Mossdapple's Faith

Chapter 24

   Mossdapple dreamed of darkness, overwhelming and surrounding her. She heard coughing coming from every direction but had no way of reaching the cats.

She woke up with a chill. Leaf-bare had arrived. It had been a beautiful greenleaf and leaf-fall, with prey being plentiful and little to no rain.

Real coughing sounded from the nursery. Alarmed, Mossdapple got up to check on it.

The nursery was full and warm, with plenty of kits playing inside. Sandkit was playing moss-ball with her littermates, Duskkit and Maplekit. Graykit was fast asleep at Willowpelt's belly. Cricketkit and Featherkit were the source of the coughing, laying feebly at Dappletail's belly. Softkit and Tinykit, their littermates, were wrestling next to them.

"How long have they been coughing?" Mossdapple narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, not long. But they're fine," Dappletail insisted. "I think it's just the cold air."

"It feels warm here to me. I better take them to the medicine den."

"That's not necessary," Dappletail growled.

"Well, I'm your medicine cat, and I say it is."

Dappletail looked between Mossdapple and her kits and sighed. "Fine."

"This is what's best for them," Mossdapple assured her. She picked the two kits up in her jaw and carried them to the medicine den, Dappletail following closely behind.

Mossdapple gave the kits what little honey they had and sat next to them. "I'm going to keep an eye on them," she promised Dappletail. "You can go and rest."

"I want to stay with them," she argued.

"You can visit them in a bit. I don't want you catching their cough."

Dappletail looked ready to argue, but decided against it.

"Fine," she mewed. "But I'll visit again before nightfall."

"Alright," Mossdapple agreed. She got to work sorting herbs, keeping a close eye on the kits. The honey eased their cough a bit, but not by much. They were clearly sick.

Featherwhisker returned with a jawful of borage.

"Thought we might need this," he purred, dropping it by Mossdapple's paws. "Why are the kits in here?"

"They're coughing," Mossdapple sighed. "It's bad."

Featherwhisker approached the kits and laid a paw on their chests. Cricketkit broke out in a coughing fit.

"Greencough," Featherwhisker sighed.

"No!" Mossdapple gasped, turning to face Featherwhisker. "But they're so young!" She had feared it was greencough, but didn't want to alarm their mother.

"Greencough kills kits too often." Featherwhisker licked the kits each on the head. "I'll give them catmint."

"Good," Mossdapple agreed. "I'll go harvest more."

Mossdapple returned with pitiful amounts of catmint. The leaf-bare frost had killed nearly all of it. The precious few leaves she had managed to find were already wilting by the time she was back to camp.

When she entered the medicine den, only one kit was there

"Featherkit?"

No response.

"Cricketkit?"

A tired mew sounded from the pile of fluff.

"Where's your brother?"

Cricketkit raised his head and looked from side to side.

"Featherkit?" he mewed. Every sound he made took great effort.

Mossdapple darted out of the medicine den.

"Bluestar!" she yowled. "Bluestar, Featherkit is gone!"

"What?" Dappletail appeared behind her, her mouth hanging open. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He's not in the medicine clearing." Guilt flooded Mossdapple. Featherwhisker and Spottedleaf were out desperately searching for more catmint and hadn't returned yet. She had left Dappletail to watch the kits, but she must have dozed off.

"I only left them for a heartbeat," Dappletail whispered. She rushed into the medicine clearing.

"Redtail!" Bluestar called. "Help me organize search patrols!" Determination lit her gaze. Mossdapple recalled the time her and her siblings had left camp. Bluestar must know exactly how Dappletail felt.

But Featherkit was alone. He didn't have a littermate to watch over him.

Mossdapple checked the nursery for Featherkit. What she found instead chilled her to her bone.

Softkit and Tinykit were laying alone in the corner of the nursery, coughing. Mossdapple's heart cracked.

Numb, she picked the kits up and took them to the medicine den.

"What are you doing?!" Dappletail gasped, stepping in front of Mossdapple.

"They're coughing too," Mossdapple mumbled through her mouthful of fur.

Grief clouded Dappletail's gaze. She stepped aside and followed Mossdapple into the nursery.

Mossdapple fed the precious little catmint she had to the three remaining kits.

"Don't get too close to them," Mossdapple warned. "We can't have you getting sick, too."

"I'd rather die with my kits than watch them die alone," Dappletail growled, wrapping her tail around the kits. "I'll stay with them no matter what."

Mossdapple felt a flash of admiration for Dappletail and her fierce love, followed by a stab of envy that she would never be able to feel the same.

"Fine," Mossdapple mewed, turning to sort herbs.

Featherwhisker and Spottedleaf arrived back at the camp shortly after with not even a scrap of catmint.

"It's all wilted," Spottedleaf cried. "There's nothing we can do."

"What about tansy?" Mossdapple suggested.

"It's no good for kits," Featherwhisker sighed. "They're in StarClan's paws now."

"Mallow?" Mossdapple suggested hopefully.

"We'd have to ask RiverClan," Spottedleaf mewed. "And it wouldn't cure the greencough, only help with the cough itself."

Mossdapple looked away. Were these kits doomed?