Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
Snowblaze gazed up into the watery blue sky and sighed internally. All the events that had passed had been hard, but what was to come would be harder. All of the leaves that weren't gone were shrivelled and brown as they clung for dear life onto the branches. They shivered delicately in the breeze; a wind any stronger would surely bring them spiralling to the ground.
                          
They hadn't found any greenery and as they neared the camp they saw that half of the bramble barrier was gone. The bushes spiny branches scraped the air. Snowblaze felt exposed and he shivered. 
                          
Every cat walked slowly as they entered the camp and surveyed the damage to their once safe home. The brambles along the nursery side of the camp were absolutely gone, only small bare branches left. The nursery itself was gone, but the cave remained, bare and gaping. The warriors' den was obliterated.
                          
Someone let out a thin wail, but Snowblaze's eyes were too tired to turn and see who it was. He stood with his mouth in a frown as he stared at where he used to sleep. 
                          
Moonbeam rushed past everyone and scooted into his den. He backed out soon after with Cloudwhisker following. Her white fur was streaked with ashes. They were muttering quietly to themselves, their heads bent in a serious way.
                          
"Moonbeam, any good news?" Sleetstar asked as he began to pad into the centre of the camp. The sun was shining down as it began to reach the tops of the trees and it lit his fur turning it a brilliant gold and silver. Snowblaze turned his gaze and began to walk slowly around the clearing. 
                          
"Our herbs are intact, but some have shrivelled from the heat of the fire. We can salvage them, but I'm going to need the apprentices to help find more when the time comes."
                          
They continued to talk, but Snowblaze's mind drifted. How could this have happened? What did we do to deserve something like this? This fire had been so unfair! But maybe things happened sometimes and StarClan couldn't do anything about it. Snowblaze hoped that the starry cats that they held in such high regard weren't behind something so heinous. 
                          
"How are we going to rebuild the nursery?" The tom's ears focused back on the voices around him.
                          
"We'll have to find a part of the forest that wasn't affected and drag some brambles back to camp."
                          
He continued to walk and scuff the ashes from his path.
                          
"We're going to have to share the elder and apprentices' dens for now."
                          
"Stiffwhisker won't like that!" 
                          
Snowblaze made it around to the Great Maple. He looked up at it. Half of its trunk was coated in black char and the bark was peeling away. The other half was okay. Thankfully the side that was saved was the side where Sleetstar had his den. 
                          
Just then his leader padded up to the old tree. It had stood strong and tall for generations, and despite the destruction, it remained. Sleetstar placed a paw on the burnt side and muttered, "StarClan will help heal us."
                          
He took his paw away and looked up determinedly at the Great Maple. Cats were gathering around now, waiting to hear what their leader had to say. He leaped up to his perch and looked down on his sodden and heart broken clanmates.
                          
"This isn't the end. We can restore our camp to its former glory. We need to work together. This fire hasn't destroyed us. It has only made us stronger!"
                          
Cats were beginning to nod slowly as they took in their leader's uplifting words. They were looking stronger and more self-assured. 
                          
"I can help repair dens and delegate duties," Starnose spoke up. She looked determined and Snowblaze admired that.