Chapter 25
Ripplesky sat at the back of the den, helping Willowblaze sort through herbs.
"I haven't gone through the tansy in a while, so would you mind looking through it for me? Honeyleaf said tansy lasts a long time, but I just want to make sure we have enough fresh leaves in case something happens," Willowblaze told him, before pushing the stinging nettle she had been working with back to it's original place.
Ripplesky nodded, before pulling the tansy out. He carefully sorted through the pile, making sure none of the leaves were wilted. Hooking up a rotten piece with his claw, he flicked it towards the entrance of the den.
A few seconds later, a dark ginger tom appeared. A worried look was plastered to the tom's face as he shouted, "A snake bit Hollypaw!"
"What?!" Willowblaze exclaimed, jumping to her paws. "How did this happen, Rowancloud?"
"Stormsky and I decided to take the apprentices out hunting. While trying to catch a toad, she stepped on a snake that was hidden in the undergrowth. You've got to help her, before it's too late!" Rowancloud meowed.
Willowblaze let out a frantic cry, before sorting through her herbs. "I don't know what to do. Honeyleaf has never taught me how to treat a snakebite!" Turning toward Ripplesky she asked, "Do you know?"
Ripplesky thought for a moment. "No, I don't. Just grab whatever herbs you can, and we'll see if they work."
Rowancloud stared at him in alarm. "What if they don't work? She'll die!"
"Let's hope not," the silver tom growled under his breath, before grabbing an assortment of different herbs. After wrapping them up in a leaf bundle, Ripplesky and Willowblaze followed Rowancloud out into the forest. Ripplesky's heart pounded with fear. What if we're too late? What if she's already dead?
Rowancloud finally skidded to a halt. "She's over there," he panted, flicking his tail towards a small rock. As quickly as they could, the two medicine cats hurried over to where Hollypaw was. The gray-and-white she-cat was sprawled out on her side, panting hard. Blood glistened from two fang marks in the apprentice's back leg.
"It's going to be okay," Willowblaze whispered as she stroked Hollypaw's pelt.
"It burns so much," Hollypaw gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.
Ripplesky pulled out some stinging nettle and began to chew it into a pulp. He then applied it to her wound, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. "It's not working!" he panicked, before scraping the pulp off Hollypaw's leg.
"No, leave it on! It might take a while to set in," Willowblaze argued.
"It's not working, Willowblaze. If we leave it on, it could block the other herbs," he snapped. Suddenly, an unfamiliar plant with white flowers caught his attention. He had never seen such a plant before. It can't hurt to try. Ripplesky padded towards it, before biting a piece of it off.
"Stop messing around and save my sister!" a dark gray apprentice who was crouched beside Stormsky growled.
Stormsky turned to glare at her apprentice. "Toadpaw, that's enough. I'm sure they know what they're doing." Despite saying that, Ripplesky could tell the black-and-white she-cat didn't sound so confident.
"Ripplesky, what are you doing?" Willowblaze whispered. "We don't know what that plant is. It could be poisonous."
Ripplesky ignored her and started chewing the plant up into a pulp. He carefully applied it to Hollypaw's leg. The she-cat thrashed under him, below slowly starting to calm. Her breath slowed, and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Is she dead?" Toadpaw asked, his eyes wide.
"No," Rowancloud breathed, slowly inching towards his apprentice. "Hollypaw, how do you feel?"
"My leg still hurts, but I think I'll be okay," she whispered, her voice quivering with fear. Toadpaw rushed to her side and slowly nudged her to her paws.
Willowblaze turned to Ripplesky. "How did you know that plant would help her?"
"I didn't," he confessed. "I was just drawn to it, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out. Now we know a cure for snakebites." Ripplesky gathered up the bundle of herbs he had brought, and started in the direction of ShadowClan's camp. Willowblaze, Rowancloud, Stormsky and the two apprentices trailed after him.
"Did StarClan tell you that plant would heal Hollypaw?" Willowblaze asked in a quiet tone. He shook his head, causing Willowblaze to frown. "Oh. I guess you're just really smart, then."
Before he could say anything else, the group spotted Honeyleaf heading towards camp. "Honeyleaf!" Stormsky yowled, racing forward. "What are you doing here?"
Honeyleaf walked up, panting slightly. "I came to fetch Ripplesky. Birchstar says it's time for him to return home."
"His wounds aren't healed yet!" Willowblaze protested, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Can't Birchstar wait a few more days?"
"I'm sorry, but Birchstar wants him to return home quickly. I don't think he feels comfortable with me looking after the Clan," Honeyleaf meowed, before taking the herbs from Ripplesky. "I hope you feel better. Just remember, if you ever need us, feel free to drop by." This caused Toadpaw to let out a faint snort, before the group turned away and started heading towards their camp.
Letting out a sigh, Ripplesky started to pad towards the Thunderpath. A few moments later, Willowblaze stepped out in front of him. "I want to walk with you to the Thunderpath," she told him.
Ripplesky just flicked his tail, before continuing on his way. He wasn't looking forward to returning home at all. What if Birchstar exiled him right away? What would his parents and sister think? They would hate me. Everyone would hate me.
"We're here." Willowblaze's voice shook him from his thoughts.
"Thanks for everything," he muttered, not meeting her gaze. The silver tom still felt guilty for lying to her. He didn't love her at all. He wasn't sure if he loved anyone, for that matter, not even his family.
Willowblaze smiled slightly. "You're welcome. I'll see you at the next Gathering, okay?"
"Okay," he whispered, not even sure if he would be allowed to attend the Gathering. Taking a deep breath, Ripplesky turned and raced across the dark path.
When he arrived at camp, the sun was sinking in the sky. As Ripplesky padded into camp, he could feel everyone looking at him.
"Ripplesky, you're back!" Minnowfur squeaked, before racing up to him. Her blue eyes gleamed with happiness as she covered him in licks. Waveheart and Splashflower raced up after her, their tails high in the air.
"I was so worried about you," Splashflower said. "When Honeyleaf said you had been attacked by a dog..."
"He's safe now, and that's all that matters," Waveheart interrupted. "Welcome, home. How are you feeling?"
Ripplesky purred, "I'm still a little sore, but my wounds have healed nicely."
Minnowfur began to guide him towards the fresh-kill pile. "There's so much to tell you," she babbled. "Reedpaw and Frogpaw became warriors-"
"Already? Aren't they a little young?" Ripplesky asked in surprise. It felt as if the two had just been born yesterday, and now they were already warriors?
His sister shot him a look of annoyance. "Does their age matter? They proved themselves worthy a few days ago, when one of our patrols was attacked by a dog. It was probably the same dog that attacked you. Anyways, they are now Reedheart and Frogtail."
"Don't forget to tell him about Rainfall and Briarpelt," Waveheart added.
"Oh, yeah!" Minnowfur exclaimed. "Rainfall is expecting kits, and Briarpelt has retired to the elder's den."
Ripplesky let out a sigh. "It's only been a week or so, and so much has happened without me." Before they could say anything more, he turned and padded towards his den. "I've had a long day, so I think I'm going to take a quick nap."
"No, you're not!" an angry voice growled. Looking up, the medicine cat saw Birchstar standing in his path. The leader's eyes were narrowed with fury. "I want to speak to you in my den at once." Ripplesky gulped, before turning and heading over to the leader's den. Birchstar charged after him, his tail lashing back and forth.
Once inside, Birchstar cornered Ripplesky against the back wall. "Are you out of your mind?" he roared. "Leaving a ShadowClan medicine cat in charge of our camp? You would have never been attacked by that dog if you had just stayed in camp. You put everyone in danger, and now Bramblestar probably knows all our secrets."
Ripplesky flattened his ears to his head. "No, you're the one out of your mind. Do you think I was attacked by a dog on purpose? It wasn't my fault I was almost mauled to death and that a ShadowClan patrol happened to find me. You ought to be grateful that your only medicine cat survived. What would RiverClan do without me?"
Birchstar's neck fur bristled. "I'm starting to wish you had died in that fire. Nightsky would still be alive if it hadn't been for you. If you think you've saved this Clan, you're wrong. And if you think I'm the bad guy, you're wrong. I've been merciful on you, Ripplesky. I could have executed you the second I found out that you murdered Nightsky, but I didn't. If anyone should be grateful, it's you!" Birchstar screeched.
A sudden rage bubbled up inside of Ripplesky. Slowly, the medicine cat stood up and unsheathed his claws. "I'm not going to put up with you blackmailing me," he spat.
Birchstar let out a snort. "Are you trying to intimidate me? That will never work. I'm stronger than you, and I've got a whole army of warriors behind me that would tear you apart if you even tried to lay a paw on me."
Ripplesky stepped back, unsure what to do. He would never get away with killing Birchstar. Everyone would know he had done it, and he would be crowfood.
"That's right, you little coward," Birchstar taunted. "Now get out of my den."
The medicine cat darted past Birchstar, his stomach churning nervously. He didn't know what to do now. He wasn't tired anymore, and he didn't feel like sorting through his herbs. He quickly curled up in his nest, and began to think about what had just happened. I've really messed up, Ripplesky thought sadly.
A few hours later, Shellnose appeared at the entrance to his den. "Birchstar wants you," he whispered, before backing out of the den.
Slowly, Ripplesky rose to his paws and marched out into the clearing. Birchstar stood at the top of his den, his chest puffed out. All around him, warriors of RiverClan crouched in the shadows, their eyes gleaming in the dark. Whispers echoed around the camp.
"What's going on?"
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Is Ripplesky in trouble?"
"Silence!" Birchstar yowled, lifting his head to the sky. Once everything was quiet, he beckoned for Ripplesky to come forward. The silver tom gulped, before slowly inching towards his leader. This is the end. I'm going to be exiled for sure.
"Cats of RiverClan, you may think you know Ripplesky, but the truth is he is not as innocent as he seems. He is a murderer!" When cries of protest rang out among the gathered cats, Birchstar continued, "After Ember was executed, Ripplesky confessed that he had killed Nightsky."
"You're lying!" Minnowfur spat, her eyes narrowed with anger. "My brother would never hurt anyone."
"But he did!" Birchstar argued. "And just now in my den, he tried to kill me as well! For that reason, I sentence you to exile. If anyone from RiverClan catches you on our territory, we have the right to kill you."
Minnowfur padded over to her brother's side, before looking back at the leader. "You're going to have to exile me, too."
"You can't do that, Minnowfur." Frogtail joined her, his eyes filled with grief. "What about us?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow my brother to be exiled." Minnowfur stood her ground, making Ripplesky's heart swell with happiness. He was glad to have a sister as loving as she was.
"Then I'm going too," Frogtail declared, puffing out his chest.
"So am I," Splashflower meowed. "I believe my son is innocent. Even if he did murder Nightsky, a mother's love comes before all else. I will not abandon him in the forest to die. I will be by his side as long as I can, and if that means exile so be it!" She turned towards Waveheart, who nodded in agreement.
Birchstar watched the cats in disgust. "Fine! I don't care if you leave. You're nothing but a bunch of traitors anyways." He scanned the clearing before adding, "Are there any more traitors?" The clearing was silent for a few moments, before Reedheart, Brambletail, and Shellnose padded over.
Shellnose looked down at his paws for a few moments before announcing, "I love RiverClan, but Brambletail and I just can't let our kits go alone. I'm sorry, but I hope you understand."
When no other cat padded over to join Ripplesky, Birchstar let out a snort. "Get out of my camp at once," he snarled. "And just know that if we catch any one of you flea-pelts on our territory that you're crowfood!"
Ripplesky glared up at Birchstar. "We can take you on any day!" Before Birchstar could let out a retort, Waveheart nudged Ripplesky in the direction of the camp entrance.
Once they were far enough away from camp, Reedheart stopped. "Now what do we do?" she asked, flattening her ears to her head.
"We need to find shelter," Shellnose told her, sniffing the air for any signs of danger.
"What about that abandoned Twoleg nest we stayed in during the fire?" Minnowfur suggested.
Ripplesky frowned. "I'm not sure that would work. It's too close to camp, so Birchstar could easily track us down and ambush us."
"I doubt Birchstar would come hunt us down this late at night," Minnowfur argued. "Besides, do you really think our Clanmates would attack us?"
"Who knows," Frogtail muttered darkly.
"It won't hurt to stay one night there," Shellnose meowed, walking in the direction of the abandoned Twoleg nest. The rest of the group followed after him, too tired and scared to argue anymore.
When they arrived at the Twoleg den, the moon was starting to sink in the sky. "I'm exhausted," Splashflower yawned as she slipped through a gap in the wall. She then padded over to a damp bundle of hay and flopped down. Waveheart and Minnowfur followed her, their eyes drooping from exhaustion.
"Are you going to come sleep with us?" Minnowfur called out to her brother.
Ripplesky shook his head. "I'm going to sleep over here by myself," he told her, before padding over to the far end of the den. As he curled up in the hay, he felt his heart ache with pain. His family members and friends were now exiled because of him. They chose to leave, he reminded himself. They could have stayed if they wanted to. As he lay there thinking, Ripplesky soon drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
Sorry this chapter took so long to publish. My internet has not been working lately. I really enjoyed this chapter, so I am hoping you will like it as well. I have the rest of the story planned out, but I am not sure how many chapters will be left. If I had to guess, it would be anywhere between 5-10. It just depends on how much plot I am able to squeeze into each chapter.
As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I look forward to your feedback each time I update!
