Chapter 9

Forgetting I'm Still Young

When Flametail and I returned to the camp, I could sense just how exhausted he was. I normally would have blamed it on his workaholic attitude, but my tune had changed upon finding out his fate and mine were intertwined much more tightly than I had originally thought.

"You should see Littlecloud before Blackstar," I suggested as I looked around the camp for Applefur. I spotted the she-cat sharing tongues with Scorchfur at the entrance of the warrior's den.

The medicine cat glanced at me and seemed about to object before he nodded. "I can get sleep once I've reported to Littlecloud and Blackstar, then I'll rest."

I sighed in frustration at his insistence, but I didn't argue against it. I was exhausted after the trek to and from the Moonpool without any rest, and my eyes begged me for sleep. I was tired in a way that indicated I was awake for too long as opposed to an actual ache in my paws. For the most part, I felt perfectly fine physically.

I flicked my tail over Flametail's shoulder and bounded my way to the apprentice den. It was silent, the only one in there being myself. I sighed and slumped my way toward my next at the edge of the den. I collapsed into the warmth of it and thanked StarClan that Ferretpaw didn't put a dead frog or a slug in between the feathers like he did the previous time I slept. I rested my head atop my paws and closed my eyes, longing for rest.

There was a hard nudge to my ribs when I awoke. I peeped open an eye to see Starlingpaw looking down at me with widened, pale amber eyes. "Hey, Rowanclaw wants you for a moonlight patrol."

Blinking away the sleepiness from my eyes, I yawned and stretched my sore limbs. I nodded slowly in response to Starlingpaw. I shook the frost from my fur as I slipped past Starlingpaw and into the camp. A gentle orange light bathed all of ShadowClan as cats were intermingling and preparing either to go to sleep or waking up for the moonlight patrol. As I peered around, I noticed that Applefur and Redwillow were waiting for me near the camp exit.

I bounded over to them through the light dusting of snow. "Sorry," I quickly apologized with a dipped head.

Redwillow sniffed quietly but Applefur simply nodded in understanding. "You had a long journey to the Moonpool and back, you had every right to rest for as long as you did. Besides, you're just on time."

I was almost tempted to try and find Flametail to make sure he was alright, but I brushed aside the thought. My apprentice duties were more important. "Lead the way," I spoke to Applefur.

My mentor nodded and began to lead our patrol through the camp entrance and into the frozen air of ShadowClan's pine forest. I stuck close to Applefur's side, vying for some sort of warmth from her fur. My memory recalled that I hadn't been on a moonlight patrol yet, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The air was still, barely a breeze passing by. "We'll be marking the new border that ThunderClan has set." Redwillow explained as we padded through the forest.

My blood boiled upon the memory. A shame grew in my stomach, remembering the bitter loss. Perhaps if I stepped in just a minute sooner instead of allowing myself to be planted to the ground like a coward, there may have been a chance to save Russetfur. I vowed quietly to myself to never let fear paralyze me as it had that day again.

The stale scent of blood remained on my tongue as we approached the clearing. I stared across it, seeing that small drifts of snow had piled over the scars of the skirmish. I watched Applefur and Redwillow pace at the edge as the tortoiseshell tom lifted his nose in disgust. "ThunderClan is nothing but a pack of fox-hearts," he spat.

Applefur dipped her head in agreement. "But we'll get it back one day." She promised. I glanced between the two of them, and blinked in shock when I realized that there was a knowing glitter in their locked gazes. I couldn't help but wonder if they were in any sort of courtship? I shook my head, thinking I was likely wrong. No, I've barely seen the two of them interact, so what was that knowing glance for?

Before I could chime in any sort of statement, a scent was carried over the air and I froze up. I felt my paws tingle when I took a moment to register exactly what it was. I didn't recognize it immediately, but it was warm and thick with a bitter tang to it. Not at all like the scents of the other Clans.

Applefur must have noticed my twisted expression when her eyes creased in concern. "What is it?"

"I-I don't know, sniff the air." I admitted as I shut my eyes to concentrate.

"It's foxes," Redwillow confirmed with a note of anxiety. "We should get back to the camp as soon as possible and report to Rowanclaw."

I shook my head in defiance. I wasn't about to let us run from this. "If we go back, then they'll follow our trail straight back to camp." I argued.

Applefur narrowed her eyes in my direction, "I'm not sure you fully understand the threat of foxes," she began slowly in a hushed voice, "but this is a serious threat. We need to return straight to camp."

The scent swamped me once again. My fur stood up on end out of pure instinct when I realized that the scent wasn't far, and was only a treelength away. It was terribly fresh, and something dropped in my gut. I glanced over my shoulder to see a pair of glittering yellow eyes peeking through the darkness.

Then another.

And then another.

A family of three foxes were lurking in the shadows, and they spotted us.

A shard of terror wedged itself in my chest. Redwillow and Applefur were frozen in place, their eyes widened with fear. I could barely breathe, watching as the foxes stalked closer in our direction. They moved silently like water flowing over walks, if I didn't smell them, I wouldn't have known they were there. My mind was racing, my heart was thudding out of its chest when I watched them draw closer and reveal that they were nearly three times my own size.

I swallowed hard and concentrated.

Tend to the flames. Protect your Clan at all costs.

I made up my mind. I took a deep breath and lunged forward to swipe my claws at the closest fox's muzzle. I felt the skin break underneath my claws followed by the gushing of hot blood. The fox released a whimpered yelp and growled. I could feel the hot breath of the creature on my face. It took every ounce of determination to not turn tail and flee. I need to fight and suppress my instincts.

With the blood still fresh on my claws, I turned away from Redwillow and Applefur and sprinted into the forest with a challenging cry to them. Just as expected, they had begun to follow after me in hopes of retaliation. I needed to draw them away from the camp, at least to give Redwillow and Applefur a chance to return to camp and report what they needed to Rowanclaw.

The thundering of paws was close behind, and their stinking hot breaths right on my tail. My own paws had grown numb with frost, and my breath billowed as clouds into the cold winter air. My mind was racing at one hundred miles an hour, and I kept wondering if this was how I would die once again. Would I be reborn again? Or would this simply be all I had left of my life?

A strangled cry of pain escaped my jaws when a tightened snap of a jaw clamped down on my tail to yank me backwards through the snowdrift. I was drawn back, face to face with a fox pinned on top of me. I swallowed hard and kicked my hind legs in an attempt to claw at the throat and while I made contact, I felt like I'd barely done a scrap of damage.

Another jaw tightened on my shoulder as I was dragged once again across the dirt. Snow dug into my fresh wounds, ice shards scraping through the veins. I hissed painfully and twisted around to flash my outstretched claws once again at a muzzle. Though I felt no trace of exhaustion, I was taking more damage than I could bear.

I cried out once again as I felt a heavy black paw press into my skull to dig me down into the snow. I spluttered out, gasping for breath when the weight collapsed on top of me. Despite my flailing, I couldn't get up. I simply wasn't strong enough. I was suffocating, I was bleeding heavily, and I was outnumbered.

I nearly gave up, despite the flickering flames raging in my chest. "Do it," I hissed, "I dare you."

The weight was immediately knocked off of me. I exhaled heavily and sucked in cold breaths. White dots clouded my vision, but I was conscious. I choked a few times before I lifted my gaze to see a figure twice as large as the foxes, and a glint of silver fur spiked like thistles. A long muzzle and sharpened eyes narrowed like chips of glittering eyes. It stood not far from me, avoiding looking down at me. It dawned on me that I was looking directly at a wolf.

The foxes' eyes widened with terror seeing the beast protecting me. Within heartbeats and realizing they couldn't take down a wolf, they had scattered in between the trees. There was a moment of utter silence, muffled by the snow. The blood was roaring in my ears and I could have sworn my heart had found a new home in my throat. The beast had slowly looked at me, a silent expression.

I couldn't find the strength to stand up, purely out of concern for my new wounds. I coughed and blinked a few times. I wasn't sure what to say, I was simply too dumbfounded to find the words I wanted to express. Was I about to become its meal?

The wolf dipped its head and padded slowly away wordlessly, not a sound uttered from its jaw. I felt cold as it left, and I wasn't sure if I had hallucinated such a thing or if I truly did see a wolf.

Before any other thoughts could go through my head, I felt warm darkness settle on me. I was growing cold, and I just wanted to sleep.

"Fallenpaw! We got back up, where are you?"

"I caught her scent, I think she went this way!"

"Is that her blood?"

"I see her, past that snowbank!"