Hey guys! Happy Mother's Day! Here is Chapter 20! woo! Keep the reviews coming, people! : )
Disclaimer: Warriors is not mine! I'd think you would know, but obviously you don't because I'm putting this here . . .
Chapter 20- Sickly Clans
Stormsky padded into the Gathering island along with Shadeclaw, Sandtail, Redoak, Grasspaw, and Poppyfur. Cloudstar, Reedtail, and Harewhisker were in the front. Reedtail whispered a couple frantic words in Cloudstar's ear before she leaped up into the trees.
"Hey, um, Stormpaw?"
"It's Stormsky now," the warrior corrected. He turned to face a golden she-cat with green eyes, carrying the WindClan scent. "And you are?"
"Yellowclaw of WindClan," the cat replied.
"How's Icepaw?" Stormsky asked eagerly. He looked around for his sister. "Is she here?"
"No, and she's Icestream now. And she's at camp helping Bluepaw while Whiteleaf came." Yellowclaw looked to make sure no cat was listening, then leaned in close to Stormsky and whispered, "Rowanflame and Snowwing are sick."
"Really?" Stormsky's heart leaped; something really was wrong! "One of our warriors is sick, too."
"Stormpaw, Yellowpaw, hey!" A cheery voice sounded from beside them. Stormsky turned to see Mosspaw, Thrushfeather's RiverClan friend, padding towards them. "I'm a warrior now," she mewed. "My name is now Mossfur."
"I'm Stormsky," Stormsky replied as Yellowclaw meowed, "I'm now Yellowclaw."
"Cool," Mossfur complemented. She leaned forward and meowed, "Are cats getting sick in your Clans? Not to pry, but Lightfang and Mousepelt are sick."
Both cats nodded vigorously.
"How did this start?" Stormsky questioned. "Do you guys know?"
Mossfur shook her head. Yellowclaw mewed, "One day we-"
"The Gathering has begun!" yowled Swiftstar. All cats turned to face the leaders in the tree. "RiverClan will speak first."
Leafstar dipped her head to WindClan's leader. "Thank you, Swiftstar. We have appointed two new warriors, Mossfur and Whiteclaw." She paused as cries of joy rang out from RiverClan. One the cats had settled down, she continued. "Also, Owlfur had her litter of kits and Mothpaw received his full medicine cat name, Mothfeather. The prey is running fine and other than that, nothing." Her voice cracked as she stepped back to let Cloudstar tell about ThunderClan.
"We have news as well," Cloudstar meowed. "Stormsky is now a full warrior of ThunderClan. Flowerpetal has three healthy kits Dustkit, Amberkit, and Larkkit, and Harewhisker has his full medicine cat name." She stepped back as ThunderClan cheered. Stormsky stood proudly as cats cast glances at him.
Swiftstar began to speak. At that moment, Stormsky noticed something he hadn't noticed earlier. Ivystar wasn't in the tree. Instead, in his place, there was a big gray tom- the one who had knocked him out during the border fight. Stormsky bristled slightly at the sight of him.
Swiftstar turned to the big gray cat as he finished telling them only of news of new apprentices and three new warriors. "Where is Ivystar, Stonestep?" he asked, his voice calm but his eyes sugget=sting curiousity.
Stonestep shuffled his paws. "He- he is- at camp, sick," the warrior stuttered. "Hemade me his deputy when Birdwing joined the elders' den. But it-it's just a fever," he added hastily.
Yowls of outrage exploded from the other Clans. "Silence!" Leafstar yowled. She waved her tail at the moon. Small clouds were drifting towards it slowly.
The cats quieted immediately. Stonestep gazed down at them, then caught the other leaders' gazes. "What?" he asked nervously.
"Speak," Cloudstar stated simply.
Stonestep blinked. "Oh, right." He went on to say ShadowClan was fine; the prey was running great. They had two new warriors, a new medicine cat, and three new kits that had been born last quarter moon.
"See? Every Clan is sick!" Stormsky heard Shadeclaw hiss to Sandtail. "Something is wrong."
Harewhisker glanced at Stormsky. They exchanged a knowing glance, then Harewhisker bounded after the medicine cats. Stormsky said his goodbyes to Mossfur and Yellowclaw, then followed ThunderClan back to camp.
Stormsky's mind began to race. Borage . . . marigold . . . cobwebs . . . poppy seeds . . . Herb names rushed through his head. He watched as Jayfeather's figure anxiously padded beside him, murmuring herbs under his breath.
Stormsky followed the former medicine cat into the den to check on Longwhisker. Her breathing was faint and shallow. "What's wrong with her?" Stormsky whispered to Jayfeather.
The gray tabby shook his head. "I don't know."
Stormsky watched as the shadow of Jayfeather vanished, and he was left alone in the medicine cat den. Longwhisker's eyes suddenly shot open, and she began gasping for breath. Stormsky frantically looked through the herbs. "Jayfeather, what do I use?" he yowled.
Juniper berries, a soft voice whispered in his ear. Stormsky found the herbs and told Longwhisker, "Open your mouth!"
The thrashing she-cat opened her jaws just enough for Stormsky to plop the berries in. "Chew and swallow!" he ordered.
Longwhisker closed her mouth, and in a moment her thrashing declined to twitching as she swallowed. Stormsky breathed a sigh of relief as Longwhisker's eyes drooped and she fell asleep peacefully.
The new warrior curled up in a nest and sighed. I have to keep watch over Longwhisker, he thought drowsily. But slowly, his vision dimmed and he fell into a deep sleep.
****************************************************************************************************************
Stormsky was in WindClan camp; he could tell from the morrland around him and the wind that nearly swept him off his paws. He watched a white she cat rush frantically into her den carrying a mouthful of herbs. He followed her inside.
Within WindClan's medicine cat den, he saw a dark brown tabby tom, a white tom, and a small black kit inside, all curled up in nests with quick, shallow breathing. "Bluepaw!" the white she-cat mewed.
A small blue-gray tom rushed past Stormsky without even a glance. "Yes, Whiteleaf?"
"Is any other cat sick?" Whiteleaf asked, setting down her collection of herbs.
"Well, I was just about to tell you that Minnowpaw is complaining of bellyaches," Bluepaw replied.
"Bring her in," Whiteleaf sighed.
Bluepaw dipped his head, dashed back out, and hurried back in with a small, gray apprentice at his side.
Whiteleaf prepared Minnowpaw a nest and let her lay down. "Fever," she declared after feeling the apprentice's hot fur. "Um . . . get some chervil for her."
Bluepaw got some roots and chewed them up speedily. He put them on his paw and handed them to the bartely-conscious Minnowpaw. "Chew them for your bellyache," he commanded.
Stormsky stepped outside of the den, his mind fuzzy with all the action going on in there.
"See how much help they need?"
Stormsky turned to see Nightwind standing beside him. She watched Whiteleaf bustle around anxiously, snapping an order at Bluepaw once or twice. "My apprentice needs help," she murmured.
"You were a medicine cat?" Stormsky asked in awe.
Nightwind looked at him with sorrow gleaming in her eyes. "Yes. And you were my kit."
Ooh! Cliffie! I've been doing a lot of those recently . . . I feel like having a stream of updates today, so hopefully by the end of today Chapter 21 will be up. Laters! Please review! :D