A/N: Merry Christmas! This is my gift to you, a storyline that I originally thought of! Can your gift to me be a review? Pretty please?
The quarter moon shone brightly through the fully leaves branches, unhindered by clouds. Many stars twinkled from above, illuminating Silverpelt with short bursts.
A dark gray she-cat stood with her nose pointing up in the air, watching her warrior ancestors. 'Cloudtail and Millie have joined them,' Smokepaw thought. 'I wonder if they are enjoying StarClan.' Quickly she shook that thought off. Of course they would be enjoying it. They would meet their ancestors, and have tireless hunting and energy.
Looking around the medicine den, Smokepaw decided that it would be better to be in StarClan than ThunderClan at this point. Cats lie painfully in their nests, their sides heaving. Although they had lost three cats over the past two days, four had come in their place. Whitewing, Toadstep, Briarfur and Firestar now crowded against each other, coughing. Berrynose took a turn for the worse, and he lay isolated in the corner with Jayfeather inspecting him, for no cat wanted to end up like him.
Taking one last look around at her own personal Dark Forest, Smokepaw stood up and walked over to her mentor. "Jayfeather," she called, waiting for his grunt of acknowledgement. "I am leaving now. Hopefully StarClan will give me something to help our Clan." The tom looked up from his examining of Berrynose, and nodded.
"They will help you," he whispered, pressing his nose into her fur. Their dependence on each other the past days had helped Jayfeather's grumpiness towards her.
Smokepaw licked her mentor's shoulder, and then stepped over the sick cats to the bramble screen. The clearing seemed rather empty, as many cats were in the medicine den, or hunting to keep up the fresh-kill pile.
She passed Brambleclaw, who was guarding the entrance. Smokepaw nodded to him as she left, and the tom muttered something incomprehensible. Without worrying about what he said, Smokepaw carried on, a little afraid, because it was the first time she wasn't going with her mentor.
At the WindClan border, she met Kestrelflight, and his apprentice, Whitepaw. Whitepaw lost the kit look to him, and if he had been a regular apprentice, he would have been a regular apprentice; he would be a warrior for a few moons.
"Kestrelflight, Whitepaw," Smokepaw greeted, dipping her head to the medicine cats.
"Smokepaw," Kestrelflight replied. "How is ThunderClan?"
Smokepaw sighed uneasily, and stared at Whitepaw for a long time, studying his pelt. The black on his back merged perfectly with his white underbelly, creating little swirls. The white intruded on his whole muzzle, and even covered one of his yellow green eyes
"We have a big problem, and I am hoping StarClan will help us. How is Ashfoot?" Smokepaw finally mewed.
"She joined her warrior ancestors a few days ago. Onestar and Crowfeather took the loss hard, but Whitetail is a great deputy," Kestrelflight meowed proudly. A rustle in the bracken told Smokepaw that Littlecloud and Flametail were here.
"Hello," she greeted, dipping her head. "We are only waiting for Mothwing and Willowshine," Smokepaw told the ShadowClan cats, who nodded.
"No Jayfeather, Smokepaw?" Flametail joked. "Littlecloud still won't let me go by myself!"
"There is a reason behind it, Flametail. Jayfeather was needed back in camp," Smokepaw growled, trying to conceal her anger. ThunderClan was becoming the weakest Clan, and the rest of the medicine cats were joking around about it.
"Peace, Smokepaw," Littlecloud soothed as he laid his tail upon her shoulder. Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered, "The herbs didn't work, did they?"
"No," Smokepaw whispered back, her anger replaced with sadness.
Littlecloud pulled away, and sat with his apprentice. "I am sorry then."
Whitepaw tried to ease the tension. "Why do we always have to wait for the RiverClan cats?" he asked the older medicine cats.
Kestrelflight mrrowed in laughter. "When I was a little apprentice like you, Mothwing and Willowshine always took the longest, too. I have no clue why they are always so late."
"I am sorry I am late," Willowshine muttered as she quickly came and sat down by Smokepaw.
Flametail fake sighed. "Another apprentice who can go without their mentor. Why am I special, Littlecloud?" His mentor snorted, and turned to Willowshine.
"What kept you?" he asked politely, curling his tail around his paws. It was a sign that he wasn't going to move until he told her.
Seeing that, Willowshine took a deep breath. "I am here alone, and late, because Mothwing has caught a lung disease and we have no idea on how to cure it. She took a turn for the worse, but still wanted me to go to see my warrior ancestors." Hearing Willowshine's uncertain tone on the last part made Smokepaw narrow her eyes. Willowshine made that last part up. Did she sneak out of camp without orders?
"Luckily," Willowshine continued, "No other cat has gotten the lung problem. Has any other Clan had our problem?"
Smokepaw growled inwardly to herself. It felt so wrong to admit this, because it made ThunderClan weak, but they were all medicine cats. "ThunderClan is," she admitted, feeling embarrassed. "Except instead of only one cat, we have a lot. Three have died, and eight are in the medicine den. One of those eight is on the brink of life and death."
The five other medicine cats gasped in horror. "I never knew it was that bad!" Littlecloud yowled, his tail tip twitching in sadness.
"StarClan will help me, though," Smokepaw insisted. "Can we go now, then? I want to get help as soon as possible."
"Of course," Kestrelflight agreed, and started up the path with Willowshine and Littlecloud by his side.
Whitepaw waited for Smokepaw, and Flametail joined them. "I am so sorry about your Clan," Whitepaw whispered, pressing his fur against Smokepaw's comfortingly. "Kestrelflight said something about getting my full medicine cat name today, but I will tell him not to. Your Clan and getting information from StarClan is more important."
Smokepaw shook her dark gray head furiously. "You don't have to do that!" she exclaimed. "I would want my full medicine name if I could get it, why not you?"
Whitepaw sighed in impatientness. "Your Clan is more important. We could save precious seconds without me getting my name. I still have some things to learn, anyway. I could wait another moon." After finishing he hurried to the group in front to present his case.
Smokepaw ignored what he was doing with Kestrelflight, and watched as Littlecloud limped on the trail going to the Moonpool. Old age was getting to him; soon Flametail would take over as full medicine cat.
Kestrelflight's surprised mew brought Smokepaw back to reality. She stopped short, to avoid crashing into Willowshine. "Why don't you want your name tonight, Whitepaw?"
Whitepaw mewed something too low to be heard. "I understand, then," Kestrelflight meowed, looking from his apprentice to Smokepaw with sympathy in his eyes. The group continued on after the interruption, and soon the harsh ground became smooth, as if hundreds of paws had once walked here.
"I think Whitepaw likes you," Flametail whispered, walking faster once the Moonpool was in sight.
"I don't like him, though. We're medicine cats!" Smokepaw told Flametail in a whisper. The tom shrugged, and sat down beside Littlecloud near the clear waters of the Moonpool.
Smokepaw did the same, except without her mentor. It felt lonely and cold without Jayfeather's warm tabby gray fur beside hers. She closed her eyes, and eagerly dipped her nose into the cold and still waters of StarClan's way to speak to the medicine cats.
Nothing happened for the longest time, until Smokepaw felt an unnaturally cold breeze ruffle her fur. She looked up, and saw around her a large amount of cats with stars in their fur studying her.
"Smokepaw," a large white tom spoke up. "We know why you're here." A small scuffle and the group of cats parted. Within their ranks, Smokepaw saw Cloudtail, Millie, Goldenpool, and a cream heap of fur lying on the ground.
"Berrynose?" Smokepaw asked skeptically.
The tom nodded. "They are not the first to join us, and will not be the last. Many in ThunderClan will become a member of StarClan."
"Who… who are you?" Smokepaw asked, looking around her in a circle, for the cats of StarClan surrounded her.
"Me? I am Whitestorm, deputy before Graystripe and Brambleclaw. We, the cats of StarClan have heard your pleas, and have come to answer them," Whitestorm mewed, nodding to a few cats on his right.
"So, there is a cure?" Smokepaw asked, her ears perked high in relief.
A gray she-cat with a flat face snorted. "A cure? No, no. There is no cure to this. We have come to help you realize that. Not even the ShadowClan sickness that Cinderpelt cured is in comparison to this. ThunderClan needs a cleansing, and the only one that will survive shall become a medicine cat after you."
"Yellowfang!" a blue gray she-cat yowled in a reprimanding tone. "Remember that we were going to bring her down easily?"
Yellowfang bared her yellow and rotten teeth. "Nothing ever happens easily, Bluestar. We must prepare her for the real world of a medicine cat, for she will become the only medicine cat of ThunderClan soon."
"What?" Smokepaw asked. "I will be the full medicine cat soon? What about Jayfeather?"
"Like I said," Yellowfang growled. "ThunderClan needs a cleansing. It wasn't this way when I was there. It was only Fireheart and Cloudpaw."
"Yes, Yellowfang," Bluestar said with exasperation. "However, we have many good warriors now."
A tortoiseshell tom with a bright red tail spoke up. "A Clan isn't meant to be the way ThunderClan is now, it should be pure born Clan cats!" Many StarClan cats yowled in agreement, but Bluestar quieted them.
"I am sorry that we can't give you anymore help, but this is the best we can do. None of our previous medicine cats have dealt with such a disease, and we have no idea. We have given you a brief glimpse into the future, though. May you deal with the death and destruction well."
Cloudtail walked up to Smokepaw and pressed his nose into her fur. The contrast between his snowy white pelt and her dark gray one was surprising. "Tell Brightheart and Whitewing and the rest of my kin that I miss them. I also now believe in StarClan. How could you not when you are among them now?" Cloudtail joked. "But I will tell you this. Two deaths have happened tonight, but the most recent queen to join us won't be joining StarClan, for she is oblivious to everything, including StarClan and her clan mates. One as selfish as her should be punished, and for that, she won't go anywhere when she dies."
"Not anywhere?" Smokepaw asked confused. Cloudtail moved away, sitting by the rest of his new clan mates.
"She won't go anywhere, and her spirit is on her way to resting now. I can't say that I will miss her, but the rest of her kin might," Cloudtail confessed.
"Daisy…" Smokepaw whispered.
"Go, Smokepaw," Whitestorm meowed. "Go to your Clan now. We can't help you but I can do one thing. I can set your mind at rest that Cloudtail, Millie, Goldenpool, and now Berrynose will be taken care of."
"Wait!" Goldenpool yowled as she rushed up to Smokepaw. "Take care, please take care. You were one of my best friends, and I miss you."
Those were the last words Smokepaw heard before she woke up, panting with her nose in the cold Moonpool waters. She stood up, and stretched her legs. Littlecloud, Flametail, Kestrelflight and Willowshine were already up, and grooming themselves while waiting.
Finally Whitepaw woke, and his eyes shone brightly. "Let us go, then," Kestrelflight mewed, and stood up, starting to move off.
Whitepaw rushed to Smokepaw as the groups gathered and left the serene Moonpool. "I loved my dream. Tallstar met with me, and he told me my name that he will send Kestrelflight in a dream. Whitebelly," he said, putting a stress on his name.
"I love it, Whitepaw," Smokepaw mewed in a monotonous voice. "It goes well with your pelt."
"For now my name is Whitepaw, but StarClan knows my real name. Did you find anything out about the sickness?" he whispered, leaning in closer for the answer.
"No," Smokepaw lied, faking a sigh. "They didn't tell me anything, except that I would be getting an apprentice soon."
"Oh, that's great," Whitepaw mewed, trying to hide his disappointment. The rest of the journey was passed in silence. When it came time to depart, Smokepaw nodded politely to everyone, but didn't say a word. She did notice Flametail's sympathetic look, though.
Once alone, Smokepaw crashed blindly through the underbrush, heading for camp, and scaring any bit of prey in the area around her.
"Smokepaw?" Brambleclaw, who was still on guard duty, asked as the she-cat rushed into view.
"They can't help us," she meowed mournfully, confusing Brambleclaw. "Jayfeather!" she yowled, attracting every cat's attention.
"Smokepaw, calm down. I need to tell you something before you tell me the cure StarClan gave you," Jayfeather told his apprentice as he exited the strongly smelling medicine den.
Smokepaw paused, and then yowled louder. "Berrynose and Daisy are dead, I know that," she meowed to a surprised Jayfeather. "I saw Berrynose, and Cloudtail told me that Daisy wasn't going to either the Dark Forest, or StarClan. She is going nowhere."
"The cure," Jayfeather prompted, ushering Smokepaw into the medicine den, where less would hear.
"There is none," she snarled. "Yellowfang said 'ThunderClan must be cleansed.' They also said that I would soon be a full medicine cat with an apprentice, who would be the only one that survived," Smokepaw yowled, everything StarClan told her coming out in a flow of fast paced words.
"They don't have a cure," Jayfeather echoed, sitting down in disbelief. "'Cleansing?' What does this mean?"
"There is something that all of these cats share, including Mothwing, that makes them vulnerable to this," Smokepaw mewed. "They are going to die quicker than Goldenpool did, I can see it now the way that their sides heave and they cough like they have just escaped from a roaring blaze with a lot of smoke."
A harsh cough, and then the sound of a pair of lungs stop brought Smokepaw's and Jayfeather's attention back to the sick cats lying like they were already dead in the den.
"Firestar," Jayfeather whispered, and rushed over to his leader. The ginger tom was quiet for a few seconds, then he lifted his head, and his eyes showed signs of living again.
"I think that you should know, Smokepaw, that this is my last life," Firestar rasped. "Jayfeather, for you, you should know that this is not like the greencough sickness. I still feel horrible, and I fear that I am to die soon."
"Don't say that, Firestar," Jayfeather whispered. "Yes, some cats have died, but others haven't come in yet."
Smokepaw shook her head. "Negative. Leafpool just came in."
Firestar's eyes grew wide. "My daughter? It was bad when Cloudtail died, but now my own daughter? It is bad when three medicine cats plus StarClan don't know the cure to a disease," the ginger tom sighed, and rested his head upon his paws, closing his green eyes.
"Leafpool, do you know anything of this sickness?" Jayfeather asked his mother, his mew strained.
"I am not the medicine cat anymore, but if I was, I still wouldn't know anything. I am sorry," Leafpool confessed, and took a nest next to Whitewing.
Icecloud came into the den. "Not you too!" Smokepaw yowled at the white she-cat.
Icecloud shook her head. "No, I feel very fit. It is just that Eaglekit is without a mother. Should I nurse him with my own?"
Jayfeather looked up from Firestar. "That is a great idea, Icecloud. Thank you for doing this for Eaglekit."
As she turned to leave, Icecloud looked over her shoulder. "I couldn't stand to see one cat in pain, let alone a kit."
Smokepaw sighed as her sister left for the nursery. She nudged Daisy's and Berrynose's bodies out the den, and came back into the stench of death. "My sister is oblivious to everything that is going on here. When will she notice that all these cats are in pain?"
Jayfeather got up, and went onto examining another cat. His voice came to her but was muffled by Whitewing's thick white fur. "No cat except for the sick and those that died from this disease know of the pain it causes. When Firestar dies, however, that is when all this will be brought to the light."
A/N: Did you like it? I feel sorry for killing off the cats that I do, and have to, but that was my idea. I really don't think ThunderClan needs to be 'cleansed,' but Daisy and her kits should have never been invited to ThunderClan. Anyway, please review, it makes me happy, and I post chapters faster. Merry Christmas!
