Chapter 52
Smoke's POV
"I can't believe we did that!" Smoke hissed. After running away, Smoke and Frost ran back to BloodClan's Twoleg garbage camp.
"Did what?" Frost asked, licking dirt of her paw.
"Run away! Jenny is going to be so mad at us! She's going to punish us!" Smoke started muttering and pacing around anxiously.
"I don't think we did anything wrong," Frost said, calmly continuing to lick her paw.
"What?! How?" Smoke yowled.
"We were being attacked and overwhelmed It was the most logical thing to do. I wasn't going to just stand there and get mauled," Frost said, moving to her pelt.
Smoke growled with anger. He then heard rustling in the bushes, and a black-and-red figure moved toward them.
"Hello, Jenny," Smoke said worriedly moving toward her.
"Don't come forward, you cowards!" Jenny yowled angrily. She stepped forward slowly, with a red gleam in her eyes and blood stained claws as she padded towards the two cats.
"You don't look good," Smoke said as he inspected Jenny. "What happened?"
"While you cowards were running, we had a battle, if you didn't know, and we got beaten by some dumb forest cats!" she exploded, the fire burning in her eyes.
"We didn't mean to run away. We were getting wounded badly, and we would have died!" Frost exclaimed and stopped licking her pelt.
"Well, it would have been a helpful death for BloodClan since that would have gotten rid of you two cowards."
"But there wasn't much we could do while being fatally wounded by some forest cats!" Frost retorted.
"Well you two are certainly no advantage to BloodClan anymore."
"N-No! We still are loyal to you, Jenny!" Smoke said with a worried gleam in his eye.
"Well, running away isn't being loyal. You're exiled." Jenny almost whispered. "You're lucky that I didn't kill you instead! You worthless excuses for cats! Leave now, and if you are ever found on BloodClan territory again, then you have a death wish. Henry! Snake! Run these two out of camp."
"Yes, Jenny," they said simultaneously as they padded menacingly towards the ex-BloodClan members.
"You don't understand, Jenny! We promise we won't do it again!" Frost mewed, desperate.
"Who is this 'we'? You are always independent in BloodClan. Your actions, your fault," Jenny mewed. "Now, leave!" she commanded, chasing the two exiled cats herself.
The two cats ran blindly for their lives, and ended up in a clearing. They thought they were safe before they realized that Cream, Mouse, and all the other forest cats they had just fought were sitting right there and looked ready to pounce.
"They must have brought backup!" a brown tabby tom exclaimed, leaping to his paws.
"No! We surrender… Jenny exiled us for running away after the battle and we ran for our lives and ended up here. Please don't hurt us!" Frost begged.
They noticed that the cat they had fought earlier was on the ground, unmoving. Smoke noticed that he had huge bloodied fang marks in his throat.
"And… yeah, sorry 'bout what we said… back there," Smoke added sheepishly to the sleeping figure. He looked up towards the forest cats. "My name is Smoke, and this is Frost."
"What makes us believe that you aren't here to attack us again?" a dark ginger tom with green eyes snarled.
"Hold on, Rowanstar," a blue-gray she-cat mewed. "Give us one good reason why we shouldn't attack you right now?"
"I-I, uh… We don't want to fight! Jenny exiled us for running away during the battle! We were wounded, and we still are! You can keep a guard watching us or whatever! Besides, if we wanted a fight, we wouldn't even be talking to each other right now! Just please don't hurt us or send us back!" Frost pleaded.
"We also know our way around the Twolegplace and where BloodClan patrols!" Smoke added, desperate.
"I say we keep an eye on them," Cream mewed, narrowing her eyes. "They aren't in any shape to harm us, and they know where and when Jenny's patrols are even better than I do. They probably know where the barn is too."
"I don't think they should be here at all. What if they go back to Jenny?" a golden tom with rippling muscles asked.
"What's the difference between using their help, and asking a kittypet for help?" a she-cat with a gray pelt and green eyes doubted.
"Well, they used to be part of BloodClan, but their knowledge is too important to give away. How about a test? Describe the cats on the closest patrol," asked the brown tabby tom. "Dovewing can check, and some of us can go and spy to see if it's true."
"Around this time… Jenny usually patrols the edge of the Twolegplace with a white tom with red eyes named Ice and a brown tom with blue eyes named Henry," Smoke replied, "But she might have more cats with her because she wants to be sure we're not in her territory anymore."
"Can we discuss in private?" the blue-gray she-cat mewed. "The other cats will watch you two."
"Yes," they both said.
The forest cats walked a few tail-lengths away, but they could catch a few snippets of the conversation, "Trust...correct...BloodClan...exiled...hmmm...maybe...watch…"
Meanwhile, Cream wouldn't stop giving her death stare.
After a brief moment, they came to a conclusion that the cats could stay, but had to be guarded.
"Fine, you can stay, but no sneaky business. Tigerheart and Heathertail will watch you day and night," the dark ginger tom said to them. The group dispersed and two cats walked toward them. One was a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and the other was a light brown she-cat with blue eyes. Smoke looked at the she-cat. She was a little bigger than the tom, so she must be eating more. Smoke ignored it.
"My name is Tigerheart, and this is Heathertail," the tom said. "We will be watching you two, but that does not mean we aren't friendly. You can explore the camp but if you try to escape-" Tigerheart unsheathed his claws, "-then don't expect any mercy from us."
Smoke and Frost started walking around, while cats kept giving them side stares. Then suddenly Cream came to stop them in their tracks.
"What do you think you are doing? Aren't you two supposed to be watched? Or are you trying to escape and tell Jenny all our secrets?" Cream asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.
"No, we are just walking around," Frost answered. Then a gray she-cat walked up to them.
"Hmmmm… Frost, that sounds like someone I know at home. My name is Rain That Passes Quickly," the gray she-cat mewed as she introduced herself.
"Well, my full name is actually Frosting, but friends call me Frost," Frost answered.
"Well, hello Frost, nice to meet you," Rain responded. Cream kept staring at them with narrowed eyes.
"Nice to meet you too. We'd like to know where we will sleep," Smoke asked.
"You should be sleeping in a pile of fox dung, but unfortunately you sleep in that corner over there," Cream pointed out. Smoke looked at where Cream pointed to. There was a tree stump full of lichen and moss, and some of it was used to make their nests. The rest was used to make two separate nests for Tigerheart and Heathertail.
"Thank you," Frost said as she and Smoke walked away.
"These cats are very suspicious about us. I can understand it, but I will never be part of BloodClan again," Smoke said.
"I agree with you, but I'm just happy they let us stay with them," Frost mewed.
"I just wish Cream would stop staring at us like we're a talking dog or something," Smoke replied.
"Yeah, but I get her point. We have known her since we were kits, joined BloodClan, pretty much everything."
"I still remember the time when she refused to join Jenny. Do you?"
"Oh, of course! Who doesn't? She spit on her and told her that BloodClan was wrong and fled with Jenny at her tail! I guess she was right after all..."
"Did she really spit on Jenny?," Rain interrupted, startling Smoke.
"Yeah. If Cream believes in something strongly, she will show it. Like the way she hates us right now," Frost answered.
"I see," Rain mewed. "Were you two ever friends with Cream?"
"Once, a long time ago," Smoke mewed. "Now, obviously, we're not friends."
Rain sighed. "Anyways, about that cat you attacked earlier and tried to kill…"
"We didn't mean it!" Smoke cried out instantly. "We were only-"
Rain flicked her tail at Smoke's mouth, silencing him. "I know. But… ugh! Why does everything have to be so complicated?"
The three were silent for a moment, before Frost broke the silence. "Um… do you happen to have feelings for that cat?"
"That cat's name is Emberfoot," Rain snapped. Then her face softened. "Sorry about that."
"It's all right," Smoke mewed, confused. "What happened?"
"Well, he's starting to recover," Rain said. "It's just… I really liked him. I never thought I would like a Clan cat like Brook did. But it just sort of happened, and I really think he's attractive. And smart. And tough. When he almost died, I laid down next to him, and he was looking up at me. What he said next tore my heart. He… he…," Rain stopped, trying not to choke on the words she was about to speak.
"He said what?" Frost said gently, stroking Rain's back with her tail.
Rain dropped her gaze to the ground.
"H-He said he couldn't do this. H-He said he had a mate!" Rain sobbed.
"You know, he could always change his mind," Frost mewed, trying to comfort her.
"B-But what if he doesn't? I-I…," Rain asked.
"Then he will always be your friend, no matter what. You don't have to be mates to be there for each other," Frost comforted. Smoke stared dumbly at the two she-cats. Why was this tom such a big deal?
"T-thanks. I needed to get those feelings of my chest. I didn't think Stoneteller or Flight would want to listen to my dumb problems," Rain thanked.
"You're welcome. I actually thought that no one would talk to me except Smoke! It feels nice to be trusted. That's even better," Frost mewed.
"I'm going to check on Emberfoot," Rain mewed as she walked away.
"Okay, talk to you later!" Frost mewed as he turned to Smoke.
"Wow, we just got our first conversation! Well, you did," Smoke congratulated.
"Well, why don't we go to the den they made and sit there to celebrate! I know it sounds lame, but we can talk and earn their trust at the same time!" Frost suggested.
"That is lame, but I guess it is important, seeing that Cream can't stare at us from there," Smoke mewed as she flicked her tail towards the she-cat with narrowing eyes.
They walked over to the hollowed stump and lay down on the soft moss bed.
"Hey, this is actually not so bad. This moss is soft! Much softer than the Twoleg rubbish we used to sleep on in BloodClan!" Smoke mewed.
"It is!" Frost exclaimed as her eyes widened in surprise. "This is like the stuff Jenny sleeps on!"
The two cats sat there, talking for a good bit as the moon rose higher into the sky. Most of the cats had started sleeping, and Smoke and Frost had to lower their voices to avoid from having Heathertail's sharp, menacing glare on them.
"You know, maybe we should check on Emberfoot…," Frost suggested after they had a good chat.
"Yeah… I kinda feel bad, but won't they feel suspicious about us being near an injured cat?" Smoke asked.
"I guess you are right, but look, Rain is there and she is our first friend here," Frost looked deeply into his eyes. Smoke couldn't resist.
"Fine, we can go," Smoke said, but Frost was already walking toward Rain and Emberfoot. Rain was murmuring to Emberfoot as Frost came with Smoke on her heels.
"Please…," Smoke could hear Rain say.
"Sorry, I can't... though I might have liked it…," Smoke heard Emberfoot reply.
"Hello?" Frost asked in between.
"S-stay away!" Emberfoot growled. "This is personal!"
"They're my friends!" Rain told him, then focused her attention back onto the main topic. "I thought you loved me!" she mewed as she began to cry.
"It just… won't work… you're a Tribe cat… and I live in the Clans…," Emberfoot mewed.
"B-but Stormfur and Brook, they got together, didn't they? They even had kits!" Rain said, stuttering a bit.
"But Stormfur… didn't have… a mate before...and he didn't have … much family left anyways... so he left the Clans… for her," Emberfoot said, his wound bothering him.
"What do you mean?" Rain asked Emberfoot.
"I... have so much... to live for... in WindClan,... unlike Stormfur," Emberfoot said before he passed out.
"Emberfoot? Emberfoot!" Rain shrieked. Frost ran to the nearest makeshift den.
"Some cat come! Quickly!" Frost screamed and did that repeatedly to the other dens. Cats came quicker than a heartbeat. Every cat started murmuring about what happened. Then a she-cat barged through and leaned over Emberfoot's body.
"What's wrong, Heronwing?" Rain asked looking over her shoulder, looking worried.
"He's just unconscious. You must have been pushing him too hard. Luckily, when I was a kit, I used to always watch the medicine cat, and I actually thought of asking to become one, but I guess my heart lead me to the cat I am today. I do know a few tricks from watching-."
"Just help him!" Rain exclaimed, exasperated.
"Great StarClan, I was going to! You know, you should really be more patient-."
"I will help," Stoneteller said as he pushed towards Emberfoot. "The rest of you should go back to sleep. He's not going to get any better with everyone around him jabbering like jackdaws."
"All right then, Stoneteller will help me. I am guessing that you may not know any herbs around this place," Heronwing said to Stoneteller before she swung her head to talk to Stoneteller about Emberfoot.
Smoke moved away from the the two cats with Frost. 'I hope he does get better. We weren't the ones that did that to him. Jenny did.'