Lostheart was on her way back to camp after a short visit to her mother's tree, carrying a small squirrel in her jaws. Once she got back to camp, she hoped to find Greysight and talk to her about plans for the future. Thistleprick and Raggedear were still strangers to them, and she felt like there was more to the rogues than what they said.
Today Browneyes and Darkpelt had taken their new clanmates on a full tour of the territory, explaining how the borders worked and where prey ran best. Thistleprick was definitely the more lax of the two, the tom didn't seem to take anything seriously. Lostheart hoped this wouldn't become a problem in the future, they needed warriors who were ready to perform their duties.
Raggedear seemed more complex, Lostheart had been watching both the toms since she arrived, and he was quite distant. She sighed through the squirrel in her jaws, their clan was falling apart. Even from the day she was born they were a small, split clan. What's more, none of the cats particularly liked each other much and stuck to themselves, at least, when they weren't arguing that is.
How were they ever going to function as a clan when no cat wanted to make the effort to work together?
Lostheart dragged her paws lightly along the path of the tree tunnel, enjoying the cover that the thick, dark trees offered around her. When she stepped into the camp, she was met with the familiar dull, gray of the sky. Across the camp, she spotted a white shape lying outside the medicine cat and recognized Roseclaw's familiar shape, along with Mintpaw by her side. It looked like the apprentice was chatting excitedly about something.
Lostheart turned away from the talking pair and headed toward the center of camp where the clan's fresh kill pile lay in a pitifully small amount. Longtail was lying in the clearing as well, close to the fresh kill pile. The older she-cat snorted at the sight of Raggedear and Thistleprick padding into the camp through the tree tunnel.
It was ridiculous that their clan had to rely on pitiful loners and rogues. Stories had always been told of how DarkClan had triumphed over the other clans when lead by their founder, Xander. Where were those times now? DarkClan had once been strong, feared even, but now they were barely even a clan; just a poorly stitched together imitation. Sunstar didn't even seem to care anymore, not about the clan, or about her...but then again, when had he ever cared about her?
Her poisonous green eyes narrowed as Lostheart stepped past her and put a small squirrel in the fresh kill pile.
"These things never would have happened if Ivyfoot was deputy." Longtail muttered venomously, just loud enough so Lostheart would hear.
The black she-cat made no move to show she had heard the Siamese, and padded silently away after dropping off her squirrel. Longtail watched the she-cat leave distastefully.
'I always knew that kit was trouble. How disgusting, Sunstar must be ashamed to have kitted such a thing.'
Despite her lack of response, Lostheart had ,in fact, heard Longtail's cold words. She knew that they had been intentionally directed at her. 'She's right. If Ivyfoot was still here, he would have managed to lead the clan, and without his death, Sunstar wouldn't have closed up. Its all my fault...'
Memories of the battle with TreeClan flashed through her mind and she remembered watching as waves of cats came flooding down upon Ivyfoot. Yet she was helpless as the TreeClan warriors blocked her path, holding her back...
Lostheart squeezed her eyes shut and felt her claws scraping lightly against the ground. 'No. Don't think about it...'
"Hey, Lostheart!"
Lostheart blinked, and turned to see Greysight padding towards her.
"Darkbutt took Raggedear and Thistleprick out to look over the territory with Browneyes. Apparently it went off without a hitch, how about that? I was out hunting. Is there anything else we need to do?"
Lostheart mutedly shook her head, still feeling a bit distracted. Greysight frowned slightly, "Roseclaw says she's almost out of catmint... Because of the cold weather, the plants growing in the swamp have already begun to die out. She said we might find some near Blue Hole, I'm familiar with the herb's scent, so I can go if you like." Greysight meowed.
'That's right, Longtail is still sick,' Lostheart thought tiredly, 'Maybe that's why Greysight has been so irritable lately, she's probably worried.'
"...Okay, I'll go with you." Lostheart meowed after a moment. Greysight appeared slightly surprised by her response, but nodded nonetheless. Lostheart followed after Greysight as the blind she-cat led the way expertly through the forest, 'If you didn't see her face, you would never know she's actually blind.' Lostheart mused.
A sharp, brief pain stabbed at Lostheart's stomach, yet the she-cat didn't wince. 'Another one.'
Lostheart hadn't realized it had been so long since she last ate, she always made sure the other cats ate before her. There was never really much left. The stomach aches she got were frequent, but after a while the pain didn't even bother her anymore because she was so used to it.
Even as a kit she had always gotten them, although Silentshadow had said part of it was because she worried too much. Lostheart shook her head at the thought of her mother, 'Not now.'
Greysight and Lostheart padded into the area surrounding Blue Hole, Greysight had already begun to sniff around. Lostheart watched her for a moment before glancing around the area as well.
"Are you familiar with catmint? I couldn't really tell you what it looks like." Greysight meowed suddenly.
"Yes." replied Lostheart, she had seen Roseclaw and Mintpaw take the herbs to Longtail several times and was familiar with their appearance. She padded close to the small pool and scanned its edges, but she couldn't find the familiar plant located amongst the others.
Greysight had shifted back around as well and opened her mouth to taste the air, "I'm not picking up anything.." she meowed quietly. The fact that her mother's sickness was getting worse by the day worried her greatly, and now that it was impossible to find catmint, she didn't know what Roseclaw would be able to do for Longtail or any of her other clanmates.
"Me neither." Lostheart replied.
Greysight shook her head dejectedly, "Well we won't be finding anything out here, and I wouldn't know where to look for more." she meowed. Lostheart nodded and began to step forward in the direction of camp.
"-But," Greysight cut in, "I actually wanted to talk to you for a moment. It's been bothering me for a while..."
Her words made Lostheart stop completely, and after a short moment of silence, she turned to face her blind companion. Greysight could feel her shift in movement, and even though Lostheart hadn't said anything, she knew the other she-cat was listening.
"It's about Longtail...and Silentshadow."
Lostheart remained silent, but if Greysight could see, she would have noticed the flash of uncertainty in the strange she-cat's eyes. Greysight didn't know how Lostheart felt about the issue, and she hoped it wouldn't make the deputy angry.
"I know that Sunstar is your father, as well as my own. Longtail didn't like it when I went too close to you or Silentshadow as a kit, I never realized she had so much of a grudge against your mother." Greysight paused, she knew Lostheart was aware of her mother's distaste for her and her family.
"I just want you to know that I have never held it against you, or Silentshadow for that matter. It is a little strange, to think that we share half the same blood." Greysight smiled kindly.
"I know." Lostheart replied, slightly surprising Greysight.
Greysight knew that Sunstar openly looked down on Lostheart, he had been the one to decree that she was to be avoided as much as possible. He had never been close to either of them. Greysight let out a small, bitter laugh as she thought of her kithood. Part of the reason she had always worked so hard was because she wanted Sunstar to acknowledge her.
Greysight knew that Sunstar had been disappointed when he discovered she was blind. She wanted to show him that she wasn't useless, and even though she was blind, she was a daughter he could be proud of. 'And when he finally did acknowledge me, it was only because he needed my abilities to help spy on the other clans.'
Thinking about the other clans made a new question rise in Greysight's mind. "Do you think we'll be okay Lostheart? The clan I mean?"
"...I don't know. We can only try." Lostheart replied dully.
Greysight nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I think that we're too split on the inside. We need to work together if we're going to protect ourselves from TreeClan. You have to admit, no one is particularly close..."
Greysight nodded and thought silently for a moment, listening to the sound of chirping bugs around her. "Yeah, but you, Roseclaw, Moonfur, and I get along. I think most of our problems lie in the toms. I think we should do some special training, but instead of fighting, it'll be for teamwork!"
It was a good idea, but Lostheart wasn't too sure the toms would be willing to comply. It would be a good way to involve Thistleprick and Raggedear more...
"It sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure if they'd agree."
Greysight scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I'll make them agree." she meowed confidently.
"Okay, I'll leave you in charge of it then."
Lostheart followed Greysight back to camp, noticing a quickening in her pace. She seemed really excited about the idea, Lostheart wondered what she was planning. In all honesty, she had always been a bit jealous of Greysight.
Unlike her, Greysight was always confident and able to make friends easily. Lostheart wasn't good with other cats, not to mention Greysight was a very beautiful she-cat. 'I guess I've always envied you...although that's probably not fair.' Greysight probably wouldn't like the idea of someone envying her, she wouldn't understand why anyone would ever want to be blind.
Thistleprick padded through the camp with Browneyes and sat down by Raggedear where the mottled, black tom lay alone in the shade of one of the trees. The calico tom yawned loudly and stretched his legs, neck fur bristling at the cold chill that hung in the air.
His violet eyes flickered toward movement in his peripheral vision and he turned to see the white she-cat padding into a large stone den with the apprentice from earlier, 'Mintpaw was it?'
Raggedear and Browneyes had each followed his gaze as well. Browneyes seemed to notice the mischievous flicker in the tom's eyes. "Who's that?" Thistleprick meowed, flicking his tail toward the pair.
Browneyes shifted awkwardly for a moment, "That's Roseclaw, she's the clan's medicine cat. Mintpaw is her apprentice."
Thistleprick hummed softly for a moment before rising to his paws, "I think I'll go introduce myself then." he replied.
"Medicine cats aren't allowed to have a mate or kits you know." Browneyes meowed, already familiar with Thistleprick's strange personality. "They have to commit their lives to StarClan."
Thistleprick nodded and stepped forward, seemingly ignoring Browneyes's words, "Yeah, yeah. Got it." he replied, flicking his tail toward the tabby.
Roseclaw cursed under her breath as piles of her herbs fell from their shelves and scattered the ground as she accidently brushed them off the wall with her tail.
Mintpaw quickly came to help her pick up the mess. Roseclaw was a very unorganized, distracted she-cat, but Mintpaw knew she tried her best. Roseclaw had told Mintpaw of her previous mentor, Mosspelt, and how she had become a medicine cat early in life after Mosspelt was found dead in the forest.
Mintpaw looked up to her mentor greatly, Roseclaw was her sister's best friend too, it made her feel like Roseclaw was like a sister as well.
"Thank you, Mintpaw." she meowed tiredly as moved around quickly to gather up all the fallen leaves and berries. Her blue gaze landed on her apprentice, and she felt a sense of uselessness welling up inside her.
Longtail was getting worse each day, and they had already run out of catmint. Greysight had gone out to collect some, but she had a deep feeling of doubt inside her that there was nothing left. Longtail was both Greysight's and Mintpaw's mother, if anything happened to her...Roseclaw would never forgive herself.
Her eyes fell on the mouse Mintpaw had brought her earlier lying at the base of the wall. After putting up the last of the fallen yarrow leaves, Roseclaw pulled the mouse over to her with one paw.
Mintpaw smiled expectantly, happy that her mentor was finally going to rest and eat the mouse she had caught for her. Secretly, she had been practicing hunting a lot. That mouse was one of her best catches so far, she knew it wasn't her responsibility, but she felt like the clan needed her help.
Large, pale eyes blinked as the mouse was pushed over towards her. Mintpaw looked up to see Roseclaw smiling softly at her, "Here. Go take this to Longtail. I know she hasn't eaten all day."
Mintpaw wanted her mentor to eat, but she knew that her mom needed the food more and understood Roseclaw's choice. "Okay." she meowed, picking up the gray mouse in her jaws.
Mintpaw was trotting out of the medicine cat den when Roseclaw's voice sounded from inside. "I'm sure she'll be proud of you. That mouse was a good catch."
Mintpaw felt surprise at first, but a feeling of warmth quickly spread through her. She quickened her pace to a small run, happy knowing that Roseclaw supported her.
Roseclaw smiled fondly as she watched Mintpaw run off to the elder's den to see her mother. Mintpaw was too sweet for her own good.
"Ah, kids. They're so cute when they're young aren't they?"
Roseclaw jumped at the sound of another cat's voice and turned to see one of the clan's newest arrivals leaning against the outer stone of the medicine cat den.
Thistleprick pushed himself off the stone and padded toward the white she-cat. "Hey, I'm Thistleprick, but you probably already know that." he smirked.
"You want a prize or something?"
Thistleprick as caught off guard by her snippy response, amazed at how fast her personality had changed. A few seconds ago she had been smiling serenely and sitting in a relaxed manner, but now her demeanor had taken a complete one-eighty.
Roseclaw raised a single brow at the tom and retained her bored expression. Was this cat really going to try and hit on her? Oh yes, Greysight had warned her about this one. Apparently he had the ability to irritate the blind she-cat to no end, however, she gave him props for that.
The tom only blinked for a second, but quickly regained himself as the smile on his face grew even larger and he let out a laugh. "I would love a prize actually, especially if it's from you." he winked.
He watched in amusement as the she-cat glared at him through angry, scrunched up blue eyes. A light pink dusted her fur and Roseclaw found herself turning away awkwardly.
"Do you need something? Or are you just here to waste a medicine cat's time?" she meowed, stressing the word medicine cat as a sort of hint to the tom.
Thistleprick closed his eyes and acted as if he was seriously pondering the question. "Mmm...Nope, I'm just here to waste your time."
"Just kidding." he meowed quickly, not wanting to offend the she-cat more than he already had. "I just saw you from over there and thought I should introduce myself, after all, we're 'clanmates' now right?"
Roseclaw sighed and let her fur lie flat again before turning around to face Thistleprick again. "I'm Roseclaw, the clan's medicine cat-"
"Oh, I know who you are."
"THEN WHY DID YOU COME OVER HERE?"
Thistleprick merely shrugged with a smug grin on his face, walking backwards away from the medicine cat den.
"I'll see you later Rosie!" he meowed before quickly turning and running back across the camp. 'Maybe this clan won't be so boring after all.'
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Upcoming chapter events: Teamwork training, trouble, catmint, and gatherings. What shall happen? I'm not as sick as I was, but my sinuses are all crazy right now. Greysight was remembering her mentor, Cherrynose. :)
TEAMWORK. How do you think that will work out?
Lost Out