Warrior Cats: Spider

Chapter Eight

Seedscatter was jolted awake suddenly, breathless and panting. For a moment or two, the air still smelled of charred flesh and burning wood, but it passed, leaving him with only a memory. It was still a while before he felt his claws detach themselves from dry moss.

He took a minute to recuperate, grasping a firm hold on reality and scrambling to figure out where he was and what was going on. With a shaky breath, Seedscatter forced his muscles to relax. He was in the medicine den, just beneath the old silo and not too far from the barn. Metal sheets slept above him, draped with morning glories and eaten by rust. Grasses spilled out of old farm tools; white stones swam like minnows through barley and horsetail; the fat withered heads of poppies jeered from the splinters of a wooden barrel.

In his panic, Seedscatter had failed to digest the more pressing details, and jumped when a body stirred next to his. He looked down to take in the ragged form of Owltail, sleeping as fitfully as one would expect. She would need a lot more than medicine to get her through recovery. He brushed his tail over her flank, sweeping around the gash on her shoulder.

His own injury, a large tear in his ear, was stinging profusely. The way it ached made Seedscatter wonder if the pain would ever go away.

He rested his head on his paws with a sigh. His own morals, and those of the clan, of course, told him never to kill another cat. If the calico had given those up, then was she even considered a cat? Weren't all kits taught from birth that murder was wrong and unjust? If she had been a clan cat, then these beliefs should have been further strengthened. And even so, loners didn't kill for power. If they took it upon themselves to play judge, jury, and executioner, it would be in self defense.

It just didn't sit right.

"Eat these."

Seedscatter looked up, meeting the stern but concerned gaze of Shrewtoe. She nudged a leaf wrap towards him with one paw. The smell alone was enough to dissuade Seedscatter from ever getting injured again. Nonetheless, he gulped down the parcel, grimacing. The flavor sat in his mouth smugly, and he resisted the urge to retch.

The older cat snickered. "Serves you right," she meowed hoarsely. "For scaring the clan." She sat down with a huff.

"I suppose you'd like to tell me your story? I've already heard Beetlefang's thrilling account. He's not much for melodramatics, I'm afraid." She barked out a laugh - strange, really, how she could pull off such a sound - and pulled her tail over her paws. "Will you know something he missed?"

Seedscatter shivered. Did he? Were his prophetic dreams tied somehow to his waking nightmares? The taste in his mouth worsened.

So he told Shrewtoe. He told her of Harestar's orders, of the patrol, and of the ambush. He told her of his opponent, of losing his ear in battle and of the calico. He grew quiet as he accounted Yellowfeather's death, of her cold, sightless stare. And then they ran. They were cowards and then ran. They took the easy way out,

"And we ran." Seedscatter pressed his ears back against his head, expression blank as the pictures flashed before his eyes. "We didn't even check to see if she was still alive. She could have been alive! We have to go back - we can bring a bigger party and-"

Shrewtoe shushed him with a small hiss. "Shut up," she meowed. "You're making a fool of yourself, Seedscatter. There is nothing you could have - no, look at me - there is nothing you could have done."

Seedscatter looked up. Silhouetted by the faint light coming from outside and struck by beams of light that filtered in through the roof, Shrewtoe had changed. She was not old and frail in that moment. She was powerful. Why he was pierced by fear in that moment, Seedscatter did not know.

The illusion disappeared when the old medicine cat choked out a loud cough, nearly doubling over in the effort it took to expel whatever it was from her chest. Seedscatter moved to stand but she waved him away with a flick of her tail.

It was Nutpaw who finally came in to help her, though he had to duck a mean-looking swipe to his ears in order to do so. He laid her down in her nest and rushed off to find the herbs he needed, muttering to himself all the while. 

The apprentice's frenzy took him all over the space, skipping across beds and nearly tripping over a dark shape in the corner. Squinting, he realized it was Beetlefang, hunched in on himself and smaller than Seedscatter had ever seen him. Only the slightest movement of his figure hinted that he was still alive.

Noticing Seedscatter's expression, Nutpaw stated softly, "Beetlefang said it had taken him all morning to reach camp. His paws were bloodied by the time he reached camp and worse when he got to us." He didn't even turn to look at the brown tabby as he pitied the other tom. "We found you in a clearing nearly on the opposite end of the territory, half dead and looking as if you'd been chewed up and spit out. Owltail was the worst of the three of you."

"We?" Seedscatter asked.

It took a moment before Nutpaw understood what Seedscatter was getting at. Through a mouthful of herbs, he answered, "Oh! Yes, I was sent out as a precautionary measure. Y'know, just in case either of you had to be treated on the scene." He broke off to place a bundle of budding stems in front of his mentor, who gave him a withering glare before taking a bite.

"You weren't doing too well. You had this horrible fever. You were panting something awful by the time we got you back here, and it really didn't break until about half a day ago."

Seedscatter sputtered. "Half a day! How long was I out?"

Shrewtoe beat her apprentice to the answer. "About four. Tonight would make five." 

"Oh!" Nutpaw interjected again. "You must be hungry! And thirsty, but we've been giving you water. Do you want something from the prey pile? I'll do my best to find what you want, but give me a second option."

"Just a mouse, or whatever you can find," Seedscatter murmured back. Nutpaw was gone by the time he had finished his sentence.

From across the den, Shrewtoe laughed. "He's taken more moons from my life than StarClan itself," she chuckled. "I'll let you rest," she said, standing and heading for the entrance. 

"You need it more than anyone," Shrewtoe stated somberly. Then, her voice lighthearted this time, "You'll  be dealing with Nutpaw for a moon, if the ancestors aren't on your side."

Watching her slide out between the growth at the entrance, Seedscatter's only thought was that he never got the chance to tell her about Silkkit. 

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brief announcement! it's my birthday in two days (and christmas, I guess lmao), so i wanted to give you guys another chapter as an early present! note that i did write this all in one sitting and only read it over once for mistakes, so please point out anything that doesn't make any sense! as for editing, i haven't made it past chapter three because the intro is so bad. keep me in your prayers as i work up the courage to tackle that project. but here is chapter eight for your reading enjoyment, and keep yourselves safe and warm until chapter nine!

-Cresci