The Tulip's Song

Chapter 4

"I know" The words fell like cold ice on Tulippaw's back as her mentor's mouth closed, the words said. Snakepelt's tail gestured toward the medicine den and Tulippaw followed him to the den. Once inside, her mentor lay down and put his tail around the apprentice. "I was there when it happened. She just dropped while me and Spottedgrass were walking to the Twoleg place. I don't know why Spottedgrass wanted to become a kittypet. I might never know but that is beside the point. Blackberry was my mother so I'm hurting too. It's one of the reasons I decided to become a medicine cat." Tulippaw felt slightly comforted. "And the other reasons?" Snakepelt didn't falter. "They are classified. If you found out, you wouldn't like it." Tulippaw mumbled something in reply and her mentor stood up. "I have to tell Miststar something that I discovered on my trip, bye, I guess." Then he left the distraught apprentice in the den and left. Tulippaw sat there quietly, welcoming the warm temperatures in the den, that were cooler than the air outside. A few minutes later Snakepelt returned, and he lay down again, this time his tail not encircling the apprentice. He seemed tense, but Tulippaw let that slide to the back of her mind. All she wanted to do was grieve. She raced out of the den and out of the camp to the rotting corpse of Blackberry. She smelt but Tulippaw didn't care, she sat there silently grieving. She heard a twig snap but she didn't turn in fact she lay down with her head on her paws. A blur of fur walked behind her and then sat next to her. She knew who it was, the visitor's skin and bone female frame was all she needed.