Thornpaw's POV

Waking up to Whisperpaw curled up next to me made me feel loved from the moment I woke up. I wondered why I woke up, though. It was still dark and gloomy out; mist was swirling around our bodies as everyone slept soundly. Blackwind was sprawled out and snoring softly behind Whisperpaw and I.

I pricked my ears up at the sound of someone talking. Peering around, I noticed Rowantail was whispering to what seemed to be herself. "Voices... voices... shut up!" She hissed. Dawnflower's tail twitched beside her. She hit her sister on the nose with her tail tip to shut her up. Rowantail's ginger fur was matted and sticking up. I gulped. We're all going crazy.

Deciding not to go back to sleep, I hurried over to the fresh-kill pile. Only a starling and a pigeon remained in the pile but I was more than grateful to have at least something. I grabbed the starling and sat down by myself.

Chowing down after removing the feathers, I watched the sun go up the sky slowly and surely, brightening the world around me. It didn't brighten much up with the thick, light grey cloud covering the sky.

I swallowed the last morsels of bird meat I could get from its bones and licked my lips. Feeling guilty for not saving any for Whisperpaw or Blackwind, I quickly dug a hole and buried it so they wouldn't know it was me who took the starling. No one would believe Rowantail anyway, I thought as I watched her eyeball me from behind Dawnflower's flank. Her eyes glowed menacingly and her tail whipped from side to side.

Time dragged by slowly as I sat near the stream observing StreamClan. No one made any real dens yet because Wildstar and Marshstar believed we would be going back home after we found the flower. We did have moss nests, though. Lark didn't seem so sure we would be leaving this place anytime soon.

I could hear the infected Twolegs moaning from the fence. It sent shivers down my spine. Not even the streams churning sounds could drown out the deafening sound of their deep voices from beyond the fence.

Whisperpaw began to stir so I instantly hurried over to get her up. "Whisperpaw!" I hissed, nudging her softly with my nose. "Whisperpaw, get up! Lets go check out the fence!" She blinked open her eyes and looked around. She groaned in resistance to waking but reluctantly sat up. I bounced a few tail-lengths away. "Come on, I want to see the fence!" I waited with my tail and ears up high for my groggy sister to hurry over. Her eyes were half shut but as we traveled away Whisperpaw was visibly growing more excited by the heartbeat. We began to dash downstream until our territory came to an end.

Without thinking, I left our territory. I thought it was okay because it was the edge of RockClans territory. With Whisperpaw at my side, we bounded toward the noisy fence. It didn't take long to get back to the muddy clearing where the pine, red alders, and spruce trees ended.

The infected Twolegs banged at the fence mercilessly. The rotten fence squeaked and threatened to fall as their weight became unbearable for it to hold. The bare - yet bloody - paws of the tall Twolegs grabbed the top of the fence and clawed at the wood on our side. Their claws were broken off, their paws were greyish-pink, and blood had stained the dark wooden fence as they reached for anything warmblooded.

Whisperpaw crouched down behind me with her claws unsheathed.

"I think we should go..." She whimpered. I was frozen to the spot. Her voice echoed to the fence and suddenly the Twolegs went wild. They banged at the fence with as much force as they could muster. "Oh no," I sobbed, backing away.

"What do we do, what do we do?" Whisperpaw fretted, her voice growing louder, "We can't get rid of them now... They heard us! That fence won't hold them back forever! What if they get loose? It will be our fault when the Clans are killed!" She began to vibrate violently.

Beginning to hyperventilate, the world around me grew black with fear. "We have to find that flower before they get loose!" I bleated, bolting off. Whisperpaw hurried after me. The sound of infected Twolegs smashing at the fence and the feeling of a pair of eyes gazing at us as we ran back made me run faster and harder than I ever thought capable.

***

Wolftail, Amberthroat, Foxtuft, and I hurried north of our camp. We had left when the sun was quarter way up and now we were almost to the edge of the territory. When announcing the patrols, Wolftail had advised everyone to be aware of the Bengal she-cat that was roaming around. Curiosity was getting the best of me; I was hoping to see her.

Whisperpaw and I didn't tell anyone about what had happened and no one questioned it. No one was even up when we got back.

Wolftail's voice brought me out of my distant thoughts. "Leaf-bare is coming quick. We need to find that flower before leaf-fall gets to it," Wolftail commented, his breath billowing from his mouth as he talked. Mist swirled as we padded on. What a strange day, I thought as I watched the mist swirl. Birds tweeted in the tree tops, making me gaze around to find them. I was determined to catch as much prey as possible and to not let any prey get away.

Wolftail halted the patrol to sniff around. I sniffed along with him, mirroring my mentor. "What do you smell, Thornpaw?" He asked, glancing down at me. I opened my mouth to take a sniff. Instantly I was hit with a near scent of a bird. My eyes opened wide. "I smell a bird!" I meowed. He nodded and told the rest of the patrol to search elsewhere. They headed off. I sniffed along the ground and tracked down a robin. It pecked at a patch of flowers that was under a thick western hemlock. My first thought was, It's the zinnia flower! Get away from my flowers!

I stalked quickly and quietly towards it from behind the robin and then pounced. It was so busy trying to get seeds that it didn't sense me coming for it. I landed perfectly on the robin but it didn't die. Feeling panicked, I continuously stepped on the bird as it flapped its wings and squawked. Wolftail hurried over and gave it a killing bite before it could get out of my paws.

"Good job," He praised, bowing his head to me. Good job? You got to my kill before I could... I wanted to whine but I held my tongue. He picked up the small bundle of flowers and began to head away. I grabbed the robin by its broken neck and carried it away in behind my bulky mentor.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder. Wolftail dropped the bundle of flowers. I looked up at him and dropped the bird at the sound of groaning. I bolted in behind Wolftail. "Amberthroat, Foxtuft!" He called, keeping his eyes on the infected dog. I peeked out from behind Wolftail's thick legs and watched it stagger towards us. The dog had poofy, matted, bloody light brown fur with a small dog. The dogs tail was oddly curled. It was just bigger than an average cat. Its eyes were a faded brown, its fur was matted and bloody, and there were several gashes on its body. Its jaw hung open, letting blood drip out of it as if it were normal.

"The smell of blood must have attracted him," Wolftail muttered through clenched teeth. I swallowed back a whimper. That bird is ours!

I felt like I was being watched as Wolftail jumped into the fight. Foxtuft and Amberthroat padded over with a mouse and tore over to assist Wolftail. I grabbed the dropped mouse and put it beside the robin. Shaking, I watched them claw at the "dead" dog.

They slashed at its nose, legs, and flank, confusing it. The dog spun around with his jaws chomping at their tails and paws. It was quick, but not quick enough for StreamClan's fast paws. Its growls and yips were high pitched and annoying. The three of them continued to claw at the infected dog but it still continued to growl and try to get them. The only ones beginning to grow tired and weak were our patrol. From just watching, I grew tired myself. "Jump on him and break his neck!" I yowled, my fur standing on end. Wolftail didn't listen but Amberthroat did. She backed up and jumped onto the small dogs' shoulders. The dogs' face drove into the moistening ground, mud getting into its small black nose. Amberthroat grabbed its head in between her paws and twisted its head quickly and efficiently. A satisfying snap sounded through the air, but the dog continued to snap his jaws at us. It didn't yowl in pain nor move any other part of his body.

Everyone backed away from the stiff dog. "He can't move anything other than his mouth now. Good idea, Thornpaw," Wolftail bowed his head to me and fluffed out his pelt. "Bury him." He ordered, beginning to make a hole. "I remember this dog. It was my neighbors dog. He ran away a few days before this illness spread around," Foxtuft commented as she tossed him into the hole.

"Wow!" A meow came from the trees. I jumped in surprise and looked through the trees for someone. Everyone else heard it, too, but they didn't stop digging. "You Clan cats are some vicious and mean!" Is that the Bengal she-cat Wolftail warned us about? I wondered. An evenly patched she-cat with piercing green eyes hopped to the lowest branch of an oak tree. She was small like Whisperpaw and I as if she was seven moons old. Her tail flicked, showing the black rings. Under the black circles was a light brown coat.

Wolftail sighed and left the cats to finish the job. "Go away, Bengal. We don't need you around."

"What are those flowers for? Those are anemones. They are very pretty but nothing special." Bengal mewed, tilting her head to the side. Wolftail's ears went back. I kicked the flowers away. Not what we're looking for... I thought with a sigh. "We're looking for a cure. It's called zinnia-" Amberthroat began. Before she could finish her sentence, Bengal interrupted her with a loud gasp, hopping down from the tree, "Zinnia? How ironic! That's my name, Zinnia!" She landed right in front of Amberthroat, her muzzle in her face. Amberthroat was a small cat and so was Zinnia. Amberthroat backed away, her ears going flat to her head.

Wolftail narrowed his eyes as he thought about something. I gazed at the Bengal she-cat without blinking. "Tell us what you know about flowers and remedies!" Wolftail meowed suddenly, breaking the awkward silence. Zinnia seemed more than happy to begin explaining different remedies for injuries and illnesses. Wolftail interrupted her after a while of ranting. He didn't look satisfied.

"Okay, but do you know the cure for this illness spreading around?" Wolftail asked, taking an eager step forward. Zinnia shrugged, "I haven't been able to try what I know because I can never find the proper herbs for it. I know this remedy to make cats immune but I can't make the dead go normal again..." She blinked at us as we stared at her. Looking past our patrol, she began to zone out. Zinnia's jaws slipped apart as she went off into space. I purred at her.

Wolftail's jaw had almost hit the ground.

He nudged her from behind to make her walk. She jolted out of her trance. "You need to come with us," StreamClan's deputy muttered. He began to trot away quickly. Zinnia had a clueless look in her bright green eyes, but she bounced along anyway.

Foxtuft and Amberthroat lowered their heads beside Wolftail while I stood back with Zinnia. She tried to start up a conversation with me, but all I could do was listen to what Wolftail had said.

"She's from the prophecy! This is what the prophecy is about. She knows the cure, she knows how to make us immune. All along we tried to get rid of this annoying she-cat when we need her more than anything!"

***

Thanks for reading! Hope it was good for you guys. Make sure to comment what you think and have a good weekend! I will be on more because I'm going home for the weekend.

P_A83 out!