Chapter 15

The wind whipped harshly through the camp, tossing fresh-kill as a kit would in play. Foxpaw pressed himself closer to Hailpaw, who was crouching protectively over Sagekit—who had been sent to the medicine den for a bellyache. The tiny black tom was trying hard not to look scared, but with every rumble of thunder he pressed closer to Hailpaw's legs, and Hailpaw instantly pressed down closer over the kit.

"We need to get him back in the medicine den!" Foxpaw yowled over the raging storm. "We're all going to get blown away out here!"

Hailpaw nodded, bending his head down to grip Sagekit's scruff firmly in his jaws. The kit squealed in protest, but Hailpaw wouldn't loosen his grip, waddling awkwardly forward and keeping Sagekit tucked under his chest. Foxpaw followed close behind them, feeling only a small bit of relief as they made it successfully to the small cave that made the medicine den. It was quieter in there—though not by much, it was enough that they would have to yowl.

"Are you okay?" Hailpaw was already checking Sagekit from his nose to his tail-tip, prodding the black kit gently with his nose.

"I'm fine…" He sniffed quietly, turning his head away. Foxpaw could see his tiny legs trembling, and couldn't help but to snort. He's Dustpelt's kit alright.

"I hope everyone else is okay…" Hailpaw's ice blue eyes wandered to the fern tunnel again, but Foxpaw shook his head.

"Don't go back out there, Hailpaw. Fireheart already told everyone to stay sheltered—we aren't to move until the storm subsides." Their gazes locked for a moment, shades of ice and the midnight sky clashing for only the briefest of moments. I'm worried, too. But we almost lost you once, I won't take another chance.

Finally, Hailpaw sighed, his gaze falling to rest on the ground. "You're right." He admitted. "I'm going to make sure we have enough herbs to care for any casualties we might have."

Foxpaw nodded. "I'll stay with Sagekit." As Hailpaw disappeared into the herb store, Foxpaw turned to his mentor's kit. He had spent a good bit of time playing with Sagekit and his sister when Dustpelt had been too attached to Ferncloud to put a lot of time into training, and he enjoyed noting the similarities between the black tom and his father, as well as between Thistelkit and her mother. Sometimes though, a bit of Dustpelt's temper would flash through Thistlekit, and Foxpaw didn't doubt that she would make a great warrior one day—as would Sagekit.

"Foxpaw…?" Sagekit looked up at the red-furred apprentice through wide amber eyes, and Foxpaw crouched down to get closer to eye-level with the kit.

"Yeah?" He hesitated, and Foxpaw rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Sagekit."

"What?" The small tom puffed out his chest, his eyes narrowing.

Foxpaw gave him a gentle cuff over the ear, sitting back on his haunches again. "It's okay to be worried." He dropped back down again as Sagekit sighed, his little ears drooping. "Do you wanna know a secret?"

"Can I?" Thunder rumbled in the distance, but Sagekit didn't seem to notice this time, his curiosity getting the better of him as Foxpaw leaned in to mew quietly in his ear.

"I worry about Hailpaw all the time, even though he's an apprentice just like me, and does battle training with me all the time."

"Really?" Sagekit blinked a few times in surprise, and Foxpaw nodded.

"Mhm. Hailpaw is really good in battle. You should ask him to show you sometime. He's not very big, but he's faster than any cat." Foxpaw felt pride swell in his chest even as he talked about his brother. Not many medicine cats were as skilled in battle as Hailpaw, and Foxpaw knew that should it be necessary, his brother could hold his own against any enemy warrior.

"That's awesome!" Sagekit suddenly squealed. "I didn't know medicine cats got to do battle training!"

With a soft purr, Hailpaw returned from the herb store, shaking his head in mild amusement. "We're not really required to. But I want to be able to help my Clan in every way. If there's no way to help besides fighting, I will fight just as hard as any warrior for ThunderClan."

"But you have to sort herbs all the time," Sagekit wrinkled his nose, and Hailpaw gave the kit a playful nudge.

"Those herbs Yellowfang and I sort all the time helped your bellyache, didn't they?"

Before Sagekit could answer, the loudest clap of thunder yet rattled the sky, and Foxpaw whipped around, his dark blue gaze immediately locking on the small piece of sky that he could see through the fern tunnel as lightning turned the sky completely white.

"Hailpaw…?" Sagekit's soft, fearful voice instantly drew Foxpaw's attention back to his brother, who was staring at the same piece of sky Foxpaw had glimpsed, the fur on his spine standing on end and his eyes wide and unfocused—as if he were seeing something no other cat could. Is he receiving a sign from StarClan…?

"Featherpaw," he finally rasped, sitting suddenly, his gaze clouding as he seemed to return to his body. "Where's Featherpaw?"

Foxpaw shook his head. "I don't know, Hailpaw. Why? What happened? Did you see something?"

The lithe tabby only turned his gaze back to the sky, a shiver rippling through his pelt. "We have to find Featherpaw."

"Now?" Foxpaw felt unease mounting in his heart. Hailpaw was acting strange again—as he had when he and Featherpaw had found him on their hunting trip. How has StarClan taken you so far away from me, Hailpaw…? "But Fireheart—"

Suddenly, Hailpaw whirled to face his brother directly, his eyes wide and desperate. "Foxpaw, please!" He trembled lightly where he stood, his ears pressed against his head. "I saw her, Foxpaw—in the lightning. She was there and she was saying something, she was yowling at me and then the darkness just…" He crouched low to the ground, bowing his head as if all of his energy was suddenly drained from him. "You're right." He finally mumbled. "We need to follow Fireheart's orders."

"Hailpaw…" Foxpaw flashed a glance at Sagekit—one that pleaded for secrecy—as he stepped forward, rasping his tongue comfortingly across his brother's ear. "I'll go look for her."

Hailpaw's ice blue eyes flashed up to meet Foxpaw's midnight hues. "But Foxpaw, the storm…"

The red-furred apprentice shook his head. "Forget the storm—I'm more concerned about what Stormpaw is going to do to us if he finds out that we knew Featherpaw may be in danger and didn't do a thing about it."

Concern swam in the icy depths of Hailpaw's eyes, mingling and mixing with relief. "Thank-you, Foxpaw." He murmured, bowing his head. "Please be careful… I don't want to know the pain of losing either of you."

"Don't worry," Foxpaw forced his voice to brighten into a confident meow. "You won't."

There was something then, in Hailpaw's eyes, that the other apprentice couldn't place—something that set his confidence fleeing and an unsettling feeling in his chest. But it was gone before he could mention it, and quickly forgotten as the fern tunnel rattled behind him, revealing the concerned face of Ferncloud.

"Sagekit? Sagekit, where are you?!"

"I'm here." The black tom quickly scampered to his mother, who quickly covered his small form in concerned licks.

"And now I can leave with permission," Foxpaw flicked his tail-tip against his brother's shoulder good-naturedly, and the pale silver tabby let a relieved sigh pass his lips.

"Thank StarClan…"

Without another word, they left the medicine den side by side, their flanks just barely brushing. Outside, the wind was still brisk, a steady drizzle still casting a gloom over the forest. The thunder was subsiding, though, and slowly but surely, the cats of ThunderClan were emerging from their shelters. Fireheart took up his usual post at the center of the camp, and without having to be told, the Clan began to circle up around him. The clearing, Foxpaw noticed as he and Hailpaw joined the others around their father, was a wreck. Fallen branches and wind-whipped leaves littered the ground, and the remains of their fresh-kill pile lay scattered throughout the camp, battered and muddy. Concerned murmurs rippled through the gathering cats, before with a sweep of his tail, Fireheart motioned for silence, drawing their attention to him.

"Is every cat here and accounted for?" The deputy spoke in a calm, level voice, though his ears flicked nervously under the steady rain. Again, murmurs broke out, warriors looking for mates and apprentices, and queens for kits.

"Ashfur isn't here…" Brackenfur called uncertainly, glancing around for the pale gray warrior.

"Neither is Featherpaw," Hailpaw offered quietly.

"She was on patrol with me and Sorreltail," Brambleclaw answered immediately. "We were hunting—but we split up."

Cindercloud nodded her agreement from the place she had taken beside Fireheart. Their deputy looked concerned. "I sent Ashfur and Swiftstep to fetch the patrols that were out. Did either of them find you?"

Sorreltail answered this time, her voice still wavering slightly. "I saw Ashfur. I told him I would find Cindercloud and Brambleclaw, and he offered to find Featherpaw."

Graystripe pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "So wherever they are, they're together and safe." He put the words out as a statement, but Foxpaw could hear the questions in his mind. Did they make it? Are they okay? Will I see Featherpaw again?

"We'll put together a search party immediately." Fireheart didn't hesitate at all as he called for Silverstream to lead the patrol, and the silver tabby instantly asked for Cindercloud. Foxpaw stepped forward, but was surprised when Dustpelt spoke first.

"You should take Foxpaw, as well." The dark brown tabby flicked his tail towards his apprentice, and Foxpaw joined his mentor. "He's great at tracking—even in rain like this."

"Good," Fireheart nodded. "The four of you go now. Everyone else, we need to assess the damage to the camp…"

Silverstream was already working her way towards the gorse tunnel, Cindercloud right on her paws. With a flick of his ears, Dustpelt motioned for Foxpaw to follow, and with a final murmur of, "I'll bring her back safe," Foxpaw joined his mentor. They caught up to the she-cats at the top of the ravine, and the sight that greeted them was unlike any Foxpaw had seen before. Trees were bent and broken from the wind, most laying completely on their sides, or leaning heavily against the unstable trees beside them.

"Great StarClan…" Cindercloud murmured, her blue eyes huge.

Dustpelt blinked a few times, seeming stunned, before he shook his head. "We have to focus on the task at paw."

Silverstream nodded, motioning for Cindercloud to take the lead. The dark gray she-cat did so silently, her ears flat against the rain as she made her way down the route their patrol had taken before splitting up. Foxpaw stayed close to her, his jaws parted as he started to try to distinguish Featherpaw's scent. It was harder than he thought it would be, but Hailpaw's fear and Dustpelt's praise pushed him to keep trying, despite the mud and mingled scents in the air.

"This is where we split up." Cinderloud finally meowed, flicking her ears towards a tree. It was still standing, though its limbs lay scattered around it. Without another word, the four cats split up, each searching for the silver apprentice's scent. Foxpaw paced back and forth, rubbing his nose along the fronds of each individual plant, knowing that Featherpaw preferred hunting through foliage, as her light gray pelt made her easy to spot.

"Here!" He finally called, Featherpaw's warm, familiar scent just barely reaching his nose. He didn't wait for a reply, or even to see if they had heard him, immediately ducking into the foliage and following the faint traces Featherpaw's scent left. Where are you Featherpaw? He remembered the vivid fear in Hailpaw's eyes as he tried to explain what he had seen—he remembered the concern that rippled through the entire clan when it was noted that she was missing. You better be alright, Featherpaw…!

As he grew more and more sure of himself and of Featherpaw's faint, lingering scent, the red-furred apprentice picked up speed, his plumy tail streaming behind him and he raced down the path his den-mate had taken. I've hunted down the same path with her, Foxpaw hardly needed the scent anymore as he made this realization. She was on her way…

And then it stopped. The scent trail ended as abruptly as it had started, in a small muddy clearing.

"Fox-dung!" The apprentice's tail lashed as he began to pace the clearing, his jaws spread wide as he tried to catch the scent again.

"Foxpaw? What's wrong?" There was a rustle behind him, and only a heartbeat later Silverstream appeared, followed closely by Cindercloud and Dustpelt.

"I lost it…" His furious pacing slowed, his midnight blue eyes dark with disappointment and concern.

"No…" Dustpelt shook his head, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he approached a huge fallen tree beside them. "I don't think you lost it. I think it ended."

The rest of the patrol turned their eyes to the tree, and Foxpaw approached cautiously beside his mentor. "You don't think…?"

The dark tabby warrior gave a grim nod. "I'm afraid so."

"No…" But he could smell it—the strong scent of fear, and traces of Featherpaw's own sweet scent. Something rustled—something from deep with the branches of the tree.

"…Foxpaw…?"

"Featherpaw!" The red-furred apprentice launched into the tangled, broken branches, not caring as they scraped as his wet, matted pelt. His claws snagged and tore, but he kept going, forcing himself through the wrecked tree until his nose met Featherpaw's warm pelt. "You're safe…" He sighed softly, feeling his shoulders relax. "Hailpaw had a vision, and he was so scared for you… We were all so worried…"

The light gray she-cat shivered, pressing herself against Foxpaw. "I'm okay," she stammered softly. "B-but Ashfur… He pushed me out of the way, Foxpaw. Ahsfur… Ashfur is dead."

Woww… So it has (once again) been a while… but hey! It's Christmas Break! No school = less work = more time to write! I know I say it a lot, but I just want to say thanks again for sticking with this if you have, and especially thanks for reviewing! I've got a lot of inspiration for this story right now, I have their warrior names figured out, and I am ready to write! And to my reviewers:

Thank-you so much! I was going to do personalized answers, as I normally do, but I can't remember which were my last reviews, since some people have reviewed earlier chapters since I posted the last one ^^''''

I will definitely answer you all individually next time though!

Please review and tell me your thoughts and opinions, I love to hear them (:

Next chapter will be up soon~!