Hey, hey, hey! Eagleflame is back with another chapter of Snowtuft's Pain! What are we on now? Chapter 8? I think so. Anyways, I don't think I had much reviewers on the last few chapters. I don't really mind, but it's nice to know that people actually read the story. So, anyways, on to replying to reviews!
Blazethetomboy- No problem for the shoutout! Yes, I had a good time away, I went kyaking aross a lake, so that was fun. You are also partially right in your prediction; Snowpaw and Fernpaw's punishment is...well, your just going to have to find out!
Snowpaw and Fernpaw shrunk underneath Heatherclaw's withering glare.
"I um…" Snowpaw started to say.
"Enough!" the deputy hissed. She stalked away to Eaglestar's den, the two apprentices trailing behind her.
"Embertail!" Heatherclaw called. The Tunneler gave her sister a nervous glance and hurried over to where the other cats were.
"Eaglestar!" The deputy called angrily. Fernpaw and Snowpaw shared a nervous glance.
"Come." The leader meowed. He sounded drowsy. The party padded into the den, Heatherclaw's tail lashing angrily.
What is it, Heatherclaw?" Eaglestar mewed. He sat up in his nest and shook his head, eyes narrowing as he saw the other cats in the group.
"I seems that Fernpaw went out for some early morning hunting in the tunnels." She responded.
The irritated leader sighed, "I don't see a problem with that. Heatherclaw, if you don't have anything important to say, don't bother me." He flicked his tail dismissively.
"Eaglestar, you didn't let me finish." Heatherclaw protested. "Snowpaw was with her."
Eaglestar's ear perked up, "Oh, is that so?" He narrowed his eyes at Snowpaw. "Is this true."
Snowpaw nodded, looking down at his paws, "Yes." He whispered. Embertail snorted behind him. He turned around and saw that the grey and ginger she-cat was sitting, tail wrapped around her paws, with a smug expression on her face.
"What's so funny, Embertail?" Heatherclaw growled.
"Oh, nothing." She meowed impassively, "Only that your apprentice, a moor runner, was out secretly digging instead of running."
The deputy growled. "What are you implying?" She took a threatening step towards Embertail.
The Tunneler didn't even flinch. "Oh, I would think that the deputy could figure that out."
"You-"
"That's enough." Eaglestar meowed. Heatherclaw turned her back to Embertail, obviously trying not to jump around and claw the tunneler's eyes out. The leader shifted his gaze to Snowpaw and Fernpaw. "As for you two, you are not allowed out of camp without a warrior escort until I say so." He shot a silencing glare at Snowpaw as he tried to interrupt. "And Snowpaw will be put on elder duty until the full moon. Fernpaw, you're a Tunneler so I see no need to punish you, as you were doing what you were supposed to be doing. That is all. Dismissed."
Snowpaw stood open-mouthed at his leader. He glanced at Fernpaw and her eyes were glittering with disbelief. Embertail was shooting daggers at Eaglestar's turned back. "Aren't you going to make him a Tunneler?" She hissed.
Eaglestar slowly turned around, yellow eyes blazing. "And why would I do that?"
Embertail held his gaze, unflinching. "Well obviously he wants to tunnel. Why else would he have gone down in the tunnels in secret?"
The angry leader shifted his fiery gaze to Snowpaw, causing the white tom to flinch. "I said he would be a Moor Runner. And that's final." The leader turned his back to the cats. "I thought I said you were dismissed."
The four cats quickly hurried out of the den and into the sunlight. Embertail beckoned for Fernpaw to follow her, the two she-cat padded away.
"Well, uh, I better go tend to the elders!" Snowpaw mewed quickly, desperate to escape Heatherclaw's wrath. But when she turned to him, her eyes were filled with not rage, but helplessness.
"Snowpaw." The deputy meowed, "Do you want to be a moor runner?"
The white apprentice was taken aback. "I-I, I don't know."
"Well, which do you enjoy more, tunneling or running?"
"I don't know."
Heatherclaw sighed and shook her head. "What am I ever going to do with you?" She started walking away, "Battle training tomorrow."
Snowpaw sighed and trotted over to where the elder's den was. He'd only been in the Clan for such a small time-span, and yet he had caused so many problems. The white tom shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. I have to help the elders now. It's my duty until the full moon. Snowpaw stuck his head into the den where there were three cats, two toms and a she-cat. A deep ginger she-cat with icy blue eyes lifted her head.
"Ah, yes. Embertail said that we would have a little worker." She mewed.
"'Ey, shut up! I'm tryin' sleep 'ere!" A dark golden tom shot Snowpaw and the other elder a withering glare through his brown eyes.
"Don't mind Goldenpelt." The ginger she-cat meowed. "He's always grumpy."
"What'd ya do to get ol' Goldenpelt so angry, Iceflare?" A dark brown tom and sat up.
"We got ourselves a helper." Iceflare purred. The tom nodded.
He turned his head to Snowpaw. "My name is Scarmuzzle." Snowpaw stared at the elder's muzzle and noticed how heavily scarred it was.
"I- I can see that." He stuttered. Scarmuzzle laughed.
"If your done standing there, yapping, I would like some fresh kill." Goldenpelt growled.
"Sounds good." Iceflare agreed. Scarmuzzle nodded.
"On it!" Snowpaw chirped. He scampered away to the fresh kill pile and picked up one of the rabbits he caught and a thrush. The white apprentice hurried back over to the elders den and dropped the prey in front of the cats.
"I caught the rabbit." Snowpaw meowed, pride in his voice.
"Well done." Iceflare and Scarmuzzle meowed at the same time.
"Yes, good job." Goldenpelt added gruffly.
Iceflare was visibly shocked and staggered backwards. "Wow! Goldenpelt must really like you! He has never given an apprentice praise before!"
"Th- thanks!" Snowpaw stuttered, the golden elder grunted. "Is there anything else I can do?"
"Well." Scarmuzzle pondered. "I think we need new bracken and wool." Iceflare nodded and mumbled an agreement around her mouthful of prey.
"Ok! I'll be back as soon as I can." He padded out of the den in search of a warrior that could accompany him out of camp.
"Snowpaw!" A voice called from behind him. Snowpaw turned around and saw Rabbitwing trotting towards him.
"Hi Rabbitwing!" Snowpaw purred. "Can you come with me to collect bracken? I'm not allowed out of camp without a warrior escort."
"Yeah, I heard."
Snowpaw sighed, "Has everyone in camp heard?"
"Pretty much"
The white apprentice sighed again and flicked his tail. "Let's go."
The two cats trotted out of camp and into the moor. They broke into a run and headed toward the farm; near it sheep were grazing and rolling on the ground. As they came closer to the large animals, Rabbitwing broke the awkward silence.
"So, I heard that you went out for some late-night tunnel running." The cream she-cat teased.
"Shut up. I was feeling rebellious, what's wrong with that?" Snowpaw mumbled.
"Nothing." Rabbitwing mewed, "Just nothing."
The white tom snorted and stopped next to a black sheep. He scooped up a bunch of wool and rolled into a ball, tucking it under his chin. Snowpaw looked over and saw Rabbitwing doing the same.
"You look like a badger with a chin bulge." The apprentice laughed.
"Haha, so funny." The cream she-cat mewed sarcastically. "Let's go get that bracken. I know a place."
The two WindClan cats ran awkwardly towards the Highrock. Next to the large stone was a very large patch of bracken. They laid down their wool and went to nip of pieces of bracken. Gradually a large pile built up; Snowpaw picked half the stack up in his mouth, and tucked the wool ball back under his chin, Rabbitwing did the same. Eventually the cats made it into the elder's den; by now it was a little past sun-high. Snowpaw set down the nest material and saw Rabbitwing heading out of the den.
"Bye Rabbitwing!" Snowpaw called after the cream warrior. "And thanks!"
She flicked her tail in response and padded out of the den.
"You're finally back!" Scarmuzzle's gruff voice sounded from behind Snowpaw.
"Took you long enough!" Goldenpelt grumbled
"Oh, shush!" Iceflare mewed. "Look how much material he brought back!"
Snowpaw looked down at his paws, embarrassed. "Um… would you like me to fix your nests now? Or later?"
Scarmuzzle stood up and stretched, "Now sounds good to me."
He looked at Iceflare and Goldenpelt, "Coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec, first I need to help Goldenpelt get up." The ginger she-cat replied. Scarmuzzle nodded and shuffled out of the den. Snowpaw watched as Iceflare padded over to her denmate and started to nudge him to his feet.
"I can get up on my own!" Goldenpelt protested. But as he tried to stand up, he fell back into his nest. Snowpaw hurried over to the old cat, troubled, and nudged him up. "Here, let me help."
Goldenpelt grunted in response and blinked gratefully. "Thanks."
Iceflare still showed her surprise at Goldenpelt's kindness towards Snowpaw, but just shook her head and padded out of the den, supporting Goldenpelt on her shoulder. Snowpaw looked around and sighed; there was so much to do. He started off with cleaning out the elders' dirt, using the old nest materials to cover the dirt so he didn't have to touch it. After the den was cleaned out, Snowpaw made the nests, making sure that they were dense and thickly lined.
The white tom stepped back and surveyed his work; it was all good, except for one thing: feathers. He ran out of the den and looked around camp for a cat who was eating a bird. There! Eaglestar was bent over a pheasant, Swallowtail next to him. Snowpaw ran over to the two cats and swung the pheasant over to him before Eaglestar could take the first bite.
"What is the name of StarClan are you doing, Snowpaw!" Eaglestar hissed.
"Oh, um…"Snowpaw suddenly realized how rude it was to take the leader's prey. He also realized how hungry he was. "I need feathers for the elders' nests. Could I, um, have some of these?" He gestured to the pheasant.
"Well-" Eaglestar sputtered, getting angry.
"If it's for the elders, then of course!" Swallowtail butted in, giving his leader a silencing glare as the multi-colored tom tried to interrupt.
Snowpaw bowed his head. "Thank you Swallowtail." He quickly plucked most of the feathers off of the bird, flicked his tail, and hurried back to the elder's den. Snowpaw padded up to each nest in turn and wove feathers into the bracken, making the outside soft as well as the inside. When he had finished, the apprentice sat back and admired his work. He walked back outside into the camp, and saw all three elders sharing tongues in a ray of sunshine.
"Hey!" The white apprentice called to them. Goldenpelt lifted his head and beckoned Snowpaw over. When Snowpaw reached them, he flopped down on his side, it was the first time he had been able to rest all day.
"Is there anything else I need to do? Any ticks, fleas?" The white apprenticed asked.
Iceflare shook her head. "Nope." She turned her gaze to Scarmuzzle and Goldenpelt. "You guys?"
"No."
"Nope."
"Alright then!" Snowpaw chirped. "Your nests are freshly made, and the den is clean. Just call my name if there is anything you need! The elders nodded, stood up, and shuffled over to their den. Snowpaw sighed with relief, he was finally done! The apprentice was about to head over to the fresh-kill pile and grab a small rabbit, when someone called his name.
"Snowpaw!"
Snowpaw looked around, trying to pinpoint the cat who called.
"Snowpaw, over here!" The voice called again. Finally Snowpaw spotted the cat, it was Creamfur. She was waving her tail at him. He scampered over to the she-cat, who was sharing two rabbits with her family.
"Hi Creamfur!" Snowpaw purred, "And Aspenfang, Rabbitwing, Mossheart."
"So, how did your first day of Elder duty go?" Aspenfang asked.
Snowpaw shrugged (A/N, I think cats can shrug, Blaze. I think…) "It was fine. A lot of work though. Kind of tires you out."
"Oh yes, cracking fleas and killing ticks is such hard work!" Mossheart chuckled, sarcasm edging his voice.
"Like you would know!" Rabbitwing mewed, "You've never carried three nests worth of bracken and wool across the moor in one trip!"
"Touché." The brother tipped his head and meowed.
"Creamfur laughed as she saw Snowpaw staring intently at the rabbit in between her paws. "Do you want some?"
Snowpaw nodded vigorously. "Yes please!"
Creamfur purred and pushed the rabbit towards the white apprentice. He gave the cream warrior a grateful look and started gobbling down the rabbit. He only ate half, before realizing that Aspenfang and Creamfur didn't get any fresh kill. He looked up, ready to ask them if they wanted some, when he paused. The two mates were staring fondly at Snowpaw. He cocked his head, confused.
"Um, do you want some?" The white apprentice nudged the fresh-kill.
Aspenfang shook his head. "You eat it."
Snowpaw nodded and continued eating, more slowly this time. The apprentice decided that he should leave some for Aspenfang and Creamfur. He stood up and pushed the remainder of the rabbit in front of the mates. "Here." He said.
"Thanks, Snowpaw." Creamfur purred. Snowpaw nodded.
"See you tomorrow." He said to the family of four. They echoed a 'goodnight'. Snowpaw padded to the apprentice den and cringed when he smelled Owlpaw and Birchpaw already inside. Rabbit-dung!
Snowpaw entered the den and noticed how dark it seemed, the rapidly setting sun was casting weird shadows in the den. The tom snuck a glance at the other apprentices and saw them smirking; Snowpaw prepared himself for more jeering and insults. Sure enough, as Snowpaw neared his nest, the insults started flying.
"So, how is elder duty going, Roguepaw?" Owlpaw sneered.
"Yeah, have the smelly old coots made you one of them yet? I'm sure you'd fit in perfectly." Birchpaw jeered.
Snowpaw sighed. He really didn't feel like arguing right now; so he decided to ignore them. The white tom plopped down in his nest, closed his eyes, and curled his tail around his nose.
"Ignoring us, Roguepaw?" Owlpaw hissed in Snowpaw's ear. The white tom flattened his ears, trying to block out his tormenters' voices. Suddenly a blow struck Snowpaw's muzzle, drawing blood.
Snowpaw opened his eyes, enraged and saw Owlpaw sitting triumphantly beside his victim with blood dripping from his claws.
"You." Snowpaw growled, eyes flaming and narrowed into slits. Owlpaw was unfazed, but behind him, Birchpaw's eyes were wide with fear.
"Yes, me." Owlpaw smirked.
"What gives you the right to lay a paw on me?" The white tom hissed, eyes glittering threateningly. The dark brown tom hesitated before speaking, looked fearful for a second but then regaining is arrogance.
"What gives you the right to be in WindClan?"
It was Snowpaw's turn to smirk. "I think the question you should be asking is who gave me the right. And the answer to that is Eaglestar. Your leader. Oh, and Heatherclaw, your deputy. And I almost forgot, Swallowtail, your medicine cat."
"Yeah, well-"Owlpaw mewed.
"What is going on here?!"A voice hissed angrily from the entrance of the den. Owlpaw turned around and came face-tom face with an outrage Blizzardwind.
"Well?" She growled. The black and white warrior was right next to Snowpaw's nest, glaring daggers at Owlpaw. Bramblepaw was behind her, smiling slightly. He must have brought Blizzardwind here when he heard Owlpaw and I fighting!
"No? Nothing?" Blizzardwind meowed when Owlpaw didn't answer. "Ok then. Because of this, and because I know this isn't the first time you've bullied him, you and Birchpaw will not be going to the Gathering."
"What!" Owlpaw screeched. "That's so unfair! You have no right-"
"Watch your mouth!" The warrior growled menacingly. "Remember I am a warrior and therefore I have much more authority than you." She turned away, tail twitching. "Now sleep. I don't want to hear another peep out of you tonight!" She cast one more challenging look around the den before stepping out into the now light-deprived camp.
Owlpaw stalked away to his nest, tail lashing angrily. Birchpaw's mouth was still open in shock, but he laid down in his nest, too. Bramblepaw did the same, giving Snowpaw the tiniest nod; the white tom returned the gesture and curled up. When Snowpaw's tail touched his nose, it stung like crazy. He quickly whisked it away and saw blood soaking the tip of his tail. The apprentice sighed and decided to visit Swallowtail in the morning.
Just as Snowpaw closed his eyes, he saw Fernpaw scamper into the den and lay down in his nest. Snowpaw realized that he would probably never tunnel with her again, or just never tunnel in general. He shivered thinking about his future, but eventually drifted into a light sleep. His dreams were full of the thumping of rabbits' paws, tunnels, Fernpaw's bright green eyes, Owlpaw's sneering face, Eaglestar's enraged and fiery gaze and Goldenpelt's bright coat.
OK, so that was the chapter. Sorry that is was…well, it was really just a filler. Well, an important filler. Anyways, the next chapter should be much better. There will be some time-skips, just so I don't have to right a ton of filler chapters to reach the Gathering chapter. So, yeah.
Forewarning: the QOTD is kind of weird, but I've been wanting to ask this question for a while, just because I thought it would be interesting to see your answers. And because it is weird, I am going to have two QOTDs! The first one is just a 'for the heck of it' question, and the second is the contest question.
QOTD(#1)- Do you want a Warriors movie? Please put your explanation in there as well.
AOTD(#1)- No. I would honestly HATE it. I mean, look at what they did to Guardians of Gahool! They basically put all books into one movie. I have a feeling they would do that to Warriors, and I would hate seeing the cats come to life and hearing their voices just because it would ruin my image of them (*cough cough* Divergent *cough cough*)
QOTD#2- How do I write? (Like, do I plan things, do I micromanage, do I not plan at all, do I somewhat plan, do I just go with it, etc.)
Whoever correctly answers the QOTD gets a character in my new story, Emberstar's Calling!
Thank you for reading, and until next time, Sayonara!