The Barn Cat

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mistfoot jumped onto the tree, digging her claws deep into the bark. Climbing trees felt easy to her, and she could go up them quickly. She figured the other clan cats couldn't since none of them jumped up to follow her, yet again they could also just not care and would wait down there. There was no time to waste though, playing games with an apprentice in a tree. They were going home, and all that mattered to Mistfoot was to get back to her clan safely, along with bringing the barn cats with her. It seemed like forever by the time she reached Ivypaw's branch, and she pulled herself onto it and crouched down. She wasn't paying full attention, as she actually was on the branch above him. She crawled her way to above him, his white stripe down his back allowed her to know that it was actually him. "Ivypaw, what are you doing?" Mistfoot hissed, anger flickering inside of her. The apprentice slowly turned his gaze up to her, fear was the only thing showing on his face. "I can't move." His quiet mew only made her angrier, "what? Why can't you move?" The apprentice flicked his eyes to behind him, and Mistfoot glanced around his body, trying to see behind the fully grown tom. She couldn't see anything, but whatever it was, it was clearly stressing Ivypaw out so much he couldn't move. "Okay, here, let me help you." Mistfoot answered, but before she could hop down a branch, Ivypaw hurriedly stopped her with a quick protest. "Don't!" His mew was a whisper, but it was stern. Mistfoot flicked her tail, her anger was growing again.

"What is so bad about moving?" She growled. Ivypaw's mouth dropped, like he was surprised she would say that. He slowly turned his head to his side, trying to see the other end of the branch.Then slowly turned his gaze back to Mistfoot, "you don't see him?" Confused, she glanced to check behind him again. Still nothing but shadows. "There's nothing there, Ivypaw." Now he looked terrified. He stared pleadingly at Mistfoot, "please, tell me you're lying and that you see him." Mistfoot shook her head, "I don't see anything at all, Ivypaw. It's just a branch." The tom gave her a defeated stare, but he wouldn't budge. She decided to hop down to his branch, maybe being next to him will soothe him. She hopped down, making sure her claws dug deep enough into the branch that she wouldn't fall. Panic flared across Ivypaw's face, "Mistfoot! You can't be here! Get down!" He hissed quietly. She didn't listen, just padded around him to where whatever it was that was scaring him. Again, nothing was there.

She turned to face him, but he wasn't staring at her, he was staring behind her. "Ivypaw, you have bees in your brain, there isn't anything there." He didn't answer, just stared behind her with wide, fearful eyes. "Ivypaw, you're starting to make me frustrated, let's just get down." The tom slowly shook his head, disbelief in his eyes. "He's behind you, I don't understand why you can't see him." "What? A ghost?" Mistfoot snorted, "stop acting like a kit, let's go." She jumped over him, landing smoothly onto the branch with no problem. She started to pad back towards the thick part of the tree, but stopped when she realized she couldn't hear pawsteps behind her. She turned to see what Ivypaw was doing, but he wasn't facing her anymore. He was staring to where she just was, where he was 'seeing' something. She stared at him, a little bit of confusion going through her head when she noticed his body was shaking with fear. Whatever he thought he was seeing was truly scaring him, he wasn't lying. Maybe he was seeing something, maybe he needed herbs to fix him. Hallucinations. Mistfoot sighed, then started padding back to him. "Don't!" Ivypaw whispered. Mistfoot paused. "Look, Ivypaw. I get that you think you're seeing something, but let me show you one more time that there is nothing over there, okay? Then we can go." She hopped over him again, and he let out a small gasp when she landed. "See? Nothings here, nothing can hurt you."

She swished her tail around and spun in a circle, letting him know that she wasn't lying. "Mistfoot, come back." Ivypaw's mew was hard. Mistfoot opened her mouth to speak, but Ivypaw hushed her. "Now." "Ivypaw, nothing is going to happen to me," Mistfoot answered, keeping herself calm. Ivypaw shook his head, staring past Mistfoot again. "Don't do that," he begged, "please don't." "I'm not doing anything," Mistfoot answered, confused. Panic flared across Ivypaw's face, and he charged at her. Mistfoot's fur instantly rose up against her spine. "Mistfoot move!" Before she could do anything, she felt the branch underneath her disappear, and her body was falling. She gripped onto the branch Ivypaw was on, the shocked gasps below nearly shushed out by the crashing of the branch she had been standing on. She had her claws dug into the branch, but they were slipping towards the end. She wouldn't be able to hold on for long, and every time she tried to lift herself to the branch her claws would slip more. She was losing her grip. Terrified, she tried to hook her back paws onto the bottom of the branch. She missed and her left paw fell off the branch, her right paw nearly off now. "Mistfoot!" Leafstride's terrified call made her panic even more. He already lost Flame, and Mistfoot knew he liked her, she couldn't let him lose another cat. It was too late though, she felt her paw slip, and her body falling. She was going to die.

A pain hit her scruff and she came to a quick stop, but she could still feel herself dangling in the air. She glanced upwards, her heart thumping in her chest. Ivypaw had a grip on her scruff and was starting to pull her back on the branch. When she could, she hurridly got her claws back into the bark on the tree, helping the apprentice haul her up. A wave of relief came over her when she could feel the branch on all four of her paws, and Ivypaw let go. She glanced up at the shaky tom, he looked as scared as she felt. "You saved me Ivypaw," Mistfoot whispered, gratitude filling her mew as she stared at the black apprentice. He gave her a quick nod, "let's get down." Carefully, the two cats padded over to the thick part of the tree and started sliding down slowly. They kept glancing at each other to make sure they were still there and okay.

Once she was a cat length away from the ground, Mistfoot hopped off the tree, a calmness filling her when she could feel the earth on her paws. Leafstride and the other cats were there, and blurry mews rang in Mistfoot's head. She couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, but she did understand how calm she felt when Leafstride touched his nose to hers. She closed her eyes, embracing the safeness she felt against his soft nose. He slowly pulled away, shock, excitement, fear, and other emotions were showing in his eyes. "Ivypaw saved you." He whispered. Mistfoot nodded, "I know." "What happened up there?" Brightshade demanded. "Why didn't you come down when Mistfoot went up there? What took so long?" Ivypaw shifted his paws, his legs were still shaking. "Well?" Brightshade pushed, his mew near a growl. Mistfoot stared at the apprentice, who shouldn't even be an apprentice anymore. He should be a warrior by now, and should have his warrior name. "I saw something," Ivypaw whispered. "What? What did you see that nearly killed Mistfoot?" Brightshade asked. "I saw the thing that tried to kill Mistfoot!" Ivypaw snapped at the tom, making all the cats around him flinch. Ivypaw never loses his temper, whatever he saw, whatever he saved Mistfoot from is really getting to him. Or it could be that he nearly saw a cat die to a branch. Mistfoot snorted to herself. A branch nearly killed her. Wow.

She padded over to Ivypaw, leaving Leafstride watching her from their spot. "Ivypaw was seeing something," Mistfoot nodded to the tom, who gave her a stare that he didn't believe that she saw it too. She didn't. She didn't even know if he truly did see something or if he was just biting her ear. "Okay, what did you see?" Leafstride asked. Ivypaw shook his head, "you guys don't believe me. Nobody will." Ivypaw sounded defeated, like he'd given up his hope that cats would listen to him. "Maybe we would if you'd tell us," Leafstride murmured, his mew a soft, cotton like sound. Ivypaw shook his head bleakly, "no, you wouldn't. I wouldn't belive myself if I hadn't seen it." "Maybe you should talk to Courage," Palepaw put in. "Hawk told me that Courage used to see weird stuff no one else saw, and so did Olive. Maybe they'd understand." Ivypaw closed his eyes, then let out a sigh. "Maybe I'll try, but for now let's just focus on getting back to them. I'm sure I've held you guys up long enough, we would be so much closer to home now." "Hey," Leafstride padded over to the tom, leaning against him and putting his tail on his shoulder, "it just gives us a little bit more time to be together before we get back to our clans." ivypaw looked up and stared at all the cats, "when we get back to our own clans, can we all still be friends?" Pity filled Mistfoot, and she saw everyone else trying to blink away their sadness. She made eye contact with Leafstride, who seemed to be staring deeper inside her than Mistfoot could see herself. "I think so," Mistfoot answered, "we could still be friends. We just have to put our clans first still, but I don't think that means we can't be friends."

"We can always see each other at gatherings," Palepaw answered. The cats let out mrrow's of agreement. "Besides, once you and Palepaw get back to your clans, the next time we'll see you you'll have your warrior names," Leafstride mewed, trying to cheer the cats up. Ivypaw glanced at the tom with a warm gaze, "I hope Springstar still allows me to have my warrior name." "Why wouldn't he?" Palepaw asked. "I basically ran away," Ivypaw muttered. "You did what Starclan told you to do," Mistfoot reminded him. Springstar would be mouse-brained if he didn't allow you to be a warrior." All the cats around her let out sounds of agreement. "You're a fine warrior already," Leafstride mewed, "besides, being a warrior isn't about having a warrior name, it's about how a warrior acts and what it stands for. And, if I'm not mistaken, you just saved another cat's life who is in a different clan just because you cared enough to, and that's what I consider to be a warrior." He turned his gaze at the cats around him, warmth the only thing in his gaze, "a warrior is to care, protect, trust, and love. That's what we've done this whole trip. I'd say everyone here is a fine warrior, even the ones without warrior names." The cats all let out agreed mews and cheerful cries. Leafstride got to his paws again, Ivypaw doing the same. "Now, let's go bring these barn cats to our home. It's our turn to be there to care for them," he turned his gaze to Mistfoot. "And show them how true warriors live."