Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 3- Golden Fire

Chapter Eight

 Past the trees, the three cats congregated on the  half-moonlit shore. In the early December night, Bumblebounce shivered profusely and his teeth chattered as he listened to Mosscurl and Lionsinge conversing.

 "Hasn't the Fever made everyone on edge?" Mosscurl sighed. "I was asking Rootsnag if WoodClan are more vulnerable to these sicknesses, but he can't remember the last time his Clan were affected like this."

 "It is rather unfortunate. Usually a cure would be found by now." Lionsinge agreed. "This must be a special disease."

 Bumblebounce waited until the two older cats were nodding in agreement, then timidly inched in. "How is Ambereyes?" he asked Lionsinge. "Is she still nervous?"

 "She's still on edge." Lionsinge confirmed sadly. "I think Blondekit's little adventure scared her half to death."

 "What adventure?" Mosscurl asked, tilting one ear back. "I don't remember any kits sneaking out of camp."

 "Blondekit didn't sneak out of camp. Ambereyes said she broke into the healing den and ate some herbs. It made her quite sick, too." Lionsinge recounted. 

 "Really? I don't remember such an incident." Mosscurl said loftily. "But yes, she did make it all the way to the healers' hollow. It was because she had a toothachache after eating food that was too hard for her. So, I gave her some Peonypaw's Petal to soothe her. But it made her sleep like a stone, and Ambereyes was furious at me for doing so."

 "That's not what she told me. She said Pumpkinpelt was showing her the herbs." the golden tom looked suspicious as he weighed in his mate's side of the story.

 "You know how she can be, making up all kinds of suspicions. Pumpkinpelt was just there because of a ...deep cut on her paw-pad. Yes, that's why she was there. It was quite painful, and she must have been hanging around the den for a while." Mosscurl said, a little bit too swiftly.

 "But Pumpkinpelt went on the dusk patrol right after. Wouldn't she have stayed in camp with a cataplasm or something?" Lionsinge asked curiously. Mosscurl said nothing, narrowing her eyes in response. In a rare moment, the stars aligned and Bumblebounce shared a look with Lionsinge. They both were equivalently as perplexed at the healer's patched story.

 "Pumpkinpelt did seem irritable. She must have hurt her paw." Bumblebounce contributed, unsteadily defending his friend. Once he ran out of verbal ammo, he decided to switch strategies. "What was that she was saying yesterday? About the time?"

 "Yes," Lionsinge was successfully thrown off, tilting his muzzle to the night sky in thought. "She said that sometime in leaf-bare the 'humans' start another year. She said this one would be special- 2020, was it?"

 "She said it was going to be a great year." Mosscurl confirmed. Before she could say anything further to bury her suspicious mishap, a cluster of the curtain of trees shook slightly as a larger cat shoved their way through. In a moment, Saffronsmolder was stepping out into the moonlight. He glanced around the shore for a moment before locating the healer.

 "Mosscurl!" he called, his voice lacking the usual diplomatic cheerfulness. If anything, what he said next sounded almost ominous. "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

 "Sure." the she-cat said shortly as she stood up, trotting away urgently. What's Saffronsmolder so serious about? Bumblebounce wondered as he watched the GroveClan deputy motion for them to retreat to a cluster of boulders on the shore.

 "Those boulders..." Lionsinge said softly after a while, startling the younger tom. "That's where Pikastar and Tawnyhawk used to sit after gatherings. Lemmingleap and Adderlash would always hang around there, too. They were such a happy family."

 "Oh." Bumblebounce nodded, unsure if his friend(?) was even looking at the back of his head. He had no way of knowing if Lionsinge had walked away, but tried to strike up conversation with the latest thing on his mind. "Saffronsmolder... He's nice, isn't he?" the brown cat chuckled shakily.

 "Yes. Daisyshine was great friends with him, and so is her sister Lilyspring. They'll both be very rational and pleasant leaders one day. I'm surprised he isn't talking to her right now, assuming the leaders are done speaking." Bumblebounce turned around just as Lionsinge turned his gaze towards the cats. "But why was he so serious?" the golden tom wondered.

 "Maybe he wants to talk to Mosscurl about the Bloodfever, or the hostages GroveClan is keeping?" Bumblebounce guessed.

 "Hmm." Lionsinge granted. Forunately, Bumblebounce's mental conspiracy was cut off as Mosscurl appeared over the dunes. His worries, which had initially subsided at the sight of his best friend, now resurfaced tenfold when he observed her expression.

 "What's wrong?" Lionsinge stood up, tilting his head quizzically as the healer drew closer.

 "Saffronsmolder... He doesn't want to see me anymore. He said it's because of the tensions between our Clans." Mosscurl stated, not letting her visual bitterness become audible. "I thought he was saying we should deploy a hiatus until this virus subsides and our kin aren't at each others' throats, but he made it clear he doesn't want to see me again."

 "Maybe he thinks there's someone better for you? Or he's busy with all his responsibilities as the deputy of a Clan that seems to hate itself?" Bumblebounce tried to sound comforting, but it just made his voice raspy.

 "No." Mosscurl said with certainty. "It's me. I'm the problem. He said I've been acting weird, even more so than when we got together. What's that supposed to mean? There's no reason for any cat to think I'm acting weird!" she hissed, turning to Lionsinge. "Right?"

 "Well," the golden tom cleared his throat, then smiled slightly to sweeten the bitter medicine he was administering. "You did just lie about a poisoned kit. My daughter, and your niece as well. If something shady was going on here, we have evidence to believe that you would cover it up."

 "That..." Mosscurl trailed off, then sunk her claws into the sand. With her ears flattened and amber eyes blazing, she looked as if now, a moon later, she was ready to face the MireClan trio who had attacked her in GroveClan territory. "You're just saying that because your sister did!" she spat at her brother-in-law. "You know Goldengaze doesn't like me, so why even bother? I know you two and Finchflame talk about me all the time. You aren't exactly sneaking away with it!"

 "I... We aren't in cahoots, I can assure you." Lionsinge said quickly. "This has nothing to do with what my family thinks of you and Ambereyes. I was just going off of-"

 "Then why don't you go tell Parsleystar and Twistertail and Lilyspring how much of a law-abiding citizen I am?" Mosscurl pointedly lashed her tail at the trees.

 "Um... " Lionsinge took slightly longer than usual to find an anti-inflammatory response. "I'll think about it." he took to his paws and shuffled away towards the chatter that filtered through the foliage. Only Mosscurl and Bumblebounce were exposed on the shore now, with one staring intensely as the other licked a paw desperately.

 "You're around Squirrelstrike and Mousefall a lot. What do they think of me?" the healer demanded.

 "I don't really talk to them as much nowadays. I've grown out of their guardianship, and we've found... Contrasting views as to our history. I wouldn't know." Bumblebounce reported loyally, still not daring to look into her now-fierce eyes.

 "Alright then." Mosscurl hissed as she cast a scouring eye around the deserted coliseum they now stood in. "What do you think of me?"

 "I..." Bumblebounce fumbled for words. "Um, you're really good at talking to cats. You really could get away with a lot."

 That seemed to pacify, but not repel. Mosscurl turned away ominously, angling her ears towards the gathering as she mumbled.

 "True," she mused, barely audible as she slithered away. "True."