Echoes of the Past: Chapter Three
FOXPAW
"Shh! The Gathering is starting!" Foxpaw heard the white-furred tom Spiritpaw tell his excited she-cat friend, Mistypaw.
"Sorry!" She whispered, and turned her attention to the leaders of the two Tribes, who were sitting on the large willow tree in the middle of the Gathering spot.
"The Gathering has started!" Volestar yowled the traditional start to the Gathering. Whichever leader said this would be the last to share news.
Fernstar meowed," Things are going well in Breeze Tribe, but our previous deputy, Snowpelt, has sadly joined Star Tribe." Shocked and sad murmurs rippled across the Gathering. "I have waited until the Gathering to tell my Tribe this part, but she was found just outside of Breeze Tribe's border with multiple scratches on her."
Foxpaw gasped, and he wasn't the only one. He saw that Smokypaw and Briarpaw looked angered, Spiritpaw looked both mad and upset, and Mistypaw looked like she was thinking hard about something.
Fernstar continued with a pained expression on her face. "She will be missed, and may Star Tribe permit her good hunting and a peaceful afterlife."
"May Star Tribe permit her good hunting and a peaceful afterlife," every cat repeated the words that were said to send off a deceased cat.
"In related news, Grayclaw is the new deputy," Fernstar told the Gathering. The gray cat dipped his head at his acknowledgment.
"Grayclaw! Grayclaw!" Every cat chanted his name until Fernstar waved her tail for everyone to quiet down.
"That's all from me," she dipped her head and let Volestar share news.
Volestar began, "All is well in Water Tribe. Prey is plentiful and Gingerspark just gave birth to two healthy kits: Violetkit and Autumnkit." Polite murmurs. "That is all I have to share." Volestar concluded.
"The Gathering is over," Fernstar lept down gracefully from her spot on the willow tree.
Foxpaw heard Mistypaw wonder aloud, "That doesn't make sense. How was she killed?"
Following the other leader's example, Volestar jumped from the tree and landed with grace. "Water Tribe! Let's go."
"Interesting Gathering," Briarpaw padded up next to Foxpaw, slightly startling him. Briarpaw laughed when he jumped.
He gave a small smile to greet his friend. "Yes, definitely. Mistypaw is... a character."
Briarpaw laughed again. "Yeah. She seems okay, though.
"But," she suddenly lowered her voice, "I wonder what happened to Snowpelt...?"
Foxpaw flicked his ears. "Me too, she seemed like a great cat. Why would anyone want to murder her?"
"I don't know."
They walked back to Water Tribe's territory in silence, skirting the river as they walked into their camp in the marshy, pine tree-filled woods. Yawning, Foxpaw padded into the apprentice's den and lay down in his nest of soft moss and heron feathers.
• • •
"C'mon, Foxpaw! It's time to wake up! You missed the sunrise," Foxpaw felt his brother, Redpaw, in the side.
Foxpaw rolled over, "I did? Fox dung."
"Yes, and Runningstorm is looking for you. Great Star Tribe, you must have been exhausted after the Gathering. You're usually the first appreciate awake!" Redpaw flicked his tail as his brother sat up.
"Did anyone tell you what Fernstar said at the Gathering last night?" Foxpaw asked Redpaw as they walked out of the den together, side by side.
Redpaw nodded. "Emberblaze told me about it when we went hunting earlier this morning. He heard it from Hawkpelt."
"I wonder what happened. Maybe a fox or badger?" Foxpaw fretted.
"You're such a scaredy-mouse. There's no fox or badger," Redpaw rolled his orange eyes.
Foxpaw wasn't sure, but he kept his mouth shut as he and his brother walked out of the apprentice's den to the center of camp, where their mentors were waiting for them. Runningstorm looked impatient.
"There you are!" She exclaimed when she saw him. "I have been looking for you. I thought you were in a pine tree somewhere watching the sun rise. If I had known you were still asleep, I wouldn't have had to wander the forest like a fool calling your name!"
Foxpaw hung his head at his mentor's harsh tone. "I'm sorry, Runningstorm."
She nodded once. "Let's get going. We have a lot to do today."
Foxpaw bounded after his mentor, his paws hitting the ground as he tried to catch up to one of the fastest cats in the Tribe. They finally got to the river where the territory ended after about a minute if solid sprinting.
"Alright," Runningstorm took a deep breath. "Endurance and speed training. Run about five fox-lengths to those pebbles and back three times, and we'll see how long it takes you."
Foxpaw nodded, although he was still huffing from the run out of camp.
"Ready? Go!" At the sound of Runningstorm's meow, he took off, the wind blowing through his striped pelt. He spun around as soon as his paw touched the pebbles and raced back towards where his mentor was waiting for him to finish. He turned around just in front of her, raced back towards the pebbles, and...
Lost his footing and fell.
"Just a friendly reminder, if Water Tribe or rogue group was invading and you tripped, they could hurt or kill you sp you couldn't warn the Tribe." Runningstorm called after him.
"Which is why there's a patrol," he mumbled under his breath so she couldn't hear him. He got up and ran the rest of the way without slipping.
Runningstorm told him, "Well, besides the fall there, that was good. You've certainly improved since the beginning of your apprenticeship."
"Thank you, Runningstorm." Foxpaw dipped his head.
Runningstorm responded, "You're welcome. Now, go again."
He sighed, but ran again without protesting. This time he made it without falling.
"Good job," she told her apprentice, then smiled. "Although it was funny to see to you fall." She nudged him playfully with her shoulder.
"Thanks," he gave a wide smile back, which was rare for him. Ever since his mother, Flarestripe, had died in a badger attack, he hadn't smiled that much.
"Hey!" Runningstorm's voice ripped him from his thoughts. She was about a fox-length ahead of him. "You coming?"
He nodded. "Yes, sorry."
She looked at him with questioning eyes. "Are you okay? You seem a little distracted."
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Don't lie to me."
Foxpaw sighed. "I'm just thinking about my mother..."
Runningstorm's face softened. "It's okay. She's in Star Tribe now, watching over you, your brother, and your father." She placed a paw over where Foxpaw's heart was. "You're handling this very well, and she loves you and misses you. I know she does."
Smiling slightly, he replied, "Thank you, Runningstorm."
"You're welcome. Now, let's get back to training. Care to take a nice, fast-paced run around the territory without stopping?"
"Not really, but I'll do it anyway." With this, apprentice and mentor took off, bolting around the borders of Water Tribe. About halfway around, Foxpaw could feel his legs start to ache. He tried to slow down, but Runningstorm, who was behind him, told him to go faster. He huffed, but pushed forward. He could feel the wind ruffle his pelt.
"Ugh!" Foxpaw exclaimed. His whole self seemed to hurt now, and he was breathing heavily. His paws hit the hard, rain-deprived ground with slightly painful thumps. He was extremely grateful to finally be able to stop at the river and get a drink.
"Did you have fun?" Runningstorm huffed.
"No!" Foxpaw gasped through gulps of water. She laughed at this, and crouched down next to him to drink some water too. After about fifteen seconds of drinking, Runningstorm looked up at the sky, where the sun was touching the tops of the pine trees.
"You hungry? Let's go get food," Runningstorm suggested, heading towards camp.
Foxpaw asked, "Do we have to run?"
"Do you want to run?"
"Not really, to be honest."
"Okay, then you don't have to." She told him, and they walked side by side all the way to camp. As soon as they walked in, Foxpaw bolted to the center of camp and grabbed a sparrow from the pile with his mouth. He carried it over to a large pine tree with many holes in it where the apprentices ate. He saw that Heatherpaw and Redpaw were already there, talking. He was beginning to suspect that his brother had a bit of a crush on her.
"Hi, Foxpaw!" Heatherpaw greeted him as he walked over to them.
"Hello," he mumbled around the sparrow in his jaws.
Heatherpaw asked, "How was scout training?
"Tiring. Very tiring."
Redpaw looked up from the trout he was eating. "Sounds fun!"
Foxpaw didn't say anything as he sat next to Redpaw and began to eat his bird. He ate it with large, quick gulps in silence. As soon as he was done with it, Runningstorm was right there.
"Ready to go and train again?"
Foxpaw sighed. "Yup, let's go."
