☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 15

𝒯𝒾𝓃𝓎

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Tiny felt as if a badger had attempted to bite off every one of her limbs. Her entire body was sore and her muscles protested against every movement she made, no matter how slight. She found herself curled up in a cozy nest, but it wasn't her own. She blinked around to get a good look at her surroundings and was relieved to find that they were familiar to her.

She was in the large cave that belonged to the members of the Clanless Clowder. It was large, and much more appealing than the compact, makeshift den she and the other apprentices slept in. It was a small cave that Tiny felt could collapse at any moment, despite how much Lynx and the other mentors would assure her that it wouldn't.

The den was empty, and the sunlight shone brightly through the den entrance. How much time had passed since the wolf had attacked her? And what happened to the she-cat she was trying to save? Many more questions muddled her mind, leaving her wondering, but at least it kept her busy while she lay there.

It didn't keep her occupied long enough, apparently. She got bored and finally decided it wouldn't hurt to try and move around a little bit. She was wrong. It hurt a lot. But she was able to get to her paws just as Grass walked into the den.

"Tiny! You're awake!" He mewed, his yellow-green eyes shining. He licked her head gently before questioning, "How do you feel?"

"Sore." She answered with a sigh. "What happened? Was any cat able to take down that wolf?"

But the brown tabby shook his head. "No. According to Petalwish it ran off." He answered her. "Every cat's worried about you. Can you walk?"

Tiny nodded, although she was unsure as she hadn't tried just yet. She winced as she took the first few steps, but the pain subsided as she continued. Her muscles and limbs ached, but at least that had been the worst of her injuries. Petalwish, she thought, confused. Was that the cat I ran into? She didn't recognize the name, but then again, there were so many cats in each clan, she felt that it was nearly impossible to keep track of them all.

Almost immediately as she walked out, she spotted Mumble near the small prey pile who dipped his head to greet her. His pale orange eyes brightened with relief once he saw her and Grass exit the cave.

"Still no sign of Lynx?" Grass inquired, looking towards the fluffy, pinkish tom.

Mumble let out a sigh before answering. "It isn't like him to be gone this long. Do you think he's alright?"

Tiny couldn't help cutting in. "Wait what? He's missing? How long has he been gone?" Panic began to rise in her chest and her heart thundered within her ribcage.

"Since yesterday, sometime before Petalwish arrived with you unconscious, I'd assume." Mumble answered her. That was when Tiny began to recall what had happened before the wolf attack.

"He told me he'd wait for me in camp until a caught some prey to bring back." She told the two mentors. "He never returned at all? Are you sure?"

The two toms exchanged a glance that Tiny couldn't read, while her mind ran wild with questions. What if the wolf got to Lynx before me and Petalwish found it? The young she-cat tried to shake the thought away. She had to be optimistic, surely, he was wandering the flower forest somewhere. Tiny hoped it was true, but she couldn't be certain just yet.

"We've patrolled and searched the hills as much as possible, but we haven't found any sign of him." All three cats turned to see Frost padding toward them, with her brother, Wolf following just behind her. Their apprentices were right beside them, but Wolf motioned for them to get to their dens. Badger obeyed with a sigh of relief, while Fox rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed and irritated as she always seemed to be. But she looked back at Tiny just before ducking into the entrance of the apprentice's cave, relief and contentedness flooding her eyes and she flashed a smile at the blue-gray apprentice before disappearing into the den.

She hadn't really known the cats of the clowder for very long, but so far, she really liked Fox. She was kind as long as you were kind to her as well, but she also wasn't afraid to stand up for herself when it was necessary. The reddish tabby would definitely make a great member of the clowder once it came time.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he went back to the soft kittypet life." Wolf growled, not even trying to hide the aggravation in his amber gaze. "I knew it would only be a matter of time before that happened." Kittypet life? She hadn't known her mentor had once been a kittypet. But as she thought about it more, it made sense. The odd collar he wore around his neck, and his strange disappearances when he was out hunting or training with Tiny should've been an obvious sign to her.

"But we don't know that for sure," Frost replied, but even she looked unsure, and she kept shifting on her paws as if she were uncomfortable. "right?"

No cat answered her, and silence settled among all five cats. Even Tiny didn't know what to believe. It seemed very likely that Lynx would go back to his old life, but she couldn't find herself accepting the fact he would do such a thing. How could he just betray us like that when he has such an important destiny in the clans? Unless he wanted to keep his immortality for himself and refuses to come back and pass it on to me.

It wasn't a bad theory, but she didn't want to blurt it out to the mentors. What if they decided to kick her out of the clowder because they thought she would be worthless to them after all?

"We've done enough searching." Wolf declared, finally breaking the silence. "I'm not going to waste more time looking for that mouse-brain. He made his choice." And with that, the gray and white tom stalked away, leaving Wolf, Grass, and Mumble to make up their minds.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with my brother." Frost meowed. "We've been at this since yesterday upon Tiny's return with no luck and I don't want to repeat the same thing all over again at the twoleg place."

But what about my immortality? She wanted to ask. What about the future of the clans? But she kept her jaws shut and swallowed back a cry of distress. The dull ache in her head only seemed to get worse as panicked thoughts swarmed her mind.

"He'll turn up eventually," Grass assured, but Tiny could see past the confident glint in his eyes. Much deeper within his brilliant yellow-green gaze, there was doubt that was impossible for him to hide completely.

I sure hope he's right. Tiny thought, but even she knew the chance of Lynx returning was very slim.