A New Horizon Book 3: A Frozen Heart {COMPLETED}

Chapter 9

All the Clans had been shaken up by the death of SunClan's apprentice, Sorrelpaw. It had been a horrible thing to watch. Listening to the apprentice's cries of fear as she fell to her death. Blackpaw couldn't get rid of the sound. They had searched for thyme to give to Larkpaw after shock set in. They had managed to find a little bit, which was enough for Larkpaw. The Clans stayed two days in a small forest camp they had found, not far from the gorge, but the hard truth was they had to continue. Losing Sorrelpaw was hard, and Blackpaw wished he could give Larkpaw more time to rest but they had to move on.

They had just started their day of travel and the air was frigid. Biting at Blackpaw's ear tips and nose. It was snowing heavily, covering the pelts of every cat. Blackpaw paid close attention to the kits and elders. Most kits were being carried, he noticed Snakewhisker had a heavy limp. Blackpaw grit his teeth and continued forward, praying that they would stop soon. I know we have to get to our new home, but we're risking every cat if we travel like this.

Behind him, Blackpaw heard a cough. He turned his head and saw Harewhisker with his head ducked, his shoulders heaving as he coughed. "Are you alright?" Ravensong asked from beside him.

"I'm okay," Harewhisker replied, his voice dry and raspy. "Just swallowed a snowflake." That's what they all say. Blackpaw wasn't convinced, and judging by the snort from Skyfeather, he wasn't either.

Skyfeather pushed his way through the crowd up to Riverstar. Blackpaw quickly followed, trying to keep up with his mentor in the snow. "Riverstar," He spoke up, getting the leader's attention. Riverstar fixed her blue gaze on Skyfeather and Blackpaw.

"Yes?"

"Harewhisker is coughing, I want every cat to keep an eye out for catmint. Harewhisker won't be the last one to get sick and we don't need it spreading." Skyfeather's tone was harsh, Blackpaw figured that he and Riverstar still hadn't mended their relationship after their earlier argument.

"Alright, I'll let the other leaders know and we'll keep an eye out." Riverstar didn't say anything else, she just turned her head to Shadowstar and soon enough the news spread throughout the Clans.

As the day dragged on, two more cats started coughing including Rainypelt and Swiftheart. Blackpaw did his best to not let his fears consume him, but this was his biggest fear about travelling. Cats getting sick on the journey and having no way of curing them. How would they find any catmint when they were constantly moving? And sick cats couldn't travel, they wouldn't have the strength. What if a kit gets sick?

The questions in Blackpaw's mind became overwhelming, his paws started to shake and he couldn't focus on where he was going. He felt something touch his pelt, causing him to nearly jump off the ground. His mind focused on the world around him and he saw Honeypaw looking at him with concern in her green eyes.

"Are you alright?" She questioned. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." She flattened her ears slightly, looking bashful.

"It's okay." Blackpaw assured her. "I was just lost in thought."

"Oh," Honeypaw looked at the ground. "I know that a few cats are sick, including Harewhisker.

"Yeah, Rainypelt and Stormheart as well. Are any cats in SunClan sick?" Blackpaw asked out of concern for Honeypaw's Clan.

"I don't think so, but Squirreltail was sounding raspy this morning." Honeypaw explained. "And I think I heard Shorttail complaining of a sore throat." She sighed. "I hope our new home is close." Honeypaw turned her green gaze up towards the cloudy sky. Blackpaw could see the pain and fear in her eyes and he wished he could do more to help her. I wish she didn't have to go through this.

"Hopefully we find some catmint soon," Honeypaw looked back at Blackpaw. "We haven't seen a twolegplace in a few days, they usually have catmint in gardens."

"I hope we don't have to go too deep into a twolegplace." Blackpaw admitted. "I'm not a fan of them."

"Neither am I but if there's catmint in there I'll risk it." Blackpaw admired her bravery, the thought of stepping into a twolegplace was enough to send him running. During the journey they had only been on the outskirts of a twolegplace, they had never strayed in far enough to find any twolegs, dogs or kittypets.

"How is Larkpaw?" Blackpaw questioned, changing the subject.

"Still in shock, but she's managing to travel. Getting her to eat has been hard, luckily Squirreltail has been able to convince her. I can't imagine what it must be like for her, losing both her siblings."

"Rosewind is her sister too, right?" Blackpaw checked.

"Yeah, but Rosewind was born much earlier than Larkpaw, Pikepaw and Sorrelpaw. They're siblings but they're not as close." Honeypaw explained.

"I see." Blackpaw thought about his own sister. He and Nightpaw hadn't been that close lately. The guilt began eating at him more and more. He even saw Falconpaw and Honeypaw spending time together. Ever since Sorrelpaw's death, Blackpaw's feelings for Falconpaw had changed slightly. Falconpaw had charged forward, trying to save his Clanmate despite the risk of falling.

Maybe there's more to Falconpaw than his arrogance. The pain in his eyes after Sorrelpaw fell showed that Falconpaw really did care for cats other than himself. Maybe it was unfair of me to judge him so harshly. Blackpaw wondered. He kind of reminds of Nightpaw, they both want to be loyal warriors.

They Clans continued to travel, Honeypaw and Blackpaw walking together for most of it until Dawnstar called Honeypaw over. Blackpaw was left walking essentially by himself, there were cats around him but he wasn't talking to anyone. His mind was wandering, and he found himself begging to StarClan to either protect the Clans for sickness, or provide enough catmint for them to treat their Clanmates. Blackpaw just wanted his Clan to survive, and he would do everything he could to make that happen.