| “There must be something you can try.” |
| — Sparkpelt to Jayfeather in Squirrelflight's Hope, page 201 |
- Below contains in-depth information for chapter fifteen of Squirrelflight's Hope. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.
- Chapter Number: 14 (of 30)
- Page Numbers: 210-214
Chapter Description
- Larksong lays unconscious in the medicine cat den as Sparkpelt and Squirrelflight sit by him, while Alderheart wipes away the dark liquid coming from his mouth, and Jayfeather looks through the supplies. Alderheart asks Jayfeather if they should give him yarrow, and he replies that he’s much too weak, and they aren’t sure if it was something the young warrior ate.
- Sparkpelt tells them they have to try something, and Jayfeather tries to get him to swallow some chervil. Leafpool brings Squirrelflight outside the medicine cat den, and Squirrelflight asks if Sparkpelt is okay. Leafpool mews that her and the kits are fine. Squirrelflight points out that she’s upset, and her sister says that she can feel the kits moving, and that she hasn’t had any cramps.
- She also adds that she gave Sparkpelt some thyme, and that she’s strong, and she’ll be fine. Leafpool then adds she wished she knew what was wrong with Larksong. Squirrelflight asks her sister if she’s seen any other cat with this illness before. Leafpool replies that she hasn’t, and neither has Jayfeather. Squirrelflight asks if it’s contagious.
- Leafpool shakes her head, saying she doesn’t know, and that all they know is that he’s bringing up bile, so it could be that the sickness is in his belly. Leafpool then calls out to Hollytuft and asks if while she was on patrol with Larksong if she had seen anything wrong with him. Hollytuft replies that she hadn’t seen anything odd about him, and that they had caught a squirrel and put in the fresh-kill pile.
- Squirrelflight says he had eaten two mice before he came to the nursery. Bramblestar orders Hollytuft to check the fresh-kill pile, but to be careful. As Hollytuft hurries away, Twigbranch asks if he was something he ate. Finleap adds it could have been rotten. Thornclaw adds that it had to be fresh, because they caught it that morning.
- Twigbranch says it could have been sick, but Squirrelflight contradicts her, saying that he would have smelled the sickness. Graystripe says that he could have been too hungry, but Millie says that no cat is too hungry to not notice if the prey was sick or not. Bramblestar says it could be a new sickness, and Hollytuft reports that all the prey smells fresh and healthy.
- Bramblestar tells her to get rid of it anyways, and has Hollytuft and Squirrelflight see to it. He tells Bristlepaw and Flippaw they can help too. Squirrelflight tells them to take it out of camp and bury it. Hollytuft adds they’ll have to dig it deep so the foxes won’t get it. Flippaw asks why they should care about foxes, and Hollytuft asks if he wants a fox carcass rotting outside of camp.
- Bristlepaw asks if they’ll get sick from carrying it, and Squirrelflight replies they’ll do it carefully. She tells Flippaw and Hollytuft to start digging while her and Bristlepaw carry the prey. Squirrelflight teaches Bristlepaw how to carry it the right way, and as the two begin to head out of camp, Squirrelflight wonders if it’s selfish to want to have another litter of her own. She reflects on the Clan, and how kinship is not just what makes it strong.
- She then remembers how the Sisters help care for all the kits together. After they finish burying the prey, Hollytuft takes Flippaw and Bristlepaw out to hunt for fresh-kill. Squirrelflight decides to find out where the fresh-kill was caught, and adds, mentally, that ThunderClan will need to be more careful about what fresh-kill they bring back to camp, if that was what made Larksong sick.
- She heads back through camp to the medicine cat den, and asks Leafpool how Larksong’s doing. The brown tabby she-cat responds that he’s still unconscious and that she’s taking Sparkpelt back to rest in the nursery. Squirrelflight’s daughter mews that she wants to stay with Larksong, and Leafpool says that he’s in good paws, and that she needs to rest and think about her kits.
- Sparkpelt glumly agrees and goes to the nursery. Leafpool says that she wishes she could give the young she-cat hope, but they still don’t know how to treat Larksong. Squirrelflight tells her sister to go back to the medicine cat den and that she’ll look after Sparkpelt. Daisy asks Sparkpelt if there was any news, and Sparkpelt shakes her head.
- Daisy asks Squirrelflight if they know what had caused it, and Squirrelflight says they don’t. Sparkpelt snaps that it was something he ate, and that they should do something. Squirrelflight tells her daughter that they’ve done everything they can, and Sparkpelt cries that this never should have happened, and Squirrelflight and Daisy comfort her.
- Sparkpelt says that ShadowClan must have poisoned the fresh-kill pile. Squirrelflight responds that they were watching ShadowClan the whole time they were in camp. Sparkpelt says that SkyClan watched them too, but they still poisoned Sparrowpelt. Squirrelflight recalls how Juniperclaw had nearly killed Sparrowpelt by poisoning the fresh-kill pile, which lead Leafstar to take SkyClan away from the lake.
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