Lucina, not you too…"
"He has been looking at you a certain way, you know." Nightheart turned around when she heard her father's voice.
"Father as well? StarClan help me…" Lelouch gave her a lick to the ear.
"I'm only kidding. It would make sense for him to fall for one of the most beautiful cats in camp, though."
"Father, stop it." Nightheart said, giving him a small push. "Even if he did like me, I'm definitely not looking for a mate yet."
"That didn't stop you and Kazuto for a bit." Suguha said.
"T-That's totally different! We both admitted our feelings but weren't even mates at all!"
"Alright, that's enough teasing Nightheart for now." Lelouch meowed. "If you need me, I'll be with your mother."
"Bye, father." Lelouch walked over to join Ivypool, their kits, and her sister, the pale gray she-cat smiling as he approached them. Asuna was with them as well.
"Don't tell me you teased your daughter about Molewhisker." Ivypool hoped, Lelouch letting out a smirk. She gave her mate a shove. "You're such a troublesome father, sometimes. Swiftkit definitely gets it from you."
"I get what from dad? What is it?" Swiftkit ran over to her father.
"Your mother thinks you get your playfulness from your father, but it's definitely from both of them, I'm sure of that." Dovewing said with a small laugh.
"What do I get from you both?" Foxkit asked, curiosity in his meow.
"Other than your gray coat and dark stripes...I'd say your quietness comes from your father. He only speaks when it's necessary or helpful…but not all the time." Ivypool told him with a small chuckle.
"But what about from you, mother?" He wondered.
"We won't know yet, but maybe her abilities as a warrior. She's one of the best in ThunderClan after all." Lelouch told him.
"I'll do my best when the time comes, I promise." Foxkit stated.
"And there's some of Lelouch right there." Asuna said with a small laugh. "He's definitely taking from his father." Lelouch touched noses with his son before looking over at Dovewing.
"How are your kits doing?"
"Great! They've been asking to see their uncle for a while, Lucina as well, actually. I tell them that once they become apprentices they'll be able to at Gatherings." Dovewing heard her name being called from behind her and saw that it was Tawnypelt. "I guess that means I should get going now." Ivypool brushed muzzles with her sister, while the two kits pressed close to Dovewing before she left.
"Stay safe, Dovewing." The cream she-cat meowed before she left. Once the ShadowClan patrol had left camp, Asuna noticed Alderheart leaving as well. She hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding to follow them.
"If anyone asks, tell them I went out with Alderheart." Asuna told the two warriors.
"Bye, Asuna!" Swiftkit waved as she left camp. When she passed through the thorn tunnel, she saw Alderheart stop up ahead before turning around.
"Oh, hi Asuna. What are you going out for?"
"I'm going with you. I'm not sure where you're going, but I assume it's related to helping Puddleshine."
"Yeah. I appreciate the help, Asuna. I'd definitely appreciate the opinion of a second medicine cat." Alderheart stopped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call you that. It's just…I really wish you'd come back to the medicine cat's den, Asuna."
"I know…and I think I will." Alderheart looked at the she-cat with joy.
"Really?" She nodded.
"After seeing the condition Puddleshine was in, I really wanted to help. You three also have no idea what's causing his infection, but with my powers, I'd be able to look over him and see what's wrong." She answered. "I gave up my powers because I blamed myself for Briarlight's death, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that my powers that I lost could be what saves Puddleshine." Asuna let out a sigh. "Hopefully I'm not too late to realize that." She swiped her paw down in front of her, but no menu appeared. "Thought so."
"Powers or not, the skills you've gained with me in training are more than helpful, Asuna."
"Thank you, Alderheart." She meowed, giving his ear a lick. "Do you mind keeping this between us for now? I know what I said made it seem like I was ready to come back, but I'm not quite there yet."
"Sure. Just knowing that you're almost there is good enough for me." He said. "C'mon, we're going to look near the silverthorn. There has to be some reason Puddleshine's not getting better." The two walked towards the location of the silverthorn, crossing the stick-laden clearing that was used for apprentice training. When they reached the tree where the silverthorn was, they both began looking around for some clue as to why Puddleshine wasn't recovering. Nearby, Alderheart noticed a deathberry bush.
"Do you think some of the juice from the deathberries tainted the silverthorn?" Asuna asked.
"No. It doesn't look like it. All I smell from it is Puddleshine's blood, and that's slightly faint now. If it wasn't deathberries…then what?" From behind, they heard a row of bushes rustling and saw Sparkpelt appear alongside Kirito and Ambermoon. The three had went out on the morning hunting patrol and were making their way back to camp.
"Hey Alderheart and Asuna! What are you both doing out here?" Sparkpelt asked as she and the others approached.
"We're trying to figure out what's made Puddleshine so sick." Her brother replied.
"Any luck?" Kirito wondered, the two shaking their heads.
"We don't see anything that could cause his injury to be incurable." The cream she-cat stated.
"Maybe the Twolegs did something to it." Ambermoon suggested.
"There's no real reason for them to coat barbed wire with anything." The black tom said. "But if one thing's for certain, it has to do with it."
"Well I'm sure you'll both figure it out." Sparkpelt meowed. Nearby, she saw a rabbit and got into a hunter's crouch, however, there was something wrong with it. "Injured rabbit? StarClan, thank you for making this an easy catch."
"Wait!" Alderheart quickly placed his tail in front of her. "Can't you smell that? It has the same infection that Puddleshine has." The three warriors tasted the air and looked at each other.
"Someone here's trying to kill our Clanmates." Kirito looked over at Sparkpelt.
"Am not! I just got a bit excited, that's all." She retorted. "You may be fun, Kirito, but sometimes I wonder how Asuna deals with you."
"Alright you two, let's just go over to the beeches. There's usually a lot of rabbits over there." Ambermoon meowed.
"Will you both be fine here?" Sparkpelt asked.
"Yeah. We're just going to investigate a bit more. Good luck on the hunting, you three." She nodded her head in thanks before the group headed back into the forest. As they continued looking, Alderheart noticed that the rabbit now was walking over to the deathberry bush. "Asuna, look." The two watched as it pulled off one of the berries from the bush and began nibbling into the poisonous flesh. "What in the name of StarClan is it doing?"
"Is it deadly to them as well?"
"I'm pretty sure." They both continued watching until it was done eating. "Maybe it's in so much pain from the infection that it wants to die."
"That's so sad. It that how much pain Puddleshine is going through?"
"I hope not." Alderheart turned around. "I promised Puddleshine I'd pick up some wood sorrel to try and see if that would cure him. We should go pick some as fast as possible." Asuna nodded, the two rushing as they made their way to retrieve the herb. Puddleshine, please hang on. If my powers can find out what's causing his infection, StarClan please give them back to me.