MiLayna was 10 Four-Seasons old, when her mother and newborn brother died from the Green-Cough. Elanka, the Tribe's Medicine Woman, was there every day, to check on her, throughout the last week's of her pregnancy. Everything had gone well, until she came down with the Cough. It was only a tickle, at first, and then it started to get worse, and worse. While her sister, Kryē, was out playing with cubs their own age, MiLayna stayed at her mother's side, and bathed her brow with cool, wet rags, to try to bring her fever down. She cleaned their home, and made the meals for her family. She made good broth, and hot teas, from the dried herbs that Elanka had given them, to soothe her mother's throat. She tried so hard, to help her mother, so she would regain her strength, to have her new cub! But, her mother passed on, right after having him. She hadn't even had the strength to name him. Elanka had done all she could do, but it was the Dead of Full Frost, and there were no fresh herbs to be found. Elanka had never seen an illness like this one, and nothing she gave to MiLayna's mother had worked, at making her any better. Elanka was there for the birth, and worked to try and save MiLayna's mother, but she was unable to do anything more. She touched MiLayna's cheek, with a paw, and then raised MiLayna's chin, to look her in the eyes. There was so much there, in those eyes of Elanka's; sorrow, apology, frustration... but there was one thing that was not there, and that was pity. Elanka knew how strong MiLayna was, and how strong she would become. This would only make her stronger. There was an unspoken <Take care of the cub> between their eyes, and with that, Elanka left, and some of the males from her Tribe, including her father, carried MiLayna's mother away from the home... MiLayna carried the weak cub, all that day, while she cleaned their home of the illness and death of her mother, and all night, but he died, early, the next morning, while she held him, and slept... she awoke to find the cub cold, and unmoving. She had lost her mother and brother all in one full day, and she wept. Kryē tried to console her, but she needed her friends to console HER, so ultimately, MiLayna was left at home, to grieve, while their father was out hunting for their Tribe. The Tribe held a funeral ceremony, and MiLayna's mother and baby brother were laid to rest.

After the loss of her mother, with nothing really to do, but clean the house, each day, while her sister, Kryē, was spending all her available time, with cubs their own age, MiLayna sought out Elanka... MiLayna wanted to know why Elanka couldn't cure her mother, and wanted to know why the Spirits had to take both, her mother and her brother, to be with them. Elanka was the Medicine Woman! She was the only one who COULD talk to the Spirits! So, MiLayna went to the Medicine Den, and looked for Elanka. But, she wasn't in the Den... She called out to her, but she didn't answer. So, she went around the Camp, asking anyone she could find, if they had seen Elanka. No one knew where she was, so MiLayna went back to the Medicine Den, and wandered it, until she caught a scent of the Medicine Cat, at the very back of the Den. There was a tunnel, there! And Elanka's scent was strong! <She must be in there>, thought MiLayna. So, MiLayna called out to Elanka again, but there was still no answer. So, she did what any normal 10 Four-Season old cub would do... she ventured down the tunnel, using her nose, to scent out the Medicine Cat. The tunnel was dark, and MiLayna crept carefully through it, in case there was something along the floor, to bump into, or to shift under her paws. She came to the end of the tunnel, and there was a sparkling light, coming from wherever it led to. She could scent Elanka here, so she peered out of the tunnel to see where she was. Elanka was sitting on a rock, and leaning against the larger rock behind her. She remembered the other cats in her Tribe, saying that the Medicine Cats went to the Spirit Caves to listen for the Spirits' Wisdom and Guidance. But it didn't look like Elanka was listening for anything. In fact, Elanka was sound asleep! MiLayna could hear her soft snores echoing around the sparkling cavern. There was a small hole in the roof of the cave, that let in light, that shone down into a raised pool of water at the center of the cave. The light that reflected from the pool, set crystals, that covered the walls and floor of the cavern, to glowing and sparkling. This was such a beautiful and peaceful place! No wonder Elanka was asleep here!

MiLayna crept past Elanka with ease, and she looked around the Spirit Cave. The crystals were a pale greenish color with some other pale color mixed in... it wasn't a color she remembered seeing before, and there was a familiar smell to the cavern. She couldn't quite place it, but she knew that it was something she had smelled or tasted before. As she was trying to place it, she looked in awe, at the beauty of the cave. She had never seen anything so beautiful, except for her mother... she became sad again, with this thought, and wiped her eyes, with the back of one paw. She tried to think of what the color of the crystals reminded her of, instead... <The grass in Early Thaw> she thought. MiLayna kept looking back, to make sure Elanka was still sleeping, and kept on exploring the Spirit Cave. She came to a boulder, where she felt a draft. She peered behind it, carefully, and found another tunnel there. She glanced over her shoulder, at the sleeping Medicine Woman, one more time, and ventured down the tunnel, to see what else was in here. There was no scent of Elanka in this tunnel... none at all... not even a stale scent. Elanka HAD to know this was here! She was the Medicine Cat! How could she not?

MiLayna crept through the tunnel quietly and carefully, as she did, in the other tunnel. There was a fresh scent coming from up ahead. And as she moved a few more steps forward, she could see the light from wherever she was heading. As soon as she came to the end of the tunnel, a brilliant light shone; like that of being out in Full Frost, when the Day Star was high, when it reflected off the thick, white frost, that usually covered the ground. The cavern glittered like the one where Elanka had been, but this was far brighter; like the Day Star, itself, was inside the cave. MiLayna shielded her eyes a bit, and looked up, and saw another hole in the ceiling, that shone light into yet another raised pool of water, at the center of the cave. And it, too, sent the light all over, and set these crystals to glowing and sparkling. These crystals were white, and clear, and some had a slight orangey-yellow color, mixed into them. MiLayna felt something, inside her body, when she stepped into the cave, and it felt like the Day Star was glowing from inside her body, outward! She didn't understand the feeling, but it was the only way she could think of to describe it. It was as though every inch of her, was flooded with an uncontrollable energy, that made her want to run, and leap, and pounce. She almost laughed out loud at the feeling, but then she thought she'd best stay silent, in case her laughter echoed back up the tunnel, to Elanka. She looked around the bright cavern, to see if there were any more tunnels, and sure enough, she felt another draft. So she gazed at the bright sparkling crystals, once more, closed her eyes, and headed into the new tunnel she had found. Once she was in the darkness of the tunnel, a few steps, she opened her eyes, and let them adjust to the darkness around her. It was so nice to have so many senses, that she could rely on, especially in the dark. She followed the tunnel downward, a ways, and eventually began to see light at the other end. It wasn't really a bright light, but it did glow, an almost eerie color. She crept toward the strange glowing light, carefully.

The tunnel opened wider, and she saw crystals all along the roof, and walls and even coming up from the floor, that were almost radiating light from within themselves. She had never seen colors like these! She couldn't even come up with names for them. As she wandered through the widened tunnel, she gaped at everything she could possibly look at, so she could commit this place to memory. The tunnel finally opened up into another large cavern, with the same strange, glowing crystals, as had been in the tunnel. This cavern had a tiny hole in the roof... only a pin-prick, from where MiLayna stood, far below it. But it looked as though some of the crystals were blocking the light from it, because they were growing everywhere she looked. It was damp here. It was as though the pool of water in the center of the cave, had overflowed onto the floor... MiLayna padded carefully through this cavern, so she wouldn't slip on the wet stone, beneath her paws. There were puddles of water on the floor, and water dripped from the cavern roof and walls, into them. It made a strange, yet beautiful sound, that echoed around the glowing chamber. It was almost like music, but like none SHE had ever heard before. <This must be a Spirit Song> she thought to herself. <I wonder what they are singing about>? She realized that this cave was much warmer than the others had been, but the others had been dry. She wondered if being dry, meant being cool, and being wet, meant being warm... but then she thought about the thick, white frost, that covered the ground in Full Frost... it was always colder in Full Frost, than it was in Full Thaw, and there was hardly ever any wet in Full Thaw. The thoughts swirled around in her head, confusing her. MiLayna tried to focus on the beauty of this cave, instead of the confusing thoughts, in her mind. She had NEVER seen anything like these crystals! She wanted to take some with her, back to her home, but if the other cats saw them, especially Kryē, they would ask her where she had found them. How would she explain that she had sneaked into the Spirit Caves, when Elanka wasn't looking? But even Elanka didn't know these were here. There had been no scent of her in this cave, or the one before it. <Are the Spirits calling to me?> she wondered. She decided to leave the crystals here, and keep them a secret, between her and the Spirits. She looked at everything, in the cave. She wanted to remember this place forever, in case she never got a chance to come back. After all, only Medicine Cats were allowed in the Spirit Caves. <Does this mean that I'm supposed to be the next Medicine Cat?> MiLayna thought, with a slight thrill, and then a slight chill. <Medicine Cats aren't allowed to take a Mate, or have cubs, and they have so many responsibilities!> she thought, with fear. But then she was being pulled onward, toward another tunnel. The Spirits wanted to show her something else... She came out on the other side, and it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. It was a large, no, HUGE body of water, and it was so still, the surface was like a flat sheet of ice. But she knew that ice could not be in this place. It was far too warm. It felt like the warmth of Full Thaw, under the Day Star, in this place. There were stone mountains that were all around the water, almost forming an enormous basin. There was a flat boulder near the water's edge, and she sat on it, and stared at the unmoving surface of the water. She thought about her mother, and just with a thought, her mother was sitting beside her on the boulder, and had laid her arm around MiLayna's shoulders. MiLayna began to cry, and asked her mother why she had to leave her. The Spirit of MiLayna's mother only held her tighter, as if to say, <I will never truly leave you. I will always be with you, in your heart.> And with that, MiLayna wiped away her tears, and relaxed, and stared out at the stillness of the water, once more.

After a time, she realized that the sky was becoming darker here, and she thought she had better get back home, before someone started to get worried about her. She had no idea how long she had been exploring the caves, but if the sky was becoming dark here, it must be getting dark at home, as well! She followed her own scent trail, back through the caves and tunnels, and when she got back to the first Spirit Cave, she fully expected Elanka to have woken up, and gone back to the Medicine Den. But there she was, still snoozing away, her soft snores, still echoing around the first Spirit Cave, MiLayna had encountered. So, MiLayna hurried back up the tunnel, to the Medicine Den, and curled up in one of the nests, for the sick and injured cats, and went to sleep, waiting for Elanka, to finally return to the Medicine Den. The thoughts of what she had seen that day, still swirled around in her mind, as she slept. At least, she felt more at peace, with her mother's passing now...

Characters MiLayna, Elanka & Kryē ©

Story ©

Artwork ©  delilittle Her new account:  Jagzcat