The Valley

Various shorts concerning all four Clans of the valley. Enjoy!

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Fly Like a Bird (Shiverclan)
Shiverstar isn't as serious as you might think.

Absolute silence rang out over the Clan after the announcement. Pale blue eyes surrounded by pure white gazed down on the gathered cats for several moments before:

"... You're kidding." Eyes and ears swiveled toward the speaker, a tabby cat who was gazing blankly up at his leader. When he only received silence in response, he said warily, "Are you sure, Shiverstar?" This time, he got a slight nod. Then the clearing exploded.

Weaving her way through the clamor, the medicine cat made her way to the leader. "What are you trying to do?"

The gray cat shot Palemoon a grin. "Isn't it obvious?"

One of the many raised voices drifted up to the pair. "How are we supposed to learn how to fly in the first place!? Find some birds willing to teach us?"

Palemoon proceeded to thunk her head into the tree trunk.

"Relaaax," her friend drawled. "I'll sort it out once they calm down."

"Why would you even..."

"Remember that bet I made with Aloefire the other day?"

"Who could eat the most voles. How could I forget? You were moaning in my den for the entire day, and the Clan was going crazy." Then comprehension dawned, and yellow eyes narrowed. "That was the condition, wasn't it."

"This was so worth losing."

~~~~~~~~

Plague (Fogclan)
The worst plague in the history of the Clans, nearly responsible for Fogclan's complete destruction.

The thin she-cat laid dying, stretched across a soft moss nest. Matted silver sides heaved with every series of hacking coughs that tore through her weak frame. Blue-gray eyes fluttered, bright with reflected light.

Her companion lowered his head silently as, minutes later, all sound but his own breath ceased. The cat he had hoped to save was unnaturally still at his paws. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I wasn't able to ease your pain this time."

He stood vigil for a only short time before collecting his sparse herbs and exiting. There were others who desperately needed treatment, after all. Unable to stop the shudder that came as cold air pierced his fur, his eyes searched out a familiar figure against the white expanse covering the camp.  

"Blackice," the young cat greeted, carefully making her way across the snow. "How is she?" There was an exhausted, defeated note to her voice, and Blackice immediately decided he did not want to hear her news.

"Dead," the dark-furred medicine cat answered wearily. "Rainstar now has seven lives left. The others?"

Robinwing's eyes closed, and her head lowered at the news. "Shrewleap and her litter have all died." The three brand-new kits had been too young and weak to survive once they'd fallen ill. That made seven casualties: Sweetberry had been first to contract the illness, and Woodpaw had quickly succumbed as well.

"No time to grieve yet," Blackice said, pushing down the pang of loss. "Have you checked on Ivybloom?" When his apprentice shook her head, he said, "Alright. I'll go see how she is, and you check the rest of our Clanmates to make sure they aren't ill. We must contain this illness before it kills anyone else."


After a week, things were looking incredibly dismal. Rainstar had lost a second life; Ivybloom had fallen, and her fellow elder, Honeybreath, was close behind; two warriors, Goldenlight and Scatteredclouds, had become sick; and another warrior, Squirreltail, had died. The remaining healthy warriors were run ragged between hunting and searching for a place for the cats to evacuate. So far, the patrols had failed, as there seemed to be no places large enough or safe enough.

Then one night, as Blackice finally retired to his den, a sound reached his ears. It was familiar, but out of place in the medicine cats' private den.

Robinwing was coughing in her sleep.


Three days later, Goldenlight died. Scatteredclouds was still fighting, but Rainstar was once again sick. Her body hadn't fully recovered from her previous death, and the sickness quickly took advantage of this.

Blackice worked desperately to save his apprentice, but he knew deep down the treatments weren't working. Her body radiated heat, and she had been unable to eat. She could barely breathe with how much she was coughing, and was rarely conscious.

It wasn't long until the black tomcat was forced to admit defeat and, feeling like his heart was shattering, fetched a pawful of poppy seeds. He waited at her side until there was a brief lull in the coughing, and slipped them down her throat. Too many.

A short time later, leaning against her side, he heard and felt her (more relaxed, after the seeds) breathing stutter... then stop completely. He gulped and lowered his head, pressing an ear to the thin chest. Nothing. He shuddered, holding back a broken wail over his first apprentice.


Scatteredclouds hadn't made it. Rainstar's third life had been taken. More cats had fallen ill.

And so did Blackice.

When he awoke, he noticed immediately; an odd tightness in his chest, a soreness in his throat. He chalked it up to him needing water, because the other possibility was too terrible to consider. There were no herbs left to treat his Clan left, he noticed dully as he checked the stores. Not that there had been much in the first place.

As he left to check on Rainstar, to make sure she wasn't once again ill, a cough bubbled out of his throat. Then another. And then his chest suddenly seemed to constrict. Oh, Starclan, no, he thought frantically, holding back any further coughs. No. Not yet, they're still sick!

He forced his growing panic down and focused on his task. Check on Rainstar. Look over your other Clanmates. See if there's anything further you can do for the sick. He wouldn't get sick, not while his Clan needed him.

But if there was one thing Blackice had always been good at, it was knowing when he was fighting a losing battle. He stumbled and collapsed dizzily into his mossy nest, coughs tearing out of his throat against his will. He had started shivering violently late in the day, and despite the freezing air, there was an uncomfortable heat spreading throughout his body.

Blackice was very, very sick.


When Rainstar came to visit him, he barely registered her presence. His chest was in agony, and every breath burned viciously, turning into a cough. His limbs were too weak for him to even THINK of standing, let alone checking on his patients.

"Blackice!" she cried out, hurrying to his side. "Oh, no..."

He drew in another ragged breath, then attempted to speak. "I'm... sorry," he choked out. "Couldn't-" he broke off with several coughs, then struggled to finish. "-save our Clan."

The medicine cat could see the horror, dismay, and despair flashing through her blue-hued eyes. He'd always been able to read her through those eyes, he noted absently. "It's not your fault. You know it isn't. You did everything you could."

He just closed his eyes, in too much pain to try and reply again. He felt Rainstar sit down next to him, her cool pelt feeling nice against his own fevered one.

In his fevered, agonized state, Blackice wasn't sure how long she sat next to him. He did, however, notice when he no longer felt the familiar sleek pelt. In fact, he didn't really feel much of anything. Nothing but a muted burning still in his chest, like a flame had caught there.

"Not yet," he mumbled. "Please. They're still suffering."

He knew that he would be ignored.

"If you're going to take me, then you'd better be planning to give them the help they need," the dying cat said, blinking at the stars now blocking his vision. "Don't let this be the end of Fogclan."

~~~~~~~

Parenting (Fogclan)
Just a sweet little thing about Blackice and Honeybreath when they were younger (than above story, anyway), 'cause I love the two to death.

Two eyes, pale blue as chips of ice, carefully tracked the movement of a pale shape through the fog. Blackkit's target didn't notice him, occupied with other tasks. Water instantly darkened the gray of his paws as he moved forward through a small puddle, making them nearly the shade of the rest of his midnight fur. The kit checked again; no, he still hadn't been noticed. Now that he was close enough to pounce, he sank into a clumsy crouch and flung himself forward.

... only to squeak in terror as yellow filled his vision.

"Hey, kit. You didn't honestly believe I didn't know you followed me, did you?" The warrior grinned, sitting back up, honey-colored eyes glinting in amusement. "The way you were stomping around, I almost mistook you for a bear. Except you aren't nearly as big and ugly. Or half as terrifying."

Blackkit puffed up for a moment as though he was going to argue, but then turned his eyes to the damp grass at his feet. "I thought I was doing well," he said quietly.

Honeybreath looked taken aback. "Er, for a kit, you were," he amended. "You're pretty light on your feet, actually. You'll make a great hunter when you're old enough."

"But I don't want to be a warrior and hunt." The kit looked back up at the more experienced cat. "I want to be a medicine cat."

"... Then why were you stalking me?" His head tipped sideways in confusion.

"I think medicine cats should learn how to fight, too, in case a Lightningclan cat tries to attack them," Blackkit stated firmly. "Or they can help their Clanmates from getting worse injuries in a fight by sneaking up and scaring their enemy."

"Flawed logic, but tell you what," Honeybreath said. "You become the new medicine cat apprentice, get to eight moons, and I'll teach you to fight like a warrior. Sound good?"

Icy eyes gleamed. "Yes!" Blackkit smiled brightly up at his older Clanmate, who couldn't help but grin back.

Of course, Honeybreath figured, after the teachings he'd receive as Blackpaw, he wouldn't want to learn how to fight or wouldn't have time. So he was rather surprised when, after the four moon requirement, Blackpaw approached the warrior and issued a flat demand. Honeybreath had been happy to oblige, having no apprentice for himself at the time.

Even moons and moons later, Blackice had come to see him as a father figure. And Honeybreath had to admit, he rather enjoyed having a son.