Tailchaser padded across the starry skies, looking around the wide open fields that marked StarClan's hunting grounds.
"Magnificent, aren't they?"
Tailchaser jumped in surprise as a voice mewed beside him and he gazed up at the large tabby that had materialized from the mist. The tabby glanced at him, blinking warm amber eyes in greeting.
"They…they are, yes," Tailchaser mewed, licking his chest fur flat. The tabby looked away from him to peer across the land, before flicking his tail at Tailchaser.
"So what brings you to these lands? The Folk tend to keep to themselves these days."
"You've heard of the Blackcough outbreak, right?"
The tabby blinked in surprise. "Ah yes. That did come from the west, didn't it?" He frowned. "But if it was going away from your kind, surely that meant staying put was the best course of action?"
"Not necessarily." Tailchaser mewed. "We didn't know how far it would spread, and we were trying to keep ourselves alive, so we scattered to the four winds. My son was the only one that went west. Or the only one that survived and settled down." His mew turned thoughtful. "I haven't seen or heard of the Folk in this part of the world, so I wonder if he stopped passing down the traditions and adopted the local ones."
The tabby glanced at him, one ear twitching. "Jake was your grandson, wasn't he? He's touched the lives of several of the clans, and his son has been doing the same." The tabby's mew turned amused. "He's got a lot of Firestar in him in that regard."
"So I've heard," Tailchaser chuckled. "Still, it's better to cooperate than be at odds. All for one and one for all, united we stand, divided we fall." He looked out over the fields, watching some StarClan cats hunt. "They told the clans that back when they first settled here, and they managed to follow their teachings then."
"And as time went on, that ideology faded and tensions began to rise again, not unlike what happened in my time." Tabby shook his head sadly. "Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, so better to be prepared and have nothing happen, than for something to occur and be caught flat-pawed." His whiskers twitched. "Much like how medicine cats gather herbs before the first snow buries them."
Tailchaser tilted his head. "Do you miss the clans?"
The tabby was silent for a few moments before shrugging. "Of course. Any StarClan cat does, but we can watch and guide them." His lip curled slightly. "To a degree, depending on how well they listen."
"Rather hard to listen to vague statements with many interpretations," Tailchaser pointed out.
"And at the same time, you can give them a clear obvious one, and they'll still manage to think it's something else," the tabby snickered. "Everyone sees things differently, so I guess that's to be expected, but as long as they get to the right one in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter?"
Tailchaser nodded, and the two parted ways.
Russetstar woke to a growling belly and grimaced. She got to her paws and stretched her limbs, yawning as she did so. Giving herself a vigorous shake, she left her den and stopped to look around the ShadowClan camp.
The apprentices had managed to uncover a nest of squirrels and the clan was enjoying the bounty, and Oakfur had risen to the task admirably in rationing it so that it'd last as long as possible before it became crowfood.
Russetstar sighed, wishing the rest of Leaf-bare could be as generous, but the bite in the air warned her otherwise. Shaking out her pelt, she headed out to confer with her warriors.
A flash of ginger gave her pause and she blinked in surprise as Rusty trotted into camp, followed by a black and white tom. They were both carrying several pieces of prey and she met them by the fresh-kill pile.
The ginger tom dropped his prey and nodded to her. "Thought you could use some prey, but…" He glanced at the pile. "Seems like you have that under control."
Russetstar purred warmly. "We got lucky with some prey. Your generosity is still most welcome though."
The other tom dropped his prey and shook his head. "Thank you most kindly, because I am not carrying that back to the farm."
"We could always give it to WindClan on the way home," Rusty mewed, flicking him with his tail. "You'll have to forgive Barley. He doesn't like the cold."
"No sane cat does," Barley noted dryly.
"I imagine clan cats do come off as quite insane to loners like yourselves," Russetstar mewed.
Barley shrugged. "I've learned to stop questioning it." He glanced at Rusty. "Been getting a lot of practice in that regard."
Russetstar eyed the squirrels, mice, and even a rabbit among the prey the loners had brought. "Prey seems to be running well for you."
"Not a lot of hunting keeping the population down," Rusty meowed, waving his tail. "So it's there if we need it, and can share it as needed." His green eyes glinted. "But I'm glad you're getting along without it."
"We've been doing it longer than you've been alive, and many generations before that," Russetstar mewed proudly, puffing out her chest. "Whatever hardships the clans face, they overcome it."
"With plenty of grumbling along the way," Darkflower mewed as she stopped by to grab some prey.
Russetstar's ears went flat and the queen darted away with a giggle.
"You seem to be well-loved by your clan," Rusty mewed, watching the clan cats bustle around, going on patrol, sharing tongues, roughhousing, and resting in and around the various fixtures around the clearing.
"After Brokenstar, it's not hard to see why," Russetstar pointed out. "Nightstar as well," she added. "Although I don't know if he was what the clan truly needed to become prosperous again." She blinked sheepishly. "Not that I feel much better at times. It's an exhausting task."
"I'm just glad to see ShadowClan thriving after the past couple of moons," Rusty mewed, nodding. "Really wasn't fair to you, after going through so much turmoil to face more of it." His whiskers twitched. "Adversity is fine, but there's a limit anyone should ever put up with."
Russetstar chuckled. "That's a fair point, and one I shall keep in mind in the future. You're welcome to rest here if you'd like."
"Thank you," Barley meowed before Rusty could speak. The ginger rolled his eyes as the other loner shook out his paws. "Not all of us are up to walking across the territories on a daily basis."
Russetstar blinked in surprise. "You've been doing this daily?"
Rusty nodded. "It keeps the prey down on the farm, while letting the territories' prey have a chance to come out of hiding from hungry cats." His gaze swept around the camp again. "Besides, having a chance to rest certainly never hurt anyone."
Russetstar nodded. "Thank you, you're too kind."
"I can live with that," Rusty mewed with a grin. "Thank you for the hospitality."
Fireleap had Whitecough.
Spottedleaf gave her some coltsfoot to ease her breathing and set out towards Twolegplace to hunt for some lovage and bright-eye. She wondered if Twolegs bothered to keep their catmint protected during the winter months, but doubted it.
She poked her head out of the undergrowth and gazed at the Twoleg nests, each surrounded by a wooden fence. Slipping silently through the snow, the medicine cat sniffed the air for the scent of herbs. She wrinkled her nose at the cold, but she caught the familiar scent of catmint nonetheless.
Following the scent, she jumped up onto a fence and looked down into the yard, spying the leaves sticking out from the snow, and she was pleased to see they weren't yet frost-scorched.
"Hello there."
Spottedleaf twitched in surprise as a voice called out to her and she saw a plump black and white cat sitting at the entrance to the Twoleg nest, watching her.
"You're one of those forest cats, right?"
"I am, yes," Spottedleaf mewed.
"You're smaller than I expected."
Spottedleaf rolled her eyes. "I imagine a lot of what you've heard about us is wrong, kittypet."
The kittypet frowned. "I have a name, you know. It's Smudge." He sounded quite proud of it.
"Congratulations. Unfortunately, I can't stay, as I have sick cats to tend to and I need some of your catmint."
The kittypet blinked and nodded. "Of course. Didn't mean to keep you from your duties. Ezra talks a lot about you when she stops by."
Spottedleaf stared at the kittypet for a moment. "Ah yes, you'd be a friend of hers, then? Not surprising, all things considered." She sniffed the catmint leaves, before plucking the healthiest of them. She nodded at Smudge and leaped back over the fence, vanishing into the forest.
Smudge watched her go before giving himself a shake and squeezed back into the warmth of his Twoleg nest.
