CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

Furzewhisker let out a heavy sigh as she nosed through the sparse collection of herbs she had stored away for leafbare. It was a meager ration compared to what she normally had at this time. Because the Clan was still sorting themselves out, she hadn't had the time nor the energy to gather enough herbs during leaf-fall to prepare herself for leafbare.

Icestar had made living in WindClan intolerable.

His command was that she-cats needed to begin throwing their weight around by providing for the Clan and having more kits. The problem was, she-cats were far and few in WindClan. Whitebirch had finally moved to the nursery after complaining about constant stomach aches. It wasn't until feeling around that Furzewhisker reached the conclusion she was pregnant, and, at the worst possible time.

When Antpaw and Olivepaw had finally earned their warrior names, Olivepaw had immediately moved to the nursery as Olivebranch. Furzewhisker was furious with this recent change of events, because she was running low on borage.

She tried telling Icestar that he needed to lower his expectations for this leafbare and try during newleaf when herbs became easier to find. Instead of agreeing with her, he'd nearly clawed her ears off for interfering with whatever plan he was scheming.

Embarrassment flooded through Furzewhisker at the memory. He'd used her as an example of what would happen if anyone disobeyed or defied his orders. She still bore the scars of that public rebuke, and fumed over the fact that everyone just went along with his tyranny.

I wish there was more I could do, she thought bitterly, knowing that Icestar's power had become absolute within the Clan. Anyone who tried disobeying him would suffer the consequences, as was proven when Sprucepaw and her family had been destroyed or torn apart.

"Furzewhisker, do you have a moment?"

She flinched at the sound of Harewhisker's voice. The normally friendly gray tabby warrior had become one of Icestar's closest followers over the last couple of moons. Furzewhisker had done her best to avoid those who fully supported Icestar's reign. She knew nothing good would come out of following them after seeing what the WindClan leader was capable of.

"Of course," she sighed after turning to face him. Harewhisker blinked only once when he noticed how tense she was. After the way Icestar had attacked her, she wasn't taking any chances with the rest of the Clan. She knew he expected all she-cats to provide kits for the Clan, even medicine cats. The thought left her stomach churning with anxiety as she imagined the worst punishment StarClan had in mind for her, if that should ever happen. "What can I do for you, Harewhisker?"

"Twigfur managed to get himself stuck in a thorn bush while chasing a rabbit," he explained with a dismissive wave of his tail, "His pelt is covered in thorns, now, and I'm afraid he might have a couple stuck on his paws as well."

Furzewhisker nearly rolled her eyes at the way Harewhisker spoke. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he didn't care whether Twigfur was hurt or not. It annoyed her to no end, because the Clan was under her care, and she needed to make sure that everyone was in their best shape.

"Show me where he is," she sighed, turning back to her meager store of herbs and deciding to grab some cobwebs and marigold to prevent infection.

Harewhisker gave a stiff nod before backing out of her den, waiting as she managed to carry the small bundle on the way out. The rest of the Clan was mulling about the camp, either waiting to go on patrol or returning from them. She spotted Owlflight tussling with Sootfall near the fresh-kill pile. Leafshine was sunning herself while listening to a story from Whitebirch, who seemed content with being back in the nursery.

With a flick of her tail, Furzewhisker padded after Harewhisker when he began leading the way down the hill to where the rest of his patrol was waiting.

She knew that getting thorns stuck in one's pelt was more than uncomfortable. If Twigfur returned to the camp with thorns in his pelt, he could carry them back to a nest and make someone's day worse the following morning. Furzewhisker had been planning on giving him a good reprimanding to make sure it didn't happen again, when she thought better of it.

It isn't as if anyone would ever listen to me, she told herself with a wrinkle of her nose, To them, I'm just the cat who sits around all day and hopes for a better future.

Her tail lashed at the thought. If there was anything she could have done to prevent Icestar from taking over, she would have done it. Things had only gone from bad to worse since he took over, and, she knew they weren't going to get better anytime soon.

"Would you stop squirming already and let us pry you loose?" Berrystripe growled after tugging at the branches Twigfur was currently stuck in.

Furzewhisker nearly dropped the bundle of herbs she was holding as her mouth gaped at the sight. Sure enough, Twigfur had been caught in a thorn bush. His thrashing only made it worse as thorns scratched at his pelt, causing tufts of dark brown tabby fur to fly everywhere. She ducked as a piece of branch hurdled in her direction, only to land a few tail-lengths away.

"How in StarClan's name did this happen?" she demanded, causing the two toms to stop and stare for a few heartbeats.

"This mousebrain was trying to chase a rabbit that got smart and ducked for cover in the bush," Berrystripe explained with a scornful look at Twigfur. The warrior only ducked his head in embarrassment, "It still somehow managed to get away from him."

"Only because you gave me away!" Twigfur retorted. His pelt began standing on end as Furzewhisker rolled her eyes.

Toms, she shook her head in bewilderment, if they've proven anything, they've proven just how mousebrained they really are.

"Stop moving and step aside," she snapped at Berrystripe, who by now had released his grip on the branch and moved to let her take over. She eyed the thorn bush warily, noticing that one of the spiny objects had gotten a hold of Twigfur and buried itself into his skin, causing his shoulder to bleed, "I'm going to lift this bush, but, it's going to hurt once the thorn unlatches itself. Move as quickly as you can once you're free."

Twigfur was ready to argue when he thought better of it. Instead, he braced himself for the pain that would follow as Furzewhisker gripped the branch by using her teeth. Carefully, she pulled upwards, lifting until the thorn unlatched itself, tearing at his skin further. The tabby let out a screech of pain moments later before sprinting from the bush, nearly colliding into Harewhisker in the process. Furzewhisker let out a sigh of relief as she let go, letting the bush fall back into place.

"He's bleeding pretty heavily," Harewhisker remarked after noticing how much blood now stained his pelt.

"Well, don't just stand there like a mousebrain, help me clean it!" Her pelt bristled with irritation as Furzewhisker reached for the bundle of herbs, having already taken the cobwebs and passing them to Harewhisker.

"I'm not a medicine cat!" he complained, only to feel her piercing glare bore through him.

The gray tabby reluctantly accepted his task and began pressing the cobweb against Twigfur's shoulder, grumbling unhappily at the situation he was in. Berrystripe simply watched from the background, eyes glowing with amusement and concern for Twigfur's sake.

Furzewhisker had already begun chewing the marigold into a poultice, making sure to spread it along his shoulder to prevent an infection from forming. Most of the bleeding had already stopped thanks to Harewhisker applying pressure to it. Once she was sure that the bleeding had stopped, Furzewhisker moved to apply the poultice to his shoulder. Twigfur flinched from her initial contact - she knew it would sting upon contact, but that was how she also knew it was working.

"Now, why don't you do me a favor and take him back to camp," she ordered once she was finished with her work, "I'm expecting you to rest your shoulder. If you keep moving around, it'll only open again, and I'll have to waste more herbs on it."

Neither Harewhisker nor Twigfur argued with her order. Both toms left before she could say anything else, leaving her behind with Berrystripe. The brown and ginger tabby had been sitting in the background, whiskers twitching in amusement every now and then at Harewhisker's complaints. Now that the two toms were gone, his composure seemed to change as he let his shoulders drop with shame.

"I'm sorry, Furzewhisker," he apologized after getting back to his paws, "I shouldn't have encouraged him to go after that rabbit."

Her gaze softened when she noticed he was being sincere. Though she rarely spoke with him, there were a few occasions when Berrystripe showed a side she'd never seen while he was with his brother and sister.

"Don't be sorry," she sighed with a shake of her head, "I'm just glad it was an easy fix. I don't have enough herbs to care for every injury."

Berrystripe dipped his head in understanding. He was ready to turn and leave when an idea suddenly sprang to his mind, "What if I went with you to collect a few herbs? There might still be some left."

His question caught her by surprise. Furzewhisker tilted her head to one side, already aware that the first frost had already struck them hard. Though, he had a point - it wouldn't hurt to try and look. Catmint was an herb that she desperately needed, and she knew that there was one place it could have survived from the brutal cold.

"Alright; there is a patch of forest I'd like to check," she replied after giving it some thought.

The young warrior beamed with happiness at the thought, and wasted no time in trailing after her as she led the way. An extra set of paws certainly was better than one. Besides, she could use the company. Searching for herbs had been nearly impossible because Icestar rarely let her leave the camp unless it was an emergency like this. She just hoped that her theory on the catmint was right. They were dangerously low on their supply of catmint and borage, and if she didn't find any soon, she knew the Clan would suffer because of it.

...

"Do you think it was right of Icestar to banish Wildheart and his family?"

Once again, Furzewhisker was caught off guard by Berrystripe's random question. She glanced at him uncertainly. She knew the wrong words would only get her in deeper trouble with Icestar. Yet, he sounded sincere enough.

They had been wandering the moor for a while, now. The gorse bushes and sparse grass that covered the moors slowly began to replace themselves with a few small trees that could survive out in the open. Most of their leaves had been stripped away from the wind and the cold. Though, there were a couple that still retained a few leaves on their thin branches.

"I'm not sure what to think of what he's done," she replied with a shrug, hoping that didn't sound too obvious. "All I know is, I have a Clan to care for."

She stopped for a moment, eyes scanning the expanding forest before them. ThunderClan's border wasn't that far away. The border they shared was always at conflict, and, a fight with an enemy Clan would end miserably on their part.

Yet, she finally found what she had been searching for.

The scent was unmistakable. She recognized it almost immediately, from both scent and sight. And, though it was buried in a debris of rotting leaves, it was fresh and protected.

This will be enough to last me the whole season, she thought after reaching the plant in question.

Though it may not have been catmint, it was the next best thing for the queens in the nursery.

"Berrystripe, do you think you can help me carry this back to camp?" she asked after removing several rotting leaves.

Once she managed to dig up enough of the plant, Berrystripe took whatever he could, wrinkling his nose at the bitter-tasting plant.

"What is this stuff?" he asked, voice muffled by the bundle in his mouth.

"Borage," she explained without missing a beat, "We'll need it for Whitebirch and Olivebranch."

Furzewhisker checked the area once more to make sure there was enough left to grow for the next season. To her relief, there was. The last thing she wanted was to take more than she needed, and prevent more from growing in its place.

We must all respect the life that this land provides us with, she told herself. It's the right thing to do.

"Berrystripe, can you take that back to camp and put it in my store? There's something else I need to attend with," she suddenly meowed once she was sure they had everything they needed.

The truth of it was, she did have her reasons for venturing this far from camp. Though Icestar would likely rebuke her once more for doing so, she intended on checking on Wildheart and his family. Berrystripe's question left her feeling worried that something might have happened to them.

Though he didn't look happy with the idea of leaving her behind, Berrystripe didn't argue. He gave her another nod of acknowledgement before heading off in the direction of camp. She didn't move until she was sure he couldn't see her.

With a wave of her tail, Furzewhisker moved carefully through what little cover she had to reach the barn at the edge of their territory. She hated going behind the back of her Clan, but, it was necessary. She hadn't been lying when she said she cared for the whole Clan, even those who were cast out by Icestar.

The good news was, at least the air wasn't too cold. The sun warmed her pelt as she continued pushing herself until reaching the wooden barrier surrounding the barn where Wildheart was living. She kept glancing over her shoulder every now and then, jumping at the smallest noise made around her.

If I get caught now, I'll never hear the end of it, she scolded herself.

"Furzewhisker? Is that really you?" Her heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound of Wildheart's voice. She had to restrain a purr at the familiar tom as he bounded over to her, pushing his way through the tall grass surrounding him. "It really is you!"

"It's good to see you again, Wildheart," she replied after they touched noses.

She had begun checking on them every now and then, hopeful that Icestar would change his mind and allow them back into the Clan. Something in the back of her mind kept telling her that would never happen. Icestar was too greedy, and clearly had some kind of vendetta against Wildheart and his family.

"And you," he dipped his head respectfully before glancing over his shoulder, "How is the rest of the Clan fairing?"

Furzewhisker looked down at her paws as guilt crawled through her at the mention of the Clan. As she explained how Icestar had changed the way the Clan lived, and how he expected each she-cat to provide kits for the Clan, Wildheart's hackles rose with unease.

"The worst part is, he's siding with Russetstar and wants to work with ShadowClan," she sighed irritably, lashing her tail in annoyance. She remembered how arrogant and hotheaded Russetstar was an apprentice. Seeing him as Clan leader only made it that much worse, "I knew Icestar was bad news from the start, but, this is going too far."

Wildheart only shook his head and flicked his tail across her shoulder knowingly. This whole change had taken a toll on her, both physically and mentally. Even he knew it wasn't easy for the medicine cat to deal with Icestar's challenging demeanor, only made worse when the Clan sided with him.

"Furzewhisker, I know this isn't easy, but, challenging Icestar could get you killed," he reminded her. Furzewhisker bowed her head at the cold realization. She had no doubt in the back of her mind that Icestar was willing to stoop to such a level, even if it meant losing a valuable medicine cat, "For now, you need to keep helping the Clan, and wait for Spruceleaf and the others to return."

Her whiskers twitched at the mention of Spruceleaf. For moons, now, she had been pondering over why Icestar had been so against Spruceleaf. The young she-cat hadn't done anything wrong, as far as she was concerned.

"What exactly has she done to make him so angry?" she asked warily.

She remembered the omen StarClan had given her seasons ago before Spruceleaf's birth. If it had anything to do with that, then she realized the Clans were in bigger danger than they anticipated.

"StarClan only knows," Wildheart shrugged. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he studied nothing in particular. "I do know that he took his aggression out on her mother, and, in turn, on her. She deserves better."

Furzewhisker nodded in agreement to that. Of all the cats who deserved a secure future, it was Wildheart's family, and Spruceleaf. She hadn't done anything wrong to earn Icestar's hate, and, Furzewhisker suspected it had everything to do with the omen she'd received.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to keep the Clan safe," she meowed determinedly, "I also want to keep you, Palemist and the kits safe, too."

"Thank you, Furzewhisker," Wildheart purred his thanks as he moved forward and pressed his muzzle against her forehead, "But, I think we can take care of ourselves. The kits might be a pawful, but, they're growing and learning about their environment. Eventually, we'll be able to return to the Clan and make things right."

She looked at him, still feeling uncertain over whether he was right or not. Yet, she saw his eyes glowing with a raw determination to survive. Despite what Icestar had done to him, and his family, Wildheart wasn't giving up. And, it was with that same resolve that she wouldn't give up, either. She planned on fighting back, one way or another.


AN: I thought it was time to have a look at what's happening in WindClan. Sorry for the long wait; this chapter was hard to write, and a long one at that. Three thousand words without the author's note :) Also, please excuse the chapter title, I wasn't sure what to come up with, and this kind of stuck to my mind...