A/N: All right! Before you go on reading this new chapter, take a moment to read this (if you don't already read them).
=^.^= TODAY IS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF WARRIORS: INTO THE WILD! =^.^=
Isn't that awesome? Let's give it up for Rusty and Erin Hunter!
Anyway... back to the chapter. Be forewarned: this chapter has a lot of gushy... stuff. I wouldn't call it a filler chapter, because it plays a pretty important role in this fanfic. (This is also one of the reasons it's rated Romance...)
Anyway, read on and please tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors; just the characters of great importance. Like Bramblestar. NOBODY TOUCH HIM!
Chapter 9
Mosspaw shifted in her nest, thinking about the previous events last night. Without warning, her sight had disappeared, leaving her in total darkness. Fangs and eyes appeared, then after there was a deep growl. She wasn't positive, but it could've been the beasts she was supposedly going to save the Clans from.
Unable to sleep any longer, Mosspaw sat up and noticed there was fur brushing against her. Looking down, she saw Redpaw curled up next to her, closer than he usually would be. She poked him with a paw, wondering why he had suddenly decided to sleep close to her, but he didn't wake up.
"Redpaw!" she hissed into his ear. He turned slowly towards her voice and opened his eyes. Seeing her that close to his face, he jumped up and backed away from her.
"Mosspaw! I-I'm sorry! I—uh . . ." Redpaw stammered, trying to redeem himself with meaningless words.
Mosspaw looked quizzically at him, wanting to tell him something, but other cats were starting to wake up in the den as well. She shook her head, determined to get her thought out before she lost courage.
Poking her head out of the apprentices' den, she surveyed the clearing. It was still damp from last night's rain, but cats were already out and about, avoiding the wet patches.
Mosspaw drew back into the den long enough to beckon Redpaw to follow him. Hesitantly, he followed her out of the den and across the clearing and from there into the forest. Fortunately for Mosspaw, no cat tried to stop them. In fact, Mosspaw suspected they hadn't even noticed the two of them.
Once they had left the clearing behind, Mosspaw turned to Redpaw and sat down, ignoring the wet ground. He sat down as well, focusing on her eyes in an uncomfortable way.
Mosspaw stared down at her paws, suddenly unsure of what she had come out to the forest to say. Finally, she started to speak.
"Redpaw, I—I really like you. A lot. And even though I didn't want a mate before when I was a kit, now . . ." Mosspaw trailed off, looking away from Redpaw's piercing stare. He truly was staring, amazed, and just a tiny bit confused.
A purr sounded from him, though. "I like you too, Mosspaw," he meowed. "And I think we could be more than really good friends, if you want to."
Mosspaw looked back at him, her eyes lighting up as she breathed out a sigh of relief. She moved closer to his side and pressed herself tight into Redpaw. "Will you promise me something, Redpaw?" she murmured with closed eyes.
"Yes?" Redpaw asked.
"Promise me . . . we'll stay together forever? Even if we have problems? Even if there's a prettier she-cat? Even if—"
"Yes, I promise," Redpaw purred, cutting her off. "Even if we have to battle Bramblestar to be together, we'll stay together."
"Do you think it's right for apprentices our age to be in love?" Mosspaw purred, her eyes sparkling as she lifted her head up to gaze at him. Redpaw shrugged, not really caring.
They leaned against each other once more, enjoying the small bit of time they had together before Clan life took over. Redpaw looked down at Mosspaw, suddenly drawing back to stare once more. Mosspaw watched him, confused as to why he was looking at her like she came from ShadowClan.
"Y-your fur . . ." Redpaw stammered, flicking his tail at her pelt. Mosspaw glanced down at herself, suddenly gaping at the sight of her moss pelt.
Wait! No! What? Why am I in my moss pelt? Mosspaw cried to herself. Feeling the tips of her ears grow hot, she changed back to her regular pelt. At least she had figured out that if she was really excited, she'd change without even realizing it. But . . . this meant she had to explain about the prophecy to Redpaw.
Raising her eyes to look back at Redpaw, she took a deep breath and began to explain.
"Mosspaw! Hunting patrol!" Lionblaze called from across the clearing. Mosspaw halted from where she was padding over to; the medicine den. Flamepaw needed to know that Redpaw knew about the prophecy.
Slowly she padded over to her mentor. "Can it wait for a heartbeat? I just need to tell Flamepaw something," she meowed, looking up at Lionblaze with pleading eyes.
He nodded, flicking his tail towards the medicine den. "Hurry. I'll round up Amberpaw and Dovewing."
Mosspaw nodded, sprinting over to where she hoped Flamepaw would be. Pushing her way inside, she instantly spotted her brother laying in his nest, staring at nothing. Padding over to him, she drew her tail over his back, silently alerting him of her presence.
"Oh, Mosspaw," Flamepaw murmured. "It's just you." He paused, then sat up, facing her with serious eyes. "Mosspaw . . . did you . . . last night . . . experience . . . anything odd?" he meowed hesitantly, unsure of what to say.
Mosspaw thought back to her frightening encounter with the dark sight and fangs. "Yes," she meowed quietly. "You got it too?"
Flamepaw nodded. "Both Jayfeather and I at the same time. I wonder if Bramblestar had it?"
Mosspaw shrugged. "I don't know. I was all alone when it happened to me," she muttered, jealous that Flamepaw had had company. Remembering the hunting patrol that was waiting, she added, "I have something important I need to tell you."
"Spit it out," Flamepaw purred, waiting. Mosspaw wasn't sure if he would be purring a few minutes later, though.
"Well . . . it's complicated, but getting straight to the point, Redpaw knows about the prophecy," Mosspaw mewed, watching Flamepaw as he was silent for several heartbeats.
"Flamepaw?" she asked worriedly, anxious at the look of disbelief her brother was giving him. That broke the silence spell, though, and Flamepaw jumped up, looking ready to take on the whole of StarClan single-pawed.
"You told Redpaw?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Yes, but he won't—"
"How could you tell him? This was supposed to be a secret! Only between the eight of us, the leaders, and the medicine cats! Now Redpaw probably going to go off and tell his two really annoying sisters! StarClan knows what's going to happen now that you've told an outsider cat!"
"His sisters aren't—"
"I can't believe you. I just can't believe you!"
"Flamepaw!" a cat hissed, quieting Mosspaw's furious brother. Flamepaw jumped and looked over to the side, sitting down at the sight of Jayfeather, who was glaring at him with his piercing blue eyes.
"Go on, Mosspaw," Jayfeather meowed.
"I did tell Redpaw about the prophecy, but I can guarantee that he won't tell any cat at all. I promise," she meowed, adding after a pause, "And Birdpaw and Bluepaw aren't annoying."
"Yes they are!" Flamepaw managed to get out, before Jayfeather silenced him with another look.
"How can you be sure he won't tell, Mosspaw?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned around, suddenly unsure of what to say to the cat standing there; Bramblestar.
"Uh . . . he and I . . . I mean we . . . or rather, us . . ." Mosspaw stammered. Whatever Redpaw might say, it was still very unusual to be in love at such a young age; and they hadn't even been apprentices for more than a moon!
Bramblestar got a wild look in his eyes and he meowed, "Did—did you two—"
"No!" Mosspaw exclaimed, cutting him off. Medicine cats didn't need to hear what he was about to say. "No. We didn't do anything. We just . . ."
"Mosspaw!" Now Lionblaze was calling, sounding quite impatient.
Thankfully, Bramblestar nodded, calming down. "You'd best get going. They're waiting for you," he meowed, giving her a small lick before nudging her outside. Mosspaw purred, racing out of the den.
Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Amberpaw were all waiting by the thorn tunnel when she arrived. "Finally!" Amberpaw exclaimed, turning as the two apprentices followed their mentors out of camp.
Mosspaw looked away, embarrassed, and focused her senses on any prey that might be around. She was determined to make up for her absence by catching a hefty load of prey.
They passed the training hollow, and Mosspaw noticed Redpaw and Dewpaw practicing battle moves. Dewpaw seemed to be going easy on Redpaw, and he probably was, since Redpaw wasn't as experienced as he was.
Redpaw glanced over in their direction briefly as their movement caught his attention, and in the brief moment he was distracted, Dewpaw bowled into him and held him down on his back.
Dewpaw yowled victory, but when he looked over to where Redpaw was still gazing at and saw Mosspaw as well, he nearly went limp over Redpaw. The tabby apprentice obviously noticed this, and he hissed angrily. Thrusting himself up, he threw Dewpaw off. They started attacking each other more viciously, but their claws stayed sheathed.
Amberpaw was beside her, watching her brother battle against the younger apprentice in amusement. "Looks like you've got two toms padding after you, Mosspaw!"
Mosspaw ducked her head. "Maybe. I wouldn't know why, though," she murmured.
"I've been an apprentice for three moons, and I don't have a tom padding after me!" Amberpaw sighed, looking away from their mentors, who were glaring at them. "Which one do you like better?" she added, flashing a mischievous look at Mosspaw.
"Oh . . . well, if I tell you, you'll probably kill me," Mosspaw meowed.
"No I won't!" Amberpaw exclaimed. "Please, tell me! I admit; they're both admirable toms. Whichever you pick is completely up to you. You don't even have to pick one of them; you might have your eyes set on a different tom, or none at all!"
"Okay," Mosspaw purred. "I like Redpaw."
Amberpaw nodded, leaning over to nuzzle the younger apprentice. "I thought so. I saw you two leave the apprentices' den this morning."
"Yeah . . . about that," Mosspaw muttered.
"This is very nice and all, but this is a hunting patrol, not a friendly-stroll-through-the-forest-to-talk-about-your-true-love-patrol wait what did you just say?" Lionblaze meowed, ending in a stance where he was gaping at his apprentice.
"Never mind that," Mosspaw meowed quickly. "You're right; this is a hunting patrol, so we should get on with hunting." No cat moved or said anything, so she shook her head and scented the air. Focusing on the strong scent of starling, she started tracking it, following the trail around the base of a tree. The starling was pecking the ground, occasionally straightening up and looking around in a jerky manner.
Mosspaw dropped into a hunting crouch and started creeping forward, barely able to stop herself before stepping on a twig.
"Mosspaw!" Lionblaze hissed, finally coming out of his state of shock. "Keep your tail still!"
Mosspaw instantly flattened it out and held it still, remembering her failure at trying to catch a robin a few days ago. Once she was within leaping range, she paused for a couple heartbeats, then pounced. The starling saw her just as she was about to catch it. It started to cry out an alarm call and fly away, but Mosspaw had already caught it and cut it off with a quick bite to its neck.
"Great job, Mosspaw!" Lionblaze meowed, coming up to stand beside her. "You're a natural at hunting."
Mosspaw purred, starting to dig a hole where she could bury her prey under the tree. Dovewing and Amberpaw joined them, and Dovewing cocked her head to one side, meowing, "Now, about Redpaw; you were saying you liked him?"
Mosspaw stood near the fresh-kill pile, trying to remember what it was for. It had been a really long and full day. After the hunting patrol, she had done battle training with Amberpaw, and after that she had gone on another hunting patrol. So far she hadn't gone on any border patrols, but that was just fine with her, as she wasn't sure she would be able to stay on her paws for much longer.
Choosing a vole, she stumbled over to the apprentices' den, settling down near the entrance to eat her fresh-kill. It tasted better than anything she had ever tasted.
When she was almost finished, Redpaw emerged from the elders' den and trotted over to the fresh-kill pile. Choosing a starling—her starling—he paused and glanced around the clearing.
Mosspaw was about to call him over when she spotted Flamepaw watching him closely from the medicine den. A small growl sounded from her throat, but sadly Flamepaw didn't see or hear her.
Redpaw finally saw her and made his way over, settling down beside her. He brushed his tail over her back, smoothing her bristling neck fur. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking a bite out of his starling.
"Flamepaw thinks you're going to tell every cat around the lake about the prophecy and us eight apprentices," Mosspaw sighed. She glanced at him. "I tried to tell him you'd never do that, and Jayfeather and Bramblestar believed me, but I guess it's going to take a while for Flamepaw to agree with us."
"I think he's just jealous that you have me now," he meowed quietly. "You two are very close siblings, and to have an outsider come into your group and learn a very big secret is really pushing it."
Mosspaw shrugged and started chewing her final bite of vole, unsure why Redpaw made total and complete sense.
"And he thinks my sisters are annoying," Redpaw added.
Mosspaw turned to stare at him, choking on her bite. "How did you know?" she asked, once she had stopped choking.
"I was standing outside the medicine den when he said that," Redpaw purred, looking over at the ginger tom who hadn't moved. Without a word, he flicked his tail, inviting Flamepaw to join them. The apprentice medicine hesitated, but he finally made his way over to them and sat down on Mosspaw's other side.
"All right, Redpaw, if you can charm my sister, then I guess you can keep a secret," Flamepaw muttered, flicking his tail. Redpaw purred, dipping his head in thanks before leaning down to continue eating his starling.
Mosspaw sat up to start grooming herself. Everything was perfect right now. She was in love, her brother had accepted Redpaw, Hollyleaf was sort of like her StarClan mentor, Lionblaze was an awesome mentor down in ThunderClan, and best of all, she didn't have to worry about the beasts right now, whatever they were. If only things could stay that way forever.
A/N: So... that was kinda short. Oh well! Did you enjoy it? Did you? Please tell me what you thought! And... I'm not sure, but... yes! Next chapter we see our first view of the 'beasts'! Before the next chapter comes out, review and tell me what you think the beasts are! Please?
Okay. Now that I've got that over with, I have to put out there that updates might be limited to once a week. When that once a week would be, I haven't got a clue. But the end of term 2 is coming up soon, so... you get the picture.
~Mossflower44
3 CHEERS FOR RUSTY AND THE ERINS! =^.^=