Frostmask and her hunting patrol padded towards the thorn barrier of camp, a squirrel and a mouse dangling from her jaws. Their morning patrol had run a little long— sun-high was already almost over, and Frostmask would have to organize the evening patrols soon. But, Frostmask didn't mind the fact that she'd missed the time she could've been lounging around camp, since she'd savored every moment on this hunt.
Autumnleap, Pineshade, and Poolcloud walked nearby her, their jaws full of prey too. Even though all of their mouths were too full to talk, warm contentment kindled in Frostmask's chest, brought on just by their presence.
They'd had a quite successful hunt, and it'd been such a relief to spend it with her three closest friends. For the precious time that she'd been on the patrol with them, she could pretend like she was just a freshly named warrior again, with no greater responsibilities than hunting for her Clan.
As they approached camp though, reality began to set back in, dampening Frostmask's mood. It had only been a bit over a quarter of a moon since Grovepelt's death, and the clan felt so different without him. Not only because his presence was sorely missed, but also because of the impact of his death on her clan-mates, and Sedgestar especially.
Frostmask had never before seen Sedgestar grieve like he grieved for Grovepelt. Before this, Sedgestar hadn't been the type of leader who'd sequestered himself away in in his den. Quite the opposite in fact— he'd always been happy and eager to patrol and hunt right alongside his warriors. But, he'd hardly shown his face in camp for the past few days, and Frostmask's private 'leadership lessons' with him had been suspended, seemingly indefinitely. Frostmask still stopped by his den every night before she went to her nest to give him a report on the events of the day, but he hadn't had much input into even that recently.
Frostmask was trying her hardest to keep the clan running smoothly to let him grieve, but it was a difficult task. She was still an inexperienced deputy, who still didn't have the full respect of her clan-mates… ShadowClan needed its leader.
Frostmask was pulled from her musing as a large patrol, headed by Dampfang, emerged from the camp. For a beat, Dampfang stiffened when he caught sight of her, or perhaps of Pineshade, but then he lifted his chin in the air and strode forward confidently, his tail held high. Frostmask's brow furrowed as her gaze flickered over the cats trailing behind him— Marshnose, Kestrelmoon, Leafbreeze, Thornheart, Beeclaw, Yewstorm, Hollowshade… it seemed like an unusually large patrol.
Frostmask paused. Her friends stopped too, waiting for her as she dropped her prey at her feet to free her mouth to talk.
"Where are you off to?" Frostmask asked Dampfang as politely as possible.
She didn't want to ruin her rare good mood with an argument. She was hoping desperately that the group had a good reason for heading out into the woods prior to her assigning patrols. She wasn't a tyrant after all— if a cat and their friends had nothing else to do, and they wanted to go for a leisurely hunt, or even just have some fun in the forest, that was perfectly alright with her! But, an eight warrior patrol did raise a few questions. That large of a number was usually reserved for group training exercises or… battle patrols.
"Taking a patrol down the WindClan border," Dampfang said gruffly. "Remember how one of them got caught by Dustleap chasing a rabbit into our territory yesterday? I want to make sure they remember where our border is."
Frostmask's tail flicked as irritation began to nip at the ends of her pelt like a nagging fly.
That wasn't what she wanted to hear at all. Not only had Dampfang gone behind her back to organize a border patrol himself, but he was taking all of these other warriors on the patrol too? Was he looking to stir up trouble from WindClan?
"I remember. Dustleap reported that to me." Frostmask tried to keep her tone mild, even though she actually felt like grinding her teeth together in frustration. "I also remember Dustleap saying that it was a young apprentice who made that mistake. Plus he didn't even catch the rabbit, and his mentor apologized immediately. I doubt that level of infraction warrants such a big border patrol. And, besides, you could have waited for me to organize the evening patrols instead of just deciding to go yourself."
I'm not even late with patrol assignments today!
Dampfang shrugged.
"You weren't here," he said cooly. "And, it doesn't hurt to be careful, right? WindClan might start thinking they can walk all over us. Especially with ShadowClan missing the last gathering…"
Frostmask struggled to keep the fur on her shoulders from bristling. But, as much as it nettled her, Dampfang's last point was a sensible one. The most recent gathering had been a few days ago, but ShadowClan hadn't attended. Sedgestar just hadn't been feeling up to it. Frostmask could have led the clan in his stead, but on top of speaking to all five clans from the Great Rock simply being a terrifying prospect, Frostmask doubted she would have gotten a warm reception after the strong backlash she'd received from the last gathering. She figured she needed at least several more moons for the other clans getting used to the idea of her as ShadowClan's deputy before they would be okay with her speaking in place of Sedgestar.
However, despite all that, Frostmask doubted that Dampfang had actually decided to lead this patrol out of a legitimate concern of a WindClan invasion.
This is just another one of Dampfang's dumb power-plays. He's just using one WindClan apprentice's foolish mistake to justify it.
"Fine. You can lead the evening border patrol for WindClan today," Frostmask said sourly. "But, Hollowshade, Yewstorm, you two aren't on it. Rabbitstar is a testy cat. If he sees a border patrol of eight warriors, he'll think that you're hoping to cause trouble."
Dampfang's eyes narrowed.
"Fine," he hissed, signaling for his remaining patrol members to follow him with a flick of his tail.
"And, Dampfang," Frostmask called to his back before he stalk off into the woods. "Don't start a fight unnecessarily."
Dampfang just growled in response. As his patrol left, Hollowshade and Yewstorm stayed behind, looking uncertain as to what they were supposed to do now. Frostmask gestured for them to follow her as she picked up her prey and walked to the thorn barrier, slipping in through the narrow tunnel. Once she was back in camp, she dismissed the younger warriors with a nod, and she and her friends headed to the fresh-kill pile to deposit their catches.
Although frustration with Dampfang still bubbled right beneath her skin, it at least brought Frostmask some satisfaction to see the stocked fresh-kill pile. Green-leaf had brought plenty of prey back to ShadowClan's territory. In fact, the fresh-kill pile was so well-stocked at the moment, she may not even have to send out hunting patrols for the evening.
"What a snake-heart," Autumnleap growled as soon as he had dropped his prey onto the pile and freed his mouth. "I swear, Dampfang has gotten more annoying with ever passing sunrise, for everyday of our lives."
"You did a good job handling him though," Poolcloud added, giving Frostmask an approving nod.
"I wish he would just listen to me," Frostmask groaned, her fur spiking with irritation as she turned away from the fresh-kill pile to face her friends. "So, I wouldn't have to 'handle' him. I'm not even asking for him to like me. I just want him to stop treading on my tail for fun! I've already been deputy for more than a moon, but I still have to spend so much of my time trying to stop him from undermining me! And, it seems like he's only gotten more bold recently. It's exhausting."
Frostmask's brow furrowed as her irritation took on an edge of anxiety. Would Dampfang ever give up? Paledusk had advised her that Dampfang would fall in line with time, but it was starting to seem like the opposite…
"You have to keep at it though," Autumnleap said, his brow furrowing with concern. "He'll just get worse if he thinks he's wearing you down."
Frostmask sighed, a faint headache forming behind her eyes.
"I guess. But, I don't even understand what he hopes to gain from this. Does he really think that this petty behavior will impress Sedgestar?" she growled.
Frostmask glanced over at Pineshade, hoping that she would have some sort of insight. But, Pineshade just shifted from paw to paw, avoiding looking at Frostmask directly.
"Can you try talking to him about it?" Frostmask asked her.
She felt a bit bad about the request— she didn't enjoy forcing anyone to have the displeasure of speaking with Dampfang. But, the truth was, Pineshade was probably her best shot at making Dampfang to stop.
Pineshade sighed, her ears flattening.
"I can try. But, I already know he's not going to listen to me," she muttered glumly.
Frostmask reached up to rub a paw across her weary face. If even Pineshade couldn't do a thing to stop Dampfang, then the situation was truly hopeless.
"It's alright," Frostmask said. "If you know he's not going to listen, then it's probably not worth just starting a fight, right? It'll just make him more mad and impossible to deal with. And, upset you."
Pineshade nodded, her gaze downcast like she was guilty that she couldn't do more. Frostmask's tail flicked with agitated energy as her thoughts remained fixated on the issue of Dampfang, gnawing at it like a bone.
"I just wish I knew more about what Dampfang's been up to…" Frostmask muttered, and her gaze was pulled away from her friends and towards Yewstorm, who was still nearby.
An idea suddenly forming in her mind, Frostmask left her friends with a hasty wave of her tail and trotted over to Yewstorm.
"Hey, Yewstorm."
He glanced over at her, and Frostmask was once again struck by how much the young silver-and-black striped warrior looked like Swoopstrike.
"Yes Frostmask?" he asked, dipping his head respectfully.
In that way though, he was very unlike Swoopstrike. Yewstorm was always amiable— taking much more strongly after his father, Rowanheart, and his friendly earnestness in that regard. Apparently even Dampfang hadn't found a reason to dislike Yewstorm, given that he'd assigned him to his patrol.
"Did Dampfang say why he wanted so many cats on that patrol with him?" Frostmask asked, trying to keep her tone casual even as her paws prickled with eagerness.
This could be just the thing she needed to put a stop to Dampfang's interference! If Yewstorm had proof that Dampfang had been looking to start an unsanctioned fight with WindClan, as Frostmask suspected, then that would be a big enough offense that she'd have grounds to go to Sedgestar and have Dampfang properly disciplined.
And, if everyone knew that Dampfang had been reprimanded, her clan-mates wouldn't keep listening to him, and so he couldn't keep undermining her. It was the perfect plan!
Although, it wouldn't be entirely without its downsides… After all, it would probably make Dampfang absolutely furious with Frostmask. But, it's not like he could hate her anymore than he already did, right?
But, all of Frostmask's fragile hope crumbled when Yewstorm shook his head.
"No, he didn't say," he meowed. "Dampfang just told me to come with him on the WindClan border patrol."
Frostmask huffed out a soft sigh, disappointment curling in her belly.
"That's fine, Yewstorm."
"Were we not supposed to go out on that patrol?" Yewstorm's ears flicked nervously in the face of her disappointment. "I was just doing what Dampfang said."
"…Typically, it's my job as deputy to assign the border patrols," Frostmask said, delicately choosing her words.
She didn't want to come across as totally incompetent, like she'd been letting Dampfang walk all over her. But, she also didn't blame Yewstorm for being confused about who gave the orders for what patrols. Yewstorm had been made a warrior right when she became deputy, and so he'd only ever experienced Frostmask's, admittedly, not-always-super-punctual patrol assignments and Dampfang stirring up chaos by undermining her.
"Dampfang hadn't told me beforehand that he wanted to patrol down WindClan's border. So, I would have appreciated it if he cleared it with me first before he gathered the patrol," Frostmask said.
Yewstorm's ears flattened.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know."
"It's alright," Frostmask assured quickly. "I don't blame you for it."
"I won't go on a patrol with him again, unless I know that you've approved it," Yewstorm promised solemnly.
A soft purr rose in Frostmask's throat for a moment.
"I appreciate that, thank yo—" Frostmask's voice trailed off as she tilted her head to the side, struck with another idea. "Actually… on second thought, if Dampfang orders you to go on a border patrol in the future, do it. But, afterwards, come find me and tell me what happened."
Yewstorm's brow furrowed, and he blinked, the confusion on his face palpable.
"Okay… if that's what you want," he said slowly. "But, why? I thought you just said that Dampfang wasn't supposed to send out patrols by himself?"
Because I want to know what Dampfang hopes to gain by doing this, and what he's up to on these patrols. But, I can't without you reporting back, because Dampfang is smart enough to not invite cats he knows that I'm close to on his patrols with him.
But, Frostmask didn't say that out loud, only shifting her paws a bit uneasily. If she told Yewstorm the truth, would he find her idea too underhanded and refuse to agree? Yewstorm was a straight-forward kind of cat…
"Border patrols often report back to me once they return to camp. But, if I didn't know that a patrol had been sent out, since some other cat did it, then I'm afraid that I wouldn't know if something important happened," Frostmask said, happy to have come up with a semi-truthful justification. "So if something like today ever happens to you again, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't mind reporting to me about it afterwards."
Yewstorm's green eyes brightened.
"Oh, that makes sense! Sure, you can count on me, Frostmask."
A purr began to rumble in Frostmask's throat.
"Thank you Yewstorm," she said, giving him a nod before heading off.
While she'd been talking with him, Autumnleap, Pineshade, and Poolcloud had joined Dewleaf in front of the nursery to share some prey and keep an eye on Poolcloud's and Dewleaf's four kits. The kits raced circles around the adults and tumbled across the ground, wrestling.
Frostmask's purr grew louder at the sight of the kittens. They were nearing a moon and a half old now, and their different personalities had really started to blossom. The color of their eyes has also just started to shift into their adult shades. Mudkit and Sprucekit had gotten their mother's blue-green eyes, while Lichenkit and Fogkit had their father's amber.
Frostmask cast a quick glance up at the sky to check the sun's position. She would have to assign the evening ThunderClan border patrol soon, but she still had the time to grab a quick meal and watch the kits play.
Frostmask picked a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and started to pad over to the nursery. But, before she could make it over there, she caught sight of Cedarfur walking with Lizardstrike towards the thorn barrier. Cedarfur waved his tail at Hollowshade and Yewstorm to call them over to them, and the group of four continued on towards the thorn barrier. Frostmask watched them walk away, her paws prickling indecisively.
Should she just let them go and do… whatever it was that they were doing? Dampfang at least didn't seem behind this patrol, since he wasn't there at the moment. But, Cedarfur had been Dampfang's apprentice…
Sighing to herself, Frostmask dropped her mouse on the ground and hurried after the group, reaching them just before Cedarfur could lead them into the tunnel and out of camp.
"Hey! What are you guys up to?" she called.
The group turned to her, and Lizardstrike's ears pricked as he gave her a warm tail-wave of hello. Hollowshade, however, looked much less pleased at Frostmask interrupting her patrol for the second time in such quick succession, while Yewstorm just seemed confused.
"We're just going on a hunting patrol," Cedarfur said, giving her a nod of greeting.
Frostmask tilted her head to the side.
"Hunting?" she echoed, somewhat bemused.
What had given Cedarfur the idea that more hunting was necessary? The pile was nearly overflowing with prey at the moment.
"Have you taken a look at the fresh-kill pile recently?"
Cedarfur blinked, his brow furrowing as he glanced behind her to catch a glimpse of the bursting fresh-kill pile.
"Oh…" he meowed a bit uncertainly. "So, uh, no hunting? Dampfang told me…"
Frostmask's pelt fluffed out as her earlier annoyance with Dampfang all came rushing back with a vengeance.
Of course it was him!
"We have a lot of fresh-kill in camp, which we should eat through before we hunt anymore, especially in this heat. We risk perfectly good food rotting if we're wasteful and flippant with the amount of prey we catch," Frostmask said in clipped tones, her frustration with Dampfang making her words to Cedarfur a bit more curt than she'd originally intended.
"I'm er— sorry," Cedarfur mumbled, his ears flat with embarrassment as he avoided her gaze. "I hadn't thought about that."
Frostmask exhaled slowly, trying to curb her frustration. Scolding Cedarfur would not win her any battles. Cedarfur had always been hard for her to read— he'd been Dampfang's apprentice, but he never showed the vitriol Dampfang did towards her. Similarly, Cedarfur and Lizardstrike had remained friends, despite Dampfang's disdain for Lizardstrike.
But, on the other paw, Frostmask seriously doubted that Cedarfur could have come out of his apprenticeship completely unscathed from Dampfang's influence. For one thing, although he was too good at hiding his feelings and too polite to say it to her face, she didn't think Cedarfur actually liked her. At least not in the way he genuinely liked Lizardstrike.
Cedarfur's impression of her must surely be colored by negatives cast by Dampfang, and being mad at him would do nothing to change that outlook— only add to it.
"It's okay," Frostmask said, calming down. "Just check with me next time, if you're not sure about if we need more hunting patrols, alright?"
Cedarfur nodded, and the other three young warriors awkwardly shifted from paw to paw from behind him. Frostmask felt a flash of sympathy for them. She didn't want to ruin their fun by barring the young cats from going out into the forest, but the Clan really didn't need more prey at the moment…
"If you're still interested in doing something, I haven't sent out an evening ThunderClan border patrol yet. You all can take care of that, if you want."
Although, as soon as the words left her mouth, Frostmask became unsure about if that was the best idea. She didn't normally send groups of young warriors alone on border patrols. It just generally seemed more appropriate to give the lead of the patrol to a more experienced warrior, and also having only young warriors patrol the border was a bit risky in case they ran into some kind of trouble with a neighboring clan.
But, this was ThunderClan— ShadowClan's border with them was peaceful. And, besides, Frostmask and her friends had hunted alone on SkyClan's territory when they were freshly named warriors. Surely that was far more risky than a boring, old border patrol?
I should trust that they are well trained enough to handle themselves, if they do end up in a dangerous situation.
Frostmask blinked as another idea formed in her mind.
And, plus… maybe this could also get Dampfang off my tail a bit, if he sees that I've given his former apprentice more responsibility.
Cedarfur's ears pricked.
"Really?" he asked, his chest puffing out slightly.
Frostmask shrugged, making her mind up.
"Yeah, sure why not," she said.
The others behind Cedarfur perked up as well, but Frostmask quickly stepped forward before they could get too excited.
"Just stay alert, alright? There's still been a lot of fox scent in that area recently, remember," she said. "If you come across it, report back to camp instead of engaging."
She received dutiful nods in response, although they all also fidgeted with impatience. Frostmask figured that they must be eager to have her stop lecturing them, so they could get back to hanging out.
I've become the boring, older warrior. And, I'm not even close to being old!
Frostmask nodded back at them to dismiss them, but as they started to leave, her gaze drifted towards Lizardstrike and worry twinged in her chest. While Cedarfur, Yewstorm, and Hollowshade slipped through the thorn barrier, Frostmask held Lizardstrike back for a moment with a gentle touch of her tail-tip to his side.
'You'll be careful, right?' she asked, switching to paw-signing. 'Stay close to the others. Foxes are nasty, and there's only four of you on the patrol…'
'I know. I understood the warning. Besides, I'll scent the fox coming long before it could get to us,' Lizardstrike responded swiftly, dismissing her concern with a careless flick of his tail.
'Not with the reek of the thunderpath clogging your nose,' Frostmask pointed out.
Lizardstrike's ears angled back.
'Relax. I'll be fine,' he signed, his motions jerky with annoyance.
Although he was signing to her, his gaze was fixed on the thorn tunnel, impatiently watching after where his friends had disappeared.
Frostmask sighed to herself.
I'm just worried about you.
Relenting, she stepped away from Lizardstrike, waving at her tail for him to go. Lizardstrike eagerly stepped forward, but then, as if he'd sensed her thoughts, he turned to her to bunt his head against her shoulder. He lifted his head back up with a purr and gave her a final, reassuring blink before hurrying after the rest of his patrol.
Frostmask slowly made her way back across camp, picking up the mouse she'd abandoned on the ground and finally reaching where Pineshade, Autumnleap, Dewleaf, Poolcloud and the kits were. She plopped to the ground next to Autumnleap with a huff, leaning against his warm, steady side as she tucked into her meal.
"What was that about?" he asked, angling his ears to indicate where she'd just been standing near the thorn barrier with the younger warriors.
"Just taking care of some dumb deputy stuff," she muttered. "The good news is, the patrols are all sorted for the evening."
Autumnleap nudged her shoulder eagerly with his muzzle.
"Then you're basically free for the rest of the day!" he purred. "So, don't look so stressed!"
Frostmask released a breath, as if she could expel her poor mood.
"You're right," Frostmask said. "I—"
"Oh, Frostmask! Look at this new battle move!" Fogkit yowled, disengaging from his wrestling with Sprucekit and dashing over to her.
He came to a skidding, ungraceful stop in front of her before reclining back on his haunches and batting the air in front of him with both paws.
Having clearly sensed an opening, Sprucekit crouched and leapt at her brother, easily knocking the already slightly off-balance Fogkit over and onto his back.
"Ow! No fair, I wasn't watching!" Fogkit hissed, aiming a bat at Sprucekit's face with a paw as she stood triumphantly over him.
Sprucekit ducked his paw, sticking out her tongue.
"Yes fair," she crowed. "You should have been paying better attention, frog-brain!"
"I don't have frog-brain!" Fogkit grumbled, beginning to swat at Sprucekit more vigorously.
"Yes you do! Frog-brain! Frog-brain!" Sprucekit declared gleefully, dancing out of the range of Fogkit's flailing paws.
"Sprucekit, don't call Fogkit a frog-brain," Poolcloud chided, his brow furrowing with disapproval.
"Why?" she chirped, still dancing around the prone Fogkit.
"Because it's a bad thing to say to your brother," Poolcloud said.
Sprucekit paused her gloating to tilt her head to the side in confusion, sending an innocent green-eyed glance over at her father.
"But, Pineshade calls you a frog-brain all the time!" Sprucekit pointed out.
Autumnleap huffed out a laugh that he quickly tried to cover with a cough, and Frostmask found herself swallowing back a purr as well. Pineshade, however, made no effort to hide her amusement, instead she lifted her chin as her eye gleamed with humor and pride for Sprucekit.
"She's got you there, Poolcloud." Pineshade glanced towards Sprucekit to give her an approving nod. "Excellent rebutta—"
Pineshade was cut off by Poolcloud thumping his tail across her muzzle.
"Sometimes…" Poolcloud meowed thoughtfully, "the right thing to do is the opposite of what Pineshade says."
Now, Frostmask, Autumnleap and Dewleaf didn't hold back their purrs— although Pineshade's face screwed up in displeasure, and Sprucekit looked equally as doubtful. But, Pineshade didn't argue with Poolcloud, instead just ducking out from under his bushy tail and swiping his black and white strands of fur from her mouth with irritable flicks of her paw.
Fogkit was still lying in the ground in front of Frostmask, and he gazed up at her with wide amber eyes.
"Did you see my battle move?" he asked plaintively.
"I did," Frostmask reassured him with a warm blink. "It looked great."
Fogkit's ears pricked as he cheered up considerably, rolling over onto his belly. Lichenkit then came trotting over to him, but Frostmask's attention was pulled away from them as Mudkit barreled towards her, launching himself up her side and onto her back.
"I want a badger ride!" he declared, his paws eagerly kneading into her shoulders.
Frostmask's purr rumbled louder, and she turned to glance back at the impatient kit.
"At least let me finish my meal—"
"Lichenkit!" Dewleaf cut in suddenly, her voice clipped with concern. "What have you got there?"
Frostmask's gaze was quickly brought back to Lichenkit, who was now standing in front of Fogkit. Her mouth was full of a greenish mush, staining the fur of her muzzle. Lichenkit had evidently smeared some of it across the top of Fogkit's head, and she froze with a paw out-stretched, caught in the act of adding more to her brother's fur.
"Leaves," Lichenkit mumbled around the lump in her mouth.
"What kind of leaves?" Dewleaf asked, her tone calm, although her fur was prickling and she was already on her paws, as if preparing to rush Lichenkit to the medicine cat's den if she'd gotten into something poisonous.
Dewleaf at least looked a lot more composed than Poolcloud, whose eyes were stretched so wide that it seemed as if he was on the verge of fainting.
Thankfully, Lichenkit just flicked her tail towards the bramble bush that formed the den of the nursery, and the adults all let out a collective sigh of relief. Frostmask sagged back down against Autumnleap's side, making Mudkit wobble a bit on her back.
Bramble leaves were nothing to be concerned about. The worst they'd do to Lichenkit was give her a bit of a bellyache if she ate a lot of them.
Thankfully, Frostmask didn't think that anything poisonous grew in camp anyway, where the kits could get to them. But, Frostmask didn't blame Dewleaf for checking.
Dewleaf took a seat again next to Poolcloud, visibly more relaxed.
"Why are you putting bramble leaves on Fogkit's head?" Dewleaf asked.
Lichenkit spat the leaf-mush out on the ground in order to free her mouth to speak.
"Elmclaw put leaves on Mosspounce's pad when she hurt her paw," Lichenkit said. "To fix it."
Dewleaf's brow furrowed in concern, and she glanced at Fogkit.
"Is Fogkit hurt?" she asked.
Lichenkit blinked.
"I'm fixing Fogkit's frog-brain," she explained matter-of-factly.
"I don't really have frogs in my brain, right?" Fogkit asked, his eyes stretching wide and a hint of a wail drifting into his voice at the horrifying prospect.
"No, Fogkit. Of course you don't," Poolcloud soothed, rising to his paws to pad over to him, where he began to clean the green leaf-juices from his head with swift swipes of his tongue.
"He doesn't?" Lichenkit echoed in surprise.
"No, frog-brain!" Sprucekit broke in, her tail held high and quivering with barely contained amusement. "'Frog-brain' just means you're stupid!"
"I bet Pineshade taught you that too, huh?" Poolcloud growled, shooting a sour look towards his sister.
Pineshade ducked her head and suddenly seemed very interested in grooming her paws.
Lichenkit's whole blue-grey pelt puffed out in offense, so the little kit looked twice as big as normal.
"I'm not stupid," she growled at Sprucekit.
Sprucekit opened her mouth to respond, but Poolcloud interrupted her before she could.
"Sprucekit, say you're sorry for calling your siblings frog-brains," he said sternly.
Sprucekit hesitated for a moment as if she was thinking of disobeying. But, then she relented, bowing her head to avoid eye-contact.
"I'm sorry for calling you a frog-brain," she echoed.
Lichenkit still glared at her— evidently her apology was not accepted.
"Lichenkit," Dewleaf said, refocusing her attention. "It's nice that you wanted to help Fogkit, but you can't eat strange plants, alright?"
"It's not strange," Lichenkit muttered, mutinously kicking a pebble across the ground with a paw. "It's the bramble bush. And, Elmclaw does it."
"Elmclaw is a trained medicine cat," Dewleaf said. "He's much more familiar with what plants are safe or not."
Lichenkit twitched her tail, still not convinced.
Once Poolcloud finished cleaning Fogkit's head, he returned to Dewleaf's side, lying next to her. Mudkit, seemingly having forgotten about his request for a badger ride, sprung off of Frostmask's back to begin wrestling with Fogkit. Sprucekit joined them only moments later as if no argument had happened, although Lichenkit stalked away from her littermates, drifting off towards the edge of the camp alone. Frostmask noticed that Dewleaf was keeping a closer eye on Lichenkit's wandering this time.
"Maybe I'll ask Elmclaw if Lichenkit can help him with the 'leaves' the next time a cat comes in with a scraped pad," Dewleaf said, although not loudly enough for her words to reach the kits.
Poolcloud's ears pricked in surprise.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? The kits aren't even two moons old yet. Will Lichenkit even be able to handle helping? And, will Elmclaw even want to put up with her?" he asked.
"I guess I'll see what Elmclaw says," Dewleaf said, her ears twisting back uncertainly. "But, if Lichenkit insists on chewing strange plants, I'd prefer she'd do it with his permission than without. And, besides, with her still being so young, maybe being made to help the medicine cat will make her lose interest more quickly."
"Or, it'll encourage her," Poolcloud pointed out, his tail flicking with agitation. "She is the most stubborn of the bunch. And, that's saying something."
"Well, maybe that would end up being a good thing!" Autumnleap broke in, giving Poolcloud a soothing glance. "She already likes plants. Maybe that means she'll want to be Elmclaw's apprentice and be a medicine cat."
Frostmask finished her food as she listened to her friends speculate about the kits' future. But, her ears pricked with attention as she spotted Larkfoot padding over. She'd been keeping Amberberry company as her older, rowdier litter ran around camp, but perhaps she wanted to check in on Dewleaf and her grandkits. To Frostmask surprise though, Larkfoot seemed to be instead heading in her direction. Frostmask quickly dipped her head to the well-respected queen as she stopped in front of her.
"Frostmask, I was hoping to make a request," Larkfoot purred, blinking at Frostmask kindly.
"Of course, Larkfoot. What do you need?" Frostmask asked, giving her a polite nod.
Larkfoot tilted her head to the side.
"It's just that the moss in the nursery needs a change. I try to do it myself since I know we don't have any apprentices around at the moment. But, it's gotten a lot to keep up with, especially now that Dewleaf's kits are so active too. It feels like they track mud through the den and destroy the nest every other day!"
Frostmask blinked, quickly running through a mental list of the warriors who were still in camp and could help out. She could see Dustleap chatting with Darkpelt from across camp, but she'd rather change out all the dirty moss in camp herself than ask him to do it! Snakeeyes and Rowanheart were out in camp too, lying in the sunlight and sharing tongues, but they looked so peaceful… Still though, there were not many other options for warriors in sight.
Where are Cricketsong and Featherfall? Of course I had to let the patrol of nearly all the youngest warriors go out of camp just when the bedding needed to be changed!
Larkfoot was still looking at Frostmask, her gaze expectant.
"I'll have someone take care of it," Frostmask meowed hastily.
"Thank you," Larkfoot purred. "While you're at it, you might find someone check the elders for ticks. You know how bad they can get with this warmer weather. And, Darkpelt won't admit it, but his bad leg stiffens up sometimes and limits his flexibility, making it hard for him to check himself. He has been going on all these walks outside of camp though… So, could you have someone make sure to check him specifically? But, do try to be discreet or delicate about it. After all, he's still doesn't like the 'elder' title. You know how proud he is."
Frostmask nodded along glumly, her stomach sinking in apprehension.
Grooming a resistant Darkpelt will probably be as easy as grooming a grumpy badger!
"I'll take care of it," Frostmask parroted.
"Thank you," Larkfoot purred again. "You're doing a wonderful job, dear."
Frostmask purred in response, but Larkfoot's praise rung hollow in her ears. After Larkfoot gave Dewleaf a few affectionate licks on the head and padded off, Frostmask turned to her friends, her eyes widening appealingly.
"Oh no. You're not going to make us do it, right?" Autumnleap asked, catching her look. "Can't one of the younger warriors do it instead?"
"I don't know who else I should ask!" Frostmask groaned. "I stupidly let Hollowshade, Yewstorm, Lizardstrike, and Cedarfur out on a patrol. I don't think Cricketsong or Featherfall are in camp."
"They aren't," Dewleaf broke in. "I don't know what they're up to, but they left camp together before your patrol came back."
Frostmask nodded at Dewleaf gratefully for the explanation.
"I'm not going to ask Dustleap to do it—"
"You could," Pineshade interrupted, her spiky-furred tail starting to twitch slightly. "And, maybe you should. You're the deputy."
Frostmask shook her head firmly.
"Dustleap is so traditional. He'll throw a fit at the idea that he needs to be the one taking care of apprentice-rank chores when there's younger cats around."
"So what?" Pineshade fired back, her amber eye narrowing. "You outrank him. You can ask any of the warriors to do any of the chores. The sooner they realize that, the better."
Frostmask's brow furrowed.
"I shouldn't make waves," she insisted. "Especially not now, when Sedgestar isn't… around. I just need to stick to the status quo."
Pineshade tossed her head with a huff.
"What if the opposite is true? Now's your chance to assert your authority. Show them you can be a good leader, even without Sedgestar!"
Frostmask's ears flicked nervously. Would that really be the best thing to do? What if it just pushed that cats who didn't like her further away? If they were already unhappy, wouldn't this just make it worse?
"But, a good leader doesn't play favorites, right?" Frostmask swept an imploring gaze over her companions, hoping to shift the topic away from Pineshade's question. "Just because you all are my friends, doesn't mean you should get out of chores."
Pineshade snorted.
"Yeah. But, it's also not fair if you end up asking us to do it every time because you're too mouse-hearted to ask the older warriors," she scoffed.
Frostmask could feel Autumnleap stiffen beside her as he turned defensive on her behalf.
"Pineshade!" Autumnleap said, his lips curling back to reveal the tips of his fangs. "Shut up."
"I'm trying to help, frog-brain!" Pineshade snarled back, her ears flattening against her head.
"Guys! Don't fight in front of the kits!" Poolcloud hissed through his teeth, glaring at his siblings.
Dewleaf stepped between Poolcloud, Pineshade and Autumnleap, effectively severing the tension crackling between the littermates as she cut off their line-of-sight for each other. She turned to her mate.
"Maybe having you check Darkpelt for ticks isn't such a bad idea," she meowed. "It'll give you two more time to bond."
"What!?" The fur on Poolcloud's back rose in fear. "But, your father hates me!"
"How can he hate you?" Autumnleap said, his voice rough with surprise. "You're nice to like… everyone!"
"He doesn't hate you." Dewleaf gave Poolcloud a reassuring blink.
"He doesn't think I'm good enough for you," Poolcloud pointed out, his tail flicking anxiously.
Dewleaf rolled her eyes.
"Yeah he'd think that about anyone. That doesn't mean he hates you."
"You know what's the literal first thing he said to me after the kits were born?" Poolcloud glanced over at Frostmask and his littermates. "'Thank StarClan they take after Dewleaf.'"
Dewleaf's eyes crinkled in an amusement that wasn't reflected back in Poolcloud's expression.
"I'm sure he was joking."
Poolcloud scoffed, shaking his head.
"You didn't see his face. He was very serious."
"I'm telling you, he likes you!" Dewleaf huffed, her amusement fading to be replaced with exasperation.
"Then why is it that every time I talk to him, it feels like he's giving me an assessment instead of having a conversation?" Poolcloud demanded.
"That's just how he is! Darkpelt doesn't know how to have a normal conversation. Why do you think Dampfang turned out the way he did? It wasn't Larkfoot!"
"Um—" Frostmask broke in, hesitantly interrupting the mates' quarreling. "Does that mean that you'll take care of Darkpelt's ticks, Poolcloud?"
"He will," Dewleaf answered for him.
Poolcloud's ears twisted back with uncertainty, but he didn't disagree with his mate.
Frostmask gazed at Autumnleap and Pineshade.
"Will you two help me change the moss in the nursery then?" she asked.
Autumnleap nodded, albeit a tad reluctantly.
"Fine," Pineshade huffed. "But you owe me."
Without too much more fussing, the three of them departed from Dewleaf and the kits while Poolcloud headed over to the elders. Frostmask, Autumnleap, and Pineshade soon fell back into the old patterns from their apprentice days as the monotony of the task set in. They split the nursery between them without needing to speak and begun the process of scraping up the old bedding.
They worked quietly for a bit as they removed the old moss from the den, and Frostmask was in the middle of bundling up the last of the dirty moss when a faint, panicked yowl drifted into her ears. She stiffened, the moss in her jaws falling to the ground as her head jerked up. She exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Pineshade and Autumnleap, but only for a heartbeat before they were rushing out of the nursery and into the camp clearing.
The others out there had clearly heard the cry too. Darkpelt was on his paws, his tail lashing in agitation. Snakeeyes' and Rowanheart's pelts were bristling. Murmurstep stuck her head out of the warriors' den, blinking sleep from her eyes as her ears pricked and swiveled, searching for more sound.
Only a moment later, the rapid thrumming of a set of paw-steps vibrated through the air. Then the thorn barrier shivered, and Yewstorm burst through the tunnel, gasping for breath, his eyes wide and wild as blood dripped from his flank.
"Yewstorm! What's wrong?" Snakeeyes gasped, haring over to her son, Rowanheart hot on her tail.
"Help— We need help—" Yewstorm panted, his legs trembling from the run. "Fox attack— Our patrol—"
Frostmask stiffened as if she'd suddenly become paralyzed, her pelt rising as icy fear rushed through her.
Lizardstrike!
"Where?!" Snakeeyes demanded, sinking unsheathed claws into the damp ground, but Yewstorm had gone back to panting too hard to answer immediately.
Frostmask jolted out of her silent panic as Pineshade nudged her shoulder sharply with her muzzle.
"Don't just stand there!" Pineshade hissed in her ear, her amber eye blazing. "Send reinforcements after them!"
Frostmask sucked in a deep breath and nodded hard, opening her jaws to call out to a few warriors.
"My kits!" Amberberry's wail suddenly cut in. "Where are Mallowkit and Marigoldkit?!"
Frostmask's muzzle whipped towards Amberberry's cry, and she saw the distraught queen frantically darting around camp, sticking her head in every den, and wailing again each time as she realized her kits weren't inside. Her remaining kit, Minnowkit, trailed after her mother, her eyes wide and fearful.
"The fox has gotten them! I just know it!" Amberberry screeched, her tail thrashing in a frenzy as she dug her claws into the ground.
Dewleaf's fur bristled in fear as she rapidly gathered up her kits, herding them to the nursery while Poolcloud sprinted over to help her guard them. Meanwhile Larkfoot rushed to Amberberry's side, pressing her pelt against the younger queen's and covering her ears with licks, murmuring soothing words to her.
Frostmask froze again, horrid indecision swirling in her belly like a hurricane.
What takes priority? Helping the patrol or looking for Amberberry's kits?
Frostmask's gaze flashed to the Oak Tree, praying to see movement in the shadows of the roots, and that it would be Sedgestar striding out to take charge. But, the shadows there were still. Frostmask glanced back at her frightened clan. Elmclaw was out and treating Yewstorm's wounds now, while some of her clan-mates were dashing around camp, looking for the missing kits. But, many had also turned desperate eyes onto Frostmask, looking for direction.
"L-let me speak to Sedgestar!" she stammered quickly before whirling around and sprinting towards her leader's den.
She didn't waste time on calling out a greeting, simply barreling into the tunnel and bursting into the the earthen cave.
"Sedgestar—"
Frostmask blinked. The den was empty. Neither Sedgestar nor Emberflower were there, just an empty nest.
Where is he?!
Frostmask's anxiety started to tick up, creeping up in her throat. Frostmask whipped around and hurried back out of the den. As she burst back into clearing, she almost ran right into Autumnleap and Pineshade, who had followed her over to the Oak Tree and were gazing at her intently.
"He's not here!" Frostmask hissed, trying and failing to hide the growing panic in her voice.
Autumnleap's eyes widened in fear, but Pineshade's gaze hardened.
"Don't panic. You can do this," Pineshade said firmly. "Just send some cats after Yewstorm's patrol, and organize some others to help Amberyberry find her kits."
Frostmask nodded, taking a shaky breath.
"Okay. Okay. You're right. Rowanheart, Snakeeyes, Pineshade and I will go after the patrol and the fox by the ThunderClan border—"
"No," Pineshade cut her off, her tail flicking. "Amberberry is freaking out and as soon as she finds out Sedgestar isn't in camp, it'll just get worse. You stay here and help her look for her kits, or she's going to give herself a heart attack. We can take care of one dumb fox."
"Lizardstrike is on that patrol!" Frostmask protested, her claws unsheathing and sinking into the ground. "And, what if it's more than one fox?"
"I'm sure Lizardstrike's parents will make sure he's okay," Pineshade pointed out quickly, her pelt prickling with impatience. "But, if we need another cat, I'll take this oaf."
Pineshade flicked her tail against Autumnleap's side. Autumnleap blinked, his brow furrowing as if he was trying to decide if now was the appropriate time to get offended that Pineshade had just called him an 'oaf.'
It seemed like the urgency of the situation won out, since his expression smoothed and he lifted his chin.
"I'll go," Autumnleap agreed.
"Alright then," Frostmask said, nodding at them. "Go."
They didn't need anymore prompting then that. Autumnleap and Pineshade whipped around and ran to Rowanheart and Snakeeyes. After only a moment of conversing with them and Yewstorm, likely figuring out the exact location of his patrol, the four cats were streaming out of camp at full-pelt.
Frostmask watched them leave, an odd feeling of helplessness wrapping around her chest and threatening to suffocate her. Was this how Sedgestar felt when he sent cats to go fight on ShadowClan's behalf? Of course Frostmask trusted her clan-mates to fight well, but it hardly seemed fair to order them to go risk injury or even death while she stayed behind. No wonder Sedgestar was almost aways at the front of every battle patrol.
And, please StarClan, let Lizardstrike be okay.
Frostmask shook her head sharply. She couldn't waste time worrying about them now. Even if Amberberry's kits were fine at the moment, having just wandered out of camp, the queen was right that with a fox lurking around, they could end up in deadly danger in just a flick of a tail.
Frostmask rushed over to Amberberry, where she was still being soothed by Larkfoot. Murmurstep had come over to her mother too and was attempting to calm her down while she curled her tail around Minnowkit to comfort her. Her little sibling almost got lost in the long fur of Murmurstep's tail; only her wide green eyes peeked out.
"…I just don't know when or how they could have snuck off! I was keeping an eye on them the whole time!" Amberberry was whimpering, her ears flat against her skull.
"Don't worry, we'll find them," Larkfoot promised, rasping her tongue over Amberberry's forehead.
"Or the fox will first!" Amberberry gasped.
"I can't scent any fox scent from here," Murmurstep pointed out. "And, Yewstorm's patrol was past the Burnt Sycamore when they were attacked."
"But, what if there's another fox?!" Amberberry said, still sniffling.
"The kits are definitely not in camp," Darkpelt reported, limping over to the group from where he'd done a sweep around the edge of the camp, near the thorn barrier. "We double-checked all the dens."
Frostmask's gaze tracked over the cats who remained in camp. Elmclaw had taken Yewstorm into his den and was treating him there. The other elders, Clearstream, Greytail, and Treefur, were all out, having been helping search for the missing kits too. Dewleaf was sheltering in the nursery with her kits, keeping them safe and out of the way, while Poolcloud sat in front of the den, guarding them. The only other warriors around was Dustleap, who was up in the lower branches of the Oak Tree, checking the canopy for the wayward kits, and Redclaw and Weaseltail, who sniffed around the clearing, trying to catch a scent trail. But, Frostmask knew that was a near futile task, especially given the numerous other cat-scent in the camp.
"I'll lead a patrol out to go track them down," Frostmask said.
"Yes, but make sure you leave some warriors in camp so if a fox comes here, the other kits will be protected," Amberberry fretted.
"Mom, what kind of frog-brained fox would attack a camp full of dozens of cat scents?" Murmurstep said with an exasperated sigh, her patience with Amberberry clearly running thin.
Frostmask privately agreed with Murmurstep, but she didn't say so out loud. Amberberry was finally calming down slightly, and it would do no one any good to rile her up again.
"Would you like to come with me to search?" Frostmask asked the queen.
"No. I need to stay here with Minnowkit." Amberberry wrapped her paw around her remaining kit and pulled her out from under Murmurstep's tail before giving Minnowkit's forehead a few hard licks. "I'm not letting her out of my sight. Oh I wish Kestrelmoon was here! He could go with you."
But, Dampfang had to take him and nearly half of the clan's warriors out on a patrol. Frostmask thought sourly.
"I'll go with you, Frostmask," Murmurstep said with a nod to her, refocusing Frostmask's attention.
"Thank you. Redclaw, Weaseltail and Dustleap can stay in camp," Frostmask said, her gaze flitting over the cats as Redclaw padded over to Amberberry to give her friend a soothing lick on the shoulder. "And, Poolcloud, will you come with us too?"
Frostmask didn't want to pull Poolcloud away from his mate and kits, if he was also concerned about their safety. But, Poolcloud now seemed much more relaxed as the moments passed and there was no physical sign that Marigoldkit and Mallowkit had been taken by force, and no scents of dangerous creatures drifting into camp.
Poolcloud gave a nod of agreement in response to Frostmask's question and padded over to join her and Murmurstep as they slipped out of camp.
"Let's circle the thorn barrier and see if we can pick up a trail," Frostmask suggested once they were outside.
The smell of the camp was still very strong, masking individual scents, but it wasn't quite as overwhelming as it was on the inside. Besides, checking the outside of the thorn barrier anyway would give them a chance to look for other clues of the kits' whereabouts— like paw-prints in the mud or a tuft of fur caught on some thorns.
As they prowled around the camp, Frostmask found part of her focus drifting away from her current task and deeper into the woods, her ears straining to try to hear sounds of the battle with the fox, or cries from her clan-mates for help. Murmurstep's attention also seemed divided, since every few moments she glanced out of the corner of her eyes in the direction that would take her towards the ThunderClan border.
"Pineshade went to go help the patrol with the fox, didn't she?" Murmurstep asked Frostmask in a low voice.
Frostmask's stomach turned with worry for her clan-mates. If they were lucky, Pineshade's patrol with reinforcements had already reached the fox by now, hopefully scaring it off, and her patrol, along with Lizardstrike's, would be returning to camp soon. But, Frostmask knew better than to count just on luck.
"She did," Frostmask responded.
Murmurstep glanced away from her, her tail twitching with small, anxious flicks.
"This will be the first time she's been in a fight since she lost her eye," she muttered.
Murmurstep's implication sharpened Frostmask's concern. She knew Pineshade had done battle training to get used to fighting with one eye after her injury. But, Murmurstep was right that a real fight was quite a different beast. Was Pineshade truly ready?
"She'll be okay. They all will," Frostmask said, willing herself to believe it.
Poolcloud lifted his muzzle and parted his jaws to drink in any scents on the breeze.
"There's no fox scent around here at least," he reported. "The kits probably just snuck out to go exploring. Marigoldkit is a really adventurous one."
"How did they even get out of camp?" Murmurstep asked with a sigh. "I know Amberberry isn't always the most attentive mother. But, even she wouldn't have let them stroll right out of the thorn tunnel."
"There must be a gap somewhere in the barrier," Frostmask said. "I'll have to have it checked."
They continued their search, widening their radius from camp after no trace of the kits was found close to the thorn barrier. But, they didn't have to travel much deeper into the territory before Murmurstep paused, her pale golden head lifting.
"…Oh wait." Murmurstep's ears pricked in concentration. "I think I hear something."
She veered away from the camp and deeper into the forest, Poolcloud and Frostmask right behind her. As they trotted past the dark pine trunks, Frostmask's ears perked up as she noticed the faint noise Murmurstep had— the distinctive high-pitched mews of kits. But, as they grew closer and the voices became clearer, Frostmask quickly realized the mews had a shrill edge of fear to them.
Frostmask's stomach lurched, and as one, she, Murmurstep and Poolcloud leapt forward, sprinting towards the cries. Frostmask outpaced her larger friends as the territory shifted around them, the pines becoming less dense as they entered into the marshlands. The tall grasses were thick here, but the kits' cries were louder, guiding them forward.
"Mallowkit? Marigoldkit? Where are you?" Poolcloud bellowed.
"Over here! Help!" Marigoldkit's voice responded, now quite loud and clear.
They rushed towards his cry, bursting through the dense stems of the marsh grasses, and skidding to a stop right next to Marigoldkit and a big mud puddle. His pale orange pelt was mud splattered, but thankfully, he seemed unhurt, although his eyes were round with fear.
"Mallowkit is stuck!" Marigoldkit wailed, flicking his tail towards the mud. "I wanted to get help, but I couldn't leave her!"
Frostmask's gaze flickered towards the mud puddle, and the fur down her spine bristled with fear as she noticed, what she thought was just a muddy lump, was actually Mallowkit. Her ginger fur was completely stained brown, and she was clearly stuck fast in the mud— only her head and the top of her back were above the surface. Her eyes shone with desperation as her muzzle stuck straight in the air, trembling slightly as she took fast, shallow breaths. She whimpered and shifted as if trying to take a step towards the patrol, but as soon as she moved, she sunk deeper into the muck.
"Don't move!" Poolcloud ordered swiftly, his long black-and-white fur bristling with fear. "We'll get you out of there!"
Frostmask's gaze flickered over the scene, her mind whirling as she tried to come up with the best way to rescue Mallowkit. She was too far in the center of the puddle for any of them to just reach over and pull her out from the firmer ground. But, there was no telling how deep the mud puddle was, so if one of them went in after her, they could risk getting trapped too.
Poolcloud turned to Frostmask and Murmurstep.
"I'm the tallest here, so I'll go into the mud to grab Mallowkit. Then if I get stuck, you two can pull me out by the tail," he said.
"But, you're so big, what if Frostmask and I can't manage it?" Murmurstep pointed out, her eyes round with worry. "Maybe I should try to grab her instead."
"Let's get a stick," Frostmask suggested. "We can see if Mallowkit can hold on to it, and we can try to pull her out that way. If that doesn't work, then one of us can get in the mud."
"Good idea," Poolcloud said with a curt nod. "You can stay here with Mallowkit and Marigoldkit, while Murmurstep and I grab one quickly."
Frostmask meowed an agreement, and her two companions whirled around and vanished into the tall grass.
"Will Mallowkit be okay?" Marigoldkit asked, his ears pinned back against his head.
The usually adventurous kit looked quite subdued as he crouched down close to the ground, shaking with fear like a leaf caught in the wind.
Maybe he feels guilty about Mallowkit ending up in trouble— assuming that this was his idea, of course.
"She'll be just fine. We just need to get her out," Frostmask said, brushing her tail against Marigoldkit's side.
Although even as she soothed him, a part of her wanted to scold the kits for their foolishness. The marsh, despite all its alluring green-leaf beauty, was one of the most hazardous parts of ShadowClan's territory, second only to the Carrionplace. And, it was especially dangerous during green-leaf when there was the swollen river to contend with, along with the deep, sticky patches of mud that would suck a cat in, as Mallowkit and Marigoldkit had unhappily discovered. Even the herons that called the marsh home were voracious predators, capable of seriously injuring or even killing a kit.
We're lucky we found them quickly.
But, there was no point in making either of the kits feel worse at the moment, especially not when Mallowkit was still stuck.
Thankfully, only a moment later, the tall grass shivered and Poolcloud and Murmurstep came back out, a long stick held between them. Murmurstep dropped her end from her jaws and pushed it towards the mud puddle as Poolcloud lowered his side to the ground too before sinking his claws into it and anchoring it in place.
"Okay Mallowkit, grab this in your mouth once it's in front of you, and then see if you can grab it with your paws too. Got it?" Frostmask said, gazing out at the trapped kit.
Mallowkit made a soft noise of agreement, still holding as still as possible until the end of the branch was so close to her, it brushed her whiskers. Then she stretched forward, clamped the stick in her jaws and began to tug on it, struggling to use it to lever her front half out of the muck. Frostmask and Murmurstep added their weight to the other end of the branch along with Poolcloud's, keeping it as steady as possible.
"Good job! You're almost there!" Murmurstep purred encouragingly as Mallowkit wretched one foreleg out of the mud and grabbed at the end of the stick with all her might. "Just get one more paw on, and we'll pull you out!"
After few more moments of struggling, Mallowkit gave a final heave and yanked her other foreleg out, reaching for the branch. Her paw scrabbled against the bark as she fought against the slick mud to get a firm grip, but eventually her claws found purchase and sunk into the wood. Poolcloud gave a nod once he was satisfied with the strength of her grip.
"Hold on tight!" Poolcloud said.
Poolcloud bent his head to clench the end of the stick in his jaws, and Murmurstep and Frostmask did the same. With three cats pulling on the branch, it took only one hard tug to dislodge Mallowkit. She was freed from the mud with a loud squelch and then quickly towed back onto solid ground before the puddle could pull her in again.
Her paws shaking, Mallowkit let go of the branch and stood on unsteady legs. She looked almost more like a tiny porcupine than a kitten, with her pelt so thoroughly stained brown and stuck up in muddy tufts all over her body.
"Th- Thank you," Mallowkit stammered, her eyes still wide and frightened.
Murmurstep bent her head and gave Mallowkit a firm lick on her forehead to soothe her.
"You're okay," Murmurstep said briskly before wrinkling her nose up. "Although I have no idea how Amberberry is going to get all this mud off of you."
"You scared her and the whole clan," Poolcloud added, putting on his stern 'dad voice.' "You both know that you're not allowed to leave camp."
Mallowkit and Marigoldkit bent their heads. Frostmask suspected that the situation had shaken them up enough that neither had the spirit left to argue.
"Are we going to be in trouble?" Marigoldkit asked, lifting huge eyes to stare up at Frostmask. "Are you not going to let us become apprentices?
Frostmask blinked, as for the first time, she realized that some of the kits' apprehension might be stemming from the fact that she, the deputy, was here to fetch them. They were very familiar with Poolcloud, the father of their den-mates, and Murmurstep, their older sister, but they probably only knew Frostmask as an authority figure.
"You won't be apprentices for another couple moons either way," Frostmask pointed out gently. "But, I'll leave your punishment to your parents to decide."
Privately though, she figured that the kits had gotten a big enough scare here that no more punishment would be necessary.
"Let's head back to camp," Frostmask said, turning and leading the way home.
The kits obediently trailed after her with Murmurstep and Poolcloud flanking them to make sure neither fell behind or wandered off.
As they drew closer to the camp, Frostmask's ears jerked up as she picked up the sounds of numerous voices and the faint scent of blood and fox.
Pelt bristling slightly, Frostmask put on a small burst of speed to dash ahead, pushing her way through the tunnel quickly and ignoring the aberrant thorns that tugged at her fur.
When she emerged into the camp clearing, she relaxed quickly upon seeing Autumnleap and Pineshade, who were talking to a group of clan-mates and seemed no worse for wear than a few scratches. Nobody looked overly distressed either. There was definitely some agitation in the fidgeting of her clan-mates' tails, but no one was on the verge of panic.
"You're alright," Frostmask purred with relief as she trotted up to Autumnleap and Pineshade. "Where's Lizardstrike and the others? And, the fox?"
Autumnleap gestured towards the medicine cat's den with a wave of his tail.
"They're a bit more beat up than us so Elmclaw is treating them first. But, everyone should be fine as long as their wounds don't get infected."
"As for the foxes, we chased the mange-pelts off," Pineshade broke in, baring her teeth. "They'll never come back to our territory, if they know what's good for them."
"Did you say foxes?" Frostmask clarified, her eyes widening.
Pineshade nodded.
"Yeah. There were two."
Frostmask shook her head, sighing.
We're even luckier than I thought that there were no bad injures.
Autumnleap blinked at Frostmask in concern, pulling her attention back to him.
"Did you find the kits?" he asked.
Frostmask nodded.
"They're fine. Just a bit shaken up," she said, glancing over her shoulder towards the rustling thorn barrier. "Here they come now."
Murmurstep entered into the camp first, Mallowkit and Marigold kit hot on her heels and Poolcloud just behind them. As soon as the kits took their first steps back into camp, Amberberry let out a yowl of joy and rushed over to them from the nursery, leaving Minnowkit inside the den.
"Where were you?! What happened to you! Why are you filthy?" Amberberry demanded her rapid-fire questions in-between frantic licks to both kits' dirty pelts.
Frostmask drifted back over in their direction, wanting to make sure that that crisis was fully sorted before she went to check on the others who had battled with the fox.
"Mallowkit got stuck in some mud near the marsh," Poolcloud reported. "We got her out."
"I think they're fine, but you might have Elmclaw look them over to be sure," Frostmask added.
"Thank you. Thank you all!" Amberberry's eyes welled with emotion as she gazed up at Frostmask, Murmurstep, and Poolcloud from where she crouched over her kits. "I don't know what I would've done if I lost them."
Frostmask dipped her head in response to the queen's gratitude before she glanced over at the kits.
"No more sneaking out though, alright?" she said.
Mallowkit and Marigoldkit just nodded meekly in response.
"Say thank you to Frostmask, Poolcloud, and Murmurstep for rescuing you," Amberberry prompted. "Then we are going right back to the nursery. Minnowkit will be so happy to see you; she's been so worried too."
"Thank you," Marigoldkit and Mallowkit murmured, staring up at them.
Poolcloud's gaze softened.
"I'll see you later you little scamps," he said.
Murmurstep just purred, rubbing her cheek first against Marigoldkit and then Mallowkit. Frostmask nodded at them, and Amberberry begun to herd them away.
"I'm going to go check on the patrol that fought the fox now," Frostmask said to Poolcloud and Murmurstep.
Murmurstep blinked at her.
"They're okay?" she asked, her gaze drifting off of Frostmask to stare behind her, where Pineshade and Autumnleap were still chatting with Redclaw, Weaseltail, and some others.
"I think so. But, I need to get a full report," Frostmask said from over her shoulder as she trotted off to the medicine cat's den, leaving Murmurstep and Poolcloud behind.
When Frostmask reached the lichen curtain that sheltered the den, the ever-pervasive floral scent of herbs drifted out of the cave, along with the scents of Elmclaw, Lizardstrike, Cedarfur, Hollowshade, and Yewstorm as well as Snakeeyes and Rowanheart.
She was just about to step inside when she had to jerk back as she almost ran smack into Cedarfur as he was coming out.
"Er— hi," Cedarfur meowed, his ears twisting back in a look that was almost apprehensive.
Frostmask's gaze flickered over his body, taking in his injures. He had cuts all over his pelt, but it seemed like his tail had gotten the worst of it. Although most of it was already bandaged with cobwebs, Frostmask could still tell that there were big chunks of fur missing.
The foxes must have really chewed on it.
"Are you alright?" Frostmask asked, lifting her gaze to meet his eyes.
"You mean my tail?" Cedarfur asked, glancing back at it. "Yeah. Or, it's still all there, if that's what you're asking. Should still be functional too. Elmclaw said I was lucky nothing was broken. It might look pretty raggedy for a while though."
Frostmask nodded. She was genuinely relieved that he was okay, but as her fear for her clan-mates' safety faded, some annoyance that they'd ended up in a fight with the foxes, despite her orders contrary, grew to replace it.
"And, what happened with the foxes?" Frostmask asked.
I told you not to engage.
"We ran into them on our way to the ThunderClan border," Cedarfur said. "Two of them. A pair of mates, I think. They just ambushed us. We had no choice but to fight."
"Alright," Frostmask said, her brow furrowing. "I'm glad you all ended up okay. And, the foxes are gone now, correct?"
Cedarfur nodded.
"When the other patrol arrived, they chased them away," he said.
"Good. That's good," Frostmask said with a tired sigh. "Well… rest up."
Cedarfur nodded at her, his pelt prickling awkwardly as he slunk away, leaving Frostmask to finally reach the medicine cat's den, calling out a greeting as she stuck her head inside.
Elmclaw was right near the entrance, wrapping a cobweb bandage around one of Hollowshade's hind-legs, but he glanced up at Frostmask's appearance.
"You're not hurt too?" he asked, his dark brow furrowing.
"No," Frostmask said, stepping further into the cave. "I'm just here to check on everyone. Although Pineshade and Autumnleap still need their scratches looked at. Oh, and you should look at Mallowkit too. We found her and Marigoldkit. They're okay, I think, but a little shaken up."
Elmclaw gave a low grunt of annoyance, making him sound unsettlingly like Darkpelt.
"I don't know what's gotten into everyone today. Kits and warriors stirring up trouble. Getting into fights with foxes! As if I don't have better ways to spend my time," he grumbled to Frostmask, going back to working on Hollowshade's leg before raising his voice to address all the cats in the den. "In that case, some other cats better get out of my cave because this is the medicine cat's den, not Fourtrees. It's getting way too crowded in here."
"Rowanheart and I can leave," Snakeeyes volunteered, rising to her paws.
Frostmask glanced over at where she had been sitting with her mate and Lizardstrike.
Snakeeyes and Rowanheart, like Autumnleap and Pineshade, only seemed a bit scraped up, but Frostmask's belly lurched in worry as her gaze finally made it over to Lizardstrike, and she saw the amount of herbs and cobwebs plastered to him.
Although Lizardstrike's ears flattened like a chastised kit's as Frostmask hurried over to him, he still purred in greeting.
'Are you gonna say 'I told you so?'' Lizardstrike asked with a wry twitch of his whiskers once she reached his side and started sniffing at his wounds.
Frostmask ignored him as she assessed his injuries. The worst one seemed to be a nasty bite to his flank, although Elmclaw had packed that tightly with herbs, so hopefully it wouldn't get infected. Frostmask shook her head, giving a soft sigh. At least it looked like Lizardstrike, like the others in his patrol, had made it out of the fight without severe injuries, even if they hadn't heeded her warning.
But, Frostmask still gasped when Lizardstrike's ears pricked back up, revealing that one of them had been badly torn. Only the lower half of his right ear remained, a jagged wound marking the area where the top had been ripped off.
Lizardstrike lifted his paw and gently touched it to the injured ear once he noticed her staring.
'It's not like I was using it anyway,' he signed with a sheepish glance.
Frostmask just sighed again, deeply weary.
'What happened? Cedarfur told me you were ambushed?'
'We didn't do anything!' Lizardstrike clarified quickly, his gaze flashing. 'We were just heading towards the ThunderClan border, and they were there. I didn't scent them coming because of the thunderpath. Like you said.'
'Two foxes versus four cats. Not great odds,' Frostmask signed, shaking her head. 'You all got very lucky Yewstorm got backup so fast.'
Lizardstrike's lip curled back in a toothy grin.
'Luck had nothing to do with it. You should've seen me fight. Those foxes got their tails handed to them.'
Frostmask rolled her eyes, but she couldn't keep from purring with fondness. Lizardstrike may have lost part of his ear, but at least his cocky attitude was still intact.
'I'm going to go check on the others now. Feel better soon. And, listen to Elmclaw,' Frostmask signed.
Lizardstrike huffed in exasperation, rolling his eyes.
'Yes, Mom.'
Frostmask gave him an admonishing flick of her tail against his nose before turning to Hollowshade, who Elmclaw had now finished tending to.
"You're okay?" she asked her.
"Just a bite on a leg," Hollowshade reported with a dismissive shrug. "Elmclaw said I should be fine to go back to warriors' duties in a couple days as long as it doesn't get infected."
Frostmask nodded, turning finally to Yewstorm, who was the deepest in the den. She padded over to him, and Yewstorm glanced up at her from where he was lying in a nest. His green gaze flashed with nervousness as she reached him.
"You did well getting back to camp so fast," she purred. "It sounds like the others would have been in a lot more trouble if you hadn't."
"Yeah." Yewstorm said, fidgeting. "But, I'm sorry about this whole thing."
Frostmask blinked, her brow knitting in confusion.
"Sorry about what?"
Now it was Yewstorm's turn to blink in surprise before his ears twisted back in concern.
"Uh… did Lizardstrike not tell you?" Yewstorm meowed hesitantly, his voice a bit hushed.
The fur on the back of Frostmask's neck started to prickle.
"Tell me what?" she pressed, a disquieting feeling crawling up her spine.
Yewstorm's shoulders hunched in consternation.
"Um… that we went after the foxes on purpose. I really tried to talk them out of it, I promise. But, Cedarfur was set on figuring out where they were denning…"
Frostmask whirled around and started stomping back towards Lizardstrike's nest before Yewstorm had even finished talking. Hot anger burned in her belly as she strode up to him. How could he and Cedarfur have lied so boldly to her face? Cedarfur, well, maybe she could understand. But, Lizardstrike?
Lizardstrike had curled up, his eyes shut, so she prodded an uninjured section of his flank, her tail flicking in impatience as she waited for him to stir.
As soon as Lizardstrike's eyes opened, Frostmask began signing.
'Why didn't you tell me that Cedarfur sought out the foxes?! Did you help him?'
Lizardstrike jolted upwards into a seated position, wincing as he jostled his wounded shoulder, but that didn't slow him down as he began to respond.
'Don't be mad! He was just trying to help.'
'By doing the exact opposite of what I asked?' Frostmask's lips curled back in a snarl. 'I'm the deputy! You all are supposed to listen to me. And, you lied to me for him?'
'We didn't mean to fight them!' Lizardstrike protested. 'Cedarfur just wanted to know where they lived so we had something to report back about. The foxes have been lurking around for a while. They were going to cause trouble sooner rather than later. Cedarfur just wanted to stop that before it could happen.'
Frostmask just growled in response, her tail lashing behind her. Lizardstrike gazed at her with large blue eyes.
'Don't punish him, please. The foxes really did ambush us once we got close to their den. We weren't trying to fight them, I swear.'
Frostmask grumbled to herself, her ears flicking with annoyance.
If I don't punish him, then the other warriors will think they can walk all over me… right?
But, Lizardstrike was staring at her so imploringly. Would punishing Cedarfur only isolate him more, pushing him further to Dampfang, and alienating Lizardstrike from her as well? He did just lie to her for the sake of his friend…
Frostmask sighed unhappily, a faint headache coming on.
'Okay… I won't this time. But, don't let something like this happen again, alright?' Frostmask signed, wrestling down the urge to continue lecturing him.
Lizardstrike nodded emphatically, giving a grateful blink and purr.
Frostmask meowed goodbyes to the cats in the den as she trudged out of the cave, her tail still twitching with excess agitation and her paws dragging with frustration and exhaustion.
She could still hardly believe that Lizardstrike had lied to her so blatantly. They were close, weren't they? So why had he done it? Did he not trust her to be fair to Cedarfur? Or was it just a frog-brained decision— a temporary lapse in judgement?
Frostmask shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts as she emerged back into camp, trepidation heavy in her belly as she braced herself for more crises.
But, she found none— the camp was peaceful. The drama of the late afternoon seemed to have drained everyone's energy, not just Frostmask's, and so, despite the fact that it was now sunset, the time when ShadowClan should be the most active, her clan-mates lounged around camp.
Frostmask glanced around, reluctant to actually believe that everything had really been sorted out. But, the fresh-kill pile was still high and would last them through the rest of the day, so there was no issue there. She could see Cedarfur sitting and talking with his father Dustleap, but she'd just promised Lizardstrike not to punish him, so he was off the hook… at least this time. Although, the ThunderClan border still hadn't been patrolled since Cedarfur's patrol never actually made it over there…
A brief blaze of rebelliousness flashed in her chest.
You know what? Screw it. ThunderClan isn't going to invade just because we missed one day's sunset patrol.
Then that only left one problem for her to deal with… Where was Sedgestar?
But, even that question was answered when the thorn barrier rustled, and Sedgestar and Emberflower came padding through. A look of mild surprise flitted over Sedgestar's face as he noticed the cobwebs that peppered a few of his clan-mates' pelts, contrasted with the relaxed attitude of the camp. Frostmask made a beeline over to the leader and his mate, wanting to report to Sedgestar before he approached anyone else or returned to his den.
"Frostmask," Sedgestar said in greeting. "It looks like it's been an eventful afternoon."
Frostmask swallowed back a huff of dry, humorless laughter.
"You don't know the half of it."
She then launched into explaining the sequence of the day— from Dampfang preempting her assignments to take out a weirdly large border patrol, to the fox attack, to rescuing the missing kits. Sedgestar's and Emberflower's eyes stretched wider as each new detail was revealed. The only thing Frostmask left out was the fact that Cedarfur had decided to search for the foxes deliberately. If she was going to stay true to her promise to Lizardstrike about that, she couldn't rat Cedarfur out to their leader.
Once Frostmask reached the end of the day's events, she took a moment to inhale a deep breath and give Sedgestar and Emberflower a beat to process all of the information.
"Where have you been?" she asked finally.
Sedgestar shifted his weight from paw to paw.
"Emberflower and I went out to visit Grovepelt's grave and take a walk around the forest," he said in a low voice. "But, I would have returned as quickly as I could if I had known all that was going on."
Sedgestar perked up slightly as he glanced at her approvingly.
"Although, it sounds as if you handled all of this quite well."
Frostmask's ears twitched, flicking off his praise like she would a stray water droplet.
No, I sent the patrol of young warriors out in the first place, and then when I heard about the foxes, I froze up. Pineshade had to prompt me to send out the patrol to drive them off. And, Murmurstep was the one who tracked down the kits. Then Lizardstrike lied to me since his patrol actually went after the foxes on purpose.
"It was tough. I wish you'd been here," Frostmask muttered, scuffing one of her paw over the ground in front of her and feeling infuriatingly a lot like a young apprentice with a mountain of responsibilities and tasks were far above her head. "I went to your den, but you weren't there."
Sedgestar sighed.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help too," he said, his tail-tip flicking. "And, I'm sorry for being more absent recently. Grovepelt may have… But, that doesn't excuse me leaving the Clan to fend for itself."
Sedgestar gently touched his tail-tip to her shoulder.
"But, you did a good job," he insisted. "Our clan-mates are all safe. That's what truly matters."
Emberflower nodded in agreement, giving Frostmask a supportive purr. Frostmask blinked uncertainly. She still wasn't sure if she was worthy of the praise, but she also didn't have the energy left to argue, so she just dipped her head instead.
"Thank you, Sedgestar," she said.
Sedgestar started to pad away.
"Go take a break. You deserve it," he added from over his shoulder.
Frostmask nodded, tiredness dragging at her pelt. There was nothing she'd like more to do than just that and take a nice, long nap. But, after only a heartbeat of fantasizing about curling up in her soft nest, Frostmask blinked in dismay as she recalled one final unfinished task.
Someone still has to make new nests in the nursery.
Sighing loudly to herself, Frostmask plodded towards the den.
Author's Note: So much stuff happens this chapter, I don't even know what to comment on! I guess I'll just say it's always fun to write about the little kittens babies :)
Thank you for reading! Also thank you all so much for the condolences last chapter, I truly appreciate it.
Reviews: Brian.H.H: Thank you, as always, for the nice review! Yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting exploring this other side to Sedgestar. I think Sedgestar really hates showing any sort of public vulnerability since he sees that as 'weakness,' but losing Grovepelt was a big enough blow to him that of course he couldn't not be vulnerable, you know. It's kinda funny since he and Frostmask are similar in that way, since Frostmask also isn't always the best with expressing her feelings, especially when those are uncomfortable feelings that make her feel vulnerable. So, I think that is part of their problem because they have these unresolved issues between them (or at least Frostmask does, I think Sedgestar more wants to believe that it's water under the bridge lol) but neither want to take that initial first step of being vulnerable to resolve them. Although it remains to be seen if Frostmask seeing this new side of Sedgestar will bring them closer in the future!
Cactopus: Thank you for reading and for the review! It was definitely a tough one to get through.
Hatakefire: Thank you so much. It's truly amazing for me to hear that you've grown so attached to the characters.
Frsted: Thank you for the review, it was nice to hear from you again! My updates might be a bit irregular since I'm busy with classes, but I wanted to reassure you that I will always still be working on this story! Also, I really appreciate hearing your theorizing, but I can't comment too much because of potential spoilers!