Storm Arising

Storm Arising

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*Storm Arising* is a series of six short novellas written by Mistleheart. It involves two young she-kits, Lightkit or ThunderClan and her half-sister, Wolfkit from ShadowClan. The books, in order, are Rising Moon, Broken Loyalties, Fading Boundaries, Shade Flowers, Night Falling, and lastly, Dusk Shadows.

**WARNING**: In the depths of Rising Moon, Night Falling, and Dusk Shadows, there will be quite some violence.

<tabber>

## Prologue

Shadowflight was aroused early in the newly built medicine cat's den by the distant warbling of a finch in the trees. The black tom rose to his paws, sniffing the air for any clear hints of the storm that had destroyed the former camp. He found only heavy amounts of dew on leaves in the prickly bramble thickets, which were the last few signs that the storm had brought much water. The more obvious signs were the charred earth, scattered black pine needles all over the black ground, and the remains of the destroyed elder's bramble thicket den.

The other Clans had refused to aid ShadowClan when the fled from their burning camp; or rather, they feared an ambush from the night stalkers. So Shadowflight, who had indeed gotten his name from his camp, had been unfortunately left to deal with the wounds from the fire by himself.

Shadowflight was getting old, with a graying muzzle and gray streaks of fur over his scrawny black pelt, yet he had no apprentice, but he did, however, have his eyes on one of the newer kits.

He padded across the hollow. The ground was black and muddy, slimy and wet. When hunting, some ShadowClan cats preferred to roll in this mud to hide their scent, but it wouldn't be any use now, since prey would easily detect the burnt scent of a mud-drenched cat creeping through the thick undergrowth. He thought ruefully, *How long will it take for the better mud to come back?* From what he'd heard from Berrystar, the elderly leader of ShadowClan, it would be many, many moons since the prey arrived, and the herbs grew back.

Shadowflight shook himself. He poked his nose into the nursery, which was made of a bramble thickets like the warriors' den and the apprentices' den. To his surprise, both queens were awake.

Eaglesong was nestled next to her only kit, Wolfkit. Her fierce yellow eyes were opened as she curled protectively next to her pale gray kit, who was snoring loudly. Wolfkit had a talent for finding herbs and memorization. She'd make the perfect medicine cat, but still...Shadowflight had noticed what a warrior she'd be. He wanted her to be his apprentice, but she would possibly feel like being a warrior more.

A few paces away lay Fernfall, stretched out in her large nest of stones. Since the moss had all burned to dry yellow or brown crisps, the only choice for nest material was pebbles, grass, and stones. Fernfall was a silver tabby, like her larger kit, Frostkit. Her other two kits - Featherkit and Stonekit - had their father's looks. Both were gray with silver mottles, like Yewheart. Both kits were awake. They were the older kits of the nursery, and would be having the apprentices' ceremonies in a moon now.

"Hi, Shadowflight. You're up earlier than usual." Eaglesong's voice jolted Shadowflight out of his trance. The mottled brown she-cat nodded to him. "I suppose you're here about Wolfkit?" she asked shrewdly.

"Uh, yeah." Shadowflight found it uncomfortable that Eaglesong seemed to always be able to guess what he was thinking.

"You want her to be your apprentice," Eaglesong meowed, her yellow eyes following Shadowflight as he edged closer to her nest. The mottled brown she-cat stood up. "I don't know what *she* wants, Shadowflight, but I think she should decide."

The scrawny black tom was aware of Fernfall's curious green gaze on him, and he shifted. He didn't feel pleased being the center of attention. "Yes, I was thinking so too," he meowed. "But I can see both a warrior and a medicine cat in her. She's so fierce, so ready to defend her Clan - "

"- which she is too young for," Eaglesong interrupted sharply.

"I'm not saying that she has to get into a battle just now," Shadowflight explained, quite patiently for a ShadowClan cat. "I just meant that she has the heart of a warrior and a medicine cat. She has a good nose for herbs and her memorizing battle tactics..." He faltered, then shook out his pelt. "Maybe *you* should talk to her?" he ventured uncertainly. "Maybe you can discuss it with Wolfkit, and let her decide."

"I'd like all my kits to become warriors in the future, like Badgerstep," Eaglesong responded, "but she knows what's best for herself."

Shadowflight winced at the mention of Eaglesong's mate. Badgerstep had been a pretty young warrior when he'd died in the storm. Shadowflight had been unable to save him, for he had already breathed in too much smoke from the fire; after all, he had willingly dived straight back to the flaming camp to save Wolfkit.

"Okay," he agreed. "But I'd like it if you'd..."

"I'll speak of it to Wolfkit," Eaglesong promised him, curling her body tighter around the pale gray she-kit. "I'll let you know if she agrees to your offer."

"Alright." Shadowflight breathed in deeply and squeezed out of the bramble thicket nursery, ignoring the sharp thorns digging into his pelt.

The sun was just starting to rise, its first shafts of sunshine peeking through the dense cover of pine forest in ShadowClan territory. Shadowflight didn't quite the warmth seeping through his thick fur. It reminded him too much of the terrible fire that had killed Badgerstep and Flowerpaw. The heat from the blazing golden-and-orange flames were now his greatest fear. The thought of being burned alive by fire terrified the ShadowClan medicine cat.

On the brighter side, the forest was just beginning to grow back. Shadowflight decided to take a quick stroll in the pines, perhaps search for some herbs that might've survived the storm, although he doubted that he would discover any. The scrawny tom made is way carefully through the tangle of brambles. The old barrier, made of large fern leaves and thorn bushes, had burned down to black charcoal during the fire, so Shadowflight had helped weave the new bramble wall. It was harder to get through - enemies attacking the camp itself would first have to deal with several blows before they could make their way inside, if they managed.

Shadowflight ventured deeper into the forest and tasted the air. A bit of lingering smoke-scent wafted around his nose, but mostly, the wet soil's smell clogged his nose. That was certainly another good sign.

He avoided sharp pine needles that had been scorched black by the fire. They were so fragile now, if he stepped on them he would definitely crush a few, but green needles unharmed by the fire could hurt if stumbled upon. Most trees were bare now - the fire had reached all the way to the tips, making needles fall. The ShadowClan cats had taken shelter in an old badger set with stale scents of badger pups. Berrystar had been reluctant to enter, but he had agreed to his deputy, Poppywhisker, that it was their only chance of surviving.

Shadowflight sniffed the damp air again. A new scent reached him, and he paced excitedly by the stump of a pine tree. He knew that scent well. It was one of the first herbs that his mentor, Mintshade, had taught him so many moons ago. He relished both the memory and the scent. After a few paces, he put his nose to the ground and brushed off a layer of dirt with the tips of his paws.

A green tendril poked through. Shadowflight dug faster, his excitement turning to triumph as he uncovered a whole flattened bush of ragwort leaves. He racked his brain as he carefully nipped a few soft stems off, careful not to pull out the roots. Ragwort...Mintshade had told Shadowflight it was fairly useful for aching joints, and could be used as a traveling herb. It tasted bitterly foul, but a cat would be grateful once they discovered the remedy had helped them.

*Exactly what I need,* the scrawny black tom thought in satisfaction, backing off with a large bundle of leaves in his jaws. Many of the warriors in his Clan had found themselves with sore joints after the fire. Shadowflight could use these ragwort leaves to treat them. He had a few old, shriveled, but completely fine juniper berries left to strengthen the mixture. And next to that, he could begin restocking his medicine store until it had more variety than before.

Shadowflight had spent many long days mourning the loss from the fire, but now, he was on the beginning a fresh new start for his herbs, for him, for his Clan.

**SCENEBREAK**

"Lily, you have to eat these. They can help your kits..."

The snowstorm that had nearly buried Reedpaw and his sister Petalpaw alive while out patrolling without permission had subsided from ThunderClan yesterday. Fortunately, no cat had died or been harshly injured, but snow covered most of the forest now, leaving no prey, no medicine.

Spottedwing figured that she should be grateful that it wasn't ThunderClan who had gotten the worst blow - ShadowClan, after all, had been the Clan to get hit by the storm, but she couldn't be happy. She hadn't heard from her ShadowClan friend Flowerpaw in days. Spottedwing couldn't help but wonder if she were dead.

The ThunderClan medicine cat, Flame, who had been a former loner, hadn't heard from ShadowClan's medicine cat, Shadowflight, in a half moon. What had happened to the 'night stalkers' everyone feared? Had they been completely wiped out by the fire?

Spottedwing mewed firmly to Lily, "Come on, eat the borage." She truly had no idea what had happened to the former kittypet during the snowstorm. Apparently, she had gone into such a shock that she might have fainted without anyone noticing.

Her kits, Lightkit and Bramblekit, fidgeted nervously next to Lily as their mother whimpered. "What's wrong with her?" Lightkit mewed in a small voice. She had always been the stronger of the two kits. Flame had miserably figured that Bramblekit wasn't going to last long, although she sent all the catmint she had left in her stocks to cure his greencough.

"There's - there's nothing wrong with her," Spottedwing meowed, her voice trembling. "I - she'll be alright."

Lily rolled over onto her belly, moaning. Her pale cream, almost white fur was dirty and flecked with soil, and foam bubbled at the corners of her mouth. Spottedwing tore up the leaves and asked gently, "Lily, are you okay?"

"I'm - I'm - " The cream-colored queen gasped out, panting hard. Spottedwing managed to stuff a few pawfuls of the shredded leaf pulp into Lily's mouth as she spoke. Instinctively, the queen swallowed. She writhed in her mossy nest, wailing in pain. Lightkit and Bramblekit stared at her in both curiosity, horror, and fear.

"Wait for a moment. I'll get Flame to...to treat you." Spottedwing rose from her spot. Her legs were sore and she struggled to stretch them, grunting in pain. The black-and-white tabby she-cat bounded out of the den, racing across the camp.

Patches of snow and frost were widespread across the camp. The tall mounds looked like fluffy, soft white clouds from this angle, but up close, Spottedwing knew that if you were ever mousebrained enough to jump in a mountain of snow, you'd regret it. She had made that mistake once when she was a young 4-moon old kit, and realized immediately that snow wasn't either *fluffy* or *soft.* Frost was piercingly freezing and cold.

The blizzard that had ravaged most of ThunderClan's forest territory had subsided, although the occasional pinch of snowflakes still fluttered through the chilly breeze like a butterfly might. Leaf-bare was always the harshest season compared to leaf-fall, newleaf, or greenleaf; however, in Spottedwing's time, she had never withstood such a horrible snowstorm. Perhaps it was only a slight difference in the climate, or the unfortunate lack of wind to blow the heavy gray snow clouds away.

She recalled struggling through the camp in the direct middle of the snowstorm. Hail had struck the ground next to her. She had dodged most of the huge chunks of ice, although once or twice, a slice of hail had thumped down on the black tabby fur between her white ears. Finally, she had made it to the medicine den and confronted Flame about Lily, who had suddenly collapsed in the nursery without warning. Sleet had whipped harshly against her face; frost had made her nose sting. The snow had brushed against her cold, numb pads. She hadn't been exactly thrilled when she found that Flame's apprentice, Leafpaw, wasn't present to help - apparently, the young medicine cat had strayed out in the forest to collect herbs at the height of the snowfall.

"Flame," Spottedwing called in a hushed tone, poking her muzzle through the fronds of ferns that arced into a long tunnel to the medicine cat's den.

To her sheer surprise, Flame was already striding towards her. The flame-colored ginger she-cat halted abruptly, glaring at the young warrior with her tired, red-tinged green eyes narrowed. "Yes? What do you need?"

Spottedwing bristled self-consciously, struggling to ignore the prickly medicine cat's scathing tone that clearly said, *Get out of here if you have nothing to say.* "Lily's not so well," the black-and-white tabby reported, not meeting Flame's exhausted gaze. "She's writhing and thrashing around a lot, and her muzzle has just begun to foam at the corners. I think..."

"You could've stayed with her, and sent an apprentice to come and alert me," Flame snapped, but she pushed herself to her paws. Her bright orange fur was rumpled, filthy, and matted in various areas, which was unusual for the former loner; she gave herself a throughout groom each day before she settled down for the night. "Okay, I'm coming. I just hope this is worth it." The medicine cat padded heavily across the camp, brushing past Spottedwing with a sigh of exhaustion.

The clearing was nearly silent. The warriors were huddled near the nettle clump not far outside their den, murmuring to each other under their breath. Reedpaw and Petalpaw were having an argument, although it sounded halfhearted. The fresh-kill pile consisted of only two morsels: an old sparrow with dust over its dull brown feathers, and a tiny, shriveled gray-brown mouse with its ribs poking out. As Spottedwing watched, Lightningfall padded over and plucked the old sparrow out of the fresh-kill pile.

Flame muttered a few cures under her breath before breaking away from Spottedwing's side, inhaling deeply, and vanished into the thick bramble bush that served as the ThunderClan nursery. Although Flame was fiery, living up to her name, Spottedwing had to admit that she admired the she-cat's calm in dealing in emergencies, such as this.

The black-and-white tabby she-cat strolled across the clearing, trying to enjoy the breezy wind, but she couldn't force herself to think, *Lily will be fine. It's alright; Flame is the most experienced medicine cat in the Clans.* Finally, she couldn't stand pacing across the clearing, or flattening her ears to block the cries coming from the nursery. The tabby raced across the wide, snow-speckled clearing, heading for the nursery den where Lily was still wailing in pain. Spottedwing hesitated before ducking her head and sliding deftly into the den, pausing when another deathly echoing howl rang into her ears.

"How...how is she?" Lightkit was mewing. Her tiny voice was pitiful, and she already sounded genuinely grief-stricken, as if Lily had died.

Spottedwing swiftly moved over to help Flame. The bright ginger she-cat was crouched next to Lily, urging the cream tabby she-cat to swallow a bundle of bittersweet-scented, slightly crinkled dark green leaves with jagged edges. "Come on," the medicine cat murmured comfortingly. "It'll be fine. Just swallow them."

Lily's eyes were already wide and glassy. Spottedwing glanced at her briefly and saw that more foam was pouring out from her mouth. "Can't - swallow," the cream she-cat whispered, her tail lashing wildly from side to side.

Flame comforted the she-cat with a quick gentle lick on the ear. "Lily, everything will be alright," the bright ginger she-cat assured Lily, although Spottedwing noticed that she couldn't keep a hint of desperation out of her voice. The ginger medicine cat didn't seem to notice Spottedwing.

Lily rolled over onto her side. Her flanks heaved as she gave a vain attempt to swallow the bittersweet leaves, but failed.

Spottedwing rushed forwards as Flame didn't move, only slowly settled down to the ground with her head lowered. She had never imagined Flame - the most dedicated medicine cat in the Clan - would let a queen suffer without even sending her poppy seeds to ease her journey to StarClan. "What are you doing?" Spottedwing spat, unable to hold her rage back. The black-and-white tabby she-cat was normally calm and patient, but seeing Flame acting so hopelessly unhelpful, even she was unable to control her fury. "*Help* her!"

Flame stared up at Spottedwing and shook her head, grief and defeat welling in her leaf-green eyes. "No..." the bright orange medicine cat murmured. "She can't survive this. I have seen this case before, when I was still a loner. A cat named...a cat named Patch died from this sickness. Many of its family - all accomplished healers - gave fragile attempts to save him. They all failed. There's no other way, Spottedwing." Her temper seemed to have disappeared as the moon may vanish behind mist and clouds.

"How - how *dare* you say that?" Spottedwing snarled with rage. She felt her muscles bunching, ready to tackle Flame. "You're the medicine cat I looked up to for moons...maybe even more! And it leads up to this? You're just letting Lily die! You're no medicine cat, you're just a - a loner! You can't defend your Clan as a good warrior, neither can you save a cat from dying! What kind of medicine cat are - "

Lightkit's wail of fear and grief interrupted her. Both she-cats whipped around to stare at the flecked, pale golden kit, then at Lily.

The cream tabby queen was trying to choke out strained words, but Spottedwing could only hear gurgling sounds, as if there was water in her stomach. She collapsed against the ground on her side, her body turning as limp as a corpse. Her triangular head lolled to one side as she fell, so that her neck looked twisted at an awkward angle. Her eyes, which were already glassy, glazed over until they stared upwards like wide pools of amber tree sap.

"Oh, StarClan, no..." Spottedwing whispered, none too gently shoving Flame aside as she rushed forwards. The black-and-white tabby she-cat pressed herself against Lily's limp body. The warmth from her short fur was already fading at a steady pace, turning stone-cold. Spottedwing felt too shocked, too pained to be angry at Flame any further.

Lightkit and Bramblekit stared in horror at the body of their dead mother. Bramblekit opened his tiny mouth, revealing a pink tongue, but no words came out. Lightkit only gaped.

Silence.

Flame stood up heavily. "That's it," the bright orange she-cat mewed hoarsely, turning to Spottedwing as if the black-and-white tabby had never been angry at her. "Please go and tell...tell Berrystar that Lily is d-dead."

Spottedwing wanted to snarl at her and growl, *All because of you,* but no fire was left in her anymore. Her former anger had disappeared. She found herself weary and dead on her paws, unable to move, as if she had been frozen to the ground by a huge chunk of slippery ice. "No," Spottedwing murmured softly, staring at Lily's lifeless form, then at Lightkit and Bramblekit, both who were trembling visibly. Lightkit's mutters were so quiet the went unheard. "But her kits...there's no other queen in ThunderClan."

Flame seemed to regain her occasional spark and glanced around angrily, green eyes alight and blazing with fire. The ginger she-cat slowly rose to her paws, taking in a deep breath. She growled, "First things first. I will tell Berrystar personally that we have failed to save Lily, or rather, she died from an impossible to be treated successfully disease. We will figure out the problem with the two kits in the future. Meanwhile - " she glared at Spottedwing

*to be continued*