Frostmask tilted her chin up towards the dark indigo sky, watching as her foggy breath drifted towards the stars. Shivering slightly, she pressed herself closer to the warmth radiating off of Poolcloud, who was crouching at her side. He barely responded to her touch; his muscles were stiff and his eyes glazed over as he blankly stared down at the body of Fogfur in front of them.
Frostmask's gaze dropped down to Poolcloud's former mentor, and mournfulness welled in her chest. In the last half a moon, greencough had taken root in Fogfur's lungs, and the once powerful warrior had wasted away. Now his long grey fur clung to a body that seemed to be made from nothing but skin and bones— just a shadow of his former self.
Frostmask pressed herself against Poolcloud's side again, this time in an attempt to comfort him, but still he didn't glance at her or even flick an ear in her direction. Frostmask looked out over Fogfur's body, her gaze meeting with Autumnleap's. She could see the same concern she felt for Poolcloud shining back at her in his amber eyes.
The sound of someone's throat clearing made Frostmask glance up. All the elders, besides Flymask, who was sick with greencough now and much too frail to leave his nest, were padding over. They had come to preform a death ceremony yet again.
These are becoming much too regular.
Frostmask rose to her paws, respectfully taking a step back to make room so Greytail, Treefur, and Darkpelt could stand over Fogfur. Poolcloud however, still didn't move from Fogfur's side, and Dewleaf had to gently nudge him to his paws, guiding him back. Poolcloud pressed himself hard against her, his expression bleak as he continued to gaze at Fogfur. Frostmask noticed Treefur also looked especially grief-stricken, and a faint memory from her apprentice ceremony resurfaced as she recalled that Treefur had been Fogfur's mentor.
It was he who had the honor of beginning Fogfur's ceremony.
"Fogfur, you've served ShadowClan honorably for many seasons as a brave and powerful warrior, but sickness can claim even the strongest among us," Treefur rasped, his cloudy eyes mournful.
Darkpelt limped forward, his brow furrowed.
"You have fulfilled your warrior vows, and so we release you from your oath to ShadowClan," he rumbled, gazing down at Fogfur. "Now, the endless expanse of our ancestor's hunting grounds awaits you, where you are free to roam, healthy and young once again."
Greytail stepped forward now to conclude the ceremony.
"Journey to StarClan now with claws sharp, eyes bright, and tail held high! Go, and receive your warrior's welcome!" she yowled, lifting her gaze to the sky.
The Clan began to stomp their paws against the ground. Frostmask threw her head back, lifting her voice along with her clan-mates.
"Fogfur! Fogfur! Fogfur!" they cheered, honoring the fallen warrior one last time.
As the final note of their yowls faded, Clearstream strode forward. Her blue eyes reflected starlight, and seemed to shine with a mystical wisdom that Frostmask could never even hope to understand.
"Fogfur hunts with our ancestors now," Clearstream said. "The body he left behind will be buried at dawn."
Some clan-mates began to quietly murmur among themselves. It was late in the night, past the time that most cats would be in their nests, and now that the ceremony had concluded many cats turned to go to their dens to rest a bit before dawn. Frostmask stared at them as they walked away, her stomach twisting as she swept her gaze over their thin frames and tired eyes. Frostmask knew that the start of new-leaf couldn't be more than a couple of moons away, but right now it felt like leaf-bare would never end.
Frostmask recalled Grovepelt once saying that late leaf-bare was always the most difficult time of the season because by then, all of the forest and prey were at their weakest from suffering so long from the cold. Frostmask's gaze flickered to Dampfang as he brushed past her. Even he lately seemed like he didn't have the energy to antagonize Frostmask or pester Sedgestar about when ShadowClan would get their revenge against SkyClan.
You know times are tough when even Dampfang can't muster the strength to be a frog-brain. Frostmask mused.
"Are you staying out?" Autumnleap's voice asked her softly, interrupting her thoughts.
Frostmask blinked, turning towards him as he padded over to her, before her gaze flickered over to Poolcloud again. He'd gone back to crouching next to his mentor with Dewleaf sitting supportively at his side. Treefur and Marshnose were among the others who had stayed to continue to hold vigil for Fogfur.
"I think I might sit with Poolcloud for a while longer," Frostmask said in a soft voice, so it wouldn't reach anyone's ears but Autumnleap's.
Autumnleap's eyes were round with sympathy as he glanced over at his brother.
"Poor Poolcloud," he murmured. "I know he really admired Fogfur and having to watch him slowly decline like this…"
"It must have been hard," Frostmask agreed, sighing quietly.
Autumnleap nodded, and Frostmask's ears flattened against her head.
"When will leaf-bare end?" she lamented to no one in particular.
"We'll get through this," Autumnleap said, raising his chin confidently.
"I hope so," Frostmask murmured.
Autumnleap brushed his pelt reassuringly against her side, and Frostmask's fur warmed at the touch. She was reminded that she hadn't had the chance yet to speak with Autumnleap after the conversation she'd had with Pineshade and Murmurstep about a half a moon ago.
Her stomach flipped with nerves.
It's not like I'm not avoiding talking to him; I've just been busy and it just hasn't felt like the right time yet! She tried to argue with herself, giving her ears a small shake.
"Are you going to head to your nest?" Frostmask asked him, pushing those thoughts away.
"I'll stay out for a bit," Autumnleap said.
Frostmask nodded and settled back down by Poolcloud. Autumnleap crouched at her side, and only a heartbeat later, Pineshade appeared, squeezing herself next to Poolcloud so she could lightly brushing her tail over his back.
"We're all here for you," Autumnleap murmured, leaning over Frostmask to touch his nose to Poolcloud's ear.
Poolcloud finally lifted his gaze up from his mentor's body. As he glanced around at Dewleaf, Pineshade, Frostmask and Autumnleap, his amber eyes welled with emotion.
"Thanks guys," he whispered.
All of them huddled even more tightly together, as if the could drive away more than the icy air with the warmth of their shared pelts.
Frostmask's paws dragged as she, Lizardpaw, Rowanheart, Snakeeyes, and Hollowpaw made their way back to camp the next day. Their patrol had left at dawn to hunt, and Frostmask barely got any sleep last night because of Fogfur's vigil, but more than exhaustion was weighing her down now.
They had spent all morning fruitlessly searching the forest for prey. The entire patrol had only gathered one mouse, caught by Rowanheart, and one shrew, tracked down and dug out of its burrow by Lizardpaw.
Frostmask's stomach clenched painfully, reminding her that the last time she'd eaten was yesterday morning. Frostmask closed her eyes for a moment, comforting herself by reliving her memories of last green-leaf, when ShadowClan's marshes and pines were so full of prey, it felt like you couldn't take a stride without almost stepping on a frog or a skink. Now though, all the reptiles and amphibians had disappeared to hibernate until the weather turned warm again.
Frostmask had never been the biggest fan of scaly fresh-kill, but now her mouth watered at the thought of sinking her fangs into a large, juicy lizard or frog.
Frostmask blinked her eyes back open as their downtrodden patrol reached the thorn barrier of their camp. Squeezing through the tunnel, they emerged into a subdued camp. Cats were outside their dens, enjoying the weak leaf-bare sunlight, but the camp didn't have the typical relaxed energy of ShadowClan at sun-high. Her clan-mates just mostly seemed exhausted. They were tightly pressed together in groups, but it seemed much more out of a utilitarian need for heat than out of a desire to enjoy each other's company.
Frostmask's patrol first headed over to the fresh-kill pile; if it could even be called a pile. Right now there were only two mice and a bird sitting there. Frostmask turned to Lizardpaw as Rowanheart dropped his mouse with the others.
'Why don't you take your shrew to Amberberry?' she suggested. 'I'm sure she'll appreciate it. Then you can take a break afterwards; you've earned it.'
Lizardpaw nodded, his gaze flickering from Frostmask to the meager fresh-kill pile behind her.
'There's not enough for me to have anything to eat right now is there?' he asked.
Even though the thought of denying Lizardpaw food felt like claws pricking at her heart,Frostmask gave her head a small, regretful shake.
'The elders have not been fed yet today,' she signed. 'But we will eat something caught by the sunset hunting patrols later. I promise.'
Lizardpaw nodded, his whiskers drooping slightly. He walked off to the nursery with the food for Amberberry.
If there's still not enough prey for everyone in the evening, I'll give Lizardpaw my share. Frostmask swore to herself despite her stomach clenching in hunger.
"Poor scrap," Snakeeyes murmured to Frostmask as she watched her son pad away. "He's a new-leaf kit— not used to have an empty belly."
Rowanheart stepped over to his mate's side.
"The weather will turn soon enough," he meowed. "No leaf-bare lasts forever."
Frostmask nodded, trying to imbue herself with Rowanheart's optimism. Her gaze flickered across the camp, searching for a distraction from her yowling belly.
"Hey Frostmask!" Mosspounce chirped cheerily, waving her golden tail to catch her attention.
Frostmask spotted her sitting and chatting on the other side of the camp with Pineshade and Murmurstep.
"Join us!" Mosspounce called.
Frostmask approached the group, giving a purr in greeting, and Mosspounce scooted over to make space for Frostmask to sit next to her. Frostmask crouched down, but before she could even tuck her paws under her chest, Mosspounce eagerly leaned into Frostmask's side, nestling herself into Frostmask's much longer and fluffier pelt.
Frostmask blinked in stunned surprise.
"Did… did you somehow trick me into coming over here, just so I could be your personal fur-warmer?" Frostmask asked, staring at Mosspounce in bewilderment.
"Whaaat?" Mosspounce said, dragging out the syllables. "No…"
She then pressed herself even deeper into Frostmask's thick pelt, making her defense all the more unconvincing. Pineshade and Murmurstep burst into purrs, and Frostmask couldn't help but laughing as well at the brazenness of Mosspounce's plan.
"Okay, so maybe I did little," Mosspounce admitted, withdrawing from Frostmask's pelt slightly. "But, that doesn't mean that I also don't appreciate your company, Frostmask! It's just that my fur is so short, and Pineshade was hogging all of Murmurstep's pelt! Even though Pineshade's fur is already longer than mine, so Murmurstep should really be sharing with me!"
Frostmask glanced over at them, and did notice that Mosspounce was right about the two she-cats being pressed closely together.
"What! You're not entitled to my pelt," Murmurstep protested as she blinked indignantly at Mosspounce.
"You're my sister! Of course I'm entitled to it," Mosspounce said, lolling her tongue out tauntingly at Murmurstep.
"Maybe Murmurstep just likes me better than you," Pineshade sniffed, giving Mosspounce a teasing glance from narrowed eyes. "I don't spend every heartbeat meowing into her ears. Every moment. Of both your lives."
Mosspounce huffed offendedly as Frostmask and Murmurstep purred with amusement. But, then motion in the corner of Frostmask's vision drew her eye, distracting her from the playful bickering. It was just Sedgestar walking across the camp clearing, but something seemed off about him. Instead of his normal confident and purposeful stride, his gait was hesitant and unsteady; his amber eyes bleary as he made his way in the direction of the medicine cats' den.
Frostmask's shoulder fur bristled in fear and worry.
"Is Sedgestar sick?" she hissed in a low voice, interrupting Mosspounce, who had been saying something else.
Silence fell over the group as all their eyes turned to their leader. They watched as Sedgestar paused a few fox-lengths away from the medicine cats' den, swaying slightly on his paws.
"Oh no," Pineshade murmured.
Pineshade's ears flattened back, and she rose to her paws as if she was about to rush over to help him. But, they weren't the only cats that noticed Sedgestar's state. Before Pineshade could even take a step, Emberflower had hurried to her mate's side, her eyes dark with concern.
"Sedgestar! Are you okay?" she asked, pressing her flank against his to steady him.
"I'm… I'm not feeling well," Sedgestar rasped.
Frostmask tensed in shock as she spotted crimson beads of blood form on Sedgestar's lips, dripping from his mouth as he spoke. Emberflower stiffened as well, her green eyes widening.
"Clearstream! Elmclaw!" she yowled, whipping her head in the direction of their cave. "I need your help! Something's wrong with Sedgestar!"
At Emberflower's cry, the heads of everyone in camp snapped towards Sedgestar, and a gasp of worry rippled through ShadowClan.
Just as Clearstream poked her head out of lichen cover entrance to the medicine cat den, Sedgestar collapsed to the ground.
Blood was streaming more quickly from both his mouth and his nose now, and it showed no sign of slowing. Sedgestar's shoulders strained as he struggled to pull his paws back under him as Clearstream and Elmclaw sprinted over. A tense hush fell over the camp as the eyes of all of ShadowClan stared in fear at their leader. Rowanheart was now at his mother's side, and the two of them stared down at Sedgestar with identical distressed green eyes. Grovepelt rushed over as well, his ears pinned back in horror as he circled Sedgestar.
"Stay down!" Clearstream ordered, putting a gentle paw on Sedgestar's flank to stop him from trying to rise back to his paws. "What happened? Are you in pain? Injured? How do you feel?"
"Exhausted," Sedgestar managed to say, his amber eyes half-lidded. "My head hurts."
Watching him speak was horrifying. His teeth were stained red with blood, and more of it just ran from his lips with each movement of his mouth.
"We have to stop this bleeding," Clearstream said, her gaze narrowed with intense focus and concern. "Elmclaw, go get horsetail."
Elmclaw didn't move.
"We don't have any horsetail," Elmclaw said, his eyes round with dismay. "Remember?"
"Snake-dung," Clearstream swore loudly. "That's right."
"Why is he bleeding? Where it is coming from?" Emberflower asked urgently.
Clearstream gently opened Sedgestar's mouth with her paws. Sedgestar allowed her to do so without protest. His body was limp, and Frostmask's stomach twisted as she realized that she wasn't sure if he was still conscious anymore.
"There's too much blood," Clearstream said. "I can't tell. He's not coughing though, so I don't think it's his lungs."
She touched her nose to Sedgestar's ear.
"He's not feverish," she declared. "But, he's deteriorating quickly."
Sedgestar's flanks shuddered as he struggled to breathe. Frostmask dug her claws into the ground, her muscles stiff with horror. She was certain he was unconscious now. His amber eyes were still half-open, but they had lost all their focus and intensity.
"He was totally fine this morning!" Emberflower said, a small wail entering her voice as she circled her dying mate. "Can't you do anything!?"
Sedgestar's sides spasmed more fiercely now, and he retched, but the material that flowed from his mouth was dark red, just more blood being spewed from his body.
"I don't know what's wrong, and we have no herbs to stop the bleeding," Clearstream whispered, her gaze distressed but her mew steady. "His life is in StarClan's paws now."
Dead silence fell over the camp; the only noise was the sound of Sedgestar's lungs rasping wetly with each shaky breath. Grovepelt sunk to the ground next to Sedgestar, rasping his tongue rhythmically over his head and murmuring to him in a low, soothing voice like one might use to comfort a little kit.
Sedgestar hung on for a while, much longer than Frostmask thought he would, judging by the amount of blood dripping from his body. But, then finally, air rattled from Sedgestar's lungs in an exhale, and his flanks didn't rise again.
A sharp inhale reverberated through the clan as if in echo of Sedgestar's final breath.
Emberflower made a soft whimpering noise, and Rowanheart pressed himself against her side, draping his tail over her back comfortingly. A small pool of blood had formed around Sedgestar's head, and his muzzle and chin fur had turned red from soaking in it.
Frostmask stared at Sedgestar's body, every hair on her pelt tense.
She knew that he had nine lives, but she'd never seen him lose one and come back. Truthfully, she didn't even know if he had lost any at all during the time that she'd been in ShadowClan. But, he was her leader; wouldn't she know if he had?
Although, on the other paw, he was a very secretive cat. Maybe this was something he kept to himself… And, who knows how many lives he'd lost before she came to ShadowClan. She knew he'd become leader as a young cat, and so had already led ShadowClan for many seasons now.
But, this couldn't possibly be his last life.
…Right?
Sedgestar jerked and gasped, his eyes flying open as a long, shuddering breath inflated his lungs. His back arched as his head was thrown back, and his eyes went so wide, Frostmask could see a ring of white around the amber. His jaws stretched open as if in a silent scream of agony as his body contorted.
Then as suddenly as he had stirred, he dropped back to the ground with a dull thump, his eyes closing again. But, now Frostmask could see his flanks were moving in slow, even breaths— the blood that had been flowing from his nose and mouth had dripped to a stop and was drying on his fur. Emberflower and Rowanheart leapt to his side, crouching down to cover his face in frantic, loving licks, cleaning the blood from him, while Grovepelt sighed, his head bowing in relief. An unsteady purr rumbled in Sedgestar's chest, and he cracked his eyes open.
"I'm alright," he rasped to Emberflower, Rowanheart, and Grovepelt.
He lifted his head up to address the entire watching camp.
"I'm alright," he repeated in a stronger voice.
Frostmask released a tense breath and exchanged relieved glances with Pineshade, Murmurstep, and Mosspounce. Purrs and murmured gratitudes to StarClan echoed throughout the clearing, and now that the crisis seemed over, clan-mates flowed over to gather around Sedgestar. Frostmask followed Murmurstep, Pineshade, and Mosspounce to join the crowd, gazing at Sedgestar with an odd mixture of horror, awe, and relief.
"Dear StarClan, what happened to you?" Larkfoot gasped, her short fawn pelt bristling with fear and concern. "That was horrible!"
"I don't know," Sedgestar meowed, forcing his paws under him and straightening to a sit. "It came over me so quickly."
Sedgestar began to stand, but Clearstream stopped him by draping her tail over his back.
"Rest longer," she ordered. "StarClan may have healed whatever was wrong, but you still need a few moments to recover your strength."
Sedgestar relented and remained sitting.
"You don't think it's some kind of new sickness?" Dustleap asked, his eyes filled with worry.
His gaze sought out Hollowpaw, Cedarpaw, and Cricketpaw in the crowd, and Frostmask knew he must be terrified of losing his remaining kits like how he had lost Buzzardpaw to greencough.
"It's not like any sickness I've heard of," Elmclaw rumbled, his tail-tip twitching with unease.
"I don't think it is one," Clearstream added, shaking her head. "No disease would come on so quickly."
"Then what could it be?" Darkpelt asked before turning to Sedgestar. "You haven't recently gotten injured, have you?"
Sedgestar shook his head in reply.
"Well, it could've been just something was wrong with Sedgestar's body," Clearstream meowed, shooting Sedgestar a look out of the corner of the eye. "Sometimes, something goes wrong, or organs fail for seemingly no reason, and it kills a cat."
Frostmask saw her clan-mates brows begin to furrow with concern.
"But, if that was the case, then StarClan has healed the malady," Clearstream continued. "Besides that though, there's only one other option that I can think of…"
She hesitated, her ears flicking with nervousness.
"What?" Sedgestar prompted, his gaze unwavering as he stared at her.
"…Poison," Clearstream responded finally, her mew reluctant.
Frostmask's ears flattened as a fresh wave of confusion and worry rippled through the clan.
"Poison?" Emberflower echoed, taking a protective step closer to Sedgestar. "But, how? Sedgestar isn't frog-brained enough to eat something like deathberries."
"It's not deathberries," Clearstream said with assertive head-shake. "That kills very differently. Although deathberries aren't the only poison in the forest."
She turned to Sedgestar.
"I need you to tell me exactly everything you ate and drank for the past day," she said. "And, did anything you consume taste off at all?"
"Not at all," Sedgestar said, shaking his head. "All I had was water from the pools around camp and prey from the fresh-kill pile."
"It can't be the water," Clearstream muttered, half to herself. "If it was, more cats would be sick. So it must be the prey."
Our food has been poisoned?!
Frostmask's stomach flipped in fear, an emotion that was echoed by her clan-mates as they began to let out concerned mews. Sedgestar shot a glance around the camp before turning back to Clearstream.
"Are you sure that it's poison?" he whispered.
Sedgestar's low voice was clearly intended to only reach Clearstream's ears, but Frostmask was standing close enough to them to pick his words out from the fearful muttering of the crowd.
"You might be worrying them for no reason," he added.
"I'm not sure, but it needs our immediate attention either way," Clearstream whispered back. "If we ignore it, and it actually is poison, it could happen again to one of our clan-mates. One who doesn't have nine lives."
Sedgestar had no response to that.
"What if this is the rotten pine!?" Mosspounce's frightened voice rang out above the murmuring.
Sedgestar lifted his head and swept his gaze over his clan.
"We don't know that for sure," he reassured, his voice firm but calm.
"But, we also don't know that it's not," Marshnose fired back, his brown tabby and white pelt prickling. "Fogfur died yesterday, and now you lose a life today? That sounds like an omen that ShadowClan's starting down a path to ruin to me."
"Could this be SkyClan's doing?!" Greytail demanded, curling her lip up to bare yellowed fangs. "Could they be trying to poison us?"
The muttering of the crowd rose in volume to hisses and growls as cats began to argue. Some yowled out in agreement with Greytail, while others pushed against her.
"That's frog-brained," Treefur growled to his den-mate. "How could SkyClan have snuck into camp to poison our prey?"
"How did they attack our camp without warning?" Greytail shot back.
"Do you think they targeted Sedgestar on purpose?!" Mosspounce gasped, her eyes wide.
"It's not SkyClan!" Murmurstep hissed at her in response.
"I've been telling you this all along!" Dampfang shouted, lifting his tail and baring his fangs. "It must be the work of a traitor! Someone is working with SkyClan!"
Hisses of shock echoed Dampfang's words. Frostmask dug unsheathed claws into the ground, struggling to keep her expression neutral.
I'm no traitor to ShadowClan, but if they found out that I met with Paledusk, they'd claw me to shreds before I could even explain anything!
"No! It can't be!" Amberberry gasped in fear, her eyes wide as she swept her tail over her belly protectively.
"Enough! Enough!" Sedgestar yowled, rising to his paws and lifting his tail for attention. "We will figure this out, but panicking won't help us."
The cats slowly settled back down, although they still stared at each other like wide-eyed owls. Frostmask's fur bristled slightly as she felt suspicious glances brush over her pelt. She looked around with a sharp gaze, daring any of her clan-mates to meet her eye and challenge her loyalty to her face, but no one did. Frostmask did however notice that many of her clan-mates were directing paranoid glances towards several cats, not just her, and she felt strangely relieved that she wasn't the only cat under scrutiny.
Grovepelt rose to his paws as well, standing at Sedgestar's side with his chin raised high. He swept his gaze over the clan, his green eyes narrowed in fury.
"Proposing that any one of our clan-mates would be a traitor to ShadowClan and wish for Sedgestar's death is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Grovepelt hissed, and Frostmask thought that she'd never heard the deputy's voice sound so icy. "I know that every cat here would give their life to save each other without hesitation. Don't forget that StarClan told us that ShadowClan gets its strength from our loyalty to each other."
Grovepelt locked his searing gaze on Dampfang.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," he spat.
Dampfang bowed his head dutifully, but his voice was still confident as he spoke out.
"I just don't think we should rule out any possibilities," he said. "How else could Sedgestar have been poisoned, if someone didn't put it in the fresh-kill?"
A low growl rumbled in Grovepelt's throat.
"You should not throw out such weighty accusations without proof," Grovepelt insisted. "There may be another explanation for the poison. We just need some time to work it out."
Sedgestar nodded.
"Yes," he meowed in agreement. "We are getting ahead of ourselves. We still don't even know for sure if the poison came from our fresh-kill pile. Clearstream knows more about diseases, herbs, and poisons than any other cat in the clans. If anyone can figure out what happened, she can."
Sedgestar turned back to her.
"What should we do next?" he asked.
Clearstream shook out her long grey tabby pelt and took a deep breath.
"Let's go back to the prey you had for your latest meal," she meowed. "What have you eaten today?"
Sedgestar shook his head.
"I didn't eat today," he responded. "The fresh-kill pile has been low, so I didn't want to take anything. The last thing I ate was yesterday, around sun-high. It was a mouse."
Clearstream nodded.
"It might have been that mouse then," she said before sweeping her gaze across the crowd. "What cats led hunting patrols yesterday morning or the evening before?"
Beeclaw, Kestrelmoon, Redclaw, and Leafbreeze stepped forward.
"Where did each of you hunt?" she asked.
Redclaw and Leafbreeze reported that their patrols had both hunted near the Burnt Sycamore the day before yesterday. Yesterday morning, Kestrelmoon had led his hunting patrol by the WindClan border, while Beeclaw's patrol had hunted in the woods around the Carrionplace.
Grovepelt's ears pricked up.
"The Carrionplace?" he echoed.
Beeclaw nodded in confirmation, looking at the deputy.
"I noticed that prey was running well there," he meowed. "I think it's because they've been eating the two-legs' trash."
Grovepelt's brow furrowed in concern. Sedgestar gazed at him intently, reading the thoughts in his expression.
"You don't think the two-legs could have anything to do with this?" Sedgestar asked, his brow furrowing.
Grovepelt's thin tail twitched uneasily.
"Many seasons ago, when I was a newly made warrior," he began slowly. "There was an outbreak of a strange disease in leaf-bare that claimed the lives of many cats."
He shot a glance over at Greytail.
"Do you remember that season?" he asked her.
"How could I forget?" the elder growled, her fur prickling. "The sickness killed my sister."
"Describe what the disease was like," Clearstream interrupted, her tail twitching with a hint of impatience as the older cats recalled the grim memories. "I've heard stories about the outbreak, but I was only a kit at the time. Much too young to remember any details about the symptoms."
"It began with cats just feeling weak and tired," Grovepelt meowed. "Then as the days passed, it progressed to a small amount of bleeding from the nose and mouth. Cats grew weaker and weaker and then succumbed. The whole process never took more than a quarter moon from first feeling of weakness to death."
He shot a glance over at Sedgestar.
"So there were some similar symptoms, but it was never as swift and violent as what happened today," he said.
He looked back at Clearstream.
"Could it be possible that what we thought was a disease was actually a poison?" he asked. "Something that is happening again?"
"I think it's the best lead we have," she meowed, her gaze dark. "How was this outbreak contained?"
Grovepelt's gaze unfocused as he got swept up in the memory.
"At that time, we still often hunted rats in the Carrionplace," he meowed. "However, once our cats began to fall ill, we noticed that the rats there appeared ill too. We stopped hunting at the Carrionplace, and no more cats got sick. That's why we assumed the disease came from them, and how we learned that the Carrionplace contained more danger than just the rats themselves."
Frostmask's stomach flipped sickeningly as she recalled the odd behavior of the rat her patrol had came across in the woods only a half moon ago. She stepped forward, her pelt prickling.
"When I was patrolling with Pineshade and Murmurstep a little under a half-moon ago, we saw a weak rat out in the forest, near the outskirts of the Carrionplace," she said. "We thought it was sick or injured. But, maybe it was poisoned."
Pineshade and Murmurstep muttered confirmations. Grovepelt gazed at Frostmask, his expression grave.
"I still don't understand," Emberflower interrupted, shaking her head. "If it's a poison that's hurting the rats, how did it affect Sedgestar, or those other cats seasons ago? We're not eating the poison, and diseases can jump from animal to animal, but poisons cannot."
"We are eating the poison. Through our fresh-kill," Clearstream said, her voice low. "The prey goes to the Carrionplace and somehow eats two-leg poison. Then we catch that prey and eat it, but the poison remains inside the prey's meat."
Emberflower blinked in shock.
"That's possible?" she asked.
Clearstream nodded grimly, and yowls of concern echoed throughout the camp.
"Is all of our fresh-kill contaminated then?!" Leafbreeze demanded.
"What will we eat?" Treefur growled.
Sedgestar threw his head back to let out another commanding yowl and silence fell over the camp again.
"It seems likely that the poison is coming from around the Carrionplace," he said. "So we will give it a very wide berth to avoid it when hunting. Try to stick close to the borders instead. As for our fresh-kill pile…"
He shot a regretful glance over at it. There were still the few mice and one bird sitting there.
"We throw it all out," he growled. "There's no way to tell what fresh-kill came from where, and we can't risk it being from near the Carrionplace."
"Waste prey in the dead of leaf-bare?" Treefur said with a gasp.
Sedgestar locked his gaze on the elder.
"We can't risk it," he repeated firmly.
He looked around at the crowd.
"Rowanheart, Leafbreeze take care of disposing of them," Sedgestar ordered. "Use your paws to move them and bury them deep so nothing will dig them up and eat them. Then take care to wash your feet off in the stream before doing any grooming. Dewleaf and Weaseltail, scrape fresh dirt over the area where the fresh-kill pile sat. When new prey is caught, we will make a new pile over there."
He jerked his muzzle to a spot several fox-lengths away from the current pile.
"It can't hurt to be careful," Sedgestar growled.
The cats he named scrambled to obey him, and Sedgestar turned to Grovepelt.
"We need to send out extra hunting patrols to restock the pile," he meowed.
Grovepelt nodded, but before he could say anything. Beeclaw stepped forward, his ears flat against his head.
"It's my fault that the poisoned prey was brought to camp," he said, guilt marring his expression. "I shouldn't have led my hunting patrol near the Carrionplace yesterday."
Sedgestar shook his head, gently touching his tail tip to the dark warrior's shoulder.
"There was no way you could've known," he meowed. "Besides, StarClan has had mercy on us since I was the only one who fell ill."
"But, do we know for sure that you were the only one poisoned?" Beeclaw asked, his tail twitching.
He shot a worried look over at Elmclaw and Clearstream.
"Is there anything you can do to stop the poison before a cat gets sick? Something you could give to someone who might have also eaten prey caught by my patrol?" he asked.
Elmclaw glanced uncertainly at Clearstream.
"There's yarrow which can induce vomiting after someone eaten something poisonous…" he meowed.
"But, that only works if it's taken shortly after the poison was eaten," Clearstream muttered. "Sedgestar ate the mouse last sun-high. Presumably anyone else who ate poisoned food would've done so yesterday around that time. It would be much too late for yarrow to do anything now."
Frostmask was suddenly extremely grateful that she and Lizardpaw hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, but her fur bristled with worry for her friends as she looked around the camp. She noticed her clan-mates were doing the same thing— gazing at one another with wide, somber eyes as if expecting one another or themselves to collapse at any moment. Frostmask swallowed with difficulty, her mouth suddenly dry.
She turned to Pineshade to whisper in her ear.
"When was the last time you ate?" she asked.
"This morning," Pineshade whispered back, her eyes round with worry. "Autumnleap and I shared a vole."
Frostmask's heart jumped up to her throat.
"Autumnleap?" she rasped hoarsely, searching for his pelt among the crowd. "What about Poolcloud?"
"I think the last time he ate was yesterday morning," Pineshade muttered. "He didn't feel like eating at all after Fogfur passed. What about you?"
"Yesterday morning too," she said, still gazing at the crowd.
Her eyes had found Autumnleap. He was staring out at Sedgestar, Beeclaw and the medicine cats, his auburn pelt prickling with fear.
"Then you two should be fine," Pineshade murmured. "You ate before Beeclaw's patrol came back. We will have to see about me and Autumnleap… But, I think it's much more likely that we ate prey brought in from a later patrol's than from Beeclaw's."
Pineshade turned to ask Murmurstep and Mosspounce about when they'd last eaten, but Frostmask's head was too filled with a roaring sound of fear for Autumnleap and Pineshade to hear their response. She jerked, snapping out of it for a moment as Sedgestar raised his voice for attention again, lifting it above the worried murmuring of the Clan.
"Remain calm!" he meowed. "The only thing we can do now is wait. If we make it through the rest of the day without anyone else getting sick, I think we will be in the clear. But, if someone starts not feeling well, head to Clearstream and Elmclaw immediately! Those of you who know for sure that you did not eat from Beeclaw's patrol, go see Grovepelt for hunting assignments. Everyone else, remain in camp so you can get immediate treatment if you start feeling ill."
Clearstream disappeared back into the medicine cat's den to check on their herbs and make any needed preparations while Elmclaw strode up to Sedgestar.
"I want to run to the ThunderClan camp and ask Fallowtuft for horsetail," Elmclaw rumbled. "It's the only herb that'd stand any chance at stopping the kind of bleeding that happened to you."
Sedgestar gave him a curt nod.
"Go," he meowed.
Elmclaw sprinted out of the camp, his face dark with concentration as he rushed through the thorn barrier.
The clan then slowly began to split into two halves. Frostmask took one step over towards Grovepelt before glancing back at Pineshade. Pineshade lifted her chin, putting on a confident expression and giving Frostmask a nod.
Frostmask sent a silent prayer up to StarClan, pleading for Pineshade and Autumnleap to be alright as she and Lizardpaw joined the group of cats around Grovepelt. As Grovepelt began dividing up the patrols, Frostmask glanced over at the cats in the other group again, her eyes scanning over the pelts. There was Pineshade, Autumnleap, Mosspounce, Darkpelt, Larkfoot, Dewleaf, Hootflight, Thornheart, Dustleap, and Cedarpaw over there.
Frostmask was so focused on the storm of worry raging inside of her, she hardly blinked in acknowledgement as Dappledpelt gestured for her and Lizardpaw to join her patrol. The group headed out into the forest, but Frostmask's thoughts and attention remained with the cats who were left at camp.
Frostmask's whole body sagged with tiredness as she stumbled back that evening. Since she hadn't been able to catch up on any rest during sun-high, exhaustion had taken over completely. This patrol had just about as much luck as the earlier patrol as well, and the whole group had only managed to retrieve three pieces of prey.
As they entered the camp through the thorn barrier, Frostmask's head snapped up, her gaze scanning the clearing for the cats that had remained. She breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted Autumnleap, Pineshade, Poolcloud and Dewleaf sitting near the edge of the camp in the shelter of the thorn bushes, looking just as fine as they did when she left them, but their brows were furrowed with worry as they gazed at a group of cats gathered near the entrance of the medicine cats' den. Frostmask dismissed Lizardpaw with a gesture of her tail and bounded over to the four cats.
"Are you all doing okay? What's going on?" Frostmask meowed quickly, not bothering with greetings.
"We're fine," Autumnleap said, glancing over at her.
"But, Hootflight just became sick," Pineshade murmured, her jaw clenching.
Frostmask glanced back over at the cats gathered near the medicine cats' den. Hootflight was lying in a nest that had been made in the shelter of Clanrock, but outside of the den, likely to keep him away from Flymask and his greencough. Hootflight's pale grey flanks rose in short, shallow breaths as blood dripped from his nose. Elmclaw was back from ThunderClan, and he was now coasting Hootflight into eating some herbs. Clearstream was nestling more moss around Hootflight to keep him warm, while his brothers Thornheart and Beeclaw crouched near his side, whispering to him as they groomed his fur.
Sedgestar and Grovepelt were near Clanrock as well, although they kept a few tail-lengths of distance away from Hootflight, giving his family and the medicine cats space. Dampfang and Darkpelt also watched from a short distance, standing side by side. The father and son wore identical distressed expressions as they gazed at Hootflight. Darkpelt had been Hootflight's mentor, and Dampfang was one of his closest friends.
"Is he the only other cat who's gotten sick?" Frostmask whispered.
Autumnleap nodded, his expression sober.
"Will he be okay?" she asked.
"I don't know," Autumnleap muttered. "It came over him just as quickly as it happened to Sedgestar."
Frostmask's stomach twisted as she glanced at the grey tom again. She'd never been particularly close to Hootflight— he was Dampfang's friend after all. But, she still didn't want to see her clan-mate die.
A shudder passed through Hootflight's body, and he let out a low, pained moan.
"You can fight this," Thornheart growled in encouragement, rasping his tongue fiercely across Hootflight's forehead.
"…I'm so tired."
Hootflight's hoarse voice was so faint, Frostmask's ears just barely picked it up.
"You've got to hold on," Beeclaw pleaded, pressing his face into his brother's neck fur.
Hootflight didn't respond, but his flanks still rose and fell in shaky breaths. A few more moments stretched on, and then he stilled as his body fell limp. There was one tense hush of silence, and then a mournful yowl rose up from Beeclaw.
"No, Hootflight!" Beeclaw cried. "This is my fault!"
He fell forward over his brother, gripping his body with his paws as if he could will him back to life. Thornheart screwed his eyes shut, his jaw clenching. Clearstream crouched down to press her ear to Hootflight's chest, checking for a heartbeat. She stood up again slowly, her gaze downcast as she shook her head. Elmclaw came over to Beeclaw, pressing his pelt against the smaller tom's side.
"There was nothing we could do," Elmclaw whispered, his green eyes round with sorrow. "I'm sorry."
"This isn't your fault. It's mine," Beeclaw hissed, lifting his head from Hootflight's side, his eyes bright with anger and pain. "I killed him."
Elmclaw tensed.
"Don't say that!" he rumbled fiercely. "You did nothing wrong. None of us had any knowledge about the poison before now."
Beeclaw turned his face away from Elmclaw, refusing to meet his eyes.
Frostmask sighed heavily, her head bowing as she took in Thornheart's grief-stricken expression and Beeclaw's guilt-ridden one. The fur on her side stirred as Autumnleap rose to his paws.
"I need to try to help Beeclaw," he said in a low voice before striding over to his former mentor.
"Thank StarClan you weren't poisoned," Poolcloud murmured to Dewleaf, pressing his muzzle to her ear.
"But, poor Hootflight," Dewleaf whispered, gazing out at the camp. "He was so young… only five moons older than me. Dampfang and Darkpelt must be devastated."
Frostmask blinked as Pineshade walked away from them too. She padded up to Dampfang, whose face was crinkled up in fury and grief. Pineshade murmured something to him too low for Frostmask to hear, but Dampfang turned to her, bowing his head to bury his face in her pelt.
While the sun set, Hootflight was moved to the center of the camp. As his body was prepared for vigil, Clearstream insisted that the blood be washed from his fur with damp moss, rather than groomed, as to not risk any cat coming into contact with even trace amounts of the poison. She told the clan that there should be no risk in touching or being close to tom, only with grooming him, but Frostmask noticed that most mourners kept a careful tail-length of distance between themselves and Hootflight, as if they thought that the poison could burst out of his body and bite them.
Having not been particularly close to Hootflight, Frostmask hung back at the edge of the camp as the sky darkened, and his vigil began. Thornheart and Beeclaw sat the closest to Hootflight, at his head.
Beeclaw's gaze was bleary as he stared down at his brother. He had been so distraught earlier that Clearstream and Elmclaw had given him some sort of calming herb. Now he was much stiller and quieter, but none of the pain in his eyes had dimmed.
Frostmask closed her eyes, her heart clenching as she imagined how terrible it would feel to be in Beeclaw's position. It hardly seemed fair either— Beeclaw's disposition was so patient and kind. He certainly never did anything to deserve such torment.
Frostmask's eyes flickered back open as her gaze swept over the clan. A different sort of weariness clung to her clan-mates now, flattening their ears and drooping their tails so they dragged in the dirt. As if winter and the other clans weren't threats enough, a new predator stalked their camp. And, this one was invisible, undetectable and utterly deadly.
Frostmask swallowed hard, her mouth dry.
It felt like every cat still alive now had avoided the poison out of sheer luck, and luck was all that would keep them from it going forward. Sedgestar's order to avoid hunting near the Carrionplace was a sensible one, but Frostmask knew that prey had no sense of borders like the clans did, and they roamed where ever they pleased. Who's to say that a mouse caught near the WindClan border had not come there from the Carrionplace?
But, we need to eat something. Or, starvation will kill us.
Frostmask's chest tightened as the feeling of dread in her grew. She gave her head a small shake, trying to push it away.
Maybe I should just try to be grateful that no more of us died.
The dread refused to be so easily forgotten though, and it surged back up to gnaw at her bones.
…But, for how long will that last?
"You okay?"
Frostmask jolted, her gaze flying to Autumnleap, who was now standing at her side, staring at her. She shook her ears as if she could dislodge her grim thoughts like she could cold water.
"Yeah. Yeah," she lied quickly as Autumnleap took a seat.
There was no reason to make him worry about her when their Clan was facing much larger, existential problems.
"How's Beeclaw doing?" she asked before Autumnleap could dwell on her words long enough to discover any dishonesty in them.
Autumnleap sighed heavily, his gaze lowering.
"Not good," he admitted freely. "I mean you see him. He blames himself, and he won't listen to reason about that."
"It's been a sudden shock, and he's grieving," Frostmask murmured. "I'm sure he'll come to realize that Hootflight's death isn't his fault."
Frostmask's gaze drifted over to Beeclaw again.
"Are you sure you should be here talking with me, and not with him?" she asked.
Autumnleap's ears pricked.
"Do you not want me to be here?" he asked, a slight edge of wariness to his voice.
She looked at him quickly, her brow furrowing.
"That's not want I meant," she said. "But, it was like you said earlier. Beeclaw needs you."
Autumnleap glanced away from her.
"He doesn't. Or he doesn't want my help," he said in a low voice. "I think Thornheart is the only one who can comfort him right now. Did you know their parents died back when they were only six moons old? Some freak accident. A fox attack I think. Beeclaw's brothers have been his only family since then."
"I had no idea," Frostmask murmured.
Autumnleap nodded solemnly, staring out into the camp before looking at her suddenly again.
"Do you want to come with me?" he asked abruptly, making Frostmask blink in surprise.
"Come with you?" she echoed, her brow furrowing. "Where?"
"Out into the forest," he meowed. "Somewhere. Anywhere."
He flexed his claws in and out anxiously, scraping them against the frozen ground.
"We can hunt if you'd like. The fresh-kill pile still needs restocking. Or we can just walk. Whatever you want," he said.
Autumnleap dipped his head, his ears flattening.
"I can't sit through another clan-mate's death ceremony for the second night in a row," he confessed in a low, hoarse voice. "I just want to get out of camp. But, I don't want to be alone."
Frostmask gazed at Autumnleap, her heart twisting in pity for him. Like all of her clan-mates, he was thin, but his eyes were also weighed down by bags from sleepless nights. His pelt prickled with worry, and it looked like it hadn't been washed in a couple of days.
Frostmask's brow furrowed.
How had she not noticed earlier how distressed he was?
Maybe that's because he's always the one comforting and calming you, and not the other way around. A guilty voice hissed at her in her head.
"Of course," she said out loud to him.
Autumnleap looked up at her, relief flooding his amber eyes. Frostmask rose to her paws.
"Do you want to go now?" she asked.
Autumnleap nodded, quickly standing as well, and together the two of them slipped out of the camp.
As they wandered through the forest, Frostmask stayed alert for prey scent trails since ShadowClan couldn't pass up any that came their way, but they weren't really searching for prey. They mostly walked in silence, although Frostmask kept a close watch on Autumnleap from the corner of her eye. She noticed him relaxing more and more as they traveled deeper into their territory. Foggy breaths puffed from their mouths as they approached the Burnt Sycamore.
"Are you doing okay?" she asked him, breaking the silence.
He glanced at her with a blink of surprise.
"Yeah," he said. "Being out of camp has helped clear my head."
"That's good," she murmured, not quite looking him in the eye. "Although I also noticed your pelt doesn't look like it's been groomed recently."
Autumnleap's brow furrowed, and he glanced down at his fur as if noticing it for the first time.
"Well I've had a busy past few days," he meowed. "Patrolling and hunting, and helping Poolcloud while Fogfur was dying…"
"I know," Frostmask said quietly. "But, you need to take care of yourself too."
Autumnleap's nose scrunched up in a faint scowl. He was never one who appreciated being told what to do. Even if what he was doing was frog-brained, and he needed someone to tell him that.
It's probably why he and Pineshade are always butting heads. Two bossy cats who hate the other bossing them around!
"I am taking care of myself," Autumnleap said.
Frostmask resisted the urge to snort disbelievingly.
Doubtful.
Frostmask stopped walking in the clearing around the Burnt Sycamore so she could look at him properly.
"You know, you can tell me if there's actually something else bothering you," she said.
Autumnleap halted as well. He gazed at her, and for a moment, she saw a flash of hesitance on his face. Frostmask blinked as she was hit with a sudden flare of insight.
"Have you not told me because you're afraid of making me upset?" she asked. "If there's something wrong, I want to be able to help you."
Autumnleap still hesitated, although now some guilt creeped across his expression, and she knew she guessed correctly. Annoyance needled at her.
I'm not some fragile bird that needs to be protected!
"I just don't want to make you worry," Autumnleap said finally.
"Follow me," Frostmask said with a huff, whirling on her heel and striding to the base of the Burnt Sycamore.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he trailed after her.
"We're continuing this conversation, but I just don't want to keep standing out in the cold to have it," Frostmask grumbled.
She found the hole in the roots that she was looking for and slipped inside. It was a small earthen den nestled between the ancient gnarled roots. Frostmask suspected it may have been made by a fox at some point, but whatever it was, it was long gone. ShadowClan would not allow such a dangerous predator to live right in the heart of their training hollow. Autumnleap followed her in. There was just enough room in the den for the two of them to sit comfortably next to each other.
A few heartbeats of awkward silence dragged by.
"It's not a big deal," Autumnleap said finally. "I know the past moon and a half has been really hard on you, ever since Sedgestar did… what he did. And, I don't want to add to your stress."
It was a reasonable point, but it didn't make Frostmask feel any better. Instead she just muttered something incomprehensible, leaned over and rather aggressively began to groom his fur.
"What are you doing?" Autumnleap asked with a blink of surprise.
"Cleaning your pelt, frog-brain," Frostmask growled between licks. "If you're not going to do it, someone has to."
Autumnleap pulled away from her, halting her grooming.
"Are you mad at me?" Autumnleap asked incredulously.
Frostmask sighed sharply.
"I don't know!" she said. "Kinda. But, not really. I'm annoyed that you won't tell me what's bothering you, even though I'm also just really relieved and grateful that you survived the day!"
"So what is it: relieved or annoyed?" Autumnleap asked, narrowing his amber eyes slightly.
"I don't know!" Frostmask repeated, digging her claws into the ground. "Both I guess."
Autumnleap clenched his teeth in frustration.
"You don't make any sense," he groaned.
Frostmask's tail-tip twitched in annoyance.
"Tell me about it," she grumbled.
To her surprise, a purr of amusement suddenly burst from Autumnleap. It might have been delirium from her growing exhaustion or from not eating for more than a day, but as he continued to laugh, Frostmask found herself unable to stop her own purr from rumbling louder and louder in her chest.
"Why are you laughing?" Frostmask asked as she tried to swallow back her hysterical purrs.
"You're ridiculous," Autumnleap gasped between the purrs that wracked his body.
"I'm ridiculous!? You're the one who tried to convince me that nothing's wrong when you look like you got hit by a monster!" Frostmask protested.
"Fine. We're both ridiculous," Autumnleap amended.
They purred together for a few moments longer, until the bout of senseless amusement began to fade. As they quieted, Frostmask found that her annoyance towards Autumnleap was gone. She just felt mostly drained and tired now.
"I just…" Frostmask spoke first, shuffling her paws. "I'm sorry about being snappy. I do just really want to help you though, if there's something wrong."
Autumnleap was quiet for a moment.
"It's nothing in particular," he said finally. "It's been a hard season obviously, and lately I've just been worrying a lot about things. About the Clan. About you. And, then about Poolcloud especially with Fogfur…"
Autumnleap voice trailed off, and he was silent for a moment. But, then he rolled his eyes.
"And, I even worry about Pineshade sometimes," he said, his whiskers twitching in a weak attempt at humor. "Even as frog-brained as she is."
"I didn't know so much was bothering you," Frostmask said softly.
"I'm better at hiding my worry than you are," Autumnleap said, giving a quiet, humorless purr.
"You can talk to me," Frostmask murmured. "About anything… You know?"
Autumnleap scooted back closer to her, brushing his tail down her side reassuringly.
"I know," he affirmed.
Frostmask turned her head and resumed her task of cleaning and smoothing his pelt, more gently this time. Autumnleap was quiet besides the soft purr that rumbled in his chest as she groomed him. A sense of peace settled over Frostmask. There was something rather tranquil about just the two of them being here in this small den, as if its walls could somehow protect them from the suffering that stalked their Clan just outside.
"I'm glad we got this chance to talk though because there's something that I've been meaning to say to you," Frostmask breathed, the words somehow slipping out with ease.
But, when Autumnleap glanced at her, she froze up like a mouse fixed beneath the heat of his gaze, and her words got stuck in her mouth.
"Yeah?" he asked, arching a brow.
Frostmask cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away from him, deciding to stare at the den wall instead.
"I um- Well I've been thinking more about stuff, and I've been talking… to Pineshade actually, about it. She's been surprisingly helpful," she managed to say as her heart began to hammer rapidly.
"Wait. 'Stuff?'" Autumnleap echoed, giving his head a small shake. "What 'stuff?'"
Frostmask's heart had jumped up to her throat.
"The conversation we had a couple of moons ago," she murmured, forcing the words out quickly. "The one when you told me you loved me. I well- um- wanted to tell you that I- I love you too."
Autumnleap was dead silence, forcing Frostmask to look at him and make sure he was okay. He was staring at her with his amber eyes stretched wide.
"You… you love me?" he echoed, blinking hard a few times.
Frostmask gave a shy nod.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"…Really?" Autumnleap asked again, and Frostmask couldn't stop a mrrow of amusement.
"Yes, frog-brain. That's what I said," she teased gently as her nervousness faded.
Autumnleap began to purr, and he leaned over to rather forcefully rub his cheek against hers.
"Not so hard, you're poking my eye with your fur!" Frostmask said, pulling away slightly, but a loud purr rumbled in her chest.
"Sorry!" Autumnleap said, looking like he was in a bit of a daze. "I'm just… really happy."
He much more gently touched her cheek with his muzzle for a moment before pulling back again, blinking away his stunned expression.
"I'm wondering though, what spurned this change of heart?" he asked, before his eyes widened quickly. "I mean, not that I'm complaining, of course."
His expression turned playful, which filled Frostmask's chest with a fluttering feeling. She glanced away from him to try to gather her thoughts.
"Yeah, well, you know how I told you that I was afraid of getting attached and getting hurt if you died?" Frostmask said slowly. "I guess I decided that, since life is terrible and cats can die at any moment, instead of trying to isolate myself so I don't get hurt, I should try to find as much happiness as I can, while I can. Before it's gone. And, the poison today kinda just proved that."
She glanced back over at Autumnleap to see a faint frown drifting across his features.
"I'm glad this is the option where you pick happiness," he said. "But, I'm not convinced that overall this philosophy is much better than the last."
Frostmask shrugged, brushing his concern off.
"Besides," she added softly, brushing her pelt against his side. "…I realized that I couldn't really stop myself from getting attached anyway."
Autumnleap purred again, his mood shifting back from serious to playful. He shot her a cheeky glance.
"Well, I have been told that I have an inescapable allure about me," he said
Frostmask let out a huff of amusement, drawing away from him slightly so she could better look at his face.
"An 'inescapable allure?'" she asked, raising a brow. "Really? And, who told you this? Yourself?"
"No! You did of course!" he exclaimed, purring. "Just now!"
A part of Frostmask wanted to roll her eyes in exasperation, but really she was just mostly pleased that Autumnleap was back to his old playful self after seeing him so downtrodden earlier.
"I definitely did not use those words," Frostmask teased, her tail-tip twitching playfully.
"I don't know. That's what I heard," Autumnleap insisted, his gaze sparkling with mischief.
"You're insufferable," Frostmask groaned, but she was still purring. "Don't you dare let this go to your head."
"'Insufferable?'" he echoed, tilting his head to the side as if he was confused. "I actually have, on good authority, that I'm extremely likable. Some could say lovable, even."
His purr grew even louder.
"I was just told so by a very intelligent cat. I'd take her word for it, if I were you."
Frostmask tried and failed to shoot him a serious glance.
"Stop this right now, or I'll take it back," she mock threatened.
Autumnleap met her 'stern' gaze with shining amber eyes.
"No. You won't," he purred, easily calling her bluff.
Frostmask sighed, but she purred too. She leaned back against him, and he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"No. I won't," she said.
Author's Note: Frostmask: I'm so sad and stressed about everything, but I can't share my secrets with Autumnleap. Also Frostmask: Why won't Autumnleap tell me what's wrong with him?!
Ah there's nothing like immediate mortal peril to force you come to terms to terms with your feelings. I hope the ending lifted the mood a bit, because on the whole this chapter was quite the downer. By the way, did you all know that rat poison kills so horrifyingly?! It prevents blood from clotting so the animals basically bleed uncontrollably internally and externally until they die. I had no idea before doing research for this chapter. (And, now google probably thinks I'm planning on murdering someone with rat poison, oops.)
On that cheery note, Happy 2021! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)
Reviews:
Guest: Thank you!
Stacy Rockfall: Thank you! I hope you had happy holidays as well, and thank you for leaving a review even though you weren't feeling that well that day. I appreciate every review I get, although I don't want you to feel pressured to leave one if you aren't feeling up to it! Yeah, a lot of relationships are evolving in the story at the moment (with Redclaw and Frostmask making up. And, Frostmask finally realizing her feelings for Autumnleap.) Pineshade and Dampfang though are kind of holding steady at the moment, although you are right that they don't have a great relationship.
Autumnleap: Hello! I think I sent you a PM talking about some of these things, but in case you didn't see it, I'll talk about it here too! I'm planning on this story about Frostmask to end in just this book. So, no sequels have currently been planned. However, if I could do this over again, I would split "Frosted Heart" up into 3 books, since this story ended up much longer than I expected. Anyway though, it's too late for that now, so there it will just be this one very long book haha. I'm glad you liked the inclusion of the more background characters; I agree and feel the same way! Also, about my Wattpad profile, unfortunately I'm not super active on that site. I prefer this site or Archive of Our Own (which I also write on under my same username.)
Simitria: Yeah, Sedgestar really screwed things up there with Frostmask haha. And, I agree about him being hard to get a read on. I think overall Sedgestar's got good intentions, but he's a bit morally grey I'd say.
Avalanche: Aw yes! I'm glad you like Pineshade's nickname for Frostmask! And, oh I'm happy you picked up on that about Murmurstep! You're the first person to have mentioned it so far. Yes, she does indeed have a crush on Pineshade :)