Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Book 3: Waning Moon
Chapter Fifteen

A weary ache had settled over Blazeheart's entire body. Three days had passed since the half moon, and Foxleap's death. Ever since then, the Clan had been doubling it's efforts to make the camp prepared for battle.

"You'd think there would only be so many times we'd need to reinforce these dens," Blazeheart grumbled to Seedlight. The ginger she-cat grunted in agreement. She was crouched below Blazeheart, holding the base of a large branch steady while Blazeheart, settled back on his haunches, used his front paws to weave the branch into the wall of the elder's den.

A few paces away, Molefoot rumbled, "That's the price of living in a forest." Even after a full day's work, and the grim atmosphere after Foxleap's death, the cream-and-brown tom's gaze managed to hold a gleam of amusement. "Branches fall, the wind makes things shift, and no den is invincible." The older warrior looked over the hazel bush that served as the elder's den, adding, "The snow makes things harder. When it collects on top of a den, it weighs down on the den, adding stress to the brambles and branches."

"When isn't snow making things harder?" Seedlight grumbled around the branch in her jaws. Privately, Blazeheart agreed. As pretty as the snow was, draped across the surfaces of the surfaces, it only seemed to make Clan life harder at every turn.

That hadn't seemed to occur to the Clan's youngest members. Sunnykit, Shadowkit, and Ripplekit were tumbling together in the snow a few foxlengths away, snarling in play. Redkit and Skykit watched from the sidelines, apparently judging whatever contest the livelier kits had thought up. Blazeheart was surprised to see the aimless flailing of the young kits had become carefully timed attacks with more strength behind their blows. Ripplekit tripped Sunnykit with a swift blow to her shoulder, while Shadowkit grabbed Ripplekit's striped tail between his teeth, yanking the smaller tom off balance. They had grown too – Shadowkit stood nearly at Blazeheart's shoulder. It wouldn't be long now until both litters were apprenticed.

Blazeheart called out to the kits, "Why don't you see if Squirrelflight has something she wants you to do? We could use some help around camp."

All five kits looked up from their game, ears perked towards the warrior. "She's busy," Sunnykit told Blazeheart. "She just told us to stay out of the way."

Redkit's tail shot up as she realized, "Maybe we can help with the nursery. It's been getting too crowded, and now that Blossomfall's moved in, we could help make it nice and roomy for her and her kits!"

"Yeah!" With a cheerful cry, the kits scampered towards the nursery.

"Make sure a warrior helps you!" Blazeheart called after them. As mature as the kits were becoming, he didn't trust that they could successfully put together a working den wall without a warrior's guidance. Sunnykit acknowledged his order with a flick of her striped tail, and the kits circled around the other side of the nursery, disappearing from sight.

Blazeheart shook his head, purring fondly. "They'll be good warriors one day," he commented to Seedlight. The pale tabby grunted in agreement, teeth still closed around the branch. With a final twist, Blazeheart managed to work the branch successfully into the thickly-woven wall of the hazel den. When Seedlight released her grip, the den no longer swayed under the weight of the snow.

"Good work," Molefoot praised. He looked the den up and down, declaring, "This should be fine. I'll tell Brightheart that if they have any more problems with it, we can take another look."

Seedlight sat up, spitting out bark. "So we're done?" the young warrior asked hopefully.

"Yes," Molefoot mewed. Seedlight gave a quick nod, then scurried off, heading towards Lilyfrost by the freshkill pile. Before Blazeheart could escape as well, Molefoot glanced over at him, adding, "I almost forgot. Ambertalon asked if you could help her sort out the apprentice's den."

Blazeheart dipped his head. "Yes, Molefoot." His disappointment that he wasn't done for the day was tempered by delight to learn that he would be working with Ambertalon.

He turned and padded off, taking the familiar path across camp to the crevice carved into the stone wall of camp. As he passed through the entrance to the stone den, he somehow felt smaller, almost as though he were an apprentice again.

Ambertalon was already inside when he arrived. Two amber eyes blinked at him from the dim light of the den, the small she-cat looking up from the moss nest she had been prodding. "I was wondering when you'd show up," she purred. The she-cat was the only cat in the den; the other apprentices must have been elsewhere.

"I didn't know you were waiting for me," Blazeheart replied. With a purr, he crossed the den to the she-cat, giving an affectionate lick to her cheek. Immediately, he withdrew in surprise. He hadn't meant to be so forward. The tom's ears flattened in embarrassment, hoping he hadn't seemed too awkward.

Luckily, Ambertalon didn't seem to mind. A fierce purr rumbling in her throat, and she bumped her muzzle against his chin in a friendly greeting. "Ah, nevermind. You're here now." While Blazeheart was still trying to figure out why he'd done something so mousebrained, Ambertalon stepped back, turning back to look at the den. "So, I've already replaced most of the moss, though I haven't gotten to Finchpaw's nest yet."

"Yeah, where is Finchpaw anyway?" Blazeheart asked. "I thought the apprentices would have been back from training by now."

Ambertalon explained, "Birchfall and your mother took Lightpaw and Sparkpaw for a warrior assessment."

Blazeheart's ears flicked better in interest. "That's early," he commented. "It's still a moon until they're old enough to be warriors, right?"

"Something like that. But their mentors seem to think they're ready for the assessment," Ambertalon said. "I think it's just an early assessment." She flicked her tail, adding, "But anyway, Snowfall decided to take Finchpaw to help with the assessment. He thought it might cheer him up a bit to help with a real warrior assessment."

Blazeheart nodded slowly. His friend was probably right; Finchpaw had been hit hard by Foxleap's death. The young tom had spent most of the last four days moping around in camp, either sleeping or helping repair dens, barely speaking or looking any cat in the eye. Snowfall had been sympathetic, of course, but Blazeheart had a feeling that the best thing for Finchpaw was to get out of camp, get some fresh air, and get back into the routine of training and learning to be a warrior. Maybe the chance to help with a warrior assessment would manage to cheer the apprentice up, even for a little while.

Aloud, he mewed, "That's good. Maybe we could do something special for Finchpaw, like soften his nest with some downy feathers, or something."

"Great idea," Ambertalon purred. "I think I saw a chaffinch on the fresh-kill pile. Sparkpaw was eyeing it, but I don't think he'll mind just giving us the feathers." She turned her attention towards the den's entrance, added, "Lilyfrost and I were working earlier to weave branches to make the entrance tighter. It's getting along nicely, but it's still not tight enough. I want to have to push to get in, so any invaders might think twice about trying to barge in."

Blazeheart's whiskers twitched. "If we're going based on whether you can fit, I think you'll be the only cat in the Clan who can fit in here," he teased. The tom flicked his tail-tip against her shoulder, which only came up to his chest.

She puffed out her pelt, giving a low, mocking growl. "Are you calling me short?" she demanded.

"No... I guess you're right," Blazeheart mewed, feigning a thoughtful expression. "You wouldn't be the only one who could fit." His whiskers twitched. "The kits might be able to squeeze in."

He never saw coming the moss ball that hurtled straight into his head. Blazeheart recoiled in surprise, scraping moss from his pelt, as Ambertalon turned back to the nests, having hardly mussed a hair. "And I had them all organized too," she muttered, scooping the nests back into shape with one paw.

Blazeheart couldn't suppress a mrowrr of laughter. "Mousebrain," he teased lightly, shaking the last of the moss out of his fur. "Come on, let's get to work. After we put the nests back together, you can ask Sparkpaw for the feathers while I get more brambles and branches for the entrance."

"Sounds good." The two cats set to work, scraping the moss together into three nests. As they worked, Blazeheart couldn't help but feel a brush of sadness. Less than a moon ago, this den had been his home. But now his nest was gone, and so was Silentstorm's. Even their scents were starting to become stale. Soon, there would be no trace that they had ever stayed in this den at all.

Ambertalon seemed to sense what he was thinking. "It's weird coming back, isn't it?" she mewed sympathetically. "You want more than anything to be a warrior, and you wouldn't give up your name and rank for the world, but sometimes it's hard growing up and moving on."

"Yeah." Blazeheart glanced over at where his nest had once been, wondering whether who the next apprentice to sleep in that spot would be. "We had some good times, though, didn't we? Like that time you were annoyed at Snowfall, and you put ants in his nest?"

The tiny she-cat gave a sharp mrowrr of laughter. "And you found out, but you thought it was funny, so you didn't tell him."

"He was wriggling all night," Blazeheart laughed. "It took him half a moon to figure out you were the one who'd done it. He'd thought it was Dewpaw."

Ambertalon shrugged. "Eh, he tripped me into a mud patch after he found out anyway, so we were even."

Blazeheart's whiskers twitched in laughter. His heart felt lighter than it had in the days since Foxleap's death. But as his thoughts turned to Foxleap, his good mood faded, the grief setting back in. "Things were simpler when we were in training," he murmured quietly.

A fierce anger blazed in Ambertalon's eyes for a moment. The full fury of the fierce she-cat showed in the blaze of her eyes and the bristle of her pelt. Then, her gaze softened, anger replaced by sympathy and grief. "I know," she mewed softly. She touched her nose briefly to Blazeheart's cheek, the tom stiffening in surprise. "We'll make them pay for it. Foxleap didn't die in vain." Before Blazeheart could respond, she pulled away, and returned to her work.

The two warriors had finished putting together the nests as they spoke, scooping the last of the moss together. As Ambertalon worked to put the last strands of moss together, Blazeheart paused in his work, watching her for a moment. Why hadn't he warned Snowfall about the ants, all those moons ago? Sure, he liked to prank his best friend every now and then, but back then he had been much closer to the white tom than to Ambertalon. So why had he taken her side? Why had he licked her cheek in greeting, and why did the thought of patrolling and hunting with her fill his chest with so much warmth?

He remembered Snowfall and Silentstorm teasing him the other day. They had accused him of mooning over Ambertalon. Before, he had been far too embarrassed at the implication to take it seriously, but now, he had to wonder. Had they been right? Was what he felt for Ambertalon something beyond friendship?

Ambertalon finally noticed his gaze on her. She tipped her head, amber eyes glowing with confusion. "What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Blazeheart shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Erm, I'll go get those branches." He scurried away, leaving a bewildered Ambertalon behind as he exited the den.

Embarrassment flooded his pelt as he hurried out of camp and into the forest. He had just acted like a mousebrain in front of one of his oldest friends, regardless of how he might or might not feel about her. And if he really did feel differently about her now, he had no idea what he was supposed to do about it. Did he tell her? What would she say?

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he nearly crashed into the patrol returning to camp. "Hey!" Silentstorm scrambled out of Blazeheart's path, her blind gray eyes wide with surprise. "Watch it!"

Blazeheart shook his head, snapping himself out of the haze of his thoughts. "Oh, mousedung," he mewed. "Sorry about that, Silentstorm." The rest of his sister's patrol followed after her, looking at Blazeheart in surprise. Toadstep was carrying a scrawny vole, while Ivypool and Poppyfrost carried a squirrel between them.

Silentstorm shook herself, the startled look fading from her eyes. "It's fine, mousebrain," she mewed easily.

"Daydreaming, Blazeheart?" Poppyfrost asked, sounding amused. She released her grip on the squirrel, which Ivypool let fall in front of her paws. Blazeheart noticed her shift closer to Toadstep, the two warriors brushing pelts. After a few moons of mooning over each other, the two had officially become mates shortly before the Gathering.

"Sort of," he admitted. "Sorry about that. I'm supposed to be gathering branches to reinforce the entrance to the apprentice's den."

Silentstorm's ears perked. "Want me to help you out?" she asked. "Maybe I can find a mouse or something to bring to camp while we're out." Blazeheart had noticed that she was the only cat on her patrol that wasn't carrying prey.

"Sure," he mewed. His sister's company would be a good distraction from his thoughts about Ambertalon.

The black she-cat turned to her patrol, meowing, "I'll meet you back in camp later."

Ivypool gave a small nod, mewing, "Don't take too long. We'll send someone to check on you if you aren't back soon." The silver tabby touched noses with her former apprentice, then padded back towards camp, the rest of the patrol following. Soon, Blazeheart was left alone with his sister.

He flicked his tail. "Come on." Together, the littermates set off further into the woods. They didn't stray far from camp; even in their own territory, the threat of Breeze made them cautious. A young beech with low-hanging branches rested near the edge of camp, perfect for collecting branches from. Blazeheart and Silentstorm made straight for the beech, treading cautiously even as close to camp as they were.

Silentstorm kept watch as Blazeheart collected fallen branches around the base of the tree, half-buried by the snow. "I hate this," the blind warrior murmured, lashing her tail in frustration. "We shouldn't have to feel like prey in our own territory."

"Breeze would beg to differ," Blazeheart murmured. His claws brushed against a big, thick branch under the snow. The tom began digging, brushing the snow away so he could reach the branch.

Rage was suddenly heavy in Silentstorm's voice. "Breeze!" Blazeheart was so startled that he whirled around, expecting Breeze to be behind them. But it was only Silentstorm, her gray eyes burning with fury. "I could shred that fox-faced, maggot-hearted murderer! It's bad enough his cats kill loyal warriors, but the allies he makes are just..."

"Allies?" Blazeheart repeated, puzzled.

Silentstorm blinked, looking startled. "What? Oh, I meant his followers." Something about the she-cat's tone seemed off, almost like she wasn't telling the full truth. Blazeheart almost asked her if she was sure of what she'd meant, but decided against it. They had just suffered the loss of a friend and Clanmate. It wasn't surprising that his sister was acting a bit different.

"You're right," Blazeheart mewed finally. "Before, I thought this would be open battle, like any other fight. I knew that Breeze didn't fight by the warrior code, but I didn't realize just how lawless they were." Anger surged through the young tom. He hooked his claws in the snow, digging them deep into the ice-cold depths as he snarled, "They would rather kill a warrior when his back is turned than face him in a fair battle. All for the crime of being a warrior."

As Blazeheart turned back to his work of digging up the branch, he heard Silentstorm murmur behind him, "I wonder what the Clan will want to do now."

"About what?" Blazeheart had gotten half of the stick uncovered. He fastened his teeth around the branch, shuddering inwardly at the feeling of wet, cold bark against his tongue. With a strong yank of his head, he managed to pull the branch free from the snow. Blazeheart let the branch fall to his paws, spitting out grit and bark.

Silentstorm's expression was grim. "About Breeze," she explained. "About his demands."

Blazeheart stiffened. He had known for a while that Silentstorm had reservations about staying to fight. As much as he had tried to convince her, she seemed unsure that they could survive a war with the rogues. He turned back towards Silentstorm, a desperate edge entering his mew. "Silentstorm, we have to stay," he hissed. "We can't let him get away with this. If we leave, then Foxleap will have died for nothing. The camp he died guarding will be nothing but an empty hollow, abandoned by cats too scared to defend it."

"Blazeheart, I –"

He barreled on, barely taking a moment to listen. "If we let him drive us out now, how can we ever defend any home again, when running will always be the easier option? We won't be warriors anymore!"

"Will you let me talk!" Silentstorm snapped. "I was going to say, I agree."

That made Blazeheart pause. "You do?"

"Yes." Something dark flickered in her eyes, something Blazeheart couldn't read. "I can see now that no matter where we go, Breeze will always have the power to find us. It wouldn't matter if we ran to the edge of time itself. He won't stop until the warrior code is forgotten or every one of us is dead. We have to fight."

Relief settled over Blazeheart, knowing that he had his sister's support. "You're right," he mewed softly. His relief began to fade as he added, "But what about the rest of the Clan?"

"I don't know," Silentstorm admitted. Blazeheart was still collecting a small pile of branches, stacking them together, as Silentstorm turned back towards him. "Foxleap's death might show them that we have no choice but to fight, or it might convince them even more that we have to flee."

Blazeheart knew Silentstorm was right. If the Clan thought they would be picked off in the dark like prey if they stayed, they would leave the lake. The thought made his fur stand on end. The Clans had to remain by the lake. He knew it in the depths of his heart. This was where the Clans and the warrior code belonged, and as long as one warrior was left standing, they had to protect it. If ThunderClan left the lake, everything they stood for would be lost.

Even as hopelessness gripped at his heart, he remembered Ambertalon, and his despair lessened a little. No matter what he felt or didn't feel, he knew now that he had two she-cats who would fight beside him, and beside ThunderClan, to defend their stone hollow to the very end.

Sorry this took so long. At least it wasn't a month this time, just half a month. I was busy with school starting back up, and I was really blocked with this chapter. I'm still not totally happy with it - I'm not sure I struck the right balance between fluff and grief, and I still can't write romance-y things to save my life. But at least it's done.

Anyway, next chapter will be in Silentstorm's POV. We're getting into the second half of this one. As of current plans, only eleven chapters left, with maybe two or three bonus chapters at the end.