Tears and Cures

 TEARS AND CURES

Episode Four, Season Six, of Rise.

Enjoy <3

Tears and Cures
Aleric had never seen anyone panic more than Terran when Bryce suddenly fell ill. One day Bryce had been fine, ordering everyone around and planning the final war against the Vipers. The next day she had been unable to get out of her nest, cold and clammy.

Flameshadow frowned after emerging from the den. Terran nearly pounced on the medicine cat. “Well?” He demanded, not waiting for Flameshadow to speak first.

“I don’t have the herbs for her,” he said solemnly. His eyes shifted to Aleric and he flinched slightly at the feline smirk Aleric wore. Aleric tried not to feel too offended. “But the herbs are in the Twolegplace.”

Aleric flicked his tail, drawing everyone’s attention. He still didn’t feel used to everyone glaring at him as if they couldn’t wait until he was alone so they could end him. He hadn’t decided whether or not he would let them. “Tell me what the herbs are and I can find them.”

Flameshadow rattled off two herb names, two that Aleric was somewhat familiar with. He had learned how to use herbs when he was a kit, when he needed to heal his own wounds, but he never had much use for them afterwards.

“I’ll go,” Aleric immediately said.

“I’ll come with you,” Terran pinned Aleric with a fierce stare, harsh and unforgiving in comparison to Bryce’s calm gaze. Aleric hadn’t lied that one time when he said that Bryce had the biggest heart in the world.

“You can all come if you’d like,” Aleric shrugged, turning away. It had taken a few days for him to be able to walk out of the den and not get assaulted by the Coalition cats, but at least he was allowed to roam free.

To some extent.

“We’re all coming whether you like it or not,” Nightshadow growled, his yellow eyes tracking Aleric’s every move.

Aleric ignored him. He walked for the exit of the camp, willing himself to be ignorant about everyone around him. Be the over-confident, insufferable assassin you were just a few moons ago. He reminded himself. Be that jerk everyone couldn’t stand.

“Applepaw,” Feathershine said from behind him, “can you stay behind and watch Emerald and Jewel? They will be worried about Bryce.”

“Sure,” the apprentice piped up. Aleric felt a hateful stare on his back before the apprentice finally scampered away. He forced himself to not care, to not crumple under the weight of all the glares.

“They’ll get used to you being around,” Karina murmured from beside him. She had accepted his old composure without a word, despite her previous confessions of how she loved the way he had changed.

Aleric kept the composed look on his face, a half-smirk plastered over his features. He had done this a thousand times before, yet it felt so hard now. So different, as if he was just getting used to it.

Terran fell in step beside them as well. “You know what you’re looking for?” He asked Aleric, his voice wary and cautious.

“Of course,” Aleric tossed the white tom a half-smile, cocky and arrogant. “Are you doubting my skill?”

Terran’s mouth thinned at the sight of Aleric’s old mask, but like his sister, he didn’t mention it. Perhaps Bryce had warned them what Aleric was trying to do to regain his status among the rest of them. (Whatever that status was.)

“I have every right to doubt your skill when my girlfriend’s life depends on it,” Terran snapped.

“You forget,” Aleric said softly, letting lethal calm settle over him, over his green eyes, “you forget that Bryce is the one who I owe my life to. I will do nothing to jeopardize her life.”

Terran met his gaze, blue warring against green. “If you ever harm her, I will kill you.” He growled back.

Aleric flicked an ear. “I have paid for my mistakes before.” He snorted, “I am not stupid enough to attack Bryce. Especially when I owe her many debts.”

He watched as Terran’s gaze snapped down to the scar on Aleric’s chest. Aleric spun around and continued walking, Karina still silent at his side. He tried to ignore the ache in his heart at Terran’s newfound coldness.

He didn’t know why it bothered him so much that these cats were acting as if he was the stranger he had been just a moon ago. Perhaps it was because he had expected to stay among them, to be apart of their small family.

“Aleric?” Karina whispered, her golden gaze worried. “Are you all right?”

He grimaced when he realized his façade was crumbling. He forced himself to act natural, to tip his head to the side and cast her a faint smile. “Why would you think otherwise?”

Karina frowned. “You don’t have to act like nothing is wrong.”

Aleric forced himself to put one paw in front of another and act as nonchalant as he could. “Nothing is wrong,” he said airily, forcing the tightness out of his voice, “I know what I’m doing.”

Thankfully, Karina didn’t question him. She just pressed closer, a reminder that he did have someone on his side.

He pressed back, grateful that Karina was here for him. The quiet strength and warmth that came from Karina encouraged Aleric to keep walking, despite the fear that threatened to knock him over as they neared the Twolegplace.

The last time he had been here, he had gone in to destroy the Blood Army despite still being somewhat loyal to them. He had gone in loving Karina so much that he was willing to sacrifice his soul for her. He had given himself up to Myrick in exchange for the safety of the others before he had murdered every single High Committee member.

The only member left was himself. Aleric didn’t think he deserved to live after all he had gone but because of Bryce, he was still alive today.

His legs wobbled as they drew nearer though Aleric steeled his courage so that Karina or the others wouldn’t notice. Aleric told himself over and over that he was the best fighter in these lands and that nothing would touch him or his friends.

He had never felt afraid of the Twolegplace before. This was a new experience for him and frankly it was more terrifying than facing his former friends after he had been saved from execution.

It was unnerving to be terrified of a place that he had once ruled over like a king. The Twolegplace had been his since he climbed ranks in the Blood Army.

“Do you know where the herbs are located?” Karina prompted when the dark gray she-cat noticed Aleric’s hesitation to enter the Twolegplace.

“Of course,” Aleric murmured as he forced himself to keep going. He tried and failed to smirk and decided to just stay focused on walking properly and leading the rest of them to the herbs so that Terran could bring it back for Bryce.

The streets of the Twolegplace were familiar and Aleric naturally felt his posture relax as he strolled through the Twolegplace. He spotted several cats peering out of their dens to stare at them but they took one look at him and scurried away.

Aleric pushed away any discomfort at the thought of these cats cowering in fear at the sight of him. Before the incidents a week ago, these cats hadn’t even known who he was. Now because of his desperate flight to kill all the High Committee members, they all knew his face now.

He found the first herb relatively quickly and it was then that Aleric felt the feeling of someone watching them.

He tensed, his yellow eyes scanning the dens around them. “Aleric?” Terran was the one to speak up this time, his eyes tracking every moment Aleric made.

“Someone is watching us,” Aleric merely said as he passed the herbs to Nightshadow. “We’ll have to be more careful.”

“There is no more threat from the Twolegplace,” Terran said a little too sharply. “You killed all the Blood Army cats.”

Aleric met his gaze evenly, ignoring the pang of terror in his heart at the mention of all the blood staining his paws. “I killed the High Committee members. I didn’t kill the rest of the Blood Army.”

“Will they try to rise up again?” Feathershine asked, her eyes worried.

“I don’t know.” Aleric forced the words out. He hated being ignorant to dangers such as these. “I’ll find out if you guys want.”

Terran shook his head. “Get the herbs, Aleric. We can worry about the Twolegplace later when Bryce has recovered. She can make these decisions better than the rest of us can.”

Aleric just shrugged and kept going, even though he knew whoever was watching them had heard every single word that had passed between them.

In fact, the moment Aleric turned back around, he found himself face to face with an orange tabby. “Aleric,” the cat breathed out.

Aleric’s eyes were wide and he unsheathed his claws in a flash but he didn’t attack. “Who are you?” He asked flatly.

Karina and the others all tensed around him. “I’m one of the Blood Army cats,” the cat glanced nervously at the rest of them and backed away slightly. “We need you back, Aleric. There is no one to lead us.”

“I killed your leaders,” Aleric drawled, trying to act nonchalant about the situation, his eyes cold and calculating as he stared down at the cat. “I have no wish to join up with the Blood Army again. You can tell you and all your scheming friends that if they try to rise up again I will personally come back and kill every single one of you.”

He had no plans to actually follow his word but the cat just stared at him. “Please. The cats of the Twolegplace need food. The Blood Army was the only reason we all had found enough food because they had the possession of all the food in the Twolegplace.”

Aleric paused. He never really knew how the Blood Army had so much prey. “Where do they get their food?” He asked, trying not to feel stupid.

“I don’t know,” the cat confessed. “I just do stocks. But the cats in the Twolegplace are starving. We need your help.”

Aleric stared at his gaunt body for a long moment. No matter how long he stood there, he couldn’t muster the pity for these cats.

But it was the reminder of Bryce that rooted him to the ground. “Aleric?” Karina asked softly.

“If you keep going forward, you’ll spot pink flowers near a cluster of trees.” Aleric said softly but not weakly. “Take as much as you want. Those are the other herbs that Flameshadow needed to save Bryce.”

“What about you?” Terran asked sharply.

Aleric ignored the white tom and turned to Karina. “You trust me, right?”

Karina’s goldn eyes were full of love as if she already knew his decision and would still love him for it. “Yes.” She whispered.

Aleric smiled a bit and touched his nose to hers, breathing in her scent one last time before he stepped away from the group.

“What are you going to do?” Nightshadow demanded, his eyes wary.

Aleric didn’t break his stare from Karina. “I’m going to make sure the Blood Army will never rise again.” He vowed quietly. “I’m going to give the Twolegplace cats the prey they need.”

“And then?” Terran cut in.

“And then I’m going to come home.” Aleric said, certainty in his voice. Karina’s eyes glowed with pride and he knew this was what he had to do.

“Home?”

“Home.” He repeated, still not looking away from Karina as he backed away. “The Coalition.”

Terran seemed to want to say something else but Aleric silently said the three words to Karina, still unable to say them out loud here. He knew he would see her again. He turned away and said over his shoulder without looking back.

“Don’t wait up for me. I promise I will come back to help you fight the Vipers.”

He let the orange tabby lead him back into the Twolegplace without looking back.

He had one more thing to do before he could finally settle down in the Coalition.

''The End. To see Aleric’s last adventures in the Twolegplace, read Cleansing!''