Another Firegaze POV and a two week time skip because I'm lazy and it's nice to write her POV tbh. Next chapter(s) will be Wasplily. Blazeberry may or may not lose her POV status in favor of a ShadowClan cat I'm really looking forwards to writing, idk yet.
Reviews:
PiratePirata: 1) More will be revealed later on, of course! Unfortunately Floyd hasn't died yet, but I'm going to make it a very slow and painful death for him very soon because he's going to be appearing in these next few chapters. 2) Yeah, I just noticed that once you pointed that out. 3) Firegaze is going to end up going through a small change in these next few chapters, although the development might be a bit wonky since I'm still getting used to the fact that I tore her eyeball out. But it is a two week time skip, so I think how this played out was okay.
Midnight Umbreon the Great: Don't worry, I won't kill off Firegaze too soon...she's going to make it all the way through this arc, along with Wasplily and Blazeberry. Although I might change up the POVs later on or in 3/4, not sure yet. I might just add a fourth POV just for my sake. And yeppers, you sound saaaaaaallllllttyyyyyyy.
Firegaze's heart tingled with unease as she felt her conscious coming back to her. What happened? Sighing to herself, she groaned gently in response to her very own question. Oh right. Stone's plan failed, but what else happened? The dark ginger tabby wearily tried to open her eyes, drowsiness tugging at her. Despite her body telling her not to, she only managed to open her left eye. A warm sensation coursed through her body as her flank rose and fell at a steady pace. Why is it so quiet? From her side, she felt another warm body next to her. Weakly turning her head to see who it was, Firegaze realized that Hazel was sleeping next to her. Hazel? What's she doing, sleeping next to me? From what Firegaze could tell, the dark ginger tabby now had a few missing patches of fur along her flank and back. There were a few scars on her muzzle, along with one of Hazel's claw tips unsheathed, although it was snapped in half. W-What happened to Hazel?!
Underneath her body, she felt some dry moss bundled up to make a nest. Glancing around, she saw that she and Hazel were in a den of some sort that smelled of herbs. Is…is this a medicine den? Taking in another whiff, she recognized the scent at once. ThunderClan. Were they in ThunderClan's camp? Oh StarClan, where's the rest of the patrol? She wailed. Where's Dylan?
"Ah, I see you're finally awake, Firegaze," A soft mew greeted her. A pale tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes padded towards her, smiling bashfully. Wasppaw? "I was hoping that you'd wake up soon. Now we just have to wait for-" She stopped suddenly once her gaze landed on Hazel. I don't blame her. I would probably be upset if I had to treat a cat who hurt me. "Hazel to wake up."
Firegaze glanced up at the she-cat. "W-Wasppaw?"
She purred. "Yep, although I'm Wasplily now. Yellowfang made me into a full medicine cat along with Blaze -now Blazeberry- last quarter moon." Blaze's a full medicine cat? I can't believe it…when will me and Dylan finally become warriors so we can publically become mates?
"S-So, where's the rest of the patrol?" whispered Firegaze, keeping her voice low as to not wake up Hazel.
Wasplily sighed. "Bluestar's talking to Ivy, who I'm guessing is the patrol's leader. The others are sitting in camp, except the white tabby tom kept trying to see you and Hazel. Dylan, was it?" Firegaze nodded. Thank StarClan Dylan is okay. I just wish I didn't cause him any trouble. "He was quite the pain in the tail while treating your eye. I had to ask Longtail and Whitestorm to keep him out!" From behind her, Hazel let out a tiny yawn, opening her eyes. Uh oh. This might not turn out good.
Hazel blinked at Firegaze, relief washing through her hazel eyes. "Oh, thank StarClan you're alright!" She meowed while lapping at Firegaze's forehead with her tongue. Ugh…I wonder how my parents will react when they see that I managed to lose an eye… "You don't know how relieved I am to see that you're still among the living." Firegaze playfully batted her away with her forepaw, smiling.
She laughed, "You're not my mother, Hazel!" Hazel only purred, nuzzling Firegaze's forehead.
"But I am your father's littermate and your Clanmate, so therefore I have a right to worry about you," Hazel sternly reminded her, a loving tone woven into her voice. She licked Firegaze's forehead one more time before leaving her be. Hazel's such a softie, even if she doesn't show it that often. Blazeberry must've been lucky, having Hazel as her mother. She then gazed up at Wasplily, apprehension burning in her eyes. "I-I…Wasppaw, was it?"
Wasplily shook her head. "Wasplily now."
Hazel nodded. "W-Wasplily, I…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you, even in my fit of rage while looking for Dove. I shouldn't have crossed the border…I'm such a mouse-brain," She mewed, sorrow brimming in her watery gaze. Wasplily opened her jaws to speak, but Hazel cut her off. "Don't bother forgiving me if that's what you're trying to do. A fox-hearted mousefodder like me doesn't deserve it. I don't deserve my Clan, my mate, my kit, my…life," How could Hazel say that? Firegaze thought, appalled by Hazel's words. She very much deserves her life! "I don't deserve to live after that stupid stunt I pulled, don't I? Maybe everyone would be happier if I left the Clans or died."
The ThunderClan medicine cat rushed over to Hazel, pressing her nose against Hazel's forehead. "Don't say that at all. You do deserve your life, even if you don't see it that way. I'm sure your mate, kit, and Clan would be upset if you'd suddenly disappeared."
The former SkyClan deputy shook her head. "I guess Spiritmask would be upset. But why should my Clan or Blaze care? After all, I tried to hurt a medicine cat apprentice and crossed the border. I'm a disgrace to them. The last time I tried to talk to Blaze, she practically disowned me. Why should she care if I died?"
"Hazel, your daughter cares a lot about you. You raised her, didn't you? Even if you aren't related, you still cared about her and taught her…she'd be foolish as to not be upset if you were to die! And I for one know that Blaze isn't foolish!" Wasplily protested. When did you get so defensive of Blazeberry? Firegaze wanted to snap at her. I shouldn't say that. Blazeberry seems to be a sore spot for the both of them.
Hazel blinked slowly. "I know that Blaze is very clever. But she doesn't take to heartbreak and disappointment easily, Wasplily. It would take her seasons to get over this, considering how close the two of you were."
Wasplily lashed her tail in anger, but said nothing more about Blazeberry. She turned back towards Firegaze. "Your Clanmates are outside waiting for you. Would you like me to take you to them?" Firegaze gave the medicine cat a curt nod as she got to her paws. Hazel let out another yawn and drowsily rested her head on her paws.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit longer if you don't mind, Wasplily. I'm still drop dead tired after that walk from Twolegplace," She yawned, shutting her eyes. They walked all the way to ThunderClan? Was it for me, or did they want to get home already? What happened to Floyd?
The pale tortoiseshell sighed. "I don't mind. Just don't touch anything," She meowed, flicking her tail tip. Glancing back at Firegaze, Wasplily nudged her shoulder. "Come on, your Clanmates were bugging me about your condition for the past few sunrises." Sunrises?! How long have we been in ThunderClan? Does Violetstar know that we've been staying in ThunderClan? Does she know that I'm injured?
Firegaze whispered, "Does Violetstar know we're here?" Wasplily nodded, a grim expression on her face. "D-Does she know…about my eye?"
Wasplily nodded once more, muttering, "Your leader deserves to know what happened to her Clanmates while they were gone. Although Violetstar was awfully distraught about it…tell me, is she your mother?"
"Yeah. I bet Silverfire and Violetstar will be worried sick once I get back…I bet my brother will still be a pain in the tail, though," laughed Firegaze, pain in her meow. Is it wrong that I miss them that bad? She continued padding alongside Wasplily as they drew closer to Firegaze's Clanmates.
Firegaze purred once she saw her Clanmates and friends waiting for her; Stone, Dove, and Dylan. Ivy must be talking with Bluestar and her deputy or something, Firegaze decided. Heron was sitting beside Stone with a rather dreamy glimmer in her eyes, her kits Chase and Jackal at a gray tom with paler stripes on his belly and face's paws. From what she could remember, that was Trashcan, Heron's kitsitter. Why is he here with us? Did he come along with when we walked back here to Clan territories? Her memory was fuzzy, however; she must've been unconscious most of the journey back if she couldn't remember.
Dylan padded up to her, joy in his gaze. "Firegaze, you're okay!" He exclaimed, licking her forehead. "You don't know how worried I was about you. How does your eye feel? Does it hurt? As long as it doesn't hurt I think I'll be fine." His voice had dropped down to a whisper, not wanting to gain attention from the surrounding cats.
Firegaze purred. "It doesn't hurt right now, but I'm not sure if it won't start hurting later. But thanks for your concern, Dylan." She sat back on her haunches, purring softly. I love Dylan so much, She sighed to herself, her fur rubbing against Dylan's. I missed seeing him.
"I'm glad you're okay," He mumbled softly, licking my cheek fur. "But what about when we go back to SkyClan? Do you think Violetstar will keep you from becoming a warrior? After all, y-your eye is…" Dylan trailed off, not wanting to say any more. I know, I know. But would Violetstar hold me back because of my eye? I don't want to become a medicine cat or a mediator; I just want to be a warrior with Dylan!
Stone let out a grunt. "It's nice to see that you're okay, Firegaze. We should be heading back today. Violetstar must be seeing red by now…" Why would she be angry- Firegaze paused at once when she realized what Stone had meant. Oh, right. Her daughter losing her eyeball.
Dove only purred. "But Firegaze is okay! Surely that'd be enough to keep her from losing it!" She meowed assuringly, trying to find a reason as to why Violetstar wouldn't get angry with them. I have a strong feeling that Dove has no idea what she's talking about at this point. Not surprising, honestly. Stone only shook his head and sighed, while Heron let out a mocking snort.
"You'd be a great mother with that attitude," She jeered, grooming herself with her forepaw. Stone shot her a glare, which seemed to get underneath her fur. "...Sorry." Dove only shifted her paws, looking away from Heron. What's up with those two? Are they quarreling?
Stone's whiskers twitched. "Anyways, Ivy's going to be taking us back to SkyClan territory when she's done with…whatever she's doing. Now, where's Hazel?" As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp yowl pierced the somewhat calm aura floating about the ThunderClan camp. Firegaze whipped her head to her right to see Willowpelt and Wasplily rushing to the medicine den, their eyes wide. Stone raced over to the medicine den alongside them, realizing at once that Hazel was inside. Stone worried about Hazel? Now that's a first. Following her mentor, Firegaze's paws brushed up against the ground as she stopped right beside Stone. Poking her head in the den, she expected to see Hazel asleep in her nest like she expected. Instead, Hazel's nest was empty, but the traces that she'd been asleep were there. Glancing around the den, the dark ginger tabby wasn't inside. Hazel's gone, Firegaze realized, her paws feeling numb.
QotD: What are your thoughts so far on Heron?
I actually really like her, and I find her little crush on Stone cute. Although she's unnecessarily mean to Dove and by an extent Hazel. Yeppers, there's some backstory as to why they don't see eye to eye that often.