Hello, people! Welcome back to another chapter of Mossyheart's Destiny!
"Mossyheart?"
Mossyheart looked up from the weasel she was sharing with her friend, Snailshell. "Hi, Rainpaw. How's training going?"
"Awful as ever. Wolfstar needs you in his den." Rainpaw walked off.
Mossyheart walked to the Great Birch and tapped the tree with her paw. "Enter," came Wolfstar's voice. She walked inside.
Wolfstar sat up in his nest, an untouched blackbird beside him. "Mossyheart, a fox has been-" He broke off with a cough, then continued, "A fox has been spotted in our territory, closest to the GorseClan border-" He coughed again, and Mossyheart start up.
"Wolfstar, that cough-"
"I'm- fine," he rasped.
"Wolfstar, listen-"
"It's not up to a warrior to tell me what to do." He coughed again.
"Maybe Mossyheart can't, but I can, Wolfstar," Rainpaw stood in the entryway to the den. "Mossyheart, do continue."
"Thank you, Rainpaw. As I was saying, that cough is exactly the same one Gorseshadow had," Mossyheart glanced at Rainpaw quickly. "You touched his face, Wolfstar!"
"So-what?" He gasped.
"Oh, Wolfstar, are you as dumb as you make out to be? You've got the same illness!"
"That was- half-moon ago-"
Mossyheart sighed. "You fool! Gorseshadow had it for moons before any of the symptoms started visibly!"
"I'm- not- sick." He coughed again.
"Coughing punctuates your every word! I'm getting Snowmist now, before you get worse!"
Mossyheart erupted from the den and raced over to Snowmist's den, skidding to a halt as she nearly crashed into her white-furred friend.
"Hey, Mossyheart, why're-"
"Snowmist, Wolfstar's ill, the same-"
"As Gorseshadow? How?"
"A half-moon ago, he touched Gorseshadow's muzzle with his own!"
Snowmist began to pace. Mossyheart knew the medicine cat rarely did this, knew he was in the midst of a panic. He snapped his head around.
"Has he had contact directly with anyone since?"
Mossyheart concentrated hard. "Um… he went hunting with Snailshell, Silverfrost, and Nightpaw yesterday, and shared prey with Thistlepelt and Tigersong, and-"
"Oh, Mossyheart, this is what I was afraid of. It'll be all over the Clan by now!" Snowmist's mew was sharper than a thorn with fear. "And with Snailshell and Wolfstar sick…."
"The Clan is leaderless," Mossyheart finished tonelessly. "You're highest rank now, Snowmist. What do we do?"
Jerky me, another cliffhanger for LeafClan! Sorry people, but we're now encroaching upon the main, actually-planned story arc! A few more chapters, fellow fanfictionists, just a few more….
I better stop before I ruin it.
'Bye!
-Mossyheart