☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 26

𝒫𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

"As you may know, Lightningstar has fallen ill and I will be taking his place until he is well enough to lead again. I have also chosen Cloudysky as my temporary deputy." Wolfcall meowed.

Petalwish made sure she stayed hidden in the undergrowth when she finally arrived. As afraid as she was of being caught, she didn't want to miss the Clan gathering, even if it meant going against her leader's orders.

Maybe I really am disloyal to Rainstar. She thought sadly. Will I ever be able to rejoin my Clan? She hoped so. It had only been a few days and she already missed the life of a clan cat. Living outside the camp was so lonely, and she was starving.

This sparked some mews of protest from within the crowd. "But she's a healer, is she not?" Called one.

"She was probably appointed because she's Wolfcall's kin." Petalwish flinched as she recognized Strikestorm's voice.

"Yes, she may be a healer, but there isn't anything code that states a healer cannot be appointed as a deputy," Wolfcall answered.

"As long as you feel she would be the best candidate for the position, I don't see anything wrong with it." Frost agreed with a shrug.

"How cute." Badgerclaw purred in amusement sending an uneasy ripple through the exiled she-cat's fur. "A soft healer with dreams of leading a clan." Cloudysky hissed silently in reply and gave the well-muscled deputy a cold glare that Petalwish had never seen her give any cat before. Perhaps getting promoted to second-in-command gave her confidence that she hadn't yet reached before.

"One of our apprentices, Sunpaw, has also become a warrior for his brave efforts to save our clan's kits when they unexpectedly went missing." The leader went on, ignoring the two deputies and clearly trying to change the subject. "He goes by Sunstreak now."

"Sunstreak! Sunstreak!" The cats cheered.

"I've noticed the Clowder is down a cat." Sharpswipe nodded toward space where Tiny, one of the training apprentices, stood alone. Where has Lynx gone?" The StreamClan deputy asked.

"He hasn't been feeling well unfortunately so he decided not to participate in tonight's gathering." Answered Grass, though to Petalwish, he didn't seem so sure of himself. But Petalwish shrugged the thought off. Lynx was always making odd excuses ever since Bounce had passed on his immortality.

"Has the Clowder received any messages from SpiritClan by any chance?" Asked Moonstar. "It's been a while since anything has been reported." The orange healer's ears perked up at that. The leader had a point. It had been many moons since any visions or dreams had been mentioned at all.

"No. SpiritClan has been silent for a long while now," Frost replied. "But perhaps that's a good thing. That may mean we don't have anything to worry about in the future ahead of us."

There were many murmurs of agreement among the gathered cats.

"Does any cat know why FlameClan is absent?" She recognized her clanmate, Stoneshade's familiar voice, kind and gentle as always. It made Petalwish miss her clan even more.

All three leaders shook their heads and an eerie silence fell over the cats for a long moment before Rainstar finally broke it. "Well, I guess nothing interesting happened after all, then. We'll be going now." The leader bounded down the flower-covered hill and toward the crowd of cats below. With a wave of her tail, CliffClan was summoned to follow her away from the lush and hilly fields and toward the jagged mountains ahead. Toward CliffClan territory.

Petalwish held her breath as they passed, trying to make herself even smaller in her hiding place. She let out a sigh of relief once they were a decent distance away.

"I think StreamClan will be taking our leave as well, and you should get back to Lightningstar, Wolfcall." Moonstar mewed. Both he and the deputy padded side-by-side down the hilltop until they reached their clanmates. Petalwish poked her head out. The nearest cats to her were the healers, who usually hung around just behind the crowd of warriors.

"Psst. Swallowflower!" She whispered, calling to the nearest healer.

The tom spun around, looking ready to pounce. His fur bristled along his spine, his tail fluffed up, and his pale-yellow eyes were narrowed in fierce determination. Swallowflower was never one to talk much, but he always looked irritated and she was told by Cloudysky that he had quite a temper.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed. "Come to persuade us to disobey our leaders?" He growled. "Go back to where you came from, exile. We don't want you here." He turned away as quickly as he had spun around to face her.

"Wait. I'm loyal, I promise!" She mewed softly. "Whatever Rainstar told you, it isn't as bad as you think." The old healer stayed silent with his back still to her. He didn't even flick an ear as she spoke. After a few moments of silence, she found herself uttering one more desperate word, "Please..."

"If you leave now, I won't tell any cat you were here." He whispered back to her, still facing the direction of his leader, who was gathering the other cats of BreezeClan.

With a sigh, she got to her paws, still trying her best to stay hidden. "Goodbye, Swallowflower." And without another word, she slunk off into the night, back toward CliffClan territory.

She was about halfway back to the familiar rocky landscape of her own territory when faint mewling caught her attention. Her gaze snapped up and her ears were pricked. Was her mind playing tricks on her?

But then she heard it again, high pitched and faint. There were kits here! She lifted her head, sticking her nose into the crisp night air. There it was, still sweet and milky, as memorable as the scent of fresh catmint.

There they were. Just barely in the dim moonlight, she could see them, sheltered only by a few branches and some patches of moss here and there.

Where in SpiritClan is your mother? The healer thought to herself.

"Mama?" A tiny voice squeaked as she approached them. She was met with a pair of round yellow eyes. The two other kits at his side blinked awake as well, revealing their desperate gazes to her.

Petalwish glanced around, searching for any sign of a relative to the tiny kits.

There! Lying in the grass, she thought she could just scarcely glimpse what seemed like fur. She crept toward it with soft pawsteps. It was in fact a she-cat lying on her side. But as the healer got closer, she didn't see any movement from the figure at all.

She was dead.