This is still Firepaw's POV. Just to let you know. Are my chapters too long/short?
Cinderstar: Please R&R! And I don't own Warriors.
Snowstar: Were you going to leave that last part out...?
Cinderstar:...No.
Firepaw's POV(Still!)
Firepaw emerged into a clearing just in time to see the badger smack Lilypaw hard on the head. She screamed and fell against a tree. Then Firepaw saw the badger lift its giant paw up again. I can't let her die! Flamepaw thought.
He didn't care about being right, or smart, or brave. He didn't care if he died. He didn't care if Lilypaw didn't fetch help or not- if she was in any shape to, he didn't know. He just couldn't let the badger attack camp or kill Lilypaw.
Diving in the way of the badger's paw, he gripped it and clawed as fiercly as he could. "Lilypaw!" he screeched. "Get out of here!"
Lilypaw's eyes were half closed and she was bleeding a lot. Is she still alive?
The badger roared in anger and lumbered to Firepaw. Firepaw growled and swung to the side of it's jaws and snapped at the badger's back. Diffing his claws in, Firepaw realized that they were stuffed with moss he had been gathering. "Oh no!" he muttered as the badger shook him off.
Firepaw leaped at the badger again, this time landing on the shoulders. He rammed his paws into the badger's head but since he couldn't claw he had to bite it instead. I can't get a grip because of this stupid moss... wait...
Firepaw then had an idea. He used his paws to shake off the moss and dropped it in front of the badger's eyes. Already half-blind, the badger now couldn't see at all. "Yes!" Firepaw cheered, and Lilypaw smiled feebly.
The badger started stomping off as Firepaw clawed and bit it as hard and fast as he could, and in between fighting he would yowl for help. Finally the badger had enough, and quickly lumbered into the brush at the edge of the clearing.
"Firepaw... you did it..." Lilypaw mewed softly. "Th-thanks." Firepaw grinned and mewed welcome, and the orange apprentice started to lick where the badger had clawed him once.
Suddenly he heard a rustle. "B-badger?" Firepaw asked nervously. But instead it was Raventooth, Yellowstar, Heatherfang, Brighttail, Robinpaw, Laurelclaw, Gracepaw, and Mudwing.
"Your alive!" Brighttail cried out as she raced to them.
"H-how did you not beat the badger before?" Firepaw asked while being licked by Brighttail.
Yellowstar tipped his head to the side. "We did beat the badger, and it started heading to the border. I guess it smelled more cat again and decided to fight against you and Lilypaw." He padded over to his apprentice and looked at her closely. "Is she...dead?" Robinpaw mewed.
Firepaw shook his head. "No, she was torn apart by the badger. Then I heard her and I fought the badger."
Mudwing and Laurelclaw gasped in amazement while Heatherfang growled, "its a sign from Starclan! Firepaw, an apprentice with no fighting skill, beat a badger!"
Firepaw quivered, and Raventooth pressed against him. "Wow, Firepaw. When you were a kit I always said you were strong but... even a fully trained warrior can't beat up a badger alone without getting seriously injured. But- you only have one small gash!"
"And my scratches from the other day," Firepaw pointed out.
"That doesn't matter, Firepaw! Your awesome!" Gracepaw retorted happily. "Your a hero!"
Yellowstar nodded and ordered, "Heatherfang, Laurelclaw, Robinpaw- you have the least injuries. Follow the badger and make sure it leaves the territory. Though," he added, "I'm sure Firepaw and us certainly scared it off!"
The smaller patrol raced off while Raventooth and Brighttail gently picked up Lilypaw like a kit.
"Will she survive?" Mudwing asked carefully.
"She will if Grasslace and Gorgepaw see to her," replied Yellowstar. "I've seen cats look worse than this and they lived through it. Like Eggtail."
The cats around him looked at the leader in alarm, and he quickly continued, "When the two foxes came! I mean it!"
Firepaw remembered asking his mother that night, "who was Eggtail?" and Brighttail answering, "a noble warrior who died in the great War. Laurelclaw's mate."
He also remembered not being able to sleep in the medicine cat's den that night next to Lilypaw, because he was so worried that she would die in her sleep.
Gracepaw's POV
Gracepaw waited until Robinpaw, Thornpaw, Fuzzypaw, Hoppaw, Amberpaw, and Jumppaw were asleep before she crept out of the apprentice's den. Which took an hour. Robinpaw wouldn't stop telling Gracepaw's siblings about how Firepaw single-pawed took on a huge full sized badger- and lived.
Gracepaw just wanted to shut them up with poppy seeds.
Finally Fuzzypaw started snoring and Gracepaw was able to get up and silently leave. She padded out and looked around camp. Heatherfang was sitting guard, glancing at the stone hollow every once and a while to see who was in camp.
Right after Heatherfang looked away, Gracepaw ran to the dirt place tunnel and quickly scaled the short wall, and outside of camp.
There were no night patrols tonight, which suited Gracepaw just fine. She could go race as fast as she could. Speak as loud as she wanted to. Break any rules she cared to.
When she reached the shore, Gracepaw remembered her fall in going to the gathering. But she had to swim now. I have to find the strength... Gracepaw plunged in the freezing waters of the lake. Striking out her paws, she slowly and clumsy swam to the island. At least it was quicker than walking all the way around to the log.
Finally she reached the island and dragged herself onto the sandy shore. Then a thought struck her- did Rockpaw even care to come? For all she knew, Rockpaw just wanted to trick her. He's my friend! She thought determinedly and she padded to the clearing where the gatherings were held.
There he was, his coat silver from the moon light. When she pushed herself out of the bushes he turned around from where he was sitting, looking through the stars.
"You came!" he mewed excitedly. "I thought you couldn't!"
Gracepaw shook her head. "I had to wait a while before my denmates fell asleep. It took forever since Robinpaw wouldn't stop yapping about Firepaw."
Rockpaw tipped his head to the side. "Firepaw... your brother?" he asked.
"Yeah, he beat up a badger today. By himself... but my sister Lilypaw was injured really badly." Gracepaw trailed off. "I don't know if she is going to live..."
Rockpaw's tail rested on her shoulder. "Lets do something fun," the tom ordered.
"Like what?"
"Like...this!" Rockpaw raced off and she met him at the shore where she bowled him over into the water. "Hah!" she mewed happily. Her mind was taken off Lilypaw for a moment.
"What- I'm not done for yet!" Rockpaw splashed her with water and pushed her in. "Whoa!" she yelped as she turned to the land and ran up to it. "You can't catch me, fish-breath!" she taunted.
Rockapw's face turned pretend angry as he sprinted over to her. He was fast for Riverclan. "What did you call me?"
Gracepaw waited a moment. Then another. "What did you call me...?" Rockpaw asked.
"...Fish-breath." Gracepaw whispered. "Can't catch me!" she quickly unsheathed her claws and climbed up a tree.
Rockpaw grinned. "What, think I can't climb?" he asked, yet at the same time it was just a statement.
"Yes!" but Gracepaw was proven wrong when Rockpaw scaled the tree's first fox-length in a few moments.
"Your fast!" she exclaimed as he climbed the tree.
He sat on a branch next to her and they watched the moon and the stars. "I wish there were trees like this in Riverclan territory," he huffed as he chatted.
"You don't have these there?" Gracepaw was confused. Even more so when Rockpaw replied, "Yep. We don't have many pines and oaks- most of those are by the green leaf Twoleg place. We have willows and alders mostly, and a few birch. But one day, me and Applepaw were exploring out of camp-when we were kits- and we found this huge maple! And they don't grow near camp at all!"
"Cool!" replied Gracepaw. "Were you a fish-breath even then?" she challenged playfully.
"Yes! I'm a fish-breath and I'm proud of it!" her friend declared mockinly. "Its much better than being a...a...um..." he trailed off.
"A load of fox-dung?" Gracepaw suggested. Rockpaw smiled. "Yeah! You are a large...stinking pile...of fox dung!"
The two apprentices laughed and joked in their pine until Gracepaw sniffed and felt the wind change. The birds started chirping. The sun appeared. It would be dawn soon, and she had to get back to camp.
"I'm sorry...I have to go now. When should we meet again?" Gracepaw meowed.
Rockpaw grinned. "How about in a half-moon, so that no one suspects us. We can't do it every night because we could get in trouble, but if we meet twice a moon we can't get caught!"
Gracepaw nodded. "Day after half-moon. Okay!"
She waved her tail in farwell as the two apprentices hopped off the tree and swam back into their own territories. But as Gracepaw curled up into her nest, she already missed hanging out with Rockpaw.