Whisper sighed with relief as Hawkpaw got up and walked around, and he ate, too. The brown apprentice had been terrified last night, thinking Moonclan will claim him as one with them. Whisperpool himself thought that the young cat would die, but Moonclan said no, so the white tabby warrior could sleep with ease. Reedfoot nearly ripped him to shreds when the wound had not healed, but Leaffur reminded her of how she was an apprentice and how her wound on her paw didn't heal in one night.
The hunting patrol came back, all was fine. The border patrols scented a stale scent of dog from four days ago and hunted for a few. Whisperpool ate a mouse hungrily and devoured it with a few bites. His fur felt hot under the Green-Leaf and went under the shade protection of a tree. All the sick cats have been healed, even Blackstripe's greencough had healed. Hawkpaw's neck injury had been seen to, and the cats from the same border patrol came the day after with minor injuries to heal. Whisperpool had enough in stock. Then he heard the rough coughing from Leaffur's nest. He closed his eyes, his mentor caught greencough, but he didn't tell. It wouldn't heal, and his fur prickled whenever someone asked. The kits would be scared of the coughs, so he had told the leader who told the whole of Breezeclan.
"I'm fine," Leaffur insisted as she pushed away from the catmint and poppy seeds. "I can help!" She was always interrupted by coughs.
"No! Eat it! You need to get better, don't you realize you have greencough?" Whisperpool half snarled half wailed.
"I know, but I can still help!" The brown tabby sighed.
One night, Moonclan was over them, Leaffur was lying down on a rock, she looked thinner and weaker than any, older than yesterday. Whisperpool saw the herbs he had given her earlier.
"You should-" He went on to insist she ate them, but Leaffur looked at him, her pale green eyes had pain and sadness in them although she smiled. Whisperpool was deeply confused.
"It's my time." She croaked. She laid her head down, coughing for a bit.
"N-no! W-What?" Whisperpool whispered.
"My time to go to Moonclan. I served my clan long, and Moonclan decided my fate painless." Her voice stern, though she was dying.
"B-but you were healing! The greencough was going away!" He couldn't loose his mentor! She was important!
"No. I knew this was near. I'm sorry, Breezeclan. It is my time. My life here was well, she closed her eyes.
Whisperpool pressed his muzzle into her fur, Leaffur's skin was cold now, her breathing stopped with her heart. He wailed like a kit, Flameheart rushed to him, ready to swipe a blow, but when the orange tabby neared, his dark green eyes widened, and he rushed instead to Volestar's den.
"Impossible! She said it was better!" The brown leader sprinted from his den to the dead medicine cat. "Oh Moonclan, why? She was still processing her life!" Volestar cried out to Star Path.
Whisperpool saw the old medicine cat that was her mentor came down and put her starry muzzle into Leaffur's fur, letting her spirit slip out, she said goodbye and went up a starry path, and then the brightest star formed on the Star Path in the night sky.
"No! Why? She only understood me.." Whisperpool pressed his muzzle to Leaffur's fur for the last time, before sitting vigil and dozing off.
Three sunrises ago, Whisperpool's mentor died. He was moping since. When cats were hurt or sick, he didn't have enthusiasm as he ever had before. He just treated them coldly, giving them the cold should or turned his back. His paw hesitated when he was dressing Brairkit, who fell off a high rock for kits her age; two moons. So she hit her shoulder hard and the skin broke, bleeding. Whisperpool's eyes were dull, a blue-gray instead of the brilliant light blue. Brairkit was hard to deal with, so he treated her colder than any.
"Stop yelling!" He snapped at the young kit, who shut up quickly.
He pressed hard and the kit looked as if she was in pain. But he didn't care. With his mentor gone, he felt empty. Even when the upcoming ceremony for Nightpaw and Tigerpaw was coming.
"Whisperpool, Brindlefeather if anxious. And Tigerpaw and I think there's something wrong." Nightpaw meowed, shaking her head.
"Well tell her to stop being anxious about her mouse-brained kit! And nothing's wrong!" Whisperpool hissed as he put cobweb on the kits shoulder.
Brairkit laid down to rest. So he picked up the poppy seeds and gave her only one, enough for a kit. Nightpaw whispered something that he couldn't hear. His head shook with fury. Secrets, secrets, secrets! Was this whole clan a secret? I'll just let them die, no. You need to be their medicine cat, treat them nicely. His heart felt as if it was pierced by the steady gaze of Leaffur. That is what she would have said, but, now she's gone. He gripped the grass beneath him with his teeth and tore it apart.
"Whisperpool. We brought catmint, leaf-bare is coming so we wanted to get it for you!" Nightpaw put the precious herb in front of him. All Whisperpool did was shrug coldly and grab the herb and put it on the shelf with its stock. "I see your stock is full! Have you gone herb collecting?"
"No. I've never used it, so I refresh it." His answer was cold, and he saw with a gleam of satifaction as Nightpaw shivered, but the light died from his eyes.
"You've changed," Tigerpaw spoke this time, but he sounded like a noble warrior. "You use to share tongues with us, and you use to talk to us more enthusiastically. As if you cared what happened. And don't think we haven't seen how hard you put on herbs and treat patients. What happened? Where's the old Whisperpool?" He challenged.
"The one you speak of is gone because his mentor is gone! It's been hard to remember herbs and their uses, and it's been hard to remember what she would say!" Whisperpool snarled, then stalked off.
Nightpaw shivered again. Whisperpool laughed out loud that time. But then stopped and left. He was his self, he'll always be this way.
YOU ARE READING
Warriors of the Forest
Fanfiction"He was proud of himself. His mind thought of that. He was only ,what mama called moons, 3 moons."
