Chapter 13


BushClan/Icepaw

Sunlight streamed behind Icepaw, she could feel it's warm embrace as she padded confidently with her siblings close behind. Turtlepaw was right beside her, padding just a stride faster, almost trotting. Her indigo eyes wide in urgency as she felt her paws on familiar well-trodden paths. Excitement buzzed through her as they hurried. She had to speak with Poppyclaw right away about the vision she had at Moonstone. The sun had been rising steadily as they struggled to make it through as more yellow-bellied clouds gathered on the horizon.

She couldn't see them, but she could scent the icy-storm heading their way. Even with a rumble in the distance. One that shook her to her core. It reminded her of that horrible storm that stole her mother. With a shudder, she turned her fading sight to the fluffy tortoiseshell and white she-cat beside her. Her blurred shape standing out with wondrous faded colors. With the sun rising somewhere behind her, she could see her sister for the first time in moons.

"Turtlepaw," she started, trying to snap out of her longing daze. "Can you see the sky from here? I need to know if my nose and ears are lying to me. Are there clouds coming?"

Her sister flicked her ears, her head angling upward. She could almost picture those yellow eyes squinting to see into the far distance. At last, with a soft mew, Turtlepaw answered. "I think there is some dark clouds heading this way. I suppose we have a storm coming in. Think it'll be rain?"

Icepaw shook her head. "No, I think it might be a strange snowstorm."

"I'll ask Jaggedcloud if she heard of anything like it." her sister decided aloud.

Their brother, Flamepaw, was pressing on as fast as he could. Icepaw had used sticks and gorse to weave together a make-shift splint for his tail. However, without proper herbs he might not be able to keep his tail. It could set wrong, unless there was nothing that could be done for it. Worry filled her again, knowing that as important as the prophecy was, Flamepaw needed help.

"Are we almost home?" he gasped, his mew sharp with pain.

"Almost." Icepaw assured him as they plodded on, the chill of the night fading only slightly as the sun rose.

At last, Turtlepaw lead her into the familiar tunnel of ferns, gorse, and brambles. Her heart lifted as they pushed through to the other side. The camp was dimly lit, hidden by the shadows of bushes that were clustered all around. Icepaw nodded to herself, breaking away from Turtlepaw with great urgency.

"Help Flamepaw to the medicine den," she ordered without looking back, focused on the familiar paths and scents, "I'll wake up Poppyclaw."

"Alright." her littermate meowed as she waited for Flamepaw to come through the tunnel.

Swiftly, the stark white apprentice slipped into the dark, earthy den. Her whiskers feeling it opening it up as she approached the nests. She sniffed one, picking up her own stale-scent before finding Poppyclaw's nest tucked in the back near the smaller cave of their storage. With a gentle, yet firm prod, she managed to wake up her mentor.

He rose slowly, shaking himself from the last traces of his slumber. "Did something happen?" he prompted, flaring his nostrils as he took in the scents. "Did StarClan send a message?"

Icepaw hesitated, before nodding slightly. "Flamepaw got hurt when crossing the thunderpath. A monster attacked his tail, capturing it for a moment. I don't know what happened exactly, but it's broken."

"Is he coming?"

"He is, Turtlepaw is bringing him here." she answered, looking to her mentor. "Is there anything that can be done?"

Poppyclaw shook his head. "If it cannot heal properly it may become a hindrance, thus we will have to chew it off him."

"He won't even have half a tail!" she exclaimed in shock.

"It's the only way so it doesn't get injured and infected. It will be very painful and he may faint from it, but if that happens, he might not become a warrior any time soon." he told her gently, as though she was a kit he was raising.

"Poppyclaw, please, do everything you can." she murmured, "teach me everything possible. I want to help in any way I can."

"Get a stick fresh from a tree." he told her grimly. "Just in case we need it."

Icepaw nodded, "I'll check the bushes and let Turtlepaw know so she can help."

"Very well." he murmured as her littermates entered the den.

"Can anything be done?" Turtlepaw asked.

"We will see." the medicine cat replied, padding over to the stockpile of moss to creat a make-shift nest for his patient. "Here, Flamepaw, you can lay here while I check your tail."

"Thank you Poppyclaw." he panted, trudging closer to him. "Sorry if my tail makes a mess, it hurts too much to raise it."

Poppyclaw was silent as he began to check over the injury. Turtlepaw stood aside, her paws kneading the ground in anxiety. Squaring her shoulders, Icepaw padded to her sister, brushing up against her gently with a soft murmur. "We need to find some fresh young sticks for Flamepaw to bite into so Poppyclaw can find the break."

Turtlepaw nodded numbly. "Alright." Her sister followed her as she padded out, only to hear her sister mew again. "Dappledrift is there with Bubblekit and Blazekit."

Icepaw paused in her steps, just outside of the medicine den. "They must be awfully ill." she commented, trying to hide her own fears.

"I think they are." her litter-sister whispered, worry dripping from her tone. "Worst of all, Pigeonstream is in there."

"Our father?" she asked, wishing it wasn't true. "Why hasn't StarClan warned me?"

"Tangletooth isn't looking well either, but he is still trying to do his duties." Turtlepaw trembled near her. "I don't think we are going to make it without getting sick."

"There has to be something we can do." Icepaw meowed firmly. "We have two warriors, two kits, and one elder who is sick. The medicine den isn't going to be big enough for that, meaning we have to make room somewhere."

"That's for Morningstar to decide." Turtlepaw reminded her gently.

"That doesn't matter, we have to get a stick and then get right to finding a suggestion." she put her paw down harshly. "Let's hurry, before anyone else gets sick."

With a stiff nod, they were quick to leave the camp. Worry making Icepaw feel like she was flying through the forest at incredible speed. They split up to search, using all of their senses to work fast, knowing that being alone would only bring danger for themselves. Icepaw managed to find a young enough stick that wouldn't break, she headed back to the camp to wait for Turtlepaw.

Soon her sister appeared, padding with a thicker, young stick in her jaws. With a grunt, she pushed her way through carefully and towards Icepaw. Feeling better, she lead the way to the medicine den, her frosty indigo eyes focusing on what was ahead of her. She may not be able to see it, but she could sense the somber air from Poppyclaw. She could even scent Twilightsky having visited.

"We have some sticks for Flamepaw." Icepaw announced, her mew muffled.

"Thank you, we will use Icepaw's first then we will use Turtlepaw's." her mentor ordered. Nodding, Icepaw padded up to her litter-brother and placing her stick before him. The torture they come to know as a drastic measure was beginning. "Turtlepaw, go to Jaggedcloud, she has an assessment for you to do."

"Alright," she murmured, "What do I tell Twilightsky?"

"I already gave him the news, but for now I need you to leave so my apprentice and I can do some more lessons." his mew was flat, as though he did not want this to be done himself.

"I know you will do great Turtlepaw, who knows, maybe you will finally become a warrior." Icepaw meowed, trying to sound cheerful. Silence greeted her as paw-steps padded away. She had to hope her sister would be alright. Shaking out her pelt, she turned to Poppyclaw, prepared for the diagnosis and what they had to do to save her brother from potential deadly infections.

Poppyclaw took a steadying breath before explaining, "I gave him poppy seeds so he can relax and sleep. I need a poultice made to prevent infections, cobweb and moss to stop the bleeding when we are finished. Can I trust you to make it properly?"

Icepaw nodded, "Of course."

"What herbs to prevent infections?" he quizzed her.

Icepaw was padding to the herb store. "Burdock root, chervil, comfrey root, horsetail, with a goldenrod and marigold base."

"Very good, what can we use for the blood?"

"Cobwebs to stop the bleeding before placing the poultice." she answered, before adding in, "We can use catchweed to hold the poultice together with bits of dock leaf."

"Alright, bring me some cobweb." he meowed, "Then you can gather the herbs needed for the poultice and place it on an oak leaf. It should be able to hold it all while you mix it together."

"Coming right up." she purred, limping to him with some cobweb. "On your tail?"

"Yes, that would be lovely. Now, Get all the herbs over here and ready to be chewed up. Bring some moss and the wet moss. I'll walk you through what I'm doing and I want you to feel it with your paws."

"Won't he wake up from pain?" she asked, finishing putting cobwebs on her mentor's tail for safe keeping.

"I put the stick in his mouth, if he wakes up, he will be muffled." he replied, "So don't worry. Everything will work out in the end, I promise."

"Alright," she gave in, fetching the oak leaf and the herbs for the mixture. She still had her doubts, after all, Flamepaw would have to learn how to do a lot all over again. How to hunt, keep his balance, express himself, even how to fight. Her heart slowly fell at the thought of how Turtlepaw might become a warrior before him, however she knew that he would still beat her in exiting apprenticeship.

She had warrior training at first, but it was three moons ago. As tough as being a medicine cat was, she longed to be a warrior again. It was much simpler, at least in her mind it was before the memories came back to her like a blustering wind. Her failing sight was why she changed paths. Ever since she had been slowly learning the ways of a medicine cat and how to heal her Clan-mates.

Slowly approaching her brother, she knew that by the time his training was finished hers might not be. Closing her eyes, she accepted her fate as she sent a prayer to StarClan to help him heal and not succumb to what was about to be done to him. Opening her eyes, she took her place beside her mentor, prepared to do her best.

"Now, I'm going to chew where the break is. A little above that to get through without harming him right away." he explained, showing her with his paw where he was going to bite. "Feel where my paw is."

She obeyed, touching his paw gently as he moved it away so her sensitive pads can feel the limp break. "Between my middle toes?"

"That is correct. That is the best spot to start." he praised her, gently moving her paw away. "Now I'm going to start. There is no right or wrong way to do this, you just have to hope and pray to StarClan."

Icepaw nodded, getting to work on making the poultice one herb at a time. All the while she could hear the sound of teeth slicing through flesh and skin. The sound of teeth scraping against bone. She shuddered, suddenly glad that she was loosing her sight. She would hate to see how horrible it was. Fluffing up her fur, she spat out the herbs she was chewing onto the oak leaf.

"Cobweb." Poppyclaw ordered.

The white apprentice obeyed, taking a clump off her mentor's tail and passing it to him. "Did you get through?"

"I need to chew on the other side of it and crunch through tail bones." he explained.

She nodded as she heard his paws scuffing around in the effort. "Do I have to feel?"

"No, I want you to try on the other side." Alarm flared through her as she opened her jaws to reject the suggestion, before his mew answered her own horror. "Some day you might have to do this yourself."

She clamped her jaws shut, nodding shakily. "R-right." she whispered, taking another pawful of herbs to finish making the poultice.

Poppyclaw kept staunching the bleeding, growling to himself as he worked to steady the bleeding. All the while, Icepaw chewed her herbs thoroughly into a paste, spitting it out and mixing it together carefully to not break the oak leaf just yet. Once that was done she washed her paw, not minding the taste of the herbs anymore. They had long since soured her tongue enough to not bother her for the last two moons.

She took her position right before Poppyclaw, prepared to help to the best of her ability. She waited, touching the tail with her whiskers as Poppyclaw raised it gently in his jaws. The musky scent of blood filled the den, making Icepaw was to gag. Swallowing dryly, she felt around with her paw, finding the haunting place where it had been gnawed through and where it hadn't. Without any more hesitation, she began her heart-wrenching work.

Her jaws scraped through flesh and fur, clacking against bone in her skull. She suppressed a shudder, glad she couldn't see what they were doing to him. Perhaps this was why StarClan had cursed her to become a medicine cat. So she could not only replace Poppyclaw as he got up into his moons, but so she couldn't see the gore that came with her duties. She focused, trying to imagine the swaths of heather rippling in StarClan among the tall grasses of the moors.

Slowly, she felt better, letting go of Flamepaw's tail. She stretched up, gently holding the tail in her teeth, long fur tickling her nose as she tried her best to not sneeze. Poppyclaw had taken over while she tried to pretend she couldn't taste the blood of her brother on her tongue. Worry wormed into her stomach that fluttered like a butterfly in a windstorm. Her legs trembled as she tried to remain steady.

Then the worst sound reached her ears. The scrape and crack of bones. She closed her eyes, willing her ears to stop working as she heard all of those horrible sounds. A louder snap sounded, Flamepaw jerked in his nest, the twig in his jaws creaking as the pain filtered through into his dreams. Sorrow filled Icepaw like a torrent. It was almost finished, his tail was going to be removed where it would be best.

At last, she felt the tail in her jaws feel lighter. Poppyclaw's paws shuffled as he pressed more cobwebs down onto it. Icepaw took the tail, her jaws clamping down harder in her anxiety. Her tail trembled behind her, she could only imagine how frightened she must look as she tried to steady herself on the inside. A war was happening with her. Pride that she had helped, but it was mingling with the horror that her own brother's tail was in her mouth, away from the body it was once attached to.

"You can put it down." Poppyclaw ordered gently, almost as though he was speaking to a kit. Instinctively, she obeyed, placing it down as her legs shook beneath her. "Relax, this is a normal procedure." he assured her.

She nodded shakily, pushing the oak leaf over to her mentor who began to use the poultice to help Flamepaw. The last of the cobweb that Poppyclaw had on his tail to hold it in place as well as to stop the bleeding. Icepaw gently placed the dock leaves onto the cobweb to cover it along with catchweed to be tangled into the fur to hold it all in place securely.

"That will do it." Poppyclaw told her. "I'll deal with the tail, you just try to relax. If you are still shaking, I know what herbs to give you for this. It doesn't mean you should always take from the store, but only if your own nerves have been shaken this badly is it allowed."

Icepaw nodded, using wet moss with snow on it to clean her face and paws, even her tongue. Yet, Flamepaw's blood still filled the den, choking her in some way. Trembling, her throat felt far too tight. She shakily stumbled to her nest, flopping down noisily from her jerking legs. She could still feel the tail in her mouth, the horror endlessly spilling over her.

Ever so slowly, her shaking dissolved into trembles. Her eyes still wide as she laid in her nest, trying to pull herself together. Soon, Poppyclaw returned as a shadow, padding into the den, sniffing her slightly to check that her shock had gone down. Once he decided she was doing better, he loped to Flamepaw to make sure he was resting well before going to check on the other patients.

She knew she had to help, but she curled up into her nest, her body exhausted. The trip and work had drained her. Slowly, her eyes closed, never once recalling that she had a message to interpret with Poppyclaw. Like a gentle blanket of clouds, sleep washed over her in a welcoming wave.


Author Note:

I worked hard to finish this chapter in time even with a quick spelling check.

So, Flamepaw lost his tail, now have a show of hands: Who thinks Flamepaw will survive this or get an infection from how messy this was?

I am aware that at the Lake Clans (The former Forest Clans) they used a sharp stone once. I don't because they didn't show/explain how they were able to. So, Poppyclaw and Icepaw use their teeth to help make life more comfortable for Flamepaw.

Anyway, have a nice day/night and thank you for reading! - NightSky