ShadowClan has never faced such an awful leaf-bare. But now, cats are starving and falling dead to a new illness. Desperate to survive this all and figure out what is happening, the ShadowClan medicine cat known as Hemlockfoot resorts to eating his...
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"Evil."
"Disgusting."
"Insane."
The voices seemed to echo through the forest as the two medicine cats walked. Hemlockfoot knew that Rainwhisper hadn't spoken though. These voices were hardly able to be heard, yet held a crisp sound to them like crunching leaves.
"How could you eat your own Clanmates?"
The tom flattened his ears and lashed his tail as he walked. "Just shut up already!" he spat.
"Hemlockfoot... I didn't say anything," the other tom meowed. "Are you feeling ill? Do I need to get Molestar?"
The medicine cat looked back at Rainwhisper and frowned. "I wasn't talking to you. But you can go on ahead of me if you'd like."
"No, I insist that you come back to camp with me. If something is happening then I need to be there for you. Please."
Hemlockfoot sighed and kept walking. The familiarity of ShadowClan's pine forest was almost comforting. The only thing making it a horrible place to him now was the StarClan cats out to get him. What would happen if they entered into the realm of the living? Would they kill him?
"So what did StarClan tell you?" he dared to ask Rainwhisper.
"I didn't see them at all. I was all alone in the forest territory looking at an odd flower during new-leaf. I'm wondering if it is a cure for bloodcough... or just a really weird dream."
Hemlockfoot nodded. "Perhaps we should find it when the snow is gone. Was it a familiar plant or was it something we've never seen before?"
"I've never seen it before. It was small though and was scattered in clumps around the base of the pine trees. I can't remember all the details but some were pale orange and some were a dark yellow. Pointy leaves too," he explained.
How lovely. A new plant arrives just in time for me to die. Or maybe it was just a weird dream. There isn't a point in using a plant that you can't identify since it can just kill you though, he thought.
"If you need to talk to me, you know you can," Rainwhisper suddenly said as he walked in front of him.
Hemlockfoot pushed past him and into the camp, ignoring the tom's words. How could he trust anyone? What if StarClan had told everyone? Was Rainwhisper trying to hide the fact he knew what he had done?
"I don't need your help or your pity," he spat as he rushed into the den.
It should have been a great day. Rainwhisper has received his name, there may be a cure, and nobody had died while he was gone. But it wasn't a great day now that StarClan was after him.
"What's wrong with you?" Molestar asked, slipping out of his den. "You're making so much noise while everyone is trying to get some rest."
Hemlockfoot ignored the tom and collapsed in his nest. He could hear whispers echoing around him. He didn't know whether they came from Rainwhisper and Molestar or if they came from the dead. Whether or not it mattered at this point was the real concern.
"Why can't you just be quiet!" he hissed to whoever would hear. "Leave me alone!"
They probably think I'm going crazy.
But you are going crazy.
Am I really?
Yes, you are. You've eaten two cats and now you're hearing voices. It doesn't get crazier than that.
Hemlockfoot tried to ignore the whispers as he argued more with himself in his head. He wanted to believe he was alright, that nothing was wrong, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.
"He's refusing to tell me anything. I think something is wrong. He's never like this."
"Is he sick?"
"I'm... I'm not sure anymore."
Hemlockfoot pushed his face into his paws, trying to regulate his breathing as if he wasn't alarmed. Was he actually sick? Did Rainwhisper know he was sick? Are they referring to my physical or mental health though? Or is it both?
"StarClan, if you can hear me... I'm sorry," he began. "I'm sorry for everything. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I need your guidance."
"Who are you talking to?" Molestar asked, slipping into the shadowy den.
"I'm asking StarClan for guidance. Who are you talking to?" Hemlockfoot snapped.
Molestar let out an awkward cough. "We are worried about you, y'know. Is there anything we can do to help you?"
He shook his head. "Just leave me alone."
"StarClan," he said again, even more quietly than the first time. "I'm so scared for your judgement. I didn't... I didn't mean for anything to happen this much. I don't know what overcame me on those days. But now that I have bloodcough and probably am going crazy, I'm starting to wonder if maybe being dead would be better."
