Chapter 6
"Whitepaw, Flarepaw, will you tend to the elders? Change their bedding and check them for ticks. And get them some fresh kill?" Reedpelt asked. The young apprentices nodded and left camp to gather fresh moss.
"Cloudfall, Graymist and Wetfoot, take your apprentices to patrol the Gorge border please." The warriors nodded their assent and called for their apprentices.
Sootpaw was sleeping and Birchpaw was just getting back from his morning hunt. Moonpaw had been trying to talk to Galestrike. The gray and white warrior had been getting more and more hostile within the past moon, snapping at her and her littermates when they tried talking to them. Moonpaw was worried about him.
Quickly, Birchpaw roused Sootpaw and the three siblings left with their mentors. Before padding through the entrance, Birchpaw called out to Galestrike, trying to rekindle their old bond. "Hey, Galestrike! Maybe later we can share prey and hang!"
"Why would I want to hang with you? You're nothing but an undersized apprentice!" Galestrike growled back, his eyes narrowing. Birchpaw hurried through the entrance, trying to ignore the hurt that was tugging at his pelt. More than one cat stopped to stare at Galestrike, confused by his mood. The whole clan knew how close the four cats were.
Rosedrop whispered something to Icepelt, who nodded back. Vinepaw and Whitepaw exchanged glances, but didn't put down their moss to say anything. "What are you all looking at?" he said, glaring around at his clanmates.
"Whitepaw, we're going hunting when you're done, so move it!" Galestrike snapped. Whitepaw, terrified, nodded and disappeared inside the elders' den. Vinepaw dashed after his sister.
Out in the forest, Moonpaw was trying to comfort Birchpaw, but her own feelings of sadness were getting in the way. "He must have just had a bad night's sleep, that's all." She said but there wasn't any belief in her voice.
"He's been acting like this since the battle with RiverClan and that was almost two moons ago." Birchpaw said dejectedly.
"Guys, I know you're worried about Galestrike and I am to, but right now we need to focus. We were sent out to patrol the border with our mentors. We're not far off from being made warriors; we've been training for almost seven moons." Sootpaw said, seeing that none of his littermates were going to be the voice of reason. It was rare he needed to step up and get his siblings to focus. Often it was he who was scatterbrained.
"He's right." Moonpaw said, making a huge effort to try to push her feelings away. Birchpaw simply nodded and ran a few paces ahead, taking the lead like he always did. Wetfoot and Cloudfall checked for any WindClan scents while Graymist renewed the RiverClan markings. The siblings ran to help her.
"Greetings, Wetfoot, Cloudfall." Moonpaw looked up to see Pebblespots, Lionwing, Blackshadow and Bramblestripe talking to her clanmates.
"Greetings. I trust all is well in WindClan?" Wetfoot meowed smoothly. Cloudfall came to stand at his shoulder and Graymist joined him as well, at his other side.
"Yes, thank you. How is the prey running?" Bramblestripe asked politely.
"Fish don't run. But there are plenty of them to go around." Wetfoot meowed.
"Oh yes, of course. And that is good to hear." She broke off for a moment, having spotted Moonpaw, Sootpaw and Birchpaw. "Are those your apprentices?" Bramblestripe asked.
Cloudfall nodded and the introductions were made. Bramblestripe looked overjoyed when she heard that Silverstar was their mother. "Silverstar and I became great friends when a fire swept through their camp and the clan needed to stay with us for a while." Bramblestripe told the apprentices.
"That was the best story she told us when we were kits in the nursery!" Sootpaw meowed excitedly.
"No I like the one about the huge battle more!" Moonpaw argued.
The WindClan cats purred and exchanged looks of amusement. Birchpaw thought irritably that his siblings were behaving like kits and in front of another clan.
"How is Silverstar? I heard she got hurt badly after you fought ThunderClan for Sunningrocks." Bramblestipe asked before Sootpaw and Moonpaw could start arguing.
"She is fine, thank you. I'll tell her you were asking about her." Graymist said.
"Yes, please give her my regards." Bramblestripe dipped her head and flicked her tail to signal her clanmates. The WindClan cats disappeared among the heather in a matter a minutes. Their speed and grace took Moonpaw's breath away.
"StarClan light your path!" Wetfoot called after her.
"Sootpaw," Cloudfall said to the apprentices, "Will the check the border further downstream? And Moonpaw, you and Birchpaw can check it in that direction." She waved her tail in the other direction. The three apprentices nodded and scampered off.
Moonpaw and Birchpaw walked down the border, refreshing their scents and checking for any signs of intrusion.
Sootpaw was doing fine so far. Their scent markers were still strong and there weren't any weird smells. He was about to head back when he did in fact notice a strange smell. He sniffed harder, trying frantically to remember what that scent was. Too late he heard the barking and when he turned there was a huge dog running toward him.
Sootpaw and Moonpaw finished things up and headed back to where their mentors were waiting. Birchpaw was concerned when he saw Sootpaw was not there with them, but he figured his headstrong brother could handle himself.
The large dog barreled out of the bushes behind them. The gray smudged apprentice let out a yelp of pain as the dog caught up with him. He was shaken violently and thrown to the ground, landing with a dull thud.
Birchpaw and Moonpaw were quick to launch an attack. They sprang the dog, each on one side. Birchpaw dug his claws deep into the creature's coarse pelt and hung on as it ran in circles, trying to dislodge the cats. Moonpaw couldn't hang on and fell into a heap next to Sootpaw.
As soon as Sootpaw had been hurt, Wetfoot and Graymist had run to his side. Cloudfall had run back to camp to fetch help.
Moonpaw jumped right back up almost as soon as she hit the ground. Birchpaw clawed at the dog and the brown apprentice was thrown to the ground. The dog then tried to jump on the tom, but Moonpaw intercepted it before that.
Meanwhile, Wetfoot and Graymist were helping Sootpaw to his feet. When he had his footing, the two warriors began to guide the injured cat home.
Moonpaw and Birchpaw were wrestling with the dog now. Both cats were getting in some good blows and it didn't take long for the dog to run off, tail between its legs. Birchpaw gave chase, anger and concern propelling him forward till he ran faster than ever. He gave the weak creature some warning bites for good measure.
Moonpaw waited for her brother instead of heading back to camp. When he appeared, she ran up to him and anxiously checked him for wounds. "Are you ok? I thought it would turn on you."
"Not a chance! I would never let someone get away with hurting my brother." Birchpaw replied.
"Let's get back to him then." Despite their exhaustion, they kept up a good pace through the forest and into camp. Moonpaw saw Shadewhisper and Vinepaw sitting with Silverstar. Shadewhisper was talking to Silverstar, who nodded occasionally. Vinepaw didn't appear to be doing anything other than listen to her mentor and leader talk. When Vinepaw saw Birchpaw and Moonpaw, she padded up to them.
"How is he?" Moonpaw asked.
"He has a few scratches, but they will heal quickly, without problems. It's his leg we're worried about. It was dislocated, but Shadewhisper put it back. It'll need some time to strengthen."
"Can we see him?" Birchpaw asked.
Vinepaw hesitated. At last she meowed, "One at a time and not for long. He needs his rest."
"You go ahead. I want to talk to Silverstar." Moonpaw meowed to her brother. He nodded and followed Vinepaw into the medicine cat den. Moonpaw paced back and forth until her mother and Shadewhisper were finished talking. The medicine cat gave Moonpaw a nod as she passed, but didn't speak.
"Silverstar!" The apprentice called to her mother before she could leave.
"Yes?" The leader asked as she walked over to her daughter.
"I'm…I'm really worried for Sootpaw. What if he can't be a warrior? What kind of life will he have?" Moonpaw fretted.
"Hey, hey. Don't worry about something until there's a reason to. The medicine cats don't think that'll happen at all." She wrapped her tail around the apprentice and pulled her close. Moonpaw relished in the closeness of having her mother comfort her.
"It's just, he's only got one life." Moonpaw mewed.
"He'll be fine." Silverstar blinked at her daughter.
"How..how many lives have you lost?"
Silverstar looked around swiftly and lowered her voice before she answered. "Three, dear. One from the battle against those mountain cats. Another from Greencough, which I got after the battle and about 2 moons before you were born and then a life to the ThunderClan battle we just had."
Moonpaw nodded and stifled a yawn.
"Cloudfall and Wetfoot told me you and Burchpaw fought well. You two are ready for your warrior names anytime."
A/N: Yay for Cliffhangers! If you want to suggest some names, that would be lovely. I'm excited to write their warrior ceremonies. I always love those kinds of things. Please please tell me what you think. I love reviews. And I thank you for reading and any review you might write.
