BLUEFUR
Bluefur awoke on the evening after her warrior ceremony. Last night she was so excited about sleeping in the warrior's den. When she got up, no one else was in it. She pushed her way out of the lichen and saw the camp busily repairing the camp walls. The camp walls suddenly reminded her of the battle that happened at camp the day earlier, the battle against ShadowClan that earned her warrior name.
"If you're just going to stand there while the rest of us work, you can take over my part," Bluefur's best friend, Cinderfur complained playfully.
"Nah, I think I'll just lay down here in the cool wind after this long day," Bluestar teased with a pretend yawn.
"I'll show you a long day," Cinderfur playfully scowled. The two newest warriors of ThunderClan started to play-fight in the dusty ground, almost bowling each other into Stonepelt, their deputy.
"If you two have nothing better to do, you can go out hunting or help with the camp walls," he growled. The two warriors trotted away purring with amusement, and then started to help with the camp walls.
"I'll go fetch some twigs and leaves at the ravine," Cinderfur offered. Bluefur meowed in agreement. She would see Dappletail's newest and last kits before she joins the elders. She looked at Patchpelt, who would joining the elders soon as well, he accepted her in. It took a while for Bluefur to adjust her eyes to the darkness, but she could smell her way through easily.
"They're beautiful," she whispered once she saw the new-borns. There were two she-cats and a tom. The tom had the same dark brown fur has Patchpelt, and the two she-cats had Dappletail's more dappled coat. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, and so are the kits," Dappletail replied, not taking her eyes off her precious kits.
"I'll leave you to rest." Bluefur backed out of the den silently. As she was adjusting to the light outside, she spotted Cinderfur walking through the gorse tunnel with her mouth full of twigs and leaves. Bluefur raced over to help. They put them on their favourite tree stump from when they were apprentices together and started to repair the camp wall behind it.
"Dappletail's kits are great!" Bluefur commented.
"Yeah, one day even we might have kits," Cinderfur replied. Bluefur started thinking. If she were to have kits, it would be great for the Clan, and herself, but she just couldn't see it happening. She shook the thought out of her mind. She was being ridiculous! Of course she would have kits! It's just because she is such a young warrior, it's hard to imagine she being a wise queen like Dappletail.
Cinderfur changed the subject, "I wonder when we will get our own apprentices! I hope it won't be long!"
"Same here," They talked and talked about different things until the sun went down. After a nice meal and sharing tongues a little more, Bluefur still couldn't get her imaginary kits off her mind. Her former mentor, Burchpelt, always told her to trust her instincts, as hers are wiser than any he had ever heard. Was this one of my instincts calling out to me right under my nose? Or is it just an inexperienced warrior's worry?
Bluefur had a restless sleep that night about a queen vanishing, leaving two mewling kits behind. When she woke up the next morning, she saw that Cinderfur had already left her nest. Bluefur washed and pushed her way out of the den. She decided to go hunting for the day, seeing that it was so close to leaf-bare, ThunderClan needed all the prey they could get. By sunhigh, Bluefur returned to camp with a successful catch. She put her catch on the fresh-kill pile and headed towards Spottedleaf's den.
Spottedleaf came out of her den not even noticing that Bluefur was there until they bumped into each other.
"Hi, have you seen Cinderfur?" Bluefur asked. Spottedleaf looked troubled, as if she had something on her mind.
"Yes," she managed to say "at Snakerocks, she's gone to fetch me some Burdock Root."
"OK, thanks." Bluefur padded back out of camp and headed towards Snakerocks. By the time she reached her destination, it was well past sunhigh. Finding Cinderfur was easy; dodging the adders wasn't, especially since it's so hot, because then the adders are out a lot more than in leaf-bare.
"Hi Cinderfur," Bluefur greeted.
"Hi! I've just been collecting some Burdock Root for Spottedleaf. Do you want to help?"
"Sure."
Cinderfur showed Bluefur how to get Burdock Root out of the ground and get rid of most of the dirt that clung to it. Both cats managed to find a mouthful each when they headed back to camp. As they entered the ravine, they heard something they didn't want to hear. Thistleclaw's battle cry! They both dropped the Burdock Root where they were and charged into the camp. Bluefur jumped on the first ShadowClan warrior she saw, Darkflower. She was a senior warrior with big muscles, but Bluefur was small and speedy. She ducked under the she-cat, dodging a fierce bite. She ran around her and bit her tail and then jumped on her back. Darkflower rolled over and over, squashing the breath out of Bluefur while Bluefur clawed her back. Darkflower got up and leaped at Bluefur but Bluefur was too quick. She ducked again and then leaped at Darkflower, biting her hind leg. Darkflower yowled and Bluefur knew she hit a tender spot, so bit down harder. It wasn't until Darkflower screamed like a kit that Bluefur let her go, watching her tear through the camp wall. ShadowClan's numbers were started to ease off. Bluefur leapt into the pack of the battle and seized a young warrior, about her age. The tom clawed at Bluefur and scratched her muzzle. Fear and rage made Bluefur even fiercer; she dived at the tom's tail and bit down as hard as she could. He raced out of the camp howling. They all started retreating after that. Once the clearing was clear of ShadowClan cats did Bluefur look around. The walls were even more ripped than last time, she saw Spottedleaf fetching some more herbs from her den. Bluefur then realised who she was getting the herbs for. Cinderfur was in the middle of the clearing with her slight rise and fall of her dark grey flank. Bluefur raced over to her best friend, choking up with emotions. Cinderfur's fur was stained with blood and dust and Bluefur could just see the rise and fall of her flank as she nosed her muzzle.
"Bluefur, no one has ever had a best friend like you, look after yourself," came Cinderfur's weak meow.
"Hush, save your breath," Bluefur meowed encouragingly, trying to take out her own emotion. Cinderfur ignored her.
"You're going to have to be a warrior for both of us," Cinderfur's voice was becoming more and more weaker every time she spoke.
"No, no, no, no, Cinderfur! Don't die, Cinderfur! I can't live without you! PLEASE!" But her words were wasted.
Her flank froze, her eyes were glazed, Cinderfur was gone…