A/N: To answer some reviews; Longtail and Graystripe are half-brothers. They share the same father (Patchpelt). And I've tried to make Dustpaw rude to Ravenpaw in the typical sibling-y way.
Now, I want to say. I don't really edit my chapters. Dumb, but hey, I don't like it. It's time-consuming. So, if there are any little mistakes (like spelling, missing a letter, or grammar) try to let it slide, haha. If I get too many complaints, I guess I'll start to read through it again before posting. But, eh.
As suggested by a review (thanks again btw) I am going to have a little poll! So, who's your favorite character so far (that isn't Dustpaw)?
Soft light filtering into the apprentices' den is what woke Dustpaw, having to blink several times so to adjust to the light. Sandpaw and Ravenpaw had already left the den, and he remembered they had been on the Dawn patrol this morning. This was Ravenpaw's third morning on the Dawn patrol, and it was like everyday the young tom got mellower and mellower. Dustpaw wasn't sure if it was the stress of training, or his mentor, but it frustrated him to see Ravenpaw so jumpy all the time, like even the smallest sound made his heart pound.
After shaking his fur free of moss, he slipped out of the den, looking around at the activity in camp. Unlike other days, it seemed everyone was busy doing something. Frostfur had just brought in a hunting patrol, though she carried nothing herself. Whitestorm and the rest of the dawn patrol - Ravenpaw and Sandpaw included - came padding into camp. Whitestorm dismissed the two apprentices at once and he and Tigerclaw hurried to talk with Bluestar - who was sitting outside of her den. Dustpaw watched as they relayed whatever news it was that was so important, and then Bluestar lifted her blue-gray tail, beckoning Fuzzypelt and Patchpelt to her, who had been watching with interest nearby. All five cats disappeared into her den.
"What was that about?" Dustpaw asked his brother when the other cat arrived at his side.
"We caught Riverclan on Sunningrocks! They told us we had until sunset to give it up or there'd be a fight. Tigerclaw was so angry," Ravenpaw replied, eyes wide as he spoke, as though the angry warrior was standing right in front of him. "We came back at once."
"Was Redtail not with you?" Dustpaw asked, realizing for the first time his mentor was nowhere to be seen.
"He took a border patrol to Shadowclan. I think Brindleface and Longtail were with him,"
"I hope they don't find trouble! Longtail just got his warrior name a few days ago," Dustpaw meowed, alarmed. Longtail was his old friend from the apprentices den. Though they had only been apprentices together for a couple days, Dustpaw had been friends with the tom since he was in the nursery. A few days before, Longtail had his warrior ceremony. Redtail had been keeping the new warrior plenty busy ever since. The leaf-fall was among them, and the clan needed to be well-fed in the next few moons to prepare for the harshness of leaf-bare.
"I don't think so," Ravenpaw shook his head. "Shadowclan haven't been giving us much trouble lately."
"Most of our trouble comes from those crowfood-eaters in Riverclan," Sandpaw growled as she came over to them. By the smell on her, she had just been looking after the elders. Dustpaw flicked his ear in greeting, and she sat down beside of him, glaring briefly at Ravenpaw, but not saying anything, for which Dustpaw was grateful.
"How many times has a patrol found them on our territory?" Dustpaw wondered. Ravenpaw knew the answer to that.
"Every dawn patrol I've been on,"
"That's every single one!" Sandpaw snorted. "I think we should go over there and show them what they're messing with!"
"Yeah!" Ravenpaw agreed, some of his old excitement coming back to him. "We're Thunderclan warriors, no one can steal our prey and get away from it!"
"Not warriors yet, young ones," Redtail meowed, coming up behind Ravenpaw. "We will skip training today, but if one of these two goes out-" he motioned to Sandpaw and Ravenpaw. "-join them, and tell their mentors I said so. I need to go speak with Bluestar."
"Is it about Riverclan? Because a bunch of senior warriors are with her now! We met up with a patrol hunting at Sunningrocks!" Sandpaw piped up eagerly. Redtail looked confused for a moment, his whiskers twitched, and then he turned and bounded towards the leader's den. Just before he could enter, the five cats meeting within came out. Bluestar stopped to talk urgently with Redtail for a brief moment, then she leaped up onto the High Rock.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting!" she yowled. Most of the cats were already in the clearing, and they gathered beneath her with glinting eyes. The news of Riverclan had spread quickly through the camp, and every cat was anxious to know what their leader would do about it. Dustpaw and his companions hurried to sit to the side of the gathered cats. Though his paws prickled with anticipation, there was a little chance he would get in on any attack on Riverclan.
"Thunderclan, you all know the problems we face with Riverclan over Sunningrocks." there were snarls and growls from the gathered cats. Bluestar raised her tail for silence and continued. "Today, one of our patrols found them hunting there!" this time, when the clearing erupted into yowls of anger and snarls, Bluestar let them be angry for a few moments before demanding their attention once more. Her eyes were glaring with a ferocity Dustpaw had never seen in his leader before, and it scared him a little, yet it filled him with even more rage - like she was sending it throughout the crowd in waves.
"They challenged us! Told our warriors we had until sunset to give up our territory or fight!" she made sure the cats did not erupt again into anger, her eyes still passionate, her tail high to keep them all at bay. "After speaking with senior warriors, we have decided to let the clan choose our next move. Give up our land, or fight?"
There was no need for anything else to be said. All the cats gathered were on their feet, shouting the same answer. Fight. Dustpaw was among them, though he wasn't sure if it really was the right decision. How much prey did they get out of Sunningrocks anyway? Not enough to risk the lives of Thunderclan warriors, surely. Though he had these doubts, there was no way he'd say them allowed, sure that not one cat would agree with him. Looking around at the glittering eyes of his clan mates, he knew there was no chance to talk them out of this fight. Besides, Sunningrocks had been an issue since before he was kitted - by now it was principle. Finally, Bluestar raised her tail again.
"Okay," she nodded down to Redtail, who leaped and joined her on the High Rock. "Redtail, who will join you in the attack?"
"Fuzzypelt, Robinwing, Smallear, Patchpelt, Longtail, and Tigerclaw." Redtail decided, picking the names of the cats easily, as though he had been thinking about it for a while now despite only being told of the coming fight right before the meeting.
"Longtail?" a voice called from the crowd, sounding unsure. Dustpaw found the source of the voice to be Darkstripe, Longtail's mentor. "Should he really battle so soon after becoming a warrior?"
"I've fought Riverclan even before I was a warrior!" Longtail argued, eyes blazing. Whether it was anger towards his old mentor for trying to deny him the fight or the fact that Riverclan had threatened his clan, Dustpaw wasn't sure.
"Darkstripe," Bluestar said from her place above them, voice even. "It is reasonable for you to worry for your old apprentice, but he is right. He has fought Riverclan before, and he is a warrior now,"
"Yes, he fought Riverclan! And then he could barely move for two moons after that. Why would you send him out again?"
"Darkstripe, this is not your decision. It is mine, and Longtail is coming," Redtail growled coldly from atop the rock. Darkstripe let out a hiss of contempt and stalked out of the clearing, disappearing into the warriors den. Longtail watched his mentor walk off and instinctively went to follow, then paused in his pawsteps, and then sat down again where he was, tail-tip flicking in mild embarrassment.
"It is settled. Be ready, all in the fighting patrol, we do not expect an easy fight." Bluestar called out again, and then she jumped from the High Rock and again disappeared into her den, Redtail right behind her.
…
The tension in camp the rest of the day was impenetrable. Several patrols were sent out, but the warriors that were to be in the battle were instructed to stay in camp and be well-rested. Dustpaw thought that was because most of them were senior warriors, and they would need the extra strength for a battle. Longtail spent most of the day trying to speak with Darkstripe, but his former mentor kept sending him away or leaving with different patrols. After a while, the young warrior just got himself a piece of fresh-kill and plopped down with Smallear and Patchpelt. To Dustpaw's delight, he saw that Fuzzypelt and Robinwing were again speaking to one another, and this time not in a fight. There seemed to be anger, but as Dustpaw watched, it faded and the two cats brushed muzzles and Fuzzypelt fetched them a large shrew to share.
"Did you see that, Ravenpaw?" Dustpaw mewed excitedly to his brother, turning to where the black tom had been sitting only just before, but he was now gone. Frowning, Dustpaw glanced around the clearing to see that his brother was nowhere in sight.
…
Dustpaw sat waiting with the rest of the clan as the battle patrol gathered around the entrance of the camp. Redtail hadn't arrived yet, and the sun was already beginning to fall out of the sky, making the cats pace in agitation. He saw his mother and father sitting together - and though they didn't speak, it was clear that anything that had pushed them apart before was completely gone. His mother caught his gaze, and he nodded to her, surprised when she waved for him to come join them. Dustpaw got to his paws hesitantly, then, seeing that the other cats didn't mind, he padded over to join his parents. Ravenpaw was still nowhere to be seen, and Dustpaw figured the tom was getting some well-needed sleep.
"Where's your brother?" Robinwing fretted, flicking her gaze around the clearing.
"I think sleeping. Tigerclaw's been pretty hard on him," Dustpaw meowed, shrugging.
"Oh," the brown she-cat sighed. "I was hoping that you'd both see us off."
"We'll see them before dawn," Fuzzypelt mewed softly, nudging his mate gently. "Stop worrying so much."
"I can't." she replied simply, frowning and looking away from them both. There was a long silence between them, only broken by Tigerclaw alerting them Redtail was approaching. The whole patrol was on their feet in an instant, tails swishing back and forth. Robinwing gave Dustpaw a brisk lick on the head and waved him off.
"Good luck!" he called to them as he hurried out of the group again. Longtail was near the edge, and he ended up stumbling right into the young warrior, who hissed something unintelligible. Just as Dustpaw was turning to slink away, he felt Longtail flick him over the ear with his tail in an apology, and he just nodded back, finally coming to settle next to Sandpaw.
Neither apprentice spoke as the patrol trotted out of camp, but Dustpaw's stomach churned nervously. Why am I nervous? I'm not going into battle, he wondered and dismissed the feeling, but it lingered. Trying to keep the feeling of rising anxiety from his stomach, he headed to the elders den, hoping for a story. When he was a kit, it was always fun to sit with the elders and hear their stories. He always expected to grow tired of it when he became an apprentice, but he was convinced their words would distract him from his worrying.
"Dustpaw, we don't need anything now. Ravenpaw's just been in to see us," One-eye mewed when she spotted Dustpaw hovering by the edge of the den. He shuffled his paws awkwardly.
"I was hoping for a story, actually."
"Need a distraction, eh, young'un?" Halftail grunted from his spot near One-eye. Dustpaw nodded sheepishly, thinking it foolish to lie to them.
"Alright, you just sit down here and let me tell you about the time I fought two foxes at once-" Halftail went on, and he launched into the story immediately. Dustpaw moved further into the den and settled gratefully between Dappletail and Poppydawn, eyes trained on the elder speaking, but his mind following the patrol to Sunningrocks. Mentally, he was in the battle, throwing himself at the enemy warriors and rescuing his own clan mates that were in trouble. He saw his mother and father fighting side-by-side, fiercer than any duo he ever saw, and his whiskers twitched at the image. A sharp pain in his side brought him back to the elders' den, and he saw Dappletail's ears twitching in amusement, and he knew that she'd poked him to draw his attention in again. "Well, you'll never believe it," Halftail was saying, "but those two mouse-brains came at me again! I didn't see any problem-" his tale was cut short as a sharp yowl came from the clearing. Instantly, Dustpaw was on his paws and rushing out to see what was going on.
The battle patrol was back already, blood running from wounds, clumps of fur missing from spots on their sides, and their tails drooping. He noticed Fuzzypelt and Smallear trailing behind the rest of the patrol, supporting another body on their shoulders, walking slowly so not to move the limp body too much. Dustpaw's eyes narrowed in on the cat they were holding, but he wasn't quite sure who it was from so far away, as the clearing was dark, the moon barely peeking out from behind a dark cloud. Spottedleaf had already come from her den, herb poultices ready, probably prepared since the battle had been announced. She tried to help some of the first warriors to enter, but they all pulled away and nodded towards the three cats in the very back. As Dustpaw grew nearer, the cat being carried became clearer, and he heard the wail from Brindleface just before he recognized the dusky brown fur, and the gentle body that had nursed him and curled around him in the nursery for six moons.
It was Robinwing.