Warrior Cats: The Thistle and the Feather

Chapter 11

   It was dark still, moon high in the night, a signal of sleep for all of Earth's creatures. In one, now particularly dead, field, four cats lay weakly... yet not dead.

*()*()*()*()*()*

   Featherwing coughed, her body shuddering with each one. Her whiskers burnt at the edges, her tabby fur was coated in smoke and muck from the fire. And beside her was Dawn, who looked all the same in her tortoiseshell pelt.
   Yet two cats lay next to them, named of Thistlestorm and Shadow. Thistlestorm looked all the worst of the four, his fur was burnt down in patches, where his bare skin was exposed and red. His whiskers had been burnt almost all the way, about 1/3 of them remain. The young tom's paws were burnt horribly, and his lungs hurt with every conscious breath he took. Shadow looked the best of all four, most of his fur has stayed intact, but his face experienced the worst of it. Most of the fur on his face was gone, one of his eyes were irritated, it was easy to tell even of the fact that he is sleeping with his eyes closed. His nose is scarred with irritated tissue and his mouth hangs adrift in pain.
   Featherwing's body shudders again, she opens her eyes, suddenly aware of the claws grasping at her lungs. She gasps and struggles to get up; looking around, she spots her brother and limps over to him.
   "Th-Thistlestorm?" She rasps.
   His tail flicks lightly in response.
   "StarClan please," She murmurs, looking at Dawn and Shadow, "What have you sent us to do?"
   "Don't be confused, young warrior."
   Featherwing looks around, confused about where the voice came from. She finally spots a beautiful starry she-cat. Her tabby stripes embossed in bright stars, allowing her to be visible against the night sky.
    "Aye, we sent you on a difficult journey. But we'd never send you on a journey we knew you wouldn't be able to accomplish," The she-cat brushes her tail over Thistlestorm, she shudders, but Thistlestorm... changes?
   His fur is brought back to a healthy, clean state. His pads are restored the bright pink, his whiskers extend to full length. And though, not visible from the outside, the char and smoke that had built up in his lungs, disappears. Sputtering, the tom jumps up into a standing position, staring at the cat that just save his life.
   "Uhm, thanks?" He mumbles.
   The StarClan she-cat does the same to Dawn and Featherwing and Shadow. Shadow was most confused out of all of them, staring at the others as if he had no idea who they were. 
   The she-cat purred, "You're welcome. For a while now, you should need no help. Remember, we walk beside you." And with those words, the stars that had built her form, fade away into the starry night sky.
   "What... was that?" Shadow growled.
   "Temper!" Dawn glared at him, "She just saved our lives."
   "Why do we have to be forced on this pilgrimage? Obviously, they can do it themselves!" He glared back, teeth bared.
    Featherwing stepped between them, "We're alive, that's what matters at the moment. We should check on the Clans," She looked at the destruction that the fire had caused in all the Clans' territories. Thistlestorm nodded in agreement.
   Dawn hesitated but she bent her head down. Shadow growled but he agreed as well
   The cats padded first, to LightningClan territory. The territory that had been closest to the fire and suffered the worst of it. Most of the greenery has been fried down to a black shrub, almost every tree trunk was coated in char. Worst of all, the camp itself had almost been burned down to nothing. Every den, except for the leader's den, has been burnt to a crisp. Luckily, Bouncestep risked his pelt for Pikepaw, and Pikepaw had survived the fire. No one else died, there were major injuries, and minor injuries. Nettlestar had become deeply disappointed in Gorsestorm, who did nothing but run out of the medicine den out of sheer fear of his own life, completely forgetting about Flowerpaw who had been rummaging around in his herbs.
   The four cats had walked in on Nettlestar scolding the medicine cat, "You are responsible for the possible death of a future medicine cat. Any regrets?"
   Gorsestorm hissed, raising one paw in retort, the other paw keeping his balance on the ruined grass, "None! I care about my life and only mine!"
   Nettlestar growled, "You selfish flea-pelt," He sighed and looked away, "You know as well as I do that I can't punish you from your duties, or even confine you to the camp. But I can leave you off with this," The gray specked-leader looked back at Gorsestorm with a glare and brought his paw up to the medicine cat's eye.
   The Clan, whom was watching the event, gasped. Gorsestorm leaned over on the ground, blood spilling down his muzzle, forming a pool of red near his paw. He looked back up at Nettlestar and narrowed his eye, "I suppose I deserve that for keeping myself here to tend to your cats' wounds. Humbug." He growls and walks over to where the medicine den used to be.
   Nettlestar sighed and brought his gaze to Thistlestorm, Featherwing, Dawn, and Shadow.
   "Where is Timberleap?" He inquires.
   Featherwing holds back her tears, "Dead."
   The Clan yowls in despair, Nettlestar hushes them, "How?"
   "She saved us from being burned to death."
   Nettlestar cried out and ran to his den.
   Rocktuft walked over to Thistlestorm, "Young warrior, tell us. Where did you go last night?"
   Thistlestorm hesitated, but he eventually told the story of the black mysterious cats who had killed Hawk, and knocked out everyone else. He had no idea what happened afterward, but they had caused the fire for sure. The next thing they knew, they had been running through a maze of flames, Thistlestorm himself barely being conscious enough for any of it. Then came along Timberleap, running through the flames to save her children and their friends. Finally, once the cats woke up again, a StarClan cat had restored their health, and they came back here.
   Bouncestep laughs, his paw repeatedly slapping the ground, "You expect us to believe your stories? Flea-pelt, we all know that's not true."
   Rocktuft lifts his tail to silence Bouncestep. He stared Thistlestorm in the eyes, "Black cats, with mysterious powers?"
    "I know nothing more of them," Thistlestorm inferred.
   Rocktuft sighed as Blossomheart walked up to him, "I want you to help us remake the dens."
   He nodded and followed her into the forest to find some twigs.
   Bouncestep padded up to Thistlestorm, a smirk on his face, "Black cats! Make fire! Oh no! Mommy is dead!" He hissed.
   Thistlestorm growled and lashed his tail, "It did happen!"
   Yellowgaze peered from the side of the camp, "Sure."
   "No StarClan cat is stupid enough to help you, weaklings," Bouncestep laughed.
   Shadow hissed and jumped at Bouncestep, "We just went through more than you ever will!" Bouncestep took notice of how strong the tom was and swiftly nodded his head, "Sure! Sure! Just let me go!" He pleaded.
   Shadow growled and let the tom run.
   "The other Clans are probably in the same conditions," Shadow predicted, "Let's head back over to the huge rock those cats came from."