Eleven
Their happiness was short-lived. By the next morning, a thin drizzle soaked the treetops and dripped down into the camp. And a mother's worry rocked that same camp into awareness.
"Spottedleaf!" came the frantic mews of a nursery queen. "Ravenpaw! Somebody!"
The medicine cats were on their paws and outside their clearing in a heartbeat. "Mistlekit's not waking up!"
Firepaw and Greypaw had been tending to Yellowfang with Longtail when the queen, who Greypaw called Speckletail, rocketed out of the nursery with a light grey tabby kitten in her jaws. Frostfur, who had been chatting with Bluestar and Tigerclaw under Highrock, bolted over to join Speckletail and the medicine cats, who had placed the kit on the ground and were now breathing over it and rubbing life back into its tiny body. When Firepaw got a good look at the kit, he realized that there was a misty form taking shape just above the kitten's body.
No! Firepaw howled. No, not this one! It can't be, she's just a kitten! Go home! Firepaw screeched at the kit. Wake up! They can't lose you to this, you can't be stuck here! Wake up!
"Firepaw?!" Someone cried out behind him.
Wake up, kit! You have to go back into your body! You can't walk around just yet! This isn't the end for you!
"Hey, Firepaw!" Someone yowled from just out of earshot.
Firepaw squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that whatever remained of the Clan cats' ancestors would let this kit live a full life. When he opened his eyes, the mist was gone and the kitten snuffled at her mother's paws. Firepaw sagged with relief. He didn't know what just happened, but that kitten was alive. Hopefully she would stay that way.
The extremely eventful morning that led to Mistlekit's resurrection was celebrated with a day revolving around the nursery. Warriors played with the older kits and some snuggled with the younger ones. The exhausted queens weren't able to so much as lift their heads because this had frightened them out of their fur. All they had to do was mumble out a request and a warrior went dashing off. Bluestar was more involved with the nursery than Firepaw had ever seen a cat around kittens. She was sitting with the queens and murmuring in their ears or letting the kits clamber over and snuggle up to her. Given what Thrushpelt said about Bluestar once having kits of her own, he was surprised she could stand to be around them.
Yellowfang sure couldn't, and she shooed away each kit that tumbled over to her with a thinly veiled disinterest and a quiet distraction.
Firepaw lay on his side for most of this, not quite able to get himself to his paws or even bush his fur up. Every speck of him was tired from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. He couldn't so much as flick his ears when someone acknowledged him. The ghosts said it was amazing he'd held on this long.
"You can rest, Firepaw. You did well. Mistlekit won't be joining us anytime soon and someone will wake you if anything happens." Robinwing crooned.
What if they don't? What if no one knows? What if that happens again and she becomes a ghost for real? She's just a kitten, why did this happen?! It's not like anyone hurt her!
"She was hurt by the elements, little flame. Sometimes if you get cold enough or wet enough your body just… doesn't work anymore. It's like getting old."
But she's so little.
"I know, little flame. But we don't always get to see the world before we have to leave it. Surely you've encountered ghost kittens before?"
No… never. They're kittens. They're younger than me. And so small… Why would your ancestors want someone so small to join them? What kind of cats are they?!
"It's… it's not just our ancestors, little flame. It's everyone's ancestors. Cats die all the time no matter what they believe in. It's unfortunate that this is the first one you've witnessed."
She's so little…
"She'll be fine. You bought her enough time for a second chance at life. Nothing will dare get in that cat's way."
No, it won't. Firepaw scowled. Not if I can help it.
Bluestar woke him up what felt like a day later but was still before sunhigh. She took him for a walk in the forest and told him all about her morning of inspecting the kits for health reasons and watching them climb their Clanmates like a cat would scale a tree.
"We got lucky with Mistlekit." She admitted soberly. "Not many cats can say they've come back to life, even with the given circumstances."
Firepaw snorted and nudged her with a rough paw.
"Yes, yes, I know I have multiple lives. What a cheeky kit you are!" Bluestar snorted. After a moment of laughter, she grew serious again.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend as much time with you as I'd like. Being the leader has its pressures but I like to make time for all my Clanmates whenever possible. I made that same promise to you when I said I would mentor you, but it's not one I've kept."
Firepaw snorted and slipped into a hunting crouch, creeping along for a few paces until he spotted a squirrel. He dashed after it, made the kill, and pranced back to Bluestar.
"Clever kit." She murmured approvingly. "I was right to think you'd learn something by now. Let's see what else you've learned."
Their midday walk turned into a display of all sorts of crouches. Hunting techniques, fighting stances, the moves that would be able to knock a smaller or even a larger cat off their paws, classifying which move would easily take down a bird or a mouse or a squirrel or a rabbit, though those didn't cross the forest floor as often as a ThunderClan cat would hope. At the end of it, Bluestar had a pretty good test of his skills and Firepaw had brought back three more pieces of prey, which he carried proudly in his mouth.
They weren't far from Tallpines when they ran into one of the cats from the town. His bell jangled in his mouth, though not as loudly as it would if it swung freely, and he crept along the forest nervously as if waiting for something to jump out at him.
"Good morning!" Bluestar called out, noting that her apprentice clearly recognized this cat. "You wouldn't happen to be looking for food, would you?"
The town cat, black and white in equal parts with a green collar around his neck, spat out the bell and shook his head slightly.
"No, of course not. I get fed just fine at home, thanks. I was looking for Rusty, Flamepaw, whatever he's called now, and I've found him. Nutmeg (that's his mother, the cat said to Bluestar) says she's dealing with something in the city and doesn't want you to come home just yet."
"And here I was thinking of sending you home early, after all the fright you've gotten." Bluestar murmured uneasily. She spoke louder to address the newcomer.
"Thank you for the news. Hopefully, his mother will be in good paws wherever she goes and this situation will be resolved quickly."
Firepaw pushed his nose into his old friend's flank and rubbed his face against it.
When he stepped back, he pointed at one of the cat's black spots.
"He says it's good to see you. Is your name… Spot? Patch?"
"Close enough. It's Smudge." The cat informed her. "And I'm glad he's doing okay here. That looks like quite a bit of food for your group."
"It is rather impressive since he wasn't exactly looking for it." Bluestar offered wryly. "But Firepaw's gotten good at hunting quietly. I suppose it's an advantage of his… condition."
"You mean the one that was forced on him because your group doesn't know what a collar is?" Smudge scoffed. "Sure. And while I'm out here, I wouldn't go looking for anyone from the town anytime soon. Some stuff from the city looks like it's spilling over into the suburb and it's not looking good for any house cats in the area."
At Bluestar's blank look, he clarifies.
"The more dangerous part of the humans' domain is coming to the safer parts around here. I think that's what Nutmeg might be dealing with, so I wanted to make sure Firepaw knows not to go looking for new Missions anytime soon. Even if a cat approaches you for it. I need you to promise me, Firepaw. I can't be the one to say this was the last time I saw you alive."
Firepaw snorted but nodded and pushed his nose into Smudge's shoulder.
"He said thank you, and that he won't go looking for trouble. I'm in charge of his training, so that's the least I can make sure of."
"That's all I can ask, I guess. Good luck with forest life."
Firepaw dipped his head, nudged Smudge with a hefty paw, and pressed his face against the other tom's.
"He says… I think that was "parting ways" so maybe goodbye or safe travels, and that he will miss you and keep you in mind."
"I better see you around, Firepaw." Smudge insisted. At Firepaw's nod and Bluestar's assurance, Smudge gathered his collar's bell into his mouth and picked his way through the forest once more. When he was out of earshot but not their line of sight, Bluestar signaled with a paw and her tail for Firepaw to go after him.
"You need to make sure he leaves without disturbing the rest of the forest." She murmured. He nodded and crept after Smudge.
"Well, Mousefur?" Bluestar called loudly once she and Firepaw reached the sandy hollow. "What did you think?"
"He's a very good hunter, for sure." The brown molly yawned from where she skipped through the trees. Firepaw watched, wide-eyed, as she skittered down the tree closest to them as easily as Whitestorm had with Sandpaw and Dustpaw. He wondered if she could pull the same move as the white tom had. "Though I can't say much for his sense of smell beyond prey. I didn't even disguise my scent and he never gave any indication he knew I was there."
"On the contrary, he looked up several times and was uneasy the entire time. He has his own reasons for being so nervous, but he knew we weren't alone even if he didn't know it was you." Bluestar corrected.
Mousefur thought about what she'd seen over the course of the trip and nodded agreeably.
"He was rather jumpy." The brown molly noted. "I guess scenting will come in time. I'm glad he didn't attack me. I could tell he was thinking about it a few times."
"He didn't know where to attack." Bluestar admitted. "So he took his cues from me. If I'd been more riled up, I suppose he would have tried."
"Alright, I'll take it. That talk with the kittypet. Was that one of his friends from the Twolegplace?"
"Yes, they came to say that his mother wanted him to stay with us a bit longer while she dealt with some matters further in the Twolegplace. She also said for him not to leave Clan territory for other ghost jobs until she says otherwise."
"Think that might be a problem for us in the future?" Mousefur asked cautiously.
"Well, a kittypet braved the forest to tell Firepaw to stay away. I think we should all heed his advice, at the very least to prevent needless bloodshed."
"Of course, Bluestar. Firepaw did well in tracking the tom on his way out. The tom didn't know to scent for him and he didn't make himself known, even at the last moment when he could have left. He waited for the tom to go past even the nearby grass before he left."
"That he did…" Bluestar murmured wearily. "Good luck with the rest of the assessments, Mousefur."
"I've got Dustpaw and Breezefoot has Sandpaw. I do not look forward to dealing with Darkstripe."
"Whitestorm and Longtail have said that he's rather possessive of Dustpaw. What's your opinion?"
"Considering he's only a bit older than me and this is his second apprentice, I'd keep a closer eye on him. Dustpaw is a good cat with a solid head on his shoulders. I don't know what's up with Darkstripe, but he was okay with Longtail mauling a kit. Accidentally or not, that twitched a few whiskers. And not in a good way."
"Darkstripe as a mentor might be better than Tigerclaw." Bluestar grumbled.
"Yeah…" Mousefur's uneasy tone broke off into a hiss and her ears went flat. "Can I speak freely?"
"It depends on what it's about. Firepaw might not want to be here for the conversation if it is what I think it is."
Firepaw snorted and flopped down where he sat.
"He's close enough to Spottedleaf, I suppose." Mousefur offered cautiously. "And he's got tons of other cats' problems to deal with so it's safe to say he can keep a secret."
"Fair enough." Bluestar muttered tiredly. "But is this what I think it is?"
"Yes." Mousefur said bluntly. "It's… more than a little alarming that two sets of mentors have sent two completely different cats bolting for the medicine den. We never got a full story out of Spottedleaf even after we made sure Th-. That Rat's Dirthole was taken care of. And now Tigerclaw's gone and followed in his mentor's pawsteps!"
"Perhaps not as severely." Bluestar allowed. "But it appears so, yes. Ravenpaw is safe with Spottedleaf and Tigerclaw will be dealt with. Hopefully sooner rather than later."
"Why… if I may continue speaking freely?"
"Might as well."
"Why does it sound like that's not up to you?" Mousefur asked warily, fur prickling.
"Because there are some parts of this currently out of my control. I do not know when they will be back in my control, but something will change soon regarding Tigerclaw. I just hope it works out in our favor."
Mousefur nodded once, face tightened into a severe frown.
"I hope so too." She said. "Eat well tonight, Firepaw. You've earned it."
Firepaw grinned and flicked his tail in a wave and Mousefur left the hollow.
"I don't suppose you have questions I could actually answer about all this?" Bluestar asked quietly. Firepaw deliberated, shifting from paw to paw.
A cat so bad they don't even say his name. Something to do with Spottedleaf and most likely Tigerclaw. And Darkstripe has been weird as long as I've known him but was he always this way? There are too many questions no cat wants to answer but I'm not sure I can do my job without these answers!
Firepaw flattened his fur and shook his head. There was no point in digging fresh claws into old wounds when it might not even get him anywhere. Spottedleaf and Ravenpaw were safe, for now. And if they weren't, he could always take them back to RiverClan.