Distant Sun: Flashing Lights - Shimmering Stars

Chapter 2

The camp is quiet on this particular day. The wind is blowing gently and the cats left in camp are basking in the minimal sunlight that breaks through the clouds. Even the spirits seem leisurely as Jadepaw walks across camp to the nursery, where she needs to check up on a cough report from Fallenbranch. Knotkit seems to have developed some sort of cough and it might be bad, given that the queens have noticed how his jaw juts out to the side. He could accidentally bite his tongue while coughing because he's not used to his jaw yet.

Jadepaw sees a flash of fur out of the corner of her eye. She looks over and sees a dark spirit near the nursery. The spirit, who looks quite a lot like a queen whose kits were a little older but still needed milk, has black fur with white markings that is matted with blood. The spirit's bright blue eyes light up as she sees Pebblekit peek his head out of the den and Jadepaw realizes what that look is. She had heard stories about cats who had lost themselves to hunger and turned to eating other cats, so this seemed to be one of them.

Jadepaw steps between the spirit and Pebblekit and gives her a glare. The spirit merely glares back and licks blood off her lips. Then, she disappears into the shadows. Jadepaw had never seen a dark spirit be confrontational like that and the idea makes her nervous. Her SpiritClan guides, Lilytail and Blackwing, always told her that she might be able to see dark spirits but they would never be able to do anything to hurt her or anyone in the living world. She would often just give the spirit a look and then they'd back off and disappear, but this one stared back.

Jadepaw shakes off her worries and ushers Pebblekit back into the nursery, where Bluekit and Whitekit were tussling with each other near the entrance. Jadepaw passes them by and walks over to Fallenbranch, who has pulled Knotkit in close. The tiny ginger and white tom is whining loudly, but Fallenbranch calmly meows something Jadepaw can't quite hear.

"Hi," Jadepaw greets. "Here's the herbs for his cough. Just chew them up for him and he'll be just fine."

"I don't wanna!" Knotkit whines. He quickly relapses into a small coughing fit, however.

"You're going to have them whether you like them or not," Fallenbranch meows, picking up the herbs and starting to chew them up into a pulp.

"These are going to stop you from coughing," Jadepaw meows to the little tom-kit. Then she turns her attention to Fallenbranch. "Have any of the other kits started coughing? With all of them needing you for food, it's very likely that he may have passed it on to them."

Fallenbranch frowns and spits the herbs into her paws and holds it out to Knotkit. "Flamekit seems to have a small cough, but it isn't as bad as his. I haven't noticed anything otherwise. Knotkit, you need to have these."

Fallenbranch pulls Knotkit towards her with her free paw and holds the herbs up for him to have. Knotkit turns his face away stubbornly, which makes Jadepaw laugh a little. She then walks over to the nests where Jadepaw's mother and the other permanent queen, Pinefur, sleep.

"Hello sweetie," Amberheart greets, looking up from where she was keeping her eyes on little Ravenkit.

"Have you noticed any of the other kits coughing lately?" Jadepaw asks. "Fallenbranch says Knotkit may have spread it to Flamekit, so there might be more spread that we'll want to get on top of."

"Actually, I have noticed another kit coughing," Pinefur meows. "Bluekit is doing a really good job of pretending she's not sick, but I can hear her coughing when she runs off to do so."

"And Ravenkit has seemed to have caught whatever this is as well," Amberheart adds.

The little tom-kit, as if on cue, starts coughing. Jadepaw is highly concerned now. Ravenkit is a high risk cat with his back legs being paralyzed, so any sickness might hurt his already fragile body.

"I'll go get some more of those herbs we've been giving Knotkit from Rocktooth. Can you two keep Flamekit, Bluekit and Ravenkit away from Whitekit and Pebblekit for now? Maybe have those two nurse separately from the rest of them to prevent spread? And prevent them from playing together too, since close contact will cause the sickness to spread too," Jadepaw meows.

"And we'll keep them away from Emberwing and Ashpelt for now," Pinefur meows. "Maybe have Whitekit and Pebblekit sleep with the elders for now until these four get better?"

"That's a great idea," Jadepaw meows.

She quickly makes her way out of the den and heads straight to the medicine den. Her mentor is already busy with Icepatch, who has a splint on her paw like the one Jadepaw had seen her mentor put on Snakescratch. Looks like she had sprained her paw as well.

"A bunch more of the kits have gotten Knotkit's cough," Jadepaw meows to her mentor, slipping into the herb store. "I'm having the queens separate the kits who don't have the cough from the rest, but I'm worried it might be something worse."

"As long as the kits don't get any worse, it doesn't seem to be kittencough," Rocktooth meows, dismissing Icepatch to one of the nests and joining Jadepaw. "Which of the kits have it now?"

"Knotkit, Flamekit, Bluekit and Ravenkit," Jadepaw replies. "I'm most worried about Ravenkit, but we'll cross that river when we get there."

"And you've separated Whitekit and Pebblekit from them?" Rocktooth asks.

"Yep, Pinefur's going to have them spend time in the elder's den until these four get better," Jadepaw meows, wiggling out of the store with the herbs she needs. "I'm going to give these to the queens and then we'll see if it gets any better for the kits who have it."

"Well, let's just hope it's just a small cough," Rocktooth murmurs as Jadepaw leaves the den with the herbs.