The RavenClan infirmary was always kept tidy, almost unnaturally so. Ghost had never liked visiting, but now that Light was here, there really was nothing else he could do. “I told you not to go on the Fire Watch without me.”
Light groaned uncomfortably in his nest, his breathing heavy. “What are you, my mother?”
“I am!” Ghost chirped. “And I’ll take Cozy out while you languish in this horrible cramped den.” The den was brightly lit, spacious, and comfortable. Ghost just wanted to tease Light.
Naturally, Light played along. “You are a fiend. This is the thanks I get for being your friend? I should-” he stopped midsentence, his body wracked with a cough.
Ghost waited patiently for him to stop, his whiskers twitching. “You can come join us when you’re feeling better, okay?” He had no doubts in his mind that Light would recover. Both of them had been in the infirmary so often that they could be considered semi-permanent residents – a cough was nothing compared to broken bones and battle wounds.
“Yeah, yeah.” Light stuck his tongue out at Ghost. “Scram outta here!”
“I won’t even come back!” Ghost scoffed, then snorted. “I’ll bring you some mountain pink.” In the flower language, they meant healing.
“Are you gonna go all the way to the mountains for that? Don’t be stupid.” Light listlessly batted at Ghost’s whiskers. “No, bring me redbud. Much closer.”
“Courage in the face of death?” Ghost scoffed. “I think Dandy would kill me if I brought those into the infirmary.”
“Some cats just like the way they smell!” Light protested before coughing again. “Get outta here before my lungs fall out.”
Ghost laughed deeply before pressing his forehead against Light’s. “I’ll be back after Cozy decides I’m a better mentor and asks to be my apprentice.”
“Get real,” Light purred. “We’ll go hunt a boar together when I’m better, and Cozy will tell you I was better. Again.” Ghost also felt a purr rise in his chest, and he trotted out, holding his head high.
“They closed the gate already,” Cozy murmured, her voice soft and worried. “Has something happened?”
Ghost paused, his ears perked. It was unusual for RavenClan to close their camp before sunset, and the sun was barely at its zenith. Only one sentry was perched in the camp’s guardian trees, their face obscured by a heavy wooden mask.
It had been three days since they were in camp, and Ghost was tired. He grunted and set the woven crown of redbud and mountain pink on the ground, careful not to break the delicate chain. “Since the Carrioneaters aren’t flying high, it’s not an invasion.” There was no sign of the ravens that would alert of any fights.
Something prickled at the back of Ghost’s mind, but he was never one to worry about details. “Well, that just means we must get in the old-fashioned way. When Light and I were apprentices-”
“We didn’t have the gate yet,” Cozy finished the story with a giggle. “So you had to jump every time.”
“That’s right!” Ghost laughed. “But I was always faster than Light. He fell into the brambles a lot.”
“That’s what he says about you.”
“He’s a liar. Don’t listen to him.”
Ghost picked up the flower crown again and motioned for Cozy to go first. She nimbly leaped over the camp’s barrier, her deceptively small size hiding how strong her hindlegs were. Light really has trained her well. It wouldn’t be long before Cozy would become a warrior.
When Ghost joined Cozy on the other side – only stumbling because he didn’t want to ruin the crown, he swore to the apprentice, who giggled – he noticed it was unusually silent. Everyone is inside? On such a beautiful day? He clicked his tongue in disapproval. Some cats stayed inside the camp for days at a time, and he simply couldn’t understand why.
The first guardian outpost had Prairie stationed. Ghost approached cheerfully, balancing the flower crown on his muzzle so he could talk. “Cozy and Ghost checking in!” He stopped and blinked. “Hey, aren’t there supposed to be two of you?”
Prairie opened his mouth, but then he closed it again. The silence grew awkward, and Ghost cleared his throat. “Right. Cozy, let’s go.”
Cozy shook her head as they padded down the corridor. “That was weird.”
Ghost laughed, but the sound died as they entered the bazaar. Usually, there would be dozens of cats milling about, hawking wares and chattering. But it was deadly silent. Curious, Ghost followed the well-worn path toward the lower floors. He passed many ravens who milled around listlessly, but no cats.
The terrible silence was finally broken when Dark appeared. Ghost felt a sense of relief at seeing his leader, and he trotted over. “I was getting worried that the camp was abandoned! Well, except Prairie, I guess.”
Dark’s eyes drifted to the flower crown, his expression unreadable. “Come with me.”
“This is for Light,” Ghost hastily explained. Dark’s tail twitched, and Ghost continued, “He said he liked the smell. I know it’s not, you know, a good flower meaning for a sick cat. That’s why I mixed it with mountain pink. But you know how he is – he wouldn’t be satisfied with just any flower. Well, I know how he is, and you can trust me.”
“… come with me.” Dark repeated, his voice softer. Ghost felt his heart palpitate. Am I in trouble? I knew I shouldn’t have brought this to camp. Muffling a groan, Ghost put the flower crown in his mouth so he’d have to stop talking and couldn’t get into even more trouble. Light set me up! Another prank – he’d have to get him back.
Ghost followed, his tail high, as he contemplated how to get back at Light. Can’t do anything with water; I don’t want his lungs to start hurting again. A skunk? Hard to handle skunks though…
Dark led Ghost to a crowd of ravens and cats clustered tightly on the bottom floor of the amphitheater. Ghost heard sniffles and whispers, but everyone went silent when they saw him. For the first time, Ghost realized something was actually wrong. Cozy was breathing heavily beside him, and he instinctively put his tail on her shoulder.
The crowd parted silently, and Ghost felt lightheaded. He dropped the crown and staggered forward, crushing the delicate flowers with his paws. It barely registered to him.
In the center of the crowd, laid upon the immaculate pelt of a white deer, was Light. He was curled up, looking as if he was peacefully sleeping. At peace, maybe, but not sleeping. That spotless white pelt was part of a funeral procession.
Ghost’s vision swam as he brushed off the blueheart blooms placed on Light’s body. “He’s just joking,” Ghost’s voice was weak. “You guys fell for another prank.”
“He died last night,” Doe whispered. She sat closest to the pelt, hunched and miserable, as she kept her eyes on her former apprentice’s body. “I was with him.”
“You’re wrong,” Ghost put a paw on Light’s side and shook him. “He- he’s just pretending. He’s just-” Light’s pelt was cold to the touch. “It’s not funny. Wake up. Wake up!” A sob rose to his throat. “You said we were gonna hunt a boar.”
Ghost felt a gentle paw on his shoulder. “It was peaceful. He just fell asleep.” White was beside him now, but Ghost could barely feel the warmth of her pelt against his. “That’s the best he could hope for.”
“No, no, no. You don’t get it.” Ghost was beginning to hyperventilate as he pushed away his old mentor. “I’m going to get an a-apprentice, and he’s going to help me like I h-help him with Cozy. That’s- that’s what we agreed on.”
White’s eyes met Ghost’s, and he saw the depths of pity and sorrow in them. “I’m sorry, Ghost.”
Ice spread through Ghost’s body. “But- but I don’t… I don’t get it. He was fine. He was- he was just fine.” He was starting to tremble now. “What am I supposed to do now?” Light had been Ghost’s steadfast rock since they were infants. There wasn’t a moment they weren’t together.
The crowd watched Ghost in pitiful silence, but he didn’t see anything. He collapsed beside Light’s body and buried his face into his friend’s cold fur. When the dawn arrived, he hoped they would bury him, too.