Snakeheart slowly opened his eyes. Fog clouded his sight for a moment. After his vision cleared he realized he found himself surrounded by the scent of herbs and... ThunderClan? He was in the ThunderClan Medicine Cat den!
Snakeheart panicked, his eyes wild with fear. Sitting up, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and fell back down.
"Get down, young warrior!" commanded a low, irritated tom's voice. Snakeheart looked up and there stood the ThunderClan medicine cat; Jayfeather- a gray tabby tom with icy blue eyes that were fogged, showing his blindness. "You'll kill yourself." Jayfeather padded out of the den. "Now you stay right there," he called back.
Snakeheart looked around. The den smelled of strong herbs and sickness. There was no other cat here but him, now that Jayfeather had gone. Should I try to run...? he thought to himself. Maybe I could make it outta camp without anyone seeing me. He tried to sit up, but it was no use. He fell back down within a moment of stand up.
There were hushed voices from outside the den.
"What should we do with him?" asked a voice- Snakeheart recognized Jayfeather's.
"Do we know who he is?" asked another. Snakeheart didn't know many other cats from other Clans. At Gatherings he preferred to stay by himself and out of the chaos of different smells of the other Clans.
"I've seen him at Gatherings- not often, though," said an older she-cat's voice. "He's always sitting by himself. What Clan is he?"
"Smells like WindClan," said Jayfeather. "We found him right inside the WindClan border by the Lake, anyways. Why would you even question it?"
"Because he might be from RiverClan. He might've been fishing by the Lake," pointed out the she-cat's voice.
"We can just ask him," said a tom's voice that Snakeheart knew well; Bramblestar.
There was a pause. Then three cats entered the den- the three who'd been talking, no doubt. The first was Bramblestar; a very muscular tabby tom with dark amber eyes. Then Jayfeather entered behind him. Following them was a pale ginger she-cat who had green eyes whom Snakeheart had never met before.
Bramblestar padded up to Snakeheart, who was frightened and confused at the whole situation. "What is your name, young warrior?" Bramblestar asked Snakeheart curiously.
"Sn-Snakeheart, sir," Snakeheart said, managing to stand up. He was still shaky and he looked like an apprentice compared to the great size of the mighty leader. He bowed his head to show his respect.
"Welcome to ThunderClan, Snakeheart," Bramblestar greeted him. He turned back to Jayfeather and gestured to him, saying "this is our medicine cat; Jayfeather" and then gestured to the she-cat "and this Sandstorm. I am Bramblestar."
Snakeheart did nothing but nod his head and breathe heavily. Bramblestar could see his legs quivering- but from fear or from just being weak?
There was a moment's silence. "It's an honor to meet you, Bramblestar," Snakeheart said nervously. "And Jayfeather and Sandstorm, as well," he added quickly.
"As am I to meet you, Snakeheart," Bramblestar said, dipping his head to Snakeheart. "Do you think you are strong enough to travel home, or do you need some time to recover?"
This was music to Snakeheart's ears. All he wanted to was go home. "I'm fine to leave now," Snakeheart said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I will send a couple Warriors to escort you home," Bramblestar said, dipping his head in farewell and leaving then den.
Snakeheart felt as if he was in a dream. He followed Bramblestar from the den. Around him, the curious gazes of the ThunderClan cats burned into this pelt. He felt himself shrinking down even smaller than he seemed before. His head down, he followed Bramblestar to the center of the camp. There he talked to a few Warriors. Snakeheart hadn't paid attention to what they were saying.
Bramblestar turned to Snakeheart, who was standing behind him. "Snakeheart, these two will take you to the WindClan border." He gestured to a long-hair, fluffy white tom cat who had icy blue eyes. The cat standing behind him was a white she-cat with ginger patches. She had a large, frightening scar over her right eye and her right ear was torn. "This is Cloudtail and Brightheart," Bramblestar said, gesturing to first the tom, then the she-cat.
Cloudtail and Brightheart dipped their heads to Snakeheart. Their expressions were kind and gentle. They seemed to only want to help him.
"It's very nice to meet you, Snakeheart," said Brightheart.
Snakeheart just dipped his head shyly and they were off. Snakeheart followed Brightheart and Cloudtail out of camp, happy to be heading home.
Snakeheart didn't like the feeling of the menacing trees that surrounded him. They were so tall! So overpowering, in a way.
"So Snakeheart, why haven't I seen you at any Gatherings?" asked Cloudstar curiously.
"Oh, um, I-"Snakeheart stuttered. He could've clawed himself for that. Think brave, Snakeheart. You're a WindClan warrior! "I prefer to keep to myself," he answered.
"That's understandable," Cloudtail said, still padding on quite slowly so Snakeheart could keep up. "So who are your parents?"
"I don't have any," Snakeheart said.
Cloudtail glanced at Brightheart, then back at Snakeheart. He let Snakeheart catch up so they were standing next to each other. "You don't?"
"No, I came to the Clan when I was a moon old," Snakeheart explain. "It was much like the situation that just happened- exactly, actually."
"That's your second snake bite?" Brightheart asked Snakeheart.
"Yes."
For after what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the border.
Snakeheart crossed the border and turned back. "Thank you," he said to Cloudtail and Brightheart.
"It was our pleasure," Brightheart said kindly.
"Good luck," Cloudtail said as he and Brightheart started their way back to their own camp. "You should make a habit of avoiding snakes. It's good for your health."
Snakeheart, laughing from Cloudtail's piece of obvious advice, turned to go home.
Home... I will always be safe at home.