Silence {Warriors Fanfiction}

{𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑}

Coincidentally, on the same day Lightwhisper received the not-prophecy, the oldest elder in the camp saw an omen. Nowadays, cats hardly worshipped StarClan anymore, and even the healers struggled to connect with them. Only the elders could fully process whatever prophecy StarClan was sending. The way Rigidclaw stopped so suddenly in her tracks and her eyes rolled, everyone was convinced she'd died or something. Lightwhisper didn't know the full details, of course. He was sleeping, but Mottleleaf had babbled it all out to him. 

"Did you see the way Rigidclaw started to go all... well rigid and then she tottered around before open her eyes and saying dramatically, "IT'S AN OMEN!" And then everyone was like, "What is it, what is it?" And then she sai-" Lightwhisper had cut Mottleleaf off at that point, for his shift was about to start and Mottleleaf should just go back to sleep. Now, with the moonlight making his fur seem blue, Lightwhisper thought of the day's events. Maybe he should've asked Mottleleaf what the omen was, but the tortoiseshell was currently snoring loudly, occasionally batting his paws at imaginary prey. Lightwhisper stared out of the entrance, at the well trodden trail of dirt and crushed leaves, and further, to the point where it was no longer visible, but instead divided into multiple routes. It was nearing the end of newleaf, and the light drizzle with a few moments of pure sun had turned into flat out raining. Greenleaf had it's fair share of abundance in food and plants, but it was also well known for it's storms and wet seasons. It was practically why HailClan was called HailClan.

The foreboding scent of rain hit Lightwhisper's nostrils before a single droplet fell. At first, it was barely a drizzle. The pit pat of water hitting the ground and the smell of moist soil was comforting. The full moon from when he was still an apprentice had shrunk into a near-half one. Soon, Ferretfur, Hazeltuft, Lichenmist, Smokepaw and Strikepaw- the newest apprentice- would approach the sacred clearing and report to StarClan. Ferretfur, the sleek grey tabby she-cat, hadn't been seen since Lightwhisper last saw her. Another cat- a ginger queen, he didn't know her name- said she saw Ferretfur the day before his encounter, but it seemed that nobody knew where she went. Hazeltuft, with his soft gaze and bright amber eyes, was rumoured to have gone on an extravagant herb gathering trip. The other healers said Hazeltuft planned to return a few days later, wanting as much time as possible to gather the herbs before the rain made them all soggy and ruined, but now it wasn't possible.

Lightwhisper secretly hoped for Hazeltuft to return soon, he was Lightwhisper's favourite medicine cat, with an always calm aura and never expressed any pity, hate or annoyance towards him. Yes, there were emotions similar- empathy, tiredness and exasperation- but he was okay with those. Strikepaw had tagged along with him. Even though she was new, she had a gift for finding herbs and extracting them carefully. As Hazeltuft had quoted, "I have never seen a quicker learner than her,". Smokepaw was off sick, she had been for a long time. It never got worse, never better.  That basically meant... Lichenmist was the only available healer. Also, water definitely didn't agree with the elder, for it gave him stiff joints and aching muscles. Lightwhisper sighed, staring into the distance.

There was hardly any commotion at this camp. Wild animals were a problem, there was apparently an adder attack several moons ago, an elder died. Before that, in the olden times as some cats liked to call it, there was a bit of an owl problem, it had carried away two kits. Nobody was able to stop it, and shortly after, guards were appointed every single moment of the day, and the attacks receded slightly. No outside cat had ever ventured into this camp with bad intentions, and Berrystar made sure of it. 

Lightwhisper pawed at the earth in front of him. Guarding is so boring. Except what if it was his fault that cats died? If you get an order, you have to do it properly. Lightwhisper tried to squash that into his brain. He just realised that the rain had stopped. Water droplets shone on the plants, and the moon was visible again. The Silverpelt stretched all the way across the night sky. Lightwhisper wondered how Finchpaw was faring up there. Probably munching on the juiciest prey and being all wise. He chortled at the thought. 

He felt something soft brush against his fur and turned around. Mottleleaf! He must've gone to make dirt and found me doing things other than guarding. I hope he doesn't tell... Mottleleaf padded to sit beside Lightwhisper, and faced him. 

"How are you? This guarding business is boring, I know. I have been doing it for a quarter moon, already though. One more quarter moon and I can rotate to the next job! I think it's the patrols. I like patrols. I think we're lucky that we aren't old like Rigidclaw or mauled like Raggedtail. Think of having to stay in the camp all day! My mentor, Peacock- she used to be a kittypet- tail, she told me this, "Embrace the youth, young one. Or you soon will become a bag of fur like me,". So I'm trying to do that," he gushed, eyes shining.  "By StarClan, I should tell you the omen! Alright, here it is- Black and green, beware! I know it doesn't sound very interesting but StarClan's been very boring lately. The other day, Lichenmist got a prophecy- well I think it's a prophecy- that said, 'The weather shall fail'. BORING. Anyways, you haven't answered my question. How are you?" Mottleleaf concluded. Lightwhisper blinked. He was always surprised by the amount of words Mottleleaf contained. 

He nodded his head. Mottleleaf assumed it was an answer, and said, "Good,"  before padding back to sleep. Now Lightwhisper was all alone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a silhouette. Who was it? The shape got closer and closer. He bunched his muscles. It ran under a ray of moonlight. He squinted. Just as Lightwhisper was about to call out, he stopped. Wait. He knew that cat. 

"Ferretfur?" Names were always tricky to pronounce, that one probably sounded like "Fretfor". The she-cat stopped in her tracks. She was close enough for Lightwhisper to see what she was saying.

"Lightwhisper? What are you doing? Oh. You're guarding. I was... doing something," she mewed. Her bright green eyes showed multiple emotions- guilt, surprise, embarrassment- just to name a few. She took a tentative step forward. Then another. Then another. She was carrying something. Her pelt was speckled with droplets. There was something on her hind leg. Blood. He didn't say anything, just watched her walk to the prey pile and set down the package. Ferretfur did some arranging, until the package was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was prey? And that was where the blood came from? Unlikely. She's a healer. An annoying part of his mind voiced.

He gulped. Something warm cupped his paw. Sunlight. He raised his head to find the sun and the moon had swapped places. Raggedtail was already padding wearily to his spot. They exchanged silently, dipping heads in acknowledgment. Lightwhisper still had half a day in front of him, but he just wanted to sleep. He can just wake up earlier for his shift. Walking to Mottleleaf, the cat subconsciously rolled over, leaving Lightwhisper an already warm patch of moss and feathers.

He laid down his head, waiting for dreams to take over. He'll sort it all out, another day. Not now.

A/N

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, you greedy reader! I'm literally trying to solve a maths problem while writing this because no one's watching me 😒. It's still quite short because I've got no motivation, but I'm also trying to make this as un-filler chapter as possible. Nothing else to add, see you next time! Have a good day/night!

~Bye <3