Chapter 13
"Ain't it kind that Aquastar sent the lot of you on peace keeping," Flickershade, the CaveClan deputy, gave Puddle, Bubble and me a toothy grin. It wasn't exactly unfriendly, but the way the deputy talked so casually to us rival clan apprentices reminded me of how different ShoreClan was from the more scruffy CaveClan.
"Er...yes," Puddle meowed.
I hadn't responded, because my eyes were glued to the Shimmersalt. It was a pure white rock settled in the middle of CaveClan camp (which was basically in the middle of a massive cave, with dusty, shrivelling moss for nests). The white rock illuminated a pale glow on all the warriors lounging in camp from where it sat on a pedestal of topaz.
It was easily two tail lengths out of my reach, and stealing it would be difficult, considering it was right in the middle of camp. I eyed the ancient medicine cat, Redshade, wondering if she had a plan, but she was curled up in a tight ball.
"Oh!" Flickershade followed my gaze, clearly seeing my curiousity towards the stone. "That's...nothing too important," she meowed quickly, the tortoiseshell moving to block my view of the relic. "Just give us light. We ain't got natural light underground, you know, eh?"
"Yeah," I muttered under my breath. "Yeah, okay."
The dusty deputy smiled in relief. "Ah, good. Well, Umberstar's off in the caves catching some of the blind fishies, so perhaps you apprentices would like to have a chit-chat with some other apprentices?"
Her eyes glowed similarly to how ShoreClan cats did, and an instant later, three young cats were bundling toward me excitedly.
"Telepathy," Flickershade explained. "Comes in handy as a deputy. Well, see y'all later." And with that, the deputy strode off.
I glanced at Puddle and Bubble. A plan was beginning to form in my head for how we could steal the stone and bring it to Dewocean. A diversion...take all the warriors away...then I can just take it and run...they won't find out until later...
The apprentices were almost within listening distance. I dropped my voice to Puddle and Bubble, explaining the plan. With a sudden jolt, I realised how easily each word flowed out, and how much more comfortable I felt around the two rogues than I did my own clanmates.
"That's good?" I asked, then so that the apprentices who had come up behind us weren't suspicious, I added. "Dewocean will be pleased with this mission. Just think, peace between our clans!"
"Peace would be good," a dark grey and white tom meowed with a smile. In spite of his bright expression, I could tell how wary the heave-set tom was. "I'm Sparkpaw, by the way."
"Yahoo! I ain't been to no battle, but it don't sound too great," a young she-cat announced.
She was distinctly smaller and younger than me. With a start, I realised how much time I'd spent as an apprentice by now. Moonpoppy's kits would start their apprenticeship soon. Maybe a moon, and I would have received my own warrior name in a normal world. But I sort of doubted Dewocean would give me, her pet, that sort of pleasure.
"Yeah," I echoed, flicking my tail at Puddle and Bubble.
"We're off to...uh..." Puddle glanced at me, helplessly.
"They're off to make dirt," I said quickly. "Right, guys?"
They both nodded importantly, and stared at the apprentices as though this was a very serious thing to do. (I wondered if they had another name for 'dirt' at this point), but thankfully Sharkpaw thought little of their seriousness; ShoreClan cats were stereotypically very arrogant and uppity.
"To the left, and then follow the path furthest right up, and you'll come to the outside."
Perfect! I tried to hide my smile as Puddle and Bubble walked away, Bubble acting utterly nonchalant, Puddle acting as though he was walking into a very serious clan meeting. Now I-we know a way out.
I turned back to the three other apprentices, trying to think of what to say to them to keep them busy. But I found that all my thoughts were revolving around Dewocean, Ripplepaw and Littlepaw.
Am I making the right choice? I could just see the disappointment in Littlepaw's eyes; stealing the source of CaveClan's powers was cruel. But then I thought about Ripplepaw...my white littermate had sidled her way into Littlepaw's life, while I had pushed myself to the fringes, so did I really have any right to say what either of them wanted?
Even more complicated was the ponderings I had about Dewocean. The instant I had that thought, I shut it down. In fact, I tried to shut my entire mind down. What I was doing- it didn't feel real. It felt like a dream, as though my actions didn't have true consequences.
Just steal the stone, think later.
"You know," the she-cat pale grey she-cat who had spoken to me pipped up again. "I think ShoreClan sounds super cool! I heard they ain't gotta do rations like we have to do. And, I heard the cats there are kind, and brave!"
"Yeah, I agree, Morningpaw," the little tom agreed with what was probably his littermate. "And the caves are so boring."
A she-cat, her belly swollen with kits glanced up from where she was sharing tongues with a handsome ginger and brown tom. Her eyes flashed.
"The caves keep you safe!" She retorted. "The Shimmersalt give us powers and protects this cave from harm. I don't want either of my kits running off like Mistlekit..." her voice trailed away.
"Life in CaveClan's good," an elder agreed from where he perched on a rock, smiling. He lifted his paw, pale eyes glowing, and little lights danced around the apprentices' heads. "Yeh shouldn't want what you don't have, kits. Enjoy what yeh got, eh?"
"Yeah, Silvernight," Morningpaw meowed sullenly.
The blind elder nodded with satisfaction, and curled up to sleep. The flickering lights slowly vanished. Gradually, the other cats began to tuck in, following the example of the older cats. I wondered when Bubble and Puddle would raise the alarm; they had had enough time to rush to the outside and then back.
Did they just abandon me? Typical rogues, I thought bitterly. Always up for a bit of trickery, only looking out for themselves. Then I thought about Littlepaw, and tried to shake my head clear. But a lot of rogues are far more that what the clans think of them.
"Can you tell me a story about ShoreClan?" Morningpaw glanced up at me with wide eyes. "I-I want to know what it's like outside the caves," she shot a reproachful glance at her mother. "I've only been outside twice."
If I was being honest, I respected the spunk of the younger she-cat. She reminded me a lot of how I had been as a kit; a little distant from the rest of my clan. Sharkpaw glanced at me eagerly, and I began to tell them the story I'd heard from the elders of the leader who had driven kits and apprentices out to the sea.
As time went on, Morningpaw's eyes began to droop. I kept staring uneasily at the exit passage of CaveClan camp, wondering if Puddle and Bubble had perhaps abandoned me to deal with Umberstar. Then, just as Morningpaw was about to fall asleep on her paws, there was a sudden screech from up the tunnel.
"Help! The tunnel! I think it's about to collapse; all cats outside!" Puddle suddenly sprinted into the camp, nudging all the CaveClan cats to their paws. He shot a weary look at me. "Sorry it took so long...we found the body of this old black and ginger tom."
More than the thought of a tunnel collapse, this roused several of the CaveClan warriors. Instantly, a dark grey tom and Flickershade sprinted towards Puddle, eyes blazing. Instead of speaking to him, though, the tom glanced at Flickershade.
"Could it be..." he meowed, voice trailing away. "We all knew that Umberstar was sick...he might be losing a life, or worse!"
Flickershade nodded, jaw set grimly. "Rouse all the cats," she murmured. "We need to get him back to camp."
"Even the elders?"
"All CaveClan cats, Rockcrest. For the strength of the clan is the warrior, and the strength of the warrior is the clan."
A young grey-eyed tom leaped to his paws, yowling for the other warriors to wake up. Ashwhisker. He was one of the few cats I knew by name; I had seen him while on patrol with Bubbleburst once.
Now, all the CaveClan cats were rousing, even the elders, and they all had the same determination about them that they were going to check on Umberstar. I watched as the warriors streamed out of camp, bustling and jostling the front of the line, urging them to go even faster. Even the apprentices, who had previously moaned about how tired they were, fought to see their clan leader. Before long, Puddle and I were the only cats left.
Puddle's eyes were dark. "I wasn't expecting this," he meowed softly. "But the cat...he was old."
"Yeah," I muttered distantly. "Clan leaders can go years without losing lives in times of peace, but when they're old and vulnerable, I've heard they can lose several lives just overnight."
I had already turned away, and was beginning to form a plan to scale the crystal to get to the Shimmersalt. I recalled what Dewocean said about using my power to overcome things that an ordinary cat would find it impossible.
I felt my eyes begin to glow, and I waggled my hindquarters experimentally. Then, all my thoughts were focussed on the Shimmersalt.
Shiny rock! Must have. Master wants. I scampered up the rock with the speed and agility of my namesake, then bit down hard on the legendary rock. Instant pain flashed across my face as I jerked the relic, but just at the last moment, it broke free, and I found myself, still having momentum, being swung into the cave wall. With a painful thud, I collapsed to the ground, a mouse length from a sharp stalactite.
My mind still felt oddly blurred as I stumbled to my paws. The first thing I saw was a grey and white cat. Rogue. Kill for master. I lunged at the big, muscles cat, and he dodged at the last moment, narrowly missing my slashing paws.
"Ferretpaw!" He yelped as I skidded backwards, and bunched my muscles. "Your blue eyes...the-they're glowing..."
The rogue was still mumbimg something when I lunged for it's throat, managing to hook my hind paws into its scruff and bring it to the ground. Everything seemed to blur around me as I raised my paw to strike. Then, I heard a yowl, just as a brown ball of fur banged into me, pushing me off the rogue.
"FERRETPAW!" The cat screeched. "STOP."
Instantly, I went limp. I'd heard that voice before. They were someone I trusted.
Gradually, my senses finally came to, and I found myself staring into Littlepaw's amber eyes. I shook my head from side to side, trying to clear it of the fury and bloodlust that had just consumed me.
My heart raced like a caged animal, desperate to escape when I turned and saw a motionless Puddle, bleeding from several nasty scratches along his side. Ripplepaw was beside him, licking several of the scratches clean. I just...StarClan, no!
I turned to see Littlepaw watching me darkly, a paw still clamped down in my tail, as though making sure I didn't turn on the tom again. I'm the distance, I saw the Shimmersalt, glowing more faintly than it had when it was up on the pedestal.
"I'm fine now," I grunted.
Littlepaw didn't take her paw off my tail.
"You're not," she said softly, and I felt my ears droop in shame.
"For a monster, I'm better than fine," I tried to make my voice sound fierce and angry, but it sounded more like the whimpering of a kit, crying out for its mother. I tried again. "This is my life now, Littlepaw. It's what the clan wants me for."
The small brown she-cat didn't respond, instead merely watched Ripplepaw return from the herb store and begin applying cobwebs, and I was surprised not to see Redshade there.
"Is that really your purpose in life?" Littlepaw echoed gently. "To attack others? To gradually lose control of your own pelt?"
"It's what ShoreClan wants in me," I said numbly. "To kill their enemies, to be a monster, to make the clan strong and every other cat weak. Each time Dewocean tells me to do it, I feel a bit of myself...slipping away."
I watched as Puddle let out a moon of pain, glancing up at Ripplepaw through pained eyes. In the distance, Bubble was sprinting into the cave, fur spiked up in panic. Again, I felt that sensation that everything real, everything normal, was slipping away. I almost felt as though I was drowning, alone in a pool of oozing black liquid.
"You don't have to be the bad guy, Ferretpaw," Littlepaw meowed at length. "I know you; you're stronger than this. Stronger than her lies."
I looked away numbly. "She's the only one who cares about a feral like me."
"I care!" Littlepaw hissed suddenly. "Ripplepaw cares! Frogstream cares! Shadefang cares! Ferretpaw, all these cats want you to get better."
My head dropped, and I felt wretched that I'd made my friend angry. Littlepaw finally took her paw off my tail, and gently, as a mother taking care of her kit, she pressed her pelt against mine. I stared at the Shimmersalt, then at Bubble, frantically licking Puddle's ear then into Littlepaw's sorrowful stare.
"Isn't it better to fight her?" Littlepaw murmured gently. "You know deep down that she's only using you. Using your powers?"
Curse these wretched powers! I thought, staring into Littlepaw's glittering amber eyes. Then, I took a shaky breath, and realised that Ripplepaw had padded up to me. Her eyes were keenly looking at the ground as though she expected me to hit her.
Finally, I took a deep breath, and met my sister's eyes for the first time in moons.
"I'll fight for you," I meowed stiffly. "I always have been, you know, deep down."
"Words are very well and good, Ferretpaw," Ripplepaw's eyes were cold as she met my gaze. "But oh StarClan, please actually commit to them when the time comes." Then her stern gaze melted, and she gave me the faintest of smiles before turning away. "...Thanks, sis."
"Dewocean only cares about herself, the power she can achieve," Littlepaw meowed gently. "But together....together we can defeat her, I promise."
I turned, and padded slowly towards the Shimmersalt. Grasping it in my teeth, I turned back to Littlepaw.
"I'm going to turn this on Dewocean," I growled. "She'll pay for all that she's doing and is planning to do to ShoreClan."
Alarm flashed in Littlepaw's eyes.
"Ar-are you sure that's wise?"
I flexed my claws in and out. "I don't care," I snarled down at the rock. "All I know is that she needs to pay for what she's doing. And besides," I growled bitterly. "She has one stone, I have the other, maybe they'll both destroy each other and the clans will be without these foxdunged powers."
Littlepaw watched me uneasily, but I flashed her a reassuring smile.
"It'll be an adventure," I meowed. "Just like old times. And I promise never to abandon you, or my littermate again."
"And your powers?" Littlepaw echoed worriedly.
"I'll only use them if they can kill Dewocean." I meowed darkly. Then, I turned, and flicked my tail over Littlepaw's shoulders. In the distance, Puddle was rising to his paws, leaning heavily on Bubble and Ripplepaw. I sighed.
"Let's go to camp, let's go...home."