Legacy: Timeless (Book 2)

Chapter 11: Last Chance

Chapter 11: Last Chance

Scorch ran through the forest, the images of her mirage showing her how to kill the two Clan cats kept replaying in her mind. What is wrong with me?! She hadn't thought about it for a while, but she felt that something was very, very wrong with her.

Of course there's something wrong with me! Who sees cats that aren't there?! She skidded to a halt, her paws burning and her lungs gasping in air as she flung her head back, looking through the red and orange leaves to the gray sky.

The wind tore through the forest, rattling the trees and pulling at her fur. A scent touched her nose, the familiar, comforting scent of herbs. She looked at the scratches she'd received from Moonkit. None of them were deep and they had hardly bled, but they still stung, like her feelings.

She thought of Moonkit, what had her senses picked up on from her previous encounters with the dark gray she-kit? Moonkit had always seemed... frustrated, angry, upset, and maybe even a little depressed. That was the aura Moonkit always had around her, a fairly gloomy one.

Scorch stopped and mulled through the meanings of those emotions as she turned toward the herb smell. But none of those feelings were ever directed at me, so I never thought much about them. But then she attacked me anyways. Scorch frowned, what big thing was upsetting Moonkit to the point of lashing out at anyone and everyone?

Scorch's train of thought was interrupted when she saw that there was a cat moving among the herb patch. It's Skypool! She recognized the medicine-cat, but wasn't sure if she should approach her or go away. Her instincts told her to go away; she shouldn't have anything more to do with the Clans. But she wanted to know anyway, so she'd give the Clans one last chance to explain themselves.

And Skypool doesn't seem like the kind of cat to attack another cat just because of emotion. "Skypool?" she mewed quietly, stepping into the small clearing where the sun would shine on a clear day.

Skypool jumped, turning toward her, her silver-blue fur looking grayer in the clouded sunlight. The medicine-cat's jaws were full of herbs she was picking and her green eyes were wide as she stared at her. "Scorch?" the word was muffled and questioning.

Scorch nodded, knowing that she must have a dejected look on her face for the way Skypool's eyes immediately showed concern. "What's wrong?" Skypool asked, dropping her bundle of herbs and approaching her slowly.

Scorch felt another surge of gratefulness for the medicine-cat she barely knew. I only met her once, and she already cares enough about me to ask what's wrong. With a lump in her throat she sat down with a bump, looking at the ground.

"I-I went to see Moonkit, and she attacked me," she admitted, feeling the fresh sting of hurt that Moonkit had attacked her, when she'd done nothing but try to help her.

Skypool gave a hum of sympathy, though Scorch could sense that Skypool was surprised by both her actions and Moonkit's. "Moonkit hasn't been the same since... well, she lost someone she was close to, and that's hard for someone so young," Skypool offered an explanation.

"But I didn't do that!" Scorch protested, wondering if she should try to talk about her mirages. No, it's my problem, and how can I be helped when I'm the only one who experiences it?

"No, you didn't. But Moonkit hasn't been as nice of a kit since then, she's the most likely to lash out at anyone and the least likely to apologize," Skypool continued, sitting down next to Scorch and wrapping her tail around her shoulder comfortingly.

"I only came to learn more about the Clans," Scorch muttered, looking down at the ground.

"You did?" Skypool sounded more surprised now.