Bloodflower

Chapter 38

"I'm telling you, it's not as bad as it looks! Go help a cat who needs it more than me, I don't mind waiting."

Rosethorn rolled her eyes good-humoredly as Dawnpaw gave her an irritated look. Her sister had refused to check over any other cats until she had been checked, so matter what she had told her. Sure, Rosethorn looked beat up from the battle, but so did every other warrior that had been on the patrol. And none of her bites or scratches really bothered her. I'm sure some of these cats are actually hurting. Dawnpaw should stop fussing over me and go see them instead!

"All right," Dawnpaw conceded at last, "you look decent enough for a cat that was clawing someone else's fur off yesterday."

"My thoughts exactly."

Dawnpaw rolled her eyes, though she was purring quietly. "Just wait here until everyone else is checked over, so Grayleaf can decide who to treat first."

"Okay," Rosethorn mewed. She waved her tail towards the rest of the injured cats lined up in the clearing, some of which had already been examined by Grayleaf.

Dawnpaw twitched her ears in farewell as she trotted away.

Rosethorn wondered idly if the rogues had some kind of medicine cat to treat their wounds. I wonder how Minnowtail is settling in with her new friends, she thought bitterly. Probably pretty well, considering she doesn't seem to give a mousetail about SunClan anymore.

It was hard to get used to Minnowtail being gone, despite Rosethorn's mild contentment at her departure—a feeling that she kept hidden for the rest of the Clan's sake. Many couldn't accept the fact that the silver tabby she-cat was a traitor.

Shinefur was an example of that. Duskheart had been able to continue with his warrior duties, at least, but Shinefur was absolutely devastated by her daughter's actions. It was the morning after the battle, and she had barely eaten anything. She hadn't volunteered for any patrols, either, despite usually being one of the first cats to volunteer.

If I was her, Rosethorn thought, I would want to keep busy as a distraction. But she doesn't seem to want to do anything now.

"Hey, Rosethorn." She was broken out of her thoughts when Nightshade padded up to her and sat down beside her. "Have you been checked yet?"

"I was the first cat Dawnpaw examined," Rosethorn meowed, glancing at her hardworking sister with a mixture of exasperation and fondness. "What about you?"

"Not yet. I slept in a little late, and just got done bringing some prey to Shinefur."

"Oh. That was nice of you."

"Yeah. Whether she'll actually eat or not, I have no idea."

Nightshade looked towards the nursery. Rosethorn followed his gaze and saw Shinefur crouched beside it, staring blankly at a small squirrel that sat in front of her.

"She can't afford to starve herself right now," Rosethorn murmured worriedly. "Prey is getting scrawnier and scarcer by the day, and it's only getting colder. If she gets sick, it'll be hard for her to recover."

"I'm sure she'll realize that soon," Nightshade replied. "But you can't help sympathizing with her. She lost her own daughter, who turned out to be a traitor. I can't even imagine how that must feel."

Rosethorn suddenly recalled something Minnowtail had said after the battle had ended. Now that I'm gone, Shinefur and Duskheart can dedicate all their time to Shadowpool. But it's not like they'll be doing anything different, there. The fact that she'd said that was confusing, because Shinefur clearly looked devastated by her leaving. If Shinefur never really cared for Minnowtail, then why would she be so upset about her leaving?