Xxcrowysnextmatexx requested Clovernight's POV, so here it is!
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.
Chapter 15
"Clovernight, would you join the hunting patrol with Berrytail and Stonepaw?" Ashenfur mewed.
The black and white she-cat nodded. "Sure," she replied, dipping her head to the deputy, and also her grandfather. She saw the two cats waiting by the thorn tunnel, so she padded over. Before she could mew anything in greeting, someone let out an eager yowl.
"Can I join you, please?" Eaglepaw begged. "Feathercloud said she's busy!" The tom glanced at Clovernight, his eyes filled with hope.
Clovernight turned away, rolling her eyes and snorting with disgust. Berrytail noticed, but the other two apprentices didn't.
"Well, okay," Berrytail said, beckoning with his tail.
Clovernight ignored Eaglepaw and followed Berrytail out into the forest.
"I think we should try by the Sky Oak first," Berrytail suggested. "There should be some prey there."
"Good idea," Eaglepaw piped. "Once, I caught a huge raven there!" He glanced at Clovernight, as if he wanted to impress her.
Clovernight sighed and thought, He's so stupid! He can't impress me into loving him! He's so clueless! Mouse-brain. She acted as if she hadn't heard him and padded forward, pausing to test the air. Vole, she thought.
She dropped down into a hunting crouch, pinpointing the vole's location. It was nestled under one of the great Sky Oak roots, nibbling on a seed hurriedly. She stalked forward a few pawsteps, and was glad that there was no wind. She crept a little bit closer, then leapt, letting out a hiss as she bit the creature's scruff, then held up the limp body. She kicked some dirt and fallen leaves over it, then scented the air once more. She thought she smelled squirrel, but couldn't be so sure, because of the annoying apprentice, Eagelpaw.
"Nice catch, Clovernight," he said shyly.
Clovernight shrugged. "Thanks." She padded a few tail-lengths ahead, then crouched down and tested the air. A squirrel was perched on a low branch of a maple tree, stuffing something into its mouth. She crept around the roots, making sure she was hidden and didn't make any noise. The squirrel barely noticed her. She leapt up, snagging the bushy tail with her claws. She dragged it down and bit its neck, and it went limp right away. The gray and black she-cat kicked some dirt over it, then padded through the undergrowth, in search of more prey.
Her ears swiveled around when she heard something quiet and annoying. It was whispering. She strained her ears and heard the voices of Eaglepaw and Stonepaw. They were nearby, but they didn't know she was there. She listened in, fully aware that she was eavesdropping.
"I really like her!" Eaglepaw was saying. His eyes were dreamy, and his voice sounded strange. "In fact, I think I'm in love!"
Clovernight stifled a hiss and kept listening.
"Eaglepaw, I don't think you're being very realistic. You barely know her!" Stonepaw hissed. "And she might not even like you at all!"
Eaglepaw recoiled. "Of course she likes me! Maybe you're just jealous!" He turned away and stalked into the forest, his tail lashing with anger.
Clovernight rolled her eyes and growled with disgust. He has no idea… She immediately jumped under the cover of brambles when Stonepaw padded toward where she stood, breathing out a sigh of relief when the gray apprentice just walked past her.
She stepped out of hiding and padded back to where she last saw Berrytail. He was a few tail-lengths away, burying a vole. "How much prey have you caught?" she asked.
Berrytail shrugged. "A lot, considering it's leaf-fall." He surveyed the forest, then announced, "Let's head back to camp. Go find the apprentices."
Clovernight nodded and wandered back to where she had seen Eaglepaw and Stonepaw. Stonepaw was stalking a mouse. She waited until after he had caught it. "Hey! Berrytail says we should go back to camp. Go find Eaglepaw."
Stonepaw glanced at her uneasily, then replied, "Okay." He trotted off, flicking his tail as he disappeared in the undergrowth.
Clovernight pawed up the prey she had caught and brought it back to where Berrytail waited. A few moments later, the two apprentices appeared, their jaws full.
~oOoOoOoOoOo~
"Hi, Cloudstorm," Clovernight said dully as she curled up in her nest beside her brother's.
The gray and white tom glanced at his sister worriedly. "Are you okay, Clovernight?"
Shaking her head, she sighed. "Why did Dewleaf leave? I mean, I know I was kind of mean to her before, but that's just me! And it feels so strange without her."
"I know," Cloudstorm replied, motioning to the empty nest beside him.
"Not just that," Clovernight said. "She's… she completed our trio, you know?"
Cloudstorm nodded, his eyes full of understanding. "Yes, I see what you mean. But she's gone now, she's probably halfway there, or even closer. And it'll help her, she was really troubled. Maybe she'll return with more comfort about our heritage."
Clovernight hissed. "What more comfort does she need? Rainheart, Feathercloud, Thorntail, Silverstorm, and even Smokestar confirmed who our father was!"
There was a hiss from across the warriors den. "Keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep!"
Clovernight narrowed her eyes but stayed quiet.
~oOoOoOoOoOo~
Clovernight turned around when she heard her name being called. She hissed to herself when she saw Thorntail striding toward her, his tail flicking. Great. What does he want now?
"Yes?" she mewed in the most indifferent voice she could muster up.
The golden-brown tom purred, but she could see that he felt uncomfortable too. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me on a border patrol, with Shadowclaw and Falconpaw."
"Sure, why not?" Clovernight purred in a fake cheerful voice. Because I strongly dislike you! she growled in her head.
"Great," Thorntail replied, beckoning with his tail for her to follow. Shadowclaw and Falconpaw were talking to each other by the fresh-kill pile, but they looked up when the other two cats approached.
"Ready to go?" Shadowclaw asked, his voice gruff as always.
Clovernight nodded, not bothering to glance over at Thorntail.
Shadowclaw flicked his tail and padded out of camp, Falconpaw and Thorntail right behind. Clovernight kept her distance, looking around the forest.
A yowl split the air, and she looked up, alert. The other three cats were well ahead of her, and they were looking down at something. Clovernight rushed ahead, and what she saw made her stop in her tracks.
A dead fox was lying in the mud. A female. And there were smaller paw prints around it… fox cubs.
Clovernight hissed.
"The fox had cubs!" Shadowclaw hissed. "They could be running around the territory right now! And who knows how many there are?"
Thorntail sniffed at the tracks. "They look pretty big for fox cubs. They must be nearly full-grown. You're right, Shadowclaw, who knows how many there are? They could be old enough to attack!"
"More than one fox?" Falconpaw's eyes were wide. "They could raid the camp!"
Shadowclaw nodded. "Someone should go report to Smokestar immediately."
"I'll go," Clovernight volunteered. "It'd be dangerous for Falconpaw to go himself."
Thorntail looked up, and it looked like worry in his eyes. She turned away, to face Shadowclaw.
"Fine," he said. "But be careful. Meanwhile, we'll bury this." He flicked his ear in the direction of the fox.
Clovernight nodded and whirled around. She thought she heard someone call out to her, but she couldn't be sure. She raced back to camp, and wove past her Clanmates.
"Clovernight? What's wrong?" Ashenfur asked her. "Why did you come back? Where are the others?"
"I have to speak to Smokestar," she mewed. "Where is he?"
Ashenfur flicked his gray tail. "He went on a hunting patrol."
Clovernight hissed. "Well, we found a dead fox on our territory! We don't know how it died, but there were other paw prints surrounding it. There are fox cubs, but we don't know how many. And we don't know how big."
Ashenfur's gray fur bristled, and his eyes widened. "Okay. I'll have to announce it the Clan."
Clovernight nodded. "Hurry!"
~oOoOoOoOoOo~
"We buried it, but there is still no trace as to why it died," Shadowclaw confirmed.
Smokestar's tail lashed from side to side, and his whiskers twitched. "Very well. We've already warned the Clan, and no patrol will leave camp unless there are at least three warriors on the patrol, and at least three warriors remaining in camp."
Shadowclaw dipped his head. "Yes, Smokestar."
Clovernight's tail twitched with anticipation. "But Smokestar, what if the cubs have already crossed into another Clan's territory?"
The leader looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. Finally, he answered, "That may be, but we must still be careful. We don't want any warriors hurt or even killed."
"Of course," Clovernight mewed, nodding.
"Were you able to track a scent of the cubs?" Smokestar asked.
Thorntail shook his head gravely. "We tried, but it disappeared at a muddy pit."
Smokestar nodded. "All right. You're all dismissed."
Clovernight padded out of the den, stopping when she heard someone calling her name. Lightheart and Cloudstorm were padding over to her, their eyes sparkling with interest.
"Hi," Clovernight mewed, flicking her tail in greeting.
"Clovernight, tell us all about it!" Cloudstorm urged.
Clovernight sighed. "Well, okay." So she explained the whole story.
"Oh, no," Lightheart mewed. "The cubs could come and attack our camp! There's bound to be at least three or four!"
"Yeah," Cloudstorm mewed, his ear flicking with worry. "Good thing there aren't any queens or kits now."
"Yeah," Clovernight replied. "Well, I'm tired, I'm going to rest, okay?"
She said bye to Cloudstorm and Lightheart, then began to make her way to the warriors den, but an annoying voice stopped her.
"Hi, Clovernight," Eaglepaw piped, his green eyes wide and hopeful.
Clovernight looked around, then growled, "Hi."
Eaglepaw didn't seem swayed. "Where you going?"
"I'm tired, so leave me alone!" Clovernight hissed, unsheathing her claws threateningly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Eaglepaw said, but he didn't seem frightened at all! "Do you want some fresh-kill?"
Clovernight sighed and towered over him, her green eyes blazing with frustration. "No," she said through gritted teeth.
"Well, why not? I caught a huge rabbit the other day, want to see?"
"NO!" Clovernight yowled, raking her claws across Eaglepaw's nose.
He let out a yelp, then glanced up at Clovernight, his eyes swimming. A little blood trickled down from the wound.
"What's going on here?" Ashenfur hissed, striding over. He took one look at Clovernight's furious eyes and her unsheathed claws, then Eaglepaw and his wound, and snarled. "Clovernight, care to explain?"
She cringed, but to her surprise, someone else answered.
"It's not her fault!" Eaglepaw cried out. "I--I asked her to… well…" He trailed off, glancing away. "It was stupid, really. Don't blame her, it's my fault. She didn't…"
Ashenfur glanced at the two of them suspiciously, before growling, "Eaglepaw, go get that treated by Mosspelt. Clovernight, you can go check Silverstorm for ticks, and take some fresh-kill with her."
Clovernight winced. "Yes, Ashenfur," she hissed, shooting a look of pure fury at Eaglepaw. He didn't notice, he was already halfway to the medicine cat's den. She began to trot over to the fresh-kill pile, but Ashenfur stopped her.
"Clovernight? What really happened?"
She gulped. "Well… he was just being so annoying, and following me around…I said no about five times, and he still wouldn't go away!"
The deputy, and her grandfather, stared at her with sympathy, but his eyes also held disappointment. "Clovernight, he's just an apprentice. And I've seen the way he looks at you. His eyes are always big and hopeful, and he literally melts like ice in the sun when you're around."
Clovernight hissed. "You don't understand! I don't want a love-stricken tom following me around! If I ever take on a mate, he'll want to get to me first, and be my friend, not…" She trailed off, shooting a look toward the medicine cat's den with a disgusted growl.
"I understand," Ashenfur mewed, dipping his head and taking a step back. "But control yourself next time, or your consequences will be harsh."
"Yes, Ashenfur," she said. She picked up a squirrel and padded toward the elder's den, aware that lots of eyes watched her. She stood taller, she didn't care what they thought! She turned to gaze at some catss in the eyes, and they looked away. She let out a defiant smirk and continued on.
At the elder's den, she dropped the squirrel at Silverstorm's paws.
"Well, well, well, it seems like you've gotten into some trouble," Silverstorm teased.
Clovernight rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Just because of Eaglepaw." She hissed at the name. "He's so annoying!"
Silverstorm purred. "Oh, he'll forget about you soon enough." She took a bite out of the squirrel and licked her lips.
"I'm supposed to check you for ticks and fleas," Clovernight added.
Silverstorm shrugged. "Don't worry, I don't have any. Go on, you're not needed here."
Clovernight dipped her head and backtracked out of the den. She padded into the warriors den, and saw her brother curled up with Lightheart, and they were purring softly about something. She yawned and settled down beside her brother, who looked up and mewed a greeting.
"Hi," she muttered. "I'm not in the mood to talk anymore."
She fell asleep, listening to Cloudstorm grooming Lightheart's ears. Her last was, My brother has found love at last.
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