Chapter 37: To Move A Clan
They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Thankfully, we only had to go like five. Though, it might as well have been a thousand miles given the amount of cats we were moving. Windclan was starved, sick, and burdened by many elders. There was even one freshly born kit. With all that considered, our pace was very slow. The return trip would take at least twice as long unless somehow we got a way to move the elders more quickly. Thankfully, there were only a few. While we walked, I tried to find an answer.
As we continued to walk across the mostly empty moor, I noticed the skull of a cow. It must have escaped one of the farms nearby and died. The morbid visage actually gave me an idea. It related back to the clan's death rituals. Usually, the elders would carry out the body to be buried. Maybe we could do something similar. We could carry the elders with the fittest of cats. The only thing that made this idea a bit repulsive was pride. Clan cats are proud of who they are and what they can do. It would be hard to get the elders to agree to such a plan.
After Deadfoot called for us to slow down for the umpteenth time that day, I decided to put the idea in Tallstar's head. "You know, the biggest thing slowing us down is the elders. I'm not saying to abandon them, but we've got some pretty strong cats here as well. Some might be able to shoulder their own weight and then some." I hinted.
Tallstar looked at me somewhat annoyed. He apparently wasn't one much for word games. "Speak plainly or don't speak at all." He mewed authoritatively.
"If you insist. I just thought the idea would sound better from your mouth than mine. We've got enough strong cats to carry the elders which will let us move faster." I stated.
Tallstar looked back at his cats once more, looking at the long stream of cats, of which the elders lagged severely behind. Fireheart was doing his best by assisting the nursing queen and Graystripe was right at the back trying to keep the elders motivated, but they were still slow. After a moment of pondering, Tallstar looked somewhat resigned before signaling Deadfoot to his side. I backed off so the idea would seem more like Tallstar's, but I was still close enough to listen in.
"Deadfoot. It pains me to ask, but is there no means for the elders to travel faster on their own?" Tallstar asked in a pained mew.
Deadfoot gave a somewhat resigned huff. "We're already pushing them too hard. They'll need a break soon or they might collapse. It's the best we can do."
Tallstar briefly glanced my way, but I pretended to be looking at something else, like I wasn't totally listening in and planting ideas. Tallstar hid his glance with practiced ease. Deadfoot would be none the wiser.
"What if there was a way to move the elders faster?" Tallstar hinted.
"What do you mean?" Deadfoot asked, catching that this was a hint but not knowing the answer.
"Well, what if the elders didn't have to move themselves? What if we carried them?" Tallstar asked, carefully hiding the urge to look at me again.
"They won't like it." Deadfoot mewed.
"Right now, it doesn't matter if they like it. We won't survive at this pace. The area is too barren of prey and we're pushing our hunters too hard for the area." Tallstar answered.
"Very well. I'll admit this won't be a popular choice, but I believe you made the right one." Deadfoot responded.
With that, Deadfoot fell back again to assign a few more able-bodied cats to carry the elders along. Funnily enough, the elders didn't totally despise the arrangement. They'd been complaining about sore paws and achy joints for hours, so getting a lift was a blessing to them. The only ones who didn't like the arrangements were the carriers who had to carry the grouchy elders. Regardless, our pacing improved dramatically. We were able to reach the road before nightfall. Unfortunately, we drifted a bit, so we only had one culvert to abuse, but there were two roads to cross.
After having a brief argument about whether to take the covert tunnel or the road, Fireheart and Graystripe managed to convince the cats to take the culvert. It didn't hurt that the road seemed particularly busy. After that road, there was one more to cross before we'd be near the barn we saw Barley at. This next road had no bypasses. We'd have to cross the old fashion way.
Tallstar organized the crossing. First, the clan's 'strongest', and by that I mean the hunters, crossed first. They were the ones most likely able to escape danger should it present itself. After that came the main mass. I crossed with them. They were lucky to cross in an unusually long lull in traffic. Then only the elders and their carriers remained. Fireheart had been roped in to helping with that. Now, I have nothing against Graystripe, but he's not the brightest or attentive cat. Unfortunately, we had him calling when to go.
The gap in the traffic was moderate, but one of the carriers got a bit too hasty and accidentally dropped their elder. Fireheart, seeing the fallen elder, rushed back onto the road to drag the elder out of danger. I could already hear the rumbling of the approaching vehicle. It was a speeding one as well. The window to get across was closing. I could feel my heart race in fear at what was to come.
I will say it now. Fireheart has the devil's luck. Not only did the approaching car spot them, but it also hit the brakes and swerved a bit. It wasn't a huge swerve, but with a dive with the elder in his grip, they got out of range of the vehicle by a whisker's length. Fireheart could have seriously died right there. It would have barely taken anything to turn that encounter into a deadly one.
Of course Tallstar congratulated Fireheart on his heroics, but I still felt that painful knot in my stomach. Everything I cared for and wanted to protect had almost been blown away by the shear whims of fate. I couldn't accept that. I could not accept that! I'm supposed to be careful, calculating, but I let Fireheart risk himself like that. How far had I let my caution lax?
My mental breakdown must have been pretty visible because Fireheart and Graystripe were soon at my side.
"Smudgefoot, are you ok? You look sick." Graystripe mewed.
"No. I'm not ok. I just about saw my best friend," and 'reason for living' I thought, "get smeared across the Thunderpath for a cat we don't even know. How do you think I feel?!" I hissed.
"Smudgefoot, I'm sorry." Fireheart tried to apologize.
"Don't… Don't be sorry. Just… Don't risk yourself like that again. I really don't want to see a world without you, and the world really doesn't want to see me without you."
I mostly sank into a tired stupor after that. I barely even paid attention as Fireheart and Graystripe managed to convince Tallstar to take Barley's offer to stay in the barn. I was to weary with emotion. At least I'd see Ravenfeather tomorrow. Everything would be better tomorrow.