The patrol returned with plenty of fresh kill, since Mudheart had insisted on going hunting again as they were heading back. Wildheart deposited two large fish and a rather plump vole – which she was saving for herself for later.
"Wildheart," a voice whispered behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Ever since seeing Spottedheart, she had been overly skittish. That cat gave her the jitters.
"Are you okay?" the voice asked, concerned. "You seem a bit…high-strung."
"I'm fine, Raintail," Wildheart replied as she turned around. Raintail was a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with white paws, and also RiverClan's medicine cat. They had grown up in the nursery together and were best friends. "What's the matter?"
Raintail took a shaky breath. "It's Spottedstar. He's getting worse."
Trembling, she nodded. "Where is he?"
"In his den." The two cats trotted to the high rock in the center of the clearing. Directly in back of it was another boulder, this one with a large hole in the center. It dark and warm, but it stank of sickness. Shuddering, Wildheart gathered herself and walked through the entrance, barely awknowledging the guard outside.
Spottedstar was lying on his side on the moss bedding laid out for him, wheezing. Wildheart caught her breath – she didn't think she could handle this. Spottedstar was the only father-figure, or parent-figure for that matter, in her life. He had been her mentor, her friend, her diary. And now she was losing him.
"This is his seventh life, right?" she whispered.
Raintail shook her pretty head. "It's his eighth."
At the sound of their voices, Spottedstar raised his head feebly. "Raintail? Wildheart? Is that you?"
"Yes, Spottedstar, I'm here." Wildheart moved closer.
He snarled as best he could, and Wildheart stopped in her tracks. "Don't… come near me. I'm…not well." Reluctantly, she retreated.
"Yes, and that's why we're going to get you better." Raintail approached him in a brisk, no-nonsense way that was her specialty when she put her mind to it. "Here are some juniper berries for the bellyache, and some poppy seeds for the pain." She pawed some herbs stored in the back of the cave toward Spottedstar. "They'll make you feel better."
With a painstaking slowness that tore at Wildheart's heart strings, the old cat licked up the medicine cat's prescription.
Suddenly, his eyes glazed over and his whole body tensed. Wildheart looked around, but she could she nothing. Terrified, she stared at Raintail, eyes pleading for an explanation. But the pretty she-cat only shook her head helplessly. "He's on his way to StarClan." Her mew was barely audible.
Eyes widening, Wildheart looked at the remains of the herbs and then at Raintail. And then at the herbs again. "Where those… deathberries then?"
Raintail's hackles rose angrily. "Of course not!" she spat. "You think I would murder my leader!"
The guard outside the door, a large black cat with white ears and amber eyes called Iceear, peered into the gloom. "Is everything alright, Wildheart?"
"Yes," she replied shakily. "Everything's fine." The guard shrugged his massive shoulders and returned to his task. Her next phrase was directed to Raintail. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just… it's so hard. Too hard."
As quickly as her rage had come, it subsided. Raintail sat on the ground. "I know. Believe me, I know. And I knew he was going, which was what the poppy seeds were for. To ease the pain."
Wildheart nodded and came to sit beside her. The silence around them was smothering, but neither dared to break it.
Raintail was sleeping when Spottedheart's spirit returned to its body. She had been working all hours for the best few suns without rest. Wildheart understood the feeling. She had hardly slept herself. But she had to be there when he awoke. It wasn't an option.
As soon he took a breath again, Wildheart was at his side. "Easy, easy," she cooed soothingly. "Gentle breaths."
He seemed to nod. Suddenly his eyes flew open and with a flash Wildheart realized they weren't his green eyes, but amber ones that were vaguely familiar. His body convulsed in spasms, and then his voice rang out clear and true.
"The two who are untouchable
In duty as well as love,
Will find themselves as kin.
One is doom to all
Yet the other is hope.
Their rivalry goes deeper then skin."
Shivering, Wildheart backed away slowly. "Spottedstar?" she whispered. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head briefly, and his green eyes came back. "Yes, fine, Wildheart. Just a bit tired." Spottedstar raised his head and looked at her curiously. This was probably from the fact that she was shaking horribly. "Are you alright?" he asked, gradually getting up.
Mutely, she shook her head before rushing outside. Out of the den. Out of the camp. In her own terrified world.
A/N: Okies, so the prophecy was horrible. I couldn't think of anything else. Well, actually I did, but that got deleted. glares at computer
Rather shortish. My chapters aren't that long, considering how long it takes to write them. shrugs Can't do much bout that.
Reviews apperciated!