Chapter 25 (edited)

Thornclaw's eyes widened. He immediately jumped further away from the bush that he now treated like a fox. Though after all the trouble it caused him, he considered this leafy plant even more dangerous. "You're telling me this," he eyed the bush, it's sweet-smelling odor and light green leaves with purple veins. "Is the cause of all my problems?"

Jayfeather nodded grimly. "I think so." Real helpful there.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I just told you now!"

"Yeah, just. I might have accidentally rubbed that stuff on me by now."

"Either way," Jayfeather mewed irritably, "This is what's causing your scent to go crazy."

"..."

Thornclaw stared doubtfully at the bush. "You sure?" he mewed, padding around the plant while keeping a reasonable distance. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but if this is the bush, how come no one else has been infected as well?" He felt a wetness on his paws and looked down. He had trotted on a damp used-to-be puddle of earth. Making a face, he stepped back, gingerly flicking his paws to dry them. "Everyone else probably rubbed by this bush at least a few times in their lives. This place isn't exactly comfortable enough to move around without snagging on a bramble or two."

He waved his tail around them to prove his point. Bramble bushes covered many close quarters. Though it was moot point. Trying to give tail gestures to a blind cat could be frusterating.

Even so, feeling what Thornclaw meant proved just as effective. Jayfeather himself was brushing against a bramble bush while Thornclaw had to skirt around another, though not without leaving behind a few loose strands of hair. "It'd be hard not to scrape your pelt on a stray branch or trot through a bush to get through this area. And besides, this is quite a common place for hunting. It's why I picked it out with Graystripe and Millie."

Jayfeather shook his head. "Then there was possibly a buffer between you and the bush."

"What?"

"Just rubbing on the stuff may not have been the only cause," he mewed, sniffing the air. "And it doesn't smell like any herb I've used before, so I doubt Leafpool's picked them before either. It's safe to say no one's eaten them before..." He began padding around it, like Thornclaw, keeping a distance. "You must have done something before or afterwards that triggered the scent to activate."

He looked the golden tom in the eye. It felt a bit creepy that a blind cat could know where Thornclaw was standing. Though he could probably smell the tom, it was how he gazed at him. Not looking at his forepaw, or tail that was scrapping the ground, or even his ear. But straight into his eyes, as if he could see him through something more than visual. "Did you eat this stuff?"

"Um..." Thornclaw blinked. "I think so. I had been chasing a finch right under." He waved his tail at the damp earth. "And fell on this puddle. It used to be filled with water then." He backed away as Jayfeather sniffed the damp earth.

"Then it must be—"

"Hello?"

Both cats wheeled around. Cinderheart was standing behind them, a squirrel in her jaws. She placed her prey carefully on the ground before giving the medicine cat and golden warrior a curious stare. "What are you guys doing?"

Thornclaw couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the she-cat flick her eyes to the sweet-smelling bush and Jayfeather before looking back at Thornclaw. He tilted his head, staring at her eyes.

They were blue.

Jayfeather flicked an ear. "Herb hunting," he mewed shortly.

"Didn't sound like it."

"How would you know?" He shot back. "You're not the medicine cat, are you?"

Cinderheart blinked in surprise. She looked to Thornclaw, who was silent, and back to the medicine cat. She sniffed angrily and, grabbing her squirrel, left the toms, her tail high in the air. She shot one more suspicious look at the toms before the bushes covered her completely. Thornclaw had to be truthful with himself and say he was happy he was seeing the back of the she-cat. He didn't want to be anywhere near her for now.

He stared at Jayfeather. "Why do you always have to barb your tongue at other cats?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jayfeather mewed, annoyed.

"I think you do."

He ignored him. He twitched his nose to the bush, a thoughtful expression on his face. "We'll need to find a way to break off some of these leaves."

"Why?"

"I'll need to examine them. There might be a cure I could work out if we could find a way to take these back to my den."

"Can't you use your medicine cat skills here?"

"Without supplies?"

Thornclaw shrugged without worry. "I'll just pick the leaves myself."

"I already told you—"

"I'm already infected," the warrior pointed out. "What more harm could it do to me?" Though Thornclaw made no move towards the bush. Dealing with herbs was not in his department, and he was in no hurry to try it firstpaw. He looked expectantly at Jayfeather.

The medicine cat hesitated. "I don't think we should do anything about it just yet," he mewed.

"But wouldn't it make more sense to deal with this problem now instead of wait?" Thornclaw insisted.

"Did you ever think that touching the bush might increase the effects of your scent?"

"Ah... point taken."

Jayfeather nodded. "Now that we know what it is we're dealing with, I'll be able to explain to Starclan about this during our next Moonpool meeting. Maybe some of them have dealt with this problem before back in the old forest."

Thornclaw flicked an ear. This was starting to sound like a big problem if the medicine cat was including Starclan in this. "Is this really that big a deal?" he mewed quietly. After all, it was only a scent, right? It would disappear on its own, right?

Jayfeather shook his head. "It could get worse," he mewed quietly.

"How?" Thornclaw insisted. "How could it be so bad that we can't deal with this ourselves? I mean, I will be happy Starclan's helping, but don't they normally deal with something that's apocalyptic or an omen to the clans?"

Jayfeather looked away. "Let's gather some herbs before returning to camp," he mewed. "It will look suspicious if we get back without something to show for it."

Thornclaw furrowed his eyebrows. Whatever it was Jayfeather was hiding, he felt it was a very big deal. Perhaps this problem was as big as he thought it may be. Maybe the medicine cat knew something he wasn't telling Thornclaw, something very bad if he wanted to include Starclan in this-

Wait...

Thornclaw felt his mind go blank. How could he have not see this before? If the killer had blue eyes, wouldn't that mean...

He did not even know when he began giving the medicine cat the same look he always gave the golden warrior: the x-ray look, finding something deeper than what's on the outside out of the pelt. He has no idea how Jayfeather could have done it if it was him, but then again, he was a medicine cat. Maybe he has special powers or skills that made the job easier for him to-

"If you think it's me, let me save you the trouble and tell you it's not."

Thornclaw blinked. How in Starclan's name did he know? But he didn't answer the medicine cat. Just narrowed his eyes, waiting.

"You still don't believe me, do you?"

No answer.

Jayfeather began fidgeting. "Look, I don't have time trying to convince you." He began padding away, tail held high. "If you don't believe me, fine. But we need to get back to camp before anyone else notices our continuous absence.

He shot Thornclaw an irritable look. "And we'll need to pick some herbs if we're going to go through with this smoothly."

Smoothly... since when did Jayfeather become so experienced in hiding secrets from his clan mates? Shrugging, Thornclaw followed after the gray tabby thoughtfully. He didn't know what to make of the cat before him, but he felt he could trust him enough that Jayfeather would look to Starclan for help.

Yet instead of feel happier for Starclan's assistance via the medicine cat, Thornclaw only felt apprehension and glum.

((_endpage_))

Thunderclan looked to be in a fine haul today, Thornclaw observed as he and Jayfeather padded in camp, jaws filled with herbs. He could see Ivypaw, Toadstep and Rosepetal playing tag on the large grounded tree in camp, jumping from branch to branch. Mousewhisker was playing Bobstones with Dovepaw, while Blossomfall stood as coach. From the amount of mouse-tails besides Dovepaw compared to Mousewhisker's, it appeared the apprentice was winning.

Thornclaw padded through his clan-mates as he and Jayfeather entered the medicine cats den. Briarlight was in the back looking through Jayfeather's current stock of herbs. She turned upon hearing their approach. Her worried face split into one of gladness when she saw the herbs in their jaws.

"Catmint!" she purred, sniffing the pile of herbs they dropped before her. "And borage too. Thank Starclan. I've just noticed we were low in stock." She began sorting the herbs into neat piles as she talked, using her nose to separate the feverfew from the juniper berries.

Jayfeather and Thornclaw stood back as she took a mouthful of borage in her jaws and dragged herself to the back of the den, where the other herbs were stored for when they're needed later. The warrior and medicine cat would nod or mew a reply, allowing the she-cat to gossip on and on.

"I'm glad she's doing this," Thornclaw mewed quietly when he was sure she coudn't hear. "You made her feel useful when she felt she had none to provide. I'm proud of that."

Jayfeather nodded grimly. "She's still my patient," he mewed simply.

Thornclaw didn't say anything. He watched as Jayfeather padded forward to help his assistant tuck away the rest of the herbs. Briarlight looked so happy, talking (wheezing a bit, but not too much) animatedly to Jayfeather as she helped him with the herbs and told him about the gossip she heard about Blossomfall and wondering which tom she may have a crush on. For a grumpy cat like Jayfeather who did not care in the least who Blossomfall had a crush on, he took it all in stride and good nature as he listened to her.

Remember his eyes.

Thornclaw felt his heart clench in anxiety. Watching closely the medicine cat's every move. At one point Jayfeather shot a glare his way, as if he knew what Thornclaw was thinking.

"Don't you have somewhere else to go?" The gray tabby all but snarled.

Thornclaw blinked. What was he thinking? He's a medicine cat! There's no reason he'd hurt Briarlight after working tirelessly to save her life. Maybe some fresh air would do me some good.

Or a bit of sanity.

Quietly the tom left the den the duo as they continued working, Briarlight gossiping with Jayfeather listening. He stood outside the den, snifing the air before him to judge the weather. It seemed fine for today.

"Hey, Thornclaw!" said tom turned. Mousewhisker was beconing him to the game circle. "Up for a game of Bobstones?"

"Sure!" the tom called. He thought for a sec. "Let me get my mouse-tails first!" he mewed before hurrying away to his secret stash under the moss nest. This time he'll beat Mousewhisker. If Dovepaw could do it, he could too.

((_endpage_))

It was a beautiful morning for Leaf-fall. The large tree in Thunderclan's hollow had already shed all its leaves long ago, showering the ground with red, yellow and brown colors. Though this would be a lot of work for the warriors, the kits looked at it as the most amazing thing in the forest. A whole pile of leaves for them to play together. And Ivypaw was not too far behind.

She had been hiding on top of one of the bare branches, holding a pile of leaves in one paw. She dropped the pile on an unsuspecting Toadstep as he padded outside the warriors den, his once smoothed down pelt now ruffled and fluffed. This ensued a cat and mouse chase around camp until Brambleclaw crossly told them to stop acting like kits and more like clan-cats.

While this was happening, Thornclaw was snuggled comfortably in his nest in the warriors den, sleeping peacefully. Though he had lost all his mouse-tails to Mousewhisker yesturday, the gray and white tom had felt sorry for the senior warrior enough that he allowed him to keep a few mouse-tails to play some other day.

A leaf somehow entered the warriors den, landing lightly on the golden tom's nose. He sneezed, wiping his nose with a paw. Yawning, he stood, blinking the sleep away from his eyes. Today felt great, and he felt even more fantastic. He stretched, satisfied when he heard his joints pop.

He groomed his stomach, remebering the today he had promised Daisy's kits he would take them out to play. For once, he was actually looking forward to it.

The tom left camp, heading straight for the nursery. He'll get himself something to eat while he's with the kits. Teach them all about prey and the different varieties their territory held.

If no one else got to them before I did.

He stopped just outside the nursery branches, attempting to fluff a few last strands of hair. If he wanted to look his best and be presentable enough, he had to stay clean.

But these are kits. They don't understand the concept of cleanliness. So what's the point?

He gave up the grooming. Tail held high, he padded smartly to the entrance.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Ferncloud."

Thornclaw paused abruptly, more out of surprise from the grief in the voice than anything else. Who was that?

He pricked his ears when Ferncloud spoke. "I know," she soothed. "But you should know by now to move on. He may still have feelings for you, but until then you're just going to have to move on."

"But I still love him!"

Thornclaw shuffled his paws. He couldn't tell who Ferncloud was speaking to. It was another she-cat, that much he knew, but not one he was familiar with. That could only mean it's one of the she-cats he barely speaks with in Thunderclan. Either way, something told him he shouldn't be listening in on this conversation or wonder who she was. It sounded too private.

Yet he stood where he was as the she-cat continued. "Until I actually hear the words come out of his mouth that he doesn't love me anymore, then I'll stop. Until then, I'll just hold on and pray to Starclan that he'll forgive me."

Thornclaw shook his head. If he kept standing by the nursery too long it would look even more suspicious than it actually was. Clearing his throat loudly, the golden tom ducked his head from the lower branches of the tree and walked right in the nursery.

He blinked in surprise. Ferncloud looked around, her surprise reflected on his face by his abrupt entrance. She was alone in the nursery, comforting a quietly grieving she-cat with her tail wrapped around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

Squirrelflight flinched in shock when she heard another cat enter the nursery. Without looking to see who it was, she immediately stood, shaking her pelt and switching her face from fragility to stony-faced.

She dipped her head to the gray she-cat. "Thank you for your time, Ferncloud," she mewed stiffly.

The gray queen nodded. "Anytime, Squirrelflight."

The ginger she-cat finally looked around to focus on who had entered the nursery. There was a wary look on her face when she saw who it was. But all she did was dip her head respectfully to the golden tom, mewing a formal, "Thornclaw," before padding past the tom to the outside.

Thornclaw stared after her. Did he just see what he thought he heard? Squirrelflight? Acting so... fragile? Though it seemed she was intent in hiding her feelings about the broken relationship not only from the other clans, but even her own clan-mates. Ferncloud cleared her own throat.

"Thornclaw."

Said tom looked around. Ferncloud was sitting loosely on her nest, her body slouched. But the look she gave him was pure concentration. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what Squirrelflight shared with me today."

Thornclaw flinched. He didn't take the bait. "So you knew I was listening," he murmured rhetorically.

Ferncloud tilted her head to the side. "You only clear your throat if it's to interrupt a conversation. Otherwise you would have walked right in without doing so."

"Um... yeah. She said something about missing... something, right?"

He should have known it wouldn't have worked. Ferncloud was not stupid. And being a mother to many kits would mean she'd know if someone was lying, even if it was another warrior. Her eyes flashed.

Thornclaw quickly rove his eyes around the nursery, anything than to look at the wary she-cat. Her eyes were like Jayfeather's: Could see more in a cat than just the outside of their pelt. It was just now that he realized the only reason he even came to the nursery was to see Daisy's liter. "Where is everyone?"

"Daisy and Poppyfrost took the kits on a short trip to the medicine cats den."

Thornclaw blinked in surprise. "Is that wise?"

Ferncloud shrugged. "Better for them to understand the position of a medicine cat and why they shouldn't mess with the herbs now than later."

She had him there. "Right. Well, I'll just be going now. And don't worry," he added hastily when Ferncloud opened her jaws. "I promise I won't tell a soul about Squirrelflight. Whatever she tells you is between you and herself."

The gray queen's face relaxed. She dipped her head. "I'll trust you on this. Thank you."

Thornclaw lowered his head, backing away from the nursery. He found Daisy and her litter right where Ferncloud said they would be. And he did as he promised: he explained patiently to the kits the different prey in the fresh-kill pile, explaining about their different functions and vitamins for the clan. It was fun, and for once he did not lose patient with them.

Except for Smokekit, who kept trying to grab a piece for himself.

Eventually Thornclaw returned kits back to Daisy for their nap before he went to patrol Windclan's border. It took a fight with Owlwhisker about borders, a scolding from Brambleclaw, and a short sharing of tongues by the warriors den with Hazeltail and Mousewhisker before Thornclaw realized something he had never noticed before. But the thought only actually occured and formed in his mind while he lay in the warrior's den that night, his thoughts free to roam now that he was fully relaxed.

Daisy and Hazeltail also had blue eyes.