19
Tigerpaw awoke to a nudge early in the morning, thanks to a nudge from Foxpaw. She blinked at him bright, and nuzzled his cheek.
"Come on," she said. "We'll have to go through WindClan territory now. Let's hurry; hopefully we won't have to run into anyone on the way."
"Yeah," Tigerpaw said, and yawned. "Can we catch a mouse before we go?"
Foxpaw let out an amused purr, and the two of them hunted for a short time, catching a mouse each in no time at all. They then left the old, run-down barn, and began to pad through the field that would lead them to WindClan.
"There used to be Twolegs around here," Foxpaw warned with a careful glance around the area. "They used to have dogs, giant slobbering beasts that killed everything in their paths."
Tigerpaw couldn't help but shudder. "If the barn is any sign, then Twolegs are long gone from this area," he said. Foxpaw nodded, but still appeared nervous.
The scent of WindClan washed over them as they entered a line of trees. Soon, the trees gave way to open moor, windswept plains. They could smell rabbits nearby, but they were too full from the mice to really care. Tigerpaw, being used to the safety of the forest, felt horribly exposed. They made their way to the edge of the Thunderpath and followed it closely, not wanting to get lost. WindClan's territory was the smallest of all, and it wouldn't take them long to get back to ThunderClan. Or, so they hoped.
The wind changed suddenly, blowing towards them. Tigerpaw's eyes widened in alarm as strong WindClan scents became apparent in his nose.
"WindClan!" he exclaimed to Foxpaw, but almost as soon as the words left his lips, a blurred form tackled Foxpaw and knocked her down.
"ThunderClan scum!" the she-cat hissed from on top of Foxpaw. "Trespassing on every Clan's territory now, are you?"
"Get off of her!" Tigerpaw snarled and prepared to spring, only to find a sudden crushing weight on him as well.
"Hang on!" Foxpaw yelped. "Please! We're just apprentices."
Tigerpaw thrashed. "We are coming back from Highstones!"
"A likely story," the she-cat hissed, her claws digging into Foxpaw's shoulder. Rage flared up inside of Tigerpaw.
"Get off of her!" Tigerpaw even more wildly, he managed to throw the tom that was pinning him down off. He rushed to Foxpaw's aid, tackling the she-cat standing over her. He raked his claws down her muzzle. She let out a furious snarl and lashed out at him with her claws, catching him on the nose. Tigerpaw drew back, and snarled. Behind him, he heard the WindClan tom drawing closer to Foxpaw. He felt a pang of fear. This was not a battle they could win.
"Hang on, hang on!" a female voice scolded. "Both of you! These are just apprentices!"
"Stay back, Owlfeather," the she-cat facing off against Tigerpaw warned. "They're dangerous."
A black and white she-cat came into view, blinking at the ThunderClan apprentices curiously. "They're just younglings," she said. "Hang on Fernfrost, Falconclaw. Let's give them a chance!"
Both WindClan warriors hissed, but stepped back, listening to Owlfeather. Is she the deputy? Tigerpaw wondered.
"I'm WindClan's medicine cat," Owlfeather explained. "These two were accompanying me while I gathered herbs. There have been many RiverClan scents near our borders recently, and we're a bit worried now, understandably. Why are you here?"
"We went to Highstones," Tigerpaw said, inching closer to Foxpaw. He pressed his pelt against hers. "To make our journey that all apprentices must make."
Owlfeather blinked in surprise. "You both look rather young," she said, and then shrugged. "It is not our business, I suppose…you're very close to Fourtrees now. You'll be home soon."
"You're letting them go?" Fernfrost hissed in disbelief.
"We're letting them go," Owlfeather corrected her. "I'm sure they've had enough trouble, and you two gave them quite a clawing." She nodded to the two apprentices. "Run along now, you two."
"And don't let us ever catch your scent here again," Falconclaw hissed. Tigerpaw and Foxpaw both nodded quickly, before dashing away. Tigerpaw heard Fernfrost laugh behind them, probably at how slow they were compared to WindClan.
"We nearly died!" Foxpaw whispered. "I can't believe it!"
"Yeah," Tigerpaw said quietly.
"Thanks for helping me. You were brave." Foxpaw licked his cheek with a purr. "My hero."
Tigerpaw blushed under his dark fur, but said nothing in reply. He didn't have to.
* * *
Fourtrees rose in front of them, as did the stream around it. They avoided Fourtrees entirely; no matter how interesting and tempting it was to explore, they couldn't now. They needed to be home, home where they belonged.
When ThunderClan's scent rolled over them both as they crossed the border, it was like a breath of fresh air.
"Who knew you could miss smells this much?" Foxpaw marveled. "Or trees? Or forest prey? Or the trees?"
"It's great to be home," Tigerpaw agreed, but he was worried. What would happen when they arrived home? Would they be in trouble? They had really gained nothing from this trip, not all of the knowledge and answers that Tigerpaw had hoped to find. Really, it had been a waste of time, except for seeing Blackheart again. That had been nice.
The gorse tunnel that led to ThunderClan camp appeared. Both apprentices charged towards it, entering camp and gulping in the scents as quickly as their brains could process it.
"Home home home," Foxpaw murmured under her breath.
"Foxpaw!" they heard Gingerpaw cry. She raced forward, burying her face in her sister's fur. "I thought you were dead!"
"We're fine," Foxpaw said.
"Oh, Tigerpaw! You look awful!" Whitepaw gasped, coming forward. "Your nose!"
It was only then that Tigerpaw realized his nose was dripping blood.
"Tigerpaw?"Petalcloud asked, padding out of her den. "I need to see you at once."
Tigerpaw smiled at her. "My nose is fine," he said. "I want to see how Silvermist is doing first."
"That's just it," Petalcloud said. "Silvermist had her kits last night."