Chapter 21

Buzzardpaw awoke in the Dark Forest, the soggy moss squelching between his toes. Blinking to adjust to the dim light, he looked around, realizing he was alone. A small spider scuttled around him, which he batted at absentmindedly. A few heartbeats later, something shuffled behind him, and Buzzardpaw turned to come face to face with Eaglepaw.

The ShadowClan apprentice looked low-spirited, his golden eyes dark and his tail drooping behind him. He trudged slowly, as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Buzzardpaw blinked at him in concern, wondering where his usual prideful demeanor had gone.

"Eaglepaw, are you alright?" He mewed, stepping closer. Eaglepaw remained silent, refusing to look his brother in the eye. Buzzardpaw's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, wondering what was bothering him. "Did… Did something happen?"

Eaglepaw nodded slightly, the movement so small, Buzzardpaw could have imagined it. After what seemed like a lifetime, Eaglepaw finally opened his mouth, his voice quiet. "Mousestar was exiled."

Buzzardpaw blinked in shock. "What?"

Eaglepaw lifted his head slightly to meet his brother's eyes. "They offered her a place in the clan as an elder," He paused, his eyebrows furrowing. "But she was too prideful for that, and she left. She left her clan, she left her friends, she left… me. She left me alone."

Silent for a moment, Buzzardpaw shook his head. "No Eaglepaw, you're not alone. You have me."

Eaglepaw blinked at Buzzardpaw, his mouth agape. He suddenly rushed to his brother's side, pressing his head into the nape of his neck. "Promise me, Buzzardpaw," Eaglepaw started, his voice cracking, "promise me that you won't ever leave me. Promise me that you won't ever betray me, and you'll always be there. You're all I have left and I-I..."

Buzzardpaw shushed him, giving him a swift lick over the ear. "I promise, Eaglepaw. I'm your brother, I will never do anything to hurt you."

The two toms held the embrace for a few heartbeats, finally pulling away at the sound of a voice. Turning around, Buzzardpaw noticed Darkendstreak materializing before them, a small smirk on her face.

"Awe, what a nice, heart-felt moment between the two brothers. How cute." She sneered, her tail lashing behind her. "Now that you're done being disgustingly soft, we'll get to why you're really here. Training." With that, she padded deeper into the forest, the two apprentices following closely behind.

The trio eventually stopped in a clearing Buzzardpaw had never seen before, the glowing mushrooms more plentiful and lining around the dark space. The ground was much softer here, making Buzzardpaw's feet squelch in the mud below. He looked at Darkendstresk with a puzzled look. "What are we doing here?"

Darkendstreak gazed back at him, a strange glint in her eye. "We're going to play a game."

"A game?"

She nodded, her tail twitching. "Mhm. A little cat and mouse game. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Buzzardpaw tilted his head, glancing at Eaglepaw. The ShadowClan apprentice still looked dejected, but the prospect of a game seemed to perk him up a bit. Buzzardpaw turned back to their mentor, his tail tip twitching. "How do you play?"

Darkendstreak padded towards the middle of the clearing towards a large puddle of mud. The mud was clumped and scattered everywhere, as if a cat had played in it previously. She sat down next to the brown goop, her whiskers twitching. "Earlier, I had a cat roll around in this mud puddle you see here, then run off to do something else. What I want you to do is find clues from the puddle to see who this cat is, then track him down and 'catch' him. He's probably left a few clues around." She tilted her head suggestively towards the puddle, making Buzzardpaw recoil inwardly. Wait, she can't really be implying...

Buzzardpaw stepped towards the puddle, his nose wrinkling. Eaglepaw stood next to him, his voice low. "You want us to dig?" Buzzardpaw nodded as Eaglepaw voiced his thoughts. "We're cats you know, not dogs."

Darkendstreak's eyes narrowed, but her voice remained calm. "It's good exercise. It'll build muscle." The two tom's still looked unconvinced, and Darkendstreak scoffed, her tail lashing. "Hmph! And to think I spent all this time planning a fun game for you two, you don't even appreciate it! What, you doubt my methods now?"

"I just don't see how this will make us stronger for our clans."

"It builds muscle!" Darkendstreak's pelt was bristling now, and it was obvious she was fighting to stay calm. Buzzardpaw heard the she-cat's voice tremble with suppressed frustration. "Tracking is a valuable skill any cat could have, especially during the cold moons of Leafbare. This exercise will make it easier for you both to stalk unsuspecting prey, even if that prey's scent is masked by something that would normally distract you."

Not wanting to hear her grumble anymore, Buzzardpaw blinked at her. "So… what do we do when we 'catch' this cat?"

Darkenedstreak's eyes flashed, a small smirk creeping on her face. "That's for you to decide. And don't worry, I've made sure this prey will be worth your while." She moved away from the pile, standing behind the two apprentices. "Well? Your prey is waiting. Get to digging!"

Still reluctant, the apprentices stood at the edge of the muddy pool, the dirty gunk seeping between their toes. Not knowing where to start, Buzzardpaw shuffled some of the mud away, annoyed by how the dirt clung to his pelt. He glanced up at Eaglepaw, who was a tail length away from him pulling at the mud unenthusiastically. Buzzardpaw heard Darkenedstreak hiss behind him, making the two apprentices dig faster.

Buzzardpaw rolled his eyes, his paws thrumming at the thick dirt, spraying brown chunks everywhere. The mud was much tougher than he thought it would be, and he felt his muscles strain to pull the dirt up. Darkenedstreak was right about it being a good workout… but what are we even looking for? An ear? A paw print? An entire body? This is mouse brained! As he was thinking this, he noticed Eaglepaw pause, inspecting something closely. Buzzardpaw moved closer to see him holding a small goopy string in his claws. Eaglepaw noticed him looking at him, moving his paw so his brother could see.

"It's a hair, though I can't tell whose it is." He mewed, sniffing it. The hair was caked with mud, so much that Buzzardpaw couldn't even decipher its true color. He gave the muddy hair a gentle sniff, an extremely faint but familiar musk hitting his nostrils. Wait a minute…

Buzzardpaw looked around, his eyes flashing. "Where did you find that, Eaglepaw?"

Eaglepaw gestured to a shallower part of the mud pool. "Over there. I was going to keep looking over there in case I found more."

Buzzardpaw nodded, following him to the area. "I'll help." The two toms began to dig, scooping up the sticky mud lightly to check for more clues. Not too long after, Buzzardpaw scooped up a small clump, a few strings sticking out of it. Scraping away the dirt that he could with his paws, he revealed a small clump of fur, obviously from the cat they were supposed to be finding. Giving it a long sniff, he nodded, figuring out who it was. I can tell who it is now. He handed the clump to Eaglepaw, seemingly to be able to tell who the cat was as well. Buzzardpaw glanced at Darkendstreak who nodded at them, a small smirk on her face. But why him? Did Darkendstreak do this on purpose?

Darkendstreak rose to her paws, her tail tip twitching. "By the looks on your faces, I can tell that you've figured out who our mouse is. Now, all you have to do is catch him." Before the two toms could ask how, she began to fade away. "I'll be watching your progress from the shadows."

The two apprentices now stood alone in the clearing, knowing who they needed to find, but not knowing where to start. They sniffed around the clearing, trying to catch the warrior's scent. After a long while of searching, Buzzardpaw gave a small growl of annoyance, his whiskers twitching. "This is stupid! The scent is too faint to track."

Nodding in agreement, Eaglepaw sat on his haunches to scratch his ear. He seemed calmer now, his sorrowful demeanor from before completely gone now. "Yeah, Darkendstreak's an old spirit, she's definitely not as sharp as she thinks she is." Pausing his scratching, Eaglepaw opened his eyes, tilting his head in a random direction. He then stood to his paws, shaking his pelt. "Buzzardpaw, look!"

Buzzardpaw moved closer to see what he was looking at, not seeing anything. "At what?"

Eaglepaw padded towards the edge of the clearing, sniffing the ground. Buzzardpaw giggled at how the apprentice's tail stuck out behind him, his eyes alert and one of his paws lifted from the ground. He looks like a dog! "Over here, look!" Eaglepaw mewed, beckoning him over.

Buzzardpaw crouched next to him, still not able to see what his brother could in the dim lighting. "What?"

"There!" Eaglepaw pointed towards the mossy ground, slightly stained brown. "Pawprints! Which means-"

"Tracks!" Buzzardpaw mewed, his eyes flashing. Getting a small nod from Eaglepaw, Buzzardpaw followed behind the tom as he raced along the path of the tracks, his tail tip twitching eagerly. Buzzardpaw noticed how easily his brother navigated through the thick, dark forest, never missing a step or tripping over anything. It must be the ShadowClan in him. He moves through the dark with such ease, Buzzardpaw felt his pelt flush with embarrassment as he tripped over a hidden root, making his brother turn back to check on him. And I move through the dark like a clumsy badger!

Continuing on, the two toms came to a cross in the forest, the tracks immediately stopping. Buzzardpaw sniffed in confusion, and Eaglepaw looked around, his ears alert. "The tracks stop here." He mewed, his eyes flashing.

"Yeah, but he couldn't have just disappeared! Unless…"

"He climbed a tree! Come on, Buzzardpaw!" Eaglepaw rushed to a nearby tree, its crooked roots jutting out of the dark ground. Sniffing around, Buzzardpaw caught the scent of the cat, stronger than the hairs they found before, and also the smell of blood. He was definitely here… but he's bleeding? Eaglepaw noticed the blood as well, pointing out a few red splatters along the edge of the roots. Buzzardpaw grunted, launching himself at the trunk of the tree. Serves him right, and we've still got to catch him!

Pausing at the top of the tree, the two apprentices panted, catching their breath. Buzzardpaw snuffed around, the cat's scent weaker than it was on the ground. "The scent stops here, but it was stronger on the ground. Maybe he climbed up the tree, then climbed back down?"

Eaglepaw was quiet, his nose lifted towards the air. He lightly leapt down to a branch below them, the thick branch barely dipping. He looked back to Buzzardpaw, his ears twitching. "No, that can't be it. If he climbed back down, the scent around the roots would lead somewhere else, but they stopped there. So that means he climbed this tree, but leapt onto the branches of another one."

Buzzardpaw leapt down next to him, the branch sagging more under his weight. The smell of the cat was stronger here, and the scent seemed to drift towards a connecting branch that belonged to another tree. The two leapt onto the branch, following the growing scent. Eaglepaw was right, he did leapt from tree to tree! But why would he? Was he being chased by somecat? The two scrambled down from the tree they were currently on, emerging into a completely different clearing. The cat's smell was extremely strong here, indicating that he was close by. Buzzardpaw dropped to a crouch, Eaglepaw following suit.

"... all good over there." A voice was saying. That's him! Sure enough, two toms sat in the clearing, their backs facing the apprentices. "Also, I spoke to Pitch about the kits. He says they'll definitely be retrieved soon, their father will be picking them up." Wait, Pitch? Like, the rogue I met? Buzzardpaw felt his heart stop. Why is he talking to the rogues? Buzzardpaw noticed Eaglepaw shuffling next to him, tensing his shoulders to pounce. Oh right, the game. We'll catch him now, then I can ask!

"I'll get the red one, you get the prey." Eaglepaw whispered in his ear. Buzzardpaw nodded, bunching his own shoulders. With a mighty leap, he landed square on the tom's shoulders, making him yowl in panic and crash to the ground. The 'prey' rolled onto his back, his discolored eyes narrowing as he glared at Buzzardpaw.

"What's this about?" The tom hissed, struggling to get Buzzardpaw off of him.

"I've caught you. You're my prey."

"Prey? Ha! What is this, revenge for telling every cat your dad's wittle secwet?" Dragonflywing mewed in a baby voice. Using Buzzardpaw's shock, Dragonflywing threw him off, squaring his shoulders to size him up. "I'm not sorry, if you wanted me to apologize."

Feeling his body grow hot with anger, Buzzardpaw felt his pelt bristle. "You said you wouldn't tell anycat!"

Dragonflywing snickered, circling him. "I said I wouldn't tell a single cat, and I didnt. I told all of them."

Buzzardpaw growled, his tail lashing. I just want to wipe that smug look off of his face! He saw Eaglepaw and Foxgrowl nearby in a rough tussle, hissing and growling at each other. With a loud yowl, Buzzardpaw flung himself at Dragonflywing, slashing his claws at the warrior's face.

Hissing, the tom barely avoided the attack, jerking his head back and snapping at the apprentice's ear. Buzzardpaw hissed as Dragonflywing clamped down, kicking the tom in the belly and throwing him off. Before the winded warrior could stand up, Buzzardpaw dashed over to him, clawing ferociously at his soft belly. Blood sprayed his face and his claws became clumped with black and white fur but Buzzardpaw continued the assault, an angry red haze filling his vision. Dragonflywing weakly tried to throw him off but Buzzardpaw dug his claws in deeper, his eyes flashing in fury. Gnashing his teeth, Buzzardpaw lunged for the warrior's throat, stopping a whisker length away as a voice shouted at him.

"Buzzardpaw, stop!" Eaglepaw mewed, his eyes wide. Foxgrowl had fled a while ago, and the ShadowClan apprentice had been watching his brother fight up until that point. "He's your clanmate!"

Buzzardpaw's eyes widened in shock, realizing what he had almost done. Stepping off of the warrior, Dragonflywing hissed in his face then scampered off deeper into the woods. Looking down at his bloody paws, Buzzardpaw recoiled, realizing what he was about to do. Would I have really killed him? My own clanmate? He was broken from his dark thoughts by Eaglepaw placing his tail over his shoulders, comforting him. The ShadowClan apprentice was covered in blood, though it was obvious that it wasn't his. Buzzardpaw leaned into his brother's touch, his body shaking.

Shortly after, Darkendstreak materialized in front of the two toms, her eyes flashing darkly. As her body fully fazed into sight, her soft voice rang throughout the forest. "Oh, don't look so shaken you two! It was only a little scuffle. Though, I must admit that I'm impressed. I only expected Dragonflywing to be here, yet Eaglepaw handled the other warrior with impeccable form. It's obvious that you've been trained by the greatest." The she-cat circled around the two apprentices, letting her tail drag over their bodies. "What a fun game that was, hm? Are you looking so down because you think it's over?" Buzzardpaw and Eaglepaw remained silent, their heads hung low. Darkenedstreak purred, a small smile on her face. "Well, don't worry my dear apprentices. The fun has only just begun."

Author's Note:

Sorry for only posting one chapter last week! I'll have chapters 22 and 23 posted by Friday.

Thanks for reading!

~MeltedPopsicles