Scorchstar looked outside his den, staring at what remained of it. The entire tree was singed and burnt, and the Tall Branch was gone. It was on the floor, shattered into splinters. Scorchstar knew he would have to get a group of cats to bring it out of the camp. He wanted no reminder of the tragedy that nearly killed Brambledusk. He had addressed the camp from where he sat in front of his den, but he would have to pick a new place, now. But where?
He was thinking about it when he heard Hawkpaw's excitable voice behind him. He turned his head over to see his daughter bounding towards him. She opened her mouth, ready to say something to him, but she must've seen the solemn expression on his face as he studied his den, for she immediately shut her mouth again. She gazed at him questioningly.
"This was the leader's den – and the vantage point for addressing the Clan – for so long," Scorchstar said quietly. "From my father to the Clan leader before him to all the Clan leaders dating back to when the Clans first settled at the lake. And now, it's gone."
Hawkpaw flicked her tail irritably as her green gaze focused on the remains of the Tall Branch. "Instead of staring there and looking at it, why don't you find another place to address the Clan from?" she suggested.
"Where?" Scorchstar asked. "There's no place as high as the Tall Branch."
"There are rocks all over camp!" Hawkpaw exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She shot off in the other direction, and Scorchstar found himself taking off after her. The ginger-and-white tabby she-cat approached a large boulder that sat right near the camp entrance, and in seconds, she scaled it, leaping at the top of it. "Like this one!"
"Huh?" Scorchstar stared at the rock. A rock?
"Let all Clan cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Tall Rock for a Clan meeting!" Hawkpaw yowled, her loud voice ringing through the camp. Several warriors turned their head, their gazes wide with confusion. Songbreeze stepped over towards the rock, and then looked at Hawkpaw, scowling. Russetstripe narrowed her forest green eyes, and Wildheart exited the nursery, rolling her eyes at Hawkpaw's antics again. Harewhisker, the new Clan deputy, walked over to Scorchstar and gave him a confused glance.
"Hawkpaw!" Scorchstar hissed. "Get down, right now!" But inside of him, he realized he couldn't truly be mad at her. Seeing her on top of the rock, she was right. It was a good vantage point to address the crowd, and if Hawkpaw's shrill cry caught the attention of his Clanmates, then surely Scorchstar's would, as well. She had already named it – the Tall Rock, in honor of the Tall Branch.
Hawkpaw slipped down the rock and glanced triumphantly at Scorchstar. "So?" she asked. "What do you think?"
"It's…" Scorchstar trailed off. He was tempted to argue with her, still slightly irritated that she had called a Clan meeting – and gathered attention. But didn't that mean the Tall Rock worked?
"I like it," Harewhisker commented as he walked over to the two cats. Hawkpaw shot another triumphant glance at her father.
Scorchstar sighed. "It's not the worst idea in the world."
"Yay!" Hawkpaw hopped on her paws. "The Tall Rock it is! And it's all thanks to me!"
"Don't get cocky, kid," Harewhisker told Hawkpaw.
"But you just said you liked it!" Hawkpaw retorted.
Harewhisker's ears twitched in faint surprise, and both cats looked at Scorchstar, waiting for his decision. Scorchstar let out a huff – he wished Hawkpaw was more respectful, but she was a bright cat with smart ideas, even if she went about them in a way Scorchstar never would. "Fine. The Tall Rock it is."
"I'm going to go tell everyone!" Hawkpaw cried out.
"Hawkpaw, wait!" Scorchstar's call for her was in vain as the long-limbed she-cat ran away from her father and towards the other apprentices who gathered around the edge of camp. Scorchstar sighed heavily as she disappeared. "By all the gods…"
"She's smart," Harewhisker commented.
"But I wish she would just listen to me sometimes." Scorchstar sighed. "I feel like what I say falls on deaf ears." He looked over at Harewhisker, examining the pale tom's narrow face and bright amber eyes. He had just made Harewhisker deputy the other day, and he wasn't sure how his former apprentice would perform. He had spent most of his time as a mentor trying to impress his father and following Wildheart around. Blackdove had taken care of Harewhisker's training more than he had. Scorchstar wanted to fix that. He would train Harewhisker how to be a good deputy – just like Brambledusk.
Thinking of Brambledusk made Scorchstar's heart ache. He had never known that Brambledusk hadn't forgiven himself for his part in Adderstripe's plot, and that he lived every day as his deputy at war with himself. He just hoped that Brambledusk would use his time as a warrior to forgive himself. Scorchstar was heartbroken when Brambledusk stepped down. He had been an excellent and efficient deputy… and he had saved Scorchstar's life.
Scorchstar would never forget the fear he had felt when he looked up to see the Tall Branch, flames engulfing it, breaking from the tree and plunging towards him. Brambledusk had pushed him out of the way just in time and had taken his place, when the Tall Branch landed on top of him, crushing him to the ground as it burned. Scorchstar had watched him, horrified, and it had only been Russetstripe's interference that Scorchstar knocked out of his thoughts and had been able to rescue Brambledusk. The tunnels.
Russetstripe had led Scorchstar and Brambledusk out of camp by using a network of tunnels, and Scorchstar noticed that although she had seemed nervous leading them out, she was used to running in them. Has she used them before? Scorchstar thought, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Russetstripe… He couldn't forget the other day, in RiverClan's camp, where Hawkpaw had told him that she had gone off with Runningflame. Runningflame had been the cat that fought her twice in the WindClan and RiverClan battle, and had gravely injured her the first time. Then, when Scorchstar confronted her, she told her that Runningflame wasn't that bad. I hope he didn't manipulate her. She's too smart to be swayed, but I don't want him trying to persuade her that RiverClan isn't bad. That's a recipe for disaster.
"Look, Violetheart and Sedgepaw are back!" Harewhisker meowed, bringing Scorchstar back to reality as he looked up to see the entrance of camp. Violetheart was walking through with Sedgepaw at her side, and the gray she-cat headed to what remained of Scorchstar's den. Oh, she wants me. Scorchstar looked over at Harewhisker and bounded towards Violetheart.
"Violetheart!" Scorchstar called out. "What do you need?"
Violetheart looked over at Scorchstar. "Scorchstar. Could you grab Heathercloud, Russetstripe, and Blackdove for me? This is something the senior warriors – and your own closest warriors – have to hear."
"All right." The intensity in Violetheart's voice sent pinpricks through Scorchstar's body, and he looked at Harewhisker, who nodded and bounded away to retrieve the warriors. Violetheart padded into Scorchstar's den with Sedgepaw at her side. Scorchstar was right behind them. As he studied the tree, he could still see cinders and ash decorating the floor of his den and the roots. The bark was burnt and would be until the tree was able to heal itself. Gods… that was so horrible…
The leader waited in silence with his medicine cat and her apprentice. Scorchstar was keenly aware of Sedgepaw's green eyes burning into his fur. The entrance to his den rustled, and Heathercloud was the first cat who walked in. Behind her were Russetstripe, Harewhisker, and Blackdove. With the number of cats squeezing themselves into the den, Scorchstar felt as if he couldn't breathe.
Violetheart cleared her throat. "Sedgepaw is now Sedgefall," she said.
What? Scorchstar stared at Violetheart in shock. But she's only been training for four moons!
"Isn't it a bit too early to give her a medicine cat name?" Harewhisker asked, echoing Scorchstar's thoughts.
"Well, I can't take it back now, can I." Violetheart's voice oozed with sarcasm, and Harewhisker flinched. "She is going to be your Clan's new medicine cat."
"She already is," Scorchstar said, Violetheart's words confusing him even more than the news that Sedgefall already had her medicine cat name.
"She is going to be the sole one… because I am dying." Violetheart's voice was full with a calm, quiet acceptance. A soft smile was on her face, a smile that Scorchstar would never associate with a cat who just announced her death. The Clan leader stared at his medicine cat, horrified. Harewhisker let out a mewl of shock, while Russetstripe hitched a breath, Blackdove flattened her ears, and Heathercloud gasped.
"What do you mean?" Scorchstar demanded, breaking the silence. "You're dying?"
"Yes." Violetheart nodded. "Even if I force this body through another few days, it won't be around to see green-leaf."
"But…" Scorchstar felt his voice die, just like Violetheart was announcing.
"Has StarClan shown you these things?" Heathercloud asked, her voice trembling as she stared at her sister.
"No." Violetheart shook her head. "I am sick – it is an illness that has spread through my family. I became a medicine cat so that it would not spread to my next of kin… because I do not have one."
"Violetheart." Heathercloud's voice was tight. "You have me."
"Heathercloud," Violetheart murmured, touching her sister's nose. "If you were to get this illness, you would have had it already, considering you are my age, and older than our mother when she was sick."
"By the gods, Violetheart!" Heathercloud snapped, leaping to her paws. "Are you insane? How can you sit here and tell us you're about to die with a damned smile on your face?"
Scorchstar stared at the senior warrior. Heathercloud was always so calm and composed, unfazed in the face of danger. Now her voice was shrill with despair as she stared at her sister, her blue eyes wide with fear.
"The life of a Clan cat is born in weakness," Violetheart said. "The world is not so full of mercy to give you a life that goes exactly as planned. Even StarClan cats once walked the world in the uncertainty of knowing that they too are slaves of that known as fate. If my existence would do anything to aid those to walk the path of uncertainty that living is, I wanted to offer everything I had to those who would have the heart to ask me for help."
"Violetheart…" Scorchstar whispered. "What will I do without you?"
"The world of ours thrives on change," Violetheart told him. "There is a time for the sun to set, just as there is a time for leaf-bare to turn into newleaf. Sedgefall will be your medicine cat from now on. She is young, but she is more skilled than I ever was. You and I both know there is something special about her."
The Clan cats stared at Violetheart. Sedgefall was quiet, not saying one word as her wide green eyes focused on her mentor. No one knew what to say – Violetheart had walked in, calmly announcing her death without any warning. Scorchstar knew she was old, but he hadn't expected her to already know about her death. She was the cat who saved my life, Scorchstar thought despairingly. If it wasn't for her, I would've died.
"By this time next moon, I will not be alive," Violetheart said. "Please, place your trust and resolve in Sedgefall, just as you had with me." With a low nod, Violetheart addressed the warriors respectfully while rasping her tongue against Heathercloud's head. Heathercloud watched her walk away, her eyes full of misery. Sedgefall followed Violetheart, her tail trailing behind her.
Harewhisker's voice broke as he said, "That's what death is, isn't it? Forgetting. Being forgotten. If we forgot where we've been and what we've done, we're not warriors anymore. Just monsters." Fear clouded Harewhisker's amber eyes, and Scorchstar recalled that his sister, Seedfur, had died a while ago.
"No one is going to forget Violetheart, Harewhisker," Blackdove told the brown tom, even though her body was shaking and her voice was breaking. "Never."
"My sister…" Heathercloud's head hung. "Not her. She's always been invincible. Even when the worst of plagues hit the Clan, she was always able to find a cure. Now she cannot find a cure for her own illness."
"Do we announce it to the Clan?" Russetstripe asked, shifting her paws nervously.
Heathercloud shook her head. "That's not what my sister would have wanted."
"So…" Harewhisker stared at Scorchstar. "What do we do, now?"
"We wait," Scorchstar replied quietly.
"Wait?" Blackdove echoed. "For what?"
"The inevitable," Scorchstar said.
Heathercloud pressed her lips together, and Blackdove let out a small gasp, but Scorchstar's gaze was focused on the medicine den from where he sat. Goodbye, Violetheart, he thought. Thank you for serving us as long as you have.
Half a moon later, Heathercloud brought out Violetheart's body from the medicine den with the assistance of Sedgefall. The Clan looked on in shock, the pain of losing Violetheart all the more severe compared to other warriors because she was their medicine cat. She had been alive longer than any other cat in the Clan, save for the elders – and Heathercloud, because they were sisters. Other than that, Patchshine, Larchcloud, and Dovewillow, the oldest cats in the Clan, had been apprentices when Violetheart received her medicine cat name.
Violetheart's body was laid in the middle of camp, her fur draped with flowers and herbs that Heathercloud and Sedgefall had rubbed on. Sedgefall gazed at her mentor, grief misting her green eyes, but suddenly, her gaze turned away towards the edge of the camp. Curious, Scorchstar walked over to her, wondering why the medicine cat wasn't focused on her mentor.
"What are you looking at?" Scorchstar gently asked the medicine cat.
"That." Sedgefall pointed with her tail towards a single blue flower that bloomed in the middle of the camp.
"It's…" Scorchstar gazed at the flower. "A pretty flower." It was just an ordinary flower. Why was Sedgefall so immersed in it?
"It is known as the Queen of the Sky," Sedgefall said. "It only blooms once a year."
"The Queen of the Sky?" Scorchstar echoed.
"Queen of the Sky… an apt description of the Clan, as I see it now," Sedgefall murmured. "Still, I believe our cats are the sort of beauty that thrive far better under the sun than the moon."
Scorchstar stared at Sedgefall. Would he ever understand her? Would she serve as a good medicine cat to him? He couldn't understand her at all. Violetheart was easy to read, but Scorchstar had never been able to understand Sedgefall.
"Fated to bloom but once in the sun, and then quietly disappearing," Sedgefall murmured.
"It sounds like a tragedy for a beautiful flower to experience," Scorchstar said, trying to urge the conversation in a way where perhaps he could gain a deeper understanding of Sedgefall's words.
"Indeed," Sedgefall said. "Perhaps that is why it is so breathtaking. All material things in the world disappear in time… that is the way of life, is it not?"
Scorchstar focused his eyes on the medicine cat, just aware of how ethereal she was. She looks like she's on the verge of disappearing at any moment… he thought. He gave her a small nod before walking away and sitting near Violetheart's body. His amber gaze focused on her pelt, and he let out a sigh. Oh, Violetheart. I'm going to miss you. You have saved so many lives. You've served me and my father, and you've always been one of the cats I could rely on. What will I do without you?
"Thank you, Violetheart, for dedicating your life to WindClan," Scorchstar said out loud. "Our Clan will remember your name as long as heather grows on the moor." The cats stared at Violetheart's body in sorrow. Heathercloud held back a sob as Lilystream sat next to her, nuzzling the gray she-cat. Aspenstep and Sandfall sat next to Skypaw, who was trying to walk over to Sedgefall, to comfort her. But Sedgefall sat alone, her shoulders hunched over. Icepaw and Frostpaw watched with dismayed looks, and Brambledusk was sitting outside the medicine den, his face twisted with sorrow as he gazed at Violetheart's limp body.
The cats held a silent vigil, with no cat saying a word in fear it would break some unspoken rule. The moon climbed into its way into the sky, its cold sheen turning Violetheart's body silver, and then as the hours passed, it crawled down into the ground, making way for the rising sun. As the morning light turned the camp into a mix of pink and orange, Scorchstar stretched his legs.
"We honor Violetheart for her wisdom and patience," Scorchstar meowed out loud, his body stiff from holding vigil for so many hours. "She was a fine medicine cat."
Sedgefall cleared her throat as she looked over her mentor's dead body. "May StarClan light your path, Violetheart. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter where you sleep." She touched her nose to Violetheart's muzzle.
Larchcloud and Patchshine walked over from the other side of Violetheart's body to help Sedgefall carry the medicine cat's corpse out of camp. Scorchstar watched them go, a rock in his throat that he couldn't swallow. Tears stung at the back of his eyes, and just as he was about to walk to his den, he could scent his own children behind him. He turned to see Redpaw and Hawkpaw.
"Father, what are we going to do without Violetheart?" Hawkpaw asked, her voice thick with grief.
"Sedgefall is our medicine cat now," Scorchstar told them. "I have full faith in her abilities."
"But she's not that much older than us," Redpaw said, "and we're still training."
"Silence, you two." Scorchstar's nerves were on edge, and he didn't want his own kits doubting the abilities of Sedgefall when he already was. Redpaw and Hawkpaw flattened their ears, and at Scorchstar's sharp words, they walked away. Immediately Scorchstar felt bad for using such a harsh tone with them, but they were only just confirming what he feared – that Sedgefall was not an apt replacement for Violetheart.
But Violetheart had faith in her, Scorchstar thought. So maybe I need to, too. He remembered how Sedgefall had been able to coax Mallowkit and teach her how to speak. Now Mallowkit spoke when spoken to, and although she wasn't as energetic as Hawkpaw and Redpaw, she was growing well and walked around camp – a result of Sedgefall's doing. I've got to trust Sedgefall.
But if Scorchstar was never able to communicate with Sedgefall in a way that he understood, how would he be able to accept her as his only medicine cat?