Back To The Start (Book 3) (S1 Finale) (A Warriors Cat Story)

Chapter 16: A Plan For You...

I looked at Dust for a few moments, and I squinted my eyes at him. It clearly did not seem to faze him at all, he was a lot bigger than me, and he could take me down. He knew it as well, and a bit of a strange smirk appeared on his face at the same time as well.
I looked at him for a few moments, and then I turned away from him. I did not want to show him that I was genuinely afraid for the cat that was in front of me. It was not that I was scared of being around the cat, it was more that I was scared for all of the cats in all of the clans because of this cat.
I had a bad feeling about the future that was in store for the clans. I did not want what had happened to Youngtail, happen to the new clans as well. I knew that he did not believe in starclan as well, he had brought it up several times as it was some sort of joke to him when any cat spoke on it.
We kept on walking for a bit longer, as Heart was in the lead in front of us. I could see him poking his head out to us every few moments or so, for some odd reason or another. I wondered why he might be doing that over and over again. I could not think of why right off of the top of my head.
I thought about it for a few moments longer. Then I looked back up at Heart and I squinted my eyes at him, though I knew that he could not see it. I knew what it was that he might be so worried about at the same instance. He might be worried that Dust might try something on me.
It then began to make even for since as well, why had Dust sent both of the other cats away to take Dimple back to camp. I looked at Dust for a few moments, but his attention was clearly not focused on me at all. He was just looking around with a normal smile as we were walking through the Shadowclan territory.
I shook my head once again, wondering why I was getting so worried. I just did not like the reads that I was getting from the cat, and it was hard to say why I was getting those reads as well. If I said so out loud, than most cats would think I was crazy.
I did move back from Dust a little bit, just keeping it in my head that he might just straight up try to attack me and then kill me. I also knew that he would come up with the perfect alabi as well on how it would have happened too.
The same alibi that Youngtail had told me he had used to kill his own brother. Just vice versa to the way that he had said it, and he had not meant it in an evil way as well. He had told the clan leader, his own father, that his mother had seen it coming, and that he had killed his brother.
Though that was not how it had gone at all, his brother had killed his mother, because she did not expect it, nor did she do anything to stop him. So Youngtail got so angry, that he hopped on top of his brother and killed him for what he had just done.
I had to admit, that Youngtail had been put through a lot worse stuff than I had when we were both younger. I thought that life was rough on me, but Youngtail was a whole nother tale. I felt bad for him, but at least he was given a not so expected 2nd chance.
I had to respect that cat for it, he was one of the greatest cats that I had ever come across as well, and there was no denying it either. I hoped that Starclan would give him a 2nd chance, for him to make it up there with him. Though they did not speak of him very highly I had noticed.
I shook my head, as I wondered how I had even gotten to those thoughts in the first place. As I was happy as well that Dust had not noticed that I had moved a bit further away from him at the same time as well. I did not want to give him that sort of sense of power.
I looked ahead of us as well, as I noticed that Heart had stopped himself in front of us. He looked back at me, and then he nodded. I was a bit confused for a few moments, as to what it was that he might be trying to tell me in the first place.
I then realized what was going on in the same instance as well. He was trying to tell me that we were at the spot where the herb was at. I looked around for a few moments, seeing if there was any sort of sight to see that might be a bit familiar of an herb to me, that maybe Jayfeather and Leafpool might have taught me on.
I did not see anything that was familiar to me, which would make a fair bit of sense at the same time as well though. I knew that they had only taught me the herbs that I needed for things that happened often. Like how to treat a wound, and how to treat some sort of sickness as well.
I knew that Limp enjoyed being a medicine cat, mainly because she had told me that she enjoyed helping other cats. I enjoyed helping other cats as well, but there were other ways of helping cats than to treat them with some sort of herb. I loved leading my clan, though it did seem to get quite a bit hectic at times.
I shook my head as I realized that Heart was staring right at me, trying to get my attention at the same time as well. After a few more moments of me just standing there, having no idea what was going on in front of me, I then nodded to him, realizing indeed what was going on directly in front of me.
I was about to nod, when I suddenly heard Dust step up, as he began to speak over all of us, a bit loudly in fact, as if he were pretending to be upset, and he was pretending to have no idea what was going on around him in the first place as well.
I knew very well that he was a smart cat, and he knew what was going on. He was just being a bit extra, as if he were trying to figure out the exact reason that we were at this select location at the same time as well. All I had said to him was that I was looking for an herb to help some cats.
I had not gotten into too much detail, especially being around him at the same time as well. I had a feeling that if he were to think that my clan might be in danger, then they might come over to our place and try to take over our territory at the same time as well.
Just like they had done to Skyclan, I was beginning to realize at the same time as well. I then shook my head as I payed attention to what it was that Dust had to say as well, though it was a bit of an over exaggerated tone of voice at the same time too.
"Why have we stopped here Heart? Are you not going to take our friend to the herb he was looking for? We are at the border right now." He said to a bit strangely to Heart. I squinted my eyes at him once again, though I knew that he could not see it, and I also knew as well that even if he had seen it, that it would not have really bothered him either.
He knew why we were here, and I was starting to get the jest as well. I was sure that we had passed the herb that we were looking for more than once. This was just a good spot for him to find a place where there was Stinging Nettle, and also a place where he knew that I was off their land as well.
He was a lot smarter of a cat than I had first thought, and I felt a bit upset at myself for thinking so low of the cat in the first place. It was as if my brain was being quite a bit hypocritical, in the fact that I was doing the exact same thing that Dust was doing, and I was frowning on him for doing it in the first place as well.
He looked at Dust for a few moments, as I could tell he did not like speaking to the cat. I could tell that he was in fact a bit scared of the cat as well. It was not a good sign to see from him as well, because I knew that Dust had noticed it as well, and it only got him even more riled up as well.
He lowered his head to the ground, as he could not keep a straight face with the cat either. It gave Dust a bit of a strange smile as well. I shivered a bit and then I looked away, not really wanting to see what it was that was going on in front of me.
After a few moments, I then finally heard Heart begin to speak up for himself, and I turned my head over to him, and then I nodded to him. As he noticed me nod to him, it seemed to make him feel a bit better at the same time as well.
As he began to speak up to Dust, he kept at straight face, as he looked him dead in the eyes as well. It surprised Dust a little bit, but I could tell that it did not really scare him at the same time as well. He just would have thought differently about Heart, that was clear to me. I listened to what it was that he had to say, as I noticed that he did not stutter on his words like he had while talking to the leader.
"We are here at the border to drop him off so that he can get back home." He said to him. Dust looked at him a bit confused, and just as he was about to speak up, Heart interrupted him as he continued to speak. "The herb is in front of us, I can show it to you if you need me to."
He said it to me, but it also surprised Dust at the same time as well. It cracked a bit of a smile on my face to see the cat like this as well, though I did not say anything about it, partially because I knew that if I did it would only get Dust more upset.
Dust did not say anything else, as he looked away from Heart. He was looking around the woods that were in their territory, which was formerly Skyclans land, as I could tell by the look on his face that he was not happy about any of this interaction at all.
It was a bit embarrassing to him, and I knew it. It only made it all the better as well. He thought of himself as the superior cat in each situation. Besides when he was around Kevin, which was their leader, and it was also his friend at the same time as well.
My smile disappeared, as I remembered why we had come here in the first place anyways, and I nodded to Heart to let him know I had heard what it was that he had just said to me, it was just that I was thinking of what it was that I was going to say back to him.
After a few moments longer, and me just staring off into my territory that was in front of me, I then looked back over to Heart. I sat there for a few moments, and I stared at him, which I could tell made him a bit nervous, which was not what I had intended. I then began to speak up to him.
"Thank you Heart, just show me where it is, and show me what it looks like, and I will be on my way, like I was not here in the first place." I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then he looked over at Dust, as if he were expecting him to say something.
I looked at him as well, thinking the exact same thing that Heart was thinking as well, but I noticed that Dust had his thoughts on other things, as he was just staring off into the distance. I looked away from him, figuring I should not be worrying about him.
I knew that he had heard what we had just said to each other, but what it was that he was thinking about was really none of my business in the first place. I just had to focus on what my task was that I had come here to do, which was to make sure that Shilo and her kits and mate were going to be okay.
I don't think that Steve was sick, as far as I could tell, so I was not sure how much use this Stinging Nettle was going to be in the first place. I just think he had some sort of deeper problems that were going on with him.
Heart looked at me for a few moments, and then he nodded for me to head over to him, so that he could show me what it was that I was looking for in the first place. I nodded back over to him, and then I began to walk over to where it was that he was standing.
I looked back over at Dust one last time to see if he was paying attention to what was going on, but I could tell that he had his mind on some other things at the moment. Whatever it was that he was thinking about, it really was none of my business anyways.
As I got up to where it was that I was at with Heart, he looked at me for a few moments, and then he pointed his head over to what it was that I was looking for. I looked around for a few moments, a slight bit confused as to what it was that I was supposed to be seeing.
It looked like everything that I had already been walking past in the first place, if I was going to be honest. So I squinted my eyes at him, and I tilted my head a slight bit, to let him know that I was not too sure what it was that I was supposed to be looking at in the first place.
He looked at me for a few moments, and then he lowered his head to the ground, and he picked up a piece of leave that was just sitting in front of me on the ground. I looked at him a bit surprised for a few moments, and then I began to speak as I was wondering if he was being serious, or maybe he had mistaken something.
"This is Stinging Nettle? It is all over the place in your land!" I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, and then his face cracked a smile. Which was the first time that I had seen something like that from this cat as well.
He dropped the piece of what was apparently the Stinging Nettle, so that he was able to speak back to me without it being a bit of a raspy tone in his breathing. I looked at the Stinging Nettle that was in front of me on the ground for a few moments, and then I looked up as I realized that he was speaking to me.
"Yes... Indeed, it might sound crazy, but this is it... I know a lot about herbs, my mothers father taught me a lot when I was a bit younger..." He said to me. I looked at him a bit surprised for a few moments, as to how that could be possible, but then I nodded to him.
It began to make sense... His grand father was more than likely a part of the clans at one point, before they fell into pieces. He might have at least known a bit about herbs, if he in fact was not a medicine cat in the first place, which I kind of doubted, because he had kits.
I sat there for a few moments longer, as I realized that I was just staring at the cat with a bit of a confused and a surprised look on my face at the same time as well. I could tell that it was once again starting to make the poor young cat a bit nervous, as I shook my head and then I began to speak to him.
"Your grand father must have been a part of the clans before they fell apart... I think you are destined for something far greater than what Dust or anyone else thinks of you... Just give it time." I said to him. He looked at me for a few moments, as if he was a slight bit surprised at what I had just said to him in the first place.
After a few more moments however, he then nodded to me. As I could tell that he had thought about what I had just said to him for a little while longer. I nodded back to the cat, as he lowered his head to the ground. I could tell he was a bit nervous, and I felt a bit bad for telling him that, and putting a lot of stress on the cat at the same time.
However, he did lift his head back up, but at this time, he did not look over at me, he had his head turned to the back side of me. I turned my head around to see what it was that he was looking at in the first place. I then realized that it was Dust that he was looking at.
I looked back at Heart a bit confused and a bit surprised that he was looking at the deputy of Shadowclan like that, but I could tell that he was getting a bit more brave and strong by each moment at the same time. It was a good thing to see from a cat that had the potential to be the next medicine cat as well.
I turned my head back over to Dust, who was paying Heart no attention what so ever. He did not see that Heart was just staring him down. I was a bit confused as to why Heart was doing that as well. I then turned my head back over to Heart once again, as I then began to hear him speak up.
"Dust! You can go ahead and go back to camp, I've got things from here..." He said over to Dust. He had a bit of a brave tone in his voice at the same time. It kind of surprised me to hear the young cat speak like that as well. It was as if he had grown up a lot in the short time that we had been together.
I thought Dust was going to have some angry or rhetorical response to what Heart had just said to him. But surprisingly enough to me, he just let it be, and he nodded. He then began to walk back over to where we had just come from in the first place.
I watched him walk away, and then I turned my head back over to Heart once again, and I looked at him with a bit of a surprised look on his face. His face was perfectly calm and chill though, as if he had know idea what he had just done.
I shook my head, which he did not seem to realize what he had just done in the first place, as far as I could tell by the look that he had on his face at the exact moment in time... I stared him down for a few more moments, and then began to speak to him.
"That was a brave thing that you just did there Heart... I do not think that any other cat would be strong enough to talk to their deputy like that... Much less the deputy that you have right now. You will be a great fit for what I have in store for you very soon." I said to him. He looked at me a bit confused, and also a bit surprised at the same time with what I had just said to him.
We sat there for a few moments, as neither one of us said a word to each other. He looked down at the ground, as I could tell he was wondering what the meaning was behind what I had just said to him at the same time as well. He then after a few more moments of silence, lifted his head up and spoke to me with the same soft spoken voice that he had a few moments ago.
"I do not like Dust... I think Kevin is a good leader, but he ruins everything for me in the clan... I like where I am at now, but I hate Dust... What if I could join your clan?" He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, as I thought through what he had just said.
Another cat in my clan would really not hurt me at all, if I was going to be honest with myself. I then shook my head as I remembered what I had said to Dimple... No... That was not how things were going to work, I had a feeling that Shadowclan was going to need a medicine cat very soon. I then looked up at the cat and shook my head at him, he looked down a bit sadly, but then looked back up as he heard me begin to speak to him.
"No... You have to stay here, this clan will need you very soon... I have already told Dimple to tell Kevin... I have a plan for you..."