[Insidious]

She sat in camp, quiet, motionless, defeated, and while she managed a weak smile for anyone who chanced a look her way, nobody approached, nobody offered their piece, because there was no way to comfort a cat who had dedicated her life to doing the comforting. She felt lost, despairing, to the point that it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that her eyes were playing tricks.

But still she blinked, and still she lifted her head from on top of her paws, a flash of her former self there and gone in an instant as her mouth hung agape and she uttered the word that, since the incident, she hadn't dared.

"Pinkcloud?" It was with a mixture of hope and grief that she scrambled after the white shadow that disappeared into the medicine cat's den.

Ducking inside, her eyes wide, the swinging of her head urgent, she searched for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Her resolve depleted as quickly as it had appeared, finding Littletimber's eyes in the dark and startling. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, Littletimber. I'm not sick." Bluejay took a step back, dipping her head apologetically. "It's just that I thought I saw - it's silly, but - I thought I saw my sister come in here." That she sounded crazy to her own ears was worrisome, and she shrunk away, for the first time in her life, feeling self-conscious. Was this how Pinkcloud had lived? Did she always feel like she was walking on eggshells?

"I should be going. Again, I'm sorry for disturbing you." With nothing more to say, the she-cat dipped her head, excusing herself. She had no way of knowing that she hadn't gone out of her mind. Today was a day of firsts, it seemed, because for the first time in her life, Pinkcloud was taking the lead, and Pinkcloud was helping her.

@ghostlight
Leafbare Day 19

[Deleted]

Come on now
I hear you're feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again

---

The small structured tom had just finished looking over the cats that littered the clearing of the Medicine Cat's den. There was only so much the eerie cat could accomplish with a depleted herb stock and lack of prey throughout all of Treeclan. While a normal cat might ponder how the other clans were doing, or perhaps Honeypaw would have wondered how the other Medicine Cats were fairing, such worried thoughts never passed through the young tom.

Rather than emotions, lists of herbs that were needed scripted through his rather quiet mind. His blank, teal orbs glanced over Dunekit as Lionsong's body was curled around the small, starving bundle of fur. Should the eerie Medicine Cat feel emotions, he would have been irritated at Lionsong's persistence at saying with her sickly kit. Especially since she still had Dusk-kit and Skykit to look after. However, Littletimber's emotionless and detached look on the world would only infuriate the queen's feelings for staying by her sick kit's side.

Sorrelflower was off in a different section of his den, and while he had checked on her earlier, he was sure her condition had not improved. The eerie tom had already said that the young warrior would not make it through this Leaf-Bare, from coughing to full blown sickness, Sorrelflower was barely able to stay awake anymore, her eyes and nose ran and her body was weak. She was unable to eat both from weakness and lack of prey. Those teal eyes looked at Sorrelflower's helpless and barely moving body for a moment, wondering when Starclan would greet her.

With an impassive flick of his tail, the tiny tabby turned his void attention to Silverwisp, his sister, who was sleeping soundly, her broken leg hanging out of the nest as it attemted to heal. Her ribs were showing through her silver tabby fur and Littletimber could almost hear the growling of her empty stomach. He had almost grown used to the starving sounds of his own stomach, and he was sure that his body looked no worse than his starving sister.

Turning, the small tabby made his way back to his own warm, bed. Despite being absent of emotions, his small body could feel the cold and frost eating away at his bones. It didn't take long for his teal orbs to lay sight on the alabaster spirit that had begun to roam in his den. It first happened when Adderstrike and Lichenfrost found an unconscious Silverwisp near Pinkcloud's broken body. Littletimber figured that the young warrior wanted to keep an eye on Silverwisp, the cat she died saving from a fallen tree limb.

It was the second time Pinkcloud appeared in his den, did he realize what the reason was for. And he had to wait for the sister of the deceased feline to figure it out before he said anything. Starclan did what Starclan did, and he was aware that it was not his place to interfere.

Teal orbs reopened from whatever short sleep Littletimber had tried to drift off into when Bluejay's scent surrounded his nose. The small tom lifted himself from the warmth of his mossy nest, ribs jutting out from underneath his sandy pelt. His ears flickered absently as the young she-cat prattled on and apologized for her intrusion. Slinking past her, the smaller feline watched the star studded Pinkcloud sit near Silverwasp's sleeping form. So, Littletimber turned to face Bluejay, lowering his haunches and wrapping his stripped tail around his tiny paws.

There had been a time, before Honeypaw had been picked, that Littletimber had seen potential in both a young Bluekit and Pink-kit. Even after he had taken Honeypaw on as his apprentice, Bluepaw and Pinkpaw had shown potential aside from being warriors. Now, here Bluejay stood, in a position where Honeypaw once stood and where Pinkcloud was guiding her.

"You are not the only one who can see Pinkcloud." Littletimber said after a moment, his shrill voice sharp and cold like the snow that covered the ground. Those ghostly, teal orbs narrowed expressively towards the she-cat in front of him. He was sure Bluejay could see the albino feline's spirit near Silverwisp over his shoulder. There was the slightest detached flicker of one of the ears that rested atop Littletimber's head.


"Will you accept the path she has shown you?"

---

Relax

I'll need some information first

Just the basic facts

Can you show me where it hurts?

[Insidious]

His empty stare was eerie, but that wasn't the source of her discomfort. When he claimed she wasn't the only one seeing the outline of her sister, those pink eyes crinkled in amusement, the young warrior stiffened, froze from head to toe, willing herself not to turn around. The medicine cat flicked an ear, the notion so slight she would've missed it had she not been looking for it; that was all the confirmation she needed as to what was behind her, and she feared that, if she looked, if she saw it for herself, she wouldn't be able to bear it.

Her lower lip wobbled, but she made no sound. In the span of seconds, she had felt a wide range of emotions, and each had in its own right made her vulnerable. His question, at first, confused her, and it showed. Her oceanic eyes were lidded in contemplation, staring at him like, if she stared long enough, the answer would reveal itself to her.

The path that Pinkcloud had shown her?

Bluejay wouldn't refuse her sister anything. She was caught off guard by the sudden rush of affection that swelled in her chest, causing her hind legs to fall to the ground, no longer able to stand. She turned her head to the side, stopping short of being able to see what was behind her. The tiniest of smiles flitted across her mouth before disappearing, her eyes falling shut, returning to the situation at hand with a certain softness about her.

Pinkcloud was dead, but she hadn't left Bluejay behind.

"Yes, of course." It occurred to her that her world was about to change forever. No longer would she need to struggle with the concept of fighting for her clan. Instead, she would help cats, she would nurture them, talk to them, which, she realized, was all she had ever truly wanted, wasn't it? Littletimber could be a little odd, per say, but he was a good medicine cat, and he would teach her well. For the first time in a long while, she appeared to be the source of her own brightness.

"It's an honour, Littletimber. I will not disappoint you." Her thoughts turned to Honeypaw briefly, and then to Lionstar, knowing she would need to tell her leader, mentor, and friend about this change.