Amberglass caught up to her clanmates as quickly as she could. She already felt tried after not being used to such exercise after being in the nursery for so long. Though she wasn't going to let that stop her from fighting the dog off the territory. She quickly fell into step beside Hazefur and Puddlestep as the group raced through the territory towards the Great Pine Tree. The scent of dog became stronger with every paw step.
Rainstar burst through a bush that landed the group only fox-length away from the dog and the small patrol. The dog was massive! The largest Amberglass had ever laid on eyes. Its pelt was a mix of black and brown fur and its eyes were almost al black. Miststreak was laying on her side with blood covering her flank and her body lay unmoving. Breezeflight was latched onto the dog's hind leg and not letting go, no matter how hard the dog shook. Snakepaw was on top of the dog, his claws digging into its neck as his front paw racked down the side of its face.
"StreamClan, attack!" Rainstar said before the patrol charged forward to join the fight. The dog let out a vicious growl at the sound of paw steps before shaking its large dark brown head. Snakepaw let out a surprised meow before he lost his holding and the dog took his front right paw in its massive jaws.
"Snakepaw!" Amberglass yowled before she lunged forward and racked her claws across the dogs left eye. Snarling the dog let go of the apprentice and snapped at Amberglass. Hissing she jumped out of the way, almost barreling into Puddlestep as she did so.
The battle patrol quickly took to fighting the dog as it tried to swipe and bit all the cats away. Snakepaw got up and rejoined the fight, even though he was favoring one side. Stoneshadow, Puddlestep, Hazefur and Fangtooth took to flanking the back and left side of the dog with Breezeflight while Wolfspirit, Hazefur, Amberglass and Dirtmask took the flanking the right side. Moonsplash was by Miststreak, checking on the wounded warrior to make sure the calico she-cat was not dead. Rainstar and Snakepaw worked side by said as they jumped and slashed at the dog's muzzle, keeping it distracted from trying to bite the other warriors.
With one mighty growl the dog kicked its hind legs out and caught a few of the cats before swiping out with its massive paws. Amberglass moved just a little too slow to jump out of the way and the dogs paw hit her on the side, knocking her away.
Pain exploded in her side and Amberlgass let out a soft groan before she pushed herself back to her paws. With the cats now scattered the dog focused its attention on Moonsplash and Miststreak. The black she-cat curled herself around Miststerak and let out a hiss, her lips curled back and all her fangs bared.
Panic surged through Amberglass once more as the dog lowered himself and got ready to leap. I can't let it get close to them! She thought before she raced forward. Snakepaw, Rainstar and Wolfspirit had the same idea and they all flanked her as they barreled into the dog. A yelp left the dogs muzzle at the force of four cats knocking into it. Amberglass quickly lashed out, digging her claws into the dog's soft underbelly and caused warm fresh blood to spray over her and the ground. A whimper escaped the dog before it took off after one last hard blow from Snakepaw and Rainstar.
Tail fluffed up Snakepaw raced after it for a few paw steps before stopping. "Never come back again you over grown piece of dirt!" he snarled before he made his way over to Miststreak, his ears flat and body crouched low.
Amberglass pressed herself against the pale tabby toms side as she gazed at her friend, hoping for a sign of life. "She's breathing but it's very shallow." Moonsplash said as the rest of the patrol moved around her. Wolfspirit let out a distressed cry and pressed his nose into her flank.
"StarClan please look out for her." He whispered.
Rainstar looked around the group, checking over everyone first before he spoke. "Hazefur take Stoneshadow, Puddlestep, Dirtmask and Fangtooth to make sure the dog it off our territory." He ordered.
Hazefur looked over at Amberglass worried at the sight of blood on her pelt. Amberglass gave a small nod to show she was okay before Hazefur raced off with the three other warriors after the dog.
"Come, with must make it back to camp quickly. Moonsplash and Wolfspirit, you two will carry Miststreak." He ordered before she slipped up by Breezeflight's side and helped the golden tabby warrior to stand.
Moonsplash and Wolfspirit maneuvered Miststreaks body so they were holding her up and her body wasn't trailing on the ground. The two moved quickly, passing Rainstar and Breezeflight as they hurried back to camp.
With the adrenaline of battle over Amberglass felt sharp pain in her side from where the dog had struck her and she held back a hiss. Hopefully it was just scratch marks and nothing to serious. Snakepaw leaned heavily on Amberglass as he limped back to camp, blood coating his pelt. One of his ears was split down the middle and there was deep gash's on his body.
"Is Fawnpaw okay?" He asked. Worry filled his tone at the thought of his denmate.
Amberglass gave the young tom a gentle lick to the top of his head. "Fawnpaw is in the care of Darkwhisker so she will be alright." She reassured and the tabby apprentice let out a sigh of relief.
The cats moved as quickly as their injuries would allow back to camp where Darkwhisker, and his former mentor Hailfrost were waiting.
The old white she-cat had a lot of grey around her muzzle and her frosty blind eyes though her nose crinkled as they got closer. "Take Miststreak to my den. Hailfrost will look over the rest of you." Darkwhisker ordered before he slipped into his den. Moonsplash and Wolfspirit not far behind.
"Who is the most injured out of you four." Hailforst asked as she led the group towards the den.
"Breezeflight." Snakepaw answered as he looked towards his sisters mentor. One of his eyes had a nasty cut over it and the top of his tail was barely hanging on and he had a large gash on the side of his pelt.
The older warrior let out a small huff. "I will be fine. You should check the crazy queen who fallowed us into battle." He said, his green eye looking at Amberglass rather unpleased.
Hailfrost turned her head from Breezeflight to Amberglass and let out a small snort. "While I agree Amberglass was rather mouse-brained I am more worried about you." She said before she slipped into the medicine cats den and came out with bundles of herbs.
Amberglass let her fur fluff out at the words being spoken about her. "If it wasn't for Amberglass and her quick acting, Snakepaw might not have had his leg left." Rainstar defended and Breezeflight looked over at the apprentice who was now sitting by the queen, his right paw lifted off the ground and twisted in an odd angle.
"Yeah! She saved my leg and my life!" Snakepaw countered as he fluffed up his own chest to defend his previous mentor.
Breezeflight flicked his tail and looked back to Hailfrost who was assessing his wounds and said nothing more on it.
"Breezeflight!" Morningrose shouted as she and both her kits and Amberglass kits raced after her. The ginger queen rubbed her muzzle against Breezeflight and his two kits pressed against his good side.
All five of Amberglass kits swarmed her and started asking questions. "Are you okay?" "Is the dog gone?" "Did you show it whose boss?" "Are you going to die?" "Will it come back?" "Will Miststreak be okay?" the questions came coming in and Amberglass brushed her tail over all five of her kits to silence them.
"I am fine dear ones and the dog is gone. Hazefur, Dirtmask and a few others are making sure that it never comes back. I will not die and as for Miststreak. We can only wait and hope she makes it." She told them all softly. Smokekit looked over to Snakepaw and saw his injuries before she moved over to him. Amberglass watched as Smokekit press into Snakepaws other side. "Are you okay Snakepaw?" she asked.
Looking down at the small kit Snakepaw puffed out his chest in pride. "Yeah. Just a small wound. That dog barely hurt me at all but I sure showed him!" He boasted and Amberglass shared an amused glance with Rianstar.
Hailfrost finished patching and cleaning Breezeflights wound, after telling him he will be able to see once more though part of his tail would have to go before moving on.
The sun was just barely peeking over the trees by the time Hailfrost and Darkwhisker finished checking everyone's wounds. Hazefur and Firecloud's patrols came back saying that the dog was gone and that no other was spotted on the territory.
Amberglass was sitting in front of the nursery with the other queens and their kits. Snakepaw, Moonsplash, Breezeflight and Dirtmask all sitting around the queens as well. Dirtmask and Leafdusk were cuddled close together as Leafdusk fretted over the tom. Morningrose and Breezeflight sat close together as their kits played in front of them.
Amberglass sat with her tail wrapped around her paws, Snakepaw laying out in front of her as her kits tried to catch his tail as he swished it back and forth and up and down. Moonsplash was sitting on her right.
"Darkwhisker said that he did all he can for Miststreak and that it is up to her to fight to come back to us." Moonsplash murmured sadly.
Amberglass pressed her side against her sisters. "She is one of the strongest cats I know. She will be okay." She told her, hoping to reassure her sister before she looked over at the other warriors. "It's been many moons since we've seen a dog in the territory. Let alone smell one. How did it get so close to camp?" she wondered.
Breezeflight flicked his now shorter tail at the question. "I do not know. Usually they come up with the No-Tails but there was no scent of them either." He answered and Amberglass felt rather uneasy at that.
"It even raced off down the Shadow Cliff's." Dirtmask stated and all the cats not on the patrol to chash the dog out stared at the tom. "We didn't hear it slip or fall down the rocks. We hardly heard it at all."
Two-leg nests were on the other side of PineClan, closer to Silverpelts Cave. Most dogs wonder in from that area or if their No-Tails decide to venture further into the forest. The fact that the dog didn't run back to its No-Tail was rather concerning.
"It also didn't seem to care about any of us but Miststreak. Not until we started to fight it." Snakepaw said, butting in before he let out merow of laughter as Smokekit pounced at his tail and missed, tumbling a few paw steps before getting up, her pelt dirtier than when it had been before.
Before the group could talk more on it Rainstar's yowl interrupted them. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me under Jagged Edge for a Clan meeting!" Rainstar was standing in between the crack of the stone wall that made up part of their camp, Wolfspirit standing directly below with Hazefur at his side.
The warriors sitting with the queens and their kits quickly rose to their paws and padded away to join their Clanmates. Snakepaw rose to his paws and hobbled over, quickly being joined by Fawnpaw to help him the rest of the way.
The three queens sat up, eager to hear what Rainstar had to say.
"As you all know there was a dog in our territory earlier today. We luckily chased it off and have so far lost no on in the battle. FIrecloud's patrol reported no other scent of dog, though Hazefur has told me that the dog ran off into the Shadow Cliff." Many murmurs of surprise rippled through the clan. Holding his tail up, Rainstar waited for the Clan to quiet down before he spoke. "I will be sending out another patrol at dawn to inspect the Shadow Cliff's and to make sure that the dog won't be coming back any time soon." He stated before his eyes shifted through the cats before landing on who he was looking for. "Despite such grave news I do have two new warriors to announce. They fought fiercely against the dog and their assessment went well yesterday. Fawnpaw and Snakepaw, step forward."
Amberglass stood tall with pride as she watched her former apprentice and Fawnpaw move through the crowd and come stand below Jagged Edge. He looked to Fawnpaw and gestured she step forward.
"I, Rainstar, leader of StreamClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Fawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Fawnpaw raised her head up high as she answered. "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Fawnpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Fawnspots. StarClan honors your kindness and your forethought and we welcome you as a full warrior of StreamClan."
Looking towards Snakepaw the tabby tom stepped forward and sat tall and proud.
"I, Rainstar, leader of StreamClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Snakepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Snakepaw gave a firm nod. "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snakepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snakefang. StarClan honors your strength and your loyalty and we welcome you as a full warrior of StreamClan."
Rainstar jumped down from the gap in the wall and stood before the two newly named warriors. Fawnspots and Snakefang licked the leaders shoulder and Rainstar rested his jaw on their heads before the clan erupted into yowls.
"Fawnspots! Snakefang! Fawnspots! Snakefang!"
Rainstar wasn't done yet though. Jumping back up onto Jagged Edge he looked towards Moringrose. "This also calls for a time to introduce two new apprentices into our clan." He announced.
Scorchkit and Redkit stared wide eyed up at their mother before she quickly nudged them towards Rainstar. Amberglass watched with warm amber eyes as the two made their way towards Jagged Edge, Fawnspots and Snakefang stepping aside so they could take their spot.
"Redkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw. I ask StarClan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior. Your mentor will be Creekheart. I hope Creekheart passes all she knows down to you."
The chosen warrior stepped forward as her name was called to stand beside Redpaw.
"Creekheart you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Spottedflame, and you have shown yourself to be dedicated and brave. You will be the mentor of Redpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Redpaw."
The two touch noses briefly before they moved to join the rest of the clan and Scorchkit stepped forward.
"Sorchkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Scorchpaw. I ask StarClan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior. Your mentor will be Stoneshadow. I hope Stoneshadow passes all he knows down to you."
Stoneshadow came and stepped forward, his gave not leaving Rainstar's.
"Stoneshadow you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Troutwhisker, and you have shown yourself to be wise and fierce. You will be the mentor of Scorchpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Scorchpaw."
The two touch noses and the clan erupts into yowls once more to welcome the new apprentices.
"Redpaw! Scorchpaw! Redpaw! Scorchpaw!" Morningrose and Bereezeflight's calls could be heard the loudest through the clan.
Rainstar waited for the noise to simmer out before he spoke. "A lot has happened today. Those of you who were injured by the dog I suggest you all rest. Frostdapple, you will lead the Dusk Patrol. Snakefang and Fawnspots, I know both of you will guard the camp diligently tonight." With that the leader jumped down and slipped into his den, which was a hole in the stone fall, just under the Jagged Edge.
Amberglass felt her energy drain from her after the excitement wore down, not realizing how unused to battle she was after a few moons of sitting in the nursery.
"I can't wait to join Scorchpaw and Redpaw in the apprentices den!" Ripplekit mewed happily as she watched the two newly named apprentices talk with their mentors. Her siblings let out mews of agreement.
Amberglass purred at her words. "That day will come sooner than you think." They still had three moons left before they could be named apprentices but she knew that the time would come soon enough. "You must be very proud. Of both your kits and of Fawnpaw." She said, looking to Breezeflight. He had trained the brown she-cat rather well. She would be a fine warrior.
Morningrose looked at her two kits and Amberglass saw her gaze soften. "I am proud but I also worry." She answered and Breezeflight rubbed his muzzle against hers.
"If they take after you they will have nothing to worry about." He reassured his mate and Amberglass felt slightly jealous at the two. She often felt lonely when it came to raising her kits and her doubt plagued her mind most days. She wished to have a mate as kind and sweet as Breezeflight.
Clearing those thoughts from her head she looked towards the medicine cats den, just making out Darkwhisker's outline. StarClan please keep Miststreak in StreamClan for many moons to come. She prayed before she looked over to the two newly named warriors and felt happy for them. She would be sure to congratulate the two tomorrow though what Snakefang had said before was stuck on her mind.
Why did the dog focus on Miststreak, and why did it run off into the Shadow Cliff? She wasn't sure if they would get answers but Amberglass felt something was wrong. That something terrible was happening.
