Hi again, guys! Sorry this took so long, but my parents only allow me to have ONE HOUR on the computer a day. I know, it's not a lot, especially since I have eager readers who'd LOVE to read more of my story. Anyway, this chapter was kind of random…. So it's kind of boring…. Enjoy anyway. Thanks to reviewers: Avatar-State craziness, Gabalot, Snowlight, Maplefrost, Queen Of The Pens, BrambleclawxSqurrelflight, Tangleflame, Hawktalon10, I'M A FREAKIN TACO, Dreamheart, and Poppytail.
Chapter Twenty
Foxfur crept out of the warriors' den, heading towards Newleaf, Darkwing, Littlecloud, and Marshypool. She shook her thick fox colored fur, padded up to the new warriors and glanced up at the brightening sky.
"Your vigil is over," she mewed, and smiled warmly at Newleaf. "I'm proud of you."
It was Marshypool who first spoke. "Finally! I'm a warrior now, so I get to tell all the apprentices what to do!"
Newleaf rolled her eyes; she knew it would be especially hard for Marshypool to take her vow of silence; she never stopped talking! But she rarely ever gossiped, and that was always a good thing.
"Of course, because it's like you never did that before now." Darkwing yawned.
Marshypool glanced at him, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
Littlecloud snickered, looking at Newleaf. She rolled her eyes again. Toms.
Foxfur frowned. "This is apprentice behavior! I would expect more from warriors."
Newleaf grinned, dipping her head to her former mentor to hide the fact that she couldn't stop smiling. "Sorry, Foxfur."
"I would hope so!" she replied, but laughter cracked her voice. When she spoke again, it was less friendly. "Now you go get sleep. You're to join the sunhigh patrol, near the ThunderClan border. They might be planning a revenge attack."
"Yes, yes, Brokenstar established that yesterday," said Newleaf impatiently, swishing her tail in annoyance.
Foxfur dipped her head in acknowledgement. "He did, but you must realize this is a threat."
"We will," insisted Newleaf, then corrected herself, "We do."
Her former mentor nodded. "Now you go sleep."
Newleaf crept carefully into the warriors' den, the brambles prickling her soft kitten fur. She sniffed at a nest, and settled down into it, closing her eyes, trying to relax. Fur brushed against her, and she opened her eyes, tensing.
Darkwing's blue eyes glowed in the darkness of the den, and his black fur was like a shadow. He was barely visible. He mewed softly, "Go back to sleep, Newleaf. It's okay."
She curled up again and tried to keep her restless eyes closed as Littlecloud and Marshypool settled down next to her.
The quiet mutterings and snores of her friends did nothing to relax her and help her sleep, like they would usually. She kept tossing and turning restlessly, wondering if she really did do the right thing, and knew she hadn't.
Guilt fluffed up her fur, and she opened her eyes and sighed. Why couldn't she do the right thing? She wanted to; it was the thing she most wanted in the world. Then why couldn't she?
Outside the den, the sun shone brightly. It must be midmorning by now, and Newleaf still could not sleep.
She sat up and washed, licking her white paws and rubbing her forepaw on her ear to clean it, and smoothed down her whiskers. Once she was satisfied she was clean enough to be presentable, she padded out of the den and stretched, her black legs trembling.
She padded to the fresh-kill pile, and stared down at it, curling her lip in distaste. A new warrior, getting crowfood? She should be eating freshly killed meat as a celebration. She decided she wasn't hungry enough, and that she'd find something while they were out on patrol.
Newleaf stretched and sat down, observing the camp. Nothing unusual. She swept her tail around, frowning. She looked up at the sky; not much time had passed. It was still a few hours until sunhigh.
A tabby pelt crept out of the den, and she relaxed. "Hello, Littlecloud!" her tongue felt strange saying his new name.
Her brother pricked his ears. He padded to her. "Newleaf!"
She wondered if he felt strange saying her name. Probably not, she thought.
"Are you going to eat?" asked Littlecloud.
Newleaf shrugged. "Not yet."
"I wonder if we're going to go on the patrol or hunt in the river." said Littlecloud.
"Well, Foxfur said we were going to patrol."
"But not all three of us can go on patrol. Some of us have to hunt. Maybe Marshypaw- er- Marshypool," Littlecloud corrected himself, "Will hunt. After all, she's had more experience than us."
"Perhaps," agreed Newleaf absentmindedly. "But we have to learn how to hunt if we are to use the river." Even though it's wrong.
"That's true," nodded Littlecloud, "But I wonder who'll go along with her, then. She should teach us."
Newleaf nodded. "Marshypool should; I'm absolutely sure she's had just as much fighting experience as us, but we need to learn to hunt without a group; we need to learn to hunt by ourselves."
"Yeah, we barely know how to hunt with each other."
A small cough made her jump in alarm, pelt bristling. Her gaze whipped around, and she flattened her fur as she recognized Darkwing.
"Darkwing!" she snapped, "You almost made my fur fall off!"
Darkwing grinned, eyes gleaming in amusement. "You need to learn to relax, Newleaf. You've been wound tighter every day."
Her fur fluffed up, and she narrowed her eyes. "Well, given our circumstances while we were apprentices, I'd say I have good reason to be jumpy, now, don't I?"
Darkwing smirked, but didn't answer.
How typical of him, thought Newleaf in annoyance.
"Newleaf and Darkwing, you go with Foxfur and Flintfang on the sunhigh border patrol." Blackfoot's order surprised her, and she turned.
She almost disagreed with her deputy; she didn't want to be with Darkwing! Why, he got under her fur so much lately, she was surprised none of it had fallen off. She snorted at Darkwing, and he smirked.
She rolled her eyes.
"Hey!" mewed Marshypool as she padded up. "I'm to teach Littlecloud how to fish."
"Cool," meowed Newleaf.
"Oh, don't worry, you two!" she continued, "I'll teach you and Darkwing how to fish, too."
"Sure," she nodded.
The ThunderClan border was not threatened, as far as Newleaf could tell. The border had not been crossed by ThunderClan.
She frowned as she thought how many times ShadowClan had crossed. Would Brokenstar try to drive ThunderClan out again? Was he really that ambitious? Was he really that greedy for territory? Of course, ShadowClan did have many cats, but there weren't many kits in the Clan anymore.
She looked up at the tall deciduous trees, and was puzzled as she saw the leaves beginning to yellow and redden. The air was also cooler; not cold, but cool. Fresh. Was leaf-fall coming? Perhaps.
Newleaf peered through the trees and the brambles and squinted her eyes to see farther. She didn't see a flash of fur; no ThunderClan cats were patrolling here yet. Or perhaps they had already patrolled the border.
She opened her mouth slightly to taste the air. Nothing. The other cats on her patrol marked the border, and she followed them as they trudged back home.
Okay, so PLEASE review! I MIGHT be able to update again tomorrow… But you never know.
Poppytail: Thank you!
Snowlight: Props for forcing your sister to read the story! Did you know she'd like it?
Dreamheart: Thank you! I like the names, too.
I'M A FREAKIN TACO: You don't really know… Maybe it could have a double meaning?
BrambleclawxSqurrelflight: You thought so?
Tangleflame: Thanks. Yep, she really does. Littlecloud and Marshypool… Dunno….
Queen Of The Pens: Don't worry, I have big plans for Newleaf, but she won't die just yet…
Maplefrost: Yep! Thanks for that suggestion!
Gabalot: Yeah, it was boring. So was this one. Don't worry; another battle will come soon!
Avatar-State craziness: Thank you!
~Coqui's Song