Chapter 25


BushClan/Icepaw

Flamepaw pounced on the stick, his claws grappling it as though it was living prey. The scuff of his paws made it easy for Icepaw to know her brother was doing just fine. He had improved so much, that he was displaying his skills willingly as a teacher to the new apprentices. He dropped the stick, panting as he circled back around it. She watched and listened intently. Ever since the meeting, her mind had been whirling.

She may have found what made her feel the most confident with her skills, but none of it meant she never regretted leaving the path of a warrior. Her paws itched to try battle training, yet she knew she couldn't. Her duty was to heal now and she had to save her strength and skills for that. Especially since the foxes could very easily do what FearClan had failed to do since long before she was kitted.

Fear fluttered inside her belly like a butterfly was trapped inside her. Turning away, she padded into the medicine den to give a dose of catmint to the sick cats. Tangletooth was barely hanging on with raspy breaths. Her father, Pigeonstream, was wheezing as he struggled to recover. While Bubblekit already seemed to be bouncing back. The blue-gray and white tom-kit was regaining his energy, his paws playing with the mossy bedding for a few heartbeats before he would doze back off.

Hope was shining bright within Icepaw's heart. For a heartbeat she could hear Flamepaw crack the stick into two with a defiant hiss. Her ears flicked back, picking up the faint traces of his mew instructing the older apprentices. "With a flick of your paw you should be able to stun or dispatch prey the size of a mouse. But with a wily squirrel, you have to move fast once you have your claws on their tail. Slam a paw down hard with your claws extended and if you feel a bone break in the tail, you know you have done it right. They are tricky, but I think you can get the hang of it when you find one."

Already, her brother was blossoming into a wonderful mentor. Her heart warmed at the thought of it. Soon enough, her sister and brother will be warriors, having fought hard since their one-moon early training. She was behind them, far behind. Yet, she knew her paws have adapted to the life of a medicine cat. With a twitch of a whisker, she could tell what was moss, twigs, or even a discarded web from a spider! After all these moons, she has gained a lot of knowledge to heal. However, not everything grew in this changed land. Moorland grasses and peaty ground still remained, but further away from their camp. On the outskirts of their territory, where rabbits still roamed, albeit a lot warier then any other with the Twolegs so close by.

With careful pawsteps, Icepaw approached the back of the den, reaching a paw in to feel the soft leaves of catmint. Once she felt their furry leaves, she pulled out a few sprigs and began to delicately tear the leaves off with her paws. One pushing the spring away while her other paw held it firmly against the den floor. One leaf for Bubblekit, two leaves for Tangletooth and another pair along side for Pigeonstream. She had to be careful to make sure they had enough to use should the sickness spread to Maplekit and Applemist. With five leaves in a pile, she placed the sprig back into the store and carefully picked up the leaves in her mouth.

The tantalizing scent making her want to crunch up the irresistible leaves, but she refrained from doing so. They were a precious herb for her Clan-mates and she must put them first. Walking to the last three patients in the den, she gave them their respective leaves and listened to their breathing with her ear on their flank. Every day Bubblekit was growing stronger, meanwhile Tangletooth and Pigeonstream seemed to be unable to recover from the illness. She wondered, briefly, if it was because of the many moons they had already seen.

StarClan, please let them survive this. she begged, I'm not ready to let my father go just yet, but I know Tangletooth still has plenty of moons of work to give as well.

Whether the cats of the stars heard her plea or even if they could give her a vision to know for a fact they would survive, she would never know until she slept. With a worried mind, she headed out to bring prey for the sick. They needed to keep their strength up, even a little in this trying leafbare. She stumbled into the icy chill of camp and found herself hearing a strong meow organizing the healthy cats. Her eyes blinked in shock.

Blackdapple, a queen with two kits of her own, had stepped up to bring order to let Morningstar stay in his warm den to remain healthy. Her meow holding authority and trust as she had Twilightsky and Flamepaw go with Maggot to hunt to keep searching for prey in the cold. Despite her kits being a top priority, she was showing herself to be a powerful replacement. Clearly, she had learned from her past mistake of being too distrustful of a new cat to keep the peace in the camp.

"Morningstar will take you to practice fighting soon, Crowpaw." Blackdapple's mew rang through the clearing, "Tumbleheart show him and your apprentice where we gather bedding materials."

"Will do." Tumbleheart's meow called back from the nursery. "Hurry Rubypaw, let's get this dirty bedding dealt with, you can help too Crowpaw."

"Coming!" the older apprentice called out, his paws skittering across the clearing.

"Sounds icy." Icepaw murmured to herself, taking care to place her paws on the snowy ground and heading to the elder's den. She knew Poppyclaw would be resting there, but she had to make sure Jasmine was doing a good job in caring for the elders in her place. After all, with a lack of sight, she had to make up for it in near-perfect memory and trust in her senses of touch, smell, and hearing. However, she also had to trust what another cat says if her senses fail her.

Once she pushed her way through, she could pick out the scents of the elderly cats, freshly groomed thanks to Jasmine looking out for them to feel comfortable. She approached them, checking for fever, any unusual aches and pains, the usual joint pains, and any loss of breath. Talonshine seemed to be in perfect health, a little glum and quiet due to the loss of his mate and gand-kit, but that was to be expected. With a gentle touch of her nose to his ear, a small purr of affection rose in the elder.

"Worried about me?" Talonshine mrowed.

Icepaw blinked warmly to him. "A little, but you are healthy as far as my nose can tell. I just hope you can recover enough to tell Maplekit stories once they have the okay to come back over."

"Oh, I will." the elderly tom's energy seeming to surge at her words, "Just you wait, I will tell him the most exciting story of how you became a medicine cat and we will pass it down for many moons to come to give back on your hard work!"

Shadewhisker, who had been quietly napping, spoke sleepily. "Maybe even tell the kits the stories of how BushClan came to be and how important it is that we are altogether like this."

Icepaw picked her way over to the blackish-brown elder. A familiar tom in her memory. She often came to him to hear stories about how Nightstar rose into her leadership. She looked up to the night-black she-cat when she was alive. However, the many battles had put it's toll on her and she passed away in the latest skirmish for Drizzlepaw and his mentor's murder. Things have been nothing but dark and bleak, much like her fading vision had been.

Yet, now she could see that, just like her blindness, there was still some light and good from it. She wasn't positive on what it was, but somethign good had to come from it that lead to Morningstar to be their leader now. A young tom, but wise enough as he lived through all the same as the two leaders before him. Perhaps, the light she could see was an omen for better things to come and a peaceful outcome?

With a soft sigh, she got to work. Whatever Icepaw thought, no battle deserved to have so many casualties. They had been lucky the Twolegs were leaving them alone so far, but she often wondered when they would decide to go after them. Flexing her paws, she was going through the elder cat's pelt and feeling his joints. No sounds of pain came from him, only a flick of his tail to let her know her claws pricked his skin. Carefully, with great care, she continued her mental assessment of the elders.

If war was coming back on the horizon as dark and bleak as her sight had become, she would have to make sure she could feel what a unharmed cat felt like and what their bones should feel like. For certain the battle with the foxes was coming on the no-moon, just to ensure they get them by surprise. However, BushClan were not tree-climbers usually, but they were willing to have the lighter and more nimble cats take to the trees while the others hid in the bushes.

She would be in a thorny bush, one that would be able to protect her and her precious herbs from danger. In the camp, the nursery was to be lined to the entrance with holly leaves, brambles, and gorse to prevent a sensitive nose from being able to get through. She even wondered if she should put rosemary at the edges of the hiding places to protect the cats. Maybe even crushed toadstools to mask their scents from the vicous foxes.

If we can handle the foxes on a no-moon, then we can handle FearClan whenever the next confrontation will be. Icepaw decided, finishing her assessment of Shadewhisker's health. "You're all done, as healthy as any tom too! May you have a long life."

"Thank you, Icepaw." Shadewhisker answered back softly, "May you have a long life as a full-medicine cat in your future."

Maybe, I am more ready then I give myself credit for. Surely Poppyclaw will continue to help me even into his sunset moons and I can always go to him for advice. she thought as she dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you, Shadewhisker."

A thought soon trickled into her mind like a creek. Nightstar never made a mistake, she only prepared me to think like a warrior to know how to try and help my Clan-mates better. They may still get injured, but I no longer feel lost in life. Feeling more assured, she bid the elders a farewell and continued on to the leader's den. Her worries had melted all over again, giving way to a newleaf-like feeling inside her.

The never-ending blizzard of a leafbare had ran through her since her fifth moon of life. Now it has finally gave way to a warm newleaf within her heart. She felt she could do anything. She had worked hard despite her feelings and now she knew she would be able to continue to do so for a long time. Loosing her sight was never the end, it was only a beginning. She skirted the clearing, knowing as soon as she gave Morningstar the sign of good health, he would begin training his apprentice at once.

With how the Clan was improving and opening up every day, she had faith that nothing could shake her to her core anymore. She may not be ready to let some cats go to StarClan, but if it is what must happen, then she will have to accept it as wholeheartedly as she accepted her choice to become a medicine cat and put her heart into it. Once she found the leader's den, she began to slip inside, hardly surprised to hear the strong and healthy mew that was within it.

"Welcome, Icepaw, I have been expecting your arrival."


Author Note:

Everything is coming together in the BushClan chapters and all is going good.

Why is it that Willow's chapters are the most challenging for me? I will never know.

Anywho, thank you for reading and hope you have a good day/night! - NightSky