Again, Littlekit will appear in this story. I do not own her, she is Apollo's Child's OC. If you would like YOUR OC to appear in this story, please participate in the contest at the bottom. Even if you don't win, you could get a 2nd or 3rd place prize of a shout-out and/or OC appearance! For a full list of the cats of CloudClan, read the beginning of Chapter 1. Thank you!
Fogpaw waited patiently with Petalpaw, both cats too worried to eat the fresh-kill at their paws, and both glancing every few heartbeats towards Moonspirit's den. Petalpaw looked especially nervous, her gaze clouded at her tail twitching constantly. Eventually Moonspirit herself padded outside, looking tired. She trudged over to the fresh-kill pile, and then noticed Fogpaw and Petalpaw staring at her while she tore into a mouse.
"What's bugging you two? I believe your mentors said you could do what you liked for the rest of the day?" she asked, sighing.
"We wanted to know how the RockClan cat is doing." Petalpaw told her.
"Well, I'm not sure… her wounds are pretty bad." Moonspirit glanced from one apprentice to the other, finally sighing again. "Come with me."
Inside the medicine cat den, Fogpaw could scent the sharp tang of herbs, but it couldn't fully mask the scent of RockClan. The injured she-cat lay on her side, breathing heavily. Her eyes opened just a little once in a while, but her gaze was glazed and unfocused. Her pelt was covered in dark brown tabby stripes, and her eyes were a clear blue.
"She's been unconscious since you brought her in. She has a fever, and I gathered from her mewling in her sleep that her name is Riverleap, and she… something bad drove her away from RockClan. She hasn't said exactly what, she just keeps meowing about 'terrible danger'." Moonspirit drooped her head. "I've done all I can do. It's in the paws of StarClan now. Don't stay too long okay? If you want, one of you can stay and watch her." She padded away to her nest. Petalpaw looked at Fogpaw.
"I'll stay." Petalpaw said, and sat with her fur pressing against the she-cat's back to keep her warm. Fogpaw nodded and padded outside with one last glance at the young warrior. He joined Ashpaw, Cedarpaw, and Mistpaw by the fresh-kill pile to finish his mouse.
"So? Who is she?" Ashpaw asked Fogpaw as he sat down.
"Who?" Fogpaw asked, puzzled.
"The RockClan cat, sloth-brain!" Mistpaw joined the conversation, Cedarpaw pricking his ears curiously.
"She's named Riverleap." Fogpaw started uncertainly. He wasn't used to attention.
"Why is she here?" Cedarpaw queried.
"I don't know…" Fogpaw answered. The other apprentices exchanged unimpressed glances, and Ashpaw and Cedarpaw got up, Ashpaw nudging Mistpaw. The toms padded towards the camp entrance, while Mistpaw scrambled to her paws.
"Frostberry said he'd show us some battle moves. Wanna join?" She asked cheerfully. Fogpaw wasn't sure Ashpaw or Cedarpaw had intended for him to come along, and he was about to kindly refuse, but Mistpaw gently pulled his paw with her teeth, backing towards the other apprentices.
"Come on. It'll be more fun with more cats!" she insisted, so Fogpaw grudgingly followed her. He found himself thinking this could be fun after all.
At the training clearing, just a little ways away from camp, Frostberry had started teaching Ashpaw and Cedarpaw some defensive battle moves.
"So if you raise your paws like this-then you leap forward like this- Oh! There you are, Mistpaw. Hello, Fogpaw. If you'll just take a seat next to Cedarpaw there, I'll continue to show you some moves."
Mistpaw and Fogpaw settled down, and Ashpaw raised his head.
"There you are Mistpaw! Oh. Hi Fogpaw." He said, obviously disappointed. Fogpaw returned the greeting with a wave of his tail.
Eventually Frostberry finished showing the four cats some battle moves.
"Okay. Now you know how to attack and defend, now we're going to try a little game. Mistpaw and Fogpaw, you'll be on one team, and Cedarpaw and Ashfur, you can be on the other. Now I'm going to hold this parrot feather and hide. Your job is to find me and take my feather. The first team to get the feather and bring it back to that tree-"he gestured towards a towering willow, "-wins. Everybody understand? Good. Ready…GO!" Frostberry bounded away into the thick foliage, holding his bright red parrot feather. Ashfur and Cedarpaw ran after him and disappeared in the ferns.
"You go around, then maybe we can surround him." Mistpaw commanded. Fogpaw nodded and ran as fast as he could into the rainforest. Sunlight dappled his thick pelt, warming his fur and re-energizing him. He bounded through fronds until he caught Frostberry's scent, and slowed down. The trail led toward a thick bush, filled with thorns. Fogpaw leaped forward curiously, and poked his nose into the leaves. Suddenly his eyes locked with a pair of amber ones, and Frostberry threw himself out of the bush at Fogpaw, who, caught off guard, toppled over. Frostberry dashed away, and Fogpaw gathered his bearings and raced after him. Without warning, Cedarpaw burst from the bushes in front of the white warrior, who changed course quickly. Luckily, the short distraction let Fogpaw catch up, and hethrew himself at Frostberry. They rolled through the undergrowth, Fogpaw snapping at the red feather, Frostberry at a disadvantage because his teeth were holding it. Finally Fogpaw snatched the feather, and leapt away from the warrior. However, he was soon cut off by Ashpaw, who slammed into his side and caused the feather to fall from his grasp. Ashfur reached towards it but Mistpaw seized it quickly and ran back to the willow tree. Cedarpaw tried to block her way, but she dodged him and placed the feather proudly on one of the tree's roots. She yowled in triumph,and everyone padded back to the clearing.
"Well done, you two." Frostberry panted.
Thanks for reading! Please please PLEASE review, so I know to update, and I also appreciate any suggestions to make this story better! Today's contest: Who are Yellowfang's two siblings' warrior names? Prize: Shout out and/or a special appearance of one of YOUR OC's in my next chapter(s)! Exciting, right? Tell your friends!