Warriors: Omen Of Fire

Chapter 20

"Snowblaze! Bring those brambles over here!" Littletail called from behind the nursery. Snowblaze didn't answer, but dragged the large tangle of brambles he was carrying over to where Littletail was patching the nursery. Snowblaze was relieved to have the spikey plant out of his mouth. His tongue prodded at a spot on the roof of his mouth where a thorn had dug in. But as he looked around the gully he was relieved to see it looking much better. Every day Snowblaze and his clanmates had worked tirelessly to rebuild what had been destroyed. Even through the stormy days that had followed the fire.

It was hard for him and his clanmates, most of them still had trouble breathing, and because of that, the rebuilding had started out slow. Snaketail seemed to be the worst, his breath rattling every time he coughed. And Stiffwhisker had passed away soon after they moved back to camp; her old lungs couldn't handle the extra pressure of breathing in the smoke. They had mourned her passing and her two denmates had buried her. Swiftear had taken it very hard and he hadn't left the elders' den since that day.

Blinking his thoughts back to the present, Snowblaze watched Littletail maneuver the brambles into place behind the nursery and weave the stems into the camp wall. Their camp wall once stood tall and intimidating, but now it was a patchwork of sticks and thorns woven together in an attempt to recreate the gully's surrounding protection.

The nursery was almost completed and back to looking like a place no enemy would want to try and penetrate. It was a good thing too because it meant that Lizardbelly and Sparklekit could move back into the nursery. The queen had been sleeping close to Charfur every night in the elder's den and she never took her eyes off of her remaining kit. Snowblaze felt sad for Lizardbelly every time her saw her; losing Shrewkit took something away from her that he was afraid she'd never get back.

The warriors' den was coming along more gradually. The leaves of the hawthorn bush were growing back slowly which helped to fill in the drafty gaps. The warriors would be grateful of that once the weather began to turn cold. The Great Maple, however, would always bear the scars of the fire. It stood tall, one side blackened by fire.

"Hey! Snowblaze, are you day dreaming?" The voice pulled him out of his thoughts once more and his eyes focused on Flameclaw. The ginger deputy looked tired. He had been working as hard as any warrior to mend their camp. "Moonbeam needs some more herbs gathered. You can bring Leafpaw with you to help. Be back before sunset."

"I can do that," he answered and made his way over to the medicine cats' den to find out which herbs Moonbeam needed. Snowblaze's whiskers drooped in exhaustion, but he had to keep helping. He knew that what his sister had done had nothing to do with him, but he felt that he had something to prove now. He felt he needed to do everything anyone asked of him; he was afraid that some clanmates would be distrustful of him now.

As he passed the fresh kill pile he sighed at how small it still was. The fire had driven away so much prey, that most cats were going to sleep hungry. Just the thought of it made his stomach ache. It growled loudly and he tried to ignore it. He would have to try hunting again later.

"Oh thank you Snowblaze I'm glad you're here," Moonbeam spoke breathlessly as the tom entered the gloomy den. The medicine cat seemed scatter-brained as he turned in circles trying to figure out what he needed. He muttered to himself, and Snowblaze just waited patiently.

"Coltsfoot!" he burst out suddenly. "And more goldenrod, maybe some ragwort..." Suddenly Moonbeam stopped and looked at Snowblaze with his deep blue eyes. "We never got a chance to speak really since the fire. Are you doing okay?" he asked kindly.

Snowblaze was taken aback slightly. No one had really asked him, except for his mate Mistshade who asked him every day. "Yeah I guess I'm alright," he answered. "As good as anyone else."