Ch. 12 Buried
That night, as the stars glittered in the darkened sky, Redmoon padded up to the center of camp to join Dewshine and Mintshade, who were sitting vigil following their warrior ceremonies. Although no cat had explicitly told her to do so, Redmoon still felt obligated to sit with them as well. After all, she had also received her name that day. Sitting with her clanmates was simply a small way of reclaiming the moment she had lost when she became a medicine cat.
When she approached them, Dewshine looked surprised, but said nothing as she wordlessly beckoned her forward with her tail. Thankful for the warmth, Redmoon laid down and pressed her pelt against Dewshine's fur.
The she-cat shivered. "It's really cold tonight," she mewed in a hushed whisper, keeping her voice low so that none of the senior warriors could hear her. The frost that covered her bluish-gray fur shimmered in the moonlight, and to Redmoon, those small rays of light almost looked like little suns that kept them both warm at night.
"It is," Redmoon replied softly. She glanced at Willowbranch's body and shuddered. Her former mentor looked so peaceful lying there, her body uncovered in the snow thanks to these young warriors' efforts. It was such a stark contrast to how she had died earlier that day, choking on deathberries.
Mintshade was curled up next to Dewshine on her other side, sitting only a squirrel leap away from her mentor, Finchwing's body. She blinked back tears but said nothing, and only stared at the reddish-brown warrior's lifeless pelt, almost as if she was waiting for his star-encrusted pelt to rise from his body. For a long while, the group remained silent, lost in their thoughts and memories.
Finally, there was a small whisper. "I wanted him to be proud of me."
Redmoon flicked her ear; she thought she had imagined it until Dewshine gave her sister a comforting lick. "Of course, he is," she replied, and together the two cats pressed their foreheads together, taking in each other's scents. Although the circumstances were different, they had both lost something precious that day, and their bond as sisters was stronger than ever.
Redmoon raised her gaze towards Silverpelt. The dark, dreary sky had filled with grayish clouds, blocking out the moon. Their warrior ancestors were no longer visible. Could it be because they were angry? She bit her lip, wondering what they could be thinking of right now.
The next morning, the sun rose high through the trees, casting its long rays across the snow and bathing the fresh, icy white drifts in a shimmery light. Redmoon opened her jaws wide, letting out a huge yawn, then stood up and stretched. When she heard crunching in the snow, she glanced over to see a small group padding up to them. It was led by Rabbitclaw; the white, long-furred elder had a hard look on her face as she hobbled quickly through the snow. Close on her heels came the senior warriors Flintfoot and Blossomheart. Ravenstorm was also padding up to them as well, with Flamestar close behind him, and with a heavy heart Redmoon realized that they had all come to bury her fallen clanmates from the day before.
With a sense of closure washing over her, Redmoon leaned her head forward and touched her nose to her mentor's cold gray fur. "Goodbye," she mewed under her breath. Although Willowbranch did so many cruel things to her, she didn't want to believe the medicine cat did it out of pure hatred and spite.
As Redmoon lifted her gaze, she noticed her other clanmates had also arrived to say goodbye to their fallen comrades. She watched as Leopardstrike placed her paw on Finchwing's body and closed her eyes, giving a silent prayer to StarClan. Nearby, Littleleaf observed her uneasily with a twitching tail, clearly filled with mixed emotions. In unison, Cloverpaw and Hazelpaw padded up together, and upon seeing Redmoon, they gave her a nod of acknowledgment.
To her dismay even Icebreath had journeyed out of the medicine cat's den, limping clumsily across the snow until she had joined the crowd. Redmoon was about to say something to her, when suddenly she spotted Silversky and Goldenear, sitting outside the nursery. Their empty gazes, void of emotion, made her feel uneasy, but she shook the thought out of her mind and looked away.
Finally, the time for grievance was over. As the patrol picked up their bodies, Redmoon's clanmates called out solemn farewells until they disappeared through the ice-covered spines of the gorse tunnel.
Hazelpaw padded up to her, and eagerly Redmoon rubbed her forehead against his, thankful for the reassuring gesture. "Don't worry, Cloverpaw and I will take care of Icebreath." He mewed. Redmoon caught a hint of worry in his voice, but he didn't express it openly.
"Thank you," she replied and watched as her brother quickly caught up to the brown apprentice. Ever since Willowbranch had died, Cloverpaw had been sticking around a lot more and started helping around the camp, assisting her with medicine cat duties. She wondered how long that would last.
As she watched them leave, Mintshade stepped into her field of vision, her tail dragging along the ground as she stared at the pawprints left in the snow. Around them the rest of the clanmates had already dispersed, tearfully returning to their warrior duties.
"Mintshade," Redmoon asked with concern, carefully picking her way through the snow to stand next to her. "Are you okay?"
The pale tortoiseshell gave a slow nod, blinking back tears. "Both of our mentors are in StarClan now." She murmured; her voice filled with sadness. "They don't have to fight anymore."
Redmoon placed her tail gently on her shoulder. "Finchwing was a great mentor and a great warrior. He fought and died protecting our clan."
"He was ambushed," she choked, clenching her jaw, and digging her claws into the snow. "He didn't even get a chance to fight." She swung her gaze, turning on her heels to face Redmoon, her eyes filled with green fury. "He didn't die protecting his clan, he was murdered! Both of our mentors were murdered!"
Redmoon felt a shiver run down her spine, and she flattened her ears. Mintshade had no idea how right she was, but she was blaming the wrong cats for their deaths. If she knew the truth, would she still think the same way?
Redmoon lifted her paw. "I-"
Dewshine overheard and padded up to them both. "Mintshade calm down."
"Calm down?" Tail still lashing, the pale she-cat whipped around to face her. "Remember how worried you were when Flowerpetal disappeared and left Willowbranch all by herself?" She pointed her tail towards Redmoon. "Now look at her, the same thing happened again! And you want me to calm down? Stop acting mouse-brained!"
"You're the mouse-brain!" Dewshine retorted, arching her back. "They both died and acting this way won't bring them back!"
"They're both in StarClan!" Mintshade hissed. "They never went away!"
Suddenly, a spotted brown she-cat broke in between the quarreling sisters, separating them both with a flash of her paw. "That's enough you two." Leopardstrike scolded. "Save your energy for hunting. We still have a lot of work to do today."
"I don't want to hear that from you!" Mintshade shouted through tears. Before the warrior could respond, she whirled around and sprinted away.
Leopardstrike sighed, watching her disappear into the warrior's den.
Redmoon padded up to her. "What happened?" she asked, maybe this was her chance to find out what happened during the patrol.
Leopardstrike shook her head. "It's as Flamestar said. Silversky didn't renew the scent markers after the recent ice storm, so they challenged us by placing their scent markers behind ours. Silversky was ready to fight them right then and there for it, but we had no idea that Shadowspring would return with her whole clan behind her."
"I tried to explain this to her, but she wouldn't listen." Dewshine pitched in. "I'm angry, and I'm scared, and I'm really sad as well, but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much. I want to stay strong for her."
Redmoon stared at Dewshine, admiring her willingness and ability to change for the sake of her sister. She remembered that not too long ago, she had arrived at her den with a thorn in her paw, and now that she's become a warrior, overnight she's changed completely into a different cat.
"Dewshine!" Redmoon called out, leaping on top of her and playfully pushing her down with her forepaws. Dewshine seemed surprised at first, but soon they were wrestling together in the snow, sweeping up ice crystals and fallen leaves that had once been buried beneath the snow drifts. After a brief moment, the newly minted warrior rolled onto her side, revealing her bluish-gray underbelly and panting heavily. She was too tired to continue their play.
Leopardstrike gave a mrrow of laughter. "Give it a rest you two, otherwise I'd have to ask Dewshine to make use of that energy and go on the dawn patrol with me."
"Uh oh," Dewshine leaped to her feet. "See you later, Redmoon!" she called over her shoulder as she sprinted towards the warrior den.
Redmoon watched her go, giving a sigh of relief that the incident with Silversky was nothing more than a quarrel. Maybe she was overthinking the prophecy too much; perhaps the former deputy didn't play a role in the battle from her vision, and this was a separate incident. She could only pray to StarClan that it was true.
Suddenly Leopardstrike's warm scent flooded her senses, and she placed her tail gently on Redmoon's shoulder. "I'm sorry about what happened to Willowbranch." Leopardstrike said softly. "It took us all by surprise. None of us could've imagined Emberstar would do such a horrible thing. I just want you to know it wasn't your fault."
Redmoon brushed off her tail. "I need to get back to work."
She turned, padding slowly away towards the medicine cat den, and then gradually picked up her pace until she burst in through the fern tunnel, sliding to a stop in the clearing. Icebreath poked her head out from within her moss nest, her striking blue eyes blinking in surprise. "Redmoon?" the all-white feline asked in a raspy voice. Her front paws were hanging over the edge of her nest, and as Redmoon passed her by, she stumbled over them, cursing to herself. The white she-cat looked alarmed, and she quickly brought her paws back into her nest, giving them a gentle lick.
Redmoon was hyperventilating and shaking all over. She paced back and forth restlessly, wild thoughts buzzing around her head and stabbing her like thorns. What if they found out? What if her clanmates realized she was the one who actually killed Willowbranch? What if Flamestar decided to reveal the truth?
In a rush, she ran to the herb storage and pulled out a branch from the back. Before, there were four, but now there were only two cat-eye sized deathberries still hanging onto the stick, and she raced out of the den with it in her jaws. In a mad dash, she raced across camp, and before any cat could spot her and begin to ask questions, she made it to the dirtplace. This was the place where her clanmates would dispose of inedible bones, crowfood, and make 'dirt'. She shriveled her nose at the putrid smell. The scent was strong; no cat would dare look for the berries that were used to kill Willowbranch.
Quickly, she padded over to a fresh patch of flattened snow and dug a shallow hole, then dropped the stick inside and buried it deep enough so that no cat could find it. She hoped that it was enough; to cloud any cat's suspicions and to finally make them forget about her mentor once and for all.
