"Honestly, I don't know how they let you pass your apprenticeship with fishing skills like that."
Yarrowbreeze bit her tongue. Hunting patrol with Salmonshine had become her least favorite duty as a warrior. She acts as if she's any better just because she has a stupid fish in her name... Salmonshine was a few moons older than Yarrowbreeze, but she was a know it all. Salmonshine was always the first to point out any cat's mistakes, and the first to defend herself when someone pointed out her own shortcomings.
"It's not my fault I didn't catch that squirrel! You know I have short whiskers, my depth perception is all off!" She whined. This was her usual excuse. Or that she was dehydrated. Or she had a thorn in her paw. Honestly, the list could go on.
Yarrowbreeze did her best to avoid the black she-cat, but duties could not be avoided. Yarrowbreeze waited patiently at the edge of the brook, looking for any unsuspecting fish. "Maybe if you were quieter, I would've caught that last one." She grunted.
Salmonshine said nothing, but Yarrowbreeze could hear her tail flicking dramatically in the tall grass.
A small group of trout neared their position on the water. Yarrowbreeze held as still as possible, careful not to let her shadow spill over the bank. "Got ya!" She hissed. The yellow she-cat darted a paw with outstretched claws into the water, hooking a fish and flicking it onto the shore.
The fish twisted and turned on the shoreline, spattering the two she-cats with muddy water. Yarrowbreeze pounced on the flopping fish and quickly dispatched it.
"Nice catch!" Fernstar remarked, walking out of the tree line with her own catch for the patrol.
Yarrowbreeze nodded with respect towards the calico leader, her mouth too full of trout to respond. "Thank you Fernstar! We can't wait to bring our catch back for the cynn." Purred Salmonshine.
"Some cat will be very happy tonight, that's certain," remarked Fernstar, who turned and faded back into the forest.
As the sun came to the highest point in the sky, the hunting party padded back to camp. A mix of fish, small mammals and birds made the fresh-kill pile look irresistible.
Mossjaw, a black and white queen with a white patch running from her lower jaw and down her throat, was the first cat to the fresh-kill pile. Her kit-heavy belly pressed against the ground gently as she leaned in and plucked the trout Yarrowbreeze caught from the pile.
"I missed trout so much! Thanks for the catch, Yarrowbreeze!" the queen purred.
Yarrowbreeze nodded, her pelt warmer than it should be in the afternoon sun. After the queens and Tellers had their choice, she picked through the fresh-kill pile, selecting a mouse for herself.
"Not hungry today?" Beetlespots remarked as she pawed at a thrush.
Yarrowbreeze nearly choked on her mouse. "Not really." she said as coolly as possible.
"Well, you look like you could use some company."
Beetlespots padded over to where Yarrowbreeze sat under a fallen log that crossed through the camp. The two ate quietly, but Yarrowbreeze felt electric tingles every time her pelt brushed against Beetlespots.
"Your pelt is a little muddy, what happened?" Beetlespots commented, observing the brown flecks that spattered Yarrowbreeze's pelt.
"Oh, I got into a bit of a wrestling match with a fish." Yarrowbreeze joked, doing her best to clean off the dirt she could reach.
"You missed a spot" Beetlespots teased. The patchy tabby she-cat moved closer to Yarrowbreeze and licked the base of her neck gently, removing a tough patch of mud.
Yarrowbreeze froze. She had no clue how to react or what to say, other than a stuttered "thank you".
"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I should've asked if you wanted help. I'm such a fuzz-brain!" the Gazer fretted.
"N-no, it's okay. I appreciate it. I think Bearstrike said he needed me to help him fix some holes in the nursery." Yarrowbreeze padded away quickly and self consciously, unsure if the pretty she-cat was watching her.
She sighed with relief when she found her brother sorting leaves near the nursery.
"What's the heavy sigh for?" Bearstrike asked absentmindedly.
"It's just been a long day." Yarrowbreeze replied. She had no desire to talk to her brother about what just happened.
"Well, feel free to make it even longer by helping me take out any poky bits from these leaves and branches. That wind storm knocked a few holes in the nursery walls and I want to make sure it's strong again before Mossjaw's kitting."
Yarrowbreeze admired how caring her brother was, especially when it came to queens and kits. She often found him playing in the clearing with the newest members of the cynn, gently play fighting or letting them dramatically tackle him to the ground. She just couldn't picture herself doing the same.
Yarrowbreeze felt big and awkward around kits, and worried she'd hurt them. I wonder if that's how Palebriar felt... Yarrowbreeze shook the thought of her head like an obnoxious mosquito. She had worked hard to push away any thoughts of her mother and their shattered family ties. She even managed to mostly avoid her on patrols thanks to Larkbelly.
The sharp pain she felt in her chest when she saw her slowly became a dull ache, and eventually became annoyance. If Yarrowbreeze felt anything towards her mother anymore, it was anger.
Regardless, Yarrowbreeze sat across from her brother and began pawing through the bundles of leaves, picking out and breaking off thorns and out of place twigs. The two worked diligently to patch the empty spaces, and soon enough the nursery was looking much better.
Bearstrike sat back on his haunches. "That should be enough for today." the tom panted, "we can finish the rest after dawn patrol tomorrow."
Yarrowbreeze groaned. "You volunteered us, didn't you?" she guessed, cuffing her brother over the ear playfully.
He ducked lazily, barely escaping her swipe. "What? You don't want to patrol with your brother? It'll be just like when we were apprentices." He purred.
Yarrowbreeze pushed her brother over and collapsed next to him on the cool ground. The sun was setting, and the trees surrounding the camp cast long eerie shadows across the clearing.
"We should be heading to our nests if we're really going to be going out on dawn patrol." Yarrowbreeze yawned.
The pair of siblings padded to their usual nests in the lower warriors den, and faded into sleep.
Yarrowbreeze woke with a start, and saw the faint outline of her brother against the dimly light sky.
"It's time to leave for patrol." he whispered, trying to avoid waking the others.
Yarrowbreeze nodded and followed her brother out of the den quietly and over to the camp entrance. They were joined by Bramblestep and Mousenose a few moments later, and the four cats padded out of camp.
Despite the early wake up, Yarrowbreeze enjoyed dawn patrol. The forest was quiet, and the sound of distant monsters was almost nonexistent. It felt good to be out on a patrol with her brother, it had been so long since they worked together.
"It looks like Marsh cats have been hunting really close to our border." Bramblestep remarked, nodding to a clump of feathers a few tail lengths from the border.
Bearstrike stepped closer and opened his mouth, taking in the scents of the forest. "Well, it doesn't smell like they ever crossed over. Still, it may be worth mentioning to Fernstar."
The other three cats nodded, and after leaving a stronger scent marker, continued on. As the patrol went on, they made note of any concerns they were faced with, whether it be a close scent, or a new prey nest. It was important for the cynn to keep an eye out on changes in their forest, as this helped the cynn stay prepared for almost anything. By the time the patrol was finished, the sky had turned from a dim purple to brilliant shades of pink and orange,
Upon their return, Bearstrike and Bramblestep climbed up to Fernstar's den to tell her the news of Echoing Marsh.
"I'm glad that was mostly uneventful. It's been nice having some peace among the cynns." remarked Mousenose, swiping a paw over his ear.
Yarrowbreeze murmured in agreement. It had been fairly peaceful among the cynns, with fewer border and prey skirmishes.
Typically after being on dawn patrol she would curl back up in her nest and sleep until sunhigh, but today she felt full of energy.
Yarrowbreeze jumped onto a low hanging branch of the log that ran along the camp. Digging her claws into the soft bark, she made her way to the highest point. From there she could overlook the whole camp. To her left, the Great Boulder, Fernstar's Den, the Upper Warriors' Den and the Apprentice's Den. To her right, the entrance to the mending den, the nursery, and the Lower Warriors' Den. Just below her was the start of a small hollow that formed the Tellers' den.
Bursting with pride in her cynn, Yarrowbreeze leapt from the log and into the dusty clearing below. She raced out of camp, letting the wind in her fur send chills from the tips of her whiskers all the way to her tail. The soft forest floor was bouncy beneath her paws, and as she neared the cliff edge, she jumped paws first into the brook below.
Yarrowbreeze found herself underwater for a moment, looking up at the sunlight dappled and distorted sky. For a moment there was nothing but the sound of rushing water and her own heartbeat.
When she reached the surface, her first gasp for air became a laugh, and she swam joyfully through the riverbed.
"You always were the most immature of my kits," came a seething voice from above.
Yarrowbreeze turned her head up to see the silhouette of a thin cat peering over the creek's edge. Is that...?
"It's a shame, really. Such wasted genetics. Such a waste of breath." The she-cat spat.
Yeah... that's definitely her. Yarrowbreeze wanted nothing more than to lunge from the water and drag Palebriar down to the bottom. She slid her claws in and out, feeling them tap on the smooth stones that lined part of the river.
The she-cats glared at each other for a moment, amber eyes locking with amber eyes. Their resemblance was uncanny and yet, they looked wholly different. Palebriar was a thin, angular light brown tabby with blazing eyes. Yarrowbreeze shared her mother's tabby pelt, but was built heavier, and her amber eyes looked more like pools of sweet, dark honey. After what felt like an eternity, Palebriar scoffed and turned away, kicking a shower of dirt and loose pebbles over the edge and down to where Yarrowbreeze waded below.
Yarrowbreeze couldn't help but laugh a bit. First she ruins my life by abandoning me, then she finally decides to talk to me on the one day I leave camp to relax? Palebriar's timing couldn't have been better.
Even after laughing it off, Yarrowbreeze still felt that her day of relaxation was over. She shook her fur out and began the short trek home, and she couldn't wait to tell Bearstrike about their mom's first interaction with her grown kits.