Chapter Twenty-Five
The dungeon wasn't particularly hard to find. Skitch meowed simple directions, leading them away from the busier tunnels and deeper and deeper into the earth. The breeze grew cold and moist, and everything smelled like moss and dirt and water.
The rock grew slick underpaw. Then finally they turned a corner into a passage that lay in almost complete darkness, the only light sneaking in from small cracks high above. Crude stone walls had been erected on either side of the passage down the middle, chinks in the wall providing glimpses into dim chambers with damp and rocky floors. The entrances to the all of them were open, except one at the very back. The dark openings stared at Squirrelflight as she and Skitch headed for the sealed cage. Squirrelflight could smell dried blood, rats, and cat dirt, a combination which told of the suffering of many cats in these cramped cells.
They came up to the closed door of the last cell, which smelled damper than most. The rock blocking its entrance was enormous- Squirrelflight doubted that she could move it, even with Skitch's help. She put her eye to one of the gaps in the wall, her nose touching the cold stone.
Huddled on the right side of the cell was Alexandria. Her fur was wet and dirty; she was more gray than white. A richly decorated collar was jammed between her teeth, and her paws were tied together. But her seething glare still made Squirrelflight's fur stand up, even if it wasn't directed at her. The noise of the dripping water and the pervasive stench of the cavern had hidden Squirrelflight and Skitch's arrival.
She looked over at Skitch and nodded, then gestured for him to leave the dungeon. She followed him, trying to keep her pawsteps soft. When they'd left the chamber, Skitch turned to her. "Why are we leaving?"
"She's in there. That's all I needed to know."
"Aren't we going to let her out?"
Squirrelflight stared at him. "Have you lost your mind? She deserves to be imprisoned! If we let her out she'd either try to escape or try to re-enslave all of you. It's better if we leave her down there, at least for now. We'll figure out a way to deal with her soon enough."
Squirrelflight headed back the way they'd come. Skitch scrambled after her. "So where are we going now?"
"I need to talk to some friends of mine, the cats who escaped with me. Claw's death changes things. They should be here to help figure out those changes."
They made good time, jogging to the hills. Skitch knew a shortcut through the caves to the mouse hunting area. As Squirrelflight approached the entrance to the hidden cave she could hear cats meowing, seemingly engaged in a pressing discussion.
"-this is our home. We shouldn't just leave it." "What will happen to the other cats?" "We should leave now, before anything else happens!"
Squirrelflight burst through the narrow entrance and into the larger chamber where she'd left the sleeping cats. Immediately they turned toward her, fur rising. Then recognition flashed in their eyes and the chamber went quiet. Noodle stepped forward, her relief evident on her face.
"You're back! Are we leaving now?" She glanced as Skitch. "Who's that?"
Squirrelflight stepped out of the way and let Skitch introduce himself. "My name's Skitch. Maybe some of you have met me before?"
A few murmurs of acknowledgment and approval spread. Squirrelflight whispered to Noodle. "Change in plans. You don't need to leave, at least not yet." She turned out toward the crowd and projected her voice, "Claw is dead. And Alexandria is imprisoned in the dungeon. Things are changing and you can decide the way that will happen. We're going to hold a council, to decide the fate of both Alexandria and all the cats living here. I promise that you won't be harmed if you return to the caves with me. It's important that you come. This is your home and so they are your decisions. And these decisions need to be made quickly, but fairly, with all cats having a chance to speak. Will you return to the caves with me?"
There was a moment of silence. Squirrelflight looked into the wide green eyes of her audience and found excitement and nervousness warring there. Then the chamber echoed with a yowl of approval. Squirrelflight gestured to Skitch with her tail and he darted out of the cave. Squirrelflight, Noodle, and the enormous crowd of white cats followed, spilling like milk across the green hill.
As she lead the way back to the cave complex, Squirrelflight's paws ached, but her heart was light. Much had been accomplished here, in so few sunrises. These cats were smart, and kind. She had no doubt that they would make good decisions at this council. And she couldn't wait to hear the fate of Alexandria from the cats who had endured her rule for far too long.
P.O.V.
He woke to gentle warmth on his cheek, a steady tug at his fur. The breath of another cat stirred his whiskers, but he was so tired that he didn't move. His head felt heavy and his body was totally limp. But the grooming continued, tugging along his neck and shoulder, scraping away water and mud.
His body began to regain its lost warmth and he breathed more easily. Who was with him? His nose was so close to the ground that all he could smell was dirt and river water.
"Longclaw." She whispered, "Are you awake?"
And he remembered the tracks in the mud. Tigerlily was alive! She was here beside him! It was enough to give him the strength to peel open his eyes. They immediately focused on her, finding her fur surprisingly clean, though damp. He could only see her back legs. Then she must have noticed his open eyes because she shifted and brought her face to his.
She rubbed against his cheek and he wanted to purr, but only a short rumble emerged before he began to cough. She watched him with concern. "I thought I was going to lose you. Again."
He opened his mouth to reply but she shushed him. "I caught a vole. Do you think you could eat if I gave it to you in pieces? You need to get your strength back."
That explained the tracks. She was just hunting, looking out for him. He realized the sky was lighter, but she couldn't have been gone very long. He managed a short nod and she went to get the vole.
It felt like he'd been pummeled by a member of Lion Clan. His entire body was sore and it hurt to breathe. But it was nowhere near as bad as it had been when he'd been found by the two-leg. That time there'd been water stuck in his lungs and his entire body had been wracked with fever chills. And that time Tigerlily had been dead. It all seemed so strange now. She was really here, bringing him a vole to eat, acting as if he hadn't nearly succeeded in killing her a few moments before.
The smell of the fresh meat strengthened him further. She tore soft chunks of flesh from the vole's belly and dropped them into his open mouth. It took forever for him to chew and swallow, but with every bite he felt better. By the time he'd swallowed it all he managed to pull himself to a sitting position. He looked into her beautiful green eyes. "Thank you."
She smiled and her tail waved at him. "You're welcome. Feeling better?"
"Much. Could you help me get a drink?" He knew they needed to talk, but he needed a working throat to do that and right now it felt like his mouth was full of bedding. She nodded and came up beside him. By leaning heavily on her with his left side he made it the few feet to the river's edge and was able to drink his fill. He marveled at how calm the water was here. He couldn't believe that he'd just tried to drown himself in it. And then changed his mind and done everything he could do prevent that from happening. What a crazy night.
He limped back up the shore to a drier spot and then collapsed onto the ground. She sat down across from him. For a little while they just looked at each other. She was as beautiful as he remembered, if not more so. But there was a new sadness in her gaze, a somber note that hadn't existed in the young playful cat he'd shared so many memories with. They'd both changed since they'd last been together.
"So." She mewed softly. "You didn't die in that river either."
He smiled ruefully. "No. But I thought you did."
"And I thought you did. We were both wrong. But what did happen?"
He shook his head. "I can't remember everything. Just all that water, and then being torn from you. Then I was hot and choking and a two-leg found me. I was too weak to even struggle when he picked me up."
"A two-leg found you? Really?" Her eyes were wide. Two-legs were extremely rare in these woods.
"Yeah. It was a gift from the Ancestors, I suppose. I think I would have died if the two-leg hadn't taken me into its den and healed me."
"But why were you gone so long? It's been months!" She didn't look accusing, more like upset.
"I didn't get better right away. It took many sundowns. And the two-leg wouldn't let me go until I was entirely better. So basically I was stuck in a tiny two-leg cage, thinking that you were dead."
The sadness in her eyes made him look away. "I missed you so much. I blamed myself, for bringing you to the river. I thought that when the two-leg freed me I would just go off into the woods and never come back to the Tribe. Just be alone. But then I met Leafpool."
"Leafpool?"
"A she-cat. She was in the cage next to mine; she had a terrible injury on her foreleg, that's what brought her there. She was funny and kind and we got to be friends. I even sort of thought that we could be something more, since you were dead and her mate was missing."
Tigerlily narrowed her eyes at him and he hurried on. "But things got complicated. Her mate and I ended up fighting. Then her mate took off and Leafpool told me that she didn't have feelings for me and finally I just decided that I was sick of everything. I thought that I'd lost two mates and I couldn't stand the idea of going back and enduring the Tribe's pity, or of going into the woods and regretting my decisions for the rest of my life. So I was going to jump into the river tonight. Let it take me the way that I thought it was going to when I entered it with you. I thought I'd be with you in death. Then when I saw you on the cliff I didn't know it was you and I just wanted to die and I was being stupid and attacked without thinking and now… we're here."
She blinked. "That's quite the story."
"Well, I mean, I didn't really mean for any of it to happen. One thing just kept leading to another. But all I ever wanted was to be with you again."
She blushed. He reached out and touched his front paw to hers. "So… tell me what happened to you, after I was gone."
"There's not really much to tell. The water swept me away. I swear there was something evil in it- ordinary water doesn't have that much anger. I ended up clinging to a log and it finally caught on a tree overhanging the river. I jumped into the tree and started looking for you and calling for you. But, obviously, I never found you. Finally the water started to recede and I realized you could be drowned or swept miles away and I was shivering and weak. I climbed back to the riverbank and walked upstream, still looking for you, and finally I ran into a patrol sent by Eveningstar. They made me go back to camp, saying that they'd keep looking, that I needed to go get warm and rest. I tried to recover quickly so I could join the search, but the water got into my lungs and Herbsight said I couldn't leave the camp for at least a few sundowns."
"By the time I could go out of camp again all signs of you were gone. We held a vigil for you. Everyone decided you were dead, but… I never wanted to think that. I never wanted to believe that my last memory of you was going to be the horror on your face before that wall of water crashed into us. But I was starting to believe, I was just… Longclaw I missed you so much!"
She pushed into his shoulder and nuzzled her head into his neck. "Don't ever do anything like this again, okay?"
"Okay." He whispered. And for a long time they just sat like that, until Longclaw got too tired to sit upright. Then they sank into the grass, curled up by each other. He fell asleep to the glorious sound of her purr.
P.O.V
Luckily everyone had waited. Squirrelflight imagined that these poor cats must have built up huge reserves of patience, waiting to eat when they were near starving, waiting to sleep while exhausted until Alexandria gave them the go-ahead…
Now, the cavern echoed with friendly and excited yowls as the mouse-hunters rejoined their fellows, filling the room to capacity. Squirrelflight and Skitch managed to slip through the seething crowd of cats and up to the speaking rock. Skitch showed her the best way to get up it- a powerful leap which was actually quite impressive, especially since he wasn't any better fed than the other cats here.
When they reached the edge of the rock the cavern got quiet, filling with expectation instead of sound. Skitch demurred to Squirrelflight, sitting just behind her. It was a relief for her to sit and rest her sore paws, which still hadn't really adjusted to walking on so much rock.
She tried to project her voice since even the shallow breathing of so many cats could form a formidable sound barrier. Well, she thought, Here it goes.
"Hello again." The cats shouted greetings back to here. "Before I start, I just want to tell you: I'm probably not the best cat for this job. I've never lead a tribe or clan. I'm more used to following orders than giving them, as I'm sure most of you are too. But I have clear vision and, even rarer here, a clear memory. I will tell you the truth today. And the truth is that not only has Alexandria forced you all to live in horrible conditions and tortured you by withholding food, bedding, and mating rights, but she has poisoned and lied to you."
"The only reason I can tell you this is because I am not from here. I am from a clan many moons away. Yet my ancestors in StarClan followed me all the way here. And one of them saved me. When Alexandria forced me to eat meat that was poisoned, as she had forced all of you, Spottedleaf, my ancestor, came to me and slowed the poison, allowing me to retain my memory. She is also the reason that my fur is not entirely white like yours. Once my fur was entirely tan and black. And likely you all had different shades of fur as well. It is Alexandria's poison which changed your fur to white and your eyes to green. By wiping your memories and making you look like her she could lie to you, telling you that you were her kits."
Squirrelflight spat on the stone beneath her paws. "What she told you is crowfood. No queen could have had this many kits. And some of you are nearly as old as Alexandria! Besides, she never named a mate, did she? She has lied and lied to you, to keep you in her power. But I am not lying. She has stolen your lives from you and you deserve justice. At this very moment Alexandria is tied up in the dungeons she has wrongfully imprisoned other cats in. And it is up to you to decide what happens to her."
Cats began to growl and hiss. Tails started twitching. Squirrelflight waved her own tail, silencing the crowd. "But it's also up to you to decide what happens to yourselves, as a clan. You may have been brought here by poison and lies, but the relationships that you have formed with each other are strong and true. You deserve happy lives, better lives. Whether you live them here or elsewhere will be up to you. I will tell you this, though: it is always easier for cats to live together. From now on you will be making your own choices, but there are ways of living which benefit all cats."
"In the clan that I come from, we live by rules, the Warrior Code. We live as a community, taking care of our elders and kits, hunting for each other, healing each other, so that every cat can live a long and healthy life. It's not always easy. There will be conflicts over territory, prey, and mates. But it is the best way of life that I know of. In that system one cat becomes leader of the entire clan. That cat is in charge of making decisions such as where the clan lives, when the clan hunts, and what the clan will do when faced with illness or other threats. It is a huge responsibility. So there is also a Deputy, second in command, who helps the leader make those decisions, organizes hunting patrols, and matches older cats with kits who they will teach to hunt and survive. And then the Clan needs a medicine cat. A cat with knowledge of herbs and illnesses, but also with knowledge of the ancestors of the clan. A cat who can walk in dreams and find guidance for individuals and for the clan in times of need."
"It's a system I know and one that I believe in. Leaders are not dictators in a clan the way Alexandria was. They can be deposed if they are found unworthy. And no cat lives as another cat's slave. But it is up to you. I can teach you how to set up a clan, though there are so many of you that you might actually need to form several clans. Or you can try your own system, make your own chain of command. Regardless, you will need some kind of structure to lean on, to guide you. You will all grow old and need younger cats to take care of you, and those younger cats will in turn need your guidance and knowledge. So today we will discuss the future of all of you, cats of the Bleached World."
Cats began to yowl once again, but Squirrelflight silenced them with one more decisive swipe of her tail. "This needs to be a reasonable and orderly discussion. I will be up here to mediate. And I suggest that we first decide what all of you want to do: how you want to live, where you want to live, and with whom you want to live. Alexandria can be dealt with in time. But soon we will all need to eat and sleep, and it will be easier if we do not have utter chaos."
The crowd of cats slowly became still again and they nodded. Squirrelflight could see some that were lying down, already exhausted by the past few speeches and conflicts. "Alright. If you want to speak, stand, and if you don't want to speak feel free to sit or to lay down and listen. I will call upon you one by one. Let no cat interrupt another cat. We will discuss this for as long as it takes to hash out a plan."
Immediately at least twenty cats rose to their paws while many others sat down and still others simply remained standing. Squirrelflight sighed inwardly. She was already tired, and the night was going to stretch on much longer before she'd be able to rest. But this was important work. This was the future of an entire clan's worth, if not more, of cats. And she didn't want any of them to end up worse off than they'd been before she'd arrived.
StarClan give me strength. She prayed. Then she made eye contact with the first cat who'd stood and nodded. Time to hear what they had to say.
Please R&R. Sorry about the speed of updates and also about the Squirrelflight domination- but the next chapter will hopefully begin bringing everyone back together! Editing on this one was rather minimal so let me know if I missed anything/made any mistakes.