Once more the sun poked his head from his mountain bed to beat down harshly upon the busy Beechclan cats. Down in the center of the sandy camp, Sorrelstar and Dunpond were organizing patrols. The true deputy was nowhere in sight, but that hardly hindered the efficiency of the division of tasks. Sleetfoot...had never been the best at organizing or leading, and besides, everycat knew he was visiting his kits' graves and while Sorrelstar might begrudge him for neglecting his duties, she wouldn't blame him. "Shadowslip, Claywhistle, Sparksong, Stormripple, Flaxpool, and Dandelionbloom will be patrolling the borders. Try and find that loner but keep an eye out for dogs, we don't want anycat else getting hurt. Sorrelstar, Momomoon, Webwing, Burntsoul, Whispwhisper and I will go hunting when it cools off. The prey doesn't want to be out in this heat anymore then we do." A couple of the cats on patrol gave Dunpond easy going chuckles and, "Nice one!"s as they headed off to scout out the territory. The mood that would normally have been somber given their task and what had happened to Eelpaw was instead lighthearted as Claywhistle took Dunpond's cue and cracked a few jokes. "Leading suits you," Stormripple told his mate with a grin, giving him a quick lick before darting out after the receding patrol. Dunpond wasn't a kit, so he didn't blush, but he came rather close to it, especially as Sorrelstar added, "He's right you know." The leader smiled at him kindly and the tom felt himself flush with pride. He dipped his head to her respectfully, "Thank you Sorrelstar, that means a lot." Green eyes, clouded with age but still very much capable of watching the going ons of the clan, took this scene in greedily, as did they the scene that followed of Sorrelstar inviting Dunpond to sit and talk for a while over clan matters. It seemed like a new knot was determined to get interwoven in the mess of complications that lay before Malloweyes, but this didn't worry her. Knots were easily cut out. Having scene enough to ascertain her next course of action, the she-cat slipped back into the woods. She had patrols of her own to coordinate.
The dangerous cats of Beechclan had assembled themselves beneath a tall standing rock in the midst of the forest. The rock was pale-yellow and very tall and chalky. And it most certainly had not been there the day before. "What even is this?" Burntsoul demanded, her tail lashing violently and all to close to Cedarslash's face for the older warrior's liking- which was probably intentional, "Did you bring us all the way out here to see a rock?" The elder just smirked at the she-cat's venemous tone, resting a paw on Sharkfang's shoulder as she spoke. "Is that any way to appreciate Sharkfang's hard work of clearing this rock of debris? My associates should show more appreciation." With that she flashed her teeth menicingly and Burntsoul's complaints dimmed to murmers. "But no, I didn't bring you all the way out here to see a rock. I took you out here to assign you tasks. You and Sharkfang will be going hunting for some nice rotten prey. With greenleaf here, soon the fun will begin." She dismissed the pair with a flick of her tail tip, adding, "Stash what you find along with everything else. Burntsoul show him what I mean." "With pleasure," promised Burntsoul, her grin widening with morbid fascination. "What about me?" asked Cedarslash dully. She wasn't going to complain about not returning to that rotten task. She had never liked it to begin with and didn't fancy seeing how Speckledbeetle had held up over leafbare. But at the same time, the she-cat couldn't help but feel that stomach-wrenching pang of fear at being alone with Malloweyes, it was worse now than ever. "You and I have another job today, lrgely involving-" The she-cat stepped alongside Cedarslash and tipped her chin up with a faux-gentle paw, "this." Cedarslash gave Malloweyes a look devoid of all understanding prompting the elder to let out another cackle. "My poor, poor Cedarslash. Look how much you need my guidance. Well allow me to explain and illuminate your purpose. This is the Claw Rending Stone. I call it such because we rend it with our claws. Among," she gave herself a knowing smile, "other reasons. Come, let me show you." Malloweyes ushered the warrior towards the Claw Rending Rock, and, unsheathing her claws, spat on the sand-like surface. She began to carve at the rock, having to run her claw over the same spot several times to make a mark but eventually coming up with what looked like a crude mallow flower. "See? Easy. Now, you are going to be carving a mark for each cat in our clan. My claws aren't as sharp as they used to be but I assure you my mind still is. I'll dictate- you carve." Cedarslash glanced between Malloweyes and the flower, then down at her claws and back at the elder. "Why are we carving this?" "Oh don't you fret your little head dearie. Nothing good of course." And with a caress of her head which sent shivers down the young cat's spine, Malloweyes put Cedarslash to work.
Carving the Claw Rending Rock was not easy as Malloweyes had insisted it was. It was backbreaking, claw renching work especially under the greenleaf sun. Cedarslash's mouth was dry from spitting so much and her paws burned as they raked at the boulder. But Malloweyes would not let the she-cat stop to rest and as the tedious hours wore on Cedarslash had wondered why Malloweyes hadn't gotten Sharkfang to do this as well. Surely he would make shorter work of it all? The answer was fairly clear, Malloweyes was more interested in carving into Cedarslash than into the rock. "Don't forget to make marks for the dead as well. Yarrowkit and Speckledbeetle and Skunkbrush. And, oh yes! Your two as well. Yes that's it, right next to your tree." And just when the final snake was carved and the final desceased slashed through, and Cedarslash thought her work was done, Malloweyes had more for her to do. "I've finished!" The-she cat announced from where she lay in a heap of fur on the forest floor, her flank heaving heavily. The elder stepped over her to investigate the work, murmuring to herself and eventually coming to a decsion. "You did well my dear. Now, on to the next step!" "The next step?" "Is that a problem Cedarslash?" "No m'am." Cedarslash clenched her teeth to hold back a groan as she wobbled to her paws. How easy it might have been to slit Malloweyes's throat right there and then, how tempting. But knowing the elder she probably had somecat watching from the shadows or a failsafe just in case. The warrior just had to do what she said, surely it couldn't take much longer? "Threats will be circled in red, the weak ones underlined. We don't need any problems in our perfect camp." It sudenly became very clear what the Claw Rending Rock actually was, a hitboard. A hitboard and a census taker. Cedarslash wasn't suprised but it didn't disgust her any less. "Red as in blood then." She braced herself for the blow that never came. Instead of slashing out the elder just clucked his tongue, purring "No, of curse not. Why would you think I'm such a monster?" Cedarslash stared at her with dead, disbeliving eyes. "You killed my kits." "Oh sweetie, that hurt me so much more than it did you. Having to discipline my most prized pupil? You've caused me so much pain my dear but I haven't given up on you." Malloweyes brushed her tan fur against the warrior's red, purring and even suprisingly enough, grooming Cedarslash's ears as if she were a kit. Understandibly, the she-cat wrenched away hissing. She stopped just short of attacking the elder who was annoyingly unpreturbed. "How about this Cedarslash," Malloweyes mewed as if she were giving the warrior a grand gift, "You finish up here and then go spend some time with your mate, it's sure to put the both of you in a better mood. We wouldn't want him to keep moping and lose his rank would we? Hmm, actually maybe we would." The elder rolled out a pawful of deathberries from who knows where and ordered the she-cat to mash them up and start makring certain cats. Webwing and Cougarpaw got underlined, and Sorrelstar, Dunpond, Asptail, and Sleetfoot were circled. Cedarslash's paw hovered over the last sign she was assigned to, not wanting to mark it. But Malloweye's gaze bore into her and the she cat relented, marking herself as a threat.
Once Cedarslash had washed her paws of the deadly red and groomed her pelt until it was presentable, she made her way to the Beechclan burial grounds where, as expected, she found Sleetfoot. "Hey Sleetfoot," the she-cat mewed, stifling both the urge to yawn and the urge to scream at him that she had spent the entire day marking the clan for death, including herself and him. "Cedarslash!" Immediately the tom rose from his place of mourning and wound around his mate, purring and nuzzling her tired, beaten frame. All the reasons she had for following Malloweyes now rushed back to the she-cat. She was keeping Sleetfoot out of harm's way, wasn't she? And forget her eternal punishment- his touch was enough to make murder worth it. "How are you? Where were you? You don't look so good, sit down." "You don't tell your mate she doesn't look good Sleetfoot. First rule of love," Cedarslash chuckled slightly, easing down besides her mate. "So where were you? Oh don't tell me the clan's mad at me. I know I was supposed to be doing deputy things but... anyways. Where were you?" Sleetfoot placed his chin on his mate's paws causing her to hiss harshly and yank them back, tears of pain stinging her eyes. Sleetfoot hit his head on the gorund hard. "Cedarslash are you-" "I'm fine!" she gasped, but her mate didn't buy it. "Let me look." He grasped her paws firmly and pressed her pads, forcing her claws to extend. The bloody mess of split, wrenched claws greeted his insistance for only a moment before the owner of the claws yanked them back with a yelp. "I said I was fine!" "Well you clearly aren't. Tell me what happened, we need to see Asptail." "No!" Cedarslash licked her front paws delicately, trying to numb the sting. She could feel Sleetfoot doing his best not to burst out yelling at her for refusing to get the help she obviously needed. "Just drop it Sleetfoot." "Tell me what's going on." "I said drop it!" The fact that Cedarslash was baring her teeth in the exact way Malloweyes had did that morning was not lost on her. She felt horribly sick to her stomach. "This has something to do with Malloweyes doesn't it? I knew she was a problem. I knew it!" "No! No Sleetfoot just shut up! You don't know what you're doing!" And the panic of the possiblity of her mate confronting the one thing in life that leered over their happiness scared Cedarslash so much that she just burst into tears. Couldn't he see she was protecting him? Couldn't he see he was about to ruin it? Sleetfoot stopped talking the moment his mate started sobbing, wrapping around her protectively and licking away her tears as they fell. "Sleetfoot please." "Sssh sssh Calm down Cedarslash, we'll get through whatever it is together." The tom purred as loudly as he could, rubbing his tail along the she-cat's hunched back as her body was wracked with shuddering breaths. "Just stay with me okay? Just stay with me, I need my coward. Don't try anything stupid. You'll get killed too." The too in the warning was not lost on Sleetfoot and his gaze darkened. If his mate could see into his brain right now she would fly into a fit. Fear was there, as it always was, but it was not central. No, the central feeling in Sleetfoot's brain was quite rage as he began to put pieces of the puzzle together. Rage and a determination the tom had never felt before, but he couldn't let his mate know what was on her mind, not when she was as broken as this. "I'll stay with you, I promise." And besides him he felt Cedarslash relax and her sobs quiet. I'm sorry Cedarslash. I can't stay a coward when you're like this.
Asptail had recovered enough from the despair that hit him after the loss of Cedarslash's kits to crack under Pigeonpaw's pleadings and clear eagerness to learn. He still wasn't coming out of the medicine den but at least he had begun to wander around the patients, chastising them for their stupidity in receiving their injuries and grumbling as he patched them up. "Honestly Frostong you wouldn't be stuck here if you had been more careful. Jumping in after soggy voles? There are certainly better ways to die!" Frostsong grinned sheepishly as the medicine cat checked him over for any remaining whitecough. He made a face at the raspberry leaves left behind for him making Momomoon, who was visiting him, snicker. "Is he always this grumpy?" she whisper-asked Pigeonpaw who had been stationed by her mentor to make sure Frostsong actually did eat his herbs. "Oh he isn't grumpy!" Pigeonpaw chirped, pleased with herself for having figured her mentor out so quickly, "He's happy grumbling right now, you can tell 'cause he smiles when he thinks you can't see!" Across the den where Asptail was tending to his father, a fleeting grin quickly morphed into a scowl on his muzzle, causing the trio to giggle. "I think it's cute." "Oh-ho! I thought you didn't like toms," her nest-ridden friend teased, still not touching the leaves before him. "I don't," Momo declared rather matter-a-factly, then added with a grin, "Doesn't mean I don't have a type." "Type huh? Well then my type is no ty-" "Would you please flirt somewhere else?" Asptail cried, clearly exasperated at the chatty bunch. "That's not a happy growl." "We weren't flirting actually, we were doing the exact-" "Out! Frostsong eat your raspberry leaves and then you can raspberry leave." Suprised that Asptail could actually make a joke Frostsong did as he was told, then with a salute retreated from the den with his bobtailed friend. "They were nice," Pigeonpaw told Asptail, who just shook his head and sighed. "Don't encourage them. Now grab me some cobwebs and marigold. Do we have any tansy left?" Pigeonpaw's mew was muffled as she searched through the storeroom but the answer was a definite no. It was odd, he could have sworn he had a whole bunch of it just a few moons ago. Oh well, the tom shook out his pelt to clear his mind, it was better fresh anyways. "That's fine. I'll have you get some when we're done here. Always good to have in stock. Now Eelpaw I need you to show me what's wrong." Asptail was trying rather unsuccessfully to coax the apprentice to show him his face. The young tom had had enough of the other cats' pitying looks and forced smiles and didn't want to face the world. "I told you Asptail! His face is all scarred up! I tried to treat it while you were...gone, but I couldn't do it right." "I heard you the first time Pigeonpaw," Asptail growled, and the she-cat wisely went back to sorting herbs. "You can't hide yourself for the rest of your life Eelpaw. You seem fine enough, now go join the outside world." "No sir. Cats will stare. I don't-" Suddenly a great big brown body crashed through the den, moaning and groaning and making a big scene. It was Starlingthroat obviously, and she was clearly in labor. "My kits come on the day of the hottest sun! surely their passions will burn as fiercely as the sky! But I fear they will scorch me on the way out as-" "Nevermind sir, I'm going." And Eelpaw wisely skittered away from the scene, the other patients following his lead. "How do you deliver a litter?" shouted Pigeonpaw over the din Starlingthroat was creating with her yowls and narration, "She seems in a lot of pain!" The little she-cat as obviously frightened, but not as much as her mentor. Asptail stood ram-rod straight, staring at the unfolding events with wide-eyed horror. Deliver a litter of kits? He had lost the last ones thanks to his own incompitance and Starclan's clear hatred of him. But here was a pure she-cat, straight from the nursery herself. Surely Starclan could bear her no grudges? "Burdock for milk, sticks to bite down on. Keep her breathing even and make her shut up." Asptail swept the herbs in question towards his apprentice, then, not meeting her eyes, retreated to the storage room where he had hidden for most of the prior moon. "Think of it as your first solo assesment, may Starclan be with you!" Like they weren't with me.
Kitting: Starlingthroat
Kits in 2 moons: Sparksong
Many herbs used: all injured cats healed
x5 minnows eaten (1)
Hunting Patrol: Sorrelstar, Momomoon*, Webwing, Burntsoul, Whispwhisper, Dunpond
Patrol (looking for loner): Shadowslip, Claywhistle, Sparksong, Stormripple, Flaxpool, Dandelionbloom
Having another litter: Cedarslash and Sleetfoot
Hunting for prey for the rotting pile: Burntsoul & Sharkfang
Training: Sharkfang -> Eelpaw, Asptail -> Pigeonpaw
Sunheart- Badly, badly, badly scratched up | Needs: and cobwebs✔️ and marigold✔️
Dunpond- Scratches and bruises| Needs: burnet✔️
Frostsong- Scratches/whitecough | Needs: catmint✔️ and raspberry leaves✔️
Sharkfang- Deep leg bite, minor scratches | Needs: wild garlic✔️
Eelpaw- Torn ears, bruised body, clawed-up face | Needs: cobwebs✔️ and marigold✔️
Cedarslash- Wrenched claw, injured paw pads | Needs: ???
26 (27)
Becoming an apprentice: Pigeonkit
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