greencough

~~~

DESPITE SKYCLAN'S SCARY threat, there were no attacks. In fact, it seemed as though SkyClan were simply icing ThunderClan out and giving them the silent treatment.

They appeared at Gatherings, though Crowstar would never look Lilystar's way nor speak to her. SkyClan kept closely to themselves, looking right past any ThunderClan cat unless they got too close - then, there would be a scuffle until the two Clans were pulled apart. Violetpaw spotted Sorrelpaw once or twice, standing besides her mentor Oakbounce, her tail whisking through the air.

They never saw SkyClan at the borders anymore. It was like SkyClan had completely redone their border patrol schedule to avoid bumping into ThunderClan cats. When a ThunderClan border patrol passed by, SkyClan's side would always have been already marked.

And, of course, SkyClan's pushing on borders never ceased. Often, border patrols would find that their neighboring Clan had marked trees or rocks clearly on ThunderClan's side of the border, and in an outrage, cats would demand an attack. However, Lilystar, who was looking desperately to avoid war, would always deny them.

"Let them push our borders if they'd like," she'd meow. "In the end, we know what's ours and what's theirs. They're the ones acting like kits. We won't stoop to their level or respond when they're so obviously trying to get a reaction."

Violetpaw, like all her fellow apprentices, felt a rush of pride when it came to defending her Clan. But it was her leader's orders not to engage or react, and despite all the grumblings and decrease of prey that leafbare brought, life wasn't too bad.

In fact, trouble didn't truly begin until the Clans were deep into leafbare. Sunbounce had taken Violetpaw out on a training session early that morning, and as the white she-cat engaged in the drills he'd set for her for the umpteenth time, Swanfrost rounded into Grassy Hollow. 

Violetpaw paused momentarily in her drills, her eyes lighting up when she spotted her mother's soft gray pelt. "Mom!" 

Sunbounce bore an expression of great confusion, but flicked his tail warmly in greeting all the same. The two were good friends, after all. "Swanfrost? What're you doing here?"

Swanfrost's blue eyes looked troubled, sucking in a deep breath as she spoke. "It's your mother."

Instantly, the ginger tom froze. "What's wrong? Is she okay?"

Sunbounce's mother, Blossomsky, had recently developed a cold that was serious enough for her to be moved into the medicine den. The dappled white she-cat was a senior warrior, about to become an elder; her deteriorating health was a subject of great concern recently for her family, as Violetpaw had heard from Brightpaw. 

"Featherpool sent me to come find you. She thought I would understand better-" Swanfrost broke off, wincing. "Blossomsky was coughing up blood this morning, Sunbounce. It's greencough."

Violetpaw had been told once that greencough was the illness that took Sunbounce's late sister, Honeykit, when she was young. Apparently, his parents had never stopped grieving her, and the whole family was tense on the subject of the disease.

Thus, a sheer look of horror overtook Sunbounce's face. "Featherpool will heal her, right? She's got catmint."

Swanfrost hesitated. "You'll have to ask her. I'm not exactly sure-"

That's as far as the gray she-cat got before Sunbounce was on his paws, bounding away into the forest and towards camp, calling a hasty, "Violetpaw, we'll finish the drills later," over his shoulder.

As Violetpaw gazed after him, she felt her pelt twitch with worry. She wasn't even sure why. She'd hardly spoken more than a word to Blossomsky her whole life, but hearing about the dappled warrior's sick state felt like a stab to the gut, as though it were her mother laying ill in the medicine den.

~~~

BLOSSOMSKY DIDN'T GET much better. The catmint Featherpool had collected at the start of leafbare had dried out, and did little for the senior warrior's health. A week later, after realizing there was nothing else she could possibly do, the gray tabby medicine cat set off to visit the other Clans and see whether or not they had catmint to spare.

"Steer clear of SkyClan," Lilystar warned before she left. 

Featherpool waved her off her concerns. "I will."

She set off at sunhigh, leaving the afternoon open for Sunbounce to take Violetpaw training or hunting. However, for the past week, the ginger tom has been nothing but worried, and always stayed in or near camp in case something was to go wrong with Blossomsky.

So, thankfully (and Violetpaw meant that with maximum sarcasm), Ravenpaw's mentor, Icedust, offered to take her on a hunting trip that day.

Violetpaw's eyes almost popped out of her head when Sunbounce told her. "But what about Stormbird or Fogsky?" she asked, naming Sweetpaw and Brightpaw's mentors. "Aren't they going out?"

"They're doing some combat training, and you need hunting practice," Sunbounce replied, whisking his tail. "Now go on."

Icedust and Ravenpaw were waiting for her by the entrance, and - a little gloomily - Violetpaw padded over, the black apprentice wearing a sour and displeased expression on his face. However, Icedust seemed completely oblivious to the tension between the two apprentices, and simply twitched his pelt before leading them out into the forest, a cat of little words himself.

Violetpaw and Ravenpaw hadn't spoken much since after that night in the apprentices den after the Gathering. Typically, their scuffles would occur because of the black tom; he would be the one to purposely approach and annoy her. He would be the one to come sit with her and her friends for a meal, even though he knew she wanted nothing more than for him to go away.

It seemed that that night had changed something in Ravenpaw. Now, he isolated himself, sitting alone for meals (his parents or Brightpaw at most for company). He was also noticeably more rude to Violetpaw; though he'd never been particularly nice to her before, now his insults felt more harsh and rigid, as though she were an enemy cat from SkyClan.

For some reason - and this, she felt briefly, followed by great self-scolding - she felt a bit lonely without Ravenpaw bothering her. 

The black tom's attitude towards Eaglepaw was also sour. This, Violetpaw really wished he would stop. As far as she knew, Eaglepaw thought she and Ravenpaw were friends, and Ravenpaw's nasty words were going to make the brown apprentice think poorly of her.

Icedust led the two into a clearing and halted. "Now, I'm sure you both know how to hunt. That much is expected. But, with your Warrior Assessments rapidly approaching, I think it's time that we practice some pair hunting."

Instantly, both apprentices' pelts fluffed with protest.

"Pair hunting?!" Violetpaw mewed in disbelief.

At the same time, Ravenpaw lashed his tail and shook his head. "You can't be serious!"

"Come on, now." Icedust gave them a firm look. "It's very important to know how to work well with others. It'll be on your test."

"I can work with others," the black tom retorted, "I just can't work with her. She stomps around the forest like a fox, prey can hear her coming from camp! And, her pelt won't blend with the territory."

Violetpaw sneered at him, fed up with his attitude. "It's leafbare now, mousebrain. If anything, my fur will hide me better in the snow than yours!"

Ravenpaw gaped at her. "It hasn't snowed yet! There's no snow anywhere!"

The white apprentice ignored him. "Plus, it's not like I want you has a hunting partner anyway. Your aim is always off when you jump. Honestly, prey have no need to hide from you. Even if a mouse was climbing all over your paws, you'd slap at it and still miss."

Ravenpaw growled, but before he could shoot a retort, Icedust stopped them.

"Ravenpaw, Violetpaw, stop bickering." The gray tom's voice was sharp. "You two are both halfway, or more than halfway, through your apprenticeship. You'll become warriors soon, and this is not the attitude warriors have. Is that understood?"

The two apprentices nodded, though their glares at each other were no less lethal. 

"Now, as you've both mentioned, it is leafbare. It's freezing, and the sun will be going down soon. I'd like to get some prey for the Clan before it becomes too cold to be out." Icedust waved his tail, as though shooing kits. "Go on, now. I won't be far, yowl if you need me."

~~~

filler chapter, i'm sorry :')

i just wanted to say thank you for all the support on this book so far!! when i first began writing it, i had motivation to write that i haven't had in ages, and i really liked the plot and characters i came up with! i'm just very glad that you guys are enjoying it too!

have an amazing day!!

~ lily