Fernwish's Hope

Credits
Universe belongs to Dreaming-Dragon on scratch! characters are shared between Owl, Kode and a bunch of users on Scratch!

Chapter 1 - Smokefur
Fernwish cuddled around her kit, Smokefur, the only one who wasn't off training. His brother, Oakstep, was training to be a guard, so if anything happened to Smokefur, he could be there to protect him.

Smokefur had been having seizures, followed by nightmares of a terrible battle. In some of these he had been able to describe cats he had never met, but that were all too real - Flamestar, Tinyfang, Mossfur.

This was the first time in days he had fallen into a peaceful sleep. Fernwish hoped it wouldn't be the only time.

She gave her sleeping kit a lick, slowly grooming his tangled fur. He let out a peaceful sigh, curling up tighter.

She got up to go to the fresh kill pile and grab something to eat. She picked up a raven, the best of all prey - to her, at least. "Hey, Fernwish!" Rainstorm greeted her and sat next to her, twining his tail with hers. "How's Smokefur?" He asked.

"He's doing better today, sleeping soundly for once." Fernwish smiled. "Oakstep?"

"He's taking a nap in his den with the other Young, as well as Smallfern - it's raining outside and they didnt want to get wet. I dont see why though, running in the rain is amazing." He smiled.

"Only you think that." Fernwish purred. "It's part of why I love you."

Chapter 2 - Daydreams
Fernwish sat in her den, another wounded patrol came in, only a few day after Rockfall had been injured and lost his tail. Since then, Darkcloud had made sure he wasn't to play with the other young - well, except Smokefur, as he didn't play as rough as the others.

Fernwish sat just outside the hunters' den, watching as Rainstorm gave orders for training. Afterwards she turned to Rockfall and Smokefur who were playing hunter and mouse.

She wondered what it would have been like if spiritfire hadn't been stillborn. She imagined that Oakstep wouldnt be so protective, and maybe Smallfern would be less shy.

But she wasnt here, and that was sad, but hey - she still had three beautiful kits, and that's what mattered now. StarCl- I mean, the colony of the skies had a plan, and that's what would happen.

Fernwish sat back in her nest. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't left this den since the prey had been poisoned. She needed to go out.

"Kits, I'm going on a walk, you wanna come?" She called over her shoulder. Smokefur and Rockfall looked up. "No thanks, we're playing! But get us some prey, please!" they called. "Not a kit anymore, mom." Smokefur muttered to quietly for Fernwish to hear. She nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry."

Chapter 3 - Rising Tensions
Ferncloud padded into the main camp area. The scent of blood hit her nose. "Oh no..." She muttered, flattening her ears. Cats were stretched out in front of the medicine den, some were barely moving.

"No!" She wailed, recognizing Oakstep among them. She hurried over to her son, who had a large gash on his belly. He stirred weakly. "M- Mom?" He groaned. "Shh, it's me, it's me." Fernwish sobbed quietly.

"I'm fine, mom, really. My belly hurts, that's all. I must have eaten a bad mouse." He meowed drowsily. His eyes closed again.

Panicking, Fernwish sniffed him, but he was breathing. She relaxed.

"He's asleep!" She yowled. "Hazeltuft! Please, heal my son!" Hazeltuft nodded, hurrying over.

"You could have been my mother," She meowed lightly as she pressed cobweb to Oakstep's cut.

"I could have, couldn't I?" Fernwish agreed.

"I like the way things turned out." Hazeltuft meowed, now placing horsetail and burdock root on the bleeding gash.

"I do too." Fernwish purred, giving her son's forepaw a lick.

Hazeltuft pressed her nose to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. "He'll be fine," She meowed, before turning and padding away.

Fernwish had to stifle a meow of amusement. Sometimes, kits were so obvious! Hazeltuft clearly had feelings for Oakstep, which was why she was glad that they weren't siblings. From what Oakstep had said about Hazeltuft, he returned these feelings.

"How is he?" Rainstorm demanded, running up to sniff Oakstep's wound. "What happened?" Ferwish asked at the same time. Her eyes widened. "Me first. He's okay. Hazeltuft treated him, she said he'd be fine." "Skirmish with FlowerClan. Nasty mange-hearts better stay off our territory." Rainstorm growled.

Fernwish nodded. "Yeah, they'd better. Is it okay if I go for a walk?" Ranstorm hesitated. "I don't know, it's not safe. Er... Sharpspike, go with her, please." Rainstorm meowed, flicking his tail at Fernwish.

Sharpspike nodded. "Okay."

chapter 4 payback
fernwish paced towards the flowerclan border

"i think maybe we should not be over here" sharpspike stated

"well, if flowerclan is so insistent that they get to plant poison on our side of the border, i see no reason we cant plant poison in their unused hunting grounds" fernwish replied

"but what if we encounter a patrol?" sharpspike asked

"then we run back to the cave" fernwish explained "but anyhow they just patrolled this area they are not smart enough to patrol it again before sundown"

shapspike nodded "seems reasonable"

fernwish grabbed some holly and put it in a bundle of leaves "you grab some too, we need to be fast"

after they got to flowerclan territory they went quite deep, it was a little past sunhigh and flowerclan would be in camp trying to escape the heat.

fernwish and shapspike planted holly berries and holly juice over every bush and tree they could reach and headed quickly back to camp.

"that'll show them" fernwish muttered

chapter 5 what now?
as fernwish and sharspike came back to camp they told noone of the poisoning. not even rainstorm.

the colony had recently closed its borders so no rouges could join. but they conrinued to welcome clan cats trying to outlast the war, but now it seemed that they came simply to get away from toxic leader

many cats came stating they were kicked out for their wounds, but those were mainly flowerclan cats who should have been seniors long ago. but a few did have unhealable wounds, but rainstorm had promised to find a workaround if they were young.

fernwish headed straight for her cave and lay in her nest, watching smokefur and rockfall play fight. rainstorm had stated that they would have to resume training soon and they had decided that they would the next time the moon was at its fullest. which was only a few days away.

"come on you two, the hunting patrol has just arrived, lets go eat" fernwish called to the two kits

chapter 6 a message
the next morning fernwish woke to another one of smokefurs seizures.

"mousedung! and he was doing so well." fernwish muttered

"rockfall! help me get smokefur to the medicine den! quickly!" she told the small young.

'yes fernwish" rockfall replied and helped to pick up smokefur

"keep in paws together, it will help him to not flail" fernwish instructed as they quickly brought smokefur to the medicine cave

flowerspetal had awoken when they entered "another seizure? here, help me hold him down ill get some herbs for shock"

hazeltuft was still sleeping in the corner. she remembered that she had stayed up late with flowerspetal going over herbs.

after a moment smokefur stopped seizing and after a few heartbeats he woke up.

fernwish nuzzles her kit. sure to tell another story of a bloody battle.

but instead he simply stated "soon. we don't have much time"

chapter 7 no more running
fernwish turned to her mate and then to flowerspetal

"not much time? till the battle?" she looked to her paws, "this cant be right"

rainstorm inched closer to fernwish "flowerclans growing more hostile by the day. it only makes sense that a battle is soon. smokefur do you know how soon?¨

"in the vision the battle happened under a full moon, rainstorm, you looked-" smokefur hesitated "you didnt look normal, what i saw of you wasn't you. it was almost ghost like" smokefurs eyes twiched between his parents, his voice shaking with fear of what he saw "this vision wasnt like the rest it- it was bloodier flowerclan was acting as if it were personal, like they had a reason more than they had before. somethings changed" smokefur stated.

fernish felt sick, were all these efforts a waste? had they run for nothing? or maybe they didnt run far enough. maybe they should have run to the ends of the earth.

but, she knew that the colony wouldn't leave their home they had protected for so long. the war was back they couldn't escape it this time they were powerless.

she was powerless.

"rainstorm there has to be something we can do." fernwish stood next to her mate. "there has to, there just has to."

"maybe we could move the colony?" rainstorm suggested "a camp farther away could-" "were not leaving" darkcloud stood at the entrance to the medicine den, light reflectiong off his back, blood and ur between his claws, he had just returned from patrol "not again, im done running"

"fine then" rainstorm nodded to his brother "we prepare for battle"