Chapter 18

Many, many moons earlier...

Hawk and Flight circled each other, their tails twitching playfully. It was late in the afternoon, and the two kits were play fighting in the Nursery. Blossom didn't want them getting in the way in the clearing of the camp, so the two were confined to the Nursery until further notice.

Hawk darted in first, tackling his sister.

Flight squealed, and rolled with him, until she was on top, and he was on the bottom. Hawk yelped indignantly, a little upset. He tried to lurch upwards, but Flight quickly and firmly placed her paws on his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. "Ha ha! I win!" She meowed triumphantly, grinning from ear to ear.

Hawk flattened his ears. "Yeah yeah. But you won't be winning for long!"

Flight stuck out her tongue. "Yeah I will!"

Hawk smirked. "Nu-uh! Soon imma be real big and strong, and you won't win against me then!"

Flight blew a raspberry.

Hawk rolled his eyes. "Can I get up now?"

Flight let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Fiiiinnneee." She grudgingly stepped off of her brother, flicking her tail. "But I still won."

Hawk sprung up. "Okay, you may have won this one." He grinned. "But you won't beat me to the prey-pile!" With that he ran off toward the prey-pile.

"Hey! No fair!" Flight squeaked, racing after him.

Present Day

Heather laid in the camp. Flash coughed in the den, and she winced, glancing over with pity. She hoped that Flame and Fish would come back soon. The tan she-cat studied the snow on the ground, thinking. Over the past weeks, Flight had encouraged them to train in fighting with their powers. Heather hadn't seen her use her own that much, except for that one time. She flattened her ears slightly, thinking on it. She still didn't like how rude Flame had been. But she did have to admit that it was a lot quicker than any other option.

A rustle outside the camp made her look up. They still hadn't perfected a guard system, so quick reflexes were needed in all of them to make them feel somewhat safer. But it still startled her when Fish darted into camp, knocking into her. She let out a yelp, falling over. The herbs that Fish was carrying spilled out of his mouth, onto the snow.

Heather stared up at him with wide amber eyes, wondering what in the stars name was going on. "F-Fish?"

Flight and Grass padded into camp from a hunting trip. Grass was carrying a vole, and that was it. Flight widened her eyes, seeing Fish. She hurried over to him. "Fish? What's wrong? Where'd you get those herbs?!"

Fish moved off of Heather, and sat up, panting a little still. He took in a deep breath, and raised his head, looking into Flight's eyes. "Flash is sick. He needed herbs. Flame and I went to Leafclan to get herbs. Flame… Flame got captured."

Flight stared at him, and took a step back. Her eyes were wide, and Heather could see that she was slightly trembling, likely not due to the cold. "N-No… I-How!? When!? Why didn't you tell me!?" She cried out in despair, tail bushing out. "We have to go rescue her!"

Heather flattened her ears, looking down. 'Flame was captured!? But how!?'

Grass stared at them all for a moment, then closed his eyes. He opened them and stepped forward. "Mom, calm down. It'll be okay. If Flame wasn't killed immediately, then they must want her alive for a reason. Let's focus on the present, and what we can do right now. We can't rescue Flame just yet. But we can help Flash." He turned to Fish. "What herbs did you say that you retrieved again?"

Fish shook his head, looking down at the herbs. "I..I don't know. I just grabbed the first ones I saw."

Grass flicked his tail. "Here, let me look." He padded over to the herbs, and bent down, sniffing at them. He glanced up at Heather. "What does Flash have?"

Heather blinked. "Uh... I think it sounds like greencough…"
Flight drew in a quick breath.

Grass nodded, and looked back at the herbs. Disappointment came into his eyes as he straightened up. "Well, if it's greencough, then we need catmint, or chickweed."

Heather pricked her ears. "Did Fish get that?"

Grass shook his head. "It's just borage, chamomile, tansy and yarrow. Nothing for greencough."

Heather stared at him. "You've got to be kidding…." When Grass didn't respond she looked around. "Well, where does catmint grow? Maybe we can find some."

Flight suddenly raised her head. "Oh! I remember. Catmint grows best in Twolegplace."

Fish stared at her. "Twolegplace?! Why couldn't it grow somewhere more convenient!?"

Flight shrugged. "I don't choose where herbs grow."

Heather shook her head. "Alright, alright. Um, so should we go to Twolegplace tomorrow?"

Flight sighed, looking up at the sky. It was almost early evening. She looked over to the den, Flash coughing inside. "Okay. But we can't sleep with Flash, alright?"
Grass blinked, looking over. "What? Why not?"

Flight flattened her ears. "I don't want you all getting sick too."

Fish sighed. "I'll start making the den." He padded over to the camp wall. Grass stood up, and went to help him.

Heather watched them for a moment.

Flight stood up too, and padded over to the toms. "It'll go faster if we all help." She suggested to Heather.

Heather made a small nod, and went over to help as well.