Chapter 18: Kinship of Manipulators
In the endless drudgery that is daily training, the nexus of controversy and change that is Firepaw managed to bring in a mangy old cat stinking of infection and uncleanliness who is somehow regarded highly as a medicine cat. The old bag of bones proved she was both spiteful and unpleasant by instantly getting into a spitting match with what appeared to be half of the clan, but there was a certain amount of respect she garnered from me. Cats don't tend to get as old as her and stay so fierce without a modicum of wisdom. I planned to watch her closely.
With the new arrival came an announcement from Bluestar herself. That cat always seemed to keep some sort of distance from her clan, rarely conversing with any cat besides her senior warriors. I understood the purpose. A certain amount of detachment would keep her impartial, but I also felt it was a waste for her to interact so little with her subjects. My respect for her had waned slightly.
"Yellowfang is to be treated as a guest while she is here. She shall remain in the prisoner's den until such a time as she desires to leave. As such, we will deal with two mice in one pounce. Firepaw, since you saw her worthy in partaking of our prey without permission, and being that you are still requiring a punishment, you shall take care of Yellowfang for the duration of her stay. That means you will hunt for her, replace her dirtied moss, and care for her respectfully like you would for any Thunderclan elder."
I saw Firepaw's ears pin back at the public scolding and punishment Bluestar put forth. He winced especially hard at the idea of having to clear away her dirtied nest since he always pawned that off to me with the regular elders. While Bluestar did tell Firepaw to care for her on his own, I planned to do some of his work on the sly. This wasn't only to help Firepaw. I also wanted to get into the former medicine cat's good graces. I'd been wanting to pick up a bit about healing in case of emergency but, given how the scent of mint always gave me a migraine, Spottedleaf wasn't an option. I turned my attention back up to Bluestar as she continued her announcement.
"While I am still up here, we have another issue to address. We have two apprentices who have been passed around mentors. I will take Firepaw as my main apprentice. The matter of Smudgepaw is a bit more complex. Smudgepaw seems to learn best from Darkstripe, but Darkstripe already has an apprentice. I am open to suggestions."
It was strange to see Darkstripe voice his opinion next. I didn't realize he actually liked me in any capacity, but it seems I somehow made an impression on him.
"I'm willing to keep training Smudgepaw when I can, but Dustpaw still requires some days specialized to advanced training, so some other cat would need to take him those days." Darkstripe mewed.
All whispers of kittypet inferiority died with Darkstripe's reply. Darkstripe was known as the most xenophobic in the clan, so the fact that he seemed to like me meant a lot. Bluestar even looked somewhat amused that even Darkstripe seemed to respect me slightly. Bluestar then turned her head to Tigerclaw. He lightly paced in place since Bluestar silently made known that she knew about our late training sessions.
"Smudgepaw has made it known to me that he wanted additional training, so in the evenings, we've done some extra training, but, like Darkstripe, I've still got an apprentice. I can't afford to take on the responsibility of another full-time apprentice."
That response seemed to cause even more of a stir in the clan. While I could hear murmurs of the idea that I was another of Tigerclaw's followers, Bluestar seemed to read me like a book. Her eyes seemed to twinkle with a measure of kinship. Then she looked suddenly deep in thought before she nodded to herself about some unspoken decision.
"Seeing as Smudgepaw seems to have taken it upon himself to seek out additional training, I'll leave it up to him to seek out advice and training from our existing warriors, but, for now, I will train him while Firepaw is still caring for Yellowfang."
With that, Bluestar leapt down from her perch. I was in shock. Bluestar seemed to understand what I was doing and actively gave me free rein to do it. As long as it was under the guise of training, I'd be able to single out any warrior for one-on-one conversations. With this freedom she allowed me, I could establish a network of connections far quicker than I anticipated. Maybe I'd get to flex my skills in puppeteering sooner than I hoped.
Suddenly, a movement caught my attention. Ravenpaw seemed to have said something to Tigerclaw, and while his face looked like it was the usual slight concern he could manifest, his eyes spoke a different story. They were elated at whatever Ravenpaw just said. In a show of seemingly good will, Tigerclaw herded his apprentice into the medicine den. Meanwhile, I looped around the side of the medicine den to a point out of sight from the main clearing to a gap just barely big enough for me to sit in. I strained my ears to eavesdrop on the conversation within.
"… and everything just gets so foggy after the battle started. I could hear blood roaring in my ears. Then, before I knew it, it was over. Redtail… I remember his body, all bloody and those dead eyes. Something was there and it was terrifying. Before I knew it I was back in camp. I can't remember anything else."
I was somewhat surprised by Ravenpaw's retelling. He hadn't told a single lie in that story, and he one lie was punctuated with a stutter, but it instead came off as fearful as if his mind actively rejected the idea of remembering what happened. I was honestly impressed. I don't think I could have done better myself, mostly because I tend to come off as strictly factual when I give a report which in and of itself garners suspicion.
"I saw you fall when you passed out. The trauma and the bump to your head must have suppressed it. Unfortunately, issues like this cannot just be treated with herbs. While your mind may not know what all happened, your body does, so I expect you to be a bit more jumpy and cautious instinctively. Tigerclaw, while you are his mentor, I want you to take his training more slowly and be careful not to trigger his instinctive response. He'll overcome it with time and patience. With similar cases I've witnessed, sometimes the cat will recover the memory, but most of the time they never do." I heard a feminine voice diagnose.
I'd never really taken the time to get to know Spottedleaf given my aversion to the scent of mint, but it seems she really knew her stuff. She also fell right for our lie, hook, line, and sinker. Ravenpaw and I now had a cat willing to defend our lie with medical knowledge, which made the lie that much more believable. I circled back in front before Tigerclaw emerged from the den. He shot me a look like he'd just won a point against me. I had to pretend to pretend to not care. Pretending to pretend is a skill many aren't good at, so the double lie in the act would usually go undetected. Tigerclaw had fallen for that lie as he shot me a small smirk.
Tigerclaw briefly stopped in front of me so we could exchange words. "Looks like your lead from Ravenpaw just dried up." Tigerclaw stated matter of factly.
"Don't go thinking you got away scot-free. I know something happened on that patrol. Maybe when I see Riverclan at a Gathering, they'll let slip something that'll catch my interest. After all, we're both liars, but we both know I'm the better one." I replied seemingly indignantly. He didn't know I just hid my ace right under his nose.
Tigerclaw turned with a slightly annoyed huff, but his posture lightly of his joy in "beating" me. As he padded away, that famous smile of mine creeped onto my face over the idea of who really won that round.
