Midnightshade's Truth

**Midnightshade's Truth** is a super edition focusing on one of WikiClan's medicine cats, Midnightshade, written by Wavesplash.

Current story is incomplete, and will not go beyond chapter one until most of/all of the main series is complete.

## Featured WikiClan Characters

* Midnightshade (protagonist/point of view)
* Spiritstar
* Fawnleap
* Skypaw
* Cinnamonfur (mentioned)

## Prologue

"Mommy?" Midnight squeaked. Turning around, Strike noticed Midnight following her.

"Go back into your nest with your sister, starling," Strike told her kit in a soft voice, licking the top of her forehead.

"Where're you going?" Midnight asked. "Can I come?"

"No, little kit. I am going hunting. It is too dangerous for a kit to come with. Maybe when you're older," She added. "Now go on, off to bed now."

Strike turned back around, heading off. Midnight blinked, watching her mother go.

"When will daddy come back?" Midnight asked in a small, quavering voice. Her mother turned around, face lit up silver in the moonlight.

"He'll be back soon," Strike said at last, not meeting Midnight's gaze.

"Why'd he leave?" Midnight asked, full of questions.

"He- he had something important to take care of."

"More important than us?"

"...yes."

Midnight was silent, staring deep into her mother's amber eyes.

"...does daddy still love us?" She asked finally, her voice quavering even more now.

Strike was silent for a long time.

"Yes," She replied at last. "He still loves us."

What Strike had told her had been a lie, but Midnight didn't know that yet.

And with that, Strike hopped out of the den, leaving Midnight alone with her sister.

Sunlight peeked into the den, waking Midnight up almost immediately after. Midnight's sister, Rainshower, rose to her paws, yawning.

Midnight trotted out of the den. She wanted to tell her mother about the silly dream she'd had, the one about the clans.

"Strike?" She called out. "Mom?" No answer.

"Come on," Rainshower said. "Let's go find her."

"But mom said-" Midnight began, but Rainshower cut her off.

"Mother's not here right now, is she? We don't have to let her know we went looking for her. Think of it as a game," Rainshower said, a mischief glittering in her eyes.

"A game?" Midnight echoed. "What kind of game?"

"Like I said, we find mother, but we make sure she doesn't know we found her," Rainshower replied.

Midnight happily bounced along as Rainshower began wandering the forest.

They leapt over ditches and roots, swerved around brambles and nettle, and stopped to watch birds hop in the trees up above, their chirps and calls taunting the kits.

Rainshower hopped onto a log, scanning the area ahead of them.

"Oh no," Her sister breathed, eyes widening in fear.

"What's oh no?" Midnight asked, peering at what her sister was looking at.

On the ground, just below the log, was a cat, sprawled out. Blood everywhere.

Whatever killed the cat killed her like prey.

Then, glancing at the cat's eyes, she knew who it was.

"Mother?"

## Chapter One

The small cluster of chervil that grew beneath a large tree seemed even smaller, with hints at an animal, most likely a rabbit, having passed by and helped themselves to a few leaves.

Midnightshade decided not to worry about this, however, as the chervil would regrow in the coming newleaf. She carefully leaned down and grabbed some of the stems, careful not to damage the leaves, and set them down next to her as she continued grabbing more leaves.

When she was satisfied with her small collection, she held the chervil in her mouth and carried it back to camp, her paws treading lightly on the dirt and snow beneath her. She followed the same path she always did when herb-gathering, avoiding the low branches and the dangerous brambles that grew in low amounts.

She headed down into the tunnel that led into and out of the medicine den, passing by Spiritstar and Fawnleap as she set the chervil down in the correct place, among the other herbs.

"Midnightshade?" Spiritstar asked, drawing Midnightshade's attention away from the messy herb collection and towards her leader.

"What can we do to help you?" Midnightshade asked, feeling concerned. Had Spiritstar injured herself, or had come down with something?

Spiritstar's gaze switched between Midnightshade and Fawnleap as she stood there silently, as if she'd forgotten what she'd come in for.

"Can I talk to you?" Spiritstar asked, finding her words at last. "Alone?"

Midnightshade nodded, swallowing back her concerns as she smiled and led Spiritstar away from the camp and towards a more secluded area, one which was not layered in snow like the other areas.

"What do you need?" Midnightshade asked as the two cats settled down, tilting her head to one side as her gaze drifted from her leader to a small moth fluttering nearby.

"Do you think I'm a good leader?" Spiritstar's words immediately pulled Midnightshade from her distraction as if a load of snow had fallen onto her head.

"Of course you're a fine leader," Midnightshade replied, ignoring the moth as it settled on her head. She drew in a breath of the crisp leaf-bare air, and waited for Spiritstar to continue patiently.

"But 'fine' isn't good enough, I know it!" Spiritstar wailed suddenly, as if she was a kit being scolded. Midnightshade knew the feeling of self-doubt well, especially when it felt like every cat was better than you at everything. "I’m such a bad leader. I should just give up my role to Cinnamonfur, she’s a better leader than me."

*Leading takes time, it takes patience. You can't expect to be good at it right away,* were the words that Midnightshade wanted desperately to say, but she just couldn't figure out how. Instead, she managed to put together, "Don't say that. You're just gaining more knowledge every day about leading. Like my mother used to say, 'Without mistakes, we wouldn't learn'."

"Midnightshade?" Skypaw asked, leaping up onto the fallen log near where Midnightshade and Spiritstar sat. "I think we need more herbs."

Midnightshade nodded, and rose to her paws, yawning.

"I have to go, but remember, I can always give you advice if you need it," Midnightshade offered, turning her head to look at Spiritstar one last time before bounding towards Skypaw.

Midnightshade leapt onto the fallen log, following Skypaw back to the medicine den as another snowshower began.

"Do you miss being a loner?" Skypaw asked as the two cats headed into the medicine den. Skypaw's question caught Midnightshade off-guard and she froze. "You seem happy here, but you also seem... unsatisfied."

Midnightshade sighed. "I suppose I just miss traveling without constraint, without worry, knowing that every day will be different. Clan life feels more... confined, the same, yet different all at once."

Skypaw blinked, before nodding. "That makes sense, in a way."

The two cats were silent as they went on with their day, with Midnightshade sorting out the herbs and Skypaw practicing her battle training.