Chapter 6
Buzzardpaw sat outside of the apprentice's den, a small scowl on his face. He had just finished removing ticks from the elders, and the tangy smell of mouse bile clung to his fur tightly. He struggled to fight the urge to wash himself, knowing he would regret it as soon as he tasted the disgusting paste. Looking up from his paws, he spotted Thistlepounce, who was staring at him from across the camp.
Narrowing his eyes at the warrior, Buzzardpaw stared back. Why is he always looking at me like that? The apprentice had caught Thistlepounce looking at him often, his dark amber eyes always pensive and somewhat foreboding. Furrowing his eyebrows, Buzzardpaw opened his jaws to shout at the warrior, but was cut off by a sudden yank on his tail.
"Gah!" The apprentice yelped, whipping his head around to see the attacker. Dragonwing's blue and yellow eyes twinkled back at him, his eyes narrowed. "Come here, and make sure no one follows you." The warrior hissed in a low voice, stalking behind the apprentice's den. Buzzardpaw glanced around him, his eyes landing on Thistlepounce, who was still gazing at him. Giving a shrug of his shoulders, Buzzardpaw followed the black and white warrior, wondering what he wanted.
The two padded to a small clearing just outside the camp. Buzzardpaw treaded lightly, wary of Dragonwing and his urgency. Seemingly satisfied with the location, Dragonwing sat down across from Buzzardpaw, his whiskers twitching.
"What do you want?" The apprentice mewed, observing the warrior before him. He sat down as well, wrapping his tail around his paws.
"You were there last night," Dragonwing started, his voice quiet as he regarded the brown tom, "The Dark Forest. Is Darkenedstreak your mentor?"
Buzzardpaw nodded, confused. He had remembered Dragonwing being present during the dream, but he thought it was just that, a dream. Something he imagined. He didn't know the warrior was actually there!
Growing quiet for a second, the black and white tom spoke again. "Darkenedstreak is a respected warrior of the Dark Forest. She's a very high rank, which makes me wonder why you received her as your mentor." He stood, circling around Buzzardpaw.
"I'm a part of a prophecy. That's why I go there." He mewed, slowly turning his head to watch the tom walk around him.
Dragonwing clicked his tongue, his tail tapping Buzzardpaw's head. "Yes, you're one of the special ones. Still, I wonder why someone like you was picked over me."
Wanting to ask what he meant, Buzzardpaw instead asked another question. "Wait, so why do you go there then?"
The black and white tom froze, whipping his head to Buzzardpaw. "I go there to become strong, to become powerful. Something big is coming, Buzzardkit, something you could never imagine. I'll show Darkenedstreak she made a mistake picking you over me." With that, Dragonwing stalked back to camp, roughly bumping into Buzzardpaw's shoulder as he passed him. The brown apprentice was stunned into silence, looking down at his paws. Something big? Picked me over him? What is he on about? Shaking his head, the young apprentice padded back to camp, looking around the clearing.
His father was sharing tongues with Fawnleap under the High Ledge, and Thistlepounce was… sitting in the same exact place as before, his eyes still focused on Buzzardpaw. He felt a chill prickle down his spine. There is something seriously wrong with that cat. His mother and father stood, padding over to Buzzardpaw. Thistlepounce's eyes narrowed as he saw this, standing to his paws and retreating to the warriors den. The sun was beginning to set, filling the camp with a dull orange glow. Buzzardpaw looked to his father, who was standing over him with a smile on his face.
"Hello, son. How was tending to the elders?" He smirked slyly as he said this, his eyes flashing playfully.
Buzzardpaw wrinkled his nose at the memory, the thick slop still staining his paws slightly. "Gross. Mouse bile is disgusting!"
His father chuckled, sighing. "Ah, I remember those days. Don't you, Fawnleap?"
The she-cat did not respond, a faraway look on her face. Her eyes were unfocused, making Buzzardpaw furrow his eyebrows in concern. Goldenstar gave her a slight nudge, seemingly snapping her back to reality. She gave her son a weak smile, her whiskers twitching. "What? Ah yes, those were the days."
"Are you okay, mama?" Buzzardpaw asked, sniffing at her pelt. She didn't smell sick, but maybe it was something else. Fawnleap stared off into space again, prompting Goldenstar to speak for her, his gaze showing concern as well.
"She isn't feeling too well. She ate a bad piece of freshkill earlier, so I was spending time with her." Just as he said this, the dusk patrol returned, Cherrystrike, Foxgrowl, Doeskip and Russetprowl pushing through the bramble barrier. Buzzardpaw's mentor trotted up to him, a small smile on his face.
"How were the elders?" Buzzardpaw gave a scowl in response. The tom nodded, his tail swishing behind him. "I'm sorry kiddo, I was bogged down with patrols today. I promise that we'll train tomorrow." With that, the tom trotted away, grabbing pieces of prey from the fresh kill pile. Buzzardpaw turned back to his parents, who were speaking in hushed mews. When they noticed he was listening, they looked at him, their eyes glinting. Goldenstar opened his mouth to speak.
"You should get some sleep on. Me and your mother will be going out to get some fresh air." He stood, slowly followed by Fawnleap, who was still gazing at Buzzardpaw. The brown apprentice touched his nose to hers, turning to the apprentice's den. "Get well soon."
Buzzardpaw watched them leave from the den, his whiskers twitching. The two walked with about a tail length of space between them, their legs stiff as they exited. Shrugging, Buzzardpaw laid in his nest closing his eyes to sleep.
Except he couldn't sleep. Hushed voices were speaking outside of his den, keeping the apprentice awake. He could barely make out what they were saying, or who they belonged to.
"...time...ready...holding...back…" One of the voices said, their mew low and urgent.
"...not...ready...with...time…" The other voice hissed in retort. Slightly annoyed, Buzzardpaw stalked out of his den, wondering who could be awake at that time of night. There weren't any cats in the clearing, the moon bathing the camp with a pale blue glow. Still, Buzzardpaw could hear the voices, and quickly realized that they were coming from behind the apprentice's den. Puzzled, the brown tom padded through the forest quietly, finding himself at the clearing he had spoke with Dragonflywing in earlier.
In the middle of the clearing, two figures were speaking, their postures showing that the conversation wasn't a good one. Stalking behind a nearby bush, Buzzardpaw was able to get a better look at who they were. Goldenstar and Fawnleap! His parents were glaring at each other, their hackles raised as they hissed.
"I'm starting to think that you still haven't gotten over that." His father was mewing, his voice deep.
Fawnleap lifted one of her paws from the ground, seemingly hurt. "I forgave you a long time ago Goldenstar. But this has gone on long enough, and it's time for you to tell him. He deserves to know the truth!"
Goldenstar glared at Fawnleap, his eyes fierce and intense. "I will tell him when I feel that he's ready."
"But he is ready!" Buzzard's mother mewed, stepping towards the Thunderclan leader. Her chest heaved as she hissed at her mate. "What more do you want from him? How much longer will you keep this from him?"
"I said I would tell him when I'm ready!" Goldenstar yowled at her, stepping closer as well. The two cats were nose-to-nose now, their tails lashing angrily behind them. Buzzardpaw's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What were they so angry about?
Fawnleap glared into Goldenstar's eyes, rising to her tiptoes to fully face him. "How is he supposed to do his part if you wont even-"
Goldenstar cut her off, his eyebrows narrowing. "He will do his part just fine under my guidance. I think you're starting to forget your place, she-cat." The dark brown tom's hiss was laced with malice as he spat at Fawnleap. "You've done your part. Now let us do ours."
Her pupils narrowing to slits, Fawnleap yowled and lashed at Goldenstar's face, her claws slicing down the bridge of his muzzle. A thin trickle of blood welled from the wound, making Goldenstar growl in response. Buzzardpaw flinched at the sudden attack, his ears flattening to his head. Are they going to fight?
Goldenstar glared at Fawnleap, his pelt bristling angrily. The massive tom almost looked to be the size of a monster, his golden eyes staring down the tiny she-catt before him. Bunching his muscles, Buzzardpaw prepared to leap between them, but stopped when his father sighed and flattened his pelt. Wiping the blood from his muzzle with his paw, the tom regarded Fawnleap coolly, who was still hissing angrily at him.
"I hate when we fight, Fawnleap. Can we please talk about this later?"
"No, we talk about it right now! My s-" She was cut off by Goldenstar raising his tail, silencing her.
"It wasn't a request. It was an order." He mewed coldly, turning away from her and padding towards the camp entrance. Luckily, this wasn't near the bush Buzzardpaw was hiding behind, meaning that he had gone undetected. Once his parents were out of sight, Buzzardpaw gave a long, exasperated sigh. What in Starclan's name did I just witness?
Sneaking back to his nest, the apprentice stared through the den's entrance, his mind racing. His parents were angry with each other about something, but what? Fawnleap wanted him to tell somecat something… But what could be that important? Buzzardpaw thought back to how menacing his father had looked as he hissed at his mother, and how angry she had looked. He had never seen them so furious before, and it unnerved him greatly. They were just fine earlier! What could have made them fight like that?
Too tired to think anymore, the brown apprentice closed his eyes, immediately falling into a deep sleep.
Buzzardpaw woke up in the familiar dark forest, his eyes adjusting to the black woodland that surrounded him. No cats were around, but he could hear a commotion a ways away. Following the sound, Buzzardpaw found himself in the clearing from the previous night, Darkendstreak sitting on the massive rock along with Viperhiss. Their attention was focused on something in front of them, which Buzzardpaw couldn't see due to the large throng of cats blocking his vision. Suddenly, the black she-cat next to him turned to him, her eyes widening. "He's here!"
Darkenedstreak turned her attention to Buzzardpaw, her eyes lighting up as he saw him. "The second cat has arrived!" She meowed, leaping down to greet him. A few of the other cats turned to see, while the others continued to watch whatever was going on in front of the rock.
"He's late." Mewed a familiar voice. Buzzardpaw turned to it, coming face to face with Dragonflywing. The lanky tom scowled at the apprentice, his lips curled back slightly.
"Nevermind that, he's here now." Darkenedstreak meowed, leading Buzzardpaw closer to the rock with her tail. "Come come, you will meet the other cat from the prophecy now." The two leapt onto the large rock, earning a loud hiss from Dragonflywing.
Coming to the edge of the rock, Buzzardpaw's eyes widened at what he was seeing. Two cats were fighting savagely in front of the rock, the large group of cats circled around them. Fur and blood rose in the air as the two battled, their pelts sleek from rolling on the soggy ground. Sitting down next to Viperhiss, who had acknowledged him with a small nod, Buzzardpaw observed the two cats more closely.
One of the cats was a muscular gray and white tom with a skinny, shredded tail. He hissed viciously as the large dark tabby tom he was fighting pinned him, his chest heaving as he dug his claws into his opponents chest. Buzzardpaw saw a glimpse of white on his belly.
"That's enough!" Viperhiss yowled, standing to his paws. "This cat has proven that they are worthy of joining us, and they are one of true cats from the prophecy." At his words, the dark brown tom stepped off of the gray one, sneering as he did so. Chest heaving, the muscular tom shook his pelt, flinging drops of blood and clumps of the other tom's fur from his pelt. The victorious cat lifted his head, his golden eyes flashing as his gaze fell on Buzzardpaw. Eaglepaw!
Author's Note:
Hello again, Melting Popsicles here. This will be the last chapter I post for this week, meaning that I should have a new one up by next Friday. I'll try to make it long to make up for the wait.
Thanks for reading!
