Morning came. Silvertuft yawned, and stretched. Sparrowfrost stood up, and walked to the warrior's den just as Ravenflame came out. The two cats meowed greetings to each other, and after a bit of chatting, Sparrowfrost called to Silvertuft, and the two went to nap.
Ravenflame organized patrols, and the day began.
Birchpaw had been sent to gather herbs by Fallowfern, and a warrior was sent to accompany her. He had just been named a moon ago, but his fighting skills excelled those of many of the clan's warriors. She had finally found the larger clump of coltsfoot she was seeking, and decided that extra aid would help her finish faster, and get out of the now-ominous forest.
"Tigerstripe? Where are you?" Birchpaw meowed loudly. A rustle shook some nearby bushes, and the medicine cat apprentice jumped. "Stop hiding like that!" Birchpaw meowed, and stepped into the foliage.
In a single heartbeat, she was thrown back, and the wind was roughly knocked out of her lungs as her body hit the tree behind her. Collapsing into the tall ferns, the apprentice coughed, and attempted to stand. A strong paw rolled her over, belly up, and a paw full of razor claws shone in the dappling light.
I have to move! Now! Move! Birchpaw thought wildy. As the paw came smashing down, she spun out of the way. The black and white striped she-cat scrambled to her paws, and shot off into the forest. Thuds behind signaled that the attacker was giving chase. All of a sudden, time appeared to slow down, and trees passed by in slow motion. Birchpaw's thoughts became clearer, and she ducked under a branch, then changed directions. Skidding off a hillside, she came to the clearing near the WindClan border. Light flooded the area, and the pawsteps stopped. Tumbling to a halt, the apprentice looked back to see the black shape of a cat glaring at her from the forest. It growled loudly, and she caught a glimpse of crimson eyes before the entire form vanished into the shadows. Birchpaw then realized she was shaking from fright. Thoughts raced through her mind;
Should I stay here? That cat's probably waiting for me in the trees. What do I do? Maybe I should go to WindClan, they barley have any trees! Medicine cats get a free passage around the territory, I can ask to stay there until the gathering and then come back! Yes, that's a plan. Okay. Okay. Go. Birchpaw set off, crossing the border and hoping she wouldn't have her pelt ripped off. Scanning the scene for a path, the medicine cat apprentice set off to find an escort.
Tigerstripe woke violently. A sharp pain in his head helped him remember what happened. He had gone off for a moment to inspect a curious sound he heard, and was hit hard on the forehead. Now a large bruise marked the hurt area. Wincing as he stood, the tom looked down to see a shocking discovery. In between his claws were tufts of fur. He bent down to sniff them, and the sickening stench of blood and death hit his nostrils. The tom immediately pulled his head back, scrunching up his face in disgust. Then something occurred to him. Where was Birchpaw!?
He decided to return to camp after scouring the area, and seeing no traces of blood, ran back to camp.
Birchpaw tasted the air. A strong whiff of Windclan greeted her nostrils, coming from a parting in the grass ahead of her. She trotted forth, and as the scent grew clearer, so did a shape in the distant field. She loudly mewed, and the silhouette jerked, now alert. "Medicine cat apprentice, don't attack!" she squeaked. Behind her, a voice growled, "Are you here alone?"
Letting out a yelp, Birchpaw turned around to see a tall tan tom, glaring at her, waiting
for a response. "Y-Yes!"
"Fine then. Why are you here?"
Birchpaw sat down, and recited her tale, from when Russetpaw and Shadepaw came back, to gathering herbs with Tigerstripe, to her being attacked, and crossing the border in order to escape the attackers. When she finished, the Windclan tom looked deep in thought. After a few moments, he said, "So Arrowstar's going to fill us in on the rest tonight, eh?" He looked at her.
"You can stay until the Gathering, but then you're going back to your clan. We may even have enough prey to feed you."
"Y-You're too k-kind," The apprentice stammered out.
"Follow us then," Said the warrior as his clanmate came up in front of him. As they jogged back, the first tom filled the other in on the story. She looked back at Birchpaw, eyes wide, and then turned back to face the front.