LakeFeather's Fate

🌲Chapter Six🌲

Three days had passed since Lake'Feather awoke. Her physical wounds were slowly healing, as were those the rest of the survivors had accumulated. Rowan'pelt and Breeze'fur seemed to be dealing with everything as best as they could given the circumstances. Honey'whisker and Bramble'paw, however, seemed to be struggling with the weight of knowing things will never be the same again.

Bramble'paw hasn't uttered a single word in the time that Lake'Feather was awake. He just stared numbly into the distance, his eyes glazed over like newly cut glass. It was like he was stuck, never knowing what to do or say. It was a struggle just to get him to eat.

Honey'whisker often sat by his side, murmuring soft words into his ear in hopes of bringing back his former self. At one point upon passing the two as they sat together, Lake'Feather overheard Honey'whisker mumble something about Star'Clan watching down on them. But Bramble'paw cringed back as if the very mention of their ancestors hurt him. One couldn't blame him, though. Even Lake'Feather found herself wondering why their ancestors didn't help, or at the very least send some sort of sign that what the other clans were doing was wrong. Honey'whisker was a medicine cat. The least they could have done was send him some sort of vision to warn him of troubles to come.

But they didn't.

Lake'Feather could tell that Honey'whisker felt abandoned. It showed in the way he moved and spoke. It was like he desperately wanted to believe that we weren't alone out here in unfamiliar territory, but he was struggling. As were the rest of the remaining cats.

"Hey," Lake'Feather flinched back, startled out of her thoughts at the sound of Breezefur who was currently walking towards her with a limp mouse hanging from his jaw by its tail. The tom limped as he walked, his left hind leg wrapped tightly with cobwebs that held various herbs in place. Once he stopped in front of Lake'Feather he set the mouse down and nudged it towards her with his paw. "You need to eat something, have this."

Lake'Feather eyed the mouse for a moment before turning her head away, her gaze falling onto Honey'whisker and Bramble'paw once again. "Have they eaten yet?"

Breeze'fur shook his head in response and Lake'Feather huffed. "I appreciate you looking out for me, but they need the food more. I doubt Honey'whisker has gone to eat anything at all today, I've only seen him comforting Bramble'paw." Breeze'fur sighed and nudged the mouse closer to Lake'Feather, who in turn narrowed her eyes. The tom merely grunted and sat down beside Lake'Feather, making it a point to meet her gaze as he did so.

"Rowan'pelt is out hunting for them as we speak. I understand you want to look out for them, but it's going to be hard to do that when you're half starved with little strength. Eat." Breeze'fur meows, his tone soft and yet stern at the same time. Lake'Feather stared at him for a moment longer before giving in with a sigh. She had to admit, she was pretty hungry.

Lake'Feather ate in silence with Breezefur by her side, his watchful gaze lingering on her for a few moments before trailing away. It seemed he was content remaining there.

Sometime after Lake'Feather finished her meal, Rowan'pelt came trotting back through the bushes. The sudden movement caused Bramble'paw to let out a sharp hiss before he scrambled away, taking cover in a space hidden beneath some large roots sticking out of the ground. Honey'whisker glared at Rowan'pelt before turning to follow the apprentice, leaving Rowan'pelt with a sour expression on his face.
Lake'Feather instantly noticed that he wasn't carrying any prey.

Apparently Breeze'fur did, too, because he stepped forward quickly with a questioning meow. "Rowan'pelt, where's the prey you were supposed to catch?" Lake'Feather pushed herself to her paws, nearly stumbling in the process as a wave of dizziness washed over her. The wound she had received on her head after the battle was still healing, albeit very slowly. After the dizziness subsided she moved to stand beside Breezefur and glanced between the two cats quietly.

"I couldn't find anything." Rowan'pelt responds, sounding defeated. The tom's dark fur was ungroomed, and his blue eyes carried a look of sadness that he seemed to be holding back. Lake'Feather felt pity for him, knowing that he hasn't had the chance to grieve the loss of his clan properly. "This part of the forest is chock-full of herbs and trees, and yet the scent of prey animals is almost non-existent. You would think we'd have an endless supply of food.."

"That's not an excuse, Rowan'pelt." Breeze'fur cut him off with a light growl, annoyance lacing his tone. Rowanpelt's ears flattened against his skull. "We have cats to feed here. An apprentice, and a medicine cat who needs to eat as well. I'm guessing you had your fill out there, right? Feeding the clan comes first-"

"What clan?!" Rowan'pelt spat while taking an aggressive step forward. "We're all that's left!"

Breeze'fur became silent as a pained expression crossed his face. Though, as quickly as it had appeared, it was replaced with anger. The tom hissed and unsheathed his claws, his muscles bunching as if he were preparing to lunge.

Lake'Feather quickly moved to stand between the two, her fur rising and her claws unsheathing in case she would have to break up a fight between them. "Stop! Fighting won't do anything to help us." She looked between Breeze'fur and Rowan'pelt, her eyes narrowed with anger. "While I agree with you, Breezefur, that he should have waited to eat until he was sure he could catch more, we can't do anything now that it's already done."

Breeze'fur grumbled to himself, still glaring daggers at Rowan'pelt who was now looking down at Lake'Feather with annoyance clear in his eyes. She ignored it, though, and continued speaking. "Are you sure you couldn't catch a fresh scent trail? Even towards the stream?"
The day after Lake'Feather woke up, Breezefur and Rowan'pelt had discovered a small stream a decent walk from where they set up camp. It wasn't big enough to hold anything worth catching, and the stuff It did hold was too fast for them to catch. Ivy'Clan was never known for their fishing skills, rather they had been known for their pride and speed.

Rowan'pelt shook his head slowly before replying. "I'm positive. The only other scent trail that seemed fresh was the mouse Breeze'fur caught. I only noticed it was that one when I came across his scent as well."

Lake'Feather looked down at her paws. Guilt gnawed away at her heart. She knew she should have offered the mouse to Honey'whisker and Bramble'paw, so why had she let Breezefur talk her into eating? She couldn't blame him, though, as she knew he wasn't aware of the lack of prey in this part of the forest.

"Maybe Starclan is telling us something- probably that we should have died off like the rest of our clan." Breeze'fur grumpily spoke up. Lake'Feather and Rowan'pelt looked at him with shock clear on their faces. How could he say something so terrible, and so casually at that!

Before Lake'Feather could say anything, another voice spoke up. "Maybe instead of speaking about our ancestors in such an insulting way, you should be out trying to find more food."

The trio turned to find Honey'whisker standing a few mouse-leaps away. His pelt was prickling with anger and his eyes were narrowed into harsh slits; his gaze was directed at Breezefur who had the gall to look bored. "Didn't you hear what Rowan'pelt said? There's nothing-"

"Of course, Honey'whisker. I'm sorry about him." Lake'Feather cut Breezefur off, sending the male a dark glare as she did so. Honey'whisker stared them down for a moment longer before turning around and making his way back to where Bramble'paws trembling body lay hidden.
Once he was out of sight Lake'Feather turned on Breeze'fur with an angry hiss. "Mouse-brain. How could you say something like that!"

Breeze'fur didn't respond and instead looked away. It took a lot to make Lake'Feather angry, and it was clear that he didn't enjoy being the one to push her to that point. Lake'Feather scoffed and pushed past him, calling out to Rowan'pelt as she did so.

"Come on! Show me where the stream is, we can begin searching for fresh scents past the water."