Disclaimer: I don't own the Warrior Cats series!
Title: Resilience
Summary: With a harsh Leaf-bare on the horizon, the Clans are in a bad way. Petalkit is growing up under the stern gaze of her father, Ravenfur, when suddenly everything changes. Stuck in RiverClan until WindClan can produce enough catmint- something no Clan has in these temperatures- she does what any kit would do. She adapts.
Chapter Title: Story Time
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A Warrior at Heart- Hawktail is a cool dad. He deserves better.
Cobrastar- We all learn one story at a time. =) Thanks!
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The snow roared on long after the apprentices' discussion.
Petalpaw woke up feeling cold and cramped, her fur hanging limply from her skin. Hunger gnawed at her stomach as she stretched and roused herself, but if there was one thing the medicine cat had learned, it was that no cat wanted to be the first to complain about fresh-kill in a shortage. Normally, I'd try and find myself some breakfast prey, but there's no way I'm going out in that.
Sedgepaw let out a low rumble, paws flexing. He batted at her tail. "Come back to me, warm pillow."
"Can't," she said, though the urge was there. Petalpaw glanced at the herbs stuck to her arms with cobwebs- not many of them had survived the trip. "Whitestripe needs me."
Petalpaw soon realized that most of the Clan was still asleep, recovering from the long trip. The black and white she-cat was still exhausted herself, stumbling and slipping on the old and wet hay. Thankfully, she didn't run into any of the sleeping bundles, so no one was witness to her lack of grace. The low murmuring of Cloudwillow caught her ear, making it swivel to the side.
"I actually got my name as a joke," he meowed earnestly. "See, when I was a 'paw, I ran into this big willow tree."
There was a snort she quickly identified as Checkers'. "What were you running from?"
"I wasn't! That's the embarrassing thing!" There was a purr in his voice, the mortification an old and scabbed wound. "I was trying to show off my scenting skills, and I kept calling back to see if Dawnbelly was watching me. Then I bonked into the willow. Where did you get your name?"
"Meh," Checkers said, shrugging. "My mother liked watching Twolegs play checkers."
"Play?"
"It's a game. They bat these little circle bits around with their paws."
"Is it for hunting?"
"She didn't think so. Most of the kits she saw never really seemed all that interested in it."
Cloudwillow slowly shook his head, baffled. "Twolegs are weird."
"Petalpaw!" Whitestripe called, making her jump, ashamed of being caught listening. The brown and white tabby gestured for her to follow. "Come see this."
The medicine cat led her to a small crevice, crawling through with a grunt of effort. Petalpaw squeezed after her, having to duck and crawl. It came out into a small den, just tall enough for them both to stand up in. "Wow. When did you find this?"
"Couldn't tell you- my sense of time is pretty skewed." Whitestripe seemed pretty cheerful regardless. "This can be our makeshift den until we can go home."
Petalpaw looked at the crumbly stone walls, nodding to herself. "We could probably fit one or two cats in here if we needed to. But what about the herbs?"
"Look." She hopped up onto her back paws, leaning on a small ledge. "The rock is weak here. I bet we could scrape it away and use it as a storage spot."
"Nice eye," she purred, reaching up to help her. Their pelts brushed against each other, chilly and wet from the snow. "You know, I feel like we don't talk much."
Whitestripe shrugged. "We're not chatty cats by nature."
"What made you decide to become a medicine cat?" she queried. "If it's okay to ask."
"It's fine," she reassured. "It's not a very special story." A larger hunk broke off, falling to the floor with a clatter. "I originally started training as a warrior, and that was okay, I guess. I didn't feel very passionate about it, but it kept me busy. Then, one night, I had a dream."
Petalpaw tilted her head to the side, green eyes glittering in the odd light. "How old were you?"
"Nine or ten moons, I think?" Whitestripe paused, considering, then went right back to it. "I met an old StarClan cat- red, fluffy, lots of facial scars. He reminded me a bit of one of those grandpas who hang out in the nursery with their kin- he had that kind air about him. He told me I was destined to heal." She broke off in a quiet chuckle. "I wish I could say I had some witty comeback, but I said something along the lines of 'wahuh?'"
The black and white she-cat cleared her throat, swallowing a laugh. She could just see a young Whitestripe, her brown and white fur sticking up at odd ends, slurring a confused question as a warrior ancestor tried to deliver her to her true path to walk.
"He told me again. I asked him what kind of medicine cat I could be. He said I would be 'a really sleepy one.'" Whitestripe bit into the cobwebs, retrieving the wet and flattened herbs. It was too small a space to properly stack them, leaving the plants a sticky ball on the ledge. The two medicine cats stared at it, displeased, then finally fell back into a more natural stance. "I've been serving RiverClan ever since."
Petalpaw let out a little trill. Serving the Clan. It sounds so deep and honorable. "Can I ask you one more thing?"
"You can ask me as many things as you want, Petalpaw," she replied, blinking owlishly. "That doesn't mean I'll answer."
The 'paw hesitated, taken aback by the blunt nature of her response. "Who would you have made your apprentice- Poppykit or Tansykit?"
Whitestripe stared her down, surprised. "I wasn't intending to pick," she admitted after a brief silence. "That was for them to decide. If StarClan preferred one or the other, they'd have told me."
"Oh."
Her tail whisked across her side comfortingly. Whitestripe's face softened. "Losing a kitten-aged patient is never easy on a medicine cat. I wish none of us had to face that, but especially ones as young as you.
Petalpaw shifted, looking away. She didn't know how to respond to that.
"You in here?" Volespring's voice made them jump. The deputy crouched rather awkwardly, peering into the crevice. "If you're done doing whatever it is you're doing, we're about to share prey."
Petalpaw sank her teeth into a shrew with relish, chewing slowly to savor the flavor. She passed it to Sedgepaw, who quickly did the same. She was too hungry to care how scrawny it was. "I think this is the only time in my life that I've gotten prey before the elders have."
"That's only 'cause I need to make sure this'un eats first," Stonebird grunted, hovering over a stubborn Hawktail. "C'mon now, warrior. Show me those teeth."
"I'm not very hungry," Swiftmist added, tail wrapping tighter around her paws with a shudder. "I'm too busy trying to warm up!"
Cloudwillow stood up from where he'd been laying with Checkers, excitedly craning his neck forward. "Y'know what this day needs? A story!"
"A story?" Volespring echoed, eyes narrowed to slits. "Why?"
"Why not?" Dawnbelly sniped, still ruffled by her comment the day before. "I'm bored."
"It would help the little ones settle in," Blackstorm offered. "And I'd like a distraction from waiting to see the damage."
Checkers' ears pricked as she watched them bicker amongst themselves. "I've always liked a good story, though I don't really have any of my own."
"That's okay," the mottled tom meowed, turning to nudge the warrior nearest to him. "Fluffywing, you go!"
The yellow warrior was appalled. "Me?"
"Of course!" Cloudwillow shoved him impatiently. "You used to be a kittypet. You must have all sorts of weird Twoleg stories."
"Not really," he admitted, strolling toward the center of the room. "Twolegs are pretty dull. Or, at least, mine were."
Petalpaw listened as Fluffywing broke into a tale about a flying monster, one his brother's friend had supposedly been in. They were like the monsters you saw on Thunderpaths, only much, much larger, and they flew through the air with territorial screeches. Sometimes, he added, when he was out hunting, he could swear he heard one overhead, and would look up just in time to see a line of white left in their wake.
"This is more informative than it is a story," Checkers said. "But I appreciate the effort!"
Fluffywing's shoulders bunched self-consciously, smiling giddily at the praise as he made his way back to his seat. There was an awkward silence as the group looked around for someone to fill the sudden quiet, but no one seemed quite willing to get up and make a production out of it.
Finally, in a voice no louder than a murmur, Cherryfur said, "Petal, why don't you go? You've probably got some WindClan stories that none of us have heard."
Petalpaw's scruff rose a little. "I dunno about that."
Sedgepaw pressed his nose to her shoulder comfortingly. "You'll do great."
The medicine cat swallowed, took in a deep breath, and got to her paws. She took the space where Fluffywing stood and tried not to think too hard about all of the eyes on her. "Well, there's one that comes to mind, but it's not a WindClan legend. This is how my mother, Raintail, told it to me."
Many moons ago, there were two warriors named Hailface and Badgerberry. Hailface was a gray tom with a darker gray face (hence his name) while Badgerberry was a black and white she-cat. They were an unlikely duo from the get-go.
Hailface honestly believed that he was the best warrior in all the Clans, and that it was his destiny to lead on after the current leader had gone. The presence of a more sensible deputy was of no bother to him- Hailface also believed he was the fastest of all cats, and that he would win his Clanmates respect with his speed. Badgerberry had won her respect through hard work and dedication, and was thought to be the best den-builder on the moor. But, somehow, they made it work, and had been mates for a few seasons.
As time went on, however, Hailface grew discontent. Their leader was on their last life, and yet the deputy was going strong, and there was no talk of her being dismissed. Didn't they see how great he was? Apparently not. He decided to run away. For a moon, Hailface tried to convince Badgerberry to come with him, and for a moon Badgerberry turned him down. She did, however, agree to see him some of the way, so as to say a proper farewell.
There is a WindClan saying- the best of plans are like the feet of rabbits; wise and swift, yet still capable of slipping- and that was what happened when Hailface and Badgerberry set off, as dogs set upon them halfway through the day. Together, the duo climbed a tree, and soon the sun fell, leaving them cold and displeased. There's very few WindClan cats alive who like to climb, and neither Hailface nor Badgerberry were one of them.
"I'm done," Badgerberry said as they slipped down to the grasses. "I want to go home."
"You can't go so soon!" Hailface yelped, for he had planned to convince her to join him on the walk. "Don't you see how good a team we are? Is that puny bunch of cats really worth more to you than us?"
Badgerberry whipped her head around to stare at him, shocked by his presumptuousness. "Of course they are! They're our friends and kin, Hailface! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Yes, they do." His voice grew soft. "But I want us to journey to the stars together. Don't you want that too?"
"I'm having kits, Hailface," Badgerberry said, already turning away from him. "And that 'puny bunch' will give them all the protection and love they will ever need, without any cost."
But their argument was cut off! In the distance, a loud and shrill noise echoed across the land. It was worse than any bunny scream, and it stopped the warriors in their tracks. Hailface, desperate to get his way, proposed a challenge: if he could out-run whatever it was that made the noise, she would come with him.
Badgerberry was tired and cranky, and tried her best to argue it wasn't a good idea, but the gray tom was already gone. She sighed and followed, worried for her mate's safety. Soon, they found a place of metal lines with wood planks in-between, going across a rushing river. The scent in the air was indescribable, but it made their pelts stand on end. But Hailface was determined! He sat down and waited for the next noise to come.
No one knows how long he waited, but when another noise came he hopped to his paws, flexing his claws in the dirt. In the far distance he could see a bright light, like the sun was moving steadily towards them. Hailface just knew his speed would easily get him across, and that Badgerberry would be so impressed she'd just have to come with.
Hailface took off in a full-sprint. Now, I'm sure most RiverClan cats don't know this, but it's a bad idea to waste all your energy in the first lap. You save that for the very end, when the prey you're seeking is within your claws. But Hailface had never much listened to others, especially when they told him he was wrong. He was panting by the time he got halfway across. When the warrior turned, he found that the light had become a metal monster, and when it whistled he felt like his eardrums would burst.
Badgerberry screamed his name.
For the first time in his life, Hailface fled, hopping off the side. He plunged into the waters and almost drowned, coming up several fox-lengths downstream. Badgerberry had waited by where the metal monster had been, ears pricked, and quickly got to helping him clean his fur.
And Hailface, in his perfect, all-knowing voice, said; "I'm a rabbit-brain."
"You are," Badgerberry agreed.
"Can we go home now?"
"We can."
And they did.
Petalpaw's eyes darted about uneasily as the Clan took in her words. The bit of shrew in her belly had soured with the anxiety, leaving her feeling full and empty all at once.
"That..." Graystar meowed finally. "Was oddly dark."
She turned her head to face the leader, baffled. "Not really. There's more stories like that than I can count back home, and the lesson is always the same- even the fastest warrior loses from time to time."
"I thought the dogs were a weird addition, myself," Checkers meowed sheepishly. "They pop up, and then they're gone? Why? Where did they go?"
Petalpaw felt herself growing hot with embarrassment. "It was background!"
"But where did they go?"
She'd never wondered before. "Back to their Twoleg, I guess."
"Hailface is a jerk," Carpjaw grunted while chewing on a bone. "Badgerberry deserves better."
Petalpaw laughed a little as she slunk back to Sedgepaw and the shrew. "No argument here!"
"Hey. Walk and talk?"
Petalpaw jumped at Dawnbelly's half-familiar meow, the black and white spotted tom coming up on her right. "Sure. I'm just trying to find a place to make dirt."
"Okay."
"Is that your thing, by the way? Asking for a walk and talk?"
"Something like that." He shrugged, moving to block her path. His already bright eyes had gotten brighter. "Don't think I didn't notice what you did."
Petalpaw stared up at him. "Did what?"
Dawnbelly snorted. "Hailface? Really? Is that the best name you could think of? And where did you get the idea for a metal monster?"
Is he serious? The medicine cat was torn between shock and awe. Holy heather, he's serious. He thinks I invented a story just to smite him. Either he's the most sensitive warrior I've ever met, or the most egotistical!
"Okay," she said slowly. "A couple things here. First off; metal monsters are completely real. Some of the keen-eared warriors back home can hear their shriek. Secondly, I wouldn't make up two entirely different warriors to try and make a halfhearted metaphor for your relationship with Littlepelt. I may not like you, but you were right about one thing- it's none of my business." Petalpaw took a single pawstep closer. "And Hailface is the name of my great-grandfather. Badgerberry told Raintail what he did when she was a kit."
"Oh," he said, looking more confused than embarrassed. "Alright then." She went around him, still determined to find a place to make dirt, when he called after her. "I just figured you'd take any chance you could to get back at me."
Petalpaw let out a long sigh. "Look. I don't like you, Dawnbelly. I doubt I ever will." She padded over to meet him head-on. She needed to make eye contact for this. "And even if I'm here of my own volition now, that doesn't erase that you've broken the code. But I don't think about it much. It doesn't plague my mind and dreams, or make me fear getting out my nest in the morning. You don't control me."
"I didn't mean-" he started, then stopped. Dawnbelly shook his head and stepped back. "I'll... leave to your business."
"That would be for the best."
She stared after him until he vanished back to the main part of the group. Petalpaw turned and padded away.
Author's Note: This was immensely satisfying to write tbh.
I've done my best to show that Dawnbelly isn't a villain, per say. He's just an egotistical, rule-breaking warrior who always feels he's right. And that's dangerous, but it's not necessarily evil. Heck, that's part of the reason for his name- it's not grand, or powerful, or shudder-inducing. His name is Dawnbelly. He's black and white. Volespring calls him a cow-cat. Whoop-de-doo.
But that doesn't make him someone Petalpaw can agree with, or someone she can't hold a form of grudge towards, and it's nice to show that. It's nice that she finally got in the last word.
(Also, the story for Hailface and Badgerberry may or may not be entirely due to me listening to a lot of "Devil's Train" by Lab Rats, so yeah.)
(And the grandpa-tom from Whitestripe's backstory is basically a throwaway character. I'm not even trying to evade or anything, he's just an idea I had for backstory and nothing else. Call 'em whatcha want.)
-Mandaree1
