Hey guys! I know it's been literally FOREVER since I last wrote. I don't really know what happened. I haven't been around a WiFi source and I don't like writing on my phone anymore. Well, here's Chapter Four, finally, and this isn't dead, because I still have the planning!
Adderstrike padded out of the warrior's den and yawned, stretching. It had been a long night full of restless sleeping and no dreaming. He looked towards the fresh-kill pile. All that lay there was a meager mouse. That wouldn't do to feed Whitepool's kits nor Dawnfrost, and certainly not fit for an elder. He looked back at the warrior's den. He padded up to Larkspring, a sleeping tan tom, and nudged him softly to wake him up. The warrior slowly woke up, blinking his green eyes with sleep, and looked up at Adderstrike.
"What is it, Adderstrike?" He asked calmly. Adderstrike heard some of the other warriors beginning to wake up as well.
"I would like you to go on a hunting patrol with me. I'm going to get a few others, as well." He said.
"I can go along, if you would like." A deep voice sounded next to Adderstrike. He didn't have to look to know it was Ravenfrost, a newer warrior with a black pelt and blue eyes. He nodded.
"Thank you, Ravenfrost. That should do it." He turned to Grasstail, a tan she-cat that was waking up.
"Grasstail, do you mind getting a border patrol together and heading out towards the ForestClan border? I'm leading a hunting patrol near the BreezeClan border." He explained. The she-cat nodded and rose to wake up a few of her Clanmates. Turning, Adderstrike led the two cats he had awoken out of camp.
The only exit out of the camp was a small opening between the otherwise wall of fallen trees. It had taken their ancestors moons in order to move the trees into a suitable barrier, if Adderstrike recalled correctly. They had to face the predators that they weren't used to fighting, as well. There were the obvious snakes, but there were also some otters if one went far enough towards the river.
"We're heading towards BreezeClan, eh? Didn't Hawkflight get into a skirmish with an apprentice from BreezeClan?" Larkspring asked, padding almost alongside Adderstrike. Adderstrike nodded.
"He did, and he was berated thoroughly, I assure you." He said darkly. He didn't want to think about the dark brown warrior right now. He didn't want to think about a lot of things.
Like the mysterious sickness that was slowly overtaking the camp. It had already claimed his own parents long when he was an apprentice. It had taken all three of Mudstar's daughters, and his only son, including Spottedwing, who was now buried deep in the mud. It had taken countless kits and a couple of queens. The elder's den was now barren compared to what it once was.
Anxiety rose over Adderstrike and he took a small breath to calm himself. He was the deputy and had to keep a level head. He was the only one that Mudstar could rely on, nowadays, and probably the only reliable cat in the Clan.
"Hey, I'm going to head south." Ravenfrost said quietly, nudging Adderstrike and breaking him out of his thoughts. Adderstrike nodded.
"I'm going to head north." Larkspring added, padding off. Adderstrike nodded to them both. He needed to get his head in order. He slowed down and took a soft breath, looking around. He caught the scent of a frog nearby, and dropped into a crouch, slowly following the scent. He kept his pawsteps light and slow, as the water below his feet would ripple too strongly otherwise.
His ears pricked forward as he saw the frog. It was facing away from him, at the edge of a deeper puddle. He would have to tread carefully. His paws, already moist and damp, made little noise as they stepped onto mud and wherever he could find that wasn't just plain water. Water would make more noise. Finally, he crouched lower, prepared to jump, and landed onto it. As expected, it jumped, but he knocked it onto it's belly and quickly delivered a deadly blow to its neck. It broke smoothly, and the creature didn't move again.
Adderstrike carried the frog to drier land and buried it quickly. He moved closer to the BreezeClan border, dropping into a crouch as he spotted a rare hare. It was fat, and it would surely feed both queens as well as the two kits in the nursery. He crept as close as he could get, and he dashed after it, managing to pounce on it before it got away. He killed it quickly, proud of himself as he licked his jaws and prepared to bury it. The wind blew, however, and carried the scent of BreezeClan warriors into his nostrils. He stood up, alert, and he grimaced as he saw three warriors heading his way.
"Hey, stinking MarshClan cat!" One sneered. Adderstrike flicked his ears back and his tailtip twitched in irritation, but he didn't say anything. He kept the hare in his mouth, not moving.
"Hey, you got mud in your ears?" Another one taunted. Adderstrike's tail lashed in anger. He was getting really annoyed with the insults.
"I don't think he can hear us." Adderstrike could see them clearly. The first cat that insulted him was a ginger she-cat. The second one to insult him was a brown she-cat. The third and final cat was an orange tom with a fluffy tail. Aderstrike padded a few paces back to set the hare down before stepping in front of it defensively. He would not be letting Whitepool and the kits down.
"Hey, you! You're Adderstrike, aren't you? You're MarshClan's deputy, eh?" The ginger she-cat asked, stepping over into his space. Adderstrike flattened his ears and set a warning paw on the hare, determined to show them he was willing to defend his prey.
"I am." He said calmly, keeping his defensive position up. His tail puffed out in instinct, and the two warriors with the she-cat laughed.
"I think he's frightened of us, Brambleheart. What do you think, Flametail?" The she-cat sneered. The brown she-cat, Brambleheart, laughed and agreed.
"Yeah, Applenose, I think he is!"
"I can assure you, I am not. What is the problem here?" Adderstrike asked calmly, getting tired of the BreezeClan cat's games.
"That there is BreezeClan prey. Ran right over the BreezeClan border, it did." Flametail said, also stepping closer than Adderstrike felt comfortable with.
"It wasn't running. It was eating." Adderstrike said. "I can assure you, I wouldn't lie to you."
"Oh, right, because I'm going to listen to a cat that smells bog fumes all day!" Flametail snapped, getting inches from Adderstrike's face. Adderstrike growled warningly, his back fur raising in defense.
"Back off." Adderstrike growled.
"And if I don't?" Flametail snarled, unmoving, his green eyes bearing down into Adderstrike.
"Then I will take on you, and any of your other Clanmates that dares try to fight me as well." Adderstrike responded as calmly as he could.
Flametail growled low in his throat and instantly went for Adderstrike's throat. Addderstrike dodged to the side and batted at Flametail's head with his claws unsheathed, jumping back a little to give himself some room between himself and his enemy. He was aware of the brown she-cat making for his direction, and he grit his teeth. He ducked as she jumped at him, and felt a stinging sensation as Flametail raked his claws down Adderstrike's side. He yowled in protest and kicked at the warrior, batting at Brambleheart as she jumped over him, knocking her off balance.
"I've been fighting snakes since I was four moons old!" He snarled, clawing at Brambleheart's face as she made to bite his shoulder. He felt Flametail latch onto his back and he quickly rolled over, throwing his weight down as hard as he could. Flametail yowled in protest and pain, but Adderstrike didn't let up. He clawed at Brambleheart as she came to defend her Clanmate, and she managed to claw his cheek. She had aimed for his eye, but he had quickly moved his face in time. He rolled off of Flametail, who hissed angrily and batted at him. Adderstrike took more clawmarks to his pelt. He had to get these two off of him before the third one jumped in. He knew he was strong, but he didn't want to face deadly wounds in order to get a hare.
He was thrown off-balance as the two cats both attacked him from the side, and he rolled around, yowling in indignation. The cats were smart, he had to give them that. He clawed and bit where he could, desperate to get himself to safety. The ginger she-cat came, and she looked at the two.
"Here, get his neck to where I can see it. We can end this little game." She sneered. Adderstrike kicked as hard as he could, but the weight of two cats was more than he was able to fight off. Flametail pressed an orange paw against Adderstrike's chin, and pushed his head back. He hissed and clawed, but it was futile. As Applenose made to bite him in the throat and end him, there was a blur around him as she was bowled over and she growled. The two weights were lifted off of him and he quickly rose to his paws.
"Hey, BreezeClan scum, what are you doing, trying to kill our deputy?" It was Larkspring and Ravenfrost, here to help him out. Adderstrike felt eternally grateful for their assistance. He quickly worked to fight against Brambleheart, while Larkspring and Ravenfrost quickly took care of the she-cats. The BreezeClan cats eventually retreated, hissing and swearing they wouldn't forget this.
Adderstrike bent down to lick his woulds gently, wrinkling his nose at the salty taste of blood. Larkspring and Ravenfrost came over.
"What was that all about?" Larkspring asked curiously, looking over Adderstrike.
"Those damned BreezeClan cats claimed it was their prey. They wouldn't back down, and neither would I, so they attacked me." Adderstrike explained gruffly. "The hare, over there." He motioned with his head, and Ravenfrost looked over.
"Well, I can certainly see why you wouldn't want to give it up. That thing is huge!" He exclaimed. Adderstrike nodded, standing up.
"Thanks for the help. That warrior, Applenose, was going to perform the killing bite." He said. The two cats darkened.
"We should tell Mudstar." They said quickly. "He will want to know about this immediately."
Adderstrike nodded. "Yes, he will. We should get back to camp, then." He said.
The three cats headed back to camp, Adderstrike with a slight limp as his leg stung from the marks he had received.
When Adderstrike came limping into camp, Embercloud immediately emerged from her den, which was a small hollow inside of a still-standing tree. She rushed over.
"Where did you get those?" She asked, looking at him and then the hare in his mouth. Adderstrike set the hare down, along with the toad he had caught, and flattened his ears.
"BreezeClan cats. They claimed the prey to be theirs, and were throwing around lies." He said, lashing his tail in irritation. "I need to speak to Mudstar first."
"No, you need to get your wounds treated!" Embercloud said crossly, pushing him towards the den without another word. Adderstrike didn't dare protest; the she-cat looked extremely worried. Instead, he just sat in her den and let her treat his wounds. When they were all healed, she let him go, but she watched him with worried eyes.
"Embercloud, I am fine, I promise." He said gently. EMbercloud just nodded and let him go. He padded into Mudstar's den. It was a hollowed out tree that had once been uprooted from a storm. He pushed past the now dangling roots and into the den.
"Mudstar, I need to talk to you." He said grimly. "There's been another border skirmish."
Wow, look at all I wrote today! Nearly two thousand words! I know it has been a while since I have updated, I hope to update more in the future, I promise. Life has just been busy.
Also, I'm going to be writing two side stories. Keep an eye out for them. If you would like to have a character of yours be in them, see my needing OC's thread.
Finally, would you guys like an allegiences chapter? It would be a while before I posted it, because I would be uploading it directly from my computer, but I would be able to get one.
Alright, well, thank you for reading ,and I will see everyone next time! Bye!
