-Poisoned with Compulsion-
"Nonsense!" An tall brown tabby she-cat snapped. "No one in their right mind would want to do that to me. I am their leader!" Her pale green eyes flashing with annoyance.
"They don't agree with what you're doing, Willowstar," A smaller white she-cat pleaded.
"Then they will have to suck it up and deal with it. I am the leader of this Clan and make all the decisions," The tabby she-cat, Willowstar, hissed and stalked away.
The white she-cat was left alone the main clearing of camp when Willowstar disappeared into her den. Her icy blue eyes glittered with hurt and anger.
"Then I'll do everyone a favor," She whispered to herself.
"Cloudpool?" A soft mew caught her attention, making her turn to the voice. "It's late. You should come and sleep," The speaker was her mentor, a ginger tomcat.
"Coming, Sunheart," She mewed and made her way to the small cave.
She brushed passed the ivy tendrils that hung from the old oak tree above camp. The den wasn't as dark as Cloudpool expected, but she still stumbled over her own paws as she had trouble finding her nest.
Cloudpool collapsed in her nest when she did find it, fur growing hot with embarrassment as she noticed Sunheart watching her struggle.
"Still having trouble?" Amusement was clear in his voice.
"No," She lied and curled around herself, tail covering her face from view.
She heard a chuckle come from Sunheart then some shuffling as he settled down to sleep. Soft breathing slowed so she knew he was asleep. As quietly as possible, she creeped out of her nest and towards the wall of herbs.
Her icy blue eyes searched for the catmint. Once she found it, she grabbed four out of five leafs then placed them on the ground. Easily, she tore them up and pushed the smaller pieces in the discard pile of browning herbs.
Nodding to herself, she exited the den and into the main clearing. Moonlight dappled the ground around her as she exited camp. A cold breeze ruffling her fur as she made her way to a thorn-bush. Picking a leaf large enough to hold them, she picked thorns off the bush.
Cloudpool rolled up the leaf and grasped it in her mouth. She quickly made her way back to camp, avoiding crunching the leafs underfoot. The white she-cat quickly entered Willowstar's den once she knew she was asleep.
Setting down the leaf, she unrolled it and quietly placed them in her nest so when she turned, they'd cut her. Smiling to herself, Cloudpool tossed the leaf with a few more littering the ground. She froze when she heard coughing from the elder's den, but continued walking when she knew they weren't coming out.
Her eyes got adjusted to the darkness and found her nest without tripping and making noise. Cloudpool laid down and curled up, happy with how her plan was going smoothly so far.
She relaxed herself after she realized she was still tense from being quiet and stealthy. Breathing out, she felt exhaustion overcome her and slipped into dreamland.
Cloudpool stirred awake and turned in her nest.
"Good morning, Cloudpool," A soft voice made her open her icy blue eyes.
"Morning, Sunheart," She mewed to the ginger tomcat.
"I'm going out to get some more catmint. I appreciate you taking care of that while I slept," He mewed, green eyes glittering with pride.
"Oh, you're welcome. I'm sure Ashcloud and the others appreciate it, too," Cloudpool sat up, fully awake now.
Sunheart smiled and nodded a goodbye, disappearing outside. She heard some mumbling outside as watched as Willowstar padded into her nest, brown fur ruffled from sleep and pale green eyes alit with annoyance.
"Good morning, Willowstar. What can I do for you?" Cloudpool asked, get up and out of her nest.
"Some lousy apprentices put thorns in my nest," She growled, motioning the small cuts lacing her sides.
Cloudpool nodded and grabbed some goldenrod. She chewed it into a pulp and spat it out of a leaf. Dabbing her paw in it, she smeared it on the cuts.
"You should be fine. They are shallow, so infection is very low," The white she-cat mewed, placed the cobwebs over patch of wounds.
"Good. I need to be healthy for the upcoming battle," Willowstar nodded, watching Cloudpool put away the extra herbs.
"I will remember to get my things stocked for that," The medicine cat apprentice nodded, picking out two foxglove seeds. "Here are some poppy seeds. They will help with any stinging and I suggest you relax so your cuts don't widen,"
"Thank you," Willowstar lapped up the black seeds and exited the den.
Cloudpool followed and watched as she picked up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. Willowstar disappeared into her den and the white she-cat let out a sigh of relief. She went back to the wall of herbs and pushed the remaining 2 foxglove seeds into the discard pile.
Sitting back on her haunches, Cloudpool looked at what needed to be restocked or tossed from old age. A yowl of surprise echoed into her den and she pricked her ears, glancing at the entrance of the den.
"Cloudpool!" A worried yelp came from outside and she quickly went to meet it.
"What is it?" She asked calmly.
"Willowstar isn't moving!" It was Graytalon, the deputy.
Cloudpool brushed passed him and trotted into her den. She made her way to Willowstar side to see her still as if she died, but with her eyes wide open.
"Willowstar? Can you blink?" She asked worriedly.
Dear StarClan, what have I done? She thought, regret pulling at her stomach.
When she didn't get a response, she touched Willowstar's ear; it was cool. Cloudpool squeezed her eyes shut and pulled away from her body. A wail of regret and anger rose in her throat, but she forced it down. She needed to keep herself calm.
With her head down and eyes averted from everyone else, the white she-cat made her way back to the medicine cat den. She brushed passed the ivy and stood in front of the wall of herbs. Grabbing lavender and mint, Cloudpool ignored the questions thrown her way.
She entered the leader's den and sat down beside the still body of Willowstar. Gently, she rubbed the scent off of the plants and onto the brown fur. Cloudpool placed the rest by the entrance and drug Willowstar body out of the den and into the main clearing.
By now, everyone had gathered to say goodbye as news traveled at lightning bolt speed. They let Cloudpool place the rest of the lavender and mint around the leader's body. One by one, they went up to her and lightly touched their noise to her cold body and said goodbye.
Sunheart entered camp, dropped the catmint and raced to Cloudpool.
"What happened?" He asked, shock glaze over his eyes.
"The wrong seed," She numbly mewed, padding away to pick up the fallen catmint.
Heading back to the cave, Cloudpool thought about why she did it. Compulsion. A force that makes somebody do something without a second thought. She was poisoned by my compulsion. I killed her without thinking about it. How could I? She screamed in her head at herself.
But somewhere inside of Cloudpool, she felt hungry. Hungry for more satisfaction of power.
For your enjoyment.
-Harley