Adderpaw's jaws spread out to a yawn as his paws curved over the slope that brought out the rest of the camp, the musky fog casting a blanket over the clearing. The lingering scent of the Dawn patrol hit the roof of his mouth, and he glanced up to the sky- it was still knitted with clouds, but he could just barely make out the sun settling into the mist. His father had been so silent in the last few days.. What could he possibly be planning? Had he just been teasing him? No.. He never teased; he was always serious.
"Adderpaw?" A voice sifted through the mist, followed by the light gray, black-flecked figure that was Weaselpaw. The brown tom jumped at the sight, not at all expecting anyone to come leaping out of the haze. "Nettlewing told me to come find you.. I think we're going hunting?"
"But didn't the Dawn patrol just leave?" Adderpaw pointed out, raw suspicion in his voice. "They should at least be able to catch somethin'."
Weaselpaw's claws kneaded the frosty ground nervously, his head ducked and expression unreadable. "I.. I.. It's just-"
"I'm coming," he murmured to his denmate, striped tail flicking as he brushed past.
"A-aah.. Ah.. But you don't kn-"
"Oh, yeah, who's coming with us again?"
"Well, uh.. You, me, Nettlewing.. Mousepaw.." he trailed off suddenly, causing Adderpaw to raise an eyebrow. "Oh! Oh, and Goldenpaw, Eagleclaw, Honeywhisker-"
"... Honeywhisker's.. a medicine cat.."
Weaselpaw's muzzle flushed red with embarrassment, his eyes wide as any full moon. "I- I mean Hawkpaw!"
"... You mean Hawk-kit?"
"N-no.. I.. Uh.." He stammered, tail flicking as he continued to paw at the ground. Adderpaw let out a heavy sigh, trying to sort everything out. Surely the young tom was just trying to remember all the names?
Wait.. StarClan, that was a lot of names!
"That's a lot of cats for a hunting patrol," he muttered coldly, "I wouldn't be surprised if we caught all the prey in the world."
Weaselpaw looked up immediately, the expression on his face brighter than Adderpaw would have ever imagined.
"Yeah! So are you coming?"
The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached a suitable place to actually hunt, its warm breath casting away the misty fog. There were too many of the clan here, it seemed- mostly apprentices, a Warrior here and there...
A hunting patrol? More like a gathering.
Padding through the bracken, Mousepaw not too far behind him, he opened his maw in search for prey. Scents of rabbit filled his scent glands, along with the faint smell of mice not too far off.
And- Wait.. RiverClan?
"Keep your head down!" Redtooth, a senior warrior, hissed in his ear, whiskers twitching as he cuffed Adderpaw behind the ear. Quickly, the young apprentice ducked down into the clumps of bracken- WindClan seemed so far away now, the scent slowly fading.
Where are we? he whimpered inwardly, legs trembling as a chilly wind swept past. This doesn't smell like home.. I miss home. How far did we go? Why aren't we hunting?
And what's that murky sce-
"WindClan..
Attack!"