I thanked Blizzardrain and stood up to leave. I was barely out of the den when I heard coughing and wheezing coming from the elder. I turned back around and rushed to his side.

"What is it? Are you okay? Should I get Bella and Poppypaw?"

The blind elder shook his head. "No . . . I'm - fine." He said between coughs that shook his frail body.

I looked him over. "You stay there, I'm going to get some help," before Blizzardrain could say any more, I rushed out of the den.

I was surprised to see the light already dying away through the misty camp. How had the day passed so quickly? No time to dwell on the time, Blizzardrain needed medical attention.

Rushing into the medicine den, Bella's head shot up in alarm at my hurry.

"It's Blizzardrain, come quick." I said urgently before darting out again, I didn't want to leave the frail elder alone for too long.

A cool breeze ruffled my fur before I reached the elder's den. Looking up, I watched as a single flame of snow drifted to the ground. Great.

I hurried to the old white and grey tom. "Bella will be here soon, don't worry."

Another cough shook him. "No . . ."

My eyes widened in alarm and confusion. "What do you mean, no? Do you want to stay in pain?"

I hadn't noticed before, but the elder looked pretty weak, and shivered after another cough. His fur was sticking up in clumps, and I could just see the ribs underneath his fur. Was this how the elders were treated in Mistclan? What about the apprentices helping to care for him? The warrior hunting for him?

Before I could voice any of these questions, Bella burst through the entrance with a bundle of herbs in her jaws. She took one look at the frail tom and shook her head. The cream and white she-cat sniffed his pelt and breath and winced. She then snatched up two leaves of an unfamiliar plant and pushed it to Blizzardrain's muzzle.

"Here, eat these. They'll help build your strength."

The blind elder shook his head. "Don't waste your herbs on me."

"No, Blizzardrain just eat them." I pleaded. What was he playing at? "These herbs will help you feel better.

The old tom turned his blind gaze in my direction. "I've told my story, and now-" he broke off into another coughing fit. When he finished, his words were weaker than before. "-it's time for me to go."

My eyes widened. "What? No, you can't! What about Fogbreeze? Who's going to help me? I can't keep your memory alive by myself! What if I get myself killed? Then no one would know the truth and Mistclan will be destroyed!" I said desperately.

Blizzardrain put his paw on mine to stop me talking. "Lavenderbreeze . . ." He wheezed. "You already . . . have everything you need."

I shook my head as he lowered himself to lay limply in his nest. "No . . ."

It felt strange. I had never experienced death, but I felt a pain watching this elder take his final breaths when I had just barely met him. He had only just told me the story of his past when this started to happen. I didn't know how to react, I wasn't bawling but I certainly wasn't overjoyed. It was strange, really. All I could think of was to bend my head to touch my muzzle to his head.

"Rest well. May you find peace and endless in Starclan." I whispered and stepped back as the old tom sighed and didn't move again.

"I . . . can't believe I couldn't help him." Bella said quietly.

I turned to her with a small smile. "He knew it was his time, there was nothing you could do."

She lowered her head. "I just hope I can save the other sick cats. Newleaf will arrive soon, but it seems leaf-bare isn't done with us yet." She said with a glance outside.

I nodded and looked outside as well. Snow was gently drifting down from the sky. She was definitely right about that. Leaf-bare seemed determined to keep a full grip on the misty forest.

"We'd better tell Fogstar about this." Bella said with a sigh. "By the way, what was that about getting yourself killed and calling Fogstar by his warrior name?"

I stiffened. I had forgotten for a heartbeat why I had come to see Mistclan's elder in the first place. "That was nothing, just tell him what happened. I need to find Flick." I said before running out of the den.

I couldn't dwell on the death of a cat I barely knew when there were more important matters to deal with. Spotting Amberblaze entering camp, I rushed over to her.

"Amberblaze, have you seen Flick?" I asked.

The deputy continued to the fresh kill pile and set down her scrawny woodpecker. Only then did she turn to answer me.

"I assigned him to a border patrol right before I left for my hunting patrol. He should be back before dusk. Speaking of, did you ever get to that hunting patrol?" She asked.

"Uhh . . . yeah. Yeah, I caught a mouse and brought it to Blizzardrain." I answered distractedly.

I looked up at the sky. The camp was growing darker, bit not dark enough for it to be dusk yet. I didn't want to wait, but I knew there was no way I would find him alone in the misty forest.

Bella approached the fiery she-cat and I. "Amberblaze, do you know where Fogstar is? He wasn't in his den."

The deputy nodded. "We saw him on our way back to camp. He said he wanted to check a hollow tree near the edge of our forest for prey."

My eyes snapped back to Amberblaze. "I thought no one was to go out into the forest alone?"

Amberblaze sighed. "Fogstar is our leader, plus he knows this forest better than his own paws."

I narrowed my eyes. "Bella, weren't you saying you needed more herbs from the forest?" I asked with a look at her. "Would you like me to help you so Poppypaw can stay here and look after the sick cats?"

The cream and white she-cat looked slightly confused but nodded. "That sounds like a great idea. We'd better start now though before it gets too dark."

"Didn't I assign you to dusk patrol though?" Amberblaze asked me.

I was already nudging Bella through the camp entrance. "I make up for it tomorrow!" I called before exiting camp.

"What was all that about?" Bella wondered.

I broke into a run straight forward and Bella hurried to keep up. "We need to get to Flick before it's too late."

Bella looked bewildered. "Too late for what? Lavenderbreeze, what's going on?"

I narrowed my eyes against the snow falling from the sky. "No time to explain, I'll tell you later." I didn't want to waste my breath trying to sum up what I had learned today.

Bella ran in silence before me. The fog-filled forest blurred around us and I tried to think of nothing but where we were going. There would be time to worry later.

Bella glanced at me. "How do you even know where we're going, or where he is?"

I panted. "He's on a border patrol, isn't he? We might as well head straight on until we reach the edge of the forest. From there we can just run along the border until we find him."

Neither of us said another word as we streaked through the forest. I would have been grateful to take a break but there was no time. Adrenaline and determination gave me the strength to continue on.

After awhile, we reached the edge of the forest. The mist began to fade until they were completely out of the forest. We stopped to catch our breath and I looked around. There was no sign of Flick or his patrol, nor was there any sign of Fogbreeze - I refused to think of him as a leader.

"You go in that direction." I told Bella after regaining my breath and strength. "I'll go this way. Well cover more ground quicker if we split up."

Bella looked worriedly into my eyes. "Lavenderbreeze, if this is dangerous, I don't think either of us should go alone."

I sighed. "I don't exactly want to split up either, but this is the best way, okay?"

"What are we even doing this for? If Flick's in danger, at least he isn't alone. He's with a patrol, shouldn't he be safe alongside his new clanmates?" Bella asked.

I shook my head. "He could be in danger from even them, right now. If you don't end up finding him, then come in the direction I'm going, and I'll do the same. You're right, whoever finds Flick first shouldn't be alone for too long."

I stood up and started in my direction. "Good luck!" I called before darting off again.

Now that I was alone, worry started to creep into my mind. What if I was too late? What if Bella found him first? She wasn't the best fighter. I wasn't either as a new warrior, but I had learned a lot from Flick and Fogbreeze. Would the patrol be with, or against him?

I shook my head, clearing it. I couldn't focus on any of that right now. What was important was finding the sand colored tom before it was too late.

It was painful writing this chapter and ik it'll be the same with the next one.

I was going to keep writing but this chapter would be too long.

Anyway, don't for get to like/comment!

//Word count: 1588//