Chapter Four
Basilkit stood awkwardly beside her brother at the entrance to the medicing den. Pantherkit didn't seem bothered by what was happening inside; he was swatting at a cicada that was traversing the thick tree branch. Inside the den, their mother, Stingclaw, was talking to the GladeClan medicine cat.
"Can you watch the kits for me, Goldenfur?" she was asking. "I'd like to go out on a hunting patrol."
Basilkit could just see the tom's shimmering golden fur through the woven boughs of the den. "You know I have no problem watching your kits, Stingclaw," he was answering. "But is there some reason Laurelflower can't watch them?"
"That queen can barely watch her own kits," Stingclaw replied, and Basilkit knew she was rolling her eyes. "I had to stop Bluebellkit from falling off a branch the other day. And Weedkit keeps trying to climb to the ground! Honestly, I don't know how they haven't wandered off yet."
Basilkit shuffled her paws. It always made her uncomfortable when her mother talked badly of the other queen, who had always been kind to her, if a little bit forgetful.
After a brief pause, the medicing cat replied. "Fair enough. Alright Stingclaw, I'll keep an eye on them. Have fun."
Stingclaw purred and nudged Goldenfur's cheek with her nose. "Thanks. You're the best!" The white and ginger queen turned to her kits, her eyes glowing, and nuzzled Basilkit's cheek.
"I'll be back soon, sweets," she purred. "And I'll bring you back something special to eat!"
Pantherkit bumped heads with Stingclaw. "Can I come?" he meowed hopefully.
"Not this time," Stingclaw meowed, "but very soon you'll both be apprentices, and we'll all hunt together." After that, Stingclaw slipped between her kits, and continued on her way to the bottom of the great trees that made up the GladeClan camp.
"Be safe!" Basilkit called after her.
Goldenfur beckoned the two kits into his den. Even though Basilkit had spent a good amount of time here over the moons, it still amazed her. The den was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside. It was nestled between two forked tree branches, each branch a tail length thick. The space in between was crafted from woven branches, many layers and strong enough to support many cats. Half the den was covered with a loose canopy of branches and vines, and the other half was left open to allow sick cats to bask in the sun. Herbs and cobwebs hang from the sealing and on the wall, fastened to the walls using grass and vines. The whole den had a unique nice smell, like herbs and honey and dust.
"So, Pantherkit," Goldenfur asked, bending down to be at the kit's level.
"So, Goldenfur," the black kit meowed emphatically.
"We've got a cicada problem in here," the medicine cat meowed. "I'm afraid they're going to eat my herbs. Do you think you can catch them all?"
Pantherkit's pelt sparkled and his eyes lit up. "I'll eat all of 'em!" he mock growled, crouching and flicking his gaze, searching for the pesky cicadas.
"I ddn't say you had to eat them, but..." Goldenfur meowed, but the small spotted tom was already stalking a particularly noise insect. The golden tom sighed and turned to Basilkit. "Well, at least he's learning. Do you want to help your brother, Basilkit? I'm going to be cleaning the cobwebs, if you'd like to help me."
Basilkit nodded. She always prefferred helping Goldenfur with his duties over playing prey games.
Goldenfur led her to the back corner of the medicine den. Basilkit's pelt prickled uneasily as she saw the spiderwebs hanging on the ceiling. They were thick and white, and she could see several small, fat spiders climbing through the webs. There were several flies and moths, shrivelled and lifeless, stuck to the surface.
"You have to clean that?" Basilkit asked increduously.
Goldenfur purred in amusement. "Well I certainly can't use them when they're covered in bugs! And when an injury is life threatening, I don't have time to clean them." Goldenfur propped himself against the wall, standing on his hind legs, and hooked a careful claw on one of the cobwebs. He pulled it from the rest of the webbing and carried it down to Basilkit.
"Start taking the bugs off this one while I get another," the tom meowed. Basilkit set to her task, gingerly plucking at the dried husks of the moths.
Goldenfur returned to the floor, with another large segment of web. "You're doing a good job," he meowed. "I was afraid of spiders when I was an apprentice. I almost had to take the path of a warrior because of it!" the golden tom purred fondly.
"Are the cicadas really eating the herbs?" Basilkit asked suddenly.
"What?" Goldenfur asked with a look of confusion. His face relaxed as he remembered what he had told Pantherkit.
"Oh, right. No, cicadas eat sap, not plants."
Basilkit peeked over her shoulder to see if her brother had heard, but he was completely occupied with a cicada buzzing on the opposite wall. "He thinks he's saving the clan," she mreowed with a note of amusement.
"He has a lion's heart," Goldenfur agreed. "He'll make a great warrior one day." Goldenfur subtly shifted his gaze up. "How about you? Do you want to be a warrior?"
Basilkit shrugged. "I don't know," she meowed, concentrating on a particularly stuck beetle. "I don't like chasing, or pouncing. But I supposed I could do it."
Goldenfur opened his mouth to say something, when a voice rose up from outside camp. Basilkit rushed to the entrance with the medicine cat right behind her and looked outside. Coming up branch that was the entrance to camp was Skyfern, the GladeClan deputy, her back bleeding and fluffy fur dissheveled. Behind her was Twinkletoe, looking more angry than hurt, and behind them...
"Stingclaw!" Pantherkit yowled, rushing out of then den and across the tree branches to meet the battered queen. She raised her head weakly, and Basilkit's heart skipped a beat when she saw the blood dripping from her stomach.
"You know what goldenrod looks like, right?" Goldernfur asked sternly. Yellow flowers, thin leaves- Basilkit nodded confidently. "Alright. Chew up the leaves into a pulp. That'll make a good poultice." The medicine cat bounded to the wounded patrol, and Basilkit returned to the den.
Goldenrod, goldenrod... Basilkit thought, anxiously searching for the herb. After a moment she found it, secured to the far wall with a piece of cobweb. She retrieved it and began shewing furiously.
She had just finished by the time Stingclaw entered the den, Goldenfur supporting her on one side and Pantherkit on the other. Her fur was dull and she limped painfully. Basilkit scooped the poultice up as Goldenfur helped Stingclaw to the ground.
"Can you apply this poultice, Basilkit?" Goldenfur asked. "I need to see to Skyfern. It should be about a claw length's deep."
The medicine cat turned to attend to the deputy. Basilkit looked at her mother and felt her stomach drop. The queen was lying on her side, eyes closed, and her fur was dyed with blood. Pantherkit was pressed against her side, staring at his mother with panic in his eyes. I can't do this, Basilkit thought, squeezing her eyes shut. What if the blood washes the poultice out? What if-
Her paws worked separately from her thoughts. She deftly scooped up the chewed plant matter and pressed it into her mother's wounds, and she realized they were a lot shallower than they had looked. She smeared it into the cuts, and noticed that blood was trickling through the cracks.
Oh no oh no oh no oh no-
"Cobwebs?" Basilkit yipped the question. Goldenfur nodded, and the cream colored kit grabbed a piece of the recently-harvested cobweb. She pressed it over the poultice, and the webbing soaked the blood up thirstily.
Pantherkit looked up at his sister with admirating in his eyes. "Wow, you did really good!" he meowed.
Stingclaw's eyes fluttered open and she craned her neck to look at Basilkit. Her gaze turned toward her wound. "Did you do this?" she asked, flicking her tail towards her belly.
"Goldenfur told me how," Basilkit meowed with a hint of pride.
The medicine cat turned back to the two. He inspected the wound and the covering carefully, causing Basilkit's paws to prickle with anxiety.
"You could've used more poultice," Goldenfur said, still looking the wound over. "But what you used will work. You also did a great job with the covering."
Basilkit's chest swelled with pride. Goldenfur offered Stingclaw a poppy seed, which she accepted gratefully.
"What happened?" came a concerned voice from the medicine den entrance. Thrushstar entered the den, immediately coming over to touch noses with his mate, Skyfern.
"SteppeClan challenged us over a duck," Skyfern said with a sad purr. "It was in the river, and Stingclaw caught it fairly. SteppeClan had no right to it." Her tail lashed weakly. "One of their mangy apprentices nearly shredded my pelt off!"
"Don't get wound up," Thrushstar chided her. "You're healing."
The fluffy gray she-cat's pelt puffed in agitation. "SteppeClan should be punished! They can't get away with stealing prey."
Basilkit shuddered; something about the way the deputy was acting made her uneasy. She seemed defensive, and deeply angry. Thrushstar didn't seem to notice.
"Goldenfur!" Skyfern meowed. The golden tom approached her, and Skyfern beckoned for her mate to come closer. The three whispered amongst themselves for a little bit. Afterwards, Thrushstar approached Basilkit.
"Goldenfur tells me that you've been helping him with his medicing cat duties," he meowed. Behind him, the medicing cat was looking at her, glowing with pride. The leader continued. "Would you like to follow the path of becoming a medicine cat?"
Goldenfur stepped forward. "It's a huge dedication," he warned. "You will never be able to take a mate or have kits, and the lives of your clanmates will be in your paws. You must also always have your ears and eyes open to the signs of StarClan."
Basilkit hesitated. She couldn't imagine the pressure of that responsibility, or the guilt of being unable to save one of the clanmates she loved. Then she looked down at her mother, by now sleeping soundly, and she knew what her path had to be.
"Yes," Basilkit breathed surely. "I want to heal. I want to see StarClan, and bring their words to my clan."
Thrushstar nodded. "Very well. At the time of your apprenticeship, you will be assigned to Goldenfur.
Pantherkit leapt up and rubbed aginst Basilkit's pelt to congratulate her. "That's so cool! You'll get to meet StarClan. You'll have to tell me all about it!"
As Basilkit basked in her brother's admiration, she looked back to where Thrushstar and Skyfern were sitting. The leader was sharing tongues with his mate, gently washing her ears in contentment.
The deputy, though, was staring with at her. Basilkit's heart when cold when she saw the smug smile, the cold flashing of her eyes, as she stared her down. In her eyes was the cold and hungry calculation of a cat the moment before it leaps upon it's prey and snaps it's neck.
She's planning something, Basilkit thought with a sense of dread, and I just became part of it.
Hi everyone! Thanks for reading. Now that you've been introduced to all the clans, I wanted to delve a little bit into the world of these clans by the sea.
These clans are loosely based off the enviroments of the southern United States, specifically Florida and Georgia. I've put together some image sets that are what I had in mind when creating the different territories (in case my descriptions weren't top-notch), and you can see them here (copy and paste without spaces).
CoveClan: sta. sh /0ytpapcv3za
FloodClan: sta. sh /01etbp2241un
SteppeClan: sta. sh /01ty5ctcv1nn
GladeClan: sta. sh /01aahjjahx0n
Again, thank you all for reading and your reviews. I'm really glad you're liking my little fanfic! If you have any questions about the layout of the camps or territories, character questions, or anything else, don't feel shy about leaving a review or messaging me. See you all in Chapter Five!