Hi everyone. Sorry for not updating for a bit. I've been very bad sick for the better half of 2022, and I'm still recovering from surgery I had to get done. Not to mention other health issues. It really affected me, and left me not able to write at all for months on end. I got a bit of a writing spark, so I decided to take it while it's still here.
That said, this chapter might not be the best, but I did try. Hopefully the rest will be better from here on out. Writer's Block and being sick really did a number on me, that's for sure.
But I'm alive, and I'm okay as I can be. That said, I hope you guys are doing well, and please stay safe!
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 3
"You've had the whole Clan worried sick about you!" Ivyflower scolded Cloudkit once she and her sister made themselves known to her.
Cloudkit flattened her ears against her head, dark blue gaze finding the grass around her more interesting than her mother at the moment. Her pelt burned with shame for making her mother and the rest of HazelClan scared. She had every right to be upset with her.
"I'm sorry. I know you told Tawnykit and I to stay together but—"
She stopped herself before she could say anything else. What could she tell her mother? That she had wanted to listen in on a private matter that didn't concern her? She wouldn't be too happy with her if she found out. Would she be upset if she knew she'd been with the Medicine Cat?
"But what?" her mother pressed. "Where did you disappear to?"
Cloudkit clamped her jaws shut. Tawnykit spoke for her.
"She was with Viperstalk."
Ivyflower's eyes widened. "Are you hurt?" she asked just as her sister had done, concern flashing in her dark amber eyes. "Did you get sick?"
"No," Cloudkit said before she could say anything else. "I'm fine. I was helping Viperstalk with her herbs."
The white tabby she-cat blew out a sigh of relief, her body relaxing, eyes softening. "I'm glad to hear you're alright Cloudkit. Next time you decide to go somewhere without your sister, let me know first, okay?"
"I will, Mama. I promise."
Ivyflower smiled, brushing her tail along her back. "That's good. Now, run along and play you two. And this time, stay together!"
"We will!" Tawnykit vowed. "I'll make sure we do this time. Come on, Cloudkit, let's get a story from Doveflight!"
Cloudkit rose to her paws, racing after her sister for the third time after biding farewell to their mother. Once they drew away from her, her sibling slowed down, sun-gold eyes turning to her face.
"I can't believe you willingly spent time with Viperstalk," she hissed in a low voice. "Doesn't she give you the creeps?"
"She's… a little bit odd, but I don't think she's creepy. She might just not know how to interact with us since she's stuck in her den all the time."
"I don't know Cloudkit, something about her rubs me the wrong way."
She nudged Tawnykit playfully in her side. "I wouldn't worry about it. Weren't you the one who said you wanted a story from Doveflight? We won't get one at this rate before it's bedtime. Let's go!"
"You're right!" Tawnykit gasped. "We'd better hurry!"
The sisters bolted toward the Elder's Den, determined to hear at least one story before Ivyflower called them back to the Nursery. They stumbled into the hollowed-out tree that homed the three elders in HazelClan, nearly crashing into one of them.
"Watch where you're going, youngsters!"
Cloudkit looked up to see Tinywhisper staring her and Tawnykit down with a small glare. He was a tiny tomcat with dark brown tabby fur, his black paws blended in with the shadows of the den, but his blue eyes shone against it like the sky. He was the only tom in the den.
To the right of him, was Quietbreeze. She was a dark russet she-cat with dull green eyes. The kittens tried not to flinch every time they saw the long-jagged scar across her throat. From one of the stories, they had been told, she had gotten the injury in her youth, battling against a NightClan warrior that resulted in her no longer being able to speak. That hadn't stopped her, and she served her Clan for many moons before she retired. The oldest elder lifted a dark red paw, waving at the pair with a smile.
Lastly, in her own nest to the left, was the she-cat they wanted to see. Doveflight's yellow tabby fur easily stuck out against the shadows, and her yellow eyes were as bright as the sun. Leaving Tinywhisper grumbled about how kits these days had no respect for their elders, the siblings rushed over to the older feline.
"Doveflight! Doveflight! Doveflight!"
The tabby laughed as she rose to her paws as Cloudkit and Tawnykit stopped in front of her. Her yellow eyes looked down into dark blue and sun-gold.
"What can I do for you, kits?"
"We want to hear a story!"
"Yeah!"
"Of course, you do," Tinywhisper grumbled. Quietbreeze tapped him with her tail, earning an eye roll from the tom. "Just keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep around here."
"Don't mind him. He's always a grumpy cat. I swear, he's got a burr stuck up his tail."
The brown tabby glared at the yellow one when Doveflight spoke, earning a chuckle from the kittens. Cloudkit and Tawnykit gathered around her as the elder made herself comfortable, tucking her paws under her. Her golden gaze blinked warmly at them.
"What would you both like to hear?"
The siblings shared a look with each other, realizing that they hadn't decided what they wanted to be told by the lovely elder. Cloudkit thought over what she would like to be told, but before she could do anything, her sister beat her to it.
"Can we hear the one about Sedgetail?"
"Wasn't he the Medicine Cat before Viperstalk?" Cloudkit asked. Why did her sister want to learn about that tale again? She never pictured Tawnykit being so interested in that topic.
Doveflight nodded. "If that's what you wish to hear. Is that alright with you, Cloudkit?"
"Yes, that's fine with me."
"I heard Viperstalk's so grumpy and distant is because of what her mentor did! Is that true?"
"Kits, always one to gossip," Tinywhisper hissed. Quietbreeze nudged him again, glaring at the tom.
'That's no way to talk about your Medicine Cat,' the other molly scolded. Her tail thumped against the ground, allowing the kits to understand what she was telling them.
Tawnykit ducked her head. "Sorry, Quietbreeze."
Doveflight's whiskers twitched as she tried to hide her amusement. "It's alright, Tawnykit. Now then, let's begin the story, shall we?"
The sisters laid down beside the elder, eyes staring up at her as they waited. The older molly drew her tail around the kits, pulling them closer to her. Her yellow gaze, warm and comforting as it had always been.
"As you both know, Sedgetail was the Medicine Cat long before Viperstalk was born. He served the Clan well for many moons. One of the bests HazelClan had ever had."
The kits listened intently to what Doveflight had to tell them. Cloudkit kept her dark blue eyes fixed on the yellow tabby in front of her. She didn't move a muscle, much less breath. The elder had a way of telling stories, which was why she was the favorite feline to go to for one. It made a cat feel they were right there themselves.
"Until one day, he had turned to a path of darkness rather than light," Doveflight went on. "He was murdering his Clanmates."
"And he had been for moons before anycat fond out!" Tawnykit chimed in.
"That's right."
The white-furred she-kit shivered. How could he have done that? Medicine Cats were supposed to heal their Clan, not kill them!
"No cat thought he'd be the killer. He did it right under every cat's noses."
"What was the reason?"
"No one knows."
Out of the corner of her eye, Cloudkit saw Viperstalk appear from her den. The rest of the story fell in deaf ears, as she climbed to her paws. She left the Elders' Den with her sister calling after her confused by her leaving without a word. She didn't response back, only made her way over to the older she-cat.
"Viperstalk!"
The black-furred Medicine Cat stopped in her tracks. Her emerald gaze drifting down to the white fluffball at her paws. She twitched an ear, waiting for her to say what she wanted. Cloudkit dug her claws into the dirt, trying to steel her nerves. Her dark blue eyes lifted to stare into green.
"I want to be a Medicine Cat."