Month 19 - Leaffall
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Sagetooth gasped sharply and lurched upright as a cold touch to her forehead pulled her up from a thick, inky blackness. She looked around at the bed of hastily gathered wildflowers and the cats clustered nearby and wondered aloud, âHow long have I been out?âÂ
None of the cats even acknowledged her. Close by, Branchbark and Ospreymask loafed side by side, completely unaware she had spoken. Ospreymask leaned weakly on Branchbark, a patchwork of cobwebs plastered over her dark pelt and Branchbarkâs eyes were raw and red. More cats sat nearby, all of them somber and quiet in the pre-dawn light. They looked miserable and something foreboding stirred inside Sagetooth at the sight.Â
âAbout an hour, I think,â said a familiar voice. Sagetooth turned her head to see Poppyblaze standing nearby. At her feet lay Lakepaw, stiff and cold and decorated with morning glory and goldenrod flowers.Â
âOh,â Sagetooth said simply.Â
âYeah,â Poppyblaze grimaced. âIâm sorry old friend. I wasnât expecting to come for you for a while.âÂ
Sagetoothâs gaze drifted down to the apprentice laying beside her own body, over which she now stood. âShe died to protect me,â she said. âPoor kit.âÂ
âShe gave quite the fight for her age,â hummed Poppyblaze. âAre you alright if I wake her now? We really should be going.âÂ
âOf course,â Sagetooth said, then inhaled sharply with memory. âWait, I have to check on something!â She quickly hopped over the flowers woven around her feet and headed for the healersâ den at a brisk pace.Â
âDonât go far!â Poppyblaze hissed worriedly. âItâs not safe!â Sagetooth twitched an ear dismissively and continued into the den. There was nothing that would hurt her here and she had important things to do.Â
As she stepped into the den, the blood that covered the floor made her pause. Even though every scent felt like it was miles away, she could pick up on the pungent odor of blood and urine -- and not just the expected amount of urine that came with the dead. Stepping further in, she found the herb stores in disaster, every herb tossed to the floor, shredded, and sprayed by the rogues. She curled her lip in disgust.
âHonorless brutes,â she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Turning away from that mess, she marched purposefully around the corner to Oddstripeâs empty nest and sighed in relief when she saw the small lump underneath the back corner. The horsetail and juniper she had hidden there was safe. She had no doubt Oddstripe would find it eventually. There wouldnât be another death like Nightfrosts.Â
Set at ease, she turned back and padded out into the clearing where Poppyblaze was standing with Lakepawâs spirit in the middle of the circle of mourners. Poor Lakepaw was softly weeping into the guideâs starry fur.Â
Sagetooth padded over and said, âThere, there, Lakepaw. Itâs going to be alright.âÂ
Lakepaw looked up at the sound of her voice and sniffled. âIâm so sorry, Sagetooth,â she whined. âI promise I tried my best.âÂ
âI know,â Sagetooth smiled. âYou were a brave warrior.â Lakepaw sniffled again and rubbed a paw over her face, managing to return her smile, just a bit.Â
âAlright, now, letâs be quick,â said Poppyblaze. âThis place isnât safe.â
âHow so?â Sagetooth scowled. âIâve never heard of anything dangerous in StarClan.âÂ
âWeâre not in StarClan,â Poppyblaze explained, leading they over to the Stoneperch. âWeâre in a place called the Parallel. Itâs the place where the spirit and the physical meet, and right now, Razorâs ghost is prowling around it somewhere.âÂ
âWhat?â Sagetooth couldnât believe what she was hearing. âHow is that possible?! Only Clan cats move on to the afterlife.âÂ
âOh, Sage,â Poppyblaze shook her head. âThereâs so much you donât know about the universe.â Sagetooth bristled indignantly. If there was knowledge out there, why hadnât StarClan shared it with her? Why hadnât Poppyblaze told her about it before?Â
With a flick of her tail, Poppyblaze sent a shower of stars into the sky, leading up in a series of platforms, and said, âThis way! Letâs get climbing.âÂ
âWowzers,â breathed Lakepaw and Poppyblaze chuckled.Â
âI like you, kid,â she purred. âNow, come on.â She gave Lakepawâs rump a nudge with her nose and the apprentice hopped up, easily leaping from platform to platform into the sky. Sagetooth hesitated, shifting her weight.Â
âYou canât make a slope of some kind?â she asked.Â
Poppyblaze laughed and said, âJust give me one jump, yeah?âÂ
Sagetooth sighed, grumbling under her breath, and bunched her legs beneath her. It had been a long time since sheâd properly jumped and she was not looking forward to it. Still, if Razor was loose somewhere around here, sheâd be much better suited to jumping than fighting him. She leapt and was amazed to find herself easily and painlessly landing on the first platform. Her eyes sparkled in wonder and she glanced down at Poppyblaze who laughed again.
âSee? You donât have a body anymore so no more joint pain! Pretty cool, huh?âÂ
âItâs very nice, yes,â Sagetooth purred to herself, stretching out each leg experimentally.Â
âGreat, now let's go, go, go,â urged Poppyblaze, hopping up beside her. Sagetooth nodded and started ascending. She was buzzing giddily at the freedom in her movements, in the way she could coordinate her limbs and move them without the aching resistance she had grown used to for the last few years.Â
Over their heads, Lakepaw cried out, âWowzers! Look at the world from up here!âÂ
âItâs gorgeous, isnât it?â grinned Poppyblaze. The higher they climbed, the more Sagetooth had to agree. The world was a stunning mess of mauves rustling in the breeze. A hint of orange had just started to peek over the eastern horizon and the contrast took Sagetoothâs breath away.Â
âHey, whatâs that?â Lakepaw asked.Â
âHm?â Poppyblaze perked her ears. She and Sagetooth followed the apprenticeâs gaze to the south. Standing in the grass, not too far from camp, several smudges of glowing red broke up the peaceful purple landscape.Â
âOh, thatâs not good,â Poppyblaze swallowed.Â
âRazor?â Sagetooth asked.Â
âYeah, I think so. Iâm going to check it out. I need you to stay here, okay?â She looked at both of them sternly and said, âDonât go up without me and donât try to go down under any circumstances, understood?âÂ
âYeah,â Lakepawâs fur was standing on end as she nodded.
âAbsolutely not,â Sagetooth huffed. âIâm coming with you.âÂ
âOh, Sage, my stubborn, stubborn friend,â Poppyblazeâs expression was some mixture of distress and admiration. âNow really isnât the time for this.âÂ
âIf it isnât safe for me to go along then you shouldnât be going, you reckless fool,â Sagetooth stood her ground.
Poppyblaze sighed. âI guess thatâs a fair point. Alright, fine. Stay here, Lakepaw, weâll be back soon.âÂ
âOkay,â Lakepawâs voice was shaky. âPlease be safe.âÂ
âWe will be,â Sagetooth assured her, then looked at Poppyblaze and gestured for her to lead the way. Poppyblaze took a careful step forward into the open air and when her paws moved away, there were starry platforms in their wake. Sagetooth fell into step behind her and they set out over the fields towards the red shapes.Â
As they drew closer, Sagetooth started to make out the silhouettes of cats. A tall grey tabby stood in the center of the group, flanked by a cream tabby she-cat, a black-furred tom with white paws, and a pair of blue and white cats with notches in their ears. All five of them had the same shimmery pelts as StarClan but the stars were red tinged or dull and grey.Â
âWhat are so many cats doing in the Parallel?â Poppyblaze whispered to herself, halting to observe them from a short distance behind and a treeâs length above.Â
âThat big one, is Razor, yes?â Sagetooth asked in the same hushed tone. Sheâd never seen the rogueâs body, too busy with healing the wounded, but she had heard the stories. She could see the gaping wound in his throat dripping ichor as he hunched over in the grass. He looked like stories of Dark Forest ghosts but that didnât make any sense to her.
âMhm,â nodded Poppyblaze. âHe destroyed Darkmoon and EarthClanâs guide and tried to destroy me.âÂ
âWhatâs he doing?â asked Sagetooth. Both she and Poppyblaze squinted at Razor who was doing something with his paws over a space of fresh churned earth. He hooked his claws into something and pulled up dragging a new glowing red shape up from the dirt. In horror, Sagetooth watched the face of a cat burst from the ground, choking and gasping for air as Razor hoisted his spirit up by the scruff. The cat scrambled to his feet and stared around, eyes wide, chest heaving, and Razor smiled with a deep rumbling purr that Sagetooth could just barely hear.Â
âWelcome to the land of the not quite living, Harry, â he said, slapping the new cat on the back.Â
âOh, no,â Poppyblaze swallowed. âThis is bad. This is very bad. Whereâs Bakari?âÂ
âWho?â Sagetooth couldnât help but ask.Â
âWhatâs going on? Where are we?â the newly dead cat panted. âWho are they?â Sagetoothâs stomach dropped as he looked directly up at her and Poppyblaze. Razor cocked his head and turned in their direction. When he saw them, a terrible smile spread across his face, made all the more gruesome by the ichor seeping between his teeth.Â
âOh, look,â he purred and the whole group of cats turned to look at them, âItâs my little friend. I never did catch your name, sweetheart.âÂ
Poppyblaze bristled and twitched her tail against Sagetoothâs flank. âWeâre leaving,â she whispered. âNow.â Sagetooth didnât need any further prompting, quickly, she twisted on the starry platforms and started bounding back to where they had left Lakepaw waiting. Poppyblaze was close on her tail.
âCome now, donât be like that!â Razor jeered after them and a couple of the other cats laughed. âCome on down so we can get friendly!âÂ
âThis is very bad,â Poppyblaze hissed under her breath. âWorse than I thought.âÂ
âHow so?â Sagetooth tilted her ears backward in curiosity.Â
âHow to explainâŚâ Poppyblaze hummed thoughtfully. âSo, when a creature dies, their soul is trapped inside their body. If left there, it rots and disappears, just like the rest of them, but if someone disconnects them from their body, they can live for effectively eternity, given the right conditions.âÂ
âRight, as long as theyâre remembered, they resist fading away,â Sagetooth nodded.Â
âNot exactly,â Poppyblaze said, âbut thatâs not really important right now.â Sagetooth twitched an ear in irritation, wishing Poppyblaze would stop saying confusing and ambiguous new things, but held her tongue so the guide could continue. âSeparating a soul from a body is a tricky process, one that guides have been teaching each other for countless millennia. It looks like, somehow, Razor has figured out how to do it, or how to brute force it at least.âÂ
âAlright,â Sagetooth frowned, trying to put the pieces together. âSo now, instead of wasting away, the kittypetsâ spirits will be stuck on the Parallel with Razor where they can harass spirits waiting to go to StarClan?â
âItâs more complicated than that,â Poppyblaze said to Sagetoothâs frustration. âUsually, Bakari comes and collects the non-Clan cats in this area, but for some reason, he hasnât been doing that.âÂ
âWho is this Bakari you keep talking about?â Sagetooth grumbled.Â
âThe guide for feline souls,â Poppyblazeâs tail began to twitch, âexempting Clan cats who have their own guides.âÂ
âBut thatâs not-â Sagetooth grit her teeth. âThat doesnât make any sense! Only Clan cats persist after death. Thatâs how itâs always been!âÂ
âSorry, Sage, but thatâs just not true,â Poppyblaze shook her head. âEverything has its own guide -- cats, dogs, mice, birds, beetles, twolegs. Everything! Thereâs even a guide who collects the plants! Heâs a big olâ thing with a prehensile nose and the shaggiest fur youâve ever seen. Nameâs Frost. Lovely guy, excellent conversationalist.âÂ
âPoppyblaze!â Sagetooth snapped, lashing her tail. They were almost back to Lakepaw now and she turned around to glare at the old spirit. âEnough about the plants! I still donât understand whatâs going on!âÂ
âItâs a lot to understand,â said Poppyblaze sympathetically, âbut Iâll try to summarize.â She shifted her posture, collecting her thoughts, and said, âAlright, so Bakari usually collects the spirits of cats from outside the Clan. Every so often, a creature with a particularly strong will can separate themself on their own -- thatâs how the first guides were created and it's what I assumed Razor had done. When I ran into him the first time, he said that heâd already destroyed two other cats and since EarthClanâs guide had never returned from gathering Darkmoon, I assumed they were the cats heâd destroyed.
âBut this is so much worse. I think he destroyed Bakari when he tried to take Razor to the next life. Heâs obsessed with getting back to his body like Goldenstar did and said he was going to keep killing cats until someone showed him how.â
âOh,â Sagetooth swallowed. âThatâs definitely not good.âÂ
âAnd thatâs not all,â continued Poppyblaze. âIf heâs only killed two cats and they were Bakari and Chestnutsprout, then Darkmoon is missing. He could be here on the parallel or he might be lost in the Clouds! Who knows!âÂ
âThen we need to get back to StarClan,â Sagetooth said. âThey have to know.âÂ
âAgreed,â Poppyblaze chewed her lip. âCome on, letâs grab Lakepaw and get moving.â They padded quickly over the remaining distance to where Lakepaw was waiting dutifully for them.Â
âIs everything okay?â she called as they approached.Â
âEverythingâs fine, dear,â said Sagetooth.
âNot really,â smiled Poppyblaze, âbut weâre all safe for now. Letâs keep climbing, okay?âÂ
âOkay,â nodded Lakepaw and they all started up the platforms again.Â
Sagetooth glared at Poppyblaze. âYou didnât have to worry the kit like that.âÂ
âShe deserves to hear the truth,â Poppyblaze shrugged. âOr would you prefer I hide things from her like StarClan hid things from you?â Sagetoothâs anger fizzled immediately.Â
âI suppose Iâd rather not lie to her,â she sighed. After a moment she asked, âWhy did StarClan keep the nature of things a secret? What harm is there in knowing other creatures have spirits that linger just like we do?â She trusted that there was some explanation, that StarClan had made the choice with good reason, but she couldnât think of what it could be.
âA lot of them donât know,â Poppyblaze admitted, ânot any more at least. And the cats who do, well, youâd have to ask them, but I suspect they thought it would keep the Clans in line.âÂ
âIn line?â Sagetooth sputtered. âWhat are you talking about?âÂ
âWell,â Poppyblaze hummed, âif you think that leaving the Clan means you lose your chance at the afterlife, youâre a lot more inclined to stay in the Clan, arenât you?â
Sagetooth scowled. âI suppose.â This was very troubling. Wasnât that for the best though? Leaving the Clan was tantamount to death. The poor young cats who were seduced by the lives of kittypets or rogue lovers were abandoning their homes, their traditions, their families. But still, even if their spirits existed after death, they didnât get to hunt in StarClanâs forests so why lie? Wasnât the outcome the same either way? The whole situation didnât sit right with her at all.Â
âAlright,â Poppyblaze said, as they neared the lower reaches of cloud cover. âWeâre about to head into the Clouds, alright? Itâs pretty maze-like in there and easy to get lost so make sure you stay where you can see me and let me know if you need to stop or slow down, got it?âÂ
âYes maâam,â Lakepaw said, eyes wide with awe.Â
âFine,â Sagetooth huffed, still deep in thought. This wasnât what she had imagined her voyage to StarClan would be like. Still, she resolved to make the most of it and so set her shoulders and raised her head proudly. There would be time to get to the bottom of things and she was going to, that much was certain.













