Warriors: Shadows in the Light - Tainted Honey [Book Three]

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ROSELIGHT | UNKNOWN TERRITORY

"There you go." Roselight meowed, sitting back on her haunches. "Even though your leg is almost healed, stay off of it as much as possible. Still no patrols today."

Tawnyhawk sighed, giving her a disappointed glare when she mentioned he couldn't go on any patrols, but thanked her when limping to some warriors.

"Good job, Roselight." Rowanmask rumbled behind her. "I'm impressed you remember a lot even though you have been away."

Away? Roselight echoed in her head. Was that what he thought? She had just been away. Not a captive, just away?

"...Yeah," she managed to meow, heart dropping. "Glad I remember, too."

"I'm going to go out and collect more cobwebs." Rowanmask stalked out of camp.

Roselight clambered to her paws. WindClan was still recovering from... well, everything. Having no official camp or territory was the toughest on every cat. Within the tightly-packed trees and shrubs, it was the best they could do if they were to stay by the lake. WindClan miraculously found a small glade for a temporary camp, and that was something to be thankful for. While the warriors, apprentices, medicine cats, and the leader had no real den, the queens and elders - no, elder - did. Rowanmask had chosen a small corner for all their herbs.

While it was tight and small, it was good to keep a close eye on cats who were injured or unwell.

Speaking of that, Roselight remembered that Mousefang needed his wounds checked. He didn't seem to be in the middle of camp, so Roselight assumed he was with his kits. Padding toward the makeshift nursery, she poked her head in, wincing when a particularly sharp branch scraped the side of her cheek.

"Mousefang?" yellow eyes looked at her in return. "I need to check your wounds."

"Right," murmured Mousefang, begrudgingly moving away from his kits. "Can you do it quickly?"

"This work is supposed to be done with care... but yes, I can." Roselight twitched her whiskers. "Do you miss Tulipfoot?"

Mousefang gave her a look. "I do." Dumb question. "But those kits take away the grief."

Roselight opened her mouth to ask another question, but she honestly didn't want to know the answer.

Did he blame her for Tulipfoot's death?

A shiver ran down her spine. He seemed okay in her presence, but perhaps he was just faking it for her sake.

"Sit down." Roselight ordered, avoiding his gaze at all costs. She turned around, nosing through a pile of herbs. "Does your head still hurt?"

"Occasionally." Mousefang meowed. "But I don't need herbs for it."

Roselight laughed, jaws full of marigold. She turned to Mousefang, peeling away some cobwebs on his shoulder.

"It is looking much better." Roselight commented. "I don't think you need marigold and cobwebs anymore." She kicked away the bundle of marigold. "You can go back to patrols. Try to keep it clean and don't overstretch it when out of camp."

Mousefang nodded obediently, trotting back to the makeshift nursery. Roselight twitched her whiskers.

"Hey, Roselight?" a voice, so soft she nearly mistaken for the breeze, meowed gently. A cat walked into a peripheral vision. It was Sunkit, Cinderfall's kit.

"Yes?" Roselight furrowed her brows when she noticed the worry shining in the kit's bright amber eyes.

"Scorchkit got stuck in the shrubs in the nursery and she's bleeding."

Roselight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Ever since she first met Scorchkit, the young she-kit had been adventurous and repulsive.

"Okay, I'll be right there. Is Cinderfall and Mousefang getting her out?"

"They're trying, but she keeps mewling with pain every time they move the branches."

Roselight grabbed the last of cobwebs they had (until Rowanmask returned), and followed Sunkit.

"How many more moons until you're an apprentice?" Roselight asked, hoping to know the she-kit a little better.

"A few more days, actually." Sunkit puffed her chest out. Roselight didn't say anything, but Sunkit was rather... small.

The sound of a pained kit reached her ears as they neared the makeshift nursery. Roselight ducked inside, ignoring the scrape of sharp branches digging into her fur.

"Almost there, Scorchkit." Cinderfall encouraged, snapping off branches. Scorchkit protested with mews and yelps.

Roselight strolled over, clearing her throat.

Cinderfall looked over her shoulder. "Oh, you're here! Thank you, Sunkit."

Roselight studied Scorchkit's situation. "Cinderfall, grab a branch, any branch. Give it to Scorchkit to bite down on."

Cinderfall stopped pulling Scorchkit out and grabbed a branch, giving it to Scorchkit. Scorchkit held it in her jaws, frowning.

"Mousefang, you take one paw, Cinderfall, the other. Do not stop if she is in pain." Roselight ordered.

Something tugged on her tail just as Cinderfall and Mousefang began pulling Scorchkit.

"Will she be okay?" Scorchkit's sister, Waterkit, asked, eyes round with worry.

"Of course. There is nothing to worry about." Roselight looked back. Scorchkit's fur was caught on a branch. "Pull harder!" she urged.

Scorchkit had snapped the branch in her mouth and said something about splinters. At last, they pulled the ginger-and-cream she-kit out. Scorchkit groaned, twigs sticking out of her fur.

Roselight acted quickly, picking the twigs out quickly and licking any scratches. She put the last of the cobweb on the largest scratch along her back.

"There, all better." Roselight meowed, nosing Scorchkit's body one more time to find any possible bruises.

Scorchkit stared at Roselight, eyes wide. "Thank you!" she chirped, then winced. "There's a splinter on my tongue."

Alarm ran through Roselight. "Oh, um..." how in the name of StarClan do you get a splinter out of a cat's mouth?! "Drink water," was all she got.

Scorchkit gave her a look that asked her if that would even work. Cinderfall also looked dubious, but she herded Scorchkit outside for water.

"We're going on a quick walk to the creek by..." Cinderfall's meow faded away as she left camp with Scorchkit.

"Thanks, Roselight." Mousefang meowed. "Again."

"No problem." Roselight gave him a halfhearted smile before walking out and back to her and Rowanmask's corner.

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-artemis