The Roaring Winds

Chapter Fifteen: World of Judgment

Chapter Fifteen: World of Judgment

Rosepaw awoke with a sudden jolt. Her ears twitched rapidly and she struggled to catch her breath. She blinked her emerald green eyes a couple of times, in order to adjust to the darkness of the den. The ginger-and-white tabby heard the snores of Oakstump and the faint rasps of Meadowpelt behind her.

Her heart dropped with Meadowpelt's weak breaths. The she-cat had shown no signs of improvement, and she seemed to only get worse each and every day. Rosepaw honestly had no clue how to help Meadowpelt, and Oakstump's ideas had become more sporadic. He seemed to shoot at random ideas, in the magic hopes that it would fix the light tabby. But, his eyes seemed to have lost their spark lately.

Rosepaw stepped out of the medicine cat den. She looked down at her paws, the distinct silver streaks still present. The medicine cat apprentice was so confused about why she had never seen them before. No cat had pointed them out either. Well, it was a strange joint place, so maybe, she just didn't see it before.

Rosepaw felt a cold chill brush against her cheek. Her fur bushed up and she shivered. Oakstump had predicted frosty winds, and from the state of camp now, he was right. The pine branches that lied around camp contained a slim sheen of whiteness on it. She could hear howls in the wind, and she flattened her ears to mute the effect.

She was unsure of what to do for a past-time. Her mind was still back in her dream. Rosepaw smiled lightly, despite how grim the dream had been mostly. There had been a StarClan cat there! And whoever she was, she seemed to follow her. Rosepaw swore she had seen her last night as well.

Could it be Rosebriar? Rosepaw's eyes sparkled at the thought. She felt a wave of affection enter her heart at the thought. Rosebriar, her dear, departed mother, was a cat she had never met in life. Nightclaw had named her after her mother, and he said that she'd always be with him. Did her father's words hold even more merit than she originally thought? She grinned at the prospect.

Rosepaw knew she couldn't go back to sleep. This was sometimes a habit of hers. She could wake up before dawn, but not be able to rest until after moon-high. Sometimes, this was because of stress, anxiety, or just, well, Demon. But, other times, it was because her mind was trapped in a world of reflection. The apprentice liked to think about all her choices of the day. She wished there was some way to collect her memories and look back on them later. But, the she-cat would have to rely on her mind to remember what were the most important times of her life.

Her day had been pretty uneventful, for the most part. The ginger-and-white tabby was sometimes frustrated that she was stuck in a continuous routine that never seemed to differ with each day. But, the apprentice knew she'd just have to find a way to make every day special. She sighed to herself at the thought–it was a challenge every day to do that very task.

Oakstump and Rosepaw had tried to find a way to cure Meadowpelt of her sickness earlier in the day. They had given Meadowpelt a concoction of honey, horsetail, and lavender, but it hadn't had any effect. The queen had mostly slept throughout the day, but she'd claimed to feel a bit fatigued and her vision had been fuzzy. Oakstump had tensed with Meadowpelt's claims. Rosepaw didn't need to think for a second to conclude that he was scared of the state of Meadowpelt's vision. Rosepaw swallowed her own lump of dread. Was there a fear that Meadowpelt might become blind?

Her paws had now begun to pace again. She blinked to stabilize her night vision. She stopped herself in her tracks. Rosepaw could pace for the whole night and not even realize she had until the crack of dawn. Then, she'd pass out at dawn right outside the medicine cat den. Occasionally, she'd find bits of moss around and under her, which acted as a nest. She never knew who left it behind, but she merely assumed that it was Nightclaw or Oakstump.