This is written in response to MonkeyCsaw's challenge: "Scars Just Fade."
The sun peeked through spiny brambles, dappling inside the elder's den. Spottedstorm and Hawkclaw snored on, oblivious to the world around them. Alone, Cloudheart lifted her head at the bright light. Sighing, she glanced out to the clearing. Her sister Snowbreeze walked by on her way to the apprentice's den. Cloudheart's dark amber eyes narrowed at the sight.
We were going to be mentors together. Now, I just get to watch you be a normal warrior while I'm shoved to the side. Her fluffy white fur bristled for a moment. Every day she was reminded of her inferiority. It was as plain as the twist in her hind leg. Rolling over, Cloudheart gently tried stretching her deformed leg. Muscles strained and a hiss slithered through her teeth. Ugh, it's acting up again. Maybe Rowanriver could give me some poppy seeds for it. Knowing Spottedstorm and Hawkclaw could sleep until sun-high, she took it upon herself to get some relief.
Grunting and groaning, she scrambled to stand on three legs. Her twisted limb stuck out like a gnarly branch on a withered old tree. There was still a little crunch from the shattered and broken bones when something hit her leg. It made her Clan cautious around her. They felt awkward with her injury. Younger kits shied away while the older cats tried to be nice but failed miserably. There was still a gleam of pity in their eyes whenever they glanced her way.
It made Cloudheart's skin crawl. When she first was injured, she didn't mind the sympathetic looks. But as time passed, they started to treat her like a helpless kit. Due to their feelings, she decided to stay secluded in the elder's den. There she watched the Clan move on without her. She saw her sister become a mentor. She saw kits' excitement to leave the nursery and finally start their warrior training. Part of her was jealous. When she was so close to tasting a warrior's life, it was taken away from her. She didn't have a proper ceremony in the clearing as her new name was bestowed to her. Instead, she was barely even conscious in the medicine cat's den.
Once again sighing, she slowly hobbled out of the den. Her eyes scanned the beautiful blue sky. Only one puffy cloud lazily drifted along. A small smile appeared on Cloudheart's face. Considering she had been named after them, she loved watching the clouds. Nothing else made her happier. And since she spent most of her time cooped up listening to the other elders complain, any moment outside was a blessing.
In the clearing, a few cats stalled. Amberpaw, a rather young and new apprentice, stared at Cloudheart until her mentor nudged her away. Dustspeckle lowered his head as he walked past her, not wanting to meet her eyes. Suddenly uncomfortable, Cloudheart flattened her ears. She wanted to run away from their gazes that seemed to burn through her. But she'd never be able to move faster than a limp and wouldn't make it far.
"Rowanriver," Cloudheart called, nearing the tom's den. A deep brown face peeped out with bright blue eyes. Blinking against the sun light, he focused on her.
"What can I do for you?" he asked. Cloudheart swayed on her three paws for a moment. It had been more than a moon since she ventured this far away from the elder's den.
"Can I have some poppy seeds? My leg is hurting more than usual," she replied. Smiling, Rowanriver nodded.
"Sure, no problem. Do you want me to take them to your nest, or would you like to rest here?" he meowed. Instantly, a tiny shudder passed down her spine. After spending more than a moon in Rowanriver's den, every time she thought of the cold cobwebs, memories of her accident resurfaced. Sharply inhaling, she forced her thoughts away.
However, when she tried taking a step backwards, her legs crumpled underneath her. Weak, Cloudheart dragged herself into Rowanriver's den without notifying him she collapsed. An empty nest rested in the front, untouched as it was made this morning. Rowanriver liked to have things ready in case of an emergency.
As Cloudheart crawled into the mossy den, the medicine tom returned with a few poppy seeds rolled in a mint leaf. "Here you go. Take three and I'll keep an eye on you as you fall asleep," he instructed. Nodding, she leaned down and lapped up the seeds. It didn't take long before her eyes fluttered closed.
Green leaves hung in the trees, signaling New-leaf. Prey started coming out of their den, providing more food for the Clan. Smiling, Cloudpaw ran alongside her sister. They were completing their assessment to become warriors. There was nothing they wanted more than to stand side by side as Flarestar granted them their new names.
From the shadows, their mentors Gorsethorn and Sunpool watched as they dashed through the bramble and moss thick undergrowth. As all assessments went, apprentices had to show they knew their territory and hunt within a certain amount of time. That mean running from camp to one border, then back to the other. Along the way, they would hunt, burying their prey for the trip back. If the apprentice showed their capability to follow orders and exceed expectations, they would receive their warrior names.
"Watch out!" Cloudpaw warned, weaving around a thorny bush. Snowpaw skidded to a stop, clawing at the dirt with her dust covered paws. Huffing, she glanced at her sister over the thorns less than a mouse-length from her nose.
"Th-thanks," she replied. Cloudpaw grinned before turning back to their path.
"No problem. Now let's get going. Beechfang told me there are plenty of water voles by the river," she meowed. Snowpaw nodded and picked up her pace. Together, they headed slightly off course and trekked toward the riverbed. Gorsethorn shuffled his paws as he tried to decide between intervening or not. Beechfang had no idea what he was talking about. The river had been dry for almost half a moon. And the last time there had been any voles was over a moon ago.
By the time he turned back to the main path, both apprentices had vanished. Sunpool waited patiently for him to be done. "They already left," she informed. A small growl rumbled in Gorsethorn's throat. If the sisters weren't careful, one of them could get hurt.
"Come on, we need to catch up with them," he ordered. Considering he was a senior warrior, Sunpool nodded. Their unsheathed paws clawed at the earth as they tried to run faster than physically possible.
"I think Beechfang lied to you," Snowpaw muttered. Frowning, Cloudpaw glanced at the gray rocks in front of her. A tiny trickle of water made its way across the stones. No scent of prey reached her, meaning nothing was here.
"Well, maybe there's something up there," she meowed, pointing to the wall of gray with her tail. The tiny trickle came from the top of the rocks, spilling down the wall. The water behind it must be building up from the small ravine.
"We shouldn't go up there," Snowpaw argued. Her sister rolled her eyes and padded up to the overbearing barrier.
"There might be a vole or fish up there. We need to catch something spectacular in order to impress our mentors," Cloudpaw insisted. Ignoring her sister's complaints, she bounded from the ground up a tail-length to a jutting out boulder.
"S-stop. You're going to hurt yourself," Snowpaw called. A small laugh escaped Cloudpaw as she climbed up farther.
"Don't be afraid. Nothing bad will happen," she reassured. To prove her point, she kept jumping from one stone to another. She could hear the rushing river and began to smell vole. She was getting closer and grasping a piece of prey like water vole would be more than rewording.
Finally she made it to the top. A slightly cold breeze brought the smell of salt to Cloudpaw's nose. She breathed in, loving the new and exciting scent. Widely smiling, she glanced down at the water. Silver slivers danced in the clear blue, shimmering from the sun as it cascaded down on the moving scales of fish. Just as she was about to land on the ravine's edge, a voice shouted at her.
"Cloudpaw come here!" Gorsethorn demanded. Startled, she slipped backwards. Yowling, she tried clawing at the rocks. Instead of pulling herself up, she only loosened the stones. Below, screams sounded as Cloudpaw tumbled down to the ground. Rocks shook and a few fell, following her.
A crunch sounded as a stone landed on her hind left leg. A shrill shriek tore out of Cloudpaw's mouth as she turned over. She tried to pull her leg out, only to twist and aggravate it. Quickly, Gorsethorn grasped her scruff and pulled as hard as he could. Sunpool rammed her shoulder against the heavy rock, attempting to push it off before another rock could fall and trap the poor apprentice.
Snowpaw trembled at the sight of her poor sister. A scarlet puddle had formed under her sister, staining both the earth and her white fur. Her face twisted in pain as the warriors scrambled to free her. With a huge heave, Sunpool pushed the burden away. Gorsethorn dragged Cloudpaw away just as an avalanche of heavy rocks barreled into the spot they had been seconds before.
Gasping, Cloudheart woke. She whipped her head around before calming down slightly at the sight of herbs. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare. It was more than a nightmare; it was the day that haunted her for life. In the dawn hours of her injury, Snowbreeze refused to leave her side. She feared that if she left her, then StarClan might take her sister away. But she wasn't going anywhere since Rowanriver had given her enough poppy seeds to make a badger fall asleep.
When she finally woke, Flarestar decided to give both apprentices their warrior names. Instead of following tradition, he called all warriors forward to stand outside Rowanriver's den. In front of them all, he first named Snowbreeze. Cloudheart, still slightly delirious from the poppy seeds, rested by her sister as Flarestar spoke. In honor of her will to live, he gave her the ending –heart due to the burning fire inside that urged her to survive, to come back stronger.
However, when she made a full recovery, she learned her hind leg was no use to her. Devastated she could never become a warrior, she told Flarestar to make her and elder. He offered becoming Rowanriver's apprentice. She declined, saying the path among herbs wasn't for her. She wanted to be a warrior, not a medicine cat. With her desired dream shattered, there was nothing else she could do but sit with the elders and watch the rest of the Clan go by.
"Hey sis," Snowbreeze meowed, entering the small den. Once she had returned to camp, Rowanriver told her how Cloudheart was resting in his den. Wanting a chance to talk to her, she waited outside for her to wake.
"Oh, hey. How's training Lilypaw going?" Cloudheart asked. Slightly weary, she lifted her head. Kindly smiling, Snowbreeze sat next to her sister.
"It's going fine. Lilypaw is really bright for her age. I think she'll become a warrior before Robinpaw," she replied. Robinpaw was a stubborn tom three moons ahead of Lilypaw in his training. However, he didn't follow instructions well.
"That's good…" Cloudheart trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Slightly uncomfortable, Snowbreeze lowered her head and sighed.
"How are you doing? Whenever I go by the elder's den, you're either sleeping or staring at the sky. I miss talking to you," she whispered. Instantly Cloudheart's ears flattened against her head. Sometimes she feigned sleeping because it was easier than telling her sister she wasn't in the mood to hear about how great her life as a warrior and mentor was going.
"S-sorry. I just feel like such a burden. Everyone else in the Clan has a purpose. Even Spottedstorm and Hawkclaw fought for the Clan and earned the right to sleep all day. I didn't. I just got hurt trying to impress Gorsethorn, Flarestar, and… you," she replied. A muscle twitched across Snowbreeze's face. Her amber eyes widened then softened.
"Every day you impress me. Instead of giving up, you fought to live. If I had been in your position, I would have crawled into a nest and waited to die. I can't imagine the pain you went through in the beginning. But, you survived. You should be proud of that." A small smile appeared on Cloudheart's face. Purring, she rubbed her head against her sister's shoulder.
"Thank you," she paused for a moment, "I've missed talking to you too." A purr rumbled in Snowbreeze's chest as she leaned down and touched her sister's ear with her nose.
"If you promise to wait for me, I'll come visit you every day," she promised. Cloudheart's smile widened as she laughed.
"I can do that," she replied. For the first time in moons, the injured she-cat felt normal. I thought being separated from the Clan was what I needed. I was wrong. I need to spend more time with them, especially Snowbreeze. After a few silence seconds, she added, "I love you sis."
A wide smile grew on Snowbreeze's face as she rubbed her cheek against her sister's. "I love you too."
Awww, a sweet ending, something I rarely seem to do. Hope you enjoyed it!
Disclaimer.