Chapter 4 | FrostClan

Lightningpaw grunted as his opponent's weight fell on him. He thrust up with all his might, but he couldn't budge the black pelt suffocating him. Lightningpaw tried to roll over, but he couldn't. The huge opponent pressed down on him, with an unusual scent that Lightningpaw recognized from the ThornClan border.

Lightningpaw suddenly couldn't move at all as his lungs were crushed. "Help," he choked out. But the enemy was merciless. Lightningpaw's vision blacked out from lack of air, and just when he was sure he was going to die, he choked, and light flooded his senses. His opponent vanished and he opened his eyes, screwing them up against the light. He choked again, and pulled moss from his throat.

"Wake up," Swiftbreeze called. "You overslept; it's past dawn. I need to change the dressing on your scratches before training today."

Lightningpaw's vision cleared. His opponent had been a dream. He stretched his unused muscles and padded out of the apprentice den.

Swiftbreeze carefully scraped away his dressing, which had stuck to his side from cobwebs and sweat. She looked into the wound. "Hmm. One of those apprentices must've had crow-food or something on their claw. The scratch is infected; it looks like the marigold wasn't enough. I want you to stay in camp until a bit past sunhigh, alright?"

Lightningpaw could tell that the scratch wasn't infected much, but he knew it could develop into something much worse. Even so, he still didn't like staying in camp when he could be out protecting and hunting for WaterClan. "Fine. Who's going to do border patrol?"

"Sparrowstar told me that she can't see any threats from MoonClan so I think we'll be fine." Swiftbreeze applied another poultice of marigold, horsetail, and oak leaf, binding it on with more cobweb. "I'm running low on juniper berries. Do you know what they look like?"

Lightningpaw nodded. He could see the purple berry in his mind.

"If you're really bored, then go out and get some more berries from the bush right outside camp. Don't go any further than that."

"Okay, I won't. How many do you need?"

Swiftbreeze shrugged. "Twenty to twenty-five would be more than enough."

Lightningpaw had already climbed out the exit to camp. He plucked berries off the bush to his right and he soon had twenty-three berries. He took them back to Swiftbreeze's den. Yellowtail was there too. Swiftbreeze looked worried as she checked Yellowtail's leg.

"What's going on?" he asked in bewilderment.

Swiftbreeze looked up. "Oh, thanks, Lightningpaw. It's nothing, I just need to heal this injury faster than I think I can. We're running low on fresh-kill so I want Yellowtail up and running as soon as possible."

"I'll go hunt," Lightningpaw offered instantly.

"No, you stay in camp until sunhigh. I don't want you injured more than you already are. At sunhigh, Sparrowstar will take you hunting and border patrol."

Lightningpaw padded to the measly fresh-kill pile and picked out a tiny shrew to eat. Then he padded over to the flat rocks near the leader's den and lay down, feeling the warmth relax his tight muscles.

Swiftbreeze looked at the gash in Yellowtail's leg. "How did you get this again?"

"I was chasing a rabbit but I didn't see this branch. I swerved around it and had to avoid a thorn so I ran straight into a sharp log."

Swiftbreeze sighed. "I don't want to do this, but I have to. This is a pretty bad wound. I'll need you to stay in camp for at least a day."

"A day! I need to hunt!"

"Lightningpaw can hunt when his wound heals. If you do more exercise, you could tear a ligament or even injure yourself so badly you'll never be able to use that leg again. Now hold still while I put this poultice on. Come back when you see blood through the cobweb so I can give you a new one." Swiftbreeze carefully applied marigold and pinched the edges of the injury together.

"OW!" cried Yellowtail.

"Sorry. I need this to line up so it heals properly." Swiftbreeze bound the wound with cobweb and held it in place with burrs. "Now go sleep. It's best if you don't expend much energy."

"Alright. Thanks, Swiftbreeze."

Swiftbreeze sighed and looked back over her stores of herbs. With the injuries in the Clan, she was running low on marigold. Swiftbreeze padded out of the camp and out to the FrostClan border. As much as she disliked being on the border so soon after Lightningpaw's skirmish, it was the only clear, sunny place in the territory. Marigold only grew well here. Even though medicine cats were allowed by the warrior code to go anywhere on any Clan's territory, FrostClan had already proven itself to be scornful of the warrior code. If a warrior attacked, Swiftbreeze might be able to defend herself, but FrostClan was a warrior Clan. They were the best fighters in all the Clans' territories. Usually, Swiftbreeze would've taken a warrior escort with her, but she couldn't with the other lion and wolf injured. She would just have to take the risk.

She gathered her herbs without incident and was just about to bound back through the forest when she heard a shout. "You! Swiftbreeze!" She turned around. A large tabby warrior stood right behind the border, reeking of FrostClan.

Swiftbreeze hissed and arched her back ferociously. It was all bluff; if the warrior really did attack, she'd have no chance.

"I'm not going to attack," the warrior said. "I just have a message from my leader, Snowstar. She wants to know why you weren't at last night's Howl Time."

Swiftbreeze had completely forgotten about the Howl Time. The warrior continued, "Since Icepaw and Squirrelpaw told us that WaterClan is still alive-"

"No thanks to you and your Clan," Swiftbreeze growled.

"-then why weren't you at the Howl Time?"

"What my Clan does is none of your business. Tell Snowstar that she'd better not try to invade us again, and that she has no right to poke around." With that, Swiftbreeze picked up her marigold, turned sharply around, and bounded back to camp. However, as she was running, she regretted that she had not asked the warrior how he knew her name.

Lightningpaw paced restlessly around camp. It was almost sunhigh and he was extremely bored. He longed to be out in the forest, hunting for his Clan. But he knew he needed his infection to heal.

Swiftbreeze bounded through the entrance to camp. Lightningpaw could almost smell the uncertainty coming off her in waves. He hopped down from the tiny, rocky path. "What happened? I thought you were just going to get some marigold."

Swiftbreeze put her marigold down. "I met a FrostClan warrior at the border."

Lightningpaw stiffened and let out a low growl. "Just one?"

Swiftbreeze nodded. "He was taking a message from Snowstar. He was wondering why we were not at last Howl Time."

"What did you say to him?" pressed Lightningpaw, his blue eyes flashing.

"I told him that the business of my Clan is none of his business."

Lightningpaw sighed in relief.

"By the way, Lightningpaw," Swiftbreeze went on. "It's sunhigh, and since Sparrowstar isn't here yet, you should probably go hunting to stock up the fresh-kill pile."

Lightningpaw looked up, and said, "Really? Great! I'll catch so much your bellies will be stuffed tonight."

Swiftbreeze nodded and said, "I bet you will. I can't wait to see what you bring back."

Lightningpaw raced out of camp, beaming, and soon disappeared into the forest.

"Whoa, you caught a lot!" gasped Swiftbreeze as Lightningpaw padded back to camp with his jaws holding two plump rabbits, three thrushes, several mice, and a squirrel. It was now evening.

Lightningpaw dropped his prey on the fresh-kill pile and replied, "That's not all. I have to go make another trip for more fresh-kill."

"Really?" exclaimed Yellowtail as she emerged from the warrior's den.

"Really," confirmed Lightningpaw, as he dashed back into the woods.

Yellowtail glanced at Swiftbreeze and said, "Looks like he certainly lived up to his word."

Swiftbreeze nodded. "Yeah. I really will have a full belly tonight."

Lightningpaw came racing back through the fern tunnel with three more squirrels and one vole. "And for the grand finale," he said as he raced back out of camp. He came back with three fat trout. "I caught them in the river," he said proudly.

Swiftbreeze felt her stomach turn queasy. She looked at Yellowtail, who looked ready to throw up.

Lightningpaw gave one fish to Yellowtail and one to Swiftbreeze. Then he started eating his own fish. "I hope you guys like these," he mumbled around his mouthful.

Swiftbreeze said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Lightningpaw, but, we lions don't… ah… eat fish," she stammered.

Lightningpaw stared at her in disbelief. The two lions lowered their heads. Lightningpaw gasped, "How can you not like fish?! They're just so… tasty!''

Yellowtail spoke up. "We lions just don't eat or like fish. I'm sorry. You can eat our fish." She shoved hers and Swiftbreeze's fish to him. Lightningpaw licked his lips and gulped down the fish while the lions ate the other fresh-kill.

When they finished eating, Swiftbreeze said, "My stomach is very full. Thanks for catching this stuff!" Yellowtail echoed her thanks. With that, the wolf and two lions curled into their nests and slept a peaceful sleep.