"Can you believe it?" Orangepaw peered behind us to stare silently back at the rocky stretch of land we had called home. I followed her gaze and felt my insides twist at the prospect of leaving. For moons now I had despised that dull and tasteless territory but now that we were leaving, I would almost miss it.
"Hurry up you two!" Sharppaw called up ahead. "Unless you snails want to get left behind, I suggest you pick up you pace from wandering to walking like the rest of us."
"We better hurry or else he'll get his tail in a knot," I whispered to Orangepaw and she let out a soft chuckle of agreement.
"Are you actually going to miss this place?" Sharppaw snorted upon us joining him. My tabby friend flicked his tail and despite his harsh tone, I knew he'd miss this land. I could tell from the way his eyes glowed, after all it's been many moons since the two of us met. "If we stayed any longer I would have died of boredom. Everywhere we looked were rocks, heck we even had to be cautious as to where we stepped lest we get poked by the sharp stones littering the ground."
"Say whatever you want Sharppaw, but deep down I know you're going to miss this place as much as us," in return for that comment, I received a poisonous glare from my orange eyed companion.
"And foxes can fly," Sharppaw thwacked my head with his long tail which earned a playful growl from me. Leaping away from each other we crouched, ready to pounce when Orangepaw let out an annoyed cough.
"Remember, we're on a journey," she reminded. "Stop to play and we'll be left behind," to prove her point she casually waved her fluffy tail in the direction of our leaving Clanmates. "And besides, you probably should conserve your energy… especially you Spiritpaw."
"You're no fun," I pouted as I stood and shook my pelt. For a short while we padded on in silence, walking at the back of the group alongside the rest of the Stolen.
"So Spiritpaw, despite being a fighter learner and Nightfrost's apprentice, you still hang with us. Why?" Sharppaw narrowed his eyes and I blinked, taken aback by this sudden question.
"What are you talking about? You're my friends and frankly, even though I'm learning to be a fighter, I'm still a Stolen… I've seen the looks the Clan-born give me. Heck I think the other Stolen are weary of me too."
"Seriously?" Sharppaw frowned and glanced around, sure enough it seemed the crowd of cats avoided us like we had caught green-cough or something.
"On another note, since no one has any idea what to do with me I'm no longer ordered around," I sounded about as positive as I felt, which was practically non-existent. My positivity was long gone now, having flown the coop the minute my claws meet Hailfall's throat.
"Don't worry Spiritpaw, you still have us," Orangepaw smiled warmly at me and comfortingly nuzzled me. "We'll always be your friends, right Sharppaw?"
Sharppaw shifted, he wasn't one to state his feelings but he gave a slight nod and even managed a smile. "Thanks guys," I tapped both of their shoulders with my tail warmly before pulling ahead. "We should try to keep up more."
We were silent once again but it wasn't that awkward silence that left you trying to think of something to say, it was more of a companionable silence. But we had been traveling for a while now, we began the journey at dawn and it was maybe a little after sunhigh. By now I could tell tempers were starting to flare and hunger was settling in. "ShadeClan, we will rest here for a while!" Nightfrost called from up ahead and, thankfully, our group finally came to a halt. We had taken shelter under a small canopy of trees, after having traveled through the blistering heat of the grassland, saying the shade felt nice would be an understatement.
"Hunters must leave to see if there is anything to catch," Blazeshimmer wove his way through the crowd. It was amazing that the heavily-scarred ginger tabby was still able weave proudly among our Clanmates. He was the oldest of the commanders, and many said it would be any day now until he'll step down. My eyes roamed to his gray muzzle and I couldn't help but agree. "Guards take the Stolen kits to that bush over there and ensure that they are kept safely hidden inside of it. Clan-born queens and kits are to stay in the center of the group; we cannot let ourselves stay vulnerable."
"Well guess that's my que, bye guys," Sharppaw stood and started for the bush Blazeshimmer had pointed out. Already Brownclaw and Treeleaf had escorted the Stolen kits as well as any Stolen queens to shallow shelter that branches managed to create.
"Wait, I'll help you out," I shot to my paws, not used to not doing anything.
"Oh no! You're staying right here and letting me examine your wounds," Orangepaw gently grabbed my tail and tugged me back, forcing me to sit back down. "It's not often we have breaks, so I'm going to take this time to ensure you'll survive this journey."
"If you say so," I frowned crossly but, now that my mind was focused on the wounds I had received, I became conscious of how they hurt and stung.
"Luckily none of them reopened," Orangepaw mused as she gently licked at the wound running across my shoulder. "But since I don't have any herbs I can't ensure that they won't get infected."
"You know Orangepaw, I think I saw some tormintel not far from here," Fawncall had managed to escape from the inner circle of the group, and she smiled warmly at her learner. "If you want, I can take you there."
"Thanks Fawncall," Orangepaw's eyes sparkled as she leapt to her paws and eagerly began to follow her only mentor. She paused and glanced back at me. "Don't move from that spot."
"Whatever you say, you're the boss," I rolled my eyes but pointedly laid down to ensure I didn't hear an earful from Orangepaw. When they were out of sight I sat back up and began to lick my left paw. I wasn't used to doing nothing, for moons I had always been on my paws from dawn to dusk and now here I was, relaxing and waiting for food to come. I was contemplating walking around, maybe helping Sharppaw, when I noticed movement coming from a nearby clump of ferns. My ears perked and I sniffed the air, strange cats.
Slowly I stood and started to grow closer, were they friendly or hostile? Or, more importantly, should I inform someone of this. I glanced back and considered alerting Nightfrost, even though he terrified me, when a loud howl filled the air. The next thing I knew I was pinned to the ground with claws digging painfully into my shoulder. My warm sticky blood started to slowly trickle onto the ground underneath as rogues of an assortment of colors, from dull brown to vivid white, blurred past me to attack my Clanmates. This could only end in a blood bath.