Chapter 4
Bluepaw's First Battle
Bluepaw felt her heart beating quickly as she ran through the forest. A RiverClan attack? She had never even seen a real battle before, much less fight in one. She felt more terrified than she ever had before. She looked at Regalpaw and wondered if he felt the same way. He must, she thought to herself, After all, this is his first battle too. But even knowing that, she had never felt more alone.
When they reached the camp, it already looked torn: the lichen covering the leader's den had been torn in several places, the warrior's den was nearly destroyed, and the fresh kill pile had been trampled on, making it look like a pile of crowfood. Whitestorm immediately jumped on a RiverClan she-cat attacking Steelheart, another ThunderClan warrior. Rosetail, too, charged into the fray, defending Ivythorn, the ThunderClan deputy. Bluepaw and Regalpaw could only stand outside the camp for a moment, shocked. It was worse than Bluepaw had ever imagined. "Bluepaw! Regalpaw!" Bluepaw whirled at the sound of her name and saw her mother running up with Branchpaw trailing behind.
"Mom!" exclaimed Bluepaw, "What--? What should we…?"
Sunpelt licked Bluepaw's face reassuringly. "RiverClan… ThunderClan have always had problems with them, fighting over the Sunningrocks. Looks like they're finally attacking the camp…" She looked around worriedly. "You are all apprentices now… but you have only barely been taught. I wonder if it's safe for you to fight."
"Sunpelt! We need your help!" Bluepaw's mother turned around at the mention of her name and saw Grassfoot and Ivythorn struggling with three RiverClan cats.
Sunpelt gave her three kits one last look. "Fight if you must… but please be safe." She said, then ran to help the other two warriors.
Branchpaw whimpered, stepping back. "I don't want to fight… I don't want to…"
"We have to, don't we?" said Regalpaw, the first thing he had said before arriving at camp. "We're apprentices now! We need to be loyal to ThunderClan!" He gave a half-hearted smile.
Bluepaw nodded. "You're right. Well… good luck." She expected her legs to somehow carry her to a place where she was needed, the way it seemed to with the warriors. Instead, she just stood there dumbly, trying to figure out through the chaos where she could go.
Suddenly Bluepaw was flat on her back, a RiverClan tom that looked only a bit older than her pinning her to the ground. His fur was a dark brown, and his blue eyes shone triumphantly. Bluepaw tried to force him away, but he was too strong. He swiped a paw, claws unsheathed, at her face, and she let out a cry of pain as she was cut. The pain made her forget all about loyalty and fighting, and she wriggled away, yelping. The tom advanced, but Whitestorm came from what seemed like out of nowhere and bit down hard into its fur, drawing blood.
"Oakpaw!" Just when Bluepaw thought that the young tom was going to run away, another RiverClan cat leapt on the scene. It was a tom, with a crooked jaw that twisted just enough to show sharp teeth, glinting in the light of the sun. The tom, who looked about Whitestorm's age, pinned Bluepaw's mentor to the ground. Oakpaw, the younger cat, ran away, looking terrified.
The older tom brought his claws down Whitestorm's unprotected belly, causing the white warrior to let out a cry of pain. Bluepaw shut her eyes, terrified for both her mentor and for herself. Suddenly, there was a loud call from across the camp. "RiverClan, retreat!"
Bluepaw looked around as the RiverClan cats, including the one who'd been fighting Whitestorm, reluctantly left the camp. It seemed like, outside of Bluepaw's own small battle, ThunderClan had been doing well. They must have been, to make RiverClan's leader surrender that quickly.
"Good job, Bluepaw!" Bluepaw looked down at her mentor, startled. He looked exhausted, as well as in pain.
"Whitestorm… Are you okay?"
"Fine. You did well."
Bluepaw shook her head sadly. "No I didn't! I probably would have been killed by that apprentice if you hadn't helped."
Whitestorm got to his feet shakily. "Still, it was your first battle. Finding the courage to fight is hard."
Before Bluepaw could reply, the medicine cat, Dovesong, came to Whitestorm's side. "You'll need to come to my den, Whitestorm, that's a pretty nasty wound." She paused to look over Bluepaw. "You look all right. I can get you some cobwebs for that cut later. Come on, now, Whitestorm…"
As the two cats padded away, Bluepaw lay on the ground, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was. The weight of all she had done fell upon her, and she closed her eyes, letting her dreams come to her…
Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm getting them like crazy now! Yes, well… I'm pretty happy with this chapter. Please keep reviewing!
