Chapter Three: Last Life
Rainpool looked up in between the the branches of the desert bush making the warriors dem. Sunlight streamed in, lighting up the inside. Rainpool yawned and steped out. Hailpaw padded up to him.
"Guess what! Rainfur gave birth to Flametail's kits! Their so cute." He mewed.
"Oh! How many?" Rainpool asked. For the first time, Hailpaw was saying something interesting.
"Three. Two toms and a she-cat. At least, that's what Flametail said."
"I thought you had seen them."
"I did, I just didn't know if they were toms or she-cats."
"Oh. Of course."
"And by the way, Darkstar wants you in her den." Hailpaw mewed.
"Okay." Rainpool mewed, glad of the chance to leave the annoying apprentice.
He padded over to the large cactus with a hole in the bottem.
"Um... Darkstar?" He mewed, having not forgotten the night before, and how her eyes had glinted with something that frightened him.
"Rainpool?" Came a vioce from inside. It was a bit weaker sounding then Darkstar.
"Yes." Mewed Rainpool.
"Come in" Darkstar croaked.
Rainpool pushed the brush away from the entrance so he could get through the hole and into the giant cactus. He squeezed his body through the tiny hole. He felt the spine prick his coat, sending a tingling sensation down his body.
It was dark, hot and suprisingly humid inside the den. It was lined with dry grasses so that the moister of the water holding plant wouldn't seep through as much. At the center, a large nest of dried grass, clay and sand. It was Darkstar's.
"Rainpool! Croaked a shape in the nest. It was Darkstar.
"Yes?" Rainpool mewed. The weak leader frightoned Rainpool. He had never seen her like this.
"I have just lost my eighth life. I am on my last. You will be leader soon. Inform the clan, but tell them I have sevon, instead of one life left. Tell Spottedpelt I need more herbs, too." Darkstar groaned. "I have a disease of a kind I dont know. It woke me in the middle of the night. I couldn't breath, and I lost my seventh life. Spotted pelt came and gave me some herbs, and I fell back aslseep. Then, this morning, I woke up and couldn't breath again. I'd tell you the whole story, but I need rest."
Rainpool bowed his head, and left the sickly leader to herself.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here, in the shadow of the Cactus Rock!" Rainpool announced and he leaped onto the Cactus Rock, a large boulder in the middle of the clearing, next to the leader's den.
One by one, the cats of Desertclan snasembled themselves.
"Is Darkstar dead?" Mewed Brownpaw, a look of terror in his eyes.
"No, Darkstar isn't dead!" Rainpool anounced. "But she has lost two lives to an unknown sickness. She now has seven lives left. That is all."
Rainpool leaped down. Now he needed to find Spottedpelt, the medicine cat. He saw her heading towards her den. He ran to catch up with her.
"Spottedpelt!" Rainpool mewed. Spottedpelt let him catch up.
"What is it?" She asked. Her voice was soft and genllt like a feather.
"Dark... Star... Need's... Herb-" Rainpool only maneged that much before he was engulfed in a tide of blackness.