Fall of the Panther || Chapter 10

Instructions

Crrrk!! Cobaltshimmer stirred from his sleep grouchily. Whatever noise had woken him was coming from outside the elders den. “Bonestalk, can you ch–” he broke off, noticing the empty space in the den. “Oh, yeah. He must’ve fallen asleep in the medicine cat den.” Cobaltshimmer groaned and stood up. He’d just have to do it himself. “Hello?” He called out gruffly. “Whoever you are… please go away. I need sleep, and you're making a lot of noise.” Cobaltshimmer took a step forward, and– “Ow! What in StarClan?!” He lifted up his paw to see three thorns stuck in his pawpad. A neat little triangle. “A triangle of pain,” he muttered. “Who put these here? I’m going to find you!” At the pitter patter of feet, he quickly spun around. Well, he spun around as quickly as he could with his aching joints and throbbing paw. To his surprise, Chasingpaw was standing there, eyes wide and guilty. Her sides were still wrapped with cobweb, but the wounds looked much better. He sighed, bewildered. “Chasingpaw? What are you doing out here so late at night?” “I'm sorry, Cobaltshimmer!” She instantly wailed, hobbling over. “Those thorns weren't meant for you! Agh, I shouldn't have put them so close to the elders den.” “Wait, you were the one who put them there? But why?” “Y-yeah! I was collecting them,” she said, gently looking over his paw. She winced at how deep the thorns had gone. “T-to put in Pantherstar’s nest. Are you okay? It doesn't hurt too much, does it?” Cobaltshimmer just stared, shocked. He pulled his paw away from her. “I'm fine, but– what? Pantherstar, what did she do to deserve thorns in her den?” “Well– obviously Pantherstar’s the one who manipulated Shimmersnow into being mean to me! I saw them talking. They were definitely up to something,” she said, looking upset. “That’s… I don’t think that’s what Pantherstar was trying to do,” he said, mildly confused. “Oh yeah?” She challenged. “Do you have a better explanation, then?” “Well,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “Your mentor is… going through a lot, Chasingpaw. Not only was she chosen to mentor you, but she is also the deputy. There is a lot of responsibility that rests on her shoulders. “Pantherstar may be the one who caused her struggles, but she is also cares for Shimmersnow very much,” he said softly. “She also cares for you, and every cat in this Clan. Why do you think we made her leader, after… after the first one?” Chasingpaw was silent for a moment. Then she burst out, “Then WHY does my mentor hate me so much? I wasn't the one who made her deputy and I wasn't the one who gave her trouble. She's supposed to be guiding me!” Cobaltshimmer sighed, taking a step closer and licking the apprentice’s head comfortingly. “She doesn't hate you, okay? You mustn’t forget that. I'm sure that if you talk to her, you’ll both feel better.” “Fine,” she sniffed, letting herself be comforted by the elder’s soothing words. “I'll go talk to her after she comes back… and maybe you should go to Locustburn for your paw,” she said quietly. He chuckled. “Go and sleep. I can get to the medicine cat den by myself,” he said, giving her a small nudge. She cast one more look at his paw before smiling. “Good night, Cobaltshimmer,” Chasingpaw said. She turned and limped to the apprentice's den. Cobaltshimmer smiled fondly, turning around to go back to his own nest when he spotted a cat out of the corner of his eyes. Was that… ————————————————————————— Even with the moon high above in the sky and the camp peacefully snoozing, Pantherstar sat outside her den, unable to fall asleep. It had been hours since Shimmersnow left. Was she upset about the confession? Was she hurt out there? Was she even… alive? Pantherstar gritted her teeth. “She’s fine. She has to be, right? She just went to clear her mind. I guess that’s something that takes half a day to do.” She paused, trying to calm herself down. Shimmersnow was capable. She’d be fine. But then… What was Pantherstar really scared of? She sighed, voicing her fears out loud: “What if…she says no? And I-I can handle that, of course. Maybe. B-but then after that–” she broke off, not being able to handle the thought of Shimmersnow ending their friendship. She shook her head. “No, she’d never do that. I'm just overthinking. Agh, I've been here too long.”