CHAPTER ELEVENNNNN!
Another important event in the story happens in this chapter.
Actually, important stuff happens every chapter.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN WARRIORS. I don't own anything, sadly.
PART TWO OF THE FOX ATTACK!
Redpaw ran up a tree as a fox leaped for him. He scrambled up it's branches and yelped as it growled and snarled up the trunk.
While leaping from branches and dodging stabbing teeth and claws, he tried to push the thought of Darksky from his mind, only to fail, with his last words echoing in his ears: "We must accept our fate, whether it's our destiny or death…"
He hanged from a tree and scanned the chaos below him. His own thoughts finishing Darksky's sentence: "Even if it means we are a shadow of red who will destroy the Clan…"
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that his branch was snapping. Quickly, he leaped to another one, taking a deep breath as he inhaled the scent of blood, ThunderClan, foxes-
And rabbits and fish.
He turned swiftly and squinted into the distance to see WindClan cats coming across the stepping stones. Followed by RiverClan.
Again, he didn't notice the branch snapping as he yelped and fell into the thorn bush. A fox leaped and grabbed him in its' jaws, shaking his body and throwing him, slamming into the tree's trunk hard.
The fox leaped for him again but two cats crashed into it, knocking it to the ground.
Redpaw slowly looked up to see Owlpaw and Tigerstripe fighting the fox together. Quickly, Redpaw ran to find wounded cats to bring back to camp with Goldensun-
"Help!" a voice screamed.
Redpaw recognized the voice, but he didn't know from where. He ran past foxes and cats as WindClan and RiverClan surged into battle. He saw a cat hanging from a tree as a fox waited below them. The cat's scent and fur was masked by blood and dirt so Redpaw couldn't tell who they were or what Clan they were from.
Without thinking, Redpaw started to climb the tree. A fox pounced for him. Redpaw jumped to another branch before it caught him. He gripped the branch as foxes clawed at his dangling tail and legs.
He was about to climb higher onto the branch when a large fox managed to grab him and push him off the branch. He fell to the ground with a SLAM!
The fox pinned him, crushing Redpaw with its weight.
"H-help…" he choked weakly, flailing under its grip. But where he was, was far from the main battle. No cat heard him. He sucked in what remaining air he could get as the fox pinned him to the ground harder-
"HELP!" he cried.
Nobody heard him.
Somebody then did.
Crashing into the fox at lightning speed, Redpaw couldn't see who it was.
"Come on!" the cat yelled, helping him up. The same voice of the cat who'd been stuck in the tree.
They ran and crashed through ferns, into an abandoned fox den as the foxes searched for them. Redpaw whirled and turned to face the mysterious cat as his eyes adjusted to the pitch-darkness.
Their silver fur was streaked and matted with blood, he still didn't know who they were. Until he saw the glimmering large crystal-blue eyes-
Moonpaw.
Instead of having an insult or a yell like he usually did for the annoying medicine cat, he just wheezed for breath as the two gazed at each other. Redpaw sensed the awkwardness and took a deep breath, about to speak-
A loud bark.
Not abandoned after all.
They turned slowly to see two almost-adult fox cubs looming over them, staring curiously and angrily at the cats.
Both pounced.
Running out of the den together, they ran through the chaos of battle and torture.
"Redpaw!" a voice shouted.
He turned to see Goldensun dragging Owlpaw to camp, her leg twisted. Redpaw and Moonpaw ran to help her and they charged through the thorn barrier and helped her to the medicine den.
As Goldensun inspected the wound, Redpaw and Moonpaw were grabbing herbs from the storage.
Redpaw finally turned to face Moonpaw.
"What made you do it? Why'd you save me? Even though our Clans are enemies?" he whispered.
Moonpaw was silent as they wrapped Owlpaw's leg in cobwebs.
"Tell me." Redpaw snapped
She took a deep breath-
"Tell what?" Owlpaw asked suspiciously.
Moonpaw stopped what she was going to say. None of them could talk about anything private with another cat in their presence.
When Redpaw and Moonpaw went out to look for more patients. But they saw the foxes were retreating with many cats on the battlefield. Soon, they had Tigerstripe and Windflower in the medicine den as well along with many other patients.
Two weeks had passed since the fox invasion. Sunstar had lost a life.
The next Gathering had come. First RiverClan arrived, then ThunderClan.
The cats chatted together as WindClan arrived on the log. Redpaw was searching for Moonpaw, he hadn't even seen her at the medicine cat gathering and was desperate to talk to her. If the fox attack hadn't happened, then Redpaw would've avoided her at all costs.
Finally, he spotted the flash of silver fur in the crowd of RiverClan. He ran to Moonpaw as she mewed quietly to her mentor: Silentsky.
"Moonpaw?" he asked, trying to raise his voice over the noise, but she didn't hear him.
Finally, when Silentsky went over to Goldensun, Redpaw snapped: "Moonpaw?" and she turned to face him.
"What?!"
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.
Owlpaw glared at them from afar.
Redpaw led Moonpaw out of earshot from Owlpaw and other cats, they stopped behind the Great Tree.
Moonpaw seemed to know what Redpaw was going to ask her, but she meowed anyways: "What do you need?"
Redpaw took a deep breath. "You never answered my question, Moonpaw. You saved me from the fox for a reason although ThunderClan is enemies with every Clan, yours mainly."
Moonpaw tensed, as if this were something she didn't want to talk about. "Look, I had to, Redpaw."
"Why did you have to? Did somebody force you to do it? Or something else?"
"Everyone needs to look after each other, every life is precious. Even enemies. I could never let go of the guilt if I let another cat die when I could've helped." Moonpaw finally told him. "Especially if I let you die, Redpaw."
"Why me?" Redpaw asked.
But the leaders had started the Gathering, so Moonpaw and Redpaw returned to their Clans, thinking nobody had seen them.
They were wrong.
Oakpelt smiled, green eyes glistening dangerously, as he stalked back into the shadows...
After the Gathering, Redpaw returned to ThunderClan camp and padded off to the medicine cat den, only to be confronted by Oakpelt.
"What?" Redpaw muttered.
"At the Gathering you seemed quite… strange. Usually an apprentice doesn't drag another apprentice behind a tree and whispers to them about a fox attack…" Oakpelt murmured.
Redpaw stiffened. "You heard that?!" He would've hated it if any warrior found out about him and Moonpaw, especially Oakpelt. He didn't know why he wanted nobody to hear, of course talking to another cat from a different Clan was OK, right?
Redpaw felt uneasy. He turned to face him. "How do you know about her saving me from the fox?" he asked.
"Oh, please, Redpaw. How do you think foxes invaded ThunderClan in the first place?" Oakpelt cooed, glaring down at him. "I sent the fox attack, just like I did to kill your father."
Redpaw stumbled back. "W-why-" he choked.
"To kill the one cat who knows all my secrets. To kill the one cat who knows my plans. To kill the one cat who will destroy this Clan…" Oakpelt leaned in. "Can you guess who?" with Redpaw's silence, Oakpelt just smiled and replied to his unspoken question:
"Shadowedpaw."
And with that, Oakpelt walked away, back into warriors' den, leaving Redpaw shivering terribly, lost in the darkness…
A few minutes later, Redpaw burst into the apprentice den, waking up Ashpaw- now healed, and Owlpaw and Shadowedpaw.
"Shadowedpaw… I need to talk to you." Redpaw told Shadowedpaw. Because of his worried tone, Shadowedpaw got out of the nest immediately and followed him out of the den.
They walked into the medicine den. When they entered, Shadowedpaw asked: "What?"
"Oakpelt's the one who sent the fox attack- he did it to try and kill you, Shadowedpaw." Redpaw warned. "Because you were the first one who knew he was evil. Because you are the one cat who knows about his plans, secrets, and that you'll destroy the Clan. The first two made sense, but what about you destroying the Clan?"
Instead of looking scared or surprised or worried learning he had a new assassin, Shadowedpaw looked annoyed and angry.
"Let him kill me." he spat. "Unless my brother, the Shadow of Red, destroys me and the Clan first." he whirled and stalked out of the den, leaving Redpaw alone once more.
Okay. Short chapter. Redpaw went from hating Moonpaw to dragging her behind a tree and treating her like a normal clanmate, all during a Gathering as they completely ignored their leaders.
Now people are going to ship them.
Oakpelt found out, too.
And Shadowedpaw 100% thinks Redpaw's evil 'cause of the prophecy.
Y'ALL BETTER SHIP MOONPAW AND REDPAW, AND IF YOU DON'T- well, Chapter Twelve gonna make y'all ship 'em.
OWLPAW AND REDPAW ARE FAMILY. Not mates. I repeat. Not.
Chapter Twelve Moonpaw confesses a terrible secret to Redpaw. And then there's StarClan doing more prophecy stuff.
Good day / night / evening / afternoon / morning / 2.P.M.
-MoonStar of ShadowClan