Sparks of A Fire

Chapter 36

A lean shape of a young she-cat pelted through the snow, her pawsteps were so silent that not even prey heard her.

She panted heavily, her sides heaving and her limbs shaking from both exhaustion and fatigue. A smaller, pure white kitten stumbled along on shaking paws. Her fur was dappled with cream and her blue eyes gleamed like sapphire in the moonlight.

"Mama, I'm so cold!" the white-and-cream kitten whimpered, her small form quivering with shivers that racked her small body. "How much farther do we have to go?"

The older she-cat stopped to bend down and gently picked up the small kitten in between her jaws.

"Not much farther my little one!" she purred in what she hoped to be a reassuring tone. "We'll be safe pretty soon Snowy, I promise."

"But mama!" Snowy whimpered pitifully. "I'm tired and I can't feel my paws!"

"I know sweetheart, I know. But I promise, we'll be in IceClan's territory soon." Snowy's mother meowed softly, locking the top of her daughter's head.

Silance fell upon the two as the white-furred she-cat continued trudging deeper and deeper into the frost-covered woods of the forest.

•••

The night was cold, and Orcatail was bored out of her mind. At least I have company. She thought.

Her sister, Flurrycloud, nudged her. Orcatail almost broke the vigil by almost saying 'what?'.

Flurrycloud twitched her whiskers in amusement. Oh yeah, how funny.

The black-and-white she-cat's tail twitched from left to right. Why did she and her sister have to be named warriors in the middle of leaf-bare. I mean yeah, they were IceClan cats, but leaf-bare was the hardest time of the season for all of the Clans.

Suddenly, she saw a shadow dart across the clearing. Invasion? No, it's just one cat. But by the scent, it wasn't a Clan cat. Rogue! Orcatail pricked her ears as she heard mewling. The cat had a kit. The rogue patted towards the clearing, and for once Orcatail saw what it looked like. It was a white she-cat, with a kit in her mouth. The she-cat was panting, so she dropped her kit.

Orcatail felt her sister tense from beside her. What were they going to do? They couldn't just walk up to her and say, 'hi, how are you? Do you need a place to stay?'

Deciding that there was no other option, Orcatail yowled the alarm. The rogue noticed this, but didn't move from her spot.

Warriors started to spill from the warriors den, fur bristling and eyes darting from side to side. Dovestar poked her head out from her den.

"What happened?" Dovestar meowed as she came cantering towards them. "Is there an attack or something?"

Flurrycloud shook her head in response and pointed with her tail to the rogue, who still sat where she was, her tail curled protectively around her small kit.

The IceClan leader looked to where Flurrycloud was pointing and slowly patted toward the white-furred queen.

"What's your name?" she asked the shivering kit sitting in between her mother's paws.

The small kit's teeth chattered and her small body was racked with tremors. "M-my n-name is Snowy," she meowed quietly but not unkindly. "My mother needs help!" Snowy wailed desperately. "She's hurt and she won't wake up!"

At Snowy's panicked cries, Dovestar's gaze shifted onto the kits mother, who's gone still and looked to be shivering violently from either the cold or sickness she didn't know. Probably both, she thought worriedly. This she-cat needs to see Yarrowleaf right away.

Knowing what she needed to do, Dovestar turned to face the nearest cat. "Snowpaw," she addressed the white-furred apprentice. "Run to the medicine den and worn Yarrowleaf to prepare herbs."

The apprentice nodded and dashed off in the direction of the medicine cat's den. She then turned toward Swawnpaw and Cloudpaw. "You two, go and get Whiteclaw, tell her that I need to speak with both her and Icewhisker."

Just then, Stonetooth came bounding over.

"You two still need to watch over the camp you know. Your vigil isn't over yet." He reminded them.

Orcatail wished that she could snap at him for being bossy.

Dovestar twitched her whiskers in annoyance.

"I'm the leader here, Stonetooth. But yes, your vigil isn't over yet. Let us pray that we don't run into any other trouble."

Orcatail and her sister nodded in agreement.

Orcatail stifled a yawn. It was going to be a long night.

•••

Snowy slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted by a sweet-smelling scent and an unfamiliar cat staring down at her.

She panicked, startling the other cat and calling for her mother. "Mama! Mama!" she cried, wanting to know what had happened to her mom.

"Please calm down little one," the yellow tabby meowed in a gentle voice that sounded like chiming bells. "Your mother is resting peacefully... well, for now at least."

Snowy noticed she muttered the last part under her breath, most likely thinking that Snowy hadn't heard her.

"W-what do you mean?" she mewed, eyes going wide in panic at the older female cat's words. "What's wrong with my mom?"

The older cat opened her mouth to respond but a high-pitched voice calling her name cut her off. "Yarrowleaf help!" It was her apprentice, Polarpaw. "The kit's mother isn't breathing!"

Both Snowy and Yarrowleaf dash out of the nursery and rush as fast as possible toward the older she-cat's den.

As they ran, Yarrowleaf asked Snowy what her mother's name was.

"Her name's Siren," Snowy answered almost immediately. "Yarrowleaf?" Snowy called, drawing the yellow tabby's attention. "Was another kit with me and my mom?" she asked hesitantly.

Yarrowleaf nodded. "Yes Snowy, yes there was." She replied after a short pause. "But I'm afraid she's not doing very well." The medicine cat responded softly, a sad look in her eyes.

Snowy's heart stopped. What was wrong with Luna? Was she going to be okay?

"Will Luna be okay?" Snowy tentatively asked, staring up at Yarrowleaf with a hopeful expression.

"Yes, your sister will live... but your mother won't make it for very much longer." Yarrowleaf's tail drooped and she hung her head. "You should say your final goodbyes now if you wish to."

Ice filled Snowy's veins and the world began to spin. Her paws felt numb, almost as if she'd placed them under freezing cold water for far too long. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the panicked faces of Yarrowleaf and Polarpaw, and then everything went dark.