CHAPTER 48-The Loneliest Ones Are Always the Kindest

Shadefrost's POV

I shifted sleepily and blinked open my eyes, stifling a yawn. The morning light filtered through the opening in the medicine cat's den, the rays leaking across the walls like golden syrup. I was curled up against Snowstorm, my head resting on his chest. Dewstep was sleeping a few pawsteps away, his pelt plastered in herbs and cobwebs.

There was another cat here. I saw the faint rising and falling of her tortoiseshell fur, and my ears flicked forward in surprise when I realized that it was Sorreltail. There was a collar of dried blood circling her neck, which was thickly layered in cobwebs.

Brackenfur was sitting beside her, his furry tail curled around his paws. His eyes looked tired. He had probably stayed up all night for her, anxiously waiting for morning to come and praying that she would see the light of day again.

I carefully lifted my head, mindful of my wounds, and asked, "What happened to her?"

The tip of his tail twitched, but other than that, he was completely still. He replied stiffly, "She was standing guard against the entrance yesterday night. Her scent reeks of fox, but it got away before I had any chance to kill it. I don't know if she'll live. The medicine cats said that she lost a lot of blood."

"I'm sorry," I murmured, unsure of what else to say. A wave of pity flowed over me as I stared at her battered body. Jayfeather padded forward from the shadows with a wad of herbs in his mouth. Brackenfur stared up at him hopefully.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked nervously.

Jayfeather gently unwound the cobwebs from her neck and stared down at the mess of dried blood. He quickly cleaned it off and had a good look at her wounds. Finally, he sat up and began to chew the herbs into a thick pulp.

Brackenfur asked urgently, "Jayfeather?"

The medicine cat murmured, "She'll be fine. Her neck is a mess, but since she survived the first night, she'll live."

"Thank StarClan," the golden tom meowed. He smiled and licked his mate's cheek.

Even though it was still dawn, I could hear a flurry of bustling activity coming from outside the den.

Jayfeather looked up and explained, "Bramblestar is making sure that we're ready when the Darklings attack. He's going through battle techniques and escape routes with the senior warriors, and the others are repairing the thorn barrier and patrolling the territory."

"But that won't be enough to stop the Darklings." I saw how much destruction they could cause. I knew.

I sat up, ignoring the sharp stab of pain, and insisted, "The Darklings are afraid of heat and light. If only we could somehow safely light a bonfire in the middle of the clearing to keep them away."

Brackenfur and Jayfeather stared at me in shock. Brackenfur meowed, "You can't do that! No one can control fire. It'll destroy our whole territory."

"I know. That's why I need to find a way..."

I slowly stood up and began to exit the den.

Jayfeather bounded over to me and blocked my way. "You're still hurt," he hissed. "You have to stay here until you heal."

I flattened my ears. "It's my duty to keep the Clans safe. Please don't stop me." I glared at him, trying to look intimidating.

He glowered back angrily and opened his mouth to say something, but then a flicker passed through his eyes and he stepped back.

"Fine then," he hissed. "If you're that determined, then I can't stop you."

I hesitated, waiting for him to change his mind. He only turned and began cleaning Dewstep's wounds. My gaze softened, and I limped out of the den.

Warriors and apprentices were bustling back and forth, shouting orders to each other and trying to strengthen the Clan. They hurried to and fro and I scrambled to get out of their way. They seemed so determined to protect their precious Clan, and for a second, it seemed that we would win.

But it wouldn't be that easy. Still, I stared at them for a few more minutes, looking at the bravery in their eyes and the courage in the way they walked.

These were one of the few reasons why I loved ThunderClan so much.

I turned and spotted Bramblestar a little distance away. He, Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, and Dovewing were seated together with a large band of the other warriors, talking about their attack strategies.

I limped forward and the leader broke off, his eyes questioning me.

I whispered, "I need to somehow build a fire in the middle of the clearing to keep the Darklings away. Is that okay with you?"

He bristled and sat up straighter. "Of course not! What if it burns the whole camp?"

"I'll put stones around it, and we'll have wet moss nearby in case there are any stray sparks. Trust me, we have to try this. The Darklings won't go anywhere near heat or light, and we have to make sure they stay away from our camp."

He relaxed and thought for a moment. He gazed at me with confusion in his eyes. "I suppose, if we're careful enough, we could do it. But how are you going to make fire?"

I smiled. "With flint. I just need to find some."

I didn't really know what flint looked like, other than the fact that it gave off sparks when it was hit.

"I'm going to go down to the Lake to see if I can find any," I mewed. Bramblestar furrowed his brow and tipped his head to one side. "How is flint going to help us make a fire?" he asked.

I didn't want to answer any more of his questions. I was in a hurry to go. Before padding away, I glanced over my shoulder and replied, "That's what flint does. In the olden days, thousands of years ago, ancient Twolegs would use them to make fire to keep themselves warm."

The dark brown tom nodded slowly, thinking. A small grin slowly appeared on his face as he mewed, "You really are remarkable, Shadefrost. You know so much. It seems that I have misjudged you from the first day you set paw in the Clan."

I smiled at his praise and nodded quietly. Then I limped over to the entrance and ambled away.

The forest still looked so peaceful. Butterflies flitted from the warm, early spring air and birds chirped and sang high up in their perches. It was as if the forest didn't care about the oncoming doom and wanted to preserve its happiness for as long as it could.

I jumped, startled when I spotted movement among the trees. A fox stepped out, and I relaxed when I realized that it was Pip. She barked and padded up to me.

"There you are," I said. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the meadow? My Clan wouldn't like it very much if they saw you here."

She yipped and crouched down, her tail waving in the air and her eyes shining.

I leaned down and licked her forehead fondly, making her flinch.

"Oh, I can't play right now," I mewed. "I've got flint to find. Maybe you can help me."

She tipped her head to one side while flicking her ear playfully, obviously not understanding what I said.

She bounded forward a few paces and then crouched down, waiting for me to chase her. I grinned at her lively spirit but continued on toward the direction of the Lake, beckoning her with my tail.

Together, we picked our way toward the shoreline. Thousands of rocks of all shapes and sizes littered the bank. My hope sank as I looked at each one. I sniffed a smooth, grey one and turned it over with my paw. It looked just like any other rock. Which one was flint?

I gripped a larger stone in my paw, holding it as tight as I can, and then with all the strength I could muster, I threw it against the pebble. It cracked cleanly into two pieces. No sparks. Darn it.

I selected a few more rocks and pounded each one. All of them either split open or didn't budge. At this rate, I would be here all day.

Pip was watching me quietly, a confused look in her eyes. I blushed, imagining how idiotic I must look as I continuously smashed pebbles.

"You don't happen to know what flint looks like, do you?" I asked.

I didn't expect her to answer, but to my surprise, Pip tipped her head to one side and murmured, "Fl...flint?"

Her voice sounded thick and her tongue was uncertain. I quickly realized that she was only mimicking what I said, not really understanding what the word meant.

"Flint," I said. "You know, the kind of rock that makes sparks."

She squinted her eyes and concentrated. "Flin...flint. Sparks."

I patted her head. "Yeah. You're learning the cat language really fast."

We sat together next to the Lake as I taught her other words. She stuttered often and sometimes she got it wrong, but I was patient. In a short while, I had taught her the words 'leaf', 'rock', 'lake', 'sun', and 'clouds'.

I nudged her shoulder fondly. "You're learning really fast."

I looked around us and sighed. There were literally hundreds of stones. How was I supposed to find any flint? I slowly heaved myself to my paws and offered my paw to her to help her up. "Well, I guess my plan isn't going to work after all. I can't seem to find any flint."

She stared at my extended paw and hesitated, her gaze flickering over to my eyes. I grinned. "What are you waiting for? I don't bite."

She took my paw and I pulled her to her feet. Her stomach rumbled and she blushed.

I suggested, "Let's go hunting then."

"H...hun...hunting?"

"Yeah. Let's go catch some prey."

The forest was teeming with life. However, I noticed that when Pip crouched down to pounce onto a squirrel or mouse, her stance was uncertain and she always leaped a few seconds too soon. Didn't anyone teach her how to hunt properly? How did she survive all those moons on her own?

Crouching down, I signaled for her to do the same. I tapped my tail against her forepaws. "They're too close together. Make them shoulder-length apart. Like this," I whispered. She peered down at my paws and tried to mimic me.

I continued, "That's right. Keep your tail down low. I can scent a mouse nearby, so see if you can catch that one."

She sniffed the air and her eyes gleamed when she scented the rodent.

"Keep yourself low to the ground. Lower," I instructed. I tapped her shoulder. She hunkered down until her belly brushed the grass underneath her.

"Now, pounce when the mouse isn't looking."

The wind died down and seemed to pause, waiting, watching the fox as she was about to hunt her first prey. I held my breath, nervous and hopeful. Pip gathered up the muscles in her hind legs and flexed her shoulders. She glanced at me uncertainly. I gave her an encouraging nod.

She shifted her legs and pounced, her paws stretching in front of her. Her fur looked like a scorching band of fire in the sun. She made a graceful leap and landed on top of the mouse, her teeth quickly clamping onto it. She gulped it down and let out a victorious yip.

"Good job!" I meowed happily, giving her a pat on the back. She barked happily and stared up at me.

We spent the rest of the morning hunting prey, catching so much that we didn't know what to do with the rest of it. We were both full to the brim and I couldn't eat another bite.

"I'll carry the rest of the prey back to my Clan. You should stay here," I told her. She furrowed her brow and eyed me warily. "You can't...can't go," she stammered, the cat words unfamiliar on her tongue.

My face softened. "But I have to. My Clan is counting on me. I'll visit you later." I carried the leftover prey in my mouth and continued on back to the camp. Pip watched me walk away, her small form growing tinier with every step I took until I couldn't see her anymore in the distance. A small worm of guilt nagged at me, but I ignored it. It wasn't like I was going away for good. I would see her again. Maybe I could even teach her how to skip stones across the surface of the Lake. I smiled to myself, imagining in my mind how much fun we would have.

I had to remind myself that Pip was still a fox, still a wild animal, an enemy of ThunderClan. She wasn't some kind of tamed puppy that would sit and stay whenever I told her too. I saw the way she eyed the prey that she was about to kill. There was a hint of something ancient in her gaze, something hidden and tiny that glinted just faintly in the sunlight. Was Pip my friend? I stopped suddenly, a little bit startled by the question I had asked myself. Was Pip someone I could trust, someone who I could look up to, like Snowstorm or Dewstep? Was she my comrade? I wasn't sure of the answer. We hung out together today, I taught her some new things, and I walked away happy and satisfied. But there was more to being a friend than just that. I shook my head and continued on my way. Time could solve everything. With time, I was sure that I could win her heart over.