Chapter 8
Batpaw awoke to feel stiff and sore, and she realized that her pelt was soaked. The rain had washed away all her grief and thoughts from the night before, cleansing her and making her grumpy and forgetful. "The elders won't like this," she grumbled, sticking her head out of the den to see pouring rain. Emerging into this rain was like walking into a block of mud. It was the kind of rain that came down in sheets, like a cascade of water falling through the air. With this rain, there was a solid wall, water, and not water.
Tentatively, Batpaw stuck one paw out of her den, and pulled it back in soaked. Her whiskers were already dripping from her peek outside. But she had to go out, so, shivering, Batpaw walked into the rain.
The water had completely soaked the whole camp, and in some places a thin layer of water about half a mouse tail high covered it. All faraway sounds were muffled and waterlogged, and Batpaw could barely smell the cats in the den right behind her. Hunting now would be worse than leafbare! Batpaw hoped that the rain would stop after a little while.
She padded over to Eaglewing who sat in the protection of the Highrock.
"Nasty weather," commented Eaglewing, as Batpaw drew close.
"Mm-hmm," agreed Batpaw. "The roof in the apprentice den is leaking."
Eaglewing looked at her pelt critically. "I'll get some cats to fix it up, but meanwhile, go hunt and see what has survived the flood so far."
"Yes, Eaglewing," mewed Batpaw, dipping her head. Batpaw turned and bounded through the gorse tunnel, shivering as ice cold rain pelted her fur. She hoped that the prey stank strongly, otherwise she would have to rely on her eye site alone to locate prey, in which case it was usually too late.
Batpaw padded out through the forest, glancing around at the destruction that the flood had made. She saw a mouse floundering in the water and then drag itself up a tree. A tiny rabbit that looked half drowned scampered through the water, sometimes sinking but then bubbling to the surface again. Soggy flowers, bits of bark, scraps of animal fur and torn leaves floated in the water. gray, stormy clouds covered the sun, and the colorless sky seemed sad and dull.
The current had been so strong during the night that some saplings had been torn up from their roots and served as bridges across the water where they had fallen. Batpaw gratefully scampered onto a branch going out of reach of the cold water, making sure that they were firm enough to hold her weight.
"Riverclan might like this," she grumbled. "But I sure don't." Reluctantly she continued to search the air for the scent of prey. Carefully she leaped down from the tree, trying to keep to the drier spots of ground as much as possible, preferring not to get wet.
Batpaw spotted a squirrel, crouching on a low branch close to the ground, its scent masked by the rain. She dropped onto her haunches, ignoring the water that seeped up her fur and into her muscles. Batpaw slithered forward, silent and light footed, and then she leaped, tasting the salty tang of the squirrel's blood.
She turned around to hide the squirrel under the dirt when she remembered the flood. The waters would wash the prey away if she left it behind to collect later. Batpaw groaned in annoyance and started back to the camp.
As she was padding back, her paw caught on a ledge and she tumbled, face first, into the frigid water. Standing up and shaking water out of her pelt, an idea popped into her mind as she looked at the wood that had tripped her.
They were two branches that jutted out into each other, hanging over the water, but just out of its reach. In the treacherous winds, they swayed back and forth a bit, but always out of the water's searching hands.
"Perfect," she muttered, smiling at her good luck.
Batpaw snagged the squirrel on the branch and let go of it. She blinked in satisfaction as the squirrel stayed on the wood.
Batpaw turned to go, when her fur was pushed the wrong way and she braced herself as a huge gust wind bashed against the water. The waves of the flood rose so high that it washed right over that squirrel and dragged it to the ground where it began to float away.
Batpaw lunged and grabbed it just in time, letting out a hiss of frustration. "Mousedung," she muttered, feeling the soggy squirrel in her jaws. Reluctantly she turned, bounding along the wet ground. She was ready to get back to camp, and not lose that squirrel again.
Suddenly Batpaw slipped and felt panic sear through her as her feet churned through the water, trying to find firm ground. She let out a choked gasp, sputtering as she inhaled a mouthful of muddy water. Finally she felt her paws land heavily onto the ground, the impact making her stagger.
Batpaw let out a sigh of relief, her heart still beating in her chest, making her want to faint. She scrambled out of the ditch of water, loosening her grip on the squirrel, and realizing that she had torn a hole in its fur and that blood was seeping out, from her panicking hold. She pressed her paws against the gash until the bleeding slowed and finally stopped, until there was no sign of it left. Batpaw quickly pulled herself to her paws, and ran back to the camp, paws pounding on the soaked ground.
"Back so soon?" asked Eaglewing curiously.
"I couldn't leave the prey behind to go hunt some more because it would get washed away," Batpaw explained, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, from the near drowning experience. Her heart was pounding so hard that she couldn't believe that Eaglewing couldn't hear it's loud rhythmic beats.
Eaglewing stared at the flood waters in dismay. "You're right. I'd better warn Duskstar," she mewed and bounded off towards the leader's den.
I guess I'd better keep hunting, thought Batpaw, although she was still nervous about going back out into the jungle of a forest, that was soaked in a layer of dirty flood water. She sighed and left the refuge of the Highrock, bounding towards the gorse tunnel.
Before she had even made halfway across the camp she heard Duskstar's yowl cut through the pounding of the rain. Reluctantly her clanmates dragged themselves out of the safety and comfort of their dens and out into the open.
"I'm sure it has come to your attention," he said, eying the clan's soaked pelts, "That there is a flood. No kits may leave the camp or the nursery." At the yowls of annoyance from the queens he mewed, "The flood waters may rise, and a kit could drown."
The queens stopped their yowling.
"Also," he mewed, in satisfaction, "no apprentice may leave the camp without a warrior. For the hunting patrols, Eaglewing has brought to my attention that you cannot leave your prey behind to collect later. The flood waters would wash it away, and the last thing we want right now is to be short on prey." He dipped his head and then jumped down from the Highrock.
At his dismiss the cats dispersed. Some went back into their dens, some left the camp to go hunting and some hung around wondering if they were going to be asked to go on a patrol.
Batpaw wavered and then decided to go back to her den for a rest. As she padded towards the apprentice den she heard Pantherkit mew, "But I want to go out! It's too crowded in here. I'm almost an apprentice!"
Batpaw purred in amusement. Perhaps she would go visit the kits and watch them for a while. Mistytail and Frosttail were bound to find that helpful. She padded over to the nursery, ignoring the water that soaked her paws and made her fur feel heavy and hang off of her body.
Suddenly a small bundle of tortoiseshell fur bowled into her face. "It's Batpaw!" squealed Fawnkit, tumbling off of her. Batpaw let out a mroww of laughter, cuffing her gently over the head.
"Hello Batpaw," mewed Mistytail, glancing apologetically at the apprentice. "I'm sorry about Fawnkit. she's a little bit wild today because of being cramped up in the nursery with so many cats for so long."
"That's okay Mistytail," Batpaw mewed, her whiskers twitching and trying to stifle a giggle. "I just came to see if you would like me to watch the kits."
"Well," started Mistytail, glancing at the other two queens, "If Frosttail saya yes, than I would be glad to let you watch the kits, BUT," she warned, "you may not bring them out of the nursery."
Batpaw nodded her head to show that she had understood, and immediately the six kits bundled themselves onto her, squealing with excitement.
"Lets go out," squeaked Pantherkit, after the queens had left, Sunpelt following behind.
"But Duskstar said not to," mewed Mosskit, her little blue eyes wide.
"He did not-"
"But I want to-"
"That's not fair!"
"Oh, be quiet," mewed Batpaw hushing all of them, and trying not to laugh. "Mosskit is right. Duskstar said that the kits couldn't leave the nursery." At the mews of disappointment from the kits she said reassuringly, "But don't worry, we can still find fun things to do inside of the nursery."
The nursery was a small place without much space to play, but Batpaw soon found ways to keep all the kits entertained. She sent Leapkit, Pantherkit and Violetkit to play fight with each other, scuffling around in the mud. The rest of the kits, Mosskit, Skykit, and Fawnkit took to attacking Batpaw. She would move her tail around and jerk her paws upward to give them something to chase.
Tumbling and laughing, the kits always ended up attacking more mud than cat, but they didn't seem to care. Her fighting was their main joy, and they always ended up fighting with their siblings, as well as Batpaw. Those little cats had a lot of spirit. Batpaw was a bit sad she had never had a chance to be a kit in the clans. But at least she didn't have the long wait until becoming an apprentice, never having to endure the eagerness but also the frustration that came with it.
The kits and Batpaw played for a little while until Batpaw noticed that Skykit was not joining in, and that he sat alone, off to the side.
"Skykit," she mewed softly. "Skykit why aren't you playing?"
"I don't want to play with you," the kit gasped, surprised that she would ask a question like that. "You're yucky, you're a loner!"
Batpaw drew back, stung, and stared at Skykit. None of the other Thunderclan cats had ever talked about her having a different background than them, and they had never been rude or mean to her. Maybe her expectations had been too high. Maybe she should expect cats to avoid her. Even Skykit's tone was offensive, as if everybody knew that loners were different.
Luckily, the queens came back shortly to relieve Batpaw. "Thanks Batpaw," mewed Mistytail, purring. "Frosttail, Sunpelt and I got some time to relax. Not that I don't like the kits, but sometimes they can get quite exhausting."
"Batpaw," Sunpelt chimed in, "why don't you get some rest. You've had a long morning."
Batpaw muttered her thanks and hurried off towards the apprentice den, shaking off her wet fur. As she neared the den she noted that the rain had stopped and that the water were retreating, but sleepiness made her thoughts swirl around in her mind like the ripples of a dragonfly on the surface of a pond. So Batpaw settled into her soggy den, grumbling to herself about the waters, and fell fast asleep. Her conscienceless left her, but the hurt caused by Skykit stayed.
Three days passed and the weather took a turn for the worst. It rained on and off throughout the days, and the flood waters grew higher and higher. In some parts of the forest it rose all the up to Batpaw's haunches. Prey was getting scarce, and the only stuff they did find was soggy and thin. Batpaw couldn't imagine what it would be like to be in Shadowclan right now, with all the swampy territory, and in Windclan, without any trees to serve as bridges.
One day the border patrol came back with news about the river. The sun was high in the sky and the rain had stopped for the time being.
"It's quite high," explained Lynxfoot to Owlfeathers, Sunpelt, Batpaw, and a wide eyed Starpaw. "Much higher than it should be. We could see plenty of fish in the water."
"Riverclan must be getting a lot of prey," commented Owlfeathers. "They shouldn't be giving us trouble any time soon."
"But what about the other clans," asked Batpaw tentatively, daring to point something out to the older cat, "They probably have even worse prey than us!"
"You're right," mewed Lynxfoot, glancing approvingly at Batpaw, "Eaglewing's got herself quite an apprentice there." Batpaw blushed when the warrior praised her, but she thought she saw Starpaw shoot her a dirty look. Batpaw shrunk even smaller, wishing she hadn't pointed out the problem, yet still glowing inside from the approval.
"And how will we get to the gathering?" asked Sunpelt, saving Batpaw from her embarrassment, "If the river is swollen than won't the smaller branch that we cross over also be? The apprentices won't be able to get across, and the current might be too strong."
"Look, here comes Eaglewing," mewed Owlfeathers.
Quickly, Lynxfoot related the news to the deputy.
"Thanks for telling me Lynxfoot. I'll go inform Duskstar. This may interfere with us getting to the gathering."
Eaglewing turned, ready to get Duskstar when he called out from the Highrock, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting. The cats who are going to the gathering," announced Duskstar, "Are Snowstorm, Minnowtail, Blizzardtail, Goldenfoot, Greymoon, Owlfeathers, Nightclaw, Batpaw and Rabbitpaw."
"But Duskstar," yowled Owlfeathers, "Lynxfoot said that the river was very high! That means that other places could be flooded."
"Is this true, Lynxfoot?" inquired Duskstar.
"Yes, Duskstar," answered Lynxfoot, dipping his head.
"All right." Duskstar turned back to the circle of cats gathered at the base of the Highrock. "I will send a patrol to check on the route to Fourtrees. If it is flooded I'll see if we can pass through Shadowclan territory. Greymoon will lead the patrol." Batpaw waited to see if he would say more, but he didn't mention to look out for trouble from the other clans.
As Duskstar was leaping down from the Highrock a cry was heard, and a silver cat burst from the medicine cat den. "It's Sunpelt!" Dewpelt cried. "She's having her kits, and something's wrong!"