#Carrionplace disease

[marmotclaw]

Lavenderkit

Warrior name: Lavenderheart

Name meaning: relaxed, strong beliefs

Grey molly

Cause of death: Carrionplace disease

Family

Mother: Darkflower

Father: Scorchbreeze

Brothers: Cedarheart, Rowanclaw

[officialclangen]

So I noticed that one of the new border patrols involves finding an elderly kittypet with carrionplace disease. Both times, the leaders of my patrol mention a specific story about Tigger. Now I know Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, but I'm not sure what this is specifically a reference too? I haven't named or encountered a cat named Tigger, so I'm not sure what signifigance the name has. Just curious, thanks for all of your work on this amazing game!

It references a real cat owned by a fan of the game! He ate something he shouldn't have, and got incredibly sick, which is what Carrionplace disease is; eating a rat that carries disease, and getting incredibly sick.

☆ Fable ☆

[blazingmicah-wc]

if your requests for hypokits are open, can you do runningnose x nightstar

had this guys name lined up ready :]]] cowbird-snout!!!!!!!!!! she most certainly inherited nightpelt's lung issues and would have been born shortly before he was kicked from shadowclan by brokenstar. a part of his desire to lead shadowclan was so that he could protect his and running's kid from broken's cruelty. shortly after, she was infected with carrionplace disease, but managed to pull through. journeying to the lake territory with runningnose hardened her emotionally and physically, making her tough enough for blackstar to make them deputy. her goal is to live up to her fathers' legacy, and to maybe even become leader in order to cement nightpelt's place in shadowclan history. i imagine she'd die shortly before the great battle, where she would fight against brokenstar with her dads.

[bonefall]

do your cats recognize invasive-ness? i was reading your custom moth/butterfly taxomomy and it reminded me of spotted lanternflies (which are not in the UK i think?) so i got curious

Yes, AND I am willing to use StarClan to let them know about certain long-term damages that some species do that they may not know about on a short timescale,

BUT

That's all within reason! Ecologically speaking, not every non-native species is invasive, and there are some species which the Clan cats can't get rid of. In addition; the environment of Sanctuary Lake is different, in some aspects, from the environment of White Hart.

Here's a couple of the examples that are particularly interesting off the top of my head;

Sycamores and Spottedleaf's tar-spot blight are exclusive to the White Hart. They are an American species, and were deliberately planted.

Cedars are exclusive to Carrionplace, they were planted to help with the smell.

The pine plantation that ShadowClan's Bog Project decimates was mostly sitka spruce with an occasional douglas fir, they had never seen a douglas fir until Sanctuary Lake

They are not aware that Signal Crayfish are invasive. Signals spread a disease that is almost 100% fatal towards the native Whiteclaws. The species cannot coexist in the same ecosystem.

Clan cats fucking hate Gray Squirrels, every time canon has a 'pointless argument' about squirrels crossing the ThunderClan border, in BB that is a very real point of anger about other Clans doing unauthorized hunting of Red Squirrels.

Part of why ThunderClan is seen as so 'pushy and bossy' is because they are self-proclaimed Red Squirrel Defenders

Without getting into the cultural significance of this, it has to do with Thunderstar (righteous, defender of the weak, Our Glorious Leader) and Skystar (treacherous, hater of the weak, Their Barbarous Dictator)

Minks. Clan cats fight Minks constantly. River otters leave them alone, but minks are notorious prey-stealers (and RiverClan is probably looking for an excuse to get at those pelts)

Muntjacs are what humans consider an invasive species, but Clan cats actively manage their populations. They're the perfect size of deer to hunt and they produce very valuable pelts.

Rhododendron is uprooted ASAP because it gets out of control fast. This is StarClan knowledge.

Giant Hogweed is an IMMEDIATE danger and killed as soon as it's spotted. It's noxious, it spreads like wildfire, it gets so big it's impossible to handle. If I wasn't working with canon and had Thistleclaw to make a name pun out of, I would have used Giant Hogweed as the authoritarian parable. Ecologically speaking Thistles are actually very valuable for pollinators and are a pioneer species-- Giant Hogweed should die by my hand

[skyscratch-wc]

To get past this little mini art block I’m in I decided to design adult versions of the kittens/apprentices from the warriors series where they either died/we never see them as adults. I’m gonna tag anything related to this #starclan warriors.

First up is Turtlekit from Shadowclan, who I have aged up to warrior and named Turtlesplash. She is the kit of Ashcloud and Cinderfur on the family tree and supposedly dies from carrionplace disease in TPB. Her siblings are Rubblekit and Quietkit.

[firestars-five]

Diseases

Cold Cough (previously whitecough) A flu-like illness that tends to affect vulnerable cats during leaf-fall, leaf-bare, and the start of new-leaf. Rarely deadly.

Frost Fever (previously greencough) An illness far deadlier than cold cough; equivalent to pneumonia in humans. Affects cats both young and fit, or old and frail. Tends to follow after cold cough but not often. Deadly; patients should be quarantined at the first sign of illness.

Red Lungs (previously redcough) An ancient disease that affected the Society's ancestors. Thought to come from a barn cat who wasn't showing symptoms when he joined the groups. Cured by the valuable Blazing Star flower.

Ratplace Illness A disease that comes from eating rats from the Carrionplace (or rats in general). Very deadly; 0% survival rate.

River Poison A disease that comes from uncooked fish. No known cure but it is very rare for any Society cat to get it.

[echoweaver]

😱The bad: I still haven’t opened my game.

The good: I’m almost ready to start testing (myself, not others) Pet Diseases -- most of the code with none of the symptoms animations because OMG animations are like 70% of the work.

I’m very pleased with how this mod is turning out. Pets are going to have more sophisticated health behavior than humans 😅. This mod will feature:

 - The common cold that affects both cats and dogs (replacing the Germy moodlet for dogs). It has a chance of progressing into Pneumonia, which has a chance of being lethal if untreated.

 - An extended food poisoning moodlet and an indistinguishable stomach flu moodlet. There’s a chance of catching stomach flu from fishing and other events TBA, and it is proximity contagious, The moodlet appearance and symptoms are the same. So you don’t know why you’re vomiting, just like in real life!

 - A nasty, bloodborne, lethal disease that is vaguely inspired by rabies (working name Petstilence), except that it is curable at the vet and by a Medicine Cat when the Warrior Cats mod is released. (Srsly real rabies is far worse than anything I’d want to put in this game 😱.) It has a random handful of symptoms that I thought would look interesting rather than anything specific to rabies or carrionplace disease (Warrior Cats). There is a chance of contracting it from a case of fleas, a fight with a strange stray pet, or a bad hunting encounter. It’s transmitted to other pets through fights or woohoo. It can’t be transmitted to humans because I can’t be arsed to implement that.

 - The Death from Disease shader will be the shark attack shader, which is purple. I wanted to use jelly bean shader, but that one has animated jelly bean outlines that are inside a human ghost but sort of sitting on the shoulderblades of a pet. I SUPPOSE they could be germs... Jelly Bean is such a cool-looking ghost that I’ll continue to think on it. 😈

(I swear I should have the nickname Sims 3 Pet Killer. I never realized how much expanding pet gameplay would involve making ways for them to die. But if you think of how human Sims play goes, I guess it shouldn’t be THAT much of a surprise...)

On the treatment angle:

 - You can take a sick pet to the vet to cure it. At the simplest, this will be a human taking the pet to the hospital rabbithole, spending an hour there, and being charged to get the moodlet removed.

 - You can get your pet annual shots that will protect it from pneumonia and petstilence. Nobody can vaccinate against the stomach flu.

 - The Warrior Cats mod has Medicine Cat treatments for these moodlets.

Someday, if I can get to it, I have a vet career in design that would hopefully work like the Ambitions Medical career, with the rabbithole time augmented by active clinic events. I know there’s at least one vet career for NRaas Careers, so it would be even better to just add my events to that one. But I don’t want to think about that yet. I can see the end of the primary pets expansion expansion from where I’m standing, and that is very exciting!

For those first reading about this project, the two released mods in this suite are Pet Fishing Skill and Pet Fighting Skill. The two unreleased mods here, Diseases and Warrior Cats, are the other large planned mods to round out the suite. Warrior Cats is about 70% done and is holding on Diseases. I’d say Diseases is about 75% done in functionality and 0% on animations. Also 0% in debugging. 🤨

(I have a Pets Seasons mod banging around in the design phase, but that wasn’t a part of the original plan. I have to be able to call something finished someday or my brain will explode.)

[yetanotherwarriorcatsblog]

Nightstar!

"Nightstar is a small, lean, and battered, black tom with a long tail, and a short, glossy pelt. He had bright yellow-green eyes and nicked ears"

Nightpelt was a warrior of Shadowclan in the forest territories under the leadership of Raggedstar and Brokenstar.

Nightpelt was an elder of Shadowclan in the forest territories under the leadership of Brokenstar.

Nightstar was a leader of Shadowclan in the forest territories. Preceded by Brokenstar and succeeded by Tigerstar.

Parents: Toadskip

Sibling (s): Clawface (full) Foxheart, Wolfstep, Cloudpelt and Littlekit

Mate: ---

Kit (s): ---

Cause of Death: Carrionplace Disease

[sedgesnuggles]

Things I desperately need:

A part of those Time Machine MAPS that has a time traveller lead Blackstar to where Berrykit was in the fox trap, where the Shadowclan patrol was watching and laughing.

OR spooking Sunstar into going with Bluefur, Thistleclaw and Tigerpaw on the patrol where they meet Tiny.

OR lead Featherwhisker to where Bluefur and Snowfur were arguing, so he could save Snowfur's life when she's hit by the monster.

OR give a sign to Spottedleaf to make her follow Bluefur when she's bringing her kits to Riverclan, so she can resuscitate Mosskit from the cold.

OR stealing the sick rat from Shadowclan before they can get carrionplace disease.

OR give the other leaders a sign that the imposter wasn't Bramblestar a lot earlier.

[marmotclaw]

Dawncloud

Name meaning: Pale colours, early riser, potential, usually white, soft fur

Small pale ginger and white tabby molly with blue eyes.

Cause of death: Carrionplace disease at 2 years

Family and Education

Mother: Featherstorm

Father: Blizzardwing

Brothers: Mosspaw, Volewhisper

Half Brothers: Raggedstar, Scorchbreeze, Blackstar, Flintfang

Half Sister: Fernshade

Mate: Sprucetail

Daughter: Blossomkit

Sons: Oakfur, Swampkit

Mentor: Blackstar

Nature

ISFJ

Social Good

Social

Platonic Love: Blackstar, Blizzardwing, Blossomkit, Featherstorm, Mosspaw, Oakfur, Swampkit, Volewhisper

Romantic Love: Sprucetail

Best Friend(s): Wildfur

Friend(s): Badgerfang, Cottonthroat, Littlecloud, Nightstar, Nightwing, Rowanberry, Yellowfang

Mixed feelings: Wetmoss

Enemies: Brownpaw, Zealstar

Favourite food: Hare

[blorboclaw]

How would the books have changed if Ravenpaw shouted "Tigerclaw murdered Redtail!"?

(soooo sorry I took so long)

Let’s assume that everyone believes Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw is exiled. Lionheart is made deputy and then doesn’t die because I’m 100% sure that Tigerclaw is the reason why Lionheart was killed, and if he’s not in line to be deputy he’s got no reason to get him killed.

Fireheart has no reason to investigate this all. He never discovers that MistyStone are BlueOak’s kits.

Ravenpaw stays in the clan and becomes Ravenfeather after he helped topple Shadowclan’s entire government.

Bluestar still wants to force Fireheart into his destiny, so she will give him an apprentice way too soon... but since they are three not two (and she gave one to Graystripe in order for her favoritism towards Fireheart not to be too visible imo) new warriors, she will apprentice the whole LionFrost litter at once. Ravenfeather gets Brightpaw and Mousefur gets Thornpaw.

Tigerclaw immediately allies with Brokentail and his rogues. They attack as soon as Fire and Ice, so when Bluestar is sick with whitecough. It’s at that time that Cinderpaw fell into Tigerclaw’s trap, but it’s not happening this time, so Cinderpelt isn’t hurt and doesn’t become a medicine cat apprentice. Tigerclaw is blinded and Brokentail killed instead of the contrary.

I imagine Lionheart and Frostfur will have a second litter around Rising Storm, but anyway that’s not my point. Although it could soothe a few egos to know there will soon be more apprentices (eyes Sandstorm hmm?)

Anyway Nightstar gets his nine lives, Tigerclaw, weakened, died in the fire, and after Yellowfang's death, there's no medicine cat in Thunderclan. Thornpaw is forced into the position and becomes the new medcat under the tutelage of Barkface.

BrambleTawny are not born because Tigerclaw was exiled way too soon. During the fire scene the prisonner, blind Tigerclaw dies... and so does Yellowfang, without an apprentice.

Since Brokentail was killed in the attack, Nightpelt goes back to the moonstone and gets nine lives. He won’t die before at least Midnight despite losing four or five lives to carrionplace disease.

No pack being fed by Tigerstar and Bluestar not spiraling down means Swiftpaw is made a warrior by the end of Forest of Secrets, at the same time as Brackenfur, was had been made an apprentice after him. Swiftflight it is because I love giving him new names in every au. It also means Brindleface doesn't die, and might end up having more kits with Whitestorm. And finally BRightheart is not wounded. However, with Swiftpaw becoming a warrior so early, I think I will still make her become mates with Cloudtail.

No big chasing scene in which Bluestar doesn't drown and Tigerstar doesn't lead Bloodclan into the forest. Bluestar dies of old age during The Darkest Hour, and Lionheart becomes Lionstar. He choses Whitestorm as his deputy. No Bloodclan led into the forest by Tigerstar means Whitestorm is still deputy around the time Graystripe is kidnapped. No deputy crisis in Thunderclan. Do you know what clan has an elite crisis though?

Riverclan. Well Stonefur is still there and there was no tentative of genocide but there is no medcat apprentice and Mudfur is getting very old. So when Feathertail starts receiving dreams, she is sent to the medcat den and starts training as a medicine cat. She didn't live through her Tigerclan trauma this time, but she still is a bit of a solitary, so it's fit that she has her own den.

Skyclan is revived, and by some miracle Fireheart doesn't lose a life there.

The Chosen Ones are Medcat!Feathertail, who is faithful to her vows and doesn't give any hope to Crowpaw, Squirrelpaw, Rowanclaw (because no Tawnypelt) and Crowpaw.

Since Crowpaw has no hopes towards Feathertail, and Squirrelpaw is his age, he gets close to her.

Feathertail doesn't die to save the tribe, Stormfur does. Much better narratively and Riverclan has a medcat.

By the time Tallstar dies, Fireheart has been way less involved with Windclan and isn't much of a friend to Onewhisker, which means Tallstar doesn't see Onewhisker as the conciliator he saw in canon and doesn't name him over Mudclaw.

No Windclan succession war. Mudstar is the leader, Webfoot the deputy. No Windclan Succession War means no CrowLeaf.

When there's no Crowleaf, I give the Three to Bramblesquirrel.

But... There's no Brambleclaw. And so the whole "Crowpaw gets close to Squirrelpaw" thing springs into action.

Crowfeather and Squirrelflight get together long enough to have kits then break up because she's got no intention to run away from her clan (again), plus her father has just been named deputy (Whitestorm retired or died) and she can't do that to him. Crowfeather's betrayal was not made public and he doesn't have to get with Nightcloud to prove his loyalty. Mudstar basically promises him that as soon as Webfoot dies or retire (if Crowfeather has an apprentice in the mean time obvs), he'll become his deputy.

The Three are born of CrowSquirrel. Basically the same genetics as before. Ashfur thinks he's the father. However he soon realizes they don't look much like him and confronts Squirrelflight in the fire scene. She dies there, either killed by her wounds/the fire/smoke inhalation, or by him when she admits that they are not his. The Three escape, but Hollyleaf stays behind while Lionblaze guides Jayfeather away... and she kills Ashfur.

When the fire dies out, the clan finds Ashfur's body with his throat slit and they realize there's a murderer in their midst. Fireheart, who is still deputy and just lost his daughter, is fueled by the same fire from his youth and renewed determination and sets to find the killer again.

Too soon he finds out it's Hollyleaf, and while he's at it, that the Three are half windclan. He promises to hide their secrets but cannot protect his granddaughter against just punishment. SHe did kill a clanmate, even if in self-defense (which... is yet to be proved and depends on what really happened during the fire scene).

There's a quick trial during which Lionstar banishes Hollyleaf for a moon but no more because there's the excuse of self-defense. He's basically mainly doing that to protect her against her clanmates' judgement.

Life keeps going. When Firestar becomes leader, it's already The Fourth Apprentice or so, and he doesn't give apprentices to Lionblaze and Hollyleaf because Hollyleaf is still around, he doesn't trust her yet to take care of an apprentice, and he doesn't want to give apprentices to a sibling but not the other.

Ivypool is apprenticed to Brightheart and Dovewing to Berrynose (since Thornclaw, Mousewhisker and Hazeltail get the three B, then the apprenticeless sibling in both litters can get IvyDove). Ivypool's inferiority complex comes mainly from the fact she thinks less of Brightheart, while Dovewing can fall in love with Tigerheart under Berrynose's nose because he's an idiot.

It's extremely difficult for Lionblaze to put his paw on Dovewing long enough to tell her about the prophecy because Berrynose is somehow convinced that Lionblaze is hanging out with his apprentice because he's jealous he didn't get one. Cinderheart is kinda convinced that Lionblaze has a crush on Dovewing and is disgusted after all his promises to her. Ivypool also thinks Dovewing and Lionblaze have a thing going on. Jayfeather is the only sane character this arc.

When Lionblaze does tell her about the prophecy, Ivypool is already a member of the DF because she thinks Brightheart is not going to be able to make her a great warrior. The fans woe the Erins for their ableism, the Erins defend themselves by saying it's Ivypool's opinion, the fans complain they are trying to make Ivypool unnecessarily edgy when just being the non-prophetic sibling would be enough (basically they would have preferred canon they just don't know what it is).

Dovewing gets the prophecy and the pressure all at once. She defects to Shadowclan first thing and finishes her training there as Tigerheart's apprentice, which makes the fans barf all over the place because why couldn't she be Dawnpelt or Tawnypelt or literally anyone else's apprentice and why did the Erins have to make her sweetheart her mentor?!

Anyway the Dark Forest is vanquished and Firestar loses a life but also... it's only his second or third life to lose since he became a leader so late. Brambleclaw doesn't exist but still he isn't his apprentice. Brackenfur was, but retires after Sorreltail's death. Whitewing becomes deputy.

Since Squirrelflight is dead, AlderSpark are Lionblaze and Cinderheart's kits. Firestar goes with them to find Skyclan because he's got lives to lose for them. Darktail doesn't fool him, the real Skyclan is brought to the lake, the Kin is faced together, actually you know what literally everything that happened under Bramblestar's leadership goes way better under Firestar's, some had nothing to do with Brmabletsar's capacities, some totally do. Ashfur has no reason to come back as the impostor since Squirrelflight is dead. Crowfeather becomes Crowstar after Mudstar's death. When Stonefur retired or died, Leopardstar named Reedwhisker her deputy or whatever and Mistyfoot never becomes leader.

Stemleaf is born of Blossomfall and a tom closer in age since Thornnotclaw is now a medcat. Was gonna say Mousewhisker but he's Blossomfall's mentor or something so maybe Foxleap?

TL;DR: if Ravenpaw had narced on Tigerclaw first thing after the battle, Thornclaw and Feathertail would have become medicine cats, Mudclaw would have become leader lawfully after Tallstar's death, and the Impostor would never have happened.

[blooming-fire-au]

Content warning: Mentioned grooming, rape/CSA, child death/stillbirth

Names: Darkkit, Darkpaw, Darkflower

Orientation: Grey-aromantic, grey-asexual, omnisexual

Gender and pronouns: Cis molly, she/her. Also uses it/its after coming to terms with her trauma

Canon counterpart: Darkflower

Clan(s): ShadowClan

Parents: Clawface, Rowanberry

Siblings: Stumpytail, Cinderfur

Mate(s): Brokenstar (ex, forced), Nightwhisper

Kit(s): Quietkit, Turtlepaw, Rubblestrike, Hemlockkit, Smokefoot, Kinkfur, Snaketail

Mentor(s): Brokenstar

Apprentice(s): Toadfoot

Description: A small, fluffy pure black molly with dark orange eyes. She has long fur and a fluffy, plumy tail. Smaller than average, but very beautiful by ShadowClan standards.

Personality: Darkflower grew up in Brokenstar's ShadowClan with skewed morality. Apprenticed at 3 moons old and made a warrior at 6, when Brokenstar deemed her fertile enough to bear his kits, she was forced to grow up very quickly. Though deeply uncomfortable, Darkflower had to bow to the whims of her leader, and no one said anything about how wrong it was as they didn't want to end up exiled like Yellowfang. Even Brokenstar's closest followers thought this was messed up, forcing a barely apprentice-aged molly to be his mate. It's only when Darkflower becomes pregnant with Brokenstar's kits that she realizes how messed up her kithood was. The stress of Brokenstar being chased out in addition to her young age caused a difficult pregnancy; one kit, who she named Hemlockkit, was stillborn, and Quietkit, despite her size, never grew strong. Turtlepaw and Rubblepaw made it to apprenticeship, but became ill with Carrionplace disease. Disease claimed Turtlepaw's life and weakened Rubblepaw to the point of probably early retirement after he became Rubblestrike. Darkflower herself, traumatized and desperate to be loved, latched onto the rogue Mowgli almost immediately, and though their relationship moved way faster than it probably should have, both were happy, and soon Darkflower was raising another litter of kits, who all wound up thriving. However, her time in the nursery triggered flashbacks to when she had Brokenstar's kits, and after a long talk with Nightwhisper, it was agreed they wouldn't try for any further litters. She wouldn't give up her kits for the world, but she wishes she had been allowed to grow up before her first litter was born.

[bonefall]

not that this would work for your rewrite but i do think the idea of there being a missing generation because of brokenstar's kit massacre would be an interesting problem, or even having his training of kits be a response to some other catastrophe that killed off a lot of the warrior-aged cats. but unfortunately that's not the case afaik and they seem to just start adding clan members out of thin air after tpb. shame!

It does honestly make sense for a story that wants to follow the idea of ShadowClan being underpopulated, but I also think you'd need to deviate from canon. They can't both be the equally matched rival of ThunderClan (the largest, most populous group) AND keep the 4 mass death events they've had in canon

Because it's not just Brokenstar who put a hole in the population, they also have to lose a lot of warriors to;

The Carrionplace Disease

Yellowcough

The Kin

And that's assuming that they didn't have a ton of deaths to the BloodClan battle, or the Destruction of White Hart, or the Battle with the Dark Forest. And god I don't even want to think about trying to keep the family tree clean when it's already so small.

So like honestly the most realistic thing in WC was the idea that ShadowClan didn't have enough cats left after Darktail, lmao

[queenofmoons67]

ok so as a fic prompt i just had this idea: what would tawnypelt do if she stumbled across her brother, unconscious and badly hurt, mid-battle with thunderclan? thank you!!

I don't know what to say, folks. This one really got away from me. There will be three chapters, about 2k each, plus a short epilogue, for about 6k+ total. Each chapter will be from a different cat's POV, and they're all written. Just waiting on my beta's final look-through!

For now, I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Timeline: Takes place between The Prophecies Begin and The New Prophecy

WARNINGS: Graphic Descriptions of Violence; Blood and Gore

Tawnypelt snarled and raked out with the claws on her right forepaw, her left digging deeper into the dirt to brace herself. It was no use, though, and Thornclaw—a golden-furred ThunderClan warrior—used his lower stature and heavier weight to press her further back, rearing up on his hindlegs and battering her face with both forepaws.

Tawnypelt managed to block one set of claws, but she couldn’t risk moving her left forepaw or Thornclaw would entirely overpower her, and she paid for it with a heavy blow to her cheek. She snarled and whipped her head back around, trying to move fast enough to catch Thornclaw’s paw in her fangs when he was still close enough, but his other paw came back around and caught her other cheek.

StarClan, that hurt!

Stung on both sides, Tawnypelt couldn’t help taking a single step back, the branches of a bush behind her spiking into her haunches—and then the ground gave way under her paw, softer and furrier than dirt should be. She didn’t dare risk glancing back to see who it was, could only snatch her paw back, brace it on solid dirt, claw out with a forepaw—

And hit only air. She blinked at the empty space where Thornclaw used to be, then swung her gaze around the crowded clearing.

Newleaf had brought a deluge of rain on the entire forest, and Carrionplace had been hit hard: The rats had run from their drowned ditches into ShadowClan’s territory, eating what prey they could catch and infecting the ones they couldn’t with disease. ShadowClan had held out as long as they could, but a few days ago, Blackstar had ordered the warriors into ThunderClan territory—and it hadn’t taken long for them to be noticed.

As a former ThunderClan cat, Tawnypelt had led this particular hunting patrol herself, accompanied only by Rowanclaw, his apprentice Talonpaw, and Cedarheart, but Thornclaw had been waiting for them: Him, and Dustpelt, Frostfur, Brambleclaw, and a light gray apprentice Tawnypelt thought she might have once known as Sootkit.

It was just five on four, but one extra warrior on ThunderClan’s side had made all the difference. Tawnypelt herself had been occupied with Thornclaw and the apprentice for some time, leaving Dustpelt, Frostfur, and Brambleclaw to her three clanmates. At one point, though, the apprentice had disappeared, and now, it seemed that Thornclaw had taken her single step back as an excuse to join his clanmates in trying to chase Rowanclaw, Talonpaw, and Cedarheart back across the Thunderpath, as if Tawnypelt had already run.

Hissing at the insult, Tawnypelt stepped forward—then paused and took in the battle again as she remembered the body behind her.

The battle so far had been messy. The clearing wasn’t big enough for nine fighting cats, so when one cat dodged, they often did so by jumping around the fighting pair next to them, or running into the trees before re-entering the clearing—the consequence being that no one was fighting in the same spot they had started in, or even fighting the same cat they had first paired up with.

The body behind Tawnypelt couldn’t be anyone from ShadowClan. She could see Rowanclaw and Cedarheart, and while Talonpaw was too small to spot in all the chaos, she knew Rowanclaw wouldn’t have abandoned his apprentice.

But of the ThunderClan cats who were still fighting—she could only see solid patches of white, gold, brown, and gray fur.

No stripes. No tabby.

Tawnypelt’s heart was working overtime, first from trespassing and then from fighting, but as she turned to see her brother’s brown and black coat on the ground, tucked up under a bush and blending in with the branches and dirt, she thought her heart might stop.

Was he even alive? She couldn’t see his eyes—he hadn’t made a sound when she stepped on him, not one, even when the spot had been so soft it could only have been his belly—

This was only a skirmish, a stupid fight because ThunderClan wouldn’t share food, no one was supposed to die—

Tawnypelt darted a look towards the other cats. No one was looking at her; they were all fighting so close together that no ThunderClan cat was looking for Brambleclaw, and Thornclaw had dismissed her so he wasn’t tracking her, either. She could go to her brother. Make sure he was alive. But…

Tawnypelt glanced at the forest she’d grown up in, then the one she’d been accepted into. With ThunderClan distracted, she should go deeper into their territory. Fetch prey back to camp. They didn’t have kits, not like they should in Newleaf, but they had two growing apprentices, and Tallpoppy was talking about getting stronger to have kits next year. If Tawnypelt didn’t—if Rowanclaw or Cedarheart noticed her missing, and thought she was still loyal to ThunderClan—if they caught her with an injured ThunderClan cat, even if it was her brother—

Tawnypelt’s eyes caught on Brambleclaw again. The bush he lay under didn’t even shiver, he was so still.

StarClan forgive her, she just needed to know he was alive.

Tawnypelt sped around the bush, ducked under the best she could, grabbed Brambleclaw’s scruff in her teeth, braced against the dirt, and pulled.

Brambleclaw had grown into a big cat. Tawnypelt herself wasn’t small, either. Tigerstar had been one of the biggest cats in the forest, and Goldenflower still was. Big paws and shoulders ran in their blood, and it was no easy task fitting herself under the bush enough to grab Brambleclaw, let alone to pull him through and out the other side where the fighting cats couldn’t see them—but fear gave her strength, and for all she was a ShadowClan cat now, she still knew how to avoid getting tangled up with the bushes that grew on ThunderClan territory.

Tawnypelt didn’t pull Brambleclaw all the way out; she let him rest there, hidden by the shadow of the bush in case she had to run, now that they were away from the fighting.

“Brambleclaw,” she hissed, and nosed him behind the ear. He was cold, but that could be from the shadows. It didn’t mean—

“Brambleclaw,” she hissed again, and poked him with a paw between the shoulder blades. He arched into her touch with a weak moan, and Tawnypelt felt all the adrenaline leave her at once. She could have collapsed right there next to him, but she needed to go. He was alive. He was just unconscious. One of his clanmates would find him, or he would stumble home himself—

Brambleclaw’s head flopped back, one amber eye half-open.

“Goldenflower?” he slurred.

Tawnypelt edged back—and then Brambleclaw twisted his head further, twisted his whole body with it, and Tawnypelt’s heart threw itself back into work at the blood-soaked sight that met her eyes. His belly—her brother’s soft, vulnerable belly—

Tawnypelt darted around him, throwing herself under the bush so she could see the wound from the other side. What had been a struggle earlier was all too easy now, with her brother’s blood painting her vision red.

“Brambleclaw,” she wheezed, eyes wide as she took the wound in. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, wasn’t as bad as the wound their father had been dealt, but StarClan, who had done this? Half his belly was clawed up, the entire front half of his chest from shoulder to stomach, like some cat had started ripping through him and then been cut off halfway, like they couldn’t reach far enough to finish the blow, like—

Tawnypelt swallowed and reached around herself, gathering up all the leaves and spiderwebs she could, raking her claws through her own fur to grab what she had cleared before with her body by accident.

The blow looked like Brambleclaw had collapsed halfway through, and the cat who dealt it had just left him there, lying in the dirt, for Tawynpelt to step on.

Had Rowanclaw done this? Cedarheart? Surely not—not little Talonpaw—

Brambleclaw grunted as she pressed the wad of leaves and spiderwebs to his wound, but he didn’t protest. Just looked at her with glazed eyes.

Did he see her now? Or did he still think she was their mother?

Was this really worth some food that would be gone by tomorrow night?

“Tawny,” Brambleclaw wheezed, breath cutting out of him, and she shushed him. She tried to lick his cheek, to comfort him, but she couldn’t do that and keep pressure on the lower end of the wound at the same time.

“I’m here,” she whispered, and eased closer to him the best she could. Her shoulder pressed up into his chest, holding the pressure there even as Brambleclaw grunted, and her hindlegs shifted her hips up against his stomach to hold the pressure on that end. Laying next to her brother for the first time in moons, doing her best to ignore the hot, wet feel of the blood still soaking through from his fur to hers, she nosed his cheek, then licked it.

Go with the fur to comfort, she remembered from her time in the nursery, watching from her mother’s nest as the other queens soothed their kits, but go against the fur to stimulate the blood, to keep warm. She did that now, using her own body weight to try and stop her brother’s bleeding, her tongue to keep him awake.

“Stay with me,” she breathed between licks, and Brambleclaw groaned.

“I’m not the one…” he managed. I’m not the one who left, she heard.

Tawnypelt kept licking anyway, resolute in her choice to leave ThunderClan, to leave her mother, to leave her brother—resolute in her choice to keep her brother alive.

Brambleclaw didn’t say anything else, just closed his eyes again, though his breathing was regular enough she didn’t worry.

She could hear it well enough, she realized, because the sound of fighting had stopped. Peering through the bush was no use—it was too dense, the very reason she’d used it as shelter—but there was no sound of ShadowClan, either.

Just a single voice, familiar even though she hadn’t heard it up close in moons.

“Brambleclaw?”

“Dustpelt,” Brambleclaw coughed, and opened his eyes to look up at her. “Tawny…”

“I know,” she whispered. She tilted her head up. Her brother was awake enough now she felt it safe to stop bathing him—knew she would have to stop anyway. Would have to leave him for his clanmate to find, would have to trust ThunderClan to keep him alive until she could see him again, whenever that might be. It could be moons, if he wasn’t well enough for the next Gathering.

“Brambleclaw?” Dustpelt called again, voice more anxious.

Tawnypelt bowed her head and pressed her cheek to Brambleclaw’s. He didn’t say a word, but for a moment, he leant his head up against hers—and then his head fell back down to the ground, and Tawnypelt eased out and away. Left the little shelter, however bloody, her brother’s body and the bush had created for her. Darted back towards the Thunderpath and ShadowClan, where she would have to wash the blood from her fur before returning to camp. She’d have to hunt, too—hope she found something that wasn’t rat on her own territory.

She left behind her brother, an old clanmate, and a bush still rattling loudly where she’d clawed it as she ran past.

Dustpelt yowled, then cried, “Brambleclaw! StarClan, what happened—”

Tawnypelt fixed her eyes on home, and resolutely refused to look back.

<end story>

Up Next: Sootpaw's POV

[clover-warriorcats-designs]

Pebble Heart

Fun Fact (from secrets of the clans)

~ Pebble Heart was the first cat to discover that eating the carrionplace rats was a source of disease, since he died from it.

*that is a really bad way to find something out, dying from it..*

Pebble Heart is one of my favorite characters, I don't really have much of a reason, he's just a cute kitty.

[talonslockau]

Fire and Ice - Chapter 19

Chapter 18 || Index || Chapter 20

 Firepaw had never felt worse upon seeing the entrance to camp. Enduring the unappreciative hiss from Yellowfang as he gently swept aside the bracken to widen the passageway, he meekly followed after her, unsure what awaited him within.

As he glanced around camp, he could see that the dawn patrol along the Riverclan border had returned, though Bluestar's patrol was still gone. As he beckoned Yellowfang to the healer's den, he spotted wrinkled faces watching them. He supposed that even with the bath she had given herself in the forest stream, the molly still reeked to everyone else, though it was now at least endurable to him.

"Yellowfang! What a surprise!" Spottedleaf emerged from the corner of herbs, glancing over the molly curiously before sighting her leg. "Oh no! What happened? Did a fox get to you?" She asked, already turning around and pulling out an assortment of herbs Firepaw didn't recognize.

"If only." The Shadowclan healer huffed as she flopped down in a nest. "If a fox was the most of my problems, that’d be a blessing from Starclan at this point." She flicked her tail towards him. "No, it was this mousebrained apprentice that got me."

Spottedleaf gasped and whirled on the ginger tom. "What in Starclan's name compelled you to do that? Didn't Tinyfrost teach you anything about the warrior code?"

Firepaw suppressed a growl as he faced down the calico healer. "She was covered in foxdung and hunting on Thunderclan territory! What was I supposed to think?" He understood why attacking a healer was a bad thing, but she had hardly looked or smelled like one. Surely that was supposed to grant him some reprieve?

The small molly sighed wearily. "I suppose that explains the fox smell." She turned back to her herbs, carefully measuring out leaves and seeds. "Honestly, Yellowfang, did you roll in the stuff or something? You reek of it."

"I was trying to disguise my scent." The former Shadowclanner snapped grumpily. "You Thunderclanners get so uptight when you smell Shadowclan, especially these days." She sniffed at the leaves Spottedleaf was pulling out. "Mint? Shadowclanners don't seriously carry Carrionplace diseases, despite what your elders claim."

The calico snorted as she nosed the fluffy green leaves at Yellowfang. "I know that. They're for your fur. I can't have you stinking up my den with that horrendous stench.” She turned back to her work, pulling out a clump of reddish roots. "Why were you in Thunderclan territory, anyways? Did you really think a patrol would welcome you covered in foxdung?"

"Brokenstar exiled her from Shadowclan." Firepaw supplied helpfully as she bit into one of the roots. The healer immediately sputtered, spitting out pieces of root as he added, "He exiled all the elders, too. Bluestar's letting them stay in Tallpines for now."

"Yes, thank you for the succinct explanation." Yellowfang snapped at him, before sighing heavily. "But he does speak the truth. I am no longer Shadowclan's healer."

Spottedleaf's green eyes were wide with astonishment as she looked between the two. "That horrific! Why in all of Starclan would he decide to do that?" She asked, carefully biting back into the cluster of roots.

The other healer's face darkened at her question. "Nevermind that. It's not important now." She grumbled softly.

The calico nodded as she finally came over, her paws wrapped in a white gauze. She carefully applied the root poultice before glancing up to Firepaw. "Ah, you're still here. Why don't you fetch something for Yellowfang? She'll need good food to keep her strength up."

"Yes, Spottedleaf." He mumbled, turning and sulking outside. He barely had a chance to walk a few paces before nearly bumping into a small, black tom.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." Tinyfrost looked frantic as he looked his apprentice up and down. "Bluestar told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Firepaw. I should have been there. Maybe I could've prevented all this…"

The apprentice winced as he remembered the scolding Bluestar had given him. "It- It's fine." He mumbled, looking at the ground. "Are you going to punish me too?"

"No." He looked up to see his mentor shaking his head. "Bluestar's punishment is more than enough. In normal times, you could have been exiled…" The words sent a shiver up the apprentice's spine. "But all of this is anything but normal."

Firepaw sighed wearily as he glanced over camp. "I'll say." He grumbled, seeing curious faces staring back at him. They would doubtlessly learn everything soon enough. "What about the hunting competition?" He asked, suddenly remembering the two mice he had abandoned.

Tinyfrost dipped his head. "You've forfeited, with everything that's happened." Seeing his apprentice's disappointment, he added, "If it makes you feel any better, Ravenpaw had to forfeit as well."

The ginger tom tilted his head quizzically before he remembered the other apprentice's assigned hunting grounds. "Right. Because of Tallpines."

Tinyfrost nodded. "His catch will be going to feeding the Shadowclan elders." The tom perked up, remembering something. "Speaking of, why don't we go collect your mice for Yellowfang? I assume you're off to hunt something for her." He glanced towards the healer's den that Firepaw had just left.

He glanced towards the freshkill pile, only to see that the spot it normally held was empty. Of course it would, since the Clan was waiting for the apprentices to bring back freshkill from their hunting games. Games he no longer was allowed to participate in, he thought bitterly to himself. "If that's alright." He replied, the thought of hunting no longer exciting him like it had that morning.

"Of course." The small tom said smoothly, gesturing towards the training hollow. "I brought them back to the hollow while…" He trailed off, tail tip flicking as he remembered what had happened.

"Nevermind that." Firepaw continued his path across the clearing, flicking an ear to hear his mentor following behind him. "Let's just go fetch them before Spottedleaf finishes with Yellowfang's leg."

It wasn't a long trip to the training hollow and back. They didn't run into any cat on their journey, for which the ginger tom was thankful. He wasn't sure he could face any of the other apprentices right now, with his punishment and 'misdeeds' looming over him like storm clouds.

As they returned, he spotted Ravenpaw sitting off to the side, while Darkstripe and Tigerclaw spoke in hushed whispers and occasionally glanced at the black apprentice. It seemed Firepaw wasn't the only one being blamed for something that wasn't really his fault. He looked away, not wanting to meet their gazes just yet as he returned to the healer's den.

"Ah, Firepaw. I just finished setting Yellowfang's leg." Spottedleaf backed away from the older molly, whose leg was now entangled in a mass of sticks, vines, and the white substance that he recognized from Ravenpaw's shoulder. "If you'll let me have those mice, I'll just stuff it with a few herbs for her."

"What, you won't trust me with my own poppy seeds?" Yellowfang snorted, but her voice was strained. From the look on her flat face, he could tell she was in a good deal of pain, even if the old molly wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Wetnose tells me you can be rather heavy-pawed with them, so no, I don't." Spottedleaf replied coolly as she took the mouse from him and rolled a couple of tiny, black seeds into its mouth. "Besides, this is my den, so what I say goes."

Firepaw glanced to the other healer, expecting the same irritable treatment that she had given him on the way to camp, but to his surprise she seemed more amused than anything. "You Thunderclanners are always so high and mighty. Your mentor was like that too. Always blathering about how Starclan was speaking to him like he was something special." She rolled her copper eyes at the thought.

"And you Shadowclanners are always so uptight for no reason." Spottedleaf retorted mildly, dropping the mouse at the edge of the molly's nest and motioning for Tinyfrost to do the same. "There. That should help keep you comfortable enough tonight."

It was then that she turned to him, green eyes narrow as she took in the apprentice. "As for you, Firepaw…"

Firepaw gulped, his fur suddenly feeling remarkably hot, as though it really were made of flames. "Y-yes?" He stammered out, suddenly aware of how close the calico was. He wasn't that far out of claw-swiping range…

"You did get into a fight with her, didn't you? Let me take a look." He breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped closer to examine him, even as her eyes still glittered dangerously in the low light.

"Uh-uhm, I'm fine. Really." Firepaw mumbled, stepping back a pace as she moved forward. "She didn't get me that bad."

"You're fine when I say you are. Now stand still." Seeing no choice in the matter, he obeyed, allowing the healer to part his ginger fur as she looked him over. He glanced over to his mentor, hoping the other tom might get him out of it, but to his surprise the warrior was already backing out of the cave.

"I'll just let you handle things, then." The little black tom said smoothly as he carefully picked his way past the two to the entrance.

"Yes, yes." Spottedleaf waved him away impatiently with a paw. "You'll get your wayward apprentice back soon enough."

He didn't get to see his mentor depart, unwilling to turn his head in case he was scolded for it. As he was picked over, all he could think of was the fact that Tinyfrost had so willingly abandoned him to stand alone in a den that had not one but two mollies in it that were very, very mad at him.

"Quite the nasty scratch on your neck here." The dappled healer observed mildly. "You're lucky it didn't go any deeper. You could have lost a lot more blood."

Firepaw shrugged slightly. "It'll be fine. Can I go now?"

"Hush." Spottedleaf turned to her selection of herbs. "What do you think, Yellowfang? Just marigold, or should I add some goldenrod as well?" She pulled out two bright yellow flowers, one larger and more orange than the other.

"Are you sure you don't want to use any burdock root?" The other healer looked up from her meal with a vicious smirk. "I've been told I have quite the mean bite."

The calico only rolled her eyes in response. "I suppose the season's still young. I can probably have Dewpaw fetch me more goldenrod if I end up running low." With that, she pulled out a pawful of that mysterious white substance and began chewing up the two flowers she had grabbed earlier.

"Who's Dewpaw? Did you get a new apprentice since we last met?" Yellowfang questioned, perking her ears forward curiously. He was surprised to hear her voice devoid of the venom he had already gotten used to.

The Thunderclan healer sputtered at the other molly's words. "No! Of course not." She spat the flowers out onto her covered paw and moved over to Firepaw. "I'm still far too young for an apprentice. She's just an apprentice that likes to help out around camp."

Firepaw eyed the molly as she leaned in close to his neck, carefully applying the salve over his aching wound. Her dark nose was beginning to grow a stray white hair here and there - the first signs of an aging feline. "She could be a bit more than that for you." He mewed, trying not to think about the sticky substance now coating his fur.

Spottedleaf shook her head. "Nonsense. She's too busy with her warrior training to help out any more than she already does." She carefully applied pressure over his aching wound. "There. Don't scratch at it, you'll rip the cobwebs off. Come back to see me tomorrow so I can change it." She stood back to admire her work briefly before turning away and beginning to organize her herbs once more.

"I-" Firepaw hesitated, remembering what Dewpaw had told him about telling anyone else her aspirations. Even though it pained him, he nodded and turned away. "Yes, Spottedleaf."

"And don't forget my evening meal!" Yellowfang spat after him as he emerged from the den, ears flat as he pretended not to hear. It was easier that way, than having to dignify her taunting with a response.

As he emerged from the den, he spied the other apprentices entering the camp, all of them carrying multiple kills in their jaws. He forced himself to look away, not wanting to talk to them just yet. He couldn't face them at the moment, not when his thoughts were still roiling with bitterness and shame.

He instead scanned the clearing for his mentor. But just as he had spotted him, arguing over something with Quickflash, he saw Bluestar jump upon the Highrock out of the corner of his gaze. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Though he would have normally sat next to Graypaw and the other apprentices, Firepaw stayed off to the side, shame burning under his pelt. He knew all too well this meeting was being called because of him; he could only hope that their leader wouldn't rake him apart for all the Clan to ridicule for his one mistake.

He looked over as a cat sat next to him, surprised to see it was Spottedleaf. "Uhm. Hi?" He murmured, but the healer only flicked an ear in response to his words. He glanced behind him to see Yellowfang had limped her way out of the den to listen in, no doubt eager to hear what Bluestar was going to say about him.

"I have some very dire news." The blue molly raked the crowd with her gaze, and for a moment he thought she was looking for him before continuing. "Today, the patrol along the Shadowclan border encountered a group of elders, led by Yellowfang, the Shadowclan healer." Her nose rankled as she recalled what had happened. "They had been exiled by Brokenstar."

There were murmurs among the Clan at this news. "Exiled?" Halftail called out from his spot next to the elders' den. "What for?"

Bluestar snarled at the question. "For the crime of being elders!"

Shock rippled through the crowd. "Exiling elders? What was he thinking?" Mousefur spoke now, loud enough for Firepaw to hear. "Does he expect his warriors to fight until they drop dead?"

He could see the Thunderclan leader flexing her claws, even up on the Highrock. "By doing so, Shadowclan has broken the warrior code. Such a transgression cannot be allowed to go unpunished."

Several ears flickered uneasily at her announcement. "But Bluestar, we are already at war with Riverclan." It was Dappleshine that spoke up now. "Do we have the warriors to fight a two-sided battle?"

Bluestar dipped her head, acknowledging the queen. "For now, we will bide our time. I have spoken with the elders, and in exchange for allowing them to stay in Tallpines, they have agreed to help us in whatever way Starclan sees fit."

Another wave of shock flooded through the Clan. "Give up Tallpines? But Bluestar, we need all the prey we can get!" Tigerclaw growled, flexing his own claws. "The elders' situation is sad, but surely our own Clan's needs are more important?"

The molly shook her head at her warrior's words. "We have all agreed to follow the warrior code under Starclan. We must serve that code in any way we can. That is Starclan's will." She dipped her head towards Firepaw and Spottedleaf. "Firepaw will be taking care of all our Shadowclan guests, so the Clan will not feel any undue burden as a result."

He didn't meet the Clan's eyes, but he could still hear several snickers arise nonetheless. "Leaving the kittypet to do the dirty work? I like her thinking." From the voice, he could only guess it was Dustleap speaking, though he didn't care to look and confirm his assumptions.

Bluestar's eyes narrowed in disapproval, but she didn't reprimand whoever spoke. "Finally, I will be making a trip within the next quarter-moon to the Moonstone to consult with Starclan on Brokenstar." There were nods of understanding at her words. These were unprecedented times; of course she would be consulting with their ancestors for guidance. "Whitestorm and Nightpelt, one of their elders, will be accompanying me."

"Bluestar, are you sure?" It was Tigerclaw again, speaking up from beside Dustleap and Sandstorm. "What if this Shadowclanner attacks you? It would be foolish not to take more warriors."

The leader's whiskers twitched in amusement at his words. "This is a patrol to the Moonstone, Tigerclaw, not a battle party. Besides, I am still quite a capable warrior myself. I am sure Whitestorm and I could handle one lone Shadowclanner."

Tigerclaw's white-tipped tail flicked angrily, but he didn't show any other emotions as he dipped his head smoothly. "As you wish, Bluestar." He purred silkily.

"If that is all, then this meeting is dismissed." The warriors scattered across the clearing in groups, chattering animatedly about the meeting and its inevitable fallout. Bluestar herself descended from the Highrock in one smooth motion, flicking her tail for Quickflash to meet with her.

As he did so, Firepaw caught sight of the deputy’s children approaching the ginger apprentice. He sighed, not moving from his spot as they came closer. There was no point in fleeing; he would have to talk to them sooner or later.

"Firepaw! There you are!" Graypaw was the first to speak, his yellow eyes wide as he took in the defeated form in front of him. "Is it true you really attacked a healer?"

It seemed his friend was tactful as ever. "It's true." He muttered, his tail lashing as he remembered Bluestar's reaction. "But she was covered in foxdung and I'd never met her before! I thought she was a rogue, not a healer." He added quickly, hoping to stave off any further scoldings.

To his surprise, the other apprentice nodded sympathetically. "That was what Tinyfrost was saying to Dad. He wanted you to get a second chance."

Firepaw huffed, though he had to admit he was a little pleased to hear his mentor sticking up for him. "I bet that worked out." He meowed sarcastically. "They all seem so understanding that I didn't magically know what every healer looked like, even though I never met them."

Pepperpaw flicked an ear uneasily beside her brother. "Take it easy, Firepaw." She murmured gently. "We know it's unfair. There's no need to take it out on us."

He snarled, digging his claws into the dirt beneath him. "Easy enough for you to say! You're not the one having to give up what you'd been working for for nearly a moon." He hissed, not meeting her eyes. "I bet you won the competition too, what with your great mentor."

He could feel the other apprentices shuffling uncomfortably. "That's not fair." Graypaw spoke up again, his voice strained. “You can’t expect us to give up on the competition just because of what happened to you.”

“Life’s not fair!” Firepaw snapped. “But no, I’d never want any of you to be inconvenienced by little old me. In fact, I’ll just go get started on the nests right now, so you all can go enjoy your success without me bringing you down.”

He didn’t give them a chance to respond before turning and hustling over to the elders’ den, ignoring any comments his friends or the retired warriors might give him. He was tired of being in camp. Frankly, he wanted nothing more than to be out of it, so he didn’t have to endure the whole Clan’s snide.

He snatched up one of the empty nests, which smelled as though it hadn’t been used in seasons, if not longer. He dragged it out of the den and through the entrance, more thankful than he had ever been for the solitude outside. Now, he could finally look forward to some peace and quiet, and time alone with his thoughts.

If only he didn’t have to come back.