Hi again everyone. :) Here's an update. If you follow any of my other stories, I'm sorry if I am updateing a little later than usual. I've been busy, but I'm trying to keep up.
So, I changed my poll. If you want, you should go and take a look at it. I'm not sure how long it'll be up though.
Stealthfire- You're not the only one to notice that. I hadn't reread that chapter before posting, so I didn't catch that until after I posted it and someone said something.
Fawnpaw sat outside the nursery, confused. Cloudkit had been oddly mad at her and she wasn't sure why. Had she done something? Did she need to spend more time with the fluffy kit?
She looked up to see Fireheart padding towards her. "Are you okay?" He asked, sitting down next to her.
"Do you knkw why Cloudkit is mad at me?" Fawnpaw asked him, hopeing that he would have some idea. "I came back from hunting and he's been ignoring me all day now."
"Um," Fireheart looked over at her. "That might have been partly my fault."
"What did you do?" Fawnpaw sighed. What had he done this time?
"It's nothing bad." Fireheart assured her quickly. "I was going to help Cinderpaw with finding her herbs when I saw Cloudkit and the other kits messing with Brokentail. I sent them away and as Darkstripe walked by, he called me a kittypet. Cloudkit didn't know what it was so I explained it to him."
"So he's mad at me because you told him I used to be a kittypet?" Fawnpaw asked.
"He's mad because no one told him." Fireheart told her. "He should be fine. He had seemed pretty happy when I took him out of camp afterwards."
"You took him out of camp?" Fawnpaw meowed.
"I hope you don't mind." Fireheart saidcarefully.
"No," Fawnpaw shook her head. "He needed it." She thought of how full of energy he had been lately, and how he had started during that in the wrong way. Getting under cats' paws, accidentally knocking over the fresh kill pile, attacking cat's tails, going into the warrior's den...
"I should bring him out again tomarrow." Fawnpaw decided. "I think Brindleface would like some time out of camp too."
"What about training?" Fireheart reminded her.
"Tigerclaw gave me the day off." Fawnpaw said stretching a little. "I've been working my paws off!"
"Tell me if it's too much for you." Fireheart told her gently, as if talking to a kit. "I'll take care of it if he's working you too hard."
"I'm fine." Fawnpaw insisted. "What's wrong with working hard?"
"That's not the problem." Fireheart meowed quickly, looking like he was panicking a little.
"Then what is?" Fawnpaw demanded. "Why don't you trust Tigerclaw?"
"Because he is-" Fireheart stopped himself, dropping his gaze to he ground. "I can't tell you. If I do you might be in trouble." He looked back up at her and licked her between the ears as he stood. "But know that it's for your safety."
Fawnpaw watched him walk away, confused and frustrated.
Fawnpaw watched Cloudkit uphappily as he sat by a deathberry bush and told the kits about how he almoust ate one yesterday and how deadly they where.
How could Fierheart let her kit almoust eat something so dangerouse? She bit back a growl as Brindleface looked over at her in understanding. They had brought the kits out of camp today and all the kits had been excited.
Fawnpaw looked around and spotted Fireheart on patrol with Sandstorm and Brackenpaw. But they quickly turend a corner and whent on with the patrol.
Suddenly Cloudkit leapt at one of Brindleface's kits and they rolled together, Cloudkit purring as he pinned down the other. The other kits took this as the signal to join in, and did.
"Come on," Brindleface raised her voice for all the kits to hear after a little. "Let's move on." She turned and padded away, the kits following. She stopped in a small clearing to let the kits to play in a different place instead.
As they played, Brindleface meowed, "It was a good idea to take the kits out of camp. They needed it."
Fawnpaw nodded and watched the kits silently. But as they watched, she noticed that one was missing. Cloudkit! Where was he? How didn't she notice that the white kit was missing?
"Cloudkit?" She called, standing up. When she got no answer, she turned to Brindleface. 'Where is he?"
Brindleface's calm face turned worried. "I don't know." She stood up. "Go look for him, I'll take the others to camp."
Fawnpaw nodded and ran off to the last place seh had seen him. He wasn't there. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath, hopeing to catch his scent.
She quickly caugth it and sprinted after it. As she ran, a wail sounded up ahead. She pushed herself faster and came to a stop as she burst from the trees at the edge of a hollow.
In the hollow below was a large black-and-white animal, a huge paw was reaching into a gap between two rocks, reaching to where Cloudkit was hideing. Fawnpaw had never seen an animal lke this, but from the stories she had heard, this was a badger.
Cloudkit spotted her. "Fawnpaw! Help me!" He wailed.
Even though, she didn't know what to do, she bounded towards it and raked her claws across it's side.
She cried out in pain as it turned on her and scratched her hind leg as she tried too jump out of the way.
Fawnpaw suddenly saw a flash of ginger and saw Fireheart snarling at the badger, clawing for it's eyes.
Sandstorm snake her teeth into one of it's back legs. The badger threw her off and she flew back and rolled in the snow.
Brackenpaw ran forward and raked his claws down the badger's side, drops of blood splattering across the white ground.
The badger was backing away as Fawnpaw and Sandstorm joined in on the fight again. The badger looked at all the cats once more before quickly turning and lumbering back up the ravine.
Fawnpaw spun around and ran to Cloudkit. "Cloudkit! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The small white kit came out from between the two rocks, shaking uncontrollably. "N-No." He answered.
Fawnpaw bounded forward and starting licking his fur, smoothing it down.
"What happened?" Fireheart asked. "Where's Brindleface?"
"I don't kow. We were al playing and then I turned around and I couldn't see any of the others. I thought I'd come and find you, and then there was the badger..." He let out a terrified mew and put her head on his paws.
Fawnpaw stepped back and looked back at him angrily. But she looked at Sandstorm as the she-cat asked, "Fawnpaw, is your leg okay?"
Fawnpaw looked at her back leg and noticed for the first time that it was bleeding. Just then she noticed the pain. "It's nothing." She said quickly.
Fireheart rusehd forward to look at it. He looked relived as he looked closer. "You were lucky, thank Starclan." He mewoed. "Attacking that badger by yourself wsa a very brave thing to do, Fawnpaw."
"It wan't brave." Fawnpaw shook her head. "I didn't have anytime to think, and if I did it would have gotten Cloudkit."
"A warrior couldn't have done better." Meowed Sandstorm. "But what's a badger doing out in daylight? They always hunt by night."
"It must be hungry, like us." Fireheart guessed. "Otherwise it wouldn't attack something as big as Cloudkit." he turned to Cloudkit and helped him to his paws. "Come on, let's get you back to camp."
Sandstorm helped Fawnpaw as she limped to the top of the hollow and to the ravie. Fireheart padded with Cloudkit, Cloudkit keeping very close to him.
When they reached the ravine, Brindleface burst from it, frantically calling Cloudkit's name. Other cats followed behind her, wondering what was wrong.
Brindleface spotted Cloudkit and ran forward, covering him with licks just like Fawnpaw had done. "Where have you been?" She scolded. "You shouldn't run away like that!" Fawnpaw stood back and watched the other queen. She knew that Brindleface cared for all the its as if they where her own, and that Cloudkit would have to be punished somehow.
"I didn't!" Cloudkit protested.
"What's gong on?" Tigerclaw pushed his way to the front of the group of cats.
Fireheart explained while CLoudkit slowly pulled away from Brindleface and walked over to Fawnpaw instead. When Fireheart finished, Tigerclaw turned to Fawnpaw.
"You'd better go to Yellowfang and have that leg seen to." He told her before looking down at Cloudkit. "As for you... What were you doing, putting yourself in danger like that? Do you think that warriors have nothing beter to do than rescue you?"
Cloudkit flattened his ears. "I'm sorry, Tigerclan. I didn't mean to get into danger."
"Didn't mean to! Has no cat taught you any better than to go wandering away like that?"
Fawnpaw stared down at Cloudkit. She trusted Tigerclaw but coulnd't help but get a litle mad when he yelled at her kit like that. "He's only a kit." She looked back up at Tigerclaw. "He didn't mean to get lost."
Tigercalw looked at her and growled, "He's caused more trouble already than all the rest of the kits put together. I'ts time he learned a lesson. He can do some real work for a change."
Fireheart looked as if he was about to protest, but Tigerclaw kept talking, this time to Cloudkit. "You can go look after the elders." He ordered. "Clear out their dirty bedding and fetch clean moss. Make sure they have enough fresh-kill, and go over their coats for ticks."
"Ticks!" Exclaimed Cloudkit, losing his fear now. "I'm not going that! Why can't they see to their own ticks?"
"Becasue they're elders." Tigerclaw hised. "You need to start understanding a lot more about the ways of the Clan, if you ever want to be an apprentice. Go on. And keep at it until I tell you to stop."
Cloudkit wasn't going to defy Tigerclaw twice. He glared up at Tigerclaw with his blue eyes before turning and running off for the camp entrance, Brindleface following close behind.
Tigerclaw looked as if he wanted to say more, but stayed silent.
"Come on, Fawnpaw." Fireheart meowed to her. "Let's get you to Yellowfang."
"I'll go back and see if I can find out prey." Said Sandstorm. "We don't want that badger to get it!"
Fireheart meowed a thanks and then lead Fawnpaw to the camp entrance. She was surpirsed to see brokentail stumbling out with Yellowfang at his side. Darkstripe and Longtail followed closely.
"You must be mad, taking him out like this." Longtail grumbled. "What if he runs of?"
"Runs off?" Rasped Yellowgand. "And I suppose you think hedgehogs can fly? Heeee's not runing anywhere, you stupid furball." Carefuly, she cleared the snow from a smooth rock and lead Brokentail over to it. He settled down on it, his face raised to the sun as he tasted the air.
"It's a fine day." Yellowfang murmered, curling up close to him. Fawnpaw was surprised by how gentle she sounded. "Soon the snow will meld, and new-leaf will be here. Prey will be good and gat. You'll feel better then."
Brokentail gave no sign that he had listened.
Darkstripe meowed as he paced back and forth, "I'll have to tell Tigerclaw about this. He didn't give any orders to let the prisoner leave the camp."
Fireheart padded up to him, his muzzel in Darkstripe's face. "Bluestar was Clan leader last time I looked." He spat. " And who do you think she's going to listen to- you or he medicine cat?"
Darkstirpe reared up onto his hind legs, lips drawn back to show his fangs. Fireheart tenced, ready to fight.
"Fireheart..." Fawnpaw's eyes widened. She knew het brother could take care of himself, but he shouldn't be fighing his own Clanmates.
But before they could do anything, Yellowfang spoke. "Stop this nonsence! What's happened to Fawnpaw?" She looked down at Fawnpaw with a worried face.
"She was clawed by a badger." Fireheart answered, giving one last glare at Darkstripe.
Yellowfang jumped down and sniffed at the wound on her leg. "You'll live." She meowed. "Go to my den. Cinderpaw's there, and she'll give you some herbs to press on that."
"Thank you Yellowfang." Fawnpaw dipped her head and padded into the camp, Fireheart following close behind.
So, here's the chapter. Remember to take a look at my poll if you can. Please review! :)