High Speed Winds

Chapter 5

I need marigold.

Panicscar moved through the jungle at a fast pace, desperate to leave FogClan territory before sunrise.

Thank StarClan that mouse-heart Vineclaw is dead.

Blood fell at her paws, as she stumbled through the undergrowth. Panicscar crossed a faint FogClan scent line.

StarClan, yes! I'm out of that wretched place.

The sharp scent of marigold brushed the medicine cat's nose. Panicscar stopped, and tracked down the scent.

The bright orange flowers of the herb glowed in the starlight, and Panicscar bent down to drink the juices.

Oh, wait... I don't do that! I have to make a pulp...

The scarred she-cat bit the flower off of the stem and chewed up each bitter petal. Panicscar let out a hiss as she swallowed the tart juices. The medicine cat spat out the chewed-up petals onto a broadleaf.

The gray cat gently rubbed the ointment onto her bleeding wounds, and glanced around for cobwebs. In the dense forest, Panicscar could not find any.

She let out a moan of pain as the marigold began to burn her scars. Each one lit up as though fire were touching them. Panicscar moved through the forest to take her mind off of the pain.

She recognized the camp she had seen days before. Panicscar felt a pang of hunger as the scent of bird tingled her nose. Ignoring the burn of the herbs, Panicscar spotted a parrot, which was perched on a flimsy branch that dangled from the thick forestry above.

With grace and ease, the medicine cat silently leaped into the air, snapping her jaw shut around the bird's neck. The bird couldn't even manage a squawk before the sound of bones cracking could be heard.

Twisting midair and landing on the other side of the branch, Panicscar quickly devoured the parrot, careful not to allow any blood to drop onto the soil below.

Panicscar devoured the parrot ravishly, cleaning each bone of the meat.

The gray she-cat looked up, her paws wet with the parrots blood when she had finished.

Fear tingled every hair on Panicscar's pelt as she watched the sun appear on the scarlet-streaked dawn sky.

The MistClan camp below her bustled as cats rushed from their dens.

A large cream-pelted tom with broad shoulders stood tall and proud on a boulder.

Homesickness warmed under her pelt as images of the DrizzleClan Tall Rock formed in her mind.

Panicscar shook away the uncomfortable feeling, and watched the deputy send out patrols.

The deputy was a gray and white she-cat.

"Shardfang and Hailstorm. Come with me on dawn patrol." The deputy meowed to the two cats.

"Willowstripe and Scarletpelt. Go hunting while we mark the borders." She yowled as she exited the camp.

The patrol passed under Panicscar's branch.

All of a sudden, the sharp scent of rogues tainted the air.

"FogClan!" She hissed aloud.

The patrol stopped, and looked towards her branch. Their tails lashed with fury when they spotted her.

"Get down here!" The deputy ordered, her blue eyes glowing with anger.

"Who do you think you are?" She growled.