Catmint Glow

Chapter 7: Spooky Catmint

Willowshine jumped, bouncing off the earth like it was made of springs. She soared high in the air, as if her arms were suddenly wings. She passed through gold and silver clouds as she flew higher and higher, until it started growing dark. She smiled, stretching her arms out as she started to go faster. The clouds had turned to stars, spinning around and around.

The world was a magical place.

Suddenly she stopped, and felt herself beginning to fall. But it didn't make her scared. As Willowshine started to travel back to earth, she felt excited instead of frightened. She crashed into the stars as she fell through them, but they didn't hurt. They exploded into silver and gold glitter as she touched them, tickling her and making her laugh. Everything was getting lighter again, and she saw the clouds below. As she fell through them, they exploded too. It looked as though she had fallen through a giant dandelion; fluff blew everywhere like a dandelion in the wind when it had turned to seeds. As her paws finally hit the ground, she sprung up again, bouncing on the springy grass.

"Willowshine!"

Willowshines heart filled with sparks as she heard the familiar voice, and she turned to see Jayfeather flying beside her.

"Hey!" Willowshine cried out happily, still soaring through the air. "Hi!"

"Why, hello," Jayfeather laughed. "It's fun here, isn't it?"

"It's amazing," Willowshine said in awe. Her heart beat faster as she looked at him, it looked like stars were running through his fur. It was a beautiful sight. A rainbow suddenly appeared in front of her, and she ran up it with Jayfeather at her side. When they reached the top, she stopped and looked over at him.

"I'm glad you're here," she said shyly. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," Jayfeather replied, rubbing his face affectionately against hers. "Every second we're apart feels so long."

"Do you really think that?" Willowshine asked, feeling her heart sputter out of control.

"Yes," Jayfeather whispered, leaning very close to her. "I love you."

"You love me," Willowshines legs went weak and she forgot how to breathe for a second." Oh, Jayfeather… I love you too."

"I'll never hurt you," Jayfeather said suddenly, looking into her eyes. They held an odd expression, an expression that Willowshine had seen before.

Blackstar once told me the same thing

And I believed him

"Everyone seems to hurt me," Willowshine confessed, looking down sadly. "Even when they promise they won't."

"I'm different," Jayfeather replied, voice gentle and kind. "I'm not Blackstar."

Willowshine jumped in surprise and looked at him uncomfortably. "Oh… you know about that?"

"I do."

"It was such a stupid thing for me to do," Willowshine hissed, anger rising up in her as she thought of her once lover. "How could I have ever fallen for such a liar?"

"I don't know," Jayfeather mumbled awkwardly. Willowshine realized she was speaking her feelings out loud, and she shut her mouth quickly.

"I just want you to trust me," Jayfeather said before Willowshine could apologize about bringing up her old feelings. "Will you?"

"Will I what, trust you?"

"Yes."

Willowshine stared at him, realizing his eyes held that same unknown glimmer that she had seen earlier. It was confusing, because it wasn't a look Jayfeather would ever have. It was completely Blackstar, and it scared her.

"Will you trust me?" Jayfeather repeated the question. Willowshine was starting to feel weird, wondering why he was being so pushy with her answer.

"I trust you," she said at last. Almost instantly, the shiny rainbow under her feet started to shake, and she looked down in panic. The pretty colors were fading at a fast rate, and chunks were beginning to crumble.

"No!" she screamed as the ground crumbled under her. She fell through the air, black chunks of the once beautiful rainbow crashing around her.

Her body hit the earth painfully, as if the springs had changed to rocks.

"Jayfeather!" she cried, feeling pain sear through her. "I need help!"

But her cries were lost.

Jayfeather was gone.

Willowshine woke up in a cold sweat. She was breathing hard, her sore lungs hurting from the effort. It took her a few moments to realize it had only been a dream.

Why would I have a dream like that? She thought, feeling scared and confused. Jayfeather is so kind… and not at all like Blackstar! He would never hurt me…

Would he?

Willowshine coughed a few times and curled up in the tightest ball she could, feeling ice cold even though it was warm in the medicine cats den. She shivered uncontrollably, opening her mouth to breathe. Her nose was so stuffed up it was impossible to breathe through it anymore.

The greencough was getting worse.

Willowshine suddenly remembered what she had found out at the gathering, about Thunderclan not having any food to eat. Lionblaze didn't mean for me to hear, but I did… and I can't just ignore that kind of information. She had had no idea about Thunderclans prey problem, but it was no secret about their catmint garden.

Today, I heard more cats coughing than I've ever heard… the sickness is taking over.

What if this is our chance?

What if we can work out a trade?

Willowshine forced herself to stand up, her bones stiffer than an elders. She padded outside into the clearing, wincing as she heard coughing coming from the apprentices den.

This is my fault and my fault alone. I will never forgive myself if I don't try to end this.

She pushed her way into Leopardstars den, waking her instantly. Leapordstars golden eyes opened into slits as she stared at her.

"Willowshine, what's going on?" The leader asked quietly, voice crackly with sleep. "It's the middle of the night."

"I have an idea," Willowshine blurted out before she could lose her nerve. "You see, I was talking to Jayfeather and his siblings at the gathering, and I found out some information."

"Jayfeather, it's been two full days and nothing's happened!" Lionblaze cried out, looking panicked. "I don't think our plan worked."

"Will you chill?" Jayfeather snapped, wondering what was up with the sudden outburst. "We need to give it a bit. This kind of thing doesn't just happen instantly."

"Yeah, I agree with Jayfeather," Hollyleaf replied before Lionblaze could freak out again. "When Willowshine tells Leapordstar, she's going to need some time to think about things. She's not just gonna parade over here without a second thought."

"What if she doesn't tell her?" Lionblaze asked.

"Then she's the stupidest cat I've ever met," Jayfeather mumbled.

"Jayfeather!" Hollyleaf hissed. "Don't be mean."

"Well, it's true!" Jayfeather couldn't stop himself from saying. "Honestly, it would be very, very dumb not to. Riverclans obviously sick and can't do anything about it."

"I've been wondering about that," Hollyleaf said suddenly, looking confused. "Like, what happened? Did all their catmint just disappear?"

"It vanished into the night," Jayfeather said in a mystical voice. "SPOOKY CATMINT!"

"Can you not, please?" Hollyleaf sighed as Lionblaze started giggling. "This is serious. Do you think that all their catmint died in the winter?"

"That seems to be the most logical explanation," Jayfeather shrugged. "Who knows? What's it matter, anyway?"

"Something just feels a little off about it, that's all," Hollyleaf said.

"Wouldn't you say something feels, I don't know, a little…" Lionblaze paused dramatically, looking around as if he was thinking about what to say. "SPOOKY?"

"Spooky catmint," Jayfeather snickered, looking over at his brother. "You liked that, didn't you?"

"It's a funny word," Lionblaze giggled.

"Speaking of catmint," Jayfeather said, leaning over to grab some stems. "How about we eat some?"

"Jayfeather, we are making a tradeoff soon!" Hollyleaf hissed, glaring at him. "How many times do I need to tell you this?"

"Hm, I'd say you need to tell me that as often as I need to tell you we have an entire freaking garden of this stuff," Jayfeather said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"He does have a point," Lionblaze mumbled.

"See?" Jayfeather raised his eyebrows. "Lionblaze is on board."

"Spooky catmint," Lionblaze said under his breath, snickering.

"Okay, well, I give up," Hollyleaf sighed and shook her head, grabbing one of the stems. "You're gonna eat them no matter what I say. And I'm starving."

"There you go," Jayfeather said proudly, eating one of his own.

"What if we get all weird again?" Lionblaze asked, taking one for himself. "I don't ever want to get that fuzzy headed again."

"Me either," Hollyleaf shook her head. "That was scary."

"Scary or not," Jayfeather said in a thoughtful voice. "It sure was fun."