Chapter 4: The Second Death
The night sky began to turn gray with dawn. Willowdrift instructed Snowpaw to be ready before the sun peaked every morning. He explained there were two daily apprentice tasks she was to perform as part of her training. Willowdrift padded two fox-lengths ahead of her the entire time.
Snowpaw swore that her paws were about to fall off as she approached Willowdrift at the entrance. They had explored the entire territory yesterday from sun up to sun down. Willowdrift was taller than her. Snowpaw's ears were level with his eye. He made sure she had a rough time following by taking wide steps through overgrown trails.
Even though she was winded, her mind buzzed with the beauty of ThunderClan territory. She saw and experienced so much yesterday!
"Before we begin today's training on hunting and crouching I am going to introduce you to your daily morning task," Willowdrift mewed lightly. They padded out of the hollow entrance, flicking their tails in passing at Duckmuzzle who stood guard and walked around the outskirts of the bramble barrier. It protected the clan from nosey foxes and deadly snakes. With his white-fluffy tail, Willowdrift pointed at the barrier and instructed, "Take a look at these thorns."
Snowpaw narrowed her eyes and noticed the thorns for the first time. They were sharp and menacing.
"Your job as an apprentice is to check this barrier for any small breaks that weather may cause. It is to ensure that snakes don't come into the hollow. They can slither down into it very easily, also to keep nosey foxes from spying on the location of our nursery and Elder's den. When you see a crack big enough for a small snake to fit through you will get mud, rocks, bramble or moss and seal the hole up. This is one of your apprenticeship responsibility to help contribute to our clan's safety."
"What do the other apprentices do?" Snowpaw asked eyeing the barrier with a new sense of importance.
Willowdrift bristled at her unannounced question, "They contribute however their mentors seem fit. Now walk along the barrier and try to find any holes. If you find one, show me, and I'll teach you how to make a sturdy seal."
Snowpaw padded away from Willowdrift, thankful that he stayed behind, and scanned the bottom of the bramble bush to the top as she walked. There were several spots that seemed recently repaired which strengthened her curiosity on if other apprentices checked the bramble barrier also. All along the bottom, mud caked the bramble barrier. Up top, she could see where rocks and brittle moss has been wedged in with mud to block holes. Snowpaw shuddered thinking about getting mud under her claws.
She had almost walked the entire circle back to Willowdrift without finding any faults when fear scent caught her attention. Snowpaw looked up to see Willowdrift's fur was rising but this time it wasn't at her.
"Willowdrift?" she mewed warily. "What's wron-"
Willowdrift broke into a full sprint to the hollow entrance and Snowpaw chased after him. Fear of the unknown made blood roar in her ears as her heartbeat quickened.
Snowpaw pushed through the tunnel faster than Willowdrift and nearly stumbled into him as he stopped in front of her. She was about to ask another question before she heard it.
A low, miserable cry.
"Oh-no," Willowdrift whispered as he leaped toward the medicine cat's den. A small crowd has formed outside. Snowpaw followed more slowly and listened as the cats around her murmured.
"The rumors are true."
"Cats are getting sick-"
"It's only been queens though."
A long low wail rose from the medicine cat den. All the gathering cats fell silent.
Snowpaw's pelt bristled as she recognized Raventalon's cry. It was clawed with grief that made every cat bristle in horror. Only one thing could cause a cat that much grief. Terror gripped Snowpaw. Where's Greenclaw? Could he be sick too?
Foxstar emerged from the medicine cat den with his head held high but his ears laid flat. The Clan parted as he walked through the crowd to HighLedge and leaped up in one pounce. There was no need to call the Clan to a meeting. All the cats that were in the hollow had followed him below, desperate for news.
"Seednose will walk with StarClan tonight," he announced heavily. Cats gathered below, who knew Seednose well, began to yowl in a misery that couldn't quite match Ravontalon's. "She was our best hunter and a wonderful mother to Sunleaf and Rayflight. This isn't the first queen to pass this way and sadly, Seednose was too early in her kitting for the kits to have any chance of survival."
Snowpaw felt eyes burn into her pelt as she realized what Foxstar was saying.
Seednose passed away just as Birdpelt did.
Panic sent her flying from the gathering to find Greenclaw as Foxstar went on to praise the life Seednose had lived. No cat questioned her.
When Snowpaw squeezed through the entrance she ran blindly. She had no idea which direction Greenclaw was in or if he was in a border or hunting patrol. As she ran, Snowpaw also realized that this was the first time outside the hollow on her own. Her paws began to slow as she took in her surroundings. She didn't recognize where she was and that made her pelt prickle with unease.
A loud rustle from somewhere deep in the forest made her jump and feel very exposed. Quickly, she crawled low on her belly toward a bush to hide. A sharp sting bit her nose and ears as she pushed into the bush which made her yowl with pain and fright. The bush stung her!
"What are you doing?"
Snowpaw leaped a fox-length and twisted mid-air to see Perchpaw stifling a purr of amusement as she landed. Perchpaw had a mouse at his paws, blood still trickling from a fresh killing bite. Snowpaw's ears fell back with embarrassment and her face throbbed with pain. Perchpaw catching that mouse was the rustle that frightened her.
"That's a nettle bush you're trying to dig into. They sting pretty painfully. Are you okay?" Perchpaw mewed more gently. "I smelt your fear-scent and came over."
Snowpaw was too embarrassed to respond. She was lost and eyes watering from the stings to her eyelids.
"Where's Willowdrift?" Perchpaw pushed.
"Back at camp," Snowpaw murmured and quickly countered. "Do you know where Greenclaw is?"
Perchpaw narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Shouldn't you have a warrior with you? You obviously don't know the territory yet. Let alone how to defend yourself if you came across a wondering badger."
Snowpaw stood taller to show she wasn't scared, but she only felt it half-heartedly and Perchpaw saw right through her. "Come on," he mewed tenderly. "I'll take you to Greenclaw."
With a sigh of relief, Snowpaw butted heads gratefully with Perchpaw before he buried his mouse. They padded side-by-side toward the opposite direction Snowpaw was heading originally.
"He's patrolling the WindClan border. I was just wrapping up my apprenticeship duty before I stumbled across you," Perchpaw explained. "What's the rush to find Greenclaw?"
"A queen died."
Perchpaw stopped, his ears fell back in distress. "Which one?"
"Seednose."
Perchpaw stared at her with wide eyes that begun to swim with emotion as the news settled in. When he finally looked away he hung his head shaking it softly in disbelief.
"Rayflight is on the same patrol." He mewed miserably. After a moment, Perchpaw bristled and looked back at Snowpaw. "Seednose was carrying kits."
Snowpaw's heart dropped as she answered his unspoken question, "They didn't make it."
"We need to hurry," Perchpaw decided. "My mother will need me for this."
Snowpaw had to sprint to keep up with Perchpaw. He was fully grown and his pudgy appearance made Snowpaw underestimate how fast he could run. By the time they saw the patrol on the outskirts of the forest, Snowpaw was too winded to feel relief in seeing Greenclaw alive and well. She stopped to catch her breath as Perchpaw ran off ahead.
"Perchpaw told us what happened," Greenclaw mewed as he approached. He left the patrol behind. In the distance, Perchpaw supported Rayflight as she wailed her emotions in the air pressing firmly against him. The other two warriors in the patrol comforted them on both sides.
"Seednose died as Birdpelt did," Snowpaw spat the words out with fear as Greenclaw visibly flinched. "It might be contagious. I thought you might ha-"
"Shuush.." Greenclaw rubbed his cheek against her's. "It's not contagious or we both would have been sick a long time ago. It's scary when cats die from sickness but it rarely happens. Birdpelt and Seednose were needed in StarClan. Though their time was short, they touched many hearts and we miss Birdpelt and even Seednose already."
Feeling like a kit again, she pressed her pelt against his as he comforted her. In the distance, Rayflight's wails began to soften as Perchpaw and the rest of the patrol padded back to camp.
"Your muzzle is hot," Greenclaw noted, drawing away from Snowpaw suddenly. "Your ears and eyes are swollen also."
"I ran into a nettle bush," Snowpaw admitted shyly as her stings resurfaced.
"That's what you get for running off without permission," an angry scrawl retorted. Greenclaw and Snowpaw whipped in the direction the voice came from. To Snowpaw's disappointment, Willowdrift padded forward. "Come, we have work to do."
Greenclaw stomped up to Willowdrift, his usual slim black tail lashed out thick and bushy as he spat, "Snowpaw needs to see Featherwhisker. She's covered in nettle stings!"
"Lesson's are best learned that way," Willowdrift responded harshly. His yellow eyes stared into Greenlaw's as he continued, "Running into a forest untrained, unguided, and without permission could have led to much worse than nettle stings. Perchpaw won't always be there to find her when she's tangled in nettles."
Hot shame flushed over Snowpaw. She crouched low to the ground as she realized Willowdrift had followed her since she left the hallow. He could have stopped her from running into the nettle bush!
Willowdrift's eyes narrowed as his anger rose, "Be thankful I pride myself in how my apprentices succeed. Even if she murdered Birdpelt unintentionally, I won't let her embarrass me-"
"She did not kill Birdpelt!" Greenclaw hissed exasperatedly as though he had said it a million times. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he spat, "You know the sickness had nothing to do with the kits!"
Willowdrift appeared to remain calm under Greenclaw's threats, even though his thrashing white tail gave way to his anger. He eyed Snowpaw crouched behind Greenclaw. Slowly Willowdrift mewed, "It's just interesting how Seednose died the same way. Is it a coincidence that she was pregnant also? Let's hope that's the case." He padded past Greenclaw to Snowpaw and put a paw under her chin, raising her head. He looked at her for a minute before meowing coldly, "You're going to need to see Featherwhisker before your eyes swell shut. You'll be useless today but tomorrow you'll be fit enough to start training for the Clan."
Greenclaw was about to strike at Willowdrift but instead shook his head and straightened up. His worry for Snowpaw was stronger than his hatred for Willowdrift because he was right, Snowpaw's face was starting to swell.
Feeling smaller than a mouse, Snowpaw took Greenclaw's tail as he led her through the forest back to camp where the Clan mourned the lost of Seednose and her unborn litter.
The introductory chapters are over. Now to begin the plot...