They Will Never Forgive

Chapter 12

I'm not sick. I'm not sick. I don't have blackcough. I'm going to live.

Lightscale stood above a pile of her own vomit. Her sides heaved in exhaustion, and her eyes were wide.

"Lightscale!" A squeaky voice sounded behind her.

Lightscale spun around. Needlepaw was staring up with large green eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Lightsale asked nervously.

"Softleap sent me hunting." Needlepaw stepped forward. "You have blackcough."

Lightscale hissed. "Get away from me!"

"Go see Brookrush!" Needlepaw yelled in terror. His 6 moon old body shook.

"I'd be better off going straight to the barn." Lightscale said frustratingly.

"I'll tell her, you just go." Needlepaw ran away.

Lightscale sighed and started walking towards the direction of the barn, farther into the forest territory.

The abandoned barn was just outside of Willowclan territory.

Lightscale exited Amberclan and emerged into a green meadow. It was the border. The second she had stepped onto the grass she was in something else's territory.

On the other side of the flat meadow, a large barn stood. It's roof was partially collapsed and it's door hung loose from the wall. Holes scattered it's faded red sides. Ivy crawled up the walls, half hiding some of the holes. The remaining part of the roof was a dark grey speck with holes.

Lightscale trotted to the two-leg structure.

She scented cats as she was 5 fox lengths away. She could faintly scent her clanmates from when they had come.

Lightscale followed the trail to a small hole in the side. A large red brown tom with amber eyes stood guard, Oakshade. He growled fiercely at first, but upon recognizing her he simply snorted and stepped aside to let her in.

"You're better off dead. I doubt they'll give you any herbs." The Willowclan tom growled.

Lightscale gave him a quiet hiss and stepped inside.

Inside it seemed smaller than she thought. It was about the size of two camps. Ivy crawled up each wall. A small patch of flowers were nestled in the far corner.

Cats had put nests made of ivy and grass near the patch of flowers. Lightscale noticed Blossomroot as she looked up to see her.

Lightscale padded over to her. "Hi... Umm."

Blossomroot looked back down to a small white kit that had grey splotched fur and grey eyes. The tom-kit licked up the two daisy leaves that had been put on the ground, made a disgusted face, and ran away into the other side of the barn to two other kits gathered around an elder.

Blossomroot looked back up to her. "Get your own ivy for your nest. I'll get the grass."

"You're making me do work?" Lightscale was appalled.

Blossomroot twisted her ginger and white muzzle into a snarl. "If you weren't sick I'd tell you to go eat your own tail for that..." Blossomroot took a deep breathe and closed her eyes "...but that would make Starclan angry."

Blossomroot padded out of the barn through a hole nearby.

Lightscale snorted and went to the nearest wall. She unsheathed her claws and began tearing away at the ivy. She was surprised at how bright the unnatural red was compared to the faded red of the rest of the barn.

I guess the ivy shielded it.

She brought the ivy to a place nearby the other nests just as Blossomroot came back with a mouth full of grass. She dropped it nearby and walked away.

"I'll be back in a little bit for your daisy leaves." She called behind her.

Lightscale shaped her nest. First out of ivy, then weaving grass into it. Her paws fumbled with sickness.

Nearby, a young russet tabby tom with dark green eyes lay weakly in his nest watching her. As Lightscale finished, she glared at the tom.

"Need something?" She growled.

"Aren't you Scaleclaw's daughter?" He asked.

Lightscale hissed, not in the mood for this. "Curiosity killed the cat." She turned her back on him and patiently waited for Blossomroot to return.

"Satisfaction brought it back."

Lightscale looked behind her.

"I'm Redleaf. My father, Amberclaw, was Scaleclaw's friend." He told her.

Lightscale let the bristles along her spine lay down.

Thank Starclan I might find another friend.

"Lightscale." She told him her name, immediately regretting it because of course he would know who she was, and settled into her nest. "What clan are you from?"

Redleaf hacked a cough, than continued more wearily. "Mapleclan."

"It seems like blackcough caught you guys the hardest." She told him.

He nodded. "I've been here for only three days, and I've already seen three cats die and five join us, not including you."

Lightscale's stomach got heavy with worry. "You must know Stormheart, Waterpaw, and Hawthornpaw."

Redleaf's eyes brightened. "Yeah, my mother's the sister of Waterpaw and Hawthornpaw's mother."

"You're Rainstar's kit?" Lightscale was surprised, he didn't look anything like her.

"Surprising, right." He smirked.

Before Lightscale could continue, Blossomroot walked up. Lightscale saw bright green leaves in her mouth.

"Fleabag" Redleaf hissed.

At first Lightscale thought he had said that to Blossomroot, but as she looked confusedly at him, she saw his eyes glaring at her.

Lightscale looked back at Blossomroot.

"Eat them." She then walked away once more to an elder who was coughing heavily.

Lightscale ate them quickly, trying to ignore the evil taste as it flooded her mouth. She then looked back at Redleaf, who had an apologetic look on his face.

"What was that!" Lightscale hissed.

"Waterpaw, Hawthornpaw, and Stormheart already aren't appreciated in our clan. I don't want to be too." He said.

I didn't even think about what they had to manage back in their own clan.

"I understand." Lightscale sighed. She stood up, wanting to stretch her legs and go for a small hunt.

"I would sleep if I were you." Redleaf said before she could walk away. "The first day I explored outside here and felt terrible afterwards. I am now strictly never leaving this barn."

Lightscale was about to just walk out anyway, but decided to think better of it. She turned and got back into her nest and closed her eyes.

She felt tiredness swamp her, and quickly fell asleep.