Hey guys! Another chappie. This one's kind of boring, I even got bored writing it. I think the next chapter will be more exciting. Enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen
Lionblaze groaned and shook himself awake. He blinked blood out of his eyes and sat up. The clearing was empty, aside from broken branches and traces of blood. There was a fine layer of snow over the ground. As he glanced around, he realized that he must have crashed into the tree behind him when he was fighting the badgers. But where are the others? He asked himself. Lionblaze stood and padded through the trees. He found Foxleap Cherrysky and Seedpaw under a holly bush, licking their wounds.
"Foxleap!" he called. The reddish tom glanced up.
"Lionblaze! Where are the others? We couldn't find anyone, so we gave up." Foxleap said. Lionblaze shook his head helplessly and limped over to them. Seedpaw had a nasty scratch on her forepaw, and Cherrysky's muzzle was looked as though it'd been clawed, but other than that, they all seemed to be okay.
"What happened to you?" gasped Cherrysky. Lionblaze glanced self-consciously down at his pelt. It was matted with blood and he was missing fur on his shoulders.
"I haven't gotten around to grooming myself yet." He muttered. Cherrysky straightened up, looking important.
"Well, you can see to that now." She commanded. Lionblaze crouched down and lapped rapidly at his fur. He winced as he ran his tongue over several deep scratches down his side.
"We have to find the rest of the patrol." Foxleap nodded.
"I hope they're okay," he added worriedly. "Let's go looking for them as soon as we're done here." Lionblaze flicked his ears.
"That sounds like a good idea to me. We should start looking in the general vicinity of the battleground." The other cats nodded, and they set out. Lionblaze sniffed around the base of a large oak.
"Hey!" he called to the rest of the patrol, "Come here!" Foxleap in the lead, they came dashing over. "Look," he mewed in a hushed voice, "there's another entrance to the tunnels!"
Dovewing sighed as she rolled over in the nursery. It was starting to become quite cramped in the cozy den. She scrambled to her paws; she didn't think she could take another heartbeat in the stuffy nursery. Cinderheart glanced up at her as she started to leave.
"Where are you going, Dovewing?" Her friend queried casually.
"I don't know," Dovewing admitted, "I guess just to the clearing, but I might go on a walk." Cinderheart pulled herself up into a sitting position.
"Mind if I join you?" Dovewing shook her head, so Cinderheart stood and followed her out into the camp. Dovewing pointed her tail at the thorn tunnel, and Cinderheart nodded and walked towards it. Soon they were padding side by side in the forest.
"Where do you think the patrol is?" Cinderheart sounded worried, and Dovewing assumed it was because her mate, Lionblaze, was leading the patrol.
"I think they're fine, they might have, um, gone hunting or something, after they fought the badgers off." Dovewing mewed quickly, trying to be optimistic. Cinderheart nodded doubtfully.
"Maybe, but we should look for them anyway, just in case." Dovewing shrugged.
"Alright, if you want." She opened her jaws to scent the air. "I think they passed through here!" she exclaimed. Cinderheart hurried over and they padded off deeper into the forest. As they walked, Dovewing pricked her ears, trying to hear the patrol. She extended her hearing as far as it would go. She focused in on the badger set, but the patrol seemed to have already left. Dovewing straightened in alertness.
"Mouse!" she'd heard the creature scuffling through the leaf debris in the oak tree next to them. Cinderheart immediately dropped into a crouch, and Dovewing did the same, Cinderheart advanced swiftly towards the brown body. Dovewing sprang out, yowling, and chased the mouse into Cinderheart's claws.
"Great job!" purred Cinderheart, "let's share." The two she-cats sat down and each took a bit of the mouse. As Dovewing chewed in a contented silence, Cinderheart winced. Dovewing glanced up.
"You okay?' Cinderheart nodded, and they continued to enjoy their meal, until Dovewing thought she heard a faint yowling noise, and as she sent out her hearing, she realized the cats she was hearing were underground!
Ivypool raced through the trees, Toadstep was next to her, keeping pace. They sniffed the ground for any trace of the patrol. Ivypool bent over a flattened tussock of grass and scented the air.
"Toadstep! Over here! They came this way. I think." She added hastily as Toadstep bounded over.
"Yeah! Let's go!" They walked quickly, their jaws opened to catch any scent on the breeze.
"Stop!" hissed Ivypool, barring Toadstep's way with her tail. "Look, there are tracks leading up to that hollow in the oak tree."
"StarClan knows what could be in there." Toadstep shivered. "Come on, let's go." He led the way up to the base of the tree and sniffed the air. Then he ducked into the hollow. Whiskers quivering, Ivypool followed. A moment later, however, a familiar scent swept over her.
"Toadstep?" she heard Toadstep glance back at her. "I'll be right back. This'll only take a few heartbeats." Ivypool pushed back out of the tunnel and blinked in the daylight.
"Dovewing?" she called softly. Her sister and Cinderheart padded into the clearing.
"Ivypool?" Dovewing mewed in disbelief. "What happened? You're bleeding!" her littermate touched a scratch on her flank with her tail. Ivypool shrugged.
"I'm okay." She insisted. Cinderheart glanced around axiously.
"Have you seen the rest of the patrol?" Ivypool slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry Cinderheart. But I'm sure they're all fine. I don't think any cat was killed." As soon as she said it, Ivypool realized it was the wrong thing to say. "But," she added, hoping to lift their spirits. "we were following their scent trail into that tunnel." She said flicking her tail at it. Dovewing frowned.
"Why would they go in there?" Ivypool shrugged again.
"No clue, but Toadstep's waiting for me. Are you two coming?"
"Yes!" they cried at the same time. The two queens hurried after her. Ivypool squeezed into the small opening.
"It's a tight fit." She warned. They both followed her in. "Toadstep?" she hissed. "I've brought company." He twisted around in surprise.
"Dovewing and Cinderheart?" he meowed.
"Yup." Ivypool announced. "Let's keep moving." They proceeded into the darkness for what felt like forever. Finally, the tunnel opened into an underground cavern.
"Wow." Exclaimed Toadstep. "I mean, after the tunnel battle, I thought I'd seen it all, but this..." They all seemed to be at a loss for words as they stared around.
"We've got to find the rest of the patrol, come on!" Ivypool took the lead and forged deeper into the cave. After a while, they heard Lionblaze's mew echoing off the walls. Cinderheart's eyes light up.
"Come one! What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Lame ending, I know. I'm not gonna post the next chapter until I get 11 more reviews. So R&R!