Life 3:5
The Long Night was beginning to wind down. An apprentice was currently regaling the crowd of cats about a swirling pond that vanished before they could show anyone else. It was a simple tail that relied an event being mysterious to sell the worth of the story. A few warriors were zoning out during the story since if one knew the area, they could find the pond again when the river was low.
Several other stories were entertained throughout the night. Crookedstar gave one on a fearsome ghost queen who still sought vengeance against his bloodline for the death of her kits. Mudfur gave a story about a plague of old that was dubbed River Rot. Snakepaw remembered that disease well. It wasn't fun when he caught it and found his body necrotizing itself. It was one of the few deaths where he willingly killed himself to spare his next life the aftereffects. Honestly, Snakepaw was a bit embarrassed by that life since he found out not even a day after he died, the medicine cat found a fast-acting herb that made survival odds near guaranteed from the sickness.
Finally, the last story was told. It was time to return to the medicine den. On his way out, several warriors congratulated Snakepaw on his storytelling and thanked him for finding an interesting legend to tell, even if it was bittersweet. Snakepaw gave them an appreciative smile in response. He honestly hadn't expected his story to be received very well. While it was a history of the clans, it was also a tale that promoted cooperation between the clans, which was not currently a widely accepted sentiment. Snakepaw also harbored a bit of guilt about the tale. While it was the original legend, the actual story was far different. Media never actually overcame her fear, and Saxum had never actually proven his faith, having scouted the river before the challenge. In essence, the group had cheated all the challenges. The only real one that had actually been accomplished in the spirit of the challenge was the Lion family's challenge. Even then, Snakepaw had banked on One and Three to be able to cure it at the same time as granting his wish to live and see more. Snakepaw certainly got his wish, but he hadn't survived the poison. A faint shiver went down his spine in remembrance. It wasn't a good way to die. Only later did he actually learn how it worked and possibly survive it. Basically, the poison made the stomach not protect itself, so the body gets consumed by stomach acid as it pools in the abdomen. Sillily enough, one of the best cures was milk or anything that reduced stomach acid within the day the poison was taken.
Snakepaw's mental tangent aside, he really enjoyed this Long Night. It definitely was within his top two Long Nights, right up there with the time everyone overdid it on hallucinogens, and he somehow woke up on the far side of Shadowclan territory with another blissed out apprentice. He was pretty sure the best story of that night was about how someone described a color. It somehow led to near every able-bodied cat in the clan randomly searching for the ever-elusive color. Amusingly enough, the color was white, which was right outside the den. Somehow, they just overlooked it when searching for 'the definition of bright.'
Snakepaw shook himself out. He'd been too nostalgic lately. It was time to get back to the present. He trotted into the medicine den, plopping onto his nest without any form of grace. Mudfur also dropped into his nest, but he had much more composure that Snakepaw. Mudfur looked upon his strange apprentice with a mix of wonder and pity. It wasn't very hard to put together that the sickly kit in the story was Snakepaw. Mudfur himself had to wonder how a cat could just go on after so many tragedies. He couldn't help voicing his thoughts.
"Snakepaw, I really appreciate that you were willing to tell that story. Was that your origin? You don't have to answer. I can tell tonight has been an emotional one for you. Either way, it was fun to see your story. I couldn't have told the story better myself." Mudfur complimented.
"It wasn't a huge deal. I just retold the legend that was passed around the big five families. Reality often differs significantly from legend. I hate to admit it, but near every success against one of the big families was cheated, but that's not what was important. Only the outcome mattered, so the truth was buried under the need of a unifying history. Back then, if the truth got out, the big five would have had a falling out that could have annihilated them all. I both love and hate the story because it is my story, but it's also a lie." Snakepaw dismissed.
Mudfur couldn't help pointing something out to his morose apprentice. "You said most challenges were cheated. That implies at least one wasn't. Which one wasn't cheated?"
Snakepaw gave him a look that was somewhere between amused and annoyed. "Really? You couldn't guess? Well, here's a hint. On a scale of one to ten, that poison is definitely a high nine on how painful it is to die by."
Mudfur pushed on, making a point about Snakepaw's statement. "Then 'you' have nothing to feel guilty for. While the other trials may have been outsmarted or circumvented, your proof of dedication to your cause is undeniable. So, what if the other trials were cheated. As you said, it is only the outcome that mattered, so of course a wise cat would guarantee their victory, and only a selfless cat would put their life on the line for such a noble goal. You should be proud of the story, even if it is only true from the families' perspectives."
"I never really wanted to cheat, but Saxum and Media said it was the only way. We needed to win to have our wishes granted." Snakepaw grumbled.
Mudfur couldn't help probing a bit more, clearly annoying Snakepaw. "You say wishes as if referring to something besides unifying the families…"
Snakepaw shot him one last annoyed look as he shut down Mudfur from further inquiry. "I'm a cat older than the clans themselves. I'm not allowed the embrace of death. Take a wild guess as to what the wish of a dying kit could be."
Mudfur snapped his mouth shut at the statement. Soon, Mudfur heard the quiet snores of Snakepaaw from his nest, but Mudfur couldn't just drop his thoughts. What kind of cruel being would grant that kind of existence to a sickly cat? There was no way it wasn't intentional, given the whole never going to grow up thing. It made Mudfur slightly nauseous. He hoped he'd never have to meet a monster like that.