"Anemonepaw!" Mistpaw shrieked, blue eyes locked onto the sprinting brown shape of her clanmate as a hoard of white feathered birds gave chase, squawking angrily as if out for blood. His green eyes were round with terror, sending sand sprawling in his wake. Behind him, his thin tail streamed like a flag. Chest pounding, it was a wonder if he even heard the cry of the gray she-cat.
Mistpaw charged from the cavern, Fallenpaw on her heels. The bird flock neared the startled apprentice, pecking at him with their sharp yellow beaks. Anemonepaw was yelping wildly, paws flailing as he tripped and skidded into the sand on his belly, leaving it exposed. Seeing an opening, the flock dove, angrily driving their bills at the petrified apprentice.
"Get off him, bird brains!" Mistpaw yowled with a surprising amount of courage, leaping into the fray with a savage screech, clinging to the back of the nearest gull with sharp claws. Snarling, Mistpaw ripped out feathers, driving her sharp teeth into its neck. Out of the corner of his mind, Fallenpaw was inwardly startled at the savagery that the young OceanClan cat was displaying. True, Anemonepaw was her clanmate, proving she cared for him as she tossed aside the dead bird. The white and orange tom tore aside another gull, grabbing a mouth full of tail feathers.
Leaving the others with heavy scarring and wounds, the rest of the flock fled with their strange cries. With energized glances, Mistpaw and Fallenpaw surveyed the four dead gulls around their paws. The brown tom had calmed down slightly, twitching after a moment before falling into a short lapse of silence.
"Anemonepaw," the gray she-cat sighed with a mixture of relief and sadness.
"So you're alive too I see," the brown tom squeaked out, glancing at the other OceanClanner with a pained soft green gaze. "Fallenpaw? That you?" His ear twitched, spotting the familiar pelt of the orange and white, long legged apprentice.
"Flarepaw's here too," he sighed, smiling lightly. "You remember her; feisty little she-cat with a short temper?"
"Have you seen Floodpaw?" Mistpaw asked eagerly, hoping that he had, her tail waving in excitement. Anemonepaw shook his head sadly, rising weakly to a sitting position. "I found myself wandering on the sand when I sought after food, suddenly ambushed by those gulls. I haven't seen or heard anyone from any Clan beside you two- and of course Flarepaw. Where is she?"
Fallenpaw flicked his long tail to the alcove in the rocks. "Come on, she'll appreciate a bird after her latest episode." The brown tom and the gray she-cat followed, each dragging a gull. "Episode?" Anemone meowed through feathers. "She had another one?"
Fallenpaw dipped his head as he passed into the cavern, nodding to the still shape of the reddish she-cat huddled in the back in a tight ball. "Too much heat after the rainstorm," he surmised, setting down the bird. "Wouldn't stop rambling and then wailed for...you know who." He sat by her side, giving her ear a quick lick in hopes to rouse her from sleep. "Flarepaw? Anemonepaw's here. You remember OceanClan's medicine cat apprentice? We also brought you a bird."
"Let her be," Anemonepaw meowed gently as he nosed Fallenpaw aside. "If it's another trauma attack, it's best to leave her alone. She needs sleep and it was a good idea to bring her in the shade. She'll wake when ready and eat the bird. For now, I think we should follow suit and sleep. I know I need it," the apprentice chuckled to himself, curling up near the cave entrance with Mistpaw nearby. Fallenpaw moved back to the MagmaClan apprentice's side, watching over her with a soft green gaze. His tail swished over her back, watching as the fur ruffled at the contact. Sinking to the stone floor, he curled up with one of the gulls, delicately pulling out feathers before swallowing the meat. Every once in a while, he glanced to his side, surveying the passed out she-cat still curled up in her tight ball. Tilting his head up, he spotted Anemonepaw and Mistpaw near the front, already slumbering in peace.
We'll head out at night fall, Fallenpaw inwardly mused upon staring at the light streaming in. Like Anemonepaw said, we should get some sleep. The tom's jaws parted in an enormous yawn, pushing aside the remains of the bird with a paw before pressing himself closer to the cold pelt of Flarepaw. His feathery tail wrapped around, in hopes to keep her warm while they slept. Eyes drowsy, Fallenpaw's green orbs slowly shut, falling into the dark abyss with fatigue.
...
A loud sneeze snapped Fallenpaw awake. Bleary eyed, he scanned the interior of his surroundings. This isn't the apprentice den... was the first thought to pass his muddled mind. As his head tilted towards his side, the second thought was, Flarepaw!
Jerking to his paws, his green gaze whizzed around the cramped cavern, scarcely pausing to spot the gray lump of Mistpaw and the brown of Anemonepaw. His only train of thought had been the loss of the reddish she-cat, horrified she had not been by his side in the cave. Without alerting the others, letting fear drive his emotions, he barrelled out of the alcove, frantically whipping his head from side to side.
"Fallenpaw? What's up?" came the overly familiar voice, the said MagmaClan apprentice perched on a protruding ledge, amber eyes bright as they usually were. The orange and white tom sighed with relief, falling to a sitting position as he focused his sight on the petite apprentice. Her whiskers twitched with amusement as the tom remained silent in shock. "What's the matter? Fox got your tongue?" she taunted while a smile crossed Fallenpaw's features. Same old Flarepaw.
He shook his head to clear his mind, crouching and making a single graceful bound up to the she-cat. "You cleaned your pelt," he surmised, noting that it held its usual sleek, glossy appearance, free of mud and sand.
"I did," she puffed out her chest in triumph, the feeling reflected in her amber orbs. It deflated for a moment as she muttered out, "Only because I trampled around in the StarClan forsaken water." She visibly recoiled, pelt shuddering at the memory. Fallenpaw chuckled, knowing how easy it was to get her pelt ruffled the wrong way. The top part of the list being in water. The two fell into silence, listening to the gentle crash of the waves against sand, the distant cries of gulls farther away on the salty breeze.
The glow of the setting sun cast an array of orange and red to streak the sky and reflect across the water. Languid waves rolling back and forth while the humid heat dwindled, the cool breeze of the approaching night slowly being recognized. Subconsciously, the 'paws shifted closer until their pelts were faintly brushing.
"Hey, Flarepaw! You're ok!" chirped a shrill voice, Flarepaw and Fallenpaw pulling away with bristled coats. Leaning over with startled orbs, the figures of Anemonepaw and Mistpaw standing along the sand, peering up with quizzical gazes. The gray she-cat seemed overly excited that Flarepaw had survived while the brown tom seemed satisfactory. Flarepaw edged away from the orange and white tom in her feeble attempt to distant the awkwardness in the air. Fallenpaw reacted similarly, looking away from the reddish she-cat as he inwardly cleared his throat. Both leaped down from the ledge, glancing silently at the remaining members of their group.
"What's up with you two?" Mistpaw asked curiously, head tilted with naive innocence. Fallenpaw shook his head slightly, "Nothing," he answered briskly. "Just making sure Flarepaw was alright. Didn't you say you wanted to look for your brother? Floodpaw- I believe was his name?" Tail swishing he changed the topic, hoping to alter attention from him and the reddish apprentice.
"Oh right!" exclaimed the gray cat, bouncing up and down before streaking off down the shoreline. "Come on guys! We've got to find my brother! Hold on Floodpaw! Mistpaw won't let you down, we'll find you and bring you back!"
She seems a little bit too overjoyed, considering it's her brother we're searching for, Fallenpaw absently thought. Who's to say he's even alive. We might just be the only survivors... He blinked his green orbs, startled to find the others racing ahead without a second glance at him. "Hey wait!" he yelped, charging after the group, kicking up sand with each bound as the four felines streaked across the soft earth, the darkness of the night swiftly cloaking the skies.
Snarky apologies for the extreme shortness, this was mostly a filler chapter until we can get to the plot next time. And yes the summary does say six apprentices, not four. So my observant readers, who are the other two?
Another note, it's review ghost town up in here! I like to read your comments, questions, concerns and other stuff! I also like to read constructive criticism, it'll turn me into a better writer than will hopefully update more frequently. Since it is a three day weekend for me, expect another chapter up real soon. Follow, favorite, read, and review! Your input means a lot!
-Snarky
