Warriors: Fire and Ice - Book Two (Completed)

Chapter Twenty Six

The morning light shined through to the medicine den and onto Waterlily's glossy, long fur. She blinked open her eyes and yawned as she stretched out her front legs, then back legs. She shook out her pelt then saw Willowpelt and Fireheart emerge from the warriors' den. A rustling noise accompanied the scent of Tigerclaw and Runningwind as they emerged from the den. They settled themselves beside Willowpelt to wash. Waterlily padded out and joined them by licking her front paw, then swiping it over her face a few times; she repeated it multiple times. 

Suddenly Tigerclaw lifted his head as though he had smelled something. Waterlily quickly looked up at Tigerclaw from washing her face and followed his gaze. She could smell nothing, just the scents of ThunderClan cats around her. So what was Tigerclaw smelling? His ears twitched—he could hear paws crunching through the leaves in the distance, moving fast. The breeze carried the scent of WindClan. The pawsteps grew louder. As one, the warriors stiffened—a cat was rushing toward them through the gorse tunnel. Tigerclaw arched his back and hissed as Onewhisker burst into the clearing.

The WindClan warrior skidded to a halt in front of them, his eyes filled with dread. "ShadowClan and RiverClan!" Onewhisker gasped. "They're attacking our camp! We're outnumbered and fighting for our lives. Tallstar refuses to be driven off this time. You must help, or my Clan will be wiped out!"

Bluestar bounded out of her den. All eyes turned from Onewhisker to her. "I heard," she meowed. Without mounting the Highrock, the ThunderClan leader gave the yowl she used to call the Clan together. Onewhisker's fear-scent filled the clearing as he watched the cats emerge into the morning light.

As soon as the Clan had gathered, Bluestar began. "There's no time to waste. It's as we feared—ShadowClan and RiverClan have joined together, and now they're attacking the WindClan camp. We must help them." She paused and looked around at the faces staring back at her in dismay. Onewhisker stood beside her, listening silently with wide, hopeful eyes.

Yellowfang pushed her way forward and spoke quietly to the leader. "I think you should remain behind in camp, Bluestar. The fever from the greencough may have gone, but you'll still be weak."

Waterlily nodded in agreement, but she knew that Bluestar would not do such a thing. She was stubborn and would fight for her clan no matter the costs. 

Bluestar nodded briskly. "Tigerclaw, I want you to organize two parties, one to head the attack, one to back it up. We need to get there as fast as we can!"

Waterlily flinched at Bluestar's words. How could she listen to Yellowfang? She was a strong fighter and was probably needed in the fight, but Yellowfang knows best. She has dealt with a death of a clan leader. Waterlily guessed that it was not a risk she wanted Bluestar to take, especially with Tigerclaw as deputy.

"Yes, Bluestar." Tigerclaw turned to the warriors. "Whitestorm, you'll head the second party; I'll head there first. I'll take Darkstripe, Mousefur, Longtail, Dustpelt, and Fireheart." 

"You!" Tigerclaw called to WindClan cat. "What's your name?" The WindClan warrior looked startled by Tigerclaw's tone.

Fireheart answered for him. "Onewhisker." he meowed.

Tigerclaw nodded, barely pausing to look at Fireheart. "Onewhisker, you'll be in my party. The rest of the ThunderClan warriors will join Whitestorm. You too, Brackenpaw."

"Are we all ready?" called Tigerclaw. The warriors raised their heads and let out a battle cry. Tigerclaw charged for the gorse tunnel and they raced after him. Up the ravine they climbed, into the forest. They were heading for Fourtrees and the uplands beyond. Waterlily watched as they left, then sighed. The comfrey will have a use after all!

"We must get ready for the battle. Who knows if the battle will come here." Rasped Yellowfang, as she padded back to the medicine den. "You can fight?" She added, looking over her shoulder.

Waterlily nodded, but remembered the time she fought with Clawface and ended up letting Spottedleaf die. She shuddered at the thought, making sure that Yellowfang didn't see it. She padded after her, her head hanging low. The thought of Spottedleaf made her feel sick to the stomach. Yellowfang noticed her sadness. Just before they reached the entrance of the medicine den, Yellowfang stopped and sat in front of Waterlily. "Why so sad?" She finally rasped, softly.

"I just miss Spottedleaf is all." She confessed, not able to hide her feeling of missing the pretty she-cat.

"I miss her too. She was a great medicine cat." 

"You knew her well?" Waterlily pricked her ears and looked up at Yellowfang with a softness in her gaze.

"Yes. Every Gathering, I enjoyed talking with her. And going to the Moonstone with her was always a pleasure. Her words of wisdom helped me greatly when I struggled with a sickness. She knew her medicines well. Even though I was a medicine cat longer than her, she was very wise."

Waterlily tilted her head a little in awe. She never knew that about Yellowfang before. She felt like they really did have something in common. She felt closer to Yellowfang and she purred lightly. Yellowfang could feel the softness and happiness that Waterlily felt. She padded up to Waterlily and nudged her, comfortingly. Waterlily then knew that they now shared the same bond that Waterlily once had with Spottedleaf. 

***

The Clan came back from the fight. Waterlily saw Fireheart and Tigerclaw leading the clan back into camp. The warriors looked worn out. Willowpelt came in for some comfrey leaves to have on her scratches. A few more warriors came in and were able to stumble back to the nests in the warriors' and apprentices' dens. Yellowfang and Waterlily sat side by side applying poultices to wounds, scratches and bites. For once, they were both in harmony. Yellowfang raced around Waterlily, but they managed with one another and got all the cats searched through and treated. 

Waterlily then peered out into the clearing, searching to see if they left any cats out of being treated. As she scanned the camp, she saw Graystripe and Fireheart laying side by side, touching their flanks together. They were finally friends again. Everything finally seemed to be coming back together, and for once in her life, Waterlily felt at home and at peace with her destiny of being a medicine cat.