☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 14

𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝓅𝒶𝓌

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

She waited patiently for her clanmates to return, worrying for their safety. Burningstar had taken all of the warriors to the river to fight off CliffClan for the river, leaving the camp almost empty. The silence was unsettling as she kept watch over the cats left while Oddblaze busied himself sorting herbs and preparing for what injuries any warriors would have once they returned.

Smokeflight was at the entrance standing guard. No cat knew if the twoleg village near them would ever investigate their camp or intrude. And even if they didn't, other predators could potentially attack them while the warriors were gone.

The two elders, Branchberry and Skystreak were lazily basking in the dying sunlight while Reedpaw cleaned out the bedding in their den. Twitchpaw was facing the sunset, staring in awe at the brilliant colors that filled the darkening sky. It was getting late. Burningstar has to be back soon, right?

Only SpiritClan knew. Rainstar was ruthless and would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Burningstar was also determined, but the FlameClan leader knew when her clanmates had suffered enough.

Is such a battle even worth fighting over a river? She thought to herself. But even she knew that the clan relied heavily on the stream for food. With the twoleg village taking up a large portion of their territory, the prey was almost impossible to find anywhere else. If they lost the river, the entire clan would be at risk of starvation.

Reedpaw must have finished his duties as she was thinking to herself because she felt his tail brush against her back, and she turned to greet him.

"I hope they're all okay," he said softly, referring to the absent clan members. "Rainstar and her warriors will stop at nothing to get what they want."

"Me too. I don't understand why things suddenly changed." She replied. "Rainstar was fine with sharing the river until now, and I'm sure CliffClan has plenty of prey running."

Reedpaw shrugged. "That's CliffClan for you I guess."

That was where their conversation ended, as Smokeflight scurried into camp with Burningstar and her other clanmates trailing after him. She noticed a limping Thornflame, a blood-spattered Pounceflight, and Tigernose with a torn ear helping a badly wounded Runningfox.

Twitchpaw rushed to help them and Oddblaze must've noticed their return as well because he was at her heels in an instant. Out of them all, Runningfox and Pounceflight seemed to have suffered the worst from the battle.

"Well?" Asked Skystreak, "Do we still have the river?"

Burningstar's only reply was a shake of her head, and shock glistened in Twitchpaw's eyes. Without the river, how were they going to survive without starving? But the apprentice didn't have time to think about such things. Her priority was helping her clanmates with Oddblaze. She helped Runningfox make his way into the den, his blood sticking to her fur. Once he was lying in a nest within the healer's den, Twitchpaw began to wash his wounds with her tongue. She was trying her best to be gentle, but she could tell her clanmate was in obvious discomfort. I'm sorry, but if I don't wash your pelt, I won't be able to clearly see your wounds. She thought, hoping the tom could forgive her once he had been treated.

Once she had cleaned him, she could identify a large gaping gash in his leg and a deep cut in his neck. There were a few more scratches and cuts along his body, but they weren't very severe compared to the others. She gathered some cobwebs and covered his oozing injuries as much as she could, but blood-drenched them almost immediately and their stash of cobwebs was getting very low as each cat was treated. She'd have to go fetch some more.

She got Oddblaze's approval and set out, hoping she could find some before the sunset completely. Luckily, she found a good amount not far from camp and hurried back to camp. Runningfox was asleep now and Twitchpaw assumed Oddblaze had given him poppy seeds while she was gone. Other than him, the only cat left was Pounceflight, but her wounds didn't look as serious as the toms. She quickly pressed the cobwebs she collected into her patient's wounds. The bleeding wasn't as bad anymore, but it hadn't stopped completely, and it was already soaking his pelt.

She gave the sleeping tom one last clean of his fur and stepped back, knowing she had done everything she could for now.

"Great work, Twitchpaw. I think you might be ready for your ceremony soon." Oddblaze told her, pride clearly glistening in his green gaze.

"You really think I'm ready?" She asked, doubt pricking at her fur. She wasn't sure she could take the responsibility of a full healer quite yet.

"Of course. You've proven you're ready with how you handled Runningfox's situation." He purred, giving her a comforting lick on her sand-colored and white shoulder. "You'll make a great healer; I know that for certain."

"Thank you," she replied, the skin beneath her fur growing warm with embarrassment.

"Of course," he paused, nodding to her empty nest, "Now you should get some rest." He spoke. "You've had a long day."

She gave him an appreciative glance before curling up into her nest of moss and bracken. Almost as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell asleep. She blinked open her eyes in what seemed like moments later and found herself on the bank of the river. Cats of all different pelt colors were fighting, their teeth bared into snarls and their claws unsheathed. She recognized the infamous Rainstar among them, ordering her warriors to attack as well as many of her clanmates launching themselves into battle. She tried to help her clanmates, but her paws went through the pelts of the CliffClan warriors. All she could do was watch as the battle played out.

She watched as a familiar, muscular white tom shoved his opponent into the river. Twitchpaw watched in horror as the cream-colored blur stumbled and fell with a splash. Suddenly, the once-calm stream seemed to thrash wildly, waves rippling across the surface and slamming forcefully onto the sandy bank. Who was it? Thornflame? She wasn't sure exactly; she never saw exactly who the cat was. Moments later, the river calmed down, but the cat never resurfaced. Her clanmate was gone. And that was when her vision went dark.