(Finished!) Warriors Fanfiction: The Same Fate

Chapter 11

The following day, Alderfall was still disturbed by Waterleaf's comment. She didn't know what the medicine cat had meant when she had said that she saw a sign. Alderfall tried to ask what it meant, but the medicine cat had padded off into her den.

Alderfall's mind was whirling with thoughts: Will Shadow attack again? What did Waterleaf see? Was it something having to do with Shadow or me? And the question that popped into her head the most was: Is Smokestripe ok?

I think I should go see him. He might be waiting for me.

But what if it makes the cats suspicious of me?

Somehow, for some reason Alderfall couldn't find, the thought of seeing Smokestripe won. I'll go see him at sundown.

...

As the sun set below the treetops, Alderfall waited impatiently for the cats to go to sleep. The only cats in the warriors' den were Branchtail, Junipermist, Scurryclaw, Ratglow, Voleshine, who had been formerly Volepaw before Alderfall's kits' ceremonies, Thistletail, who had, in the same ceremony as Voleshine, been made warrior. The others were out of the dens, including Alderfall, who was just outside of the den. The only ones that were out were coming back from the dusk hunting and border patrol.

Eventually, all of the cats went into their dens. Finally!

As soon as Alderfall was sure that all of the cats were sound asleep, she stood up from where she sat and stalked quietly to the edge of the den. She heard a grunt from one of the sleeping cats. It had been Voleshine. Alderfall looked down, and realized that she was stepping on the warrior's tail. She slowly lifted her paw from his tail. His grunts turned into a sigh, then stopped. Alderfall sighed quietly in relief. She finished walking out of the den, checking for the rise and fall of the sleeping cats' bellies. As soon as she reached the end of the camp, she looked around again to see if any cats were up. When she saw no one in the moonlight, Alderfall resumed walking out. When she was out, she walked to the area where she had last seen Smokestripe. When she got to the place, pushing through the brambles, she whispered, "Smokestripe? Are you here?"

Alderfall finally got through the brambles, seeing the large clearing that showed where she had seen Smokestripe last. Alderfall heard a rustling in the trees, and suddenly a cat jumped out of one of the spiky pines. She thrashed and clawed for a second, but she realized that the cat had their claws sheathed, and they were just batting at her.

"Hey, Alderfall!" A familiar voice mewed.

Alderfall stopped thrashing. "Smokestripe?" Her eyes lit up, and she nuzzled him. "You're here! I thought you wouldn't be here."

Smokestripe ducked his head in embarrassment. "Well, ever since I met you, I came here often. On the third day, I decided I would make a den here, because I have nowhere else to go."

He waited for me? For some reason, Alderfall felt like that was the best thing in the world to hear that he came everyday to see her. She sat up. "Thank you."

"I'd do anything for you." He replied.

Alderfall was at a loss of words, and after a moment she edged away from him. His ears went back in sadness and his eyes clouded with worry and gloominess. "What? What's wrong?"

Alderfall searched for words. "It's just... You're a kittyp- I mean, a rogue." She sighed. "And I'm a clan cat."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I can't talk to you. It's against the warrior code to talk to other cats secretively who aren't in my clan."

"Why can't I come with you?"

I have thought of that. "I don't know if Dawnstar will accept you."

"Can we at least try?" Smokestripe walked to the root of a tree. He yowled in pain a moment later.

"What happened?" Alderfall rushed to Smokestripe's side. She looked down, seeing a large abandoned rabbit burrow, with one of Smokestripe's legs stuck in it. Alderfall gasped. His leg was twisted in a weird angle, and Smokestripe was wincing in pain.

"C-can you still walk without putting that paw down?" Alderfall lifted his leg out of the hole.

"Yeah, I think so." He replied.

He started walking, but it was fairly slow. Alderfall directed him out of the brambles, moving them aside to let him through. As soon as they were out, Alderfall helped him move faster.

...

Eventually, Alderfall neared the camp. She licked Smokestripe's forehead reassuringly.

They entered the camp, and Alderfall tried to hide her worry. One of the cats woke from their sleep. Luckily it wasn't one of the hostile ones. Nightshade came out. For once in a few moons she was happy that Nightshade had been the first one to see her.

Once I tell her that he needs help she can't judge me because she had seen kittypets and probably had made friends with some of them.

Nightshade came closer. "It's you!" She whispered excitedly.

She knows him? Alderfall suddenly filled with jealousy, especially when Nightshade immediately helped him.

They entered the medicine den, and Waterleaf came out of her den with her eyes filled with sleep. "What's wrong?"

Alderfall replied. "He fell into a rabbit hole." She glanced at his injured leg, which was now swelling. Waterleaf looked at it as well, and she immediately signaled to one of the nests for them to set the tom down. Alderfall and Nightshade immediately obeyed.

Waterleaf brushed her tail over his leg, and meowed, "I need you two to go out. I need to focus. This injury is already swelling so I need to treat it now so that it will heal correctly."

Nightshade left, but Alderfall wouldn't budge. Waterleaf seethed. "I said go." she mewed beseechingly.

"No, I'm not leaving him." She replied seriously. She saw Smokestripe's eyes light up. Waterleaf glanced at his face, and she slightly smiled. "Ok. But you need to help me get the herbs from my shelf, and if I don't have one you will need to go get it."

"I'll go near the sun-drown place if it means he will be okay." Alderfall mumbled to herself. Waterleaf must have heard her, because she smiled again. Alderfall's ears became hot with embarrassment. It's true, though.

"Get me poppy seeds, comfrey, stinging nettle, and bindweed." Waterleaf demanded.

Alderfall rushed to the shelf, and piled comfrey, stinging nettle, and bindweed. "How many poppy seeds?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Three."

She grabbed the poppy seeds first and rushed over to Waterleaf.

The medicine cat dropped the poppy seeds into Smokestripe's mouth. "Now I need the comfrey, stinging nettle, and bindweed. Oh, and a stick."

Alderfall rushed to the pile of stinging nettle and comfrey. She grabbed the stinging nettle carefully, and padded over to Waterleaf. Alderfall grabbed the comfrey next, and returned once more to Waterleaf. The medicine cat chewed the two herbs up into a paste, and plastered it onto the broken leg. Then she wrapped some cobweb that had been in the corner around the paste, and wrapped that in bindweed. Then she propped a stick on the bindweed and wrapped a little more bindweed on the stick. "Get me a few catchweed burrs."

Alderfall went to the shelf slower and calmer, because the only reason to put on catchweed burrs on something is to keep it in place when you're done with the operation. She carefully picked four of them up, and padded back to Waterleaf and Smokestripe.

Waterleaf pressed them onto the bindweed. "Everything's done. Now he just needs for the poppy seeds to wear off." Waterleaf mewed.

Alderfall really wanted to stay with Smokestripe for the night. Waterleaf looked at her and meowed calmly, "You can stay here with him if you'd like."

Alderfall nodded gratefully, and curled up in the nest that was only a mouse-length away from Smokestripe. She heard Smokestripe purr, and they both soon gave way to sleep.