TCL, Book Two

Chapter Six

Content Warning: This chapter contains tragedy that some readers may find disturbing. Please do not continue if you are sensitive to the concept of miscarriage.

-October 17th-
-Cloudpaw is 7 moons old-
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Cloudpaw, standing in between her two new friends, Lilacpaw and Silentpaw, crouched against the stone and pressed her nose to the crystal water of the Moonpool. Excitement was replaced with nothingness as she crossed over from the mortal world to the greenleaf land of StarClan's hunting grounds. Then it came back full force when she opened her eyes to the moonlit island of warm grass now under her paws.

   I'm back in StarClan. Oh, it's so beautiful! she thought, taking a moment to glance around and appreciate the way the delicate blue-green grass softly moved, how clear and endless the starless sky looked, and the violet hue of the trees in the night. Fernkit? she thought as she got to her paws, ready to see her sister.

   "Right 'ere, Cloudpaw," Fernkit's lovely mew reached Cloudpaw's ears, making them twitch. She turned around to see the little grey tabby approaching her. Cloudpaw came forward to meet her and pull her sister into a warm nuzzle.

   "I missed you," she purred, voice cracking.

   Fernkit chuckled. "Well don't you cry about it," she purred. "Yuh know I'm always with ya. I think I spend more time following you arownd then anything else."

   "Well, that's comforting to hear," Cloudpaw trilled, leaning back and giving her chest fur a few licks.

   Fernkit blinked away a stray tear and straightened up. "Wow, rememb-uh when I was just a bit bigger than you? Now look, you's the big one and I'm gonna stay small forev-uh," she mewed, standing on her tip-toes and fluffing out her fur to size Cloudpaw up.

  Cloudpaw chuckled and patted her on the head with a paw, which made Fernkit stick out her tongue and bat her away. "Oh, you!" she grumbled good-humourdly. "At least I get to be "like" a warrior," she added, sticking out a paw to show off the muscle built up in her shoulders. Cloudpaw couldn't help but purr. She would have been so big and strong. . . maybe even one of ThunderClan's best fighters. The thought made her sad, but she couldn't dwell on it as Fernkit began to speak again.

   "Alright," she mewed, sitting back, her amber eyes narrowing. "In aw-ll seriousness, I and a few others 'ave predicted that somethin'. . . bad is goin'ta 'appen tomorrow. I'm not going 't be like old Aspenrose or Zinnastar and speak in riddles, I'm just goin'ta outright say what I knows."

   Cloudpaw blinked, tilting her head. "What kind of something bad?" she asked.

   Fernkit wrapped her tail around her paws. "A cat is goin'ta need yuh help. I don't know what the risk is exactly or who's it is, but I do know that it 'as something 't do with the nursery, so youse wanna keep yuh eye on it tomorrow. When it comes, don't freak out, okay? You're not alone, youse and Icetail will be in this together."

   "W-wait but—" Cloudpaw stammered, a spark of anxiety kindling inside her. Someone in the nursery? Who?! No, not the kits, please don't be one of the kits. Fernkit quickly jumped to her paws and pressed a paw to Cloudpaw's chest as her mind began to reel.

   "Hey, hey! I understand that look, Cloudpaw, you're racking yuh brains for answers and gettin, worked up, so please, stop," she purred. Cloudpaw blinked a few times, sat down and refocused on her sister.

   Fernkit's eyes were serious but warm and Cloudpaw held her gaze. "Youse a medicine cat apprentice. You're being made for this. Youse 'are' capable of overcoming whatever happens, weth-uh good or bad, okay? Please, stay focused, keep an eye out, and whatever yuh do, don't blame yourself.