ThunderClan's Loyalty, Book One

Chapter Eleven

-July 10th-
-Cloudkit is 4 moons old-
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Cloudkit looked down at the assortment of herbs before her, Icetail had just brought them back and told her to make herself useful and put each different herb into its own pile.

   She put a paw on a large tang scented leaf. “This is dock right?” she asked.

   Icetail nodded from where he was sloshing wet moss up against the bloodstained ground. Breezepaw had come in recently with a torn claw and blood had gotten everywhere.

   Cloudkit purred. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this.

   She pushed the dock leaves away from the others and sniffed a strange root. "I remember. Burdock, for the rat bite that Mintstorm has," she mewed, wrinkling her nose at the root's foul scent. Icetail only grunted in response and Cloudkit huffed. Why does he have to be such a grump? she wondered.

   The little she-kit stretched out her broken leg again, it had gotten much less painful to simply move over the past quarter-moon, but putting weight on it still made her squeal like a newborn kit. She pushed the burdock roots into their own pile which only left a few spiky leaves and a small pile of marigold flowers.

   Ah, this is ivy. . . StarClan, I've been here too long. She shuttered at her knowledge and pushed the leaves to their own spot. “Here you go, Icetail,” she mewed. Icetail turned and nodded slightly in acknowledgment before scooping the burdock roots up and taking them to the herbstore. Cloudkit sighed. He could have said thank you.

   She waited as he moved all the herbs back to their respective spots in the small cave alcove.

   Cloudkit lowered her head and sighed. I wish Fernkit were here, she would make every day of this funner. Once again emotion swamped her and she fought back tears. No, I need to be stronger, she told herself, using her paw to rub her eyes in vain.

   Icetail turned back to her, having gotten everything in order. He flattened his ears and Cloudkit sniffed. “Now, don't be like that,” he growled, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

   Cloudkit nodded and cursed the tears that replaced the ones she had removed. “Sorry. . . ,” she mumbled. “I just miss Fernkit. . . .”

   Icetail sighed raggedly and narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the ground. "I know the feeling, kit," he muttered.

   Cloudkit perked her ears. “What?” She sniffed, eyes wide, wondering if she heard him right.

   Icetail bristled suddenly and scowled. “N-nothing. Now get up, it's time for your exercises,” he grunted. Cloudkit groaned obnoxiously at the thought and slowly lifted herself out of her nest, keeping her broken leg up to her flank, grateful that her sprained paw had already healed. I must have heard him wrong, he always mumbles, she thought.

   Sunlight blinded her as she exited the den and broke out into the camp. She grunted as she walked, as keeping a paw off the ground while walking was no easy feat and it still hurt to move.

   Icetail slowly sat down near the wall and Cloudkit squeaked as she was finally able to sit down beside him in the warm grass.

   “Don't get comfortable, you're getting right back up in a moment,” Icetail said, leaning down to unravel the cast around her leg.

   Underneath, the fur was ruffled but it was filling out and the break in her bone wasn't as noticeable, yet it still swelled and hurt with movement.

   Cloudkit sat up and carefully put her paw down. Immediately pain shot through her leg, but it seemed to start and end at the break, and once it was on the ground it only ached. . . that is until she took a step forward. She groaned as she walked, and only occasionally lifted her leg up when the pain became too much to bear.