Chapter Eighteen
DISCLAIMER
If I owned warriors, Feathertail would've survived the fall, the three would belong to Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, and Spottedleaf and Firestar would never have loved each other
Thanks to Banana Llama, XWarriorFanX and Jayfeather lover for reviewing.
Please all you reviewers out there keep reviewing!
I'll make a new poem.
Readers please, review!
Everybody, please, don't flame.
View is not just what you do. You View the fic, and then Review the fic.
I really hope I get some reviews!
Everyone is really annoying me, unless they review.
Well that's the end, please remember to review!
Clearmist screwed her eyes up as she tried to gently exercise her leg. The pain was too much to bear, so she gave up and rested it gently. Lazily she tore some of her bedding off and rolled it into a ball. She threw it at the back of Jayfeather who was busily working. When it hit the blind tabby, the ball of moss disintegrated into several scraps. He turned to face her.
"What?" The single word was filled with irritation and anger.
"I'm bored!" She complained.
"You're just as bad as Cinderheart was when she broke her leg," he growled – or purred. Clearmist couldn't tell. "She was always fidgeting and trying to play." His eyes softened as he revisited the memory. Clearmist was frightened slightly – the blind medicine cat was usually pricklier then a hedgehog who fell into a bramble bush. But now his eyes were clouded with an emotion Clearmist did not recognise as he spoke of the gray she-cat. Could Jayfeather be in love with her? Clearmist wondered idly. No, he's just tired because I've been keeping him up all night.
"I'm still bored!" She said. Jayfeather let out an exasperated sigh.
"Flamepaw!" He called to the apprentice who was quietly gathering moss. He had just come back from pressing mouse-bile against the elder's ticks and was now cleaning out their bedding.
"Yes?" He asked, dipping his head politely to Jayfeather even though Jayfeather couldn't see it.
"You can stop that now," the medicine cat mewed, flicking his tail at the direction of the moss.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Clearmist is bored and keeps bothering me. Just keep her busy but don't let her strain her leg!" Jayfeather mewed. Flamepaw nodded.
They had barely started their game when Lighteningclaw entered.
"Flamepaw! I thought I told you to clean the elder's den? Or did somebody else become your mentor and tell you otherwise?"
"Jayfeather—"
"No! I don't want excuses. Keep cleaning the elders den."
"Don't be so hard on him, Lighteningclaw. I remember a certain apprentice who once pressed fresh moss against Longtail and Mousefur and changed their bedding with mouse-bile." It was the first time Clearmist had spoken and Lighteningclaw seemed surprised. She whispered loudly to Flamepaw, "Mousefur gave him a lot more then a cuff around his ear! He couldn't walk for a moon!"
"At least I was doing my job!" He snapped suddenly.
"Come on, Lighteningclaw, lighten up a little bit. When we were apprentices, you would always complain about it." She half said the next bit to Flamepaw, "Once, we snuck out of camp and went hunting. When we got caught, Lighteningpaw was about to give us away, but then Silverpaw said that we were hunting for the elders." Clearmist let out a mrrow of amusement.
"It wasn't my idea to go out. It was yours," Lighteningclaw hissed. He paused then added less harshly, "You were always a mouse-brain." Clearmist searched his eyes for its normal humour, but all she found was cold anger.
"Flamepaw," she muttered under her breath to the stunned apprentice, "Finish cleaning the elders bedding." When Flamepaw hurried to the moss, she hissed, "Get moss from the forest!" All the while, Lighteningclaw's icy glare was fixed disapprovingly on his apprentice until he pelted out, fixing frightening eyes on the quarrelling brother and sister.
"Flamepaw is my apprentice, not yours!" Lighteningclaw growled.
"Well he's doing what you want, isn't he?" Clearmist replied sourly. She curled her tail over her nose. "You can go now." She mewed, not bothering to look up.
"No, I'm not going to leave now. You think that just because you've torn a leg muscle that you can be excused from warrior duties? You think you have a right to excuse my apprentice from his duties? You've gone more then a couple of pawsteps over the border!"
At this comment, Clearmist lifted her head. "Go away, Lighteningclaw. You can come back when you realise who you are." She wrapped her tail tightly over her nose and shuffled so that her back was to him, a clear indication that he should leave.
"Come back when I know who I am? Who does she think she is?" Clearmist heard him mutter angrily as he left. It was only moments before she fell asleep.
"Clearmist, I'm sorry." She blinked open her eyes to see her brother, his blue eyes sorrowful and misty. Wait… Lighteningclaw has amber eyes, not blue! Suddenly, Lighteningclaw's powerful body was replaced by a fluffy light-gray kit. The tip of its tail and paws were white, and black fur encircled one of its eyes. When it looked up at Clearmist, she saw its eyes were a brilliant blue. Clearmist was looking at herself as a kit!
"Clearkit! Come back, you'll catch a chill." Squirrelflight's voice came from the nursery. Clearkit stood up, her little tail sticking up as she trotted back to the nursery. Clearmist watched, her heart warming at the scene; her brother and sister were just a pawstep ahead of her, and Squirrelflight's green eyes were fixed adoringly on her kits.
"Get out o' my way!" A badger suddenly screeched, leaping into the scene and used a massive forepaw to swipe Clearkit away. The kit tumbled to the floor and lay unmoving.
"No!" Clearmist yowled. Clearkit was dead. But then, the fluffy gray kit gave a spasmodic jerk and jumped up.
"Kill me now!" It shrieked, its features becoming masculine. "ThunderClan… Rule… Forest… Regret forgetting the great... Revenge!"
"Clearmist! Clearmist!" The gray warrior'seyes blurred slightly. She couldn't see, it was as though she were blind.
"Clearmist!" A different voice came but unfamiliar and unclear. She blinked, trying to see. She regretted it, for when she opened her eyes ice-blue eyes and amber pierced through her, sending alarming jolts down her spine. Two tabby pelts shimmered in the moonlight, and she recognised Tigerstar and Hawkfrost.
"Clearmist!" They hissed violently.
"What?" She growled back irritably. But they faded away too, leaving Clearmist utterly alone.
"You're not alone," a voice mewed and a fire-coloured pelt flashed before her eyes.
"Lighteningclaw!" She gasped. But the orange warrior was gone – however, not before she saw cold dislike in his eyes.
"Clearmist!" The first voice came again.
"Br.. Brambleclaw?" She called nervously. She thought she saw his amber eyes, gentle and calm, but it was gone before she could be sure.
"The trouble is closer then you think, Clearmist! Beware!" Brambleclaw's whispered warning came out blurred at the end as she felt somebody shaking her awake roughly.
"Take your medicine," Jayfeather growled. Clearmist, still shaking, obediently bent down and ate the poultice. The medicine cat must have sensed her fear for he added more gently, "You're getting better. You can go outside and get some fresh-kill if you don't walk too much and you don't put too much pressure on your injured leg."
"Ok, Jayfeather." She was just sitting up slowly when Lighteningclaw entered with a vole in his jaws.
"I'm sorry, Clearmist." He mewed. "I was a mouse-brain before. I'm just really nervous – I mean, Flamepaw is my first apprentice. I want to be a good mentor. I'm not really sure what happened, but I know I was wrong."
"It's ok, Lighteningclaw. " She purred. "Is that vole for me? It better be – I'm so hungry I could eat you!"
"Yes, of course. I know vole is your favourite." The two littermates stared at each other. It was the first time in a while that their eyes were not blazing with anger. Instead it was calm and happy. In the midst of her happiness, Clearmist forgot about her dream.
The trouble is closer then you think…
Remember the poem.
:D