Cursed Division - Kindred Whispers book 2)

Epilogue

Midnight's paws dragged behind her, her chest heaving with effort. Exhaustion creeped at her limbs. It had been a long trek through the harsh barren snowy lands, leaving the Kindness hollow. Then she has trekked through endless forest, the No Furred Creature's territory, through the city, then through some moorland and more forest. Finally, she had made it to the grasslands that surrounded PeaceLeaf and DeathBlood Forest.
The triumph of saving The Kindreds was something she'd always feel proud of. Now with the tribe saved, her duty was to PeaceLeaf once more.

As she was walking through the tall lush grass, a scent hit her nose. An acrid, pungent, and rank smell. With a jolt, she realized in the direction of PeaceLeaf Forest, a hazy mist hung above the forest, smokey and dark.
Fire! She realized with horror. PeaceLeaf had caught on fire! It must have been from lightning because the ground under-paw was damp and muddy. Suddenly afraid for the place she called home and everyone she cared about, she bolted torwards the forest, exhaustion and achy limbs forgotten. Why couldn't she have gotten home sooner? What if half the forest cats had been devoured by the flames?

Her lungs screaming for air, she burst through the charred bushes at the border and skidded to a halt and glanced around. There was no sign of life. But the trees had been burned jet black and debris scattered the forest floor, soot flaking the once lush grass. Her heart thumping wildly, she bounded on, her gaze darting to and fro.
What if Leandro's hurt? She thought miserably. What if my kits are hurt?
Determination sparked through her paws like lightning and she pushed on and on, tearing through thorn bushes and leaping over fallen branches until the camp came in view. She could see the bushes and fronds that surrounded the camp had been badly burnt and a tree lay in the clearing. Nonetheless, she burst through, eyes wide and pelt bristling. The fallen tree lay behind the healer's den, but hadn't done any harmful damage to the camp itself. But there was still scattered debris among the clearing and she could see remnants of where the fire had scorched. She sighed in relief. Nothing was too damaged. Everything would be repaired in time.

She was so distracted by the destruction, she didn't notice all the cats huddled in the clearing. They all glanced at her with surprise and awe. Then there were exclamations of joy. A familiar golden furred tomcat bounded up to her, slamming into her and purring hard, covering her in licks.
"Leandro!" she exclaimed. She returned his greeting and lapped his ears, brushing her tail down his spine.
Then other cats began to crowd her, all the familiar faces of the camp residents. But hanging back, she noticed a few cats she'd never seen before. But all stared at her with the same excitement.

The air around her began to thicken and heat up with the sounds of chattering and moving pelts.
"Midnight, it's so good to see you!" Shimmer bellowed.
"We are glad to see you home safe!" Hawk added.
"The heavens have ensured your safety." Althea murmured.
"What happened? How was your quest?" another cat asked.
The questions came piling in and the crowded feeling became so overwhelming until she felt like she'd drown in the mass of cats.
The commanding yowl of the PeaceLeaf Guardian made everyone turn their head and the muttering died down.
"Give her some space!" The Guardian ordered. She began to push her way through and cats began to back away to make room. Midnight let out a gasp of relief, grateful for the Guardian.

She waited until the PeaceLeaf leader halted in front of her and dipped her head.
"In the stars name," Midnight mewed in shock, glancing around. "What happened?"
The PeaceLeaf leader gazed at her solemnly, her troubled glowing gaze raking the burned forest and the crowded camp. "It's a long story, Midnight. First, I'd like to hear about your quest."
Shifting awkwardly and aware of the watchful eyes, she began to tell the story from start to beginning, to the part where she'd fought the evil city cats to the part where she'd killed Midnight Rose and saved the tribe. All the while, Leandro pressed up protectively against her, soothing her with his tail when she told the most disturbing parts.
"Well I'm glad it went well," the Guardian purred. "It seems the stars have chosen you well as I've always believed. Without you, so much would be lost. And I'm glad with your help, cats were saved, even though some were lost along the way."

Midnight murmured agreement. She felt guilty about how Ollie, HoneyFlower, and Rosie had died but at least in the end, everyone had been saved and the tribe could live safe and comfortably. Meanwhile, the Guardian told the story of the fire that had plagued PeaceLeaf so recently and the wrath CrookedTail had caused while she was gone. She could barley believe some of the stuff she was hearing. CrookedTail had killed his own kit, his mother, his brother's mate, as well as Hawk's mate. The terror and betrayal he had caused PeaceLeaf by siding with DeathBlood and taking on the curse was bone chilling. She knew the tom was bad news but the fact that he would go as far as he did made her shudder.
Crow was crouched outside the healer's den, his pelt badly scarred and torn. She could tell CrookedTail put up quite a fight. She was sure, that CrookedTail would have never let his fury rest until he was dead. She hoped now, everything could go back to normal and the forest would grow once more.

Once Greetings were exchanged, some cats parted off to rest in random spots of the clearing, others were sent out to find any prey that might have survived the fire and were ordered to leave the territory is necessary to find food. Midnight was told the extra cats in the clearing were some of the private cats who lived in their own part of the territory either alone or with their families. But they had all fled due to their homes being destroyed by the ferocious flames.
Even Micah, Alena, and Tobias, her kits had settled in the camp, not leaving Midnight's side for a long while.

She gathered her family and settled outside the fighter's den and chatted with them until the sun began to sink below the horizon. With the new days ahead, brought even brighter dawns. The sky began to clear slowly, the haziness of the fire overcome by heavenly light and at night, countless stars twinkled happily, as if the heavens approved how everything turned out.
Cats from all around PeaceLeaf Forest volunteered to help rebuild and repair as much as PeaceLeaf as they could until its natural growth returned. The PeaceLeaf Guardian had went to the heavens to find out any new information about their future but she had been told little. All she said was that the spirits and angels had a brighter aura than she'd ever seen them and they looked at her approvingly. That was enough reassurance for Midnight.

That future was a peaceful one at that. After a few seasons, the forest was almost completely lush once more by the help of rain and good weather. DeathBlood had been causing trouble, but nothing more than skirmishes. Nothing Althea and the new appointed official healer, MoonPebble couldn't fix. Day by day, the tragic story of CrookedTail was slowly forgotten or not spoken of at all. His impact on the forest was nothing more than a bad speck of dust in the wind. No one wanted to remember him and it was agreed to let his memory fade and let his story be forgotten as PeaceLeaf didn't want such a reputation. But that didn't stop DeathBlood from talking about it during skirmishes. Many of those cats were curious on what had happened to the disappeared CrookedTail. There was no way anyone would ever get that information. It'd be left to those ragged and stinky cats to wonder.
There were even rumors that DeathBlood had a new leader, a broad and strong black tabby named, ShadowStalk. Ruling alongside him was PeaceLeaf outcast, Jinx, who'd been exiled for plotting against PeaceLeaf and taking on a DeathBlood cat as her mate. With two powerful and bad cats in power, Midnight knew it was only a matter of time before they caused worse trouble to PeaceLeaf.

As of now, the forest was quiet. Midnight was crouched down beside a bracken, watching her squirrel nibble at something in its tiny paws, unaware of her slinking closer and closer to it. Then with a skillful lunge, she pounced and landed neatly on it and sank her jaws in the back of its neck before of course scurry out of he grasp. She felt the life drain from of as it fell limp in her jaws.
Good. She thought, satisfied. Leandro will enjoy a nice plump squirrel. The stars knows he's been lazing around for days, taking advantage of this sunshine.
She purred with amusement as she headed back through the trees, remembering how one of Leandro's favorite activities was to sun bathe and nap.
He wasn't getting old yet but there was a noticeable change in both her and her mate's speed these days. Their bodies began to ache more and cats would joke they complained like old cats. It was true. They were getting no younger.
But that wouldn't stop them from serving PeaceLeaf until their dying breath.

Midnight halted for a brief moment and glanced up at the canopy, where sunshine dappled through.
I promise I'll continue to serve PeaceLeaf as long as there is breath in my body. She vowed. And if you ever need me on another quest or to save more cats, it'd be a blessing too. I may be getting older but my thrill for adventure will never cease if it means doing good in this world.
As if in response, the sun seemed suddenly brighter and the rays began to dance around slightly.
Delighted, Midnight trotted through the forest and headed back to the camp.
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THE END

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