Clayclan

The cat whom Moose was following was supposed to be dead, but no matter how much his head insisted this his heart wouldn't, couldn't, listen. She was just behind that tree, over that rock, laughing at her brother to hurry up and catch her. "You did promise me fireflies," she taunted. "But Ellie," Moose begged, "It's not the Timeth of Damp Air!" But it was supposed to be, just like Ellie was supposed to be dead and Moose was supposed to be burying her. "Let me tuck thee into the earth. Alloweth me singeth thee to sleep." Through his tear filled eyes Moose nearly missed the dark shape that appeared in front of him. He had to skid to a strop, wrenching a claw in the leaf litter, to avoid crashing into the kitten. "Ellie?"Moose gasped, but this was not she. The kitten was male and his face was contorted into a sneer. "You aren't tucking me into anything," he spat, "Not that you could catch me anyways you big lug." With a last jeer the kitten disappeared, leaving Moose with nothing but empty air and quick approaching footsteps. "Kitten? Kitten? Where are you? Oh!" The ginger shecat that dashed into view startled at the sight of Moose. "Have you seen a kitten anywhere? He's ginger and too small to be running around." Moose shook his head. "Not a ging'r kitten, but a dark brown one. That gent hath led me on a wild goose chaseth and then did disappear." The new arrival peered at Moose as if he had a couple whiskers short of a mouse, which Moose was not unused to. "Disappeared? I don't know about that. But these woods are awfully weird. I'm Brightpool." Brightpool twitched her tail in greeting. "Moose. Moose Tracks," Moose answered hesitantly. "That's a nice name," replied Brightpool soothingly, not unlike how Moose's own mother used to calm Ellie down when she got fidgety. "Moosetracks-" she said it quick, like one word "-Yes that's a very nice name indeed. Why don't you and I look for our kittens together? I'm pretty sure there's a new clan in these woods, Clayclan, who could help us out." Moosetracks nodded slowly, but his stomach did a flip flop. He had walked these woods just this morning. There wasn't supposed to be a clan here.

Resinstar was eternally surprised by the interest of his clan in the question of who would receive the position of deputy. Mottledfoot had visited him late one night to flat out demand that he follow the traditional clan rules and appoint a deputy by himself, clearly of the mindset that Gustpond would be the obvious choice and the only reason Resinstar was entertaining the idea of Crocusgaze was because she challenged power publicly. This was fairly expected and Resinstar had ushered her out with a promise to think about it and come up with an answer soon. But he had come no closer to a decision when another cat showed up as his root den. One that he had expected far less. "Oh Driftstep! Always great to see your beautiful face. Mind telling me why it's poking into my den?" The medicine cat rolled her eyes at Resinstar's greeting, entering the den with nothing more than a tail flick. Resinstar scooted over to give her room, ending up with a particularly pointy root jabbing a his rear-end. Claywhistle was half in and half out of the wall- the den, a glorified clump of roots woven with intertwined sticks and leaves, really wasn't meant for more than one leader and his intangible companion. The root stabbed Resinstar again as he tried to get more comfortable. Hopefully, since this was Driftstep and she was a fan of avoiding him as much as possible, the medicine cat wouldn't be there too long. "We need to talk." Driftstep's mew was hushed even for her and she bent over in the already close-quarters so that she was practically whispering in Resinstar's ear. "You can't make Crocusgaze the deputy." "Why not?" asked Resinstar, surprise tinging his mew, "Have you had a sign from Starclan?" Now his tone was eager. Resinstar hadn't spoken with Starclan once since his leader ceremony and he was desperate to converse with them again. He had promised to keep them updated on the ghost situation and Resinstar never broke a promise. His face fell as Driftstep shook her head. "No. I'm going off of a living cat's instinct-" she seemed to cringe, "and a dead cat's advice." Driftstep shot a look to her side where Sorrelstar was presumably sitting and took a deep breath. "When you and Claywhistle found me I was running for my life. There was a rouge group headed by a tom name Rime who had slaughtered my clowder and taken me prisoner." Driftstep didn't flinch throughout her recounting of her time with the rouges that had killed her family, but Resinstar certainly did. "Driftstep, I'm so sorry," the leader mewed. Driftstep gave him a puzzled look, that started out expectant but morphed into surprise. "You can't do anything about it." A pause. "But thank you. Back on point Crocusgaze looks very much like Rime. I wouldn't be surprised if she were the advanced scouting party that was sent to look for me and any other likely targets." "Is that their usual tactic? Gaining a group's trust and then destroying them?" Horror was painted on Resinstar's face. Fur fluffing out he drew himself up to his full height- only to whack his head against the root roof. Driftstep's muzzle formed a frown. "Well no. Not from what I've seen. But they could be getting smarter. Crocusgaze doesn't seem your usual rouge- she's too put together. But don't trust her okay?" Resinstar nodded slowly, his head aching from more than just the bump. "I'll think about it," he promised, giving her the exact same answer he had Mottledfoot. Driftstep's shoulders relaxed like he had just taken a huge weight off of them. "Thank you Resinstar. Feel free-" Her face screwed up like she was about to regret her next words. "to stop by the medicine den and chat. About important things mind you." A grin spread across Resinstar's muzzle. "My love for you is very important!" "Grow up." And with a twitch of her whiskers the short-limbed she-cat was gone. Resinstar slumped back down with a sigh that quickly turned into yelp at finding the familiar root. "We need more apprentices to fix up these dens," the leader grumbled. Claywhistle, who had been silent up til then, finally stepped out of the wood work. He took an exaggerated look around the den, hrmming softly to himself. "No I think it's perfect just as it is. Reminds you to really get the the root of the problem." The two toms laughed, but Resinstar's bruise throbbed.

"Do you have a plan for how to confront Crocusgaze?" No more than one hundred heartbeats after his pun and three pawsteps out of the den, Claywhistle's mew changed from jovial to serious so quickly that it gave Resinstar whiplash. The leader sighed, slowing but not stopping in his trek towards the apprentice den. "Please Claywhistle, I don't want to do this right now. I've been just dying to check out this boulder with Fogpaw for moons but with all these politics I never get a moment to do what I want!" Resinstar's tail twitched like an impatient kit as he pictured the tantalizing rock in his mind, too deep within Clayclan territory to warrant checking out on a regular patrol. "Someone might actually die if you don't focus on this." The leader wasn't sure if he was just hearing things or if his friend's mew was actually a bit barbed beneath his regular joking tone. He decided, after a heartbeat of unease, he was only imagining it as Claywhistle continued. "A rolling stone gathers no moss after all. And that stone had gathered a lot. It'll still be there." Resinstar was silent for a moment, his breath held as if perhaps if he didn't respond, or give any indication that he was alive, Claywhistle might go away. Unfortunately such tricks rarely work in the nursery and even more rarely in real life. "Fine. I'll go ask her if she's planning to betray us to her evil rouge overlords." Claywhistle's snort was sharp, almost forced. "I would belay that attempt. But really, what are you going to say?" Resinstar sighed and thought. "I'll tell her Driftstep had concerns I suppose. That she was worried that Crocusgaze was affiliated with a rouge group she was on the run from." "And you think that's a good idea?" "Yes? It's the truth."Resinstar's translucent companion hurried ahead of him and came to a stop, forcing the living tom to halt as well. "Sometimes telling the whole truth can hurt more than it can help." The fur on Resinstar's back began to rise up, something that never happened. "Name one instance," he challenged. "I think you have an ivyea." Resinstar's mind jumped back many moons, the image of Ivy's smiling green eyes appearing starkly against the blackness of his mind but that so familiar gaze was quickly replaced by a much paler glowering pair. "Hammer," the tom breathed. Claywhistle murmured his assent. "Fine. I'll be cautious after me and Fogpaw finish patrolling. Crocusgaze isn't going to-" "Crocusgaze isn't going to what?"asked the she-cat herself, strolling up to Resinstar. The leader hadn't noticed that she and the rest of the warriors, including the two new folk, had returned from the hunting trip he had sent them on to get them out of his fur. Resinstar had lost his usual confident demeanor to the day's uncertainty and gazed helplessly at Claywhistle. The ghostly tom nodded encouragingly, mouthing "lie". Resinstar twitched his tail nervously and without looking Crocusgaze in the eyes, mewed, "Crocusgaze isn't going to mind spending more time with me by joining me and Fogpaw on patrol?" Crocusgaze's eyes narrowed, seeming to mull over the meaning of Resinstar's squeaky delivery. "You have it real bad don't you?" She answered finally, letting out a sigh more fond than exasperated. "Sure I'll come. You go grab Fogpaw- I need to make dirt." The warrior brushed her tail against Resinstar's shoulder as she left, chuckling silently as he stiffened. Claywhistle mewed a congratulations but Resinstar felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

Resinstar found Fogpaw sprawled in a rather awkward position, one back leg elevated on a root and the other folded beneath his belly. The apprentice appeared to be dozing at first but the readiness with which Fogpaw opened his cloudy eyes as his mentor approached suggested he had been thinking rather than snoozing. “Hey Resinstar,” Fogpaw greeted, pulling himself up into a sitting position with a slight wince of pain. “You ready to patrol? Wait- don’t tell me.” The pale calico skewed up his eyes as if concentrating. "We’re going to be joined by someone- Taffytuft? It’s Taffytuft right?” Fogpaw looked so hopeful that Resinstar felt a twinge of guilt at correcting him. “No it’s Crocusgaze. But you were very close.” And frankly, patrolling with Taffytuft would have been preferable, Resinstar added to himself. A flash of frustration darkened Fogpaw’s visiage by only for a moment. “Webwing’s been teaching me to read the future in spider webs, only I’m not very good because the strands are so thin I can barely see them.” The apprentice set his jaw in a determined grin that told Resinstar he wasn’t about to give up despite his clouded vision. Resinstar had noticed Fogpaw had gradually become more focused over his moons in Clayclan, morphing into a outgoing, if a little distractable, young tom so different from the indifferent barely-more-than-kit that the leader had first met. Today however, Resinstar noted the way Fogpaw’s eyes seemed more unfocused than usual and how he was still perched with one leg pressing into his belly. “Are you alright?”Resinstar queried. “My stomach just hurts, it’s nothing,” Fogpaw assured his mentor, but any chance of convincing Resinstar of that fact was blown when the apprentice let out a strained groan as he stumbled to his paws. “Okay maybe it’s something.” Inwardly, Resinstar sighed. Just something else getting in the way of his explorations. But a leader could not go around blaming young cats, especially young cats in pain. "Go and see Driftstep then. Crocusgaze and I will wait for you.” As his apprentice scrambled off towards the medicine den Resinstar couldn’t help but grumble, tearing at the leaf litter like an impatient kit with Claywhistle chuckling besides him. 

Driftstep was sorting herbs when Fogpaw entered the medicine den. The she-cat was tutting easily to herself and if Fogpaw could have seen that well he would have noticed her usually tensed shoulder muscles were slightly relaxed. “Hey Driftstep?” The tiny medicine cat looked up as Fogpaw addressed her, or at least he throughly she did. It was hard for the apprentice to discern heads from the rest of a cat’s body when they were crouched. “Fogpaw. Are your eyes bothering you? You aren’t due for more celandine for a few sunrises.” While her mew was characteristically brisk it sounded less tense and anxious. Fogpaw couldn’t help a self satisfied smile; he had predicted that Crocusgaze was going to be in a good mood today, perhaps he was a better fortune teller than he thought. But another flash of pain radiating from his abdomen quickly wiped that grin from his face. “I have a really bad stomach ache so Resinstar said to come to you.” Driftstep was all business as soon as Fogpaw had informed her of his issue. She asked him to lie down and began examining his underbelly, prodding it gently on occasion and asking the apprentice to tell her when it hurt. After a few heartbeats of examination Driftstep pulled away and addressed her patient. “Well I think I know what the problem is. Fogpaw you were born a shecat correct?” “Yes,” acknowledged the tom after a ripple of pain had passed and he could focus again. “Are you ever uncomfortable in your body?” For a moment Driftstep’s mew held a note of gentleness that did not fit her logical demeanor. Then just as fast as it had come the tone ceded to regular briskness. “No? I mean besides right now.” Fogpaw laughed weakly and Driftstep nodded as if making a mental note. "Let’s address your current problem then. I can give you dandelion for the pain but later I’ll look for parsley. It’s used to dry up a queen’s milk and so it should extend to help limit similar problems; have you experienced this kind of pain before?” Fogpaw shook his head. “No?” “Given your age...yes that would make sense. Parsley should help limit reoccurrences and if you ever do feel uncomfortable-” Again, just briefly, a note of gentleness. “-I can prescribe you a specific diet to encourage a certain physique.” The apprentice nodded his thanks, and he was very thankful. To live in a clan where both his failing eyesight and gender were accepted was immensely comforting to the tom after how his family had reacted. And then to have Driftstep, who was surely extremely busy even on a day that was treating her better, spend so much of her time offering, but not forcing, aid? Fogpaw couldn’t suppress a purr, which he could swore he heard echoed, as he licked up the sharp smelling blob of herb. He felt a little bad about making Resinstar wait but Driftstep refused to let Fogpaw leave until his pain had dulled to a light throb and the apprentice wasn’t about to argue with her.

"Where's Fogpaw?" inquired Crocusgaze upon returning from the dirtplace to find Resinstar sitting by himself. Well, not exactly by himself. Crocusgaze was pretty sure Claywhistle never left his bonded's side- if he did exist that was. Given every cat she had met in this forest similarly claimed a spectral companion ghosts were either real or the fog, now more prevalent than ever in early Bud Time, had mass hallucinogenic properties. She rather doubted the later no matter how spooky Clayclan territory appeared some nights. "He went to see Driftstep for a bellyache." Resinstar's response drew Crocusgaze out of her musings of where her ghost might have ran off to but his next statement was what made her narrow her eyes in focus. "Actually," the leader twitched his ears, "I was hoping- well I wanted- that is to say-" He sighed. "I needed to talk to you alone anyways." "Oh." Crocusgaze tucked her tail around her front paws and headed the tom off before he could stumble through what she was pretty sure he intended to say. "Resinstar I'm flattered I'm sure but no. I won't be your mate. With you being leader and I campaigning for deputy it would be a complete conflict of interests." She shook her head, ignoring Resinstar's startled protest. "Even if that wasn't the case we really aren't compatible. I'm too down to earth and you're too-" Crocusgaze searched for the right words for 'flirts with everything that moves' "-too easy going. Besides I'm just not into you. Not like that." Having gotten all of that into the open she waited for Resinstar to come out of the state of shock being rejected seemed to have forced him into. To her surprise when he finally rehinged his jaw her started laughing. "I'm sorry-" he sputtered out between chuckles. "That's just so completely off from what I meant!" Now it was Crocusgaze's turn to be shocked stiff. "Oh," she replied simply. "Well then." However embarrassing that exchange was at least it got Resinstar's tongue working again; the would-be suitor was now visibly relaxed, short red fur settling back into place. "I needed to talk with you about Driftstep." Crocusgaze's pelt grew warmer despite the Bud Time chill. "If it's because I reorganized her herb stash while she was out hunting I'm not apologizing. Her system is completely archaic- someone's liable to get hurt." "I mean I'm pretty sure that wasn't a good idea but that's not it either. I just wanted to know if you knew each other before Clayclan." Crocusgaze was too preoccupied to notice the odd twinge to Resinstar's mew. She hadn't been overly familiar had she? Crocusgaze had wanted to earn the medicine cat's respect but maybe her methodology hadn't been on the right track. Now thinking about it rearranging another cat's herb piles was probably a breach of privacy frowned upon in clans. "No. I traveled-" Pillaged. "-with my clowder but I never met her before." "Your clowder huh? What were they like?" Resinstar's sounded like he was holding down a hairball- Crocusgaze would make a point to to introduce him to an old family remedy on the patrol: a nice cold plunge in the river. "They were ruthless when they needed to be but highly kind and loyal to their own." All this thinking about family remedies was making her wistful- she needed to stop that, she had left for a reason. Crocusgaze's mew hardened, "They relied on violence too much. Their claws grew sharp but their minds grew dim. The Cold Time- that's leafbare for you- before I left nearly half the clowder died of cold cough- brown cough in the clans I think? Or black cough. The deadlier one. No one knew how to heal or do anything besides fight. I couldn't live like that; so I left." Her tone was not matter-a-fact enough to avoid the ever well-meaning but useless "I'm sorry" from Resinstar. "I'm clan now and I like it much better. You have my word that as your deputy I would never let anything happen to Clayclan." Her quick switch from reminiscing to campaigning made Resinstar chuckle as she knew it would. It seemed the best way to make the Clayclan leader pay you mind was make him laugh. "I'll keep that in mind Crocusgaze."

Fogpaw had dozed off in the medicine den when Resinstar peeked his head in to find him. Driftstep shooed him out with a warning not to wake her patient; he needed his rest. After checking to make sure Fogpaw had been woken by Resinstar's noisy hello the medicine cat slipped into the foggy air to join Resinstar. "Is he sick?" Resinstar inquired, more than a little on edge when it came to illness after his conversation Crocusgaze. Driftstep shook her head. "He'll be fine, but I gave him dandelion instead of poppy which means this rest is genuine. You should let him sleep."Resinstar sighed, unable to fully mask his disappointment. "Looks like I'm never getting my free time. I promised we'd practice tracking after the sun went down." "You could always do whatever it is alone." "Nah- I'd never deprive others of my glorious presence." In truth something about the forest in the fog made Resinstar uneasy, like you could lose yourself forever if there wasn't another living cat around to keep you grounded. He knew it was foolish, Clayclan territory was tiny in comparison to the land occupied by other clans, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the fog concealed not only dangerous rocks and roots but the trap of time itself. Resinstar shook the cobwebs from his brain: Claywhistle was getting to him. Voice now forcibly cheery he grinned at Driftstep. "Anyways- I have good news about Crocusgaze."