Whiteriver's Truth

Chapter 6

   "She fell into the river when she was collecting herbs. That's what she said before she collapsed." Cricketcloud explained.
Swiftfeather stared down at the older medicine cat. "Lick her. It'll warm her up." She said urgently as she started to do it herself.
Cricketcloud, Bramblefoot and Whitepaw followed along. Eventually, the fur on the she-cat was no longer plastered to her body and she seemed to be getting warmer.
   Swiftfeather stopped and lifted her head. "You guys continue. I'll go back and see if I can find something to prevent her from getting sick." She quickly left into the back of the den where their medicine was stored.
   Whitepaw lifted up her, pausing for a moment as the deputy and she-cat continued to warm up the unconscious medicine cat. She looked down at the cat and saw how frail and old she looked. Her breathing was hollow and she still hadn't woken up. She then saw Swiftfeather come back with some leaves in her mouth and she put them down in front of Mistyeye's mouth.
   "Whitepaw, can you help me hold open her jaw so I can feed her the medicine." Swiftfeather sounded eager and nervous.
  She nodded and went over to do as she was asked. She pried open Mistyeye's jaws and Swiftfeather pushed the leaves into her mouth until she could swallow them. She then began to lick over the spot that had already been dried as if she was paying attention to what was happening.
   Whitepaw stared at the two medicine cats and was scared to say what was on her mind. She took a deep breath and then spoke. "Swiftfeather." The white medicine cat turned to face her. "What if StarClan meant for this to happen. She is quite old after all." Whitepaw tried to be gentle with her words, but she could tell Swiftfeather didn't take it so easily. She stared at the still body of Mistyeye not moving or saying anything. Not even a breath was heard from her.
   Cricketcloud and Bramblefoot stopped licking the she-cat and raised their head to look at Swiftfeather.
  "Are you okay?" Cricketcloud asked.
   There was no response.
   "Maybe we should leave them alone." Bramblefoot said, placing his tail on Cricketcloud's flank.
   She nodded in response and they turned to leave.
   Whitepaw felt sorry for the young medicine cat. She knew they were close and it would be hard for any cat to lose their medicine cat as well. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked.
   Swiftfeather shook her head. "You're right Whitepaw. Mistyeye has served her time and now it's mine." She fell to her stomach and pressed her muzzle into the fluffy neck of her mentor.
   Mistyeye's breath was becoming steady, but she didn't know what the cold leaf-bare river could've done to the old medicine cat.
  She turned to leave the two cats alone looking back one more time as she reached the entrance before disappearing into the camp clearing.

***

   The snow started to become a flurry, the wind blowing rapidly through the camp. The coldness made its way under Whitepaw's fur sending chills through her body. She huddled up in the apprentice den alone as Robinpaw helped the elders. She kept her head down and covered by her paws and tail, but it didn't stop her from shivering. Suddenly, the breeze was blocked and she looked up to see who it was. Bravepelt was standing in the entrance.
"Am I needed?" She asked.
The tom shook his head and walked forwards. "I didn't see you anywhere around the camp so I guessed you'd be in here." He sat down beside her and the cold wind started to blow back into the den. "The snow is bad. We can barely see out there and the ground is covering our paws entirely with snow."
"Well then is there something I can do?" She asked once more.
"There is nothing any cat can do right now, not until the storm calms down. The elders have let Robinpaw stay with them and I didn't want you to be alone and cold." As Bravepelt said that he turned his head away and Whitepaw could tell that he was flustered.
"Well I appreciate it." She purred back getting flustered herself.
Bravepelt turned back to her and laid down. He wrapped his body around her so their pelts were close together. Suddenly it didn't feel so cold anymore even though she could still feel the breeze blowing in her fur. She felt him start to purr and it pulled her into a comfortable sleep. She was happy she had him. She loved him and she wouldn't love any other cat more than him.

***

The next morning, Whitepaw woke up from one of the best sleeps she has had since she left the nursery. Bravepelt was still asleep beside her and she found it comforting to see him there. She looked over to entrance and saw that it was blocked by snow although it was thin enough for her to see the sunlight glowing through it. She poked the side of Bravepelt with her muzzle getting him to wake up.
"Good morning." She purred.
Bravepelt lifted his head and gave her a few licks on her cheek. He then got up and stretched with a yawn before examining the entrance himself.
"Looks like we got snowed in last night." He said turning his head towards Whitepaw.
Whitepaw got up and stood beside him. "We can get through it easily." She walked over and pushed a hole through the thin layer of snow with her paw. She then turned back to Bravepelt with a smile. "See."
The two cats pushed their way through the snow and saw that the camp was covered in snow. Cats were already awake and making pathways through the snow that covered the legs of Bramblefoot which was the third tallest warrior.
"We should go help them." Whitepaw said.
Bravepelt nodded in agreement and then went over to Bramblefoot who was carrying some brambles that had fallen off the nursery back to it. "What can we do?" Bravepelt asked the deputy.
"Bravepelt, you can take Rabinpaw out for a dawn patrol and take two other warriors with you." He said muffled through the thick brambles.
"Okay." He responded with a nod. Bramblefoot continued on dragging the brambles over to the nursery. "You wanna come on a patrol with me?" He asked Whitepaw.
Her fave lit up and a tingling feeling ran through her body. "I'd love to." She purred. "I'll go get Clovernose." She then dashed off to find her mentor digging up the snow that covered the fresh-kill pile. "Bravepelt is doing a dawn patrol and he'd like us to come with him." She explained.
Clovernose stopped to answer. "I'll be there in a second. I just need to finish what I'm doing."
Whitepaw nodded and joined back up with Bravepelt and Robinpaw at the entrance. "She said she'll be here in a second. She's just helping uncover the fresh-kill." She informed them.
"Okay." He nodded.
Clovernose caught up quickly and they made their way out of the camp. The snow was deeper and pressed up against their bellies as they walked through the forest.
"This is too hard to walk through." Robinpaw complained.
"I think we should tell Bramblefoot and Goldenstar that it's not the best idea to leave the camp yet." Clovernose said.
All the cats of the patrol agreed, but before they left, Whitepaw suddenly saw something poking out of the snow. At first she thought it was branch that had fallen, but she felt like it was something else. She started to walk towards it to get a closer look.
"Whitepaw, what are you doing? We're going back now." Bravepelt called out.
Whitepaw didn't turned to meet his gaze or respond. Once she got close enough, she blew off the snow that bubbled over to reveal something that horrified her. It was the ear of a cat sticking up out of the snow.