Bloodpool's Whispers

Chapter 4

"What do you want, Crowstar," The WindClan leader repeated."My medicine cat has had a vision. We know about the sickness in your camp. We would like to know if there's anything we can do to help," she mewed. "Except give you our prey, of course," she purred, humor in her mew.Bloodpaw could visibly see the tension leave Vulturestar's eyes and muscles."Come on. We can talk in my den," Vulturestar nodded, clearly relieved.The RiverClan patrol padded after the WindClan leader into her den. "Now," Vulturestar began. "Tell me what you know.""I'll let the medicine cat who had the vision tell you," Crowstar mewed, glancing at Bloodpaw.Vulturestar blinked in shock, before looking calmly at Bloodpaw. "Go on," she mewed.Bloodpaw began his story once again, leaving out his special powers. When he finished, he saw a visible look of shock on Vulturestar's face after he described, word for word, the conversation she had had with Silverlight."How did you know all that?" Vulturestar asked."StarClan told me," Bloodpaw replied, relieved that he was at least telling help the truth. His powers were given to him by StarClan after all."Before Bloodpaw had his vision, we were planning on attacking," Crowstar murmured."What?" Vulturestar hissed, her fur bristling in anger."Before Bloodpaw's vision! We just want to help now!" Crowstar said again. "The last two times our border patrols clashed, two of our warriors were hurt badly. One for each skirmish. The first time, my mate died," Crowstar choked out the last sentence, sorrow glazing her eyes."I'm sorry, Crowstar," Vulturestar murmured. "Dawndapple was a brave warrior. He brought so much honor to your Clan. I didn't understand at first why he trusted a loner so much, but I'm glad he gave you a chance. You are a good leader.""Thank you, Vulturestar," Crowstar murmured in reply. "But please, feel free to send a cat to tell us if you need anything. They will not be challenged.""I am grateful for your help, Crowstar. I do have one favor to ask," she mewed. "My medicine cats need help. May this apprentice," she flicked her tail towards Bloodpaw. "Stay here for a few sunrises to help my medicine cats? This sickness is something we've never seen before. I'm going to send some of my cats to ThunderClan to ask if they've seen it before.""Of course, Vulturestar. But we need to tell you something first."Bloodpaw looked at Dewpelt and Nightmist questioning if they should tell the WindClan leader about his powers."Go ahead.""Moonclaw, can you leave for a moment? I'm sorry, but this is something that we're trying not to tell any cat unless we have to. Except for the leaders. This affects all the Clans," Crowstar asked. Moonclaw dipped his head, and left the den, going to sit with the WindClan deputy. "Bloodpaw has a strange power. He can walk in other cats' thoughts, and tell who and where they're hurt before even seeing them."Bloodpaw listened as his leader explained the prophecy to Vulture-star. "That's how I found out about the sickness," Bloodpaw explained when Crowstar had finished. "I entered your senses through your memories." He couldn't exactly describe what he felt. It came so naturally to him, he just didn't know how to describe it. "I'm sorry for what I did, but we just wanted to see if we were right to start a battle."We didn't want needless bloodshed if we could help it," he finished quietly, hanging his head in shame."I forgive you, Bloodpaw. You were doing what a medicine cat does. Helping," Vulturestar mewed quietly."He can still stay with you," Crowstar meowed.Vulturestar nodded her thanks as Bloodpaw's clanmates left the WindClan camp."What should I do?" Bloodpaw asked as soon as Moonclaw's tail whisked out of sight."You should go and talk with Silverlight and Eaglepaw," Vulturestar replied nodding her head before she padded over to Roseclaw.Bloodpaw pricked his ears to find the medicine den. When he had entered Vulturestar's senses, he couldn't fully tell where the medicine den was."Eaglepaw! Get more chervil!" Silverlight called."Coming!" The gray apprentice called around his mouthful of herbs.Bloodpaw spun around towards the den, and raced over. "How can I help?" He asked, sticking his head into the den. "I know all of RiverClan's herbs. I'm sure I could find some here," he added.Silverlight whirled around in surprise. "Bloodpaw! I didn't know you had stayed behind!" She nodded before continuing. "Could you look after our patients while we look for herbs?" She asked. "We're almost out of chervil!"Bloodpaw nodded before padding over to the cat he knew as Runningcloud. He leaned down and pressed his ear to the warrior's chest. He could hear the rasping breath that filled Runningcloud's chest. He searched his mind for any other herbs that would help with breathing. He licked the top of the tabby warriors' head, hoping to sooth his tensed muscles.Bloodpaw's chest had tightened with these cats' sickness, but he eased the pain by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The tightness in his chest eased, and he opened his eyes again. He padded around the cats, checking each warrior's breathing. A cat near the back of the den was barely breathing.Bloodpaw chewed up what was left of the chervil and spread it around the warrior's mouth. The cat instinctively licked it off, and Bloodpaw repeated the step until finally the herb was gone. "What can I do?" He whispered to himself.Soon, Silverlight and Eaglepaw came back with more Chervil. "Poor Daisypetal," Silverlight murmured to the cat Bloodpaw had given the chervil to. "You didn't deserve this.""She's barely breathing," Bloodpaw whispered."Oh, StarClan, what did we do to deserve this?" Silverlight whispered so Bloodpaw could barely hear her. She hung her head in defeat. "It's over.""It's not over yet!" Bloodpaw snapped. "She's still breathing, isn't she? It's not over until she's in StarClan! You will not give up! What you will do, is send someone to the other Clans to ask for help!""I know, Bloodpaw! But what can we do? The herbs we know of aren't working! We can't do anything else! What do you expect me to do? Drag down StarClan by their tails and demand they heal my clanmates?" Silverlight snapped back, sorrow glistening in her eyes. "I don't know what else to do," she murmured."You can go to ThunderClan, SkyClan, and ShadowClan and ask if they've ever seen this before. If they have, ask if there's a cure. As soon as you get the cure, get back here," Bloodpaw told her. "Go to ThunderClan first. I'll stay here."Silverlight nodded, and stood up, Eaglepaw following her lead. "Thank you Bloodpaw. You're a blessing from StarClan themselves," she mewed before racing over the moor toward the ThunderClan border, Eaglepaw close behind.If this power is a blessing, then what would a curse be like? He asked silently as he watched them disappear over the hill. He padded back into the den, and carefully watched the sick cats.The sun was rising over the moor by the time Silverlight and Eaglepaw returned. "What happened? What did they say?" Bloodpaw asked."Meadow saffron," Silverlight said."What?""Meadow saffron is what caused the sickness. The cure is dandelion root," Eaglepaw explained around a mouthful of herbs. "We need to give it to them before the poison fully sets in.""Then we need to give it to the sick cats before it's too late!" Bloodpaw replied. He raced back to the medicine den, taking a piece of the dandelion root with him. He chewed it up and spread it along Daisypetal's mouth. She licked it off, and Bloodpaw kept applying it as Silverlight and Eaglepaw gave the herb to the others.Soon, their breathing steadied, and wasn't as raspy. Bloodpaw felt the tightness in his chest ease as the herbs worked. He leaned down and pressed his ear to Daisypetal's chest, hearing her breath change from shallow to steady. He relaxed as the medicine den was filled the rhythmic breathing of sleeping cats."I'm glad they're alright," Bloodpaw mewed into Silverlight's ear after he picked his way across the den."I am too," Silverlight mewed back, looking tenderly over her clanmates."May I go with you to find the meadow saffron?" Bloodpaw asked.Silverlight nodded, leading the way out of camp. She described what the deadly plant looked like as they padded along. Soon, they came to a patch of the purple flowers, and they carefully pulled up their roots. They buried the flowers deep underground, and when they finished patting the dirt on top of it, they went in search of more."So what did you want to talk about?" Silverlight's mew broke the silence between them."How did you know?" He asked."Cats don't usually offer to go and help get rid of a deadly plant," Silverlight purred."You're right, Silverlight. I didn't offer just because I wanted to help. I do though," he added with a pointed look. "I'm sure Vulturestar will tell you this soon, but I will just in case," he mewed. He told the medicine cat about the prophecy and his special powers. He knew the other medicine cats would find out regardless of wether he kept it a secret or not. It was something that affected all the Clans, for StarClan's sake!Silverlight stared at him in shock. "What?" She mumbled. "If it affects all the Clans, why didn't StarClan send it to all the medicine cats?""Maybe not only the hero comes from RiverClan, but the danger itself will too," Bloodpaw suggested. "But for now, it's nothing to worry about. When the Dark Forest attacked, it was a few seasons after Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovewing had discovered their powers. They had plenty of time to learn how to control them," he added, padding alongside the gray medicine cat."We can only hope you didn't come along too late," Silverlight fretted.Bloodpaw was startled by the sentence. It had never occurred to him that he might have learned about his power too late. What if the evil StarClan had told them about was already here? He shook out his pelt, shoving his worries to the edge of his mind.Soon, the two medicine cats were back in the camp. They padded across the camp to the medicine den to check on the cats."They're all doing much better!" Eaglepaw purred."Thank StarClan!" Silverlight sighed with relief."So, if they're doing better, does that mean I should leave?" Bloodpaw asked."I'm afraid so." Vulturestar's voice made Bloodpaw jump in surprise. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to startle you."Bloodpaw dismissed the apology with a flick of his tail."You have been a great help to us, Bloodpaw. WindClan is in your debt," she mewed, dipping her head."I-it was nothing," he stammered, embarrassed by the respect the WindClan leader gave to an apprentice from another Clan. "I just did what any medicine cat would do," he mumbled, scuffing his paws in embarrassment."Bloodpaw, you saved our Clan," Silverlight murmured in his ear. "How can you call that nothing?""It felt like nothing," he replied."Roseclaw and I will escort you back to your camp, along with a piece of prey from our fresh-kill pile to show our gratitude," Vulturestar told him."N-no! I couldn't take your prey! You need it more than we do," he added, realizing how he had spoken to the powerful cat."Very well then," she nodded, leading him out into the camp. She waved her deputy over with her tail. "Roseclaw," she said when the deputy had reached them. "We are escorting Bloodpaw back to his camp.""What? Why? He's an apprentice! Why are both of us escorting him?" She replied, shocked."Because he helped saved our clanmates!" Vulturestar hissed back.Roseclaw lashed her tail in frustration, mumbling agreement."Y-you don't have to," Bloodpaw stammered."Yes we do," Vulturestar replied. "Besides, I want to give my thanks to Crowstar for letting me borrow her apprentice."Bloodpaw nodded, embarrassed, as Vulturestar and Roseclaw led him out of camp.They had reached the border WindClan shared with RiverClan, and Roseclaw was watching Bloodpaw with undisguised hostility. Bloodpaw's fur pricked with nervousness under her glare.Vulturestar cuffed her deputy over the ears with her tail, and gave her a stern look."So..." Bloodpaw started, breaking the awkward silence. "Should we wait for a patrol, or..." he trailed off."You're a part of RiverClan, so it should be okay," Vulturestar replied.Bloodpaw nodded before leading the two WindClan cats over the border towards the camp. He looked up to see that the moon was rising over their heads. It was slowly going back to a full moon. Soon, it would be time for his first gathering."I feel like we should have waited until morning. I mean, Crowstar won't even be awake..." he told them."Why are you so nervous, Bloodpaw?" Vulturestar asked."Well, for starters, I'm an apprentice traveling with a rival Clan's leader and deputy," he started. Roseclaw was glaring at him again. "Roseclaw keeps glaring at me for some reason, and i'm taking two cats from a rival Clan onto my Clan's territory. Besides," he continued. "There's that thing that Crowstar told you about. Wouldn't you be nervous?" He asked."I guess I would," Vulturestar purred.Bloodpaw purred with amusement as the camp came into view. "Thank you Vulturestar," Bloodpaw mewed as he dipped his head in respect."No, thank you, Bloodpaw. You saved my Clan."Streamtread, a gray tabby she-cat stood guard at the entrance to the camp. Her fur bristled at the sight of the WindClan warriors until she saw Bloodpaw. "Bloodpaw! It's good to see you! I heard about your stay in WindClan," she mewed."They treated me well. The problem has been resolved," he announced in reply."Greetings, Streamtread," Vulturestar meowed, waving her tail in greeting. "I would like to speak with Crowstar, if she doesn't mind.""Of course, Vulturestar," the she-cat responded, leading the three cats into the camp before padding over to Crowstar's den.Bloodpaw sat silently with the WindClan cats as they waited for Crowstar to emerge from her den."Greetings, Vulturestar," she yawned. "What brings you here so late?" She asked."I've come to return your apprentice, and to thank you personally for helping us," Vulturestar replied."Of course. I was glad we could help.""We shall be on our way. I'm sorry we woke you.""Oh no, no, no!" Crowstar exclaimed. "You shouldn't travel back to your camp this late! Wait until morning! We have some extra nests in the warriors den you can use," she offered."Thank you," Vulturestar responded, dipping her head. "We won't be a bother." She started to walk towards a den, until she realized she had no ideas where the den was.Bloodpaw showed her, and once the two cats were settled, he padded back to Crowstar."I'm glad we could help them," he mewed softly."Me too." She snuck a glance at the medicine cat. "You know, you're going to make an amazing medicine cat, right?""I'm not so sure. I didn't know what to do. I was terrified that one of the cats would die! I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of pressure yet," he replied."Of course you're not. You're only an apprentice. But you have two mentors right now who'll help you. You'll be fine," she mewed gazing at the stars. "Which one do you think is Dawndapple?" She added, breaking the silence."That one," Bloodpaw replied immediately, pointing with his tail to the brightest one."Why do think that?""It's the brightest. Just like Dawndapple," he mewed. "I didn't know him for long, but from what I did know, he was a bright, optimistic cat, who always tried his hardest.""You really think so?" She turned her bright green gaze on him."I know so," he replied.