Chapter 54:
"No, I don't think it's broken." Roseleaf shook her head, remembering Specklenose's gruesome broken leg from moons ago.
"It isn't? It sure feels like it," Waterstorm grumbled.
They had stopped not far from where the dog had been, in a grassy meadow surrounded by trees, their leaves vibrant hues of orange. Waterstorm was sprawled out at the base of an elm tree, glaring at his twisted paw, and the rest of them had formed a semi-circle around him.
Roseleaf rested her paws lightly on her friend's twisted leg, trying not to notice his winces and grimaces as she carefully felt around. To her delight, she could not find any place where his leg had broken. "No, it isn't broken." she reported, and she noticed a small glimmer of hope rise up in Waterstorm's eyes. Hating to crush his hope, she admitted softly, "But I think it's sprained."
"But I'll be fine by sunhigh, right?" Waterstorm tried to get up, but the heartbeat he put weight on his injured paw, he collapsed, his breath hissing out between his teeth. "Maybe not," he amended.
"We'll have to camp here for a few days." Redfeather decided, looking around the clearing for a suitable place to camp.
"We can't! There isn't enough time, we need to bring back the cure!" Waterstorm protested, starting to stand up again, but falling back against the elm tree.
"I agree." Heatherpaw spoke up quietly. "My sister is sick, she's the whole reason I followed you, you know, but I know that we need to stay together." Her voice rose in volume, filled with certainty.
"I think Heatherpaw's right." Owlflight agreed.
"Well, I'm on Waterstorm's side; it's his paw and his decision." Harefoot dipped his head to the RvierClan tom.
Roseleaf was torn between not wanting to abandon her friend, and her desperation for the cure. Every cat was looking to her for her answer. What should I say? she thought desperately. Carefully, she said, "I think it would be better for you to wait here for at least a day, Waterstorm, before we continue. Maybe we could figure out some way to support your paw so it wouldn't be so hard to walk tomorrow." Roseleaf suggested. "Like a splint."
Waterstorm nodded slowly. Roseleaf could tell he was reluctant to impede their progress, but he knew he couldn't walk. "Okay," he muttered.
"Can I help you, trespassers?" A cool voice hissed to Roseleaf's left.
Roseleaf whipped around to find a dark silvery tom sitting by the base of an oak tree, hostility gleaming in his unforgiving blue eyes.
"We're sorry, we did not know that this was your territory," Redfeather spoke calmly, but Roseleaf detected a whisper of fear in her voice.
The silver tom grunted, clearing not believing Redfeather. "I'm sure that's true – no cat would ever trespass on our territory willingly." He snorted arrogantly. "Nevertheless, you'll have to come with us." he flicked his tail-tip, and three more cats stepped out from where they had been hiding behind assorted trees. One was a burly orange tabby tom, his amber eyes gleaming with distrust. To his left stood a brown tabby tom with large, deep blue eyes. His stance was careful, his gaze watchful, and Roseleaf could see the rippled muscles beneath his tabby fur. Behind all of the toms sat a compact ginger she-cat, her eyes a stunning emerald green. But her emerald eyes glared at Roseleaf and the others with such pure, unfiltered hatred and disdain that Roseleaf almost took a step back, but she held her ground, trying to match the she-cat's glare but failing miserably.
"Why should we?" Owlflight demanded. "There are six of us, and only four of you."
The orange tom rolled his eyes, looking at the silver tom who was undoubtedly the leader of the patrol. "They underestimate us, Lightning. Should we teach them how it really is?"
Lightning gazed at Roseleaf's group for a moment, then replied, "I'm sure they forget that one of them is injured, and that we we could win a fight three to one in any case." He grinned evilly, looking at Roseleaf, who was at the point of the small triangle they had formed around Waterstorm. "You, what's your name?"
"Roseleaf." she growled. "I'd say it was nice to meet you, but..." Her eyes raked the enemy patrol, still trying to mimic the ginger she-cat's glaring gaze. "...it isn't." She was pleased by how those last two words came out as cold and hard as ice.
But Lightning merely chucked, seeming to enjoy her attempts at hostility. "Are you the leader, then?"
Roseleaf was caught off guard. Alarmed, she looked back to the rest of her group. After the first day, they had talked about making one cat leader; but had decided to all share the responsibility, with each cat taking turns at the head of the group. "No," she admitted finally. "We are all equal."
Lightning's eyes widened. "Interesting. Now, are you going to see sense and follow us, or shall we spill unnecessary blood?" he looked as if he would rather she picked the second option.
Roseleaf scanned her group. They all nodded their heads infinitesimally, and their message was clear: follow them. "We'll go." she announced, standing up and padding after the strange cats.
Nightstreak looked both ways before exiting the camp, making sure no cat saw him. It was almost moonhigh, and Silverpelt was glistening brightly above him, lighting his path. He headed to the right, for ShadowClan territory, still scanning the area around him uneasily. He tried to calm down his heart, but could not seem to manage it, feeling as if it had been replaced by a hummingbird. These nightly visits to the border, though they made him barely able to stay awake during the day, were the only thing that could keep his mind off of Roseleaf and Owlflight. He had started only a few days after they'd left, but had gone every single night since. Just thinking about it, he grew excited, and picked up his pace. Soon he was galloping through the forest, feeling as if he was flying, ducking under branches and around trees.
When he finally reached the border, his heart skipped a beat, staring at the black she-cat gazing shyly at him from the other side of the stream that divided their territores. "Ravenpaw," he breathed. The sleek black she-cat looked more beautiful than ever, her black fur lit up by the moonlight.
Ravenpaw's soft green eyes reflected the large moon as she spoke. "Nightstreak."
He loved how she spoke his name, as if he was the only cat in all of the Clans, her voice filled with...Love!, he noted with a small spark of alarm that quickly changed to a glowing flame of happiness. As Nightstreak padded forward, she seemed to gather her wits about her.
"Ravenshadow," she mewed softly. "I got my warrior name."
"Congratulations!" Nightstreak had reached the creek, and now he leaned over to lick her face affectionately. After a heartbeat of hesitation, he leaped over the creek, then stood beside her, their pelts brushing.
"Thanks." Ravenshadow blushed and looked away. "Let's sit over there," she suggested, pointing with her tail to a pine tree.
Nightstreak followed her, and they curled up at the base of the pine tree, sharing tongues. "Shouldn't you be standing vigil?" he asked.
Ravenshadow shook her head. "Flamestar said she did not need three warriors guarding the camp at once."
Nightstreak detected a hint of sadness in her voice when she said 'three'. He knew she was thinking about her brother, Pinepaw, who would never become a warrior. He curled up a little tighter to her.
"I'll be guarding the camp tomorrow night, so you'll be able to sleep." she looked into his matching green eyes, and touched her nose to his.
Is it bad that I'd rather be with you than sleep? Nightstreak wanted to say. That I'd rather be with an enemy warrior than my own Clan? But he could not bring himself to think about the ShadowClan she-cat like that: an enemy warrior. Before he had begun his meetings with her, he had thought of all ShadowClan cats as heartless and maybe even cruel, but Ravenshadow had forced him to realize that this was not so.
Instead of saying something he knew he would regret, he said simply, "I'll miss you."
At that, Ravenshadow purred, running her pink tongue along his flank. "And I you."
What? Nightstreak is having secret meetings with Ravenshadow? Tell me what you think! :D
***Thanks for reviewing the last chapter!: SMILE, Tansypetal, jayleaf1, SilverHeart24, TooLazyToLogin, and OoJayfeatheroO!***
SMILE: You asked for relationships, but it this what you had in mind? ;D
Jayleaf1: Thanks for noticing those errors! I have fixed the files but have not reposted them. Also Manu spaces?
TooLazyToLogin: I honestly don't know; maybe 70? And I suppose I didn't make this clear enough, but the last chapter was set after a few days of uninteresting travelling :)
THANK YOU for reading! I'm sorry this chapter was late but I hope it was worth it!
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