Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The sun was shining brightly in the sky as Pineheart stumbled out into the camp. He had been gripped in a depression-like state for the past few days, not even wanting to leave camp.

Everyone was acting much the same, too grief stricken to even feed themselves. Elkleap would leave with Sun'ka at dawn to hunt and return at sunhigh with enough prey for all.

Nobody minded their absence, and it seemed the pair were growing closer every passing minute. Sun'ka had hardened like unbreakable stone in the wake of Cairn's death but she had also grown closer to Elkleap. He cared for her, and he knew she cared for him.

As Pineheart groggily plodded towards the fresh-kill pile, Brokensong rushed towards him from her den. Her one yellow eye was glazed with anxiety.

"I need you to go and find me burdock root," she gasped, clearly out of breath.

"Has Raven's wounds become infected?" he asked seriously.

"I was suspecting they were infected yesterday, but now they're dripping with puss!" she whispered, her eye wide.

"Don't worry I'll go find some burdock root," Pineheart mewed. He hastily dipped his head and started to pad away. With a shake of his ebony fur, he started bounding down the pitch-black alley.

As he dashed onto the wooden surface of the dock, he slammed to a halt. At the edge of the docks, on the water, were huge, towering objects. They swayed as the ocean rolled, their tree-like tops waving some sort of thin paper.

Pineheart knew he couldn't delay. As a dockworker appeared and started walking towards the object, he whirled around and bounded into the tall grass at the edge of the docks.

The grass tickled his nose, making him sneeze. Sunshine reached across the field, stopping at the edge of the trees where the forest was lost to shadow. Pineheart slowed, staring into the darkness with narrowed eyes.

I know you're out there Cassius, he thought angrily. But if the rogue was lurking, he made no signs. Pineheart approached the edge of the trees without a challenge.

He began to inspect the leafy stalks for the spiky pods of the burdock plant. He looked inward, where the leafy canopy left the ground shrouded in shadows. There, he caught a glimpse of a sharp green ball, peeking behind the trunk of a tree.

Tentatively, he stepped past the tree line. The darkness made his pelt turn cold, a stark contrast to the bright sunshine in the field. He crept slowly into the forest, his pelt spiked with fear.

He could feel someone watching him, from somewhere in the shade. He neared the burdock, it's spiky pods bobbing in the slight breeze.

"Is it typical for Clan cats to hunt plants?" A frighteningly familiar voice meowed from a few paces away.

Pineheart jumped and whirled around to come face to face with Cassius. His gray and white fur was still caked with dried blood, his wounds still crusted and slightly oozing.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you," he snickered, his yellow eyes intense as he stared at Pineheart.

"How do I know that?" Pineheart growled, taking a step back.

"I'm still too weak.. even I know I couldn't stand a chance against you at this state," he meowed.

Pineheart wasn't convinced. He unsheathed his claws, ready for whenever Cassius decided to strike.

"Why don't you just collect your flowers and leave?" Cassius grunted, "they must be important if they sent you onto my land."

"They're going to cure Raven's infection," Pineheart muttered, flicking his tail as he brought himself closer to the burdock plant.