Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Life was finally back to normal for IceClan. Every day went by without even a whiff of danger. Elkstar continued to relay any information he received from the ancestors about the beasts of the jungle.

Brokensong and Bluepaw had officially come in contact with StarClan, who showed the medicine cats what plants were safe to gather. Pineheart was relieved once the one-eyed medicine cat cleared Drizzlepaw for training.

The gray furred she-cat was eager to learn. She woke each day at the first sight of dawn. Pineheart knew she was ready to explore the jungle at last.

On this morning, he sat and waited while she exchanged a few words with Brokensong. The medicine cat given Drizzlepaw a small bundle of herbs that would preserve her strength as they patrolled.

She swiped her tongue around her jaws as she trotted towards him. "Ok, I'm ready!" she chirped. Pineheart led the way out of camp.

In the jungle, the symphony of an entire island rife with wild, exotic creatures was its loudest. Drizzlepaw flattened her ears at the noise.

"Elkstar wanted us to explore near the center of the island," he told her. She nodded to indicate she understood.

As they surged forward, Pineheart held up his tail to warn Drizzlepaw. Up ahead, a thick vine hung from the branch of nearby tree. But this vine shifted as it slithered an inch up its hidden perch.

"That's one of those... anacondas!" Pineheart informed her, "he said they are very dangerous! They will wrap around you and suffocate you."

Drizzle spat in disgust, her tail puffed out to three times its size. "Looks mean," she muttered.

Pineheart led Drizzlepaw around the snake, in a wide arch. The beast didn't appear to stir as they passed. The pair continued deeper into the dense jungle. Scant beams of sunlight pierced the forest canopy, which smattered the earthen floor with splashed of light.

An opening at the edge of the trees came into view. Pineheart inhaled to draw any nearby scents over his tongue. He was surprised to find the gritty tang of smoke enveloped his senses.

"Wait," Pineheart instructed as he raised his tail for Drizzlepaw to halt. She stopped immediately. "It smells like fire," he hissed.

The tom took a few tentative steps towards the tree line. He could see clearly, no smoke obscured his vision. At the edge, the lush grass ended abruptly as bare soil took its place. Pineheart took a few more steps to look out further.

Near the center of the circular space, another mountain stretched even further into the air above the island. It was a lot narrower than the cliff they were on now, which overlooked the beach and ocean below. At the tip, the rock had tumbled away to form a deep crater.

"Woah," Pineheart whispered as he stared up at the might of this smoky mountain. A gust of air swept over the peak, which sent the strong odor of burnt rock to his scent glands. "We should probably go back and tell Elkstar," he insisted after a long moment.

Drizzlepaw slipped to his side to peek at what her mentor had gawked at. Surprisingly, a fit of coughing gripped her as she tilted her head to admire the mountainous structure.

Pineheart drew her aside, his tail hung over her haunches. "Let's get back to camp," he meowed as he started to urge Drizzlepaw back towards the IceClan camp.

~~~~~

Frostfeather had been ordered to help reinforce the dens that morning. Sootsplash wa greatful for her assistance. He had told her that if she went to collect the vines, he would weave them between the branches.

Sounds good to me, she thought as she pushed her way through the camp entrance. The typical sounds of the jungle greeted her as she embarked through the trees. She knew that there was a tree near the camp barrier that was laden with low hanging vines.

She continued to make a wide circle around the bush lined barrier. Ahead, the massive shape of an elder tree loomed into view. Nimbly, Frostfearher leaped up the crooked roots to dig her claws into the trunk.

The canopy didn't start for many foxlengths, but the vines hung down low enough for her to shoot off the trunk and claw off a portion of vine. She shimmied her way a little further along the bark. As she tensed her muscles, she pushed off with all her strength.

As she zoomed passed, she hooked her claws into the soft tissue of a nearby vine. She landed with a thump back onto the dirt. A single stretch of vine lay on the ground in front of her.

Okay, just need to do that ten more times, she thought determinedly. She turned to look up at the treetops once more, but a loud racket sounded from the nearby undergrowth.

Frostfeather whirled around, her hackles raised as she prepared for the stranger. But it was just Pineheart and Drizzlepaw. Their flanks heaved as they fought for air.

"What happened?!" Frostfeather gasped as her Clanmates started to catch their breath.

"There's some sort of smokey mountain, at the center of the island!" Pineheart exclaimed.

Frostfeather snorted in disbelief. "Do you got bees in your brain?" she scoffed.

Drizzlepaw shook her head seriously. "No, it's true! Pineheart said we need to go back and tell Elkstar!"

Frostfeather snatched up her vine and turned to follow the two frazzled cats back to camp. As she squeezed underneath the bush behind them, she watched Pineheart disappear into Elkstar's den. His black tail tip vanished as he padded down into the tunnel.

Drizzlepaw had made her way towards Brokensong's den, but stopped just outside so she could take a few mouthfuls of the fresh spring water.

Sootsplash trotted over to Frostfeather from his place beside the apprentice's den. His face was creased with dismay. "Is this all you could find?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm sorry... Pineheart just came charging back through the jungle and distracted me," she confessed. Sootsplash rolled his eyes and pushed passed Frostfeather towards the camp entrance.

"I'll go get more vines. Just start to thread that one in with the others," he ordered. Frostfeather had to hold her tongue. She knew that Sootsplash still found it hard to cope without Meadowshine around.

He had been so proud at Lionleap's warrior ceremony, only to relapse into depression once more. With a sigh, she started to work the end of the vine through a hole in the wall of the apprentice's den.

As she busied herself, Stoneflower and Lilystep came to offer their help. Frostfeather dropped back down onto all four paws, her claws clumped with the soft flesh of the vine she had held.

"I think I'll be ok," she replied, "Sootsplash just went to get some more vines. I didn't do a good job, I guess."

Stoneflower's eyes clouded with worry as she heard what Frostfeather said. "You know he's just taking it hard right now. With things as easy as they are, it's difficult to not have all of our loved ones standing beside us," she murmured.

Frostfeather knew she was right. Even she had felt the cruel fingers of grief every once in awhile when she was reminded of all she had lost. But there was always the future, and that spread out before them like the vast ocean water.

"Maybe we can convince him to move to the elder's den," Lilystep pointed out.

"No, I think the best thing for him is to keep busy. He needs to learn to live without her," Frostfeather grunted. Sootsplash still had much to offer IceClan, it would be foolish to confine him to the elder's den.

And he would be even more alone, she realized. He would be the only elder in all of IceClan. He just needs to find his place, she thought, like we all do.