Three Moons to StarClan
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. But I do own the characters in this story.
Sandpaw blinked her blue eyes drowsily as she padded out from under the shade of the apprentices' den. It had been a rough night's sleep with Sweetpaw chattering excitedly until moonhigh. All the apprentices were exhausted and ready to claw Sweetpaw's ears off, and Sandpaw was pretty sure she had heard Stonepaw mutter something about making her sleep in the dirtplace. Sandpaw squinted her eyes against the harsh greenleaf sunlight and stretched luxuriously.
"Well, you're up early." Morningjay joked, striding up to her. Sandpaw jumped in surprise at the sound of her mother's voice.
"I like to get an early start." Sandpaw purred, playing along. Morningjay gave her a swift lick on the ear.
"How's your training going dear? I feel like I haven't spent time with you in ages." The brown and white she-cat asked.
Sandpaw felt a pang of sadness, she hadn't realized how much she missed her mother.
"My training is…great!" she lied. "I'm learning so much from Brokenshadow."
Morningjay purred. "Wonderful. He's a bit of a reserved tom, but I knew he'd be a good mentor for you."
Yeah right. Sandpaw thought. More like the absolute worst mentor ever. She pushed back the thoughts and swallowed.
"Yeah! I was a bit unsure of him at first but I'm glad I get to learn from him." she mewed, forcing herself to sound enthusiastic.
Morningjay looked overjoyed. "I'm so proud of my little Sandpaw," she cooed. "and I'm sure Hawkpath is too!"
Sandpaw's heart skipped a beat. Morningjay rarely ever mentioned her father. Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed by a mixture of disappointment and hurt.
"No he's not." she muttered. Morningjay stopped purring, realizing she had upset Sandpaw. She rested her tail on her daughter's spine.
"Of course he is, my sweet." she mewed soothingly. Sandpaw felt a lump rise in her throat.
"He doesn't even care about me." she said bitterly, trying to control her voice. Sandpaw's father had left StormClan when she was four moons old to explore the world. She was sure he had left the clan territories by now and didn't plan on coming back.
"Sandpaw, just because he left us doesn't mean he doesn't love us very much." Morningjay meowed.
Anger flared up in Sandpaw's chest. "That's exactly what it means!" she cried. "I wasn't good enough for him so he just decided to abandon us and never come back!"
Morningjay looked shocked. "Sandpaw-"
"He doesn't give a rat's tail about my training, he'd rather be out there discovering the worldthan being an actual father!" She hissed.
"Sandpaw! That's enough." Morningjay snapped. Sandpaw was surprised by how offended her mother sounded. "I understand that you are hurt dear," her tone softened. "But Hawkpath had his reasons for leaving, and I don't fully expect you to understand until you're older."
Sandpaw's anger ebbed a bit.
"I don't understand why you're so quick to defend him." She muttered. "He left both of us and you're still acting like he's here, being a supportive father."
Morningjay sighed. "That's not what I'm trying to do Sandpaw…" she mewed. "I know Hawkpath better than any cat, I knew his intentions, and I know he never wanted to hurt us."
"Well, too late for that." Sandpaw answered bitterly. Before Morningjay could respond, the apprentice stalked away, too upset to address the subject of her father any longer.
I can't believe she doesn't realize what he's done to us. How completely selfish is it to just drop everything and abandon not only your clan, but your mate and daughter?! Sandpaw thought, heading in the direction on the fresh-kill pile. She sighed inwardly and slumped down. I never even got to know him well enough. What kind of father is he?
"Sandpaw…hello?" a voice called. Sandpaw snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Riverpaw standing across from her, staring in a puzzled manner. She realized she must have been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't heard her friend.
"Oh err, hi Riverpaw." She mewed dully, scanning the fresh-kill pile for something to cheer her up.
"What's up?" Riverpaw asked curiously.
What does it look like? she thought irritably. "Just looking for something to eat." She replied.
"Did you just wake up?" He meowed sounding surprised.
"Yeah." Sandpaw said. "Why?"
"It's just a bit late that's all. I've already done my battle training for today." the brown striped tom mewed.
"What?" Sandpaw exclaimed, shocked. "Is it really that late?" She looked up at the sky and noticed it was already sunhigh. She felt a wave of embarrassment creep on her pelt. "Oops.." she mewed. "Why didn't Brokenshadow wake me up for training?!"
Riverpaw shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen Brokenshadow all day, actually."
Sandpaw suppressed a hiss of annoyance.
"Of course you haven't." She sighed. She continued to search the pile, finally deciding on a large mouse on the top and dug in eagerly.
"Well, I'll see you later Sandpaw, I've got some bedding to clean." Riverpaw mewed, scrunching up his nose.
Sandpaw swallowed her mouthful of mouse.
"That sounds like fun." she chuckled. "See you."
. . . .
It wasn't until sunset that Sandpaw finally saw her mentor. He was heading towards the pool of water that came down the stone walls of the camp in a small stream. Sandpaw narrowed her eyes and followed the dark tom. She reached him just as he was about to lean down and get a drink from the pool.
"Where were you today?" She asked the second she was next to him.
Brokenshadow stopped mid-drink and lifted his head to stare at Sandpaw. "I thought I would give you the day off."
"Give me a day off or give yourself a day off?" she challenged.
Her mentor blinked slowly.
"You sound angry." He mewed, ignoring the question.
"Yes I am a bit angry that you were out of camp all day and didn't even tell me!" she answered impatiently.
"You were still asleep when I left, and I heard from Reedpaw that the apprentices didn't sleep well because of Sweetpaw, so I expected you to be happy that you could catch up on your sleep." Brokenshadow said in a soft voice that made Sandpaw's pelt prickle.
She felt a bit guilty for being so rude, Maybe he was just trying to be nice to me… she wondered.
"Oh…" Sandpaw mewed. She wanted to apologize, but she couldn't bring herself to.
Brokenshadow licked his paw and drew it over his ear.
"If you have an issue with that however, I'll be sure not to give you any more days off." He added, and Sandpaw swore she sensed a hint of playfulness in his tone.
"No, no, that's alright!" She said quickly. "Er…I'll leave you to drink then."
Her mentor said nothing, just turned around and proceeded to drink from the pond.
Sandpaw stood there awkwardly for a moment and then headed in the opposite direction.
. . . .
The next day, Sandpaw was padding lazily across the clearing.
"Sandpaw!"
She heard Emberstripe's heavy voice call. Her head darted toward him and the deputy gestured for her to come over.
"Yes, Emberstripe?" She mewed when she reached him.
"I need you on hunting patrol." He told her. Excitement surged through the apprentice, she hadn't done anything today other than check the elders for ticks.
"Okay!" She meowed enthusiastically. "Who's going?"
"Honeydapple, Blazefoot and Stonepaw." He replied briskly. "Now hurry up, they're waiting near the camp entrance."
Stonepaw? He's such a grump. She thought crossly, but she didn't dare say anything and risk Emberstripe getting angry with her, he seemed ill-tempered enough as it was. Sandpaw gave a quick nod and dashed over to where the three other cats were waiting.
"Sandpaw," Blazefoot mewed in greeting. "Are you our fourth member?"
"Yep!" She chirped. "Let's go!"
The four cats climbed up the rocky slope and slipped through the thorn bush entrance, entering the lush forest. Sandpaw gazed up at the trees looming over her, their canopy of leaves only allowed small rays of sunlight to shine down onto the undergrowth. She opened her jaws and took in the earthy scent, feeling calm and relaxed.
"So where are we headed?" Blazefoot asked.
Honeydapple looked around. "Well, there's already a hunting patrol near the Twin Trees so I was thinking we could go to either Daffodil Pond or the stream that runs through the territory." She mewed. Blazefoot shook his head in distaste.
"Fish?" He said in a disgusted manner. "No thanks."
Honeydapple rolled her green eyes. "Well then what do you suggest?"
"Why don't we go near the hills?" Blazefoot meowed enthusuastically.
"The hills aren't even in our territory, mouse-brain!" Honeydapple sighed.
"They don't belong to any of the clans!" He retorted.
"Well, they're a long way off, and last time I went hunting there I got chased by some mangy dog." Honeydapple said, shaking her head, as if trying to rid herself of the memory. While the two cats bickered, Stonepaw stayed silent with a blank expression and Sandpaw just rolled her eyes. It seemed that apprentices these days were more mature than the Warriors.
"How about we just head to the area of forest next to the NightClan border?" Sandpaw suggested. "Reedpaw told me there are plenty of squirrels there."
Honeydapple and Blazefoot exchanged a look. "That sounds good to me." Blazefoot agreed.
"Sure, why not." Honeydapple mewed.
Once the patrol had reached the patch of forest, Sandpaw saw that Reedpaw had been correct. There were squirrels all over the place, leaping from trees and nibbling on nuts near the roots. Blazefoot licked his lips.
"It seems as if Reedpaw knows where to find good prey." he commented.
"I still think fish would have been better…" Honeydapple muttered, but Sandpaw saw her gaze hungrily at the abundance of prey.
"How about you and Stonepaw work together using the tree bounding technique you learned the other day." Blazefoot said.
"You actually taught it to me a moon ago, Blazefoot." Stonepaw corrected. "Sandpaw learned it two sunrises ago."
Sandpaw rolled her eyes at his superior tone, and she saw Blazefoot's whiskers twitch.
"Regardless," he mewed. "I want you two to figure out a way to work together with that style of hunting."
Stonepaw nodded and began heading in the other direction. Sandpaw sighed and followed the gray tom. Tree bounding wasn't exactly her strongest quality. It was only your first day She told herself. You'll do better this time.
Stonepaw stopped suddenly and Sandpaw had to pull back quickly to avoid running into him. "Up there." He meowed, gesturing his tail to a fat gray squirrel on the lowest branch of an oak tree.
"How do you want to catch it?" she asked.
"I'll climb up onto the lowest branch, and if it tries to jump to the next tree, you'll be there waiting on the next branch." He decided. Sandpaw nodded. "Okay."
"Don't mess this up." he growled, heading towards the tree with the squirrel on it.
"Furball." Sandpaw whispered as he bounded away. She quickly padded over to the tree next to his and silently hoisted herself up. Once she was at level with the branch, she noticed it was a bit slim. I hope I don't crack it. she prayed. Carefully, she placed her paws on the branch and balanced herself. Stonepaw had also gotten on to his branch and was slowly creeping up on the still unsuspecting squirrel.
Suddenly, it's head darted up and it dropped the nut it had been chewing. Just as they had planned, the squirrel attempted to make an escape by leaping to the next tree where Sandpaw was waiting for it.
Before the squirrel could react, she slammed her paw down on it and nipped it's neck, killing it quickly. The brown tabby she-cat picked up her catch proudly. But before she could begin her climb back down, she heard an ominous crack, followed by another. She let out a squeal of shock, dropping the squirrel, and trying to leap onto the trunk before the branch tumbled down. However, she was just a heartbeat too late and fell onto the lush grass as the branch collapsed. The feeling of the breath being knocked out of her was all too familiar and she felt her paw being crushed by the weight of her body.
"Sandpaw?" she heard Stonepaw call from his position on the tree. She struggled to catch her breath and respond to the tom, but she wasn't able to. This fall was worse than the one yesterday. She told herself. She heard Stonepaw's claws carrying him down the tree and he landed quickly, rushing to her aid. Sandpaw finally managed to catch her breath although it came short and raspy. Stonepaw leaned down and sniffed her.
"Are you alright?" he mewed.
"Yeah." she breathed, attempting to stand up. Her lungs were aching, and her left forepaw was throbbing painfully. "I think I'm okay." She managed to lift herself up and she leaned on the trunk of the tree. "My paw hurts a lot thought."
Stonepaw examined it for a few heartbeats before shrugging.
"I'm no medicine cat." He meowed. "It's probably nothing serious though."
Sandpaw nodded, hoping he was right, and attempted to place it on the ground. She let out a hiss of pain and flinched. "That's probably not the best idea." Stonepaw commented.
"Thanks for the advice." Sandpaw muttered crossly.
In that moment, Honeydapple and Blazefoot came padding from the trees nearby. Blazefoot had a squirrel in his mouth and Honeydapple had a blackbird. Honeydapple put down her kill and came over to the apprentices.
"Sandpaw, what happened?" She meowed worriedly as Blazefoot came up to join them.
"She seems to have acquired a liking for falling out of trees." Stonepaw told the white she-cat.
Sandpaw's fur grew hot with embarrassment. "It's not my fault! The branch was too slim and it cracked."
"That looks painful." Honeydapple mewed. "You should get Fernfrost to check on it."
Sandpaw nodded. "I will."
"You should have paid attention to the size of the branch Sandpaw." Blazefoot told her. "But at least you're okay."
"Right." she muttered. "My mistake."
"Let's get home." Honeydapple meowed. "Did you two manage to catch anything?"
Sandpaw turned her head to the squirrel she had dropped.
"Yeah…I kind of dropped it though" she replied awkwardly.
Blazefoot prodded the fresh-kill with his paw. "That's not a problem, food is food." he mewed.
The patrol headed home, each carrying their kill with them. Sandpaw was having trouble carrying the squirrel while hobbling on three legs, and it didn't take long for her clanmates to notice. Honeydapple turned to look at her and put down her blackbird,
"Here, lean on me." she offered. Sandpaw murmured thanks through her squirrel and let some of her weight rest on the white she-cat. Stonepaw looked lost in thought the whole way home and Sandpaw wanted to ask what was wrong, but thought better of it. The small amount of worry for her he had shown earlier had made Sandpaw believe that perhaps Stonepaw wasn't an angry struck-up furball, but his expression now reminded her that he acted like one most of the time.
. . . .
Fernfrost carefully eyed Sandpaw's throbbing paw, it hurt less now, but it was still swollen and delicate.
"Definitely a sprain." Fernfrost said at last. "And two broken claws." Sandpaw sighed. "How did this happen?" Fernfrost asked.
"I caught a squirrel in a tree and the branch broke." Sandpaw mewed, slightly embarrassed. Fernfrost shook her head and muttered something under her breath. She padded over to her herb store and came back with poppy seeds and a plant Sandpaw didn't recognize.
"These will ease the pain and reduce the swelling. You need to stay off of that paw for at least a few days." Fernfrost ordered. Sandpaw suppressed a groan.
"How many days?' she asked.
"That depends on how you heal, come back tomorrow for some more poppy seeds and comfrey and I'll see how you're doing." The medicine cat replied.
"Alright." Sandpaw mewed, standing up. She placed her paw on the ground gingerly. "Thank you, Fernfrost."
The brown and white she-cat nodded.
"You're welcome. Be more careful next time while hunting in trees."
"I will." Sandpaw said padding slowly away from the tilted willow tree, careful not to put too much pressure on her paw. She headed towards the small stream that surrounded the medicine cat den where Reedpaw was waiting for her.
"So what did Fernfrost say?" Reedpaw asked.
"It's a sprain." she mewed. "And some broken claws."
Reedpaw gave her a swift lick on the cheek.
"I'm sorry to hear it." She said sympathetically. "Fernfrost gave you poppy seeds, right?"
Sandpaw nodded. "Yeah and some other plant, I forgot the name."
Her friend looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Probably comfrey." She mewed. "It's good for reducing swelling and healing wrenched claws"
Sandpaw swiped her tongue over her jaws. "Well whatever it was, it didn't taste very good." Reedpaw chuckled softly.
"Let's help you conquer this awful stream." She mewed. Sandpaw lightly swatted her head.
"Don't make fun of my injury." She said dramatically, collapsing onto the ground. Reedpaw giggled and grabbed her scruff, hoisting her up.
"You can do it, it's only two mouse-lengths." she purred. Sandpaw flicked her tail back and forth and sighed loudly.
"I'll try I suppose, since I'm such a brave soul." she said with fake exasperation.
"Oh yes, very brave." Reedpaw agreed. Sandpaw leaned on Reedpaw a bit, lifting her injured paw. She nodded to let her friend know she was ready and together, they hopped over the stream easily.
"You are a true hero." Reedpaw announced after the reached the other side.
Sandpaw let our a mrrow of amusement.
"Thanks for helping me, Reedpaw."
"Sure thing!" Her friend chirped. "Will you be able to make it back to the apprentices' den alone? I was hoping I could go back and help out Fernfrost a bit."
Sandpaw titled her head slightly, a bit puzzled. "Yeah, I can make it, have fun sorting plants." she joked. Reedpaw purred and leaped back over the stream, joining Fernfrost under the tilted willow tree. Sometimes I think Reedpaw is too kind for her own good. Sandpaw thought warmly. I just hope she doesn't get too comfortable hanging around Fernfrost. Sandpaw realized how much she would miss the striped she-cat if she decided to continue her apprenticeship as a medicine cat. She pushed he thought away and proceeded to limp across the camp.