CHAPTER TEN:
After several days, Iceheather's fever broke and she finally regained consciousness long enough to understand the bad news that Skypaw had to give her.
"Hey," Skypaw meowed quietly, sitting down next to the pale she-cat. "How're you feeling?"
"Kinda yucky," admitted Iceheather. But she gave a hoarse purr. "I can't thank you enough. You saved my life."
"Don't thank me yet." Sadness pricked at Skypaw's heart. "Iceheather... that water was really cold. I was able to heal you, but... Your kits didn't make it."
A blank, closed-off look entered Iceheather's eyes. She didn't make a sound, but waves of shock and grief rolled off of her.
"Iceheather?"
No response.
"I'm so sorry, my friend. I really am." Skypaw touched the unmoving queen's ear before leaving. Oh, StarClan, please help her, she prayed as she padded to the fresh-kill pile. I know she broke the Code, but she didn't deserve this.
Duskflower blocked her path. "Is my sister awake," she demanded.
"Yes, but..." Skypaw paused. "Give her time. She's hurting right now."
"You told her?" Duskflower sounded outraged. "You had no right to do that!"
Anger flashed through Skypaw. "I'm the medicine cat, Duskflower. And she had the right to know; those were her kits."
"That's exactly why I should have been the one to tell her."
"No." Skypaw shook her head. "I'm sorry, Duskflower, but it wouldn't have helped." She gave the dark she-cat a steady look. "What I went through when I lost my mother? That is nothing compared to how Iceheather is feeling right now."
Duskflower took a deep breath, and, with a final glare, turned and stalked away.
"I see you handled that situation well," muttered Coldpaw as he passed by.
"I'd like to have seen you do better," Skypaw shot back, offended.
"It wouldn't have been hard." Coldpaw snorted. "Watch and learn."
He called out to Duskflower, bounding over with the lithe ease of a full-fledged warrior. Within a few moments, the she-cat's fur began flattening and she relaxed a little.
Skypaw's heart ached, and it wasn't just from the fact that he'd been right.
"Do you miss him?"
Skypaw jumped when Thunderpelt spoke. "What are you talking about?" she scoffed nervously. "He's right there."
Thunderpelt's amber eyes were gentle. "I'm no fool, Skypaw. You two used to be very close."
Sighing, Skypaw stared at Coldpaw and Duskflower. "I miss him more than I miss my mother, or Lightfeather, or Ashpaw," she meowed finally. "At least I know that they still care about me, still watch over me."
"And Coldpaw doesn't?"
"How could someone who cares about me make me hurt this much?"
Thunderpelt studied her for a second. "I think," he began softly. "That you've spent too much time on your own. You've forgotten what it's like to really be part of this Clan, forgotten what it's like to be loved. Has any cat even bothered to ask you how you feel recently? How your life's been?"
Skypaw shook her head. "I'm a medicine cat," she meowed in a low voice. "It doesn't matter how I feel."
"That's where you're wrong." Thunderpelt stroked her back with his tail. "It does matter. You matter, Skypaw. And we, the Clan, have been forgetting that you need us too. We expected you to be our medicine cat even without much training - and don't get me wrong, you've done an unbelievable job - but we neglected to remember that it wasn't easy for you either.
A choking sound escaped from Skypaw's throat. Thunderpelt was right; she wasn't used to being cared for anymore. She belonged, and yet cats naturally treated her differently now that she was a medicine cat.
"What do you want, Skypaw?" Thunderpelt asked, gazing into her eyes. "Do you want to be a warrior once you find an apprentice?"
"More than anything," whispered Skypaw without thinking; it didn't require thought.
She just wanted to be normal.
"Get something for Iceheather," Thunderpelt told her. "I'm going to take you hunting."
A real flicker of excitement - something she hadn't felt in moons - made her purr. "Okay, Thunderpelt." But just before she took off, she hesitated. "Thunderpelt, thank you. For everything. You're right; I'd forgotten to be happy."
"Don't thank me yet," he teased. "I'm teaching you how to catch a squirrel today, and they can be nasty little buggers come newleaf."
Skypaw rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they're absolutely terrifying," she muttered, then bounded away.
The snow that had so extensively covered the ground a few days before had melted into occasional patches, and had left a lot of mud in its place. The first time Skypaw tried to pounce on a mouse, she slipped and ended up falling into the mud with a splat.
Thunderpelt was purring so hard he could barely breathe.
Skypaw spat out some mud and glared at him. "Oh yeah?" And without warning, she pounced on him, rolling the deputy into the patch. He gave a surprised, "Mrrow!" as he landed.
"Now whose laughing?" mocked Skypaw, fairly shaking with the exhilaration of acting like a normal apprentice.
"You'll pay for that," growled Thunderpelt, and then he leaped on her.
The two tussled, their purrs echoing between the joking threats, until a hunting patrol bounded through the undergrowth. The four warriors were battle-ready, tails lashing and eyes bright, but they relaxed and tipped their heads in puzzlement when they realized who it was. Thunderpelt and Skypaw stood up, exchanging a sheepish glance with each other.
"Well this is some odd prey," Blizzardclaw meowed jokingly, breaking up the awkward moment of silence. Behind him, Firefur gave a cough of barely hidden laughter and Seedpelt nudged him.
"We were, uh, training," improvised Thunderpelt, his whiskers twitching. "You know, practice."
"I thought you were hunting." Whitewhisker twitched his ears, giving Thunderpelt a pointed look.
"We were," Skypaw muttered. "We just got... sidetracked."
"Funny," began Firefur, his eyes gleaming. "See, if I were to take a guess - and, you know - " His eyes roamed over their mud-slicked pelts. " - I'm just taking a wild shot at this - but it looks to me like you fell in that mud puddle over there when you went to go catch a mouse and when he laughed at you, Skypaw, you pushed him in yourself."
Thunderpelt cocked his head in surprise, but Skypaw meowed mockingly, "Well, it takes a mouse-brain to know a mouse-brain. How many times have you done that, Firefur?"
The ginger tom narrowed his eyes at her, suddenly silent.
Seedpelt, Whitewhisker and Blizzardclaw all purred.
Suddenly Thunderpelt's tail shot up, silencing them. "There's a blackbird, in the oak branches above us," he whispered softly to Skypaw. "Up the tree about three fox-lengths, then leap above it so that when it flies, you can catch it and still land on the branch."
Skypaw nodded, creeping over to the roots of the tree. Oh StarClan, help me not make a fool of myself, she prayed before beginning her climb.
The entire scenario took only a few moments, but to Skypaw it felt like forever. Even the short drop onto the bird and branch seemed to extend into moons as she embraced the feeling.
She landed on the bird's back and killed it swiftly.
"Well done!" called Thunderpelt from below.
Blizzardclaw was staring at her admiringly. "That was your first time catching a bird?"
Skypaw ducked her head. "Actually, that was my first time catching anything," she mumbled in embarrassment. "And climbing a tree."
The spiky-furred tom's eyes widened even more, but Skypaw was now looking at Thunderpelt questioningly. "Can you catch this?" She nodded at the fresh-kill beside her.
The deputy nodded.
In one swift motion, Skypaw scooped the bird over the edge and then jumped after it, a thrill running through her as the air ruffled her fur. She hit the ground with a soft thud.
There was a moment of silence, and Skypaw looked up to see all of them staring at her in disbelief. "What?" she asked defensively.
"Well," meowed Thunderpelt, surprise still in his tone. "That's one way to get down."
"You looked like you were flying," breathed Seedpelt. "I've never seen a cat do that before. Weren't you terrified?"
"Why should I have been?"
Thunderpelt and Whitewhisker exchanged looks. "Let's go," Thunderpelt rumbled with a shrug. "You should probably check on Iceheather."
Still puzzled as to why her drop from the branch was such a shock, Skypaw followed them.
Oh, dear Skypaw, can't you see?
See what?
You scare them. No cat has ever done that without breaking their paws. Lightfeather's sigh was carried in the wind. They think you are blessed.
Am I? Skypaw wondered.
That blackbird, that jump... it was all a sign. Even without wings, Skypaw, you are destined to fly.
Author's Note
So after not updating in forever... Do you think this chapter was worth it? Personally, I enjoyed this one, and I hope you did too! Read and review, or whatever they say... I'll try and post again soon. 3's to you.
