Hey guys. Sorry again for posting late. I've been sick and having trouble writing lately. Oh, well... ON TO REVIEW ANSWERING!
Jayfeather luva: thank you! And here it is! Sorry for the wait, though. As to Cedarheart, you may possibly be right on the cover-up mate part, but she probably wouldn't do it willingly if she knew... I think...
Raeda2001: Thanks! :) And...what do you think? *mischevious laugh* Also, yeah, she's got a pretty sad start at life, but at least she grew up with parents that loved her.
WhenCowsFly: Yeah, you're probably right. As to the apprentice, the answer is yes. It was Nightpaw. :P
Guest(chap 31): You are correct, at least for the Pinestar part of the chapters. :)
Guest(chap 16): LOLZ! Yeah, I remember that I couldn't think of a way to describe it at the time, and now know what I would type. But I'm just too laxy to go back and fix it. :P Thank you! And yes, Leopardheart's death was partly out of defense, and then Pinestar got a little carried away and accidentally struck too hard. WHOOPS!
Guest(chap 29):Yup! Greencough is still up and kicking! The epidemic has attacked! And thank you so much! That's so nice of you to say! XD
Chapter 31: Greyleaf
Things were desperate. Sparrowpaw, Featherheart, Nightpaw, Goldenpaw, Greyleaf, and Goldenfur were all that remained. Three sunrises after Sunstar, Featherstorm, and the other apprentices had become sick, Lilytail,—who had lost her kits from malnourishment—Fernfoot, Mouseflight, and Bramblepelt had left to scout for herbs. They were only supposed to be gone for a sunrise, but they were yet to return. And now, it had been almost two quarter-moons.
Greyleaf faintly registered that a gathering had just taken place the night before, and she remembered the gathering she had been to on the sixth day after Sparrowclaw had first fallen ill. It had been a hurried affair, with Sunstar ordering all of them to keep quiet about the sickness. He had wanted to see if things would get better before he asked the other clans for help.
And look where that got us, Greyleaf thought irritably as she trudged through the heavy snowfall with Goldenfur and the kits in tow. The two apprentices had forgotten their grievance, which was still unknown to their mother, against the tom—thankfully.
The faint scent of mouse danced along the wind, pirouetting around the grey warrior's nose in a tantalizing display of deliciousness. She got down in a crouch, pupils dilating widely, and tentatively stalked towards the source of the aroma, determined to catch the succulent creature.
She turned around a gigantic pile of snow and spotted her prey. The little gray mouse was nibbling on an unearthed acorn with its bare pink tail rested around its toes, shivering in the cold.
Greyleaf licked her chops in anticipation and gingerly slinked forward. With its back to her, the prey had no idea what was coming. She readied herself for the pounce, building up power in her haunches.
A twig snapped.
The mouse let out a frightened squeak and sprinted towards its hole. The she-cat sped off after it with a growl. There was no way in all of Starclan that Greyleaf was going to let it escape. She quickly leaped forward and cut the mouse off from its hole. It skidded to a stop in front of her, its black eyes wide, and she hissed menacingly, baring her long canine teeth. While the mouse was shocked, she pounced on it and delivered a killing bite.
The warrior may have caught the prey, but now she was tired, cold, and angry.
"Who stepped on that twig!" She yowled, teeth gritted with her pupils pupils in slits within her fired green eyes. She seethed with barely bottled fury.
Bushes rustled, and four Shadowclan cats emerged from the undergrowth, with a tall and imposing Pinestar in the lead.
Greyleaf sighed with relief, and a wave of happiness washed over her at the sight of her mate. The fact that he had caused her such exertion didn't even register in her mind, and the anger within her faded away.
"Oh, great Starclan!" She mewed, running forward to lick his face, but she stopped herself halfway there. There were three other cats present, after all. She couldn't just go and expose their secret all of a sudden. "Are—are you here to help us?" Her pupils widened hopefully.
The dark brown tom nodded. "When your clan was absent at the gathering, we became concerned for the welfare of Thunderclan. You are very lucky that we have chosen to aid you."
He spoke like a true leader, concise and to the point without any emotion showing. Greyleaf almost didn't recognize him like this—almost.
A calico she-cat stepped forward and placed some leafy plants at the grey she-cat's paws. "We brought some catmint for you," she said, and her green eyes were warm and sincere.
"Thank you," Greyleaf breathed, taken aback by their kindness, "Thank you so much!"
The black-eared she-cat smiled. "Your welcome. It's the least we could do."
"Yeah," a black tom with leafy green eyes anounced, smiling slyly, "Cedarheart may have brought the catmint, but it was my idea to bring the chickweed!"
The ginger-socked she-cat purred and bumped the other Shadowclan warrior playfully. "Oh, be quiet, Darkfur. You're not Starclan, ya know."
He stuck his tongue out at her. "But I am the best warrior in Shadowclan." He swiftly pounced on her, and they went barreling off to the side.
Pinestar rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, and Greyleaf giggled. It had been a long time since she had seen such lightheartedness. It was nice, and the way they played made her assume that the two must be siblings.
An amber-eyed, dark brown tabby tom dropped two pairs of different herbs at her paws, cutting into her previous line of thought. "Chickweed and coltsfoot," he said, "To help." He nodded respectfully and stepped back.
Pinestar came forward and pulled a bundle of blue berries off of his back. "They're juniper berries," he quickly informed, "I've heard that they help with breathing."
Greyleaf couldn't help notice that he tried his best to avoid eye contact and that his claw was twitching. When she did catch his eye, she could see the intense yearning to greet her how he usually would and the struggle he was fighting to keep up his act. She dutifully avoided his eye as well to spare him the strain.
The sounds of Cedarheart and Darkfur's tussle died down, and the white, black, and orange warrior padded up and bowed her head to Greyleaf. "I'm sorry we can't help more," she mewed, "But I hope that these will help."
"They will. Thank you," the Thunderclan she-cat replied.
The bushes behind them trembled with a crackling sound, and Goldenfur, Nightpaw, and Goldenpaw appeared.
"What's going on?" The blue-eyed tom asked, eyeing the warriors suspiciously but not making a threatening move toward them.
"They've come to help. Look," Greyleaf answered, guestering to the piles of plants, "herbs to heal our clan."
"Really!" the golden tom exclaimed, lighting up, "Great Starclan! That's amazing!"
She smiled, her tail lifting happily. "I know, right!?"
Rather than react with glee, Nightpaw just gave the group of Shadowclan cats a measured look. He boldly walked forward with his head held high, his tail straight, and his ears up to retrieve the pile of yellow coltsfoot. He turned to Greyleaf and inquired, "Should I take this back to camp, mom?"
Out of the corner of her eye, the light grey tabby she-cat saw her mate's amber eyes widen slightly, and she quickly replied, "Yes, and take your sister with you. Goldenfur and I will be right behind you two."
The gray-brown tom nodded, and Goldenpaw padded forward to scoop up the chickweed. They were off towards camp in no time, and the sounds of their footfalls faded quickly.
Greyleaf turned back to the group. "Thank you, again. May Starclan light your path."
"Likewise," Pinestar replied, and he called the others to him with a flick of his tail.
The band of cats left as swiftly as they had arrived, and that left only Greyleaf and Goldenfur in the small clearing.
The she-cat hurriedly grabbed the juniper berries and reclaimed her mouse as well as motioned for her friend to fetch the catmint. The tom did as he was told, and they were soon headed back to camp along the path the two apprentices had followed.
The she-cat breathed in the wisps already-fading scent of Pinestar that still clung to the berries and sighed. She wished that they could have had some time alone to talk, but the gift they had been given was not to be left unappreciated. He had done the best he could to help them, and Greyleaf could understand that. If she let her dangerously bottled negative emotions break loose, she would completely overlook how amazing it was that they now had herbs to help the clan.
I can save my family! She thought suddenly, and she sped up her pace, remembering how Featherheart had said that Featherstorm, Sunstar, and the apprentices had been hit with a much stronger wave of greencough than the others.
The thorn tunnel came into focus up ahead, and Greyleaf spurred herself into a full-on sprint. Bursting into the camp, she opened her mouth to yowl out the good news.
A wave of malignant odor hit her, stopping her in her tracks.
The stench of death.
She fixed her gaze to the middle of the hollow, where four bodies lay.
"No," Greyleaf shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "No, no, no, no." The tears ran freely now, released from the eye's hold. "No, no NO!" She wailed, voice cracking pitifully, running forward to collapse in front of them.
Her will to fight on left her like an opened dam, rushing away down the river of sorrow. The elation she had felt before ceased to exist, and all of her brewing emotions of negativity broke free of their bonds and waged war on her, abrogating and abolishing any attempts to fight back and think of better things. Her vision narrowed, collapsing upon itself until it was like looking down a long black tunnel with only one focus—misery.
She lost all grip on reality and slipped away into a cold, dark place.
BAM! Yet another horrible occurrence... This is becoming quite the norm for poor Greyleaf...
Question Of The Day: What do you think Greyleaf will do now? How do you think she is going to act from now on?
Thank you for reading! Please review! I love reading your reviews!