Still the probs... Yeah...
*Checks Google Drive*
NUUUUU I'M RUNNING OUT OF STOCKED CHAPTERS!
AND I'M STILL NOT IN CONTACT WITH NATURETHORN! *Runs in tight circles*
Naturethorn, if you're reading, HELP MOI!
Written By: Windbritsle
Edited By: Naturethorn
His paws flying underneath him, Fuzzball raced through the forest, his eyes darting from side to side. Thorns and tendrils tugged at his pelt, threatening to pull large tufts of fur off, but he didn't feel it at all. His mind was focused in one direction: ThunderClan camp. His heart pounded, and he was beginning to get short of breath when he finally reached camp. The warriors met him with questioning glances as he raced through camp, yowling: "HELP! HELP!" In a few heartbeats, Icestar stalked out of his den. "Why are you disturbing all the other clanmates?" He hissed. "Um they um the um patrol th-they um w-were c-caught by um-" "Calm down." Hollyflower's voice suddenly flew into his ear. "One word at a time, make yourself heard." He turned to see the black elder watching him with an intense but puzzled look in her emerald-green eyes. "The patrol," Fuzzball wheezed after catching his breath. "H-housefolk, bad housefolk, they caught them!" Tails shot up in alarm all around him, followed by glares of hatred. Whispers echoed throughout the camp. Fuzzball was able to pick out worries, concerns, as well as several nasty remarks.
"You led them into a trap!"
"I should've known never to trust lazy, calculating kittypets!"
"Why aren't you helping them?"
Fuzzball's eyes welled with despair and apparent frustration.
"You've got to help them!" He screamed through a coarse, aching throat. "I know I'm a kittypet, but they're your clanmates, aren't they? If you don't want to help me, at least help the others!"
Cats began to shoot him looks of confusion, then realization.
"Yellowdawn was with them…"
"I can't believe I'm not saving Yellowdawn…"
"I hate the apprentices. They're Icestar's favorites!"
"But that doesn't mean we can just leave them!"
One voice pierced into Fuzzball's ears, rising above all the others. "I have to save Yellowdawn!" It was the high-pitched, trembling caterwaul of Grassheart. It was no longer a mystery how much he dearly loved Yellowdawn, confirming the highlight of gathering gossip.
"Silence!" Icestar demanded. Hearing the usually serene leader raise his voice, the cats milling and mewing about quieted. "We are to rescue our clanmates, and the." He paused, then giving a strange smile, continued by saying, "...Situation will be dealt with later." He shot a look at Fuzzball that somehow reminded him of a grinning snake: smug, clever, and calculating. "We will save them." He hissed, jumping from his den, and landing amongst the gathered cats. As the pale gray leader turned to glare at Fuzzball, the warriors subconsciously scuttled aside, allowing Icestar a clear path towards him. "But this cat!" He yowled, pointing his tail at Fuzzball. "He must have somehow gotten the twolegs to capture our warriors!"
Fuzzball's wide eyes scanned the crowd, capturing the voice of warriors who murmured in agreement. "H-how is that possible!?" Fuzzball exclaimed, his fur rising to triple his size, his tail tucking between his legs. "Why would I be here, then?" A stomp on the ground behind him made the silver tabby spin around in fear. Grassheart stood on his toes, his back arched, a furious growl escaping his throat. "For more warriors trapped in twolegplaces, of course!" He spat in disgust. "We're not mouse-brained."
Fuzzball's eyes grew wider until they seemed like two miniature moons of fear. He shrank to the ground from utter humiliation and terror. Warriors stalked towards him, their eyes glowing with hatred, their throats trembling with growls and hisses. "Next sunhigh, this fox-heart shall be exiled from all clans!" Icestar announced, his voice tinged with venom. "But right now, the duty of most importance is saving our clanmates." He shot Fuzzball a dirty look. Was that triumph I saw in his eyes? The fearful cat thought.
"We will not let this traitor's plan succeed!" Grassheart roared.
"He is right." Icestar agreed. "We will take most of the available warriors to maximize our chance of winning. Both of our apprentices, as well as Yellowdawn, will return safely!" Next to him, Foxtail leapt to her paws. "I can still fight!" She announced. "I'm going! The apprentices and Yellowdawn need me!"
"And me." Sunnose sneered. "No matter how stupid and weak twolegs are, I can't let my mate go alone."
"Me for certain!" Grassheart caterwauled.
"And me. I stand with my kin," Leaftail added. Headed by the enthusiastic warriors, cats began to rise and volunteer.
"Every available cat!" Icestar demanded. "We will bring our clanmates back!" He was supported with loud yowls of approval.
Fuzzball followed as the warriors dove skillfully through the forest, their paws barely touching the ground, flying over logs and boulders. He was severely lagging behind, his breaths shallow and quick. They're so fast! He thought, wheezing. Slowly, Spotpaw adjusted her pace to run alongside with the tom. "You can do it!" The female medicine cat apprentice urged. The tom nodded, and forced his paws to move faster than he thought had ever been possible; he only stopped increasing his pace when his paws stung as if they were being bit by a viper. "That's it!" Spotpaw laughed. Her sleek pelt rippled with muscles underneath, the flecks on her body dancing and swirling. She should be a warrior, Fuzzball thought with a pang. it's all because of Clearsight's incident. After Clearsight and Mistwhiskers left and Cherrywhiskers became the medicine cat, she and Poolpaw had been born. They were forced to become medicine cat apprentices, and their third littermate, a sickly she-cat named Smallkit, was "spared". She died, though, very soon, of greencough. That just made Icestar hate the two cats even more.
Still lost in thought, Fuzzball didn't realize when Spotpaw, who had now drifted to his front, stopped dead in her tracks. He slammed into her with an "Oof!". The thundering of paws slowly ceased. "Moonpaw!" The cry of anxiety sliced through the silent air. A flash of rust-colored fur entered his line of vision, and the silver tabby tom watched as Foxtail shook his look-alike, who in a daze. The she-cat let out a groan, her eyelids fluttering, then slowly opening to unveil the clear blue orb underneath. "F… Fox… Foxtail…?" She murmured and tried to heave herself up. Instantly, she let out a groan and flopped back onto the ground like a dead leaf. "My head hurts!" She whimpered. Foxtail said something soothingly into the young apprentice's ear and called for Cherrywhiskers. Then, a ear-piercing screech rippled through the forest.
"Yellowdawn!" The tri-colored tom wailed. "Don't leave me!" All the cats averted their gaze to the second she-cat. She was quivering, a large branch piercing through her body, from one shoulder, exiting from her chest. Blood pooled around her, and she exhaled shaky breaths, hardly gathering enough energy to breath in. "Grasshea…" She rasped. "Right!" Grassheart exclaimed softly, pressing his ear against Yellowdawn's mouth. The she-cat whispered something, and his eyes grew wide. "H-how did you…" But he received no response, aside from the quiet hymn of the canopy birds, and the winds playing the lyre.