Hello, everybody, once again. It's good to see you all, and I do apologize for the length of time between chapter 2 and chapter 3. I got a bit caught up with some other things, as I explained. Hopefully I'll be a bit more regular with updates, however I can make no promises. I can't say that people are asking about anything at the time of writing this, but for the time being I am working the main story with the Alder story in two different times, like Ciri and Geralt in The Witcher. They'll converge about halfway through the story, in a rather important way. You'll like it, I do believe. This chapter will be explaining some of the backstory between Ivytail and Snakepelt with a flashback, but not all. But that's enough of that, it's time to get onto the story.
Ivytail sat in his den, tail flicking back and forth at random, as the sun started to rise above the trees. Echofoot was sleeping in the nest a few tail-lengths away, his wound dressed. It wasn't serious, but he still wanted to keep an eye on it for a while. Until he was satisfied, he wasn't letting the younger tom leave the den except to make dirt or fetch prey. Some would call him overbearing, and he was fine with that. He'd rather keep a cat under watch for too long than not long enough.
Cloverfoot had stopped by shortly after dawn the previous day, apologizing to the tom for wounding him like she had. Echofoot had replied that he'd been out of line, and that he was just thankful she hadn't aimed for his eye. Ivytail was glad that there was no bad blood between them, though he was surprised. Even more surprised that Cherrytail and Cloverfoot seemed to have moved on from their argument as quickly as they had.
Cloverfoot had always been quick to forgive, so he'd expected it of her, but Cherrytail was the exact opposite. That she'd been so willing to try to be friends with Cloverfoot was a miracle, as far as he was concerned.
'Perhaps she's getting soft in her old age,' he thought to himself with amusement, glancing back at Echofoot briefly before standing up and padding out of his den. Brackenfur was standing under Highledge, organizing the day's patrols. Foxear, Deertail, and Fernpaw were padding towards the camp entrance, and a moment later Tigerstripe turned from Brackenfur and hurried after them. Sorrelstripe watched him leave from near the warrior's den, tail flicking idly.
Waspkit tumbled out of the nursery, Brownkit right behind him, and the two of them tumbled across the ground as they started playfighting. It was practically the only thing they did, and he found amusement in their single-minded focus on it. Brackenfur, not so much.
"Waspkit, Brownkit, watch where you're going," he meowed as they nearly barged into him, the two kits looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Sorry Brackenfur," Waspkit squeaked, Brownkit repeating it, and the two hurried off towards an unoccupied spot in the camp. Brackenfur shook his head and rolled his eyes, though a faint smile betrayed his amusement at their usual antics. Occasionally bumping into another cat aside, they were remarkably well-behaved for kits. He considered it a miracle, and he made it no secret that he would love to see more kits as well-behaved as them.
His ear twitched as Jaystar came down from their den, the she-cat watching silently as a dawn hunting patrol – made up of Qailbelly, Spruceflower, Lionpaw, and Sagepatch – left camp. He turned to look at her. "Hey, Jay," he said warmly, the she-cat rolling her eyes.
"Must you keep calling me that?" she asked, though she couldn't hide the fact she secretly enjoyed it from him. He could tell, easily.
"Our agreement was I wouldn't call you that when others might hear," the tom meowed, licking the side of her head. "Nobody's within earshot, therefore..."
"Alright, fine," she replied, huffing quietly. "Who do you have for the patrols?"
"Dawn patrols are out," he answered. "Foxear, Deertail, Fernpaw, and Tigerstripe are checking the borders. Qailbelly, Spruceflower, Lionpaw, and Sagepatch are going hunting."
"What about noon and evening?" Jaystar asked, the tom huffing softly in amusement.
"Haven't sorted them out yet," he said. "Wanted to see who was available during those times before I decided."
"Fair," Jaystar meowed, looking over to where Waspkit and Brownkit were playfighting. "I swear, that's all that they do besides sleep and eat."
"Could be worse," Brackenfur meowed, looking at her. "Could be a repeat of you, Cloverfoot, and I."
"Oh, Starclan above, don't remind me," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "We got in so much trouble. It's a miracle I was ever elected deputy."
"It really is," Brackenfur said playfully. Jaystar gently shoved him with her shoulder, scoffing at him in mock hurt.
"I can still decide somebody else is better fit for the role of deputy," she jokingly threatened, getting a chuckle from Brackenfur.
"I honestly never expected you to make me your deputy," he said, lowering his gaze briefly. "I'd have thought you would decide that the rumors wouldn't be worth the benefits."
"I've heard of no such rumors," Jaystar meowed curiously, tilting her head.
"Because you convinced them you chose me for valid reasons," he replied. "A lot of cats probably thought you chose me because I was your mate. They thought you were losing your touch."
"If having kits didn't impair my ability to make decisions, then I do not see why having you as a mate would do so," the she-cat meowed. She almost seemed angry that cats would think that, though he could tell she knew they were also valid concerns.
"I know that," Brackenfur meowed softly, smiling warmly at her. "It wasn't me you had to convince, though. And you did convince them, so no harm done."
"I suppose," she replied, looking around the camp. "Thank you for bringing them to my attention anyway, even if a bit late to be of help."
"I figured you knew they would be going around," he said, shrugging. "You usually catch on to those kinds of things."
"That is true," Jaystar meowed distractedly, staring towards the camp entrance. Her ear twitched, and she immediately stood and started padding towards the entrance only a heartbeat before it shook and in rushed Snakepelt. Brackenfur blinked, surprised to see him again so soon.
The tom was panting, out of breath. His fur was disheveled, eyes wide. He seemed panicked. "Ivytail!" he yowled, the fear in his voice freezing Brackenfur in his place for several heartbeats. The grey-furred tom rushed from the medicine cat den, his eyes wide in surprise and worry.
"Snakepelt, what's wrong?" he asked as he padded over. The tom didn't answer, simply turning and running back through the camp entrance. Ivytail glanced at Jaystar, not even giving her time to blink before he ran after the Shadowclan medicine cat.
"Ivytail!" Jaystar called, but the tom was already gone. She sighed, looking around. Brackenfur met her gaze, noted the look in her eyes, and he whipped his head around camp.
"Dewpelt, Jackdawpaw, Spottedfur, with me!" he yowled, the three named cats rushing after him as he ran out of the camp entrance, hard on the paws of Jaystar.
Ivytail jumped over a fallen log, weaving through the trees as he pelted after Snakepelt towards Shadowclan territory. This behavior was unlike the older tom, which meant something bad was happening. Something really, really bad. And if something was bad enough to scare Snakepelt, Ivytail needed to help him.
The two toms raced across the border, Ivytail not even bothering to stay close to the lake. If Snakepelt felt the need to run all the way to Thunderclan camp and back to his, with barely a moment to slow or rest, then Ivytail figured he could be forgiven the minor transgression.
Jaystar and the warriors accompanying her crossed only a few moments later, close behind the two medicine cats but still not close enough to see them.
"W-what's wrong with Snakepelt?" Dewpelt asked as they ran.
Nobody answered, too focused on catching up to waste their breath.
Snakepelt and Ivytail skidded to a stop as they entered Shadowclan camp, though Ivytail didn't have time to rest before Snakepelt started padding towards his den. A few cats murmured as Ivytail followed him, though nobody stopped them or asked why he was there. He had to assume they had been expecting him.
"Snakepelt, what's this about?" Ivytail asked, the older tom not answering him; he didn't have to. Ivytail's eyes widened in shock when he saw Ratpaw in the nest reserved for sick or injured cats, looking at Snakepelt with worry. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know," the older tom said, shaking his head. "She said that..." He shut his eyes, taking a breath to steady himself. Ivytail faintly registered the sounds of cats having an argument in the camp clearing, but he paid it no mind. It wasn't until the sound of a cat entering the medicine cat den that he turned.
"Can you tell me whatever you know about-" He blinked, caught off guard by Jaystar and Rosestar. "Uh, Jaystar, why are you here?"
"Why do you think!?" she hissed, anger in her voice. "You ran off suddenly, following Snakepelt, and me and Brackenfur and several warriors tried to catch up to you!"
"That wasn't really necessary," Ivytail said, tilting his head. "It's not against the code to follow a cat who clearly wants you to follow them and are in a hurry."
"You could have at least asked," Jaystar said, though her tone was somewhat calmer now. She took a deep breath, then looked at Rosestar. "I'm sorry for barging into your camp with a patrol at my back like I did. I had no idea what was going on."
"I understand, Jaystar," Rosestar replied, smiling softly. "I would have done the same in your stead."
"This is nice and all, but can we get back to the issue at paw!?" Snakepelt snapped, irritation in his voice. Ivytail's head whipped around, eyes wise in surprise. He'd only ever seen the older tom so upset once before, and it wasn't a time either of them looked back on fondly.
"Snakepelt, control yourself!" Rosestar meowed harshly. The tom glared at her, his intent clearly far from that.
"It's fine, Rosestar," Jaystar said placatingly, the Shadowclan leader glancing at her. She relaxed, nodding her head.
"Right," she conceded. "Sorry. Emotional attachments are...difficult for me to understand, as you know."
"I shouldn't have snapped like that," Snakepelt said, looking between the leaders apologetically. "And nobody holds that against you, Rosestar. You're a fantastic leader, and a great cat on top of that in spite of everything. But if you don't mind – both of you – I would like to focus on finding out what's wrong with my apprentice, and I need Ivytail's help."
"Of course," Rosetar said, dipping her head. Jaystar looked at Ivytail, who nodded in response, then turned and padded out of the den behind Rosestar. Ivytail turned back to the unconscious apprentice, looking down at her curiously.
"Did she complain of chest pains before...this?" he asked, Snakepelt remaining silent for a moment.
"No," he finally answered, Ivytail frowning in response. "No, nothing. She just...she just collapsed and went into a fit."
"It sort of reminds me of the few days before..." Ivytail trailed off, glancing up at Snakepelt. The tom's eyes were glistening, clearly having made the same connection he had.
"She'll be fine," the Shadowclan medicine cat meowed firmly, taking a deep breath. "She has to be."
"You've had her as an apprentice for less than a moon, but you're already really close," Ivytail observed, somewhat surprised.
"I'm old, Ivytail," Snakepelt meowed, looking at the tom. "I don't have the leisure to let Starclan decide if I need to find another apprentice or not. If she doesn't pull through, I don't think I'll have a chance to train somebody else."
"Snakepelt, you're not that old," Ivytail said, the tired tone in Snakepelt's voice worrying him. He'd heard the same tired, defeat-laden tone in the tom's mentor shortly before he'd died. "Plenty of cats have lived longer and still been capable of doing their duties."
"If I were a warrior, Rosestar would have accepted my retirement moons ago," Snakepelt replied. "When Ratpaw finishes her training, I'm going to ask if I can join Pinefur in the elder's den. He'd make for good company. I refuse to work myself to death and make Ratpaw go through the same thing I did with Tawnyspots."
"You're not as old as Tawnyspots was, Snakepelt," Ivytail meowed, taking a step forward. He was worried for his friend. "You'll be fine as a medicine cat for a while longer." He hesitated, then dipped his head. "However, if you truly want that, then I will accept it without complaint."
"Thank you," Snakepelt said softly, visibly relaxing. "It means a lot that you accept my decision."
"I know," Ivytail replied. He looked down, clearing his throat. "We're getting distracted. What can you tell me about her condition?"
"Her initial fit aside, she seems perfectly fine," the older tom meowed, lowering himself down and gently nudging the she-cat. "It's so similar to the stress fit he went through, though..."
"I know you can be overbearing, but I highly doubt you've stressed her out in only a few days enough to cause this," Ivytail said, knowing the joke was a calculated risk. Snakepelt glanced up at him, an ear flick giving away his amusement. "Alright, what else? Is there anything you think we can do?"
"I don't think so," Snakepelt answered, sighing. "But I still want to try. I know how to treat fits and their underlying causes better than I used to, at least the ones that can be treated. And you've come a long way from that terrified apprentice you used to be."
"We've both come a long way," Ivytail replied, Snakepelt nodding but otherwise not responding. He was silent, thinking deeply. "She's never had these kinds of fits before?"
"Her father is prone to stress fits, sometimes, but it's not common even for him. This is a first for her, and I don't even know if it is due to stress. All I've taught her so far is what herbs grow around the lake, what we have access to, and their general uses. Stress would only make sense if she was trying to memorize everything harder than she should be."
"Perhaps she just gets stressed easily, and inherited her father's predisposition to stress fits," Ivytail suggested, tilting his head. "It's not an ideal situation, but it would make sense."
"It's possible," Snakepelt conceded, though he seemed even less happy at the idea. "She wouldn't be able to perform her duties as a medicine cat, though."
"Most likely not, no," Ivytail agreed. A visible sadness took over Snakepelt, the Thunderclan medicine cat hesitating a moment before padding over and giving him a gentle, comforting nudge with his shoulder. "Let's wait until she wakes up before we make a decision based on speculation. We could put her into a stressful situation, see what happens."
"What if it kills her?" Snakepelt asked, looking at him. "We don't know what's wrong with her. If it is stress, and we put her under more, it might be too much."
"That is a possibility," Ivytail conceded. "But would you rather leave it up to chance? We have to be sure this is what's wrong with her."
Snakepelt didn't say anything for a long moment, and after a moment he tilted his head. He stepped closer to Ratpaw, lowering his head and moving closer to her mouth. "Ivytail, pry her jaws open," he said, a tinge of dread in his meow. He seemed to have noticed something.
"What do you see?" the Thunderclan medicine cat asked as he moved around to the other side of the Shadowclan apprentice, doing his best to force open her jaws. As soon as her jaws were open a little Snakepelt let out a stuttered gasp, eyes widening.
"That's deathberry flesh," he whispered, looking up at Ivytail. The younger tom's pelt bristled.
"If she's still alive, she couldn't have ingested a whole one," he meowed after a moment. "It's possible that only a trace amount of the poison entered her system trying to...do whatever it was she was doing."
"Yes, that would make sense," Snakepelt said softly, slowly extending a paw and hooking the deathberry flesh out of her mouth. He flicked it away towards the den wall, then looked down at her. "Thyme. We need to give her thyme."
"Our paws are too big to get it down her throat," Ivytail said, blinking suddenly as an idea came to him. "We need another apprentice."
"Chew up the thyme, it's over there," Snakepelt said, gesturing further into the den. Ivytail nodded, already knowing where to look, and hurried over to the herb storage and pulled some thyme and a normal leaf out. Snakepelt ran from the den, meowing loudly that he needed an apprentice to help him with something. It was a few moments later that he entered, a Shadowclan apprentice behind him.
Ivytail nodded his head but said nothing, busy chewing the thyme into a pulp.
"I'm Bristlepaw," the apprentice said. He looked down at Ratpaw. "How can I help."
"You need to force the thyme Ivytail is chewing up down her throat," Snakepelt answered as Ivytail spat the pulp out onto a leaf. "Our paws are too big. We'll help her swallow it, but you need to get it as far as you can."
"A-alright," Bristlepaw meowed hesitantly, padding closer to Ivytail. The Thunderclan tom showed him how to get it onto his paw. Bristlepaw approached Ratpaw, the pulp on his paw, and Ivytail and Snakepelt forced Ratpaw's jaws open as carefully as they could. Bristlepaw gently stuck his paw into her mouth, getting it as far in as he could before shifting his paw and slowly sliding it back out. As soon as Ivytail and Snakepelt saw the pulp wasn't on his paw, they let Ratpaw's jaws close and gently started to massage her throat to get the pulp down.
A moment passes before the desired effect occurred, the young she-cat shaking slightly as the thyme brought whatever she had in her up. Snakepelt didn't hesitate to sort through it, indicating with his tail that Bristlepaw could leave. The younger tom hesitated, then padded out of the den with a glance back as he exited.
"Here, look," Snakepelt said, grabbing Ivytail's attention. The Thunderclan medicine cat lowered himself down, looking where his paw was. "This looks like part of a seed."
"Could she have been trying to take the seeds out, but one broke without her realizing and went down her throat when she ate?" Ivytail questioned, tilting his head. "I don't know why she would be using her mouth to take them out, though."
"We'll ask when she wakes up," Snakepelt said, Ivytail nodding. The two toms closed their eyes, letting out loud sighs as they forced themselves to relax.
"At least it wasn't as debilitating as we feared," he meowed softly.
"I don't know how I missed it," Snakepelt said, shaking his head in obvious disappointment in himself. "I looked her over before I came to get you. I should have noticed."
"You're not perfect, Snakepelt," Ivytail replied, his voice soft, comforting. "None of us are. We make mistakes."
"Our mistakes tend to cost lives," Snakepelt replied. "Especially involving deathberries."
"It didn't, though," Ivytail said reassuringly, stepping forward. "She'll be fine, Snakepelt. It doesn't seem like she ingested a whole seed. If she didn't, then we have no reason to believe anything else."
"Let's go outside," Snakepelt said, standing and walking past Ivytail. The younger tom followed him, the both of them exiting and finding Jaystar and the other Thunderclan warriors seemed to have left. Rosestar was watching from near her den, as were a few warriors, but no cats approached them.
"I'm glad I could help," Ivytail said, looking at Snakepelt. The older tom smiled softly.
"Today was so weird," Snakepelt muttered, shaking his head. "I've been a medicine cat for so long, and I'm making apprentice level mistakes left and right."
"You were scared and under stress, Snakepelt," Ivytail meowed reassuringly. "We've all made mistakes in the heat of the moment. Your emotions got the better of you. It happens. You don't need to be ashamed of that."
"I'm a medicine cat," Snakepelt replied, sounding dejected. "I'm supposed to be better than that."
"No cat in existence is better than that," Ivytail said, smiling warmly. "Well, besides maybe Rosestar."
Snakepelt chuckled, hanging his head for a moment before raising it once more. "Funny," he said sarcastically, a smile touching his muzzle as he looked around the camp. "I know the clans are friendly right now, but you probably won't be welcome here much longer."
"I had a suspicion you didn't ask for permission to come and bring me to the Shadowclan camp," Ivytail said playfully, looking at Snakepelt with an amused shine in his eyes.
"You've always told me it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Snakepelt replied. "I decided to follow your advice just this once."
"I like to imagine I have much more useful advice than that," Ivytail commented. He gently nudged the older tom with his shoulder. "She's going to be fine, Snakepelt. And if she's not, I will personally go to the Moonpool and try to get her back."
"Starclan wouldn't do that," Snakepelt meowed, shaking his head.
"Wouldn't stop me from trying," Ivytail replied. Snakepelt looked at him, his expression softening.
"You're a good friend, Ivytail," he said, his body noticeably more relaxed than it had been since he'd rushed into Thunderclan camp, yowling for the younger tom. "I couldn't ask for a better one, even if you are a Thunderclan cat."
"Gee, thanks," Ivytail muttered with mock annoyance. He chuckled.
Both toms whipped their heads around when they heard a weak cough come from the medicine cat den, Ivytail letting Snakepelt enter first. Ratpaw was in the process of trying to sit up.
"Ratpaw, lay back down!" Snakepelt exclaimed, the she-cat looking up at him in surprise. "You need to rest."
"I'm fine, Snakepelt," Ratpaw replied, trying to brush off his worry and make him think she was in beter condition than she was.
"Lay back down," Snakepelt repeated, his tone firm and making even Ivytail want to obey him. Ratpaw sighed, then lowered herself back down. "What were you doing with deathberries?"
Ratpaw averted her gaze, looking everywhere but Snakepelt and Ivytail. The Thunderclan tom was silent for a long moment, then blinked.
"She didn't realize what they were," he meowed, Snakepelt looking at him.
"I've told her about them, though," he replied.
"I'd never seen them," Ratpaw said, Snakepelt faltering. "I knew that they looked similar to what you said deathberries looked like, but I figured it was just a similar-looking berry to try and ward off animals from eating it."
"A good mindset to have when you encounter a strange plant is to always assume it can harm you," Ivytail meowed, understanding the she-cat's thought process, but not wanting to encourage it. "Even if you don't think they can. And if you must use them as herbs, then be very careful and accept responsibility if it doesn't do what you think it will."
"I understand, Ivytail," Ratpaw said softly. Snakepelt looked over at the tom, dipping his head. Ivytail dipped his head in response, understanding what he was saying without words.
"I'll see you around, Ratpaw," he said. "Try not to mess with any mystery plants in the mean time."
"I'll do my best," the she-cat replied, smiling playfully. Ivytail stifled his amusement, dipping his head in farewell and turning.
He let Rosestar know that Ratpaw was recovering, then informed her he was returning home. She thanked him for his help, and he simply told her that Snakepelt would have done the same. After that he turned and padded out of camp, the forest a little quieter than normal as he made his way along the lake shore back to Thunderclan territory. It left him alone with his thoughts, which he was always grateful for. He liked having time to think about stuff.
It took him a while to return to camp, though admittedly he had taken his time for most of the journey. He informed Jaystar and Brackenfur that the situation was over and that Ratpaw was recovering, though he omitted what had caused it. They seemed to pick up on his reluctance to divulge that information and didn't push the subject. That done, he made his way to the medicine cat den to look over his herbs. He'd been in the middle of assessing his stockpile when Snakepelt had arrived, and he wanted to finish up.
Alder lowered his head, sniffing the ground. It had only been a day since he'd left the clearing, and he was having trouble convincing himself that what he was doing was right. He'd been raised to value family above all else, and to punish those who placed more value on themselves. But after what had happened to Oak, compounded with his feelings for the she-cat he'd been meeting every night for what had felt like mere minutes each time, he'd come to realize that perhaps he wasn't where he belonged. Oak's punishment made no sense with the way Holly placed emphasis on family. After all, hadn't the tom been putting his family above everything else? He'd been expressing the exact values that Holly said was the only way to live, and yet he'd been punished for it.
Shaking his head, Alder stood up and looked around. He followed the scent trail he'd picked up earlier in the day, eventually coming to a wall of bushes. It surprised him, as a wall of plants usually meant Twolegs, but there was zero indication they were present. Slowly, hesitantly, approaching the bushes and moving through them, brought him into a small area surrounded by more walls of bushes. A white she-cat he didn't know or recognize stood in front of a hole in the ground, eyes wide in surprise as she stared at him. One paw was off the ground, indicating she'd been in the middle of walking when he'd come through the bushes.
"W-who are you?" she asked, nervousness clear.
"I'm Alder," the tom answered. "Who are you?"
"...Snow," the she-cat finally answered. Snow glanced around. "Why are you here, Alder?"
"I'm...searching for somebody," he said, hesitant to reveal his full reasoning for coming to what he assumed to be her home. "My mother would like to meet them, but they seem to have moved from the spot they usually stay at."
"A she-cat?" Snow asked, tilting her head curiously. "One came through a few days ago, told me she wanted to get away from somebody who she said was dangerous. I'm assuming that was you."
"More likely my mother," he replied, sighing and hanging his head. "She's not exactly forgiving."
"Judging by the fact you think that, I don't suspect you'll be willing to lead her to the she-cat you're searching for," Snow meowed, seeming a little more relaxed now. "It's good to think for yourself."
"I don't have a choice," Alder said, shaking his head sadly. "If I don't, I have no idea what will happen."
"That's kind of sad," Snow commented. Alder blinked, then averted his gaze. "Could always lead her to wherever the she-cat is, then lie and say she isn't there."
"She'll know," Alder said, looking down at the ground. "She can always tell when somebody is lying to her."
"Then I guess you'll have to decide who you value more," Snow meowed. "Your mother, or this she-cat you're chasing."
"I guess I will," Alder replied, standing up. He sighed, dipping his head in farewell and padding past her and out of the other side of the bushes. A thought occurred to him as he continued on his way. He could pretend that Snow was the she-cat he'd been seeing, lead Holly to her. That would keep his mother from finding the actual she-cat he'd been seeing, which was good, but that meant he'd be killing an innocent cat to protect somebody he didn't even know for a fact felt the same way about him that he felt about her. That would be wrong.
Alder sighed sadly, knowing he would have to make a choice before he returned to Holly and the others. What his choice would be, he didn't yet know. That felt worse than the knowledge he had to make one at all.