Shadowclan was like, and yet unlike Starclan. For one thing only their Medicine Cats spoke to their warrior ancestors; apart from their clan and far more rarely. For another, they were fiercer; quicker tempered and far less accepting of other cats that entered their territory. They were also more independent. Patches felt less crowded in this clan than he had among the cats of Starclan.
Sparkfire never forgave Patches for winning the fight, and several times the Loner spotted the warrior glowering menacingly at him from across the camp. Darkstar too kept an unobtrusive eye on him, which Patches didn't mind so much. It was a leader's duty to observe and consider whether or not a stranger should be trusted. Grassblade, however, welcomed Patches warmly and Nightpaw seemed to think of the Manx as a second mentor. Other cats viewed him with mixed feelings.
Now the kits… ahhh the kits. Patches loved kits in Starclan, and the Shadowclan kits were just as enthusiastic about Patches.
It didn't take long for Burnkit, the most playful of them, to pounce on Patches from behind. Heavykit tackled him from the side and the two of them bowled the tom over. Heavykit squealed as Patches caught her and thrust his cold nose against her soft belly. Spinning around, he nearly got Burnkit as well. But she gasped, skittered sideways, and tripped over a pebble. Tumbling clear she stared with wide eyes as Patches' paws thumped the earth a whisker length away.
"Hey, that was a good move!" Patches approved.
"Aw I just tr- wait it was?" Burnkit's tail shot up in excitement.
Patches nodded in approval, "I bet if you practiced, you could be so quick you could be on your paws and pouncing on me before I could recover from missing you."
With an excited gasp the kits raced off to practice their moves, leaving Patches to purr in gentle amusement in their already forgotten wake.
"You sure seem to love kits," Nightpaw observed as she padded up to Patches side.
"Mmm. There's just something special about playing with them." He purred with a wink. "Perhaps you and Grassblade should try practicing those moves as well."
"I have more important things to do." She protested. "Ugh, speaking of which, I have to go. Whispersong has been complaining about ticks." Tail low, she turned toward the Medicine cat den and padded inside.
Grassblade sighed in Patches' ear, "I do wish she would learn to play more. I heard you taught her some on the way here. It's her father's fault. He thinks the only good warrior is a fighting warrior."
He closed his eyes briefly and stifled a sigh of his own, "You are her mentor though. You are tasked to teach her things. You have the authority to press a few lessons of play into her skull."
Grassblade tilted her head and gazed at him with deeply thoughtful eyes. "You know what… I think you're right. Come with me. Teach me a few of your games. If you can show me some of your fighting moves as well, I can teach them to her. I know where we can practice uninterrupted."
Feeling a stare searing into his back, Patches turned to find a pure white she cat with ice blue eyes staring at him. A faint shiver raced up his spine. Silentdeath was an enigma, and something about her made his pelt crawl. Her name was cruel in his eyes, and he wondered just how true to her name she was. She rarely spoke, though she certainly could, and the way she ghosted through the territory gave her an advantage over other cats. Her eyes narrowed fractionally as his gaze met hers, but instead of speaking or approaching, she turned away, flicking her tail dismissively as she padded toward Sparkfire.
"Bad luck," Grassblade's voice made Patches twitch slightly; he'd forgotten she was still there. "Silentdeath and Sparkfire are a pair that should never get together. Silentdeath has no heart for cats outside of Shadowclan, and Sparkfire likes nothing more than a fight. Watch your back Patches." Her eyes were concerned. "Come on. I think it's more important than ever that you show me your moves. You need some cats that will stand by you, and who better than a warrior and her apprentice?"
A yowling down the path stopped any thanks Patches could have said and the two hastily stepped aside as Tabbypath raced past them, legs stretched out as though all of Windclan were at his heels.
"Briarrose!" He yowled, shooting through the entrance to the camp, "Briarrose! Briarrose!"
Patches and Grassblade shared a look of alarm and squeezed back into the camp behind the frantic warrior.
"I'm here." The ginger Medicine Cat was bounding across the center of the camp. "What's wrong?"
"It's Silverleopard! She's…" He gulped a deep breath of air, "…she's collapsed! She was complaining about her belly and then she just started vomiting."
Briarrose's eyes snapped with green fire. "Snowpaw!" she snapped, "Get me a packet of juniper berries." As the Medicine Cat apprentice vanished into the den, her eyes swept the circle of concerned onlookers until they rested on Patches and Grassblade. "You two," she ordered, "come with us."
As the cats raced behind Tabbypath, Patches realized they were nearing the twoleg path that divided Shadowclan from Thunderclan territory.
"Stay still!" A strange voice ordered, "You're making it worse by thrashing around like a fox in a fit."
The patrol came upon a scene that made them pause. A beautiful brindled she-cat was trying to hold Silverleopard down as her sides heaved and her body shook with uncontrolled spasms. The scent of Thunderclan hung heavy in the air.
"What are you doing here, Fernmask?" Grassblade growled warningly.
"I-I heard a cat wailing. I thought the foxes… and… and I found..." the Thunderclan warrior's eyes were wide and earnest; Silverleopard spasmed again, much weaker than before. A dry retching sound burbled up from her gaping mouth, but there was nothing but a dribble of slimy mucus coming up.
"Stand aside," Briarrose growled, though more gruff than threatening, "we'll take it from here."
Tabbypath licked Silverleopard behind the ears frantically, as though the simple act of licking could cure her.
Patches' whiskers twitched slightly, suspecting the reason why the two cats were off alone and not with a patrol. It was the middle of Newleaf after all. One look at the tom's antics only confirmed it.
Silverleopard was calming under Tabbypath's licking, though she still spasmed helplessly.
"Here," Briarrose meowed soothingly, "eat this." She popped a juniper berry into the stricken warrior's mouth. "it will soothe your stomach, ease your breathing, and give you strength."
Silverleopard gulped it down. There was a moment of silence, and then with a gasp she retched again, pieces of juniper berry coming along with what little was left in her belly.
Tabbypath made a frantic keen deep in his throat and resumed licking.
"Try again." Briarrose ordered, "try to hold it down."
By now Silverleopard couldn't lift her head, and she swallowed weakly. She made several aborted attempts to retch again, and then her breathing eased. Closing her mouth, she lay her head heavily on her paws and simply breathed, her eyes shut in weariness.
The cats gave a collective sigh of relief, and an embarrassed looking Fernmask backed up several steps, "Uh, I should probably…" she flicked her ears back toward the border of Thunderclan.
"Go," Tabbypath rumbled softly, "and… thanks…"
The brindle dipped her head slightly, as though understanding, and was back across the border in a few bounds.
"She's stable," Briarrose reported, "but very weak. Patches we need you to carry her, slowly, back to camp. Tabbypath, help him." The Medicine Cat delegated the tom to the task, understanding his desire to stay with the she-cat. "Grassblade, help Snowpaw gather anything soft you can collect for a nest. I know," she forestalled the warrior's protest, "that it's an apprentice's duty, but it will go much quicker with the two of you."
Grassblade nodded and the two cats vanished into the forest.
Patches grunted and firmly grasped the she-cat's scruff. It was a long, slow trip back. The distance was short, but Silverleopard's legs wouldn't support her; she was unable to help the toms on the trip back to camp. Several times Patches had to hastily put her down as her breathing grew labored and weak little whimpers wheezed out with every breath. Only a couple bounds from the camp entrance, Briarrose was forced to feed Silverleopard another berry and they all had to wait for her breathing to strengthen again. Grassblade and Snowpaw scrambled past twice on the trip, ferrying moss, dried grass, and leaves into camp. By the time they got to the Medicine Cat den, word had spread around camp and everyone hastily scattered as they passed through, allowing easy passage.
One warrior proudly followed them to the Medicine Cat's den, passing a freshly caught bird through the entrance.
"Feathers." Was his only explanation before he backed out again.
Once Silverleopard was settled, Briarrose drew them all out to the entrance. "Come on Tabbypath," she added, when the tom hesitated at leaving the she-cat's side. "we'll be right outside. We'll hear her if she needs help."
"I'll stay with her," Snowpaw promised, settling down next to the exhausted she-cat's nest. Quietly she began stripping the feathers from the freshkill and gently tucked them around the sleeping warrior.
As the four cats sat in a ring outside the den, Briarrose sat with her tail curled around her front paws. "Now, I won't ask why you two were out there by yourselves…" Tabbypath suddenly wouldn't meet her gaze, his eyes turning longingly instead to the entrance of the den behind her. "…but it's very important that you think about what happened while you were there. Did you eat anything? Drink anything? Brush against anything poisonous and then wash it off your pelt?"
Tabbypath's eyes looked haunted. "No. Nothing. We were… um, too interested in each other." Then his eyes widened in horror. "Oh no."
Briarrose stiffened. "What?"
"We met separately." Tabbypath's shoulders slumped miserably. "I was on patrol and Silverleopard was off on a hunting patrol. We agreed to meet afterward. I have no idea if she came upon anything between then and our meeting. We were only together for a few short moments before she began complaining of her belly. A moment after that she vomited. I tried to steer her back to camp, but she couldn't stop."
The tom was shaking all over. "What if the prey went bad? What if the water went bad? What if there's some plant that's-"
"Tabbypath calm down," the Medicine Cat ordered sternly, "We won't help the clan or Silverleopard if we panic over something that has no source yet."
For a long moment, she closed her eyes, thinking hard. Finally she shook her fur and opened her eyes again. Once more they burned with green fire. "I will stay here. I don't want to leave Silverleopard alone. Patches, I must ask you to accompany Tabbypath back along the routes you two took. Keep your eyes peeled and report straight back to me. I will tell Darkstar and Shadowstep where you are going. Ahhh, speak of the toms and they appear."
Patches stifled a sigh and padded behind the anxious warrior, who kept throwing longing glances back at the Medicine Cat's den. He didn't want to do more racing about in the territory. Then again… "Come on," he growled bracingly, 'The sooner we find out what's making her sick, the sooner Briarrose can cure her."
Determination flooded the warrior's eyes and his claws sank into the soft, marshy ground as though ready to tear into an enemy. Brambles swished behind the two as they trotted out into the territory.
"I will destroy it." Tabbypath growled, "If I have to slay a monster myself, I will destroy it for hurting Silverleopard."