Dead Rose

Chapter 11: Orange Mint

Sunflower couldn't figure out for the life of her what was going on with Jaypaw. She stared at him across the clearing, eating his fresh kill. His little body was all hunched over a blackbird he was devouring, His limbs rigid and awkwardly straight. Sunflower had never seen anyone eat like that before, and she watched him further. Jaypaw didn't take small bites like he usually would; today he was tearing off the skin first and eating it whole. It hung grossly out of the side of his mouth, but he smacked and slopped his jaws and tongue until it was swallowed. It's like his manners have gone straight out the window, Sunflower thought to herself. I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat that grossly before.

"Excuse me, Sunflower, a word?"

A sneering, snarling voice sounded from behind her, and Sunflower didn't even need to turn around to know it was Hareclaw.

"What's this about?" Sunflower asked reluctantly, shifting her paws in impatience.

"Your apprentice is completely out of control," Hareclaw snapped. "On top of eating obnoxiously, he insulted me in front of an entire patrol."

"What did he say?" Sunflower asked mildly, taking into account that Jaypaw had finished eating. Now he was making his way over to the medicine cats den. Sunflower felt her stomach drop. What's he up to now?

"So he was wandering around me and my patrol, so I called him over," Hareclaw continued. "I asked him if he noticed a difference because of the battle wound in my ear."

Sunflower had to force herself not to groan. Ever since Hareclaw had gotten into a fight the other day with a Rainclan patrol, he had been boasting about the tiny little nick in his ear ever since.

"And then, do you know what he said?" Hareclaw demanded. "Do you want to know what that little brat said to me?"

"What did he say?" Sunflower went along.

"He said, 'I dunno, you got more fat?'" Hareclaw shouted the last words. "The whole patrol was in hysterics. I've never been more disrespected in my whole life."

Sunflower personally thought it was funny too but she didn't let it show. She swallowed a rising giggle and forced a serious face. "I'm sorry he said that," she said. "I'll have a word with him."

"See that you do," Hareclaw said, holding his nose high in the air. "Or else I'll take matters into my own paws."

"Okay," Sunflower took this as a dismissal so she hurriedly walked away before Hareclaw could say anything else. She had been itching to go see what Jaypaw was doing in the medicine cats den. She walked over, saying a brief hi to Sharpclaw on her way over. She pushed her head into the den and looked around. She let out a squeak of surprise when she realized Jaypaw was making some sort of leaf wrap with the few precious berries and herbs the clan had left.

"What are you doing?" Sunflower hurried over to him and yanked him by the scruff away from his mixture.

"Hey!" Jaypaw snapped. "Back off, you freaking psycho."

"What are you doing?" Sunflower said slowly, staring at what Jaypaw had done. He had wasted the entire supply of catnip and juniper berries, mashing the berries and stems into a mixture. Jaypaw shoved her away and rolled up the mixture, glaring at her with icy eyes.

"What's gotten into you?" Sunflower whispered. "You weren't raised like this."

"I needed a leaf wrap, all right?" Jaypaw hissed. "So I made one. Simple as that."

"You used all of the medicine cat's supplies!" Sunflower said, voice getting louder. "What could you possibly need that leaf wrap for anyway? You just wasted it all!"

Jaypaw leaned down and sniffed the sweet smelling wrap. "I just needed it," he hissed at last. "Go away."

"Why are you being like this?" Sunflower wailed after him. "Why are you being so awful?"

Jaypaw ignored her and stalked away with his stolen wrap. Sunflower realized there was nothing she could do so she quickly got out of the medicine cats den, wondering without much hope if Jaypaws stolen wrap would go unnoticed.

Meanwhile

Jaypaw walked through the forest, proud of what he had done. Idiot cats are so stupid I barely had to try, he thought. I could do anything and they'd still believe I was a scatterbrained apprentice. Jaypaw stopped walking when he approached the Deadclan border. He set his wrap on the ground and opened it up. Using a paw, he rubbed the minty juices all over his pelt, completely shielding his Plantclan scent. He used about half of it, so he rolled it back up and patted it close. He picked it up in his jaws once again and walked over the Deadclan border.

Maybe I'll give the rest of this to the leader, for good measures, Jaypaw thought to himself. I was going to give it to Whitefire but it would probably look better if I give it to Redstar.

Hopefully they don't recognize me as Jaypaw.

Jaypaw could smell many cats up ahead, and he knew he was getting close to their camp. Wait a minute, they're all going to recognize me… they've all seen me and my stupid cloudy eye!

Jaypaw swore quietly, and decided he would have to be a little more creative. After all, he wasn't just Jaypaw.

I'm Denver, Jaypaw thought, smiling evilly. And I can do whatever I want.

He pushed his way into the camp, and unsurprisingly he was noticed at once. A few cats ran up to him, fear and confusion clear in their eyes.

"Jaypaw!" a she cat spoke, voice high pitched and tinny. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, is there a problem in Plantclan?" a large gray tom that Jaypaw recognized as Deadrose said warily. "And what's that thing you're holding? I could smell it clear across the camp."

Jaypaw dropped his minty leaf wrap and smiled the best he could. "Sorry to barge in like this," he whispered. "But I brought this wrap for your leader, as a gift. I would like to be a part of Deadclan."

Silence met his words, and Jaypaw knew he had startled them. Deadrose looked at the female cat, who returned a blank stare.

"Why did you leave your clan, Jaypaw?" the she cat asked at last.

"They're never going to make me a warrior," Jaypaw said with fake sadness. "So I decided I wanted to live my life like I deserve, with kindness and respect. I would never find that here."

"So sad!"

An unexpected voice alarmed the Deadclan cats, and they jumped in surprise. Jaypaw had to hold back his evil smile as he realized it was Redstar himself.

"Forbidden to be a warrior is a crime I will always sympathize," Redstar said to Jaypaw. "I feel for you, young warrior."

"Redstar, we can't accept him," Deadrose whispered to the leader. "His clan probably doesn't even know he's here."

"A leaf wrap!" Redstar completely ignored the concerned deputy and lunged forward. "For me?"

"Yes," Jaypaw pushed the minty wrap towards him. Redstar opened it up and cried out in delight. "Mint and berry mix!" he howled. "My absolute favorite!"

"So I can stay?" Jaypaw asked, pretending to look scared. "I promise I'll be good."

"Absolutely," Redstar said as he started to rub a bit of the mixture on his face. "Jaypaw, that was a good idea. Rub the mixture on your face to forever feel the tingly mint- brilliant!"

Jaypaw smiled for real this time, deciding he liked the Deadclan leader.

"Redstar, are you sure?" Deadrose asked desperately. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Silence!" Redstar snapped. "The cat has brought us the power of mint! He is obviously sent from Starclan."

"That's ridiculous," Deadrose snapped.

"Um, Redstar?" Jaypaw asked. Redstar looked at him at once, and Jaypaw liked the power he had just because of his silly wrap. I knew it was a good idea.

"I don't like the name Jaypaw," Jaypaw said slowly. "Makes me feel like I'm not good enough, so I was wondering if-"

"You can have a new name," Redstar interrupted. "Of course you can. Everyone, from here on in, Jaypaw will be known as Cottenfluff."

"Um," Jaypaw said. "I was thinking Denver."

"Denver Cottenfluff," Redstar nodded solemnly. "Best name in the world," and with that he snatched up his leaf wrap in his jaws and started making his way to his den.

"Don't you think we should give that mint to the medicine cat?" Deadrose called after him. "It doesn't grow on our territory and rubbing it all over your face won't help anyone."

Redstar pretended he didn't hear him and broke out into a sprint until he was in his den.

"So, Denver," the she cat said slowly. Her face looked funny, as if saying the name Denver caused a sour taste in her mouth.

"Yes?" Denver smiled, enjoying himself. This worked a lot better than I thought, he thought to himself. I like it already.

"You remember me, right? Tigerlily, from the gathering?"

"Yeah sure," Denver said. Tigerlily stared at him, not quite sure what to say. "Well," she said at last. "I guess you can sleep in the warriors den. The apprentices den is much too crowded already, and well, you have the body of a warrior."

"Really? Thanks babe, but I already have a mate," Denver laughed. Tigerlily and Deadroses mouth both dropped open. Denver just chuckled and walked away. He walked around the camp, completely ignoring everyone even though he knew he should be introducing himself to the confused cats who were staring at him. Then a cream color caught his eye, and Denver looked up. His heart started to beat faster as he saw Whitefire sitting by herself in the corner of the camp. He walked straight towards her, ignoring the calls from Tigerlily to come back. Whatever. Redstars on my side so I pretty much got a free pass to do whatever I want.

"Hey," Denver said quietly. Whitefire jumped and turned around, utterly alarmed by the sight of Jaypaw and his clouded eyed face.

"Jaypaw!" Whitefire cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not Jaypaw anymore," Denver said. "I'm Denver."

Whitefires face contorted from shock to confusion to horror at the same time. "Denver?" she whispered. "Why are you… why are you in Jaypaws body?"

"I decided to make it my permanent host," Denver replied. "So now you can relax. I won't be hosting you anymore."

"But… why are you in my clan?" Whitefire asked in disbelief. "Does Redstar even know you're here?"

"Yeah, I dealt with him already," Denver shrugged. "I gave him a minty leaf wrap and he let me stay in the clan."

"Wait-" Whitefires eyes widened. "You're a part of Deadclan now? Permanently?"

"You sound so disgusted I almost feel insulted," Denver rolled his eyes.

"But what about Jaypaw?" Whitefire whispered. "He's just a spirit now?"

"Don't worry, he didn't like it in Plantclan anyway," Denver said in annoyance. "In a way I let him go be whoever he wants."

Whitefire stared into Jaypaws… well, Denvers cloudy eye and didn't know what to say. "Why would you even want to be here though?" Whitefire said softly. "Just to find more cats to host for your other ghosts?"

"Nah," Denver said. "I don't care about any of that crap anymore."

"Then what?" Whitefire asked, struggling not to yell. "What's your purpose here?"

"I came here so we could be together," Denver said gently. "Now that I have a host I plan on keeping, and one you find attractive, we can be together."

Whitefire looked down, embarrassed. "But, it just doesn't feel right," she said.

"The world isn't right," Denver said. "Was turning you from Stormclan to Deadclan right? No. Was being born with a clouded eye right? Nope. Was Frostclans prisoner system for their sick cats right? No, no and no!"

"So… you don't have any bad intentions?" Whitefire asked at last. "None at all?"

"No," Denver said. "I promise."

"How do I know if I believe you?" Whitefire challenged.

"Because I just want to be with you," Denver said in a tired voice. "I'm sick of possessing everyone. What good does that do me in the end anyway?"

"Yeah, I guess," Whitefire murmured. Then she thought of something. "Wait… how did you know about Stormclan?"

Denver smiled slightly, looking away.

"What?" Whitefire demanded.

"I know about Stormclan," Denver started. "Because I used to be a part of it."

"You used to…" Whitefires voice trailed off. "What?"

"Do you think I was born a spirit?" Denver snapped. "No. I was born in Stormclan before it moved. My name was Dawnfur and I was a warrior."

Whitefire had no idea what to say. Denver had never told her this before, and it was shocking to hear.

"How did you become… like a spirit then?" Whitefire asked.

"How do you think?" Denver said quietly. "I got tricked into letting my body be able to be a host. I hated it. I wanted to die. But spirits don't die… I was angry."

"So you started to do it yourself," Whitefire said, piecing it together before he was even done speaking.

"I was just so angry," Denver continued, narrowing his eyes. "The spirit who took my real body trashed it. There was nothing left when he was done with me."

"That's awful," Whitefire said softly. "What did you look like?"

"I was orange, believe it or not," Denver smiled slightly. "With really short fur."

Whitefire pictured Denver as a shorted furred orange tabby and looked down. "I bet you looked quite handsome," she mumbled.

"I was," Denver agreed. "I was."

"So… what happened? You're body got taken, so you started learning to host others?"

"It was all I could do," Denver said grimly. "And Dawnfur became Denver and before you knew it I became the biggest hypocrite the forest has ever seen."

"So why did you change?" Whitefire asked. "You were evil for so long… why did you stop?"

"Because of you," Denver muttered. "I never really knew the pain I was causing you. Until the other day, when I saw Lores trying to possess you. When I saw your face," Denvers voice trailed off. "You were so scared. I never noticed that when I used to do it myself."

"Oh," Whitefire was at a loss of words. Her heart was beating in her chest so loud she figured he must hear it. "So, what now?" she asked at last.

"I'm going to tell you something," Denver said suddenly. "And it's something I've been wanting to say for a very long time."

"Okay," Whitefire whispered. He's going to say he loves me, Whitefire thought. Oh my god… I'm so nervous… do I even want him to say it? Do I even love him? Oh who am I kidding, yes I do. Denver, just say it, I'm ready.

Whitefire braced herself, trying to calm her nerves and anxiety, staring into Denvers eyes.

"I'm sorry," Denver said.

It wasn't what Whitefire was expecting, but it was the most powerful apology she had ever heard. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek against his. She recoiled at once, his face was sticky.

"Why did you rub mint on your face?" she asked. Denvers eyes widened and he touched his face with a paw. "Damn it, I forgot," he snapped. "So I literally just poured my heart out to you with my face covered in minty berry juices?"

"Yes," Whitefire giggled. Denver smiled and rubbed his face over Whitefires.

She shrieked as the catmint smothered her nose.