Two Birds/Chapter 8

Creekpaw's POV
Cats milled around the clearing, excitement crackling the air and blocking off all other scents. The sun was setting and the cats would be leaving to the gathering soon.
Applepad told Creekpaw to stay in his nest, but at the medicine cat slipped away, ready for the gathering, Creekpaw struggled to his paws, pain making his belly throb where the wound was, then set out at a wobbly pace outside.
He was shocked to see the tidel wave of cats, running around, some cheering the new warriors names while others just ran around for no reason, maybe the excitement was confusing them.
Creekpaw tried to push through the crowd of cats but was met by hisses a few clawed bats to the ears. He backed away, nearly falling, feeling utterly hurt and defeated.
Then he felt a warm tail on his shoulder and looked up to see Falconcry's tail laid across his shoulder, and the ginger and white tom led him through the crowd toward the two new warriors.
"Thanks," he said briefly to Falconcry, who nodded with a stupid smile plastered on his face. Some cats gazed coldly at Falconcry as he led the supposed murderer. Creekpaw felt comforted that Falconcry didn't care what the others thought, he wouldn't leave Creekpaw behind no matter how they felt and how it changed his reputation.
Finally they broke through the cats and found the gray pelts of the new warriors; Talonfang and Stoneblaze. Envy made Creekpaw feel a little bitter. He could have been a warrior by now... but he pushed it aside, replaced by pride for his sister as he momentarily forgot she killed their friends and nearly him.
Talonfang, who looked so proud noticed Creekpaw and her expression changed to show nothing as she gazed intently at him.
He could feel how tense she was. "Congratulations, Talonfang. You derserve to be a warrior," he mewed, dipping his head. He meant it, Creekpaw really believed Talonfang deserved the title, despite her past mistakes.
*It can be better now, can't it? If we all pretend nothing happened, won't it be okay?* Though he felt doubtful.
*Things are never going to be the same and I can't pretend that never happened. I forgive you for hurting me, Talonfang, but I'll never forgive you for hurting my friends and I don't think I will trust you again. But wasn't it my fault? If it's my fault, I should be mad at myself, not Talonfang... I'm really confused...*
Talonfang looked so pleased, a huge grin on her face at Creekpaw's words. "You do?" she asked, leaning into his face with wide eyes, then jerking away quick.
"I thought I'd never be a warrior! It took so long! And it was hard, and -" she stopped, noticing the look of envy on his face.
"Don't worry, Creekpaw," she mewed in a cheerful, comforting voice, resting her tail on his shoulder and pulling him closer to her side. "You'll be a warrior in no time." Her eyes clouded for a moment but the cloud faded as soon as it came.
In that moment, a warm feeling filled Creekpaw's chest. This is how everything used to be. And for that moment, Creekpaw felt he could trust Talonfang with his life forever. *Why did things change? I want this back...*
"Ravenstar's letting me go to the gathering tonight!" Talonfang's voice buzzed with excitement, then she looked at him, there was a faint glint of guilt in her eyes. *She knows I can't go because of the wound she gave me.*
"That's great, your name will be announced to all the Clans tonight."
"It will be, won't it?" The light in Talonfang's eyes returned, a dreamy look in them. Creekpaw didn't like that dreamy look. Dreamy looks were cool and all, but when Talonfang got a dreamy look, that was never good news.
"Aha, yeah -" Talonfang cut him off with a yowl. "Wispheart, wait for me!" before she raced after the ginger and white tabby out of camp, following their other Clanmates who were picked to go to the gathering.
Creekpaw ducked his head, feeling hurt once more. He turned and realized Stoneblaze was still there, talking with Falconcry before he ran after Wispheart. Creekpaw took a deep breath and padded over to the dark she-cat.
"Hi. Stoneblaze is a nice name," he mewed, holding her warm gaze as she silently studied him. He wriggled uncomfortablely under her eyes before she finally spoke, dipping her head to him.
"Thanks, Creekpaw," she said, before following her brother. Creekpaw stared after her, disappointed and more hurt. He sighed, longing for the time they were friends and he pushed Wispheart's comment away, when she had asked if he had a crush on Stoneblaze. *I don't. I don't love her, I love her as a friend and a Clanmate. I admire her a lot, but we haven't talked, like actually talked in so long. How could I be in love with her? I just want my friend back.*
He realized he was alone in the clearing, all the cats had gone to the Gathering or went to their dens, keeping well away from him. He sighed once more. All the friends he had weren't around, so he had no one to hang out with.
Talonfang's behavior came back to Creekpaw's mind. It seemed so odd that she acted the way she had, like nothing had ever happened. The more he thought about it, and their memories together, the harder it became to stop his eyes from watering. It made him sadder, and angrier. It was so unfair of Talonfang to do this. *Is she trying to twist my emotions?* Did she feel better now that she was a warrior, while he was stuck being an apprentice? Did she feel less threatened?
Before he knew it, he was asking himself more and more questions. What... why... why did her personality seem to constantly shift? Angry, then cold, but then she was normal, maybe even happier than normal. And why did her views on him change so often? One minute, she hated him, he was the cause of all their problems, she hated him because he had been becoming more "famous" in the Clan (in a good way; now he was famous for murder).
One minute, she claimed to hate him and was doing this for *her* future, then the next, it was *his* future, then both of theirs, then *everyones*. And if he was already so far in the ranks within the Clan, why did she bother giving him a hard time? It was starting to become so overwhelming and confusing, it made Creekpaw dizzy. *Is Talonfang crazy?*
Well, going over everything, Talonfang was completely fine when Creekpaw was just a slow apprentice, and she, top of the class, and he relied on her for protection. Creekpaw helps Stonepaw and Wisppaw from a dog and is named a "hero" and "future leader" (which Creekpaw thought was a little tiny bit dramatic. He was pretty sure if Wisppaw and Stonepaw were desperate enough, they'd have ripped that dogs head off. And so many other cats have done more heroic things. Maybe the Clan was just so relieved he was kind of useful, they made him a hero to "encourage him onto the path of a hero.") So Talonfang got a little upset because she wasn't in the spotlight, and for some reason has some great desire to become deputy, then once Creekpaw continues to be better, Talonfang got madder, then decided it'd be great to kill some friends and frame him for it. Now, Creekpaw wasn't sure if he was crazy or if she was, but that right there sounded pretty crazy.
Why was all this happening? Why couldn't Talonfang just be happy with what she had? Creekpaw squeezed his eyes tight shut, all the question making his head hurt.
"Get your tail in the den, Creekpaw," came the annoyed voice of Applepad. Creekpaw turned back to the gorse bush where the medicine den lie hidden underneath. The reddish medicine cat glared grumpily at him and Creekpaw felt a twinge of affection for him. Applepad never mentioned the murders at all and treated him like any other cat. He had become a great friend since Creekpaw's "accident".
Creekpaw limped over to the den, wincing at the pain in his belly and followed Applepad into the den, ducking under the trailing branches into the wide space below. The bittersweet scent of herbs welcomed them, soothing Creekpaw's achy head.
Applepad was a little cat, he had to tilt his head up a tiny bit to see Creekpaw. His nose flared in over-dramatic anger. "I thought I told you to stay in here. Those idiots could bump into like the bumbling fools they are and rip that wound open again," the tabby said, wearing his 'I'm-about-to-rant-face, then it twisted to disgust.
"Oh StarClan, I said bumbling. Remind me to never say bumbling again. I swear if I -" he began changing the subject, then caught himself and glared back at Creekpaw with his atempt at an angry face once again. "Oh, yeah! I was yelling at you, wasn't I? They can bump into you and rip you wound open." The color in his face drained and he began circling him. Creekpaw had to hop from one paw to the other to aviod being knocked over.
"You didn't reopen your wound did you?" Applepad fretted, stopping, and squinting at the dark mark that was the deep wound on Creekpaw's belly. "I don't think I did," Creekpaw said as Applepad touched it lightly with his nose. The little cat sat back on his haunches, eyes narrowed and going, "hmmm...."
Creekpaw watched him quietly. He'd grown used to Applepad doing stuff like that; mostly because he wanted to make that cats he was treating nervous, because he thought that was funny. But Creekpaw let out a long yawn and Applepad rolled his eyes. "All right, go to your nest. Your wound is fine, just be careful."
Creekpaw obeyed, padding over to his nest and settled into the moss and heather. He let out another quiet sigh. He hated being stuck in this den all the time, he felt useless; he wanted to hunt, go for a walk, be anywhere but camp. Where everyone glared at him, and there was nothing to do... At least Applepad cared. *It's his job to care,* Creekpaw silently corrected himself.
He highly doubted Applepad would be as kind as he was if they weren't sharing a den. Applepad had gone over to some withered old leaves and was sorting through them, twitching his torn ears at Creekpaw's sigh. Applepad had been a warrior's apprentice before he decided to become a medicine cat, he had fought in a few battles. He once told Creekpaw a story on how he left the Clan on a quest, actually not too long before Creekpaw and Talonfang arrived to PebbleClan.
"Today's going to be one of the last peaceful Gatherings," Applepad observed without looking up from his swift moving paws, zipping in to snatch the old leaves and through them into a growing pile beside him.
Creekpaw twitched his whiskers. "Why is that?" He had only been to four Gatherings before, all of them seemed pretty peaceful. Why would the Clans start fighting? Why not just keep the peace?
"It's the end of leaf-fall," Applepad mewed, already nearly finished with the pile. "They're going to be fighting over prey soon." He frowned a little, twisting his face into a disapproving look. "They all want it for themselves. There may even be a fight tonight. PebbleClan may be doing well, so far, but what about the other Clans?"
Creekpaw's belly fluttered uncomfortabley at the thought and he anxiously flicked the tip of his tail tro and fro. What if they did fight? What if his friends got hurt? What if Talonfang got hurt? *Shut up, you're supposed to be mad at her. Why can't you stay mad at* anyone? *I mean, it's nice sometimes, but really annoying other times. She kind of tried to kill me, and she killed our friends, and yet I'm having a hard time feeling angry.* Instead guilt yowled quietly in the back of his mind. Wasn't that his fault?
He pushed the thought away, freezing up like a rock. Whenever he got freaked out, nervous, or anything, he either started twitching like a mad cat, or he froze up like a rock, as if he thought nothing would hurt him if he didn't move. Applepad made a sneezing-hiss sound, and yawned, turning away from the two seperate piles of leaves, with dust all over his reddish face.
He gave Creekpaw a quick glance, then skipped over to the roots of the gorse, where he stored his herbs. He pulled out some green leaves and turned to Creekpaw, an almost hopeful expression on his face. "Do you want to come with me to check on Dustclaw? Her kits will be here soon."
Dustclaw - ooh Dustclaw. She was PebbleClan's deputy, and she had a lot of fire. Seriously, this one time, probabaly the only time Creekpaw ever spoke to her, she flipped out because he overslept one time, and after she yowled at him, he felt like he'd been burned by a bunch of sparks, then brutally beaten and kicked with dust. She was really scary and Creekpaw had avoided her as much as possible after that.
It still amazed him she was going to be a mother. *I'm glad I'm not one of her kits... Oh, but I feel bad for those kits, I mean, she's kind of mean, she might yell at them a lot. But she probably has a sweet side, doesn't every cat have a good side? I think all cats have at least a little bit of good in them, even if it's buried really deep.*
She was Ravenstar's mate actually, expecting his kits. Sharptalon had taken her place in the mean time. Creekpaw didn't approve much of his "foster dad" being deputy, but he was doing all right so far. *Why do mean cats always become deputy?* (lol sharptalon has never even spoke to creek from what i've written)
He became lost in thought. When Creekpaw gets lost in thought he stares at random objects. This time, he was staring at Applepad, who batted him gentlely with a paw to snap him out of his daze. "Dude, get out of dreamland. Are you coming?"
Creekpaw nodded fast, feeling guilty he had kept Applepad waiting. "O-okay," he stammered. Applepad grinned and grabbed the leaves and padded outside. Creekpaw followed, ducking underneath the gorse in persuit of the tabby.
Twilight had set while they were in the den. A chilly breeze stirred Creekpaw's fur and he just now seemed to realize it *was* close to leafbare. By the time he and Applepad reached the heather thicket that made up the nursery, Creekpaw was shivering from nose to tail.
Before Applepad could reply, Frostwing's face wrinkled into a snarl. "Get him out! I don't want him hurting the kits!" Creekpaw flinched, stung as if she had really struck him with her claws.
Applepad raised his tail. "Shush. Creekpaw is here to help. If you're so concerned for the kits, watch them." Frostwing grumbled under her breath, looking furious. Applepad beckoned Creekpaw over with his fluffy tail with a reassuring smile. "Come, come. Help me see to Dustclaw."
Dustclaw glared at Creekpaw as he approached. "What's he going to do to help? He's hurt and a warrior apprentice-" she stopped abrutly, letting out an angry grunting growl, shuffling in her nest. Applepad frowned upon her, lightly gliding his paw over her flank. "When did your pains start? You should've told me."
Creekpaw watched in silence and remained motionless, just now sensing the pain coming from Dustclaw in waves, making his whiskers tremble. Dustclaw shrugged. "I don't know, like, during the ceremony. Don't know. Don't care." She hissed again as another pain made her body shudder. "Can you give me poppy seeds or some of the crap to make it stop at least?"
"Well. The only way to stop the pain is to push the kits out," Applepad replied, matter-o-factly. Dustclaw rolled her eyes and moaned. "The little monsters are coming? No wonder... Already they've been nothing but trouble." Se grumbled more and shifted into a more comfortable postion. "So, what? Just push and that's it? Easy."
Applepad gave her a wicked grin. "Oh, it'll be fun and easy." Creekpaw just now became aware what was going on and sudden panic gripped his chest. Dustclaw was going to give birth *right now? Really?* The exact moment Creekpaw happened to be there? What were the odds? He didn't want to see that! He began his anxious twitching, while watching Applepad giving Dustclaw orders on what to do. How were they so calm? Applepad was acting like it was some kind of joke and Dustclaw was just complaining about how annoying it was. *They should be freaking out!*
He forgot to pay attention to what was going on around him, too focused on panicking in his head. Applepad poked Creekpaw lightly on the muzzle, snapping him out of his racing thoughts. "There's nothing else we can do to help her," he nodded to Dustclaw, still muttering angrily. "-but you could go fetch her a stick? A steady firm one, test it to make sure it won't snap when you bite down."
Creekpaw barely heard him, fidgeting more. "Huuh? O-oh. Uuuuhhh o-kay." With that, Creekpaw dashed out of the nursery into the darkness outside, nearly running into a rock jutting out of the ground. He veered away and raced out the camp entrance, getting his flailing paws tangled for a moment but breaking free.
He raced along the hills, not really sure where he was going. The only thought that was on his mind was *stick*. He tripped over roots and rocks, cursing the clouds that covered most of the moon. Did that mean the Clans were fighting at the Gathering? Was Talonfang okay? *Don't think about Talonfang. Stick!*
The woody part of PebbleClan's territory came into view and Creekpaw had a sudden idea. Oooh yeah! Stick were in forests! Forests were made out of trees! Trees had sticks! He raced for the trees, as if his life depended on this stick. Would Dustclaw *die* if she didn't have the stick? Would they be angry if he didn't fetch it back in time? *They're going to be angry if I don't hurry!*
He skidded to a halt, searching violently for a stick. He found a ton, but they were too weak and snapped in his jaws when he tested him, doing what Applepad said. Creekpaw began to wonder about his mother. How did her kitting go? He was pretty sure she had been alone when it had happened. She had no one to help. A pang of loss weighed heavy on his shoulders at the thought. Creekpaw didn't remember her, and that's what hurt the most. He didn't remember his mother because she died when he was so young. He wished she had come to join PebbleClan with him and Talonfang. What would have been different? Would he be different? What about Talonfang?
His worries stopped when he crunched down a thick stick that had bark covering it. It didn't budge no matter how hard he bit. For a brief moment, relief felt like a cool wind on a hot day to Creekpaw's pelt, then his panic returned. He had to give this to Dustclaw before she broke a tooth, or they got mad at him!
He made a made dash back to camp, already there in a few heartbeats. He passed a large group of cats in the middle of the clearing, huddled together, hissing and sharing angry words. Creekpaw passed without a glance to see what the drama was about. They were probably just worried about Dustclaw. *Or they're mad at me for being too slow!*
He stumbled into the den to find Applepad still crouched beside Dustclaw, who was less angry and complaining, more focused on her breathing and staying calm. Panting, Creekpaw aproached, dropping the stick beside Applepad. "Fatabulas job, Creekpaw! Great time too." The red cat picked the stick up and jammed it into Dustclaw's jaws. She let out an annoyed, tired growl but made no more complant.
"Lick this," Applepad instructed Creekpaw, nudging him to a wriggling wet bundle next to Dustclaw's belly. Creekpaw stared down at it, briefly baffled by how small it was, and kind of cute... and scary... mostly scary. He looked at Dustclaw, as if asking her silently if she had his permission. But the queen was more focused on pushing than glaring at Creekpaw for once.
The night colored tom took this as a "you're good to go" and leaned down, licking the kits fur the wrong way to make it fluff up and dry. It was too dark to tell what it looked like, but Creekpaw imagined it having the same gruff face of it's mother, from the way it seemed to try batting him away. He was very aware of Frostwing sitting behind him, her gaze boring into his back.
Soon after, Dustclaw birthed two more kits, both screaming like they were wailing battlecries. *Well, they have much in commen with their mother.* Dustclaw glared down her narrow snout at the fuzzballs at her belly, suckling furiously. Her eyes were as soft as ice now, not rock. That's the softest Creekpaw had ever seen her look. "You did great, Creekpaw," Applepad purred, patting his back with his tail, eyes twinkling.
"Thanks, Applepad," Creekpaw purred back, still stunned by how calm the medicine cat had been during the whole thing. They both pricked their ears as the yowling from the clearing grew louder yet. Creekpaw had forgotten that drama was sky high outside, for some reason. Applepad let out a disgusted snort, which Creekpaw echoed. "Let's go see what this is all about. I swear, if it affects my beauty sleep, I will kill all of them, medicine cat or not," Applepad grumbled, leading the way outside into the night. The cats were no more than shadows, all gathered around and arguing.
"Put her back where she dropped! We don't need another mouth to feed, nor the garbage she is!" roared one cat near the front - sounded like the grouchy voice of Redclaw.
"We couldn't just leave her. The warrior code says you should not kill to win your battles. She fell during the clash, but she can't die. We have more dignity than that. We must help her," reasoned Mountainstream's calm voice.
It was just a jumble of angry yowling cats, arguing about a she-cat. Creekpaw tried to peer through the cats, but they blocked his view, and it was too dark to see anyway. Applepad cleared his throat, very furiously loud. The cats stopped, staring at him. He dipped his head and a small smile appeared on his face. "Fighting with teeth and claw is the best way to win a fight friends, not arguing. Arguing is for chumps." He swished his wsipy tail. "But on a serious note... what in the name of StarClan is going on? Cats are trying to sleep, our deputy just gave birth and she is so very tired. She will be terribly upset if she keep her up. Now, who is hurt?"
Mountainstream padded up and guided Applepad through the crowd, Creekpaw followed curiously. Mountainstream had once been a slacker, low respect for the warrior code and lack of wisdom. But he seemed to have matured much since being Mountainpaw. Creekpaw wondered if they'd be friends if he wasn't a so-called murderer.

Mountainstream stopped in front of a small lump of fur lying on the ground, only half awake. The scent of a she-cat filled Creekpaw's nose, but her scent wasn't of PebbleClan. It was kittypet scent.

Recently, there had been a rise in kittypet activity in PebbleClan's territory. A big group gathered and stole prey from them, giving PebbleClan a hard time, but they weren't too hard to chase off. They were more annoying than anything, but they were known to ambush cats a lot, so that could be deadly, surrouded by a bunch of kitties with no help in sight.
A few clouds must have departed from the moon, because a tiny bit of silver moonlight made it easier to see in the darkness. Creekpaw was able to make out some of her colors. A brown tabby - black stripes - nicked ear. He faintly reconized her scent, actually. His thought settled on the event when he and Talonfang had been walking home as apprentices, how the huge group of kittypets appeared and Talonfang rushed in to stop them, while Creekpaw hurried back to camp to fetch help. Maybe she was one of them.
Bitterness rose in his throat as he continued to look at her in the now fading moonlight, not paying attention to Applepad and the warriors talking about what they should do. Why should they help this cat? She's been causing trouble for their Clan for moons now, it'd be better to leave her. And why should they care anyway? She wasn't part of the Clan, she was stealing food she didn't need...
But the longer Creekpaw glared down at the barely moving fur, pity made his heart feel heavy and he couldn't stop himself from speaking. "I think we should help her," he said suddenly, midst a new argument. Applepad lashed his tail triumpantly to the warriors.
"We'll help her. Just until she's strong enough to return home. We have enough votes on keeping her here," he mewed, while a few other cats nodded in agreement, while others shook their heads in disgust. "His opinion shouldn't count," Redfur hissed, flicking his tail at Creekpaw.
Creekpaw lowered his head in an almost submissive way, almost feeling like he agreed. He was a bit angry with himself for caring about her well being. But he was upset that she was considered being thrown aside. A little thought sparked in his head. *Wasn't I in her postion once? If Talonfang hadn't protected me from the others while I was younger, would I have been thrown away?*
"I don't want to hunt for it!" puffed Streamcloud, while Redfur and a few others nodded in agreement. Mountainstream remained silent, eyes fixed to the sky above. Creekpaw silently urged someone to speak out, suddenly feeling very compassionate for this cat. But everyone either agreed or stayed quiet. Doubtfully, Creekpaw scuffed his forepaws along the cold earth. "I can hunt for her."
It wasn't like the Clan would eat anything he brought back anyway, like they were scared he'd somehow poisoned their food by touching it. *It won't make anything harder for them. I'll be the one dealing with the problem.* Applepad gave Creekpaw a glare of disagreement, his amber eyes speaking to him *You're hurt, Creekpaw. You can't hunt.* Creekpaw glared back, hoping the boldness in his eyes would speak the same as it did with him.
Applepad hesitated, then flicked his tail and sighed. "Creekpaw is willing to take care of this cat. He will hunt for her so you won't have to get your paws extra dirty." He glared around the assembled cats, who made no comment. "Good. Help me get her into my den, Creekpaw." Together, the two toms gently lifted the she-cat, who made a quiet moan of complant, but quickly fell silent.
The slid her into Creekpaw's nest and Applepad began treating the wounds on her neck and flank. Creekpaw crouched nearby, watching with heavy eyes, not really knowing how he felt. He didn't know how to feel about her. She had done terrible things to the Clan, along with her friends, but now she was hurt and at their mercy. Ever since he was a kit, Creekpaw was sure he wanted to help all cats, no matter where they were from, but now he didn't know how to feel about that idea. It was difficult to feel bad for her, after the trouble she and her pals had caused.
But as he watched Applepad silently treat her wounds, Creekpaw felt a tiny bit of pity once more. She might have not done the best things, but once he got to know her a little, maybe she wouldn't be so bad. *I hope she's not that bad. I wouldn't be too happy sharing a den with her and hunting for her if all she did was snap.*
"You should sleep, Creekpaw," Applepad mewed after he had finished dressing the she-cat. "Use my nest for now. We'll make you a new one later." Creekpaw looked up at him, frowning. "No, it's fine. I like the ground. It's nice and... cold. But don't worry, I like the cold! I actually love the cold."
Applepad playfully batted Creekpaw, and Creekpaw him back with a small purr. "Don't be a stupid fool. You're hurt. Last thing you need is to get sick from being cold, and you'll get very stiff. I honestly do mind if I sleep on the ground."
After a little more hushed arguing, Creekpaw stood up, defeated and padded into the medicine cats nest. Applepad's scent hung heavy to the moss and heather as Creekpaw curled up, wincing at the pain from his belly wound. He glanced over to Applepad, who was sprawled out on the den play, playing around with a dead marigold leaf.
His eyes became heavy, and Creekpaw, closed them, quietly wondering how the Gathering went. Was Applepad right? Had the Clans fought? Did Talonfang get hurt? *Don't worry about her. She's fine, you're supposed to be mad at her.*