Chapter 15: Not Gone

I looked at Limp, none of the others seemed to notice that she had her eyes closed. They were all looking around all over us a bit confused. I stopped Limp, and I got her to open her eyes. She looked at me and then she looked at her sorroundings.

She saw the other cats looking around having no clue what she was looking at, but I did, and I believed her. I pushed my nuzzle up to her to make her feel a bit better, but I could tell that she was a bit afraid, she did not know what was going on with her.

"Don't worry Limp I believe you, lets start going that way." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, she did not look to sure. She didn't even look as if she had believed what I had just said about herself. She looked at the ground for a few moments.

Kettle stepped up, he was a bit confused as to what was going on, as to which I could not blame him for. He didn't really know what was going on, because I had not taught them about cats that were like her. I had heard they were extremely rare, and the often only happened to a cat once in another cats life time.

It would make sense, I felt a bit upset at myself for not telling them, I had told them so much. But I had told them nothing about that, they did not seem like they were a sort of special cat, but Limp... I always knew there was something special about her, the moment we had found her in the woods nearly starving to death.

I had thought about it at the time, I could have just left her there and taken the squirrel. Any normal cat would have done that to her. She would have likely died, she had no idea how to hunt, which was something that I needed to teach her some kind of bad very soon.

"What do you see Limp? Are you okay? Did you eat something wrong?" He said to her. I looked at him and then I shook my head at him to be silent. Limp needed to regain herself, she did not know what was going on, and I could tell by her breathing that she was a bit afraid.

She should not be afraid, she was a special cat obviously. She might be afraid of it because she had not seen anything like what she was experiencing ever before. I waited for her to lift her head up and look at us before she started talking.

"I don't know Kettle, something is going on with me. I think I am seeing things that are not really there. I've noticed it the last few days but I've just kept it to myself, now it's pushing itself to a whole new level." She said to us. I looked at her and then nodded, I was still trying to think of the best way to word this, that would not scare her more then she already was.

I could see her shivering, I did not blame her, she probably had never experienced what was happening to her ever before. Neither have I so I could not even say I knew what she was going through, but I certainly could give it my all to guide her with it.

"Limp... Do not fear, this is a special gift given by starclan, use it to the best of your ability. If you are right, and the place really is there, then you have guided us, we were going in the completely wrong direction." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments and then she shook her head and turned away from us.

I felt a bit bad for her, I did not want to go over to her, I feared that I may make it worse for her. I sat there for a few moments, I was waiting for her to come back to her senses. But she just kept sitting there, she was crying a bit I could hear it in her voice.

Thankfully Mint came over this time to try and help her, Mint was such an amazing cat. She would understand what it was like out of the most of us, she was closest to Limps age and she had already been through so many traumatic experiences already in her shortly lived life.

"Limp... Listen to Moon, he is our leader, he speaks to Starclan himself, more than any of us. He knows what he is talking about, you are a special cat Limp, we have all seen it from you." Mint said to her. For a few moments, Limps cries disappeared but then she turned around and she looked a bit upset.

I looked at her a bit confused, normally it was Limp that was the one that brought a special kind of light to our day, Mint was trying to help her, but it did not look like Limp wanted any help. She began talking with a lot of fear and a lot of anger in her voice which surprised me a lot.

"You! Tell your starclan, I don't want it, I want to be like the rest of you. I don't want all of this special stuff, I was happy as I was before I met all of you." Limp said to me. I moved back a bit surprised at how she was talking to me. I then began to grow a bit upset myself at her.

But I kept it in to the best of my ability, I too had grown a lot recently, usually I would have fought back against her in this situation but I stopped myself from doing it and I moved closer to try and make her feel a bit better, I knew she was only saying all of this because she was scared, and I did not blame her, she did not know what was happening to her.

It hurt me a lot at the last part though when she told us that she would have been better off without us, I looked over at Mint and I could tell that it hurt her as well. Oister had a bit of a surprised look on her face, but she did not say anything either.

The look on the face of Kettle though, it was completely blank. I wish I could look like that right now as well. But instead I had a bit of a hurt look on my face much like Mint. I had grown a bit of a fond attraction to this cat, almost like I was a father to her.

Mint was the mother, I loved the cat so much. It hurt me a lot when she told us she would have been better off without us. Mainly because, maybe to a sort of a sense, it was true. She might not have wanted to be a part of this quest, much like Ginger.

Although Ginger had not said it, she just said that she wanted to go back home, which I did not complain about, I had never really grown found to the cat the few days I was there like I had with Limp.

"Limp you don't mean that, calm down and lets just go on a walk, me and you, we can go talk about it. You are a special cat take advantage of that." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, right in my eyes and she seemed to be calming down a bit.

But then the small little tide that had washed over her pain seemed to disappear just like that. She began to grow even more upset than before as she responded to what I had said to her with spit coming out of her mouth, I moved back even further, more surprised than before.

"What do you not understand about me not wanting to be special? I never wanted to be with any of you, I wanted my family back, you have nothing to offer me." She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, then I gulped trying to not freak out.

I was not upset at her anymore, now I was just hurt by the words that she was saying, I could tell that Mint too was in quite a bit of pain from what she was saying to us. I lowered my head to the ground, Oister this time said something to her that was a bit cruel and was something I would have never expected to come out of her mouth.

"Limp... If you really think about us, then leave... We have shown you nothing but love and support... You are just pretending like none of that happened." She said to Limp. Limp looked at her a bit surprised and a bit hurt at the same time.

I felt bad for her, even after what she had just said to the rest of us, she was still young and she would not know how to comprehend what Oister had just said to her. She lowered her head for a few moments.

I thought that maybe that what Oister had said, might have worked. It seemed to calm her over, and to make her think about the words she was saying. But then she lifted her head up, I could tell that she was in quite a bit of pain, and I felt bad for her.

"Fuh... Fuh... Fine, I'll go! I never wanted to be with all of you anyways!" She said to us. Then she began to sprint off into the woods. I was tempted to go after her and track her down, but her words had hurt and I did not do anything about it. It might be a mistake in the long run but it hurt me too much.

All of the other cats that were with me were all looking away, I could tell they were all thinking the same thing, we had failed the poor young cat, she did not know what she was doing, I just hoped that she would come back.

But at the same time, we had wasted so much time with helping the kits, it seemed like if we didn't go soon, it might be too late. If they weren't already dead the would become kittypets and would never get to see their parents ever again.

The choice that I had to make was hard, but I knew the choice that I had to make... Maybe there was some sort of way that I could save both the kits, and Limp at the same time. I knew Limp would not make it long out there on her own.

I looked over at Kettle who still did not seem to have any effect on what had just happened there. But I could tell he was in pain to see Oister in a bit of pain as well. I looked at him and then nodded to get his attention over to me.

"Kettle... Can you stay here with Mint in the case that Limp comes back? I will take Oister and we can go find the kits." I said to him. He looked over at me a bit surprised for a few moments, then he lowered his head to the ground as he was thinking through what I had just said.

After a few moments of silence, surprisingly he shook his head at me, he wasn't already that willing just to give up on Limp surely right? Maybe it was because he had not grown as attached as me and the others had to her.

"Why can't you take your mate to go find the kits, me and Oister can stay back here, I want some time to talk to her anyways." He said to me. I thought about it for a few moments, maybe he was right, or maybe he felt a bit upset at what Oister had said and wanted to talk to her about it.

I looked at him, but then I shook my head, it seemed to get him a bit upset, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but now it seemed like the group was just about to split apart based off of the look that Kettle was giving me. But then Oister stepped in and said what I was thinking about for me.

"Kettle... I am sick, if we find a cure to it while we are there. It may save me, my body cant handle much more. And Mint can finish to process of her healing." She said to him. He looked at her for a few moments, then finally he nodded to me.

I looking over to Oister, I thanked her in my mind for what she had just said, the last thing we needed was another fight. Kettle then walked over to Mint and sat down beside her, he did not say anything to her however. Mint then nodded to Oister and began talking.

"Thank you Oister, we will find a place nearby, Limp will come back, I know it... You two stay safe." She said to Oister. Oister then nodded to her thankfully. She then looked over at me and then nodded as well.

"Thank you for understanding all of you, I am sorry for what happened. I will make sure that I find something to help Oister, I promise Kettle." I said to him. He still looked a bit upset but he nodded and then turned away from me. I shook my head and then began taking the first steps to where Limp had told us about.

I shivered thinking about the poor young cat, she always used to be so happy and now, today she seemed to be very upset, I just hoped that she would not be gone for good. Oister noticed me looking a bit upset and she nudged up against me.

"Moon, don't think to much about it, just keep it in your mind... That shes not gone."