Chapter Two; who knew? I hope you enjoyed the last one, so here's the second. Reviews about the story are helpful and thank you for reading. So here you go I guess:
Sleep didn't take SparkPaw that morning. Fear and worries gnawed at his belly like worms. He raised his head, seeing that the time was sunhigh. Sunhigh! SparkPaw became excited: this was the time to learn how to climb a tree! He rose quickly from his spot, bounding over towards the camp entrance. He was almost there, but then his paws failed him, and he tumbled to the ground.
"Hey! Watch it!" BirchFur yowled angrily at him. "Sorry, BirchFur." SparkPaw got back up on his paws. He must have tripped on BirchFur's tail, whose brown and cream striped fur was sticking up dirtily. BirchFur started grooming his tail. "You've ruined my pelt! Now I have to clean it all again!" he hissed between licks. SparkPaw pinned his ears down. He hadn't meant to upset him like this, nor trip on his tail at all. "Tch. Whatever." BirchFur clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't even have the chance right now, due to the hunting patrol. Don't try to slip me up again." he barely hid his threat towards SparkPaw, and padded grumpily away. SparkPaw walked towards the entrance way again, only more slowly, still feeling the sting of awkwardness from the interaction.
"Alright, FrostFang, HornetClaw, and-oh, SparkPaw. You're here. We can go now." ClawLeap was getting set for the hunting patrol. "You okay?" she clearly sensed SparkPaw's feelings of unease.
"Yeah, yeah. I just tripped on BirchFur's tail. He was pretty mad about it." he explained, an uncomfortableness seeped into his words as he spoke. ClawLeap only chuckled at his words. "Wow. A bit of dirt and he acts like a ThunderClan cat scarred him." Her lighthearted words gave him some hope. Perhaps he didn't need to feel so bad about it after all. "C'mon," she flicked her tail, "Let's head out for the patrol!"
The marshy grasslands of ShadowClan territory smelled alive with prey. The wet soil gripped at SparkPaw's paws, but he didn't let that stop him from keeping up with the patrol. He could smell the squirrels rustling in the trees, but he wasn't focused on that today. He opened his mouth, trying to find the smell of birds, any bird would probably do. Newleaf brought birds together, which meant there had to be a nest of eggs somewhere hidden in the pine trees. ClawLeap suddenly stopped the patrol with a flick of her tail. "A mouse," she whispered. He tasted the air; a plump mouse was a few fox-lengths away. She went down into a crouch, stalking the mouse silently. HornetClaw gently swiped their tail onto SparkPaw, silently asking him to watch. That was why he was here though; he didn't need reminding, but he made sure to pay extra attention. At a few tail-lengths away, she pounced, killing the mouse in one swift claw swipe. She showed the catch to the rest of the patrol, and buried it next to the nearest tree. HornetClaw leaned over to SparkPaw. "She taught me everything I know." the black warrior stated proudly. FrostFang glanced at their littermate, but out of jealousy or support he didn't know.
The group ventured deeper into the marshlands, and it was becoming more difficult for SparkPaw to keep up. His gray paws were covered in mud; his black and white striped pelt stained with water. THe others didn't seem to mind it though, except for HornetClaw. They kept stopping every few steps to lick their pelt, complaining about how wet it was here. He soon came to a stop by a moss-layed tree. Watery swamp surrounded it, but there was something very important about this place; it had a bird's nest. He could smell it. He just had to check to see if it hadn what he was looking for. "Hey FrostFang!" he called for his mentor, "I'd like some help please." FrostFang padded over casually. "What's up?" they asked.
"I need help climbing this tree." SparkPaw glanced at the top of the tree, and then back to FrostFang
"Why'd…why'd you need to climb a tree for?" they asked, looking up
"I need to find a bird's egg for WrinklePelt!" he explained
"Well, alright." they shrugged. They put their front paws up onto the tree bark, unsheathing their claws. "So first you unsheathe your claws, right? Then you find a branch." they glanced towards the lowest branch, "And once you find it, you, like, just have to jump up towards it." They jumped, grabbing the branch with their paws. They hauled the rest of their body up onto the rest of it. "And that's how it's done." they called from the branch. SparkPaw nodded, and unsheathed his claws. He backed up, and then bounded towards the tree. He leaped off the ground from the stump, and missed the branch. Panicking, he grabbed the bark of the tree. His mentor stared down at him. Refusing to quit, he used his claws to climb up that tree, and finally heaved himself onto the branch where FrostFang sat. "Nice work." they said to the panting apprentice. SparkPaw only nodded. Determination was still in his eyes. Shaking exhaustion from his pelt, he jumped off from the branch, clinging to the tree with his claws as he climbed higher. "Hey! Wait!" he vaguely heard his mentor shout, but right now he didn't care. As he made his way up the tree, the fresh smell of bird's egg filled his senses; he was almost there!
The nest was on one of the highest branches of the tree, and a thin branch as well. He put more of his weight onto his haunches as he crouched into the hunting position, carefully moving each paw in accordance to the branch's light weight. One slip up and he could plummet down onto the ground. What would happen to him then? He shuddered at the thought. As he crawled, he heard a slight crack from the tree. He quickly glanced down; he could make out the black and white pelts of HornetClaw and FrostFang skittering about. The blue gray fur of ClawLeap was also there, going towards the tree and back at the siblings. He focused back on the matter at paw: the egg. Creeping slowly towards it, he pounced, grabbing the egg with his jaws. He had done it! He climbed a tree and caught an egg! Wait until LittlePaw heard of this! As he went back towards the beginning of the branch, a louder crack was heard, and then the branch cracked. A sharp part of it pierced his lip, and left him to cling onto the half-broken piece for dear life. His eyes widened in panic; he glanced down again. The black fur of HornetClaw was rushing away from the tree. Where were they going? Are they going to get help? Am I being abandoned, left to die? Thoughts crowded his head. He couldn't yowl for help; he would have to give up the egg then, and he couldn't possibly do that. The branch was lowering, the splintering of the wood could probably be heard throughout the territory. He scampered for another part of the branch, barely making it as the first third plunged down onto the ground. The salty taste of blood was seeping into his mouth, and onto the egg. The second third was already creaking under his weight. He thought he was about to fall, when something grabbed at his scruff. ClawLeap, thank StarClan! "I got you!" she meowed through clenched teeth. But the branch couldn't hold SparkPaw, let alone both of them. And with a final snap, the branch both, leaving them plummeting towards the ground. Instinctively, he knew he should right himself in the air onto his paws, but he had worked to get this egg, he couldn't let WrinklePelt down at the last moment. So he flipped onto his back as he braced himself for impact.
He expected to meet his ancestors, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the blue sky, and the harsh feeling of mud plastered onto his pelt. He looked around; the border patrol was around him, talking to FrostFang and ClawLeap, who was also drenched in marsh. He laid down on his side, seeing AdderPaw sitting in front of him, her tail wrapped around her paws.
"You okay?" she cocked her head to the side
"Yeah….yeah…why do you ask?" SparkPaw panted, suspicious. AdderPaw was usually LittlePaw's closest parenter, so why would she care about him? Other than to make fun of him, of course. His eyes suddenly widened in shock. "Wh-where's the egg?" He looked around quickly. Only the smell of blood was in his mouth, clouding his senses.
"Oh. HornetClaw took it from you. They've gone to get PaleFoot." AdderPaw explained calmly, putting SparkPaw at ease for the moment. "You've a nasty cut on your lip. You need to put moss on it."
"Alright, okay." he began to get up. His mouth was throbbing with pain. He had to breathe through his nose due to the pain it took to open his mouth.
The medicine den was damp. Light showed through the two openings, though SparkPaw could only see one of them. He was put in a nest in the back of the den, nestled by the rock wall that separated him and the start of the medicine storage rocks. The bitter smell of herbs clouded SparkPaw's senses. On his mouth was a moss ball, wet with water and blood from his recent wound. It would likely scar. The rummaging of herbs was heard as PaleFoot entered the back nests. He was mostly a black cat, with a white cape on his back and a tail streak mostly covered in black fur. His white cape had gray stripes, and so did his wrists. In his mouth he had some poppy seeds.
"Eat these," he yawned, laying them in front of him. If he wasn't eating, healing, or doing other medicine cat duties, he was mainly asleep. SparkPaw forced himself to open his mouth and eat the seeds. They tasted quite bitter.
"You know, I didn't expect you to be back so soon." PaleFoot started talking in between checking his stock of herbs. "Last moon it was greencough, last week you had a thorn in your paw. BirchFur came in here looking for seeds because you quote-unquote 'traumatized' him by tripping over his tail." he chuckled lightly at the last part. He came back with some chervil poultice. He took the damp moss ball from SparkPaw's mouth and began applying it to his wound. It's sweet smell filled his senses, even calming him a little. "Now where's that moss?" PaleFoot muttered, the moving of herbs could be heard from SparkPaw's nest. "I can help you with that!" MarshPaw's stuffy voice entered the den. It was muffled from carrying dry moss. "Oh, where'd you get that?" PaleFoot questioned, not expecting moss so quickly. "HoundHeart was showing me the territory after I helped the elders!" MarshPaw explained excitedly, "I heard from the other apprentices that SparkPaw got a cut on his mouth, so while we were finishing up, I took some moss from a rock!" MarshPaw was clearly proud of this accomplishment. He walked up to SparkPaw, moss in mouth, and put it up to his chin. He licked the top of SparkPaw's head. "You'll feel better." he smiled. "Thanks." SparkPaw muttered, muffled by the moss. "How was it, anyways?" PaleFoot asked, scratching his left ear with his white paw. For a cat who was mostly about medicine and sleeping, it was strange how Palefoot had a torn left ear, nevermind the claw-shaped scar on his left eye. Has he ever been in a fight? When other cats would ask PaleFoot, he would avoid the question; he'd been in the medicine den long enough to hear the conversations.
"It was alright." MarshPaw shrugged. "It was very wet."
"Did you find any interesting smells?" PaleFoot tried to keep the conversation going.
"Nothing much. Just some mice, some voles. An occasional toad or two." MarshPaw explained. "Though there WAS something. It was by the Carrionplace. Some strange scents. It smelled like a cat, but no cat I've ever met."
"How fresh was it?" PaleFoot asked, suddenly curious
"One was stale, the other one was much fresher." MarshPaw continued, "It was only on the border though. Should it matter?"
"Of course!" PaleFoot raised his voice a bit. "You and HoundHeart should go tell EagleStar." PaleFoot flicked his tail towards the entrance of the den.
"Are you sure?" MarshPaw started to plead, "Are you sure you don't need any help here? I could get moss from my bedding, I could-"
"No, really, I'm fine MarshPaw. But I appreciate your enthusiasm." PaleFoot yawned. "I'm just going to finish up with SparkPaw, that's all. It's been a quiet day."
"Oh." Marshpaw responded, dejected. "I'm going to find HoundHeart and EagleStar then." MarshPaw glumly padded out of the medicine den.
PaleFoot sighed.
"Why didn't you make him your apprentice?" SparkPaw asked. "It seems he wants to help you a lot."
"I-it's a complicated thing." PaleFoot turned towards him. His light green eyes were clouded with thoughts that SparkPaw couldn't read. There was an awkward silence between them. "I want to see how MarshPaw feels. I don't want to force him into anything." PaleFoot finally explained, "No cat should be forced into a role they don't want. If he wants to truly become a medicine cat, he will approach me, and I will welcome him with open paws. So will Starclan, I'm sure of it." SparkPaw watched as the medicine cat looked up towards the evening sky. "How's your lip doing?" he suddenly turned to ask.
"It's actually pretty alright. It hurts to talk somewhat though." SparkPaw explained, surprised at the sudden curiosity of his injury
"Good, good." PaleFoot nodded. "Just spend the night here and by morning you'll be good to go. Just try not to do anything stupid for now. And be careful about eating."
"Alright." SparkPaw agreed.
"Okay. Get a good night's rest." PaleFoot yawned, heading for his nest.
"Wait, PaleFoot!" SparkPaw shot up, "Did WrinklePelt get the egg? Did she like it? Does she like me? Did ShadeTail even get-"
"It's fine, everything is fine." PaleFoot stopped him. "WrinklePelt got the egg, she liked it. She appreciated the gesture. You can see her tomorrow."
"Ok, ok. Thank you." SparkPaw calmed down.
"Yeah, whatever…" PaleFoot replied tiredly, stalking over to his nest, and promptly fell asleep.
The light morning sun rose gently over the highstones. SparkPaw already snuck out of the medicine den; PaleFoot was still sleeping soundly. The sun warmed his pelt from the night he spent in the medicine den. The dawn patrol was getting ready to leave, led by KindleRoot of course. His gingery pelt was practically glowing due to the sun. LittlePaw was nearby checking to see if everyone was there, acting as if she were deputy already, let alone a full warrior. KindleRoot was only approving this behavior, complimenting her on her leadership skills. SplashPaw and JaguarPelt were a part of it, so he padded over to say hello.
"SparkPaw!" SplashPaw called trotting, "How ya feeling?"
"Alright. It still hurts a little bit." SparkPaw replied, swiping his tongue over the wound.
"I think it's gonna leave a scar." SplashPaw noticed
"Yeah, I sort of guessed that." SparkPaw shrugged. "Though it is kind of stupid, getting a scar from climbing a tree."
"Are ya kidding? I don't even have a scar yet, and ya got one for the whole forest to see!" SplashPaw exclaimed.
"You really think so?" SparkPaw asked, feeling hope rise from his chest. This scar meant he might get respect from the clan!
"Oh no SplashPaw. He's right; it is stupid." LittlePaw interrupted them. "I mean, getting hurt by a tree? That's one of the most mouse-brained things I can think of." she chuckled, causing SparkPaw's ears to fall flat in disappointment.
"But-but it was for an elder of the clan! Surely that must mean something!" he tried to reason
"Yeah, but you don't go trying to kill yourself for one. They're going to live anyways, whether you bring them an egg or not."
"H-have you done anything for them?" SparkPaw asked, trying to salvage any hint of accomplishment that happened yesterday
"Actually, yes. KindleRoot told me to clear their bedding, and BristlePaw cleaned them of ticks." she stated, matter-of-factly. While he was out risking his pelt, LittlePaw and BristlePaw seemed to be actually doing something useful. How come they got respected mentors; FlareStrpe was deputy, and KindleRoot was a fierce and loyal fighter of ShadowClan. He and SplashPaw got mentors who slept all day and hardly taught them at all. Well, FrostFang DID teach him how to climb a tree. SparkPaw was grateful for that, at least. But maybe he would've gotten the egg better if he knew how to properly climb it. This was a rabbit burrow of thoughts and what-ifs. KindleRoot padded over before SparkPaw was able to travel down it.
"LittlePaw, what are you saying about his injury?" he inquired, looking at LittlePaw with his dark, blue eyes.
"N-nothing!" LittlePaw suddenly grew anxious
"How is that coming along, SparkPaw? It looks like it's healing nicely." KindleRoot turned to face him, sending a shiver down SparkPaw's spine.
"It's…it's going well. It still hurts sometimes, but PaleFoot says it should stop in a few days." SparkPaw explained to the large ginger warrior
He nodded in response. "That was a brave thing for you to do, risking your life like that for the sake of another clanmate. You'll still make a fine warrior yet."
"But-but.." LittlePaw was now the one to start stuttering "But I cleaned their bedding! BristlePaw checked them for ticks!"
"Yes, because I told you to." His voice turned stern. "Now come on. After the patrol I want to see how your fighting moves are." He flicked his tail, beckoning her to follow him. LittlePaw quietly hissed at the pair of cats before turning towards the camp entrance. JaguarPelt's call made SplashPaw's head turn.
"Well, looks like I've got to go. Wish me luck, SparkPaw!" SplashPaw called, following the group out of camp.
SparkPaw promptly headed towards the elder's den. He had to make sure that his efforts weren't wasted. BoneChill was grooming WrinklePelt, who was grooming FleetClaw. ShadeTail turned away from DustEye, who was lecturing him on how good the forest was when he was a young warrior.
"SparkPaw." ShadeTail turned to see him. "He's here." he said to WrinklePelt. She promptly stopped grooming FleetClaw.
"Good. you're here." she trotted over to the front of the den. SparkPaw's ears flattened. Am I in trouble? But why?
WrinklePelt studied him for a few moments, her bent whiskers felt cold touching his pelt. She smiled.
"I appreciate what you did for me, SparkPaw." she simply stated.
"R-really?" SparkPaw asked, still intimidated
"Yes. LittlePaw was complaining the entire time she cleaned our bedding, and-"
"And AdderPaw was too hard while cleaning my ticks!" FleetClaw chimed in
"Yes, FleetClaw." WrinklePelt turned to face her, irritation in her voice. Going back to SparkPaw, she said more gently, "I didn't expect you to risk your life like that for me. It was very flattering."
Warmth rose up in SparkPaw's chest.
"Though, next time please try not to do it again. I don't want you to die for an old cat's whims."
"Al-alright!" SparkPaw said, flicking his tail in joy. WrinklePelt licked behind his ears.
"That's a good tom. Try getting some rest; you had a rough day today." she flicked her tail to send him off
"And actually bring me some fresh-kill next time!" ShadeTail called out. "Seriously, I hardly got any."
"Did you earn it?" BoneChill turned to face him
"Yes! Of course! I've served this clan my whole damn life, at least an apprentice can get me a piece of fresh-kill once in a while!" ShadeTail retorted. BoneChill narrowed his eyes.
"Why don't I believe you then?" he cocked his head
"Oh screw you, all of you! I'll get some myself!" ShadeTail flicked his tail in anger, and padded off.
Everyone sat in silence for a while.
"Is he gonna be okay?" SparkPaw asked. He'd only known ShadeTail as an elder, but a particularly young one too. His brother, NightWing, was about the same age, maybe even older, yet still was a warrior.
"He'll be fine. I once saw him chase after some WindClan cats over a rabbit that landed on ShadowClan territory." DustEye spoke up, staring at the top of the den.
SparkPaw looked around. "Can…can I hear it?" he asked tentatively.
DustEye nodded his head, inviting him in.
"Bring some of the kits too. I'd like to see them." FleetClaw added, causing DustEye to figuratively stare at her in annoyance. SparkPaw nodded, and he walked off to find some of the kits at camp.
"BearKit? Where are you?!" SparkPaw heard the anxious meow of PeachStump
"What's wrong?" SparkPaw asked her. He sniffed the air; BearKit wasn't around the area
"It's BearKit. He took SnowKit and BumbleKit with him to try to hunt outside the camp!" she yowled
"What am I going to tell EagleStar? If one of his sons die, how can I face him? Will he punish the entire clan?" she worried aloud.
"I…I don't think that will happen." SparkPaw tried to calm her down.
"GrayFace already has to worry about VoleKit and StickKit, she can't be worried about this either!"
"We…I can help arrange a search patrol," he offered. "I-I'm sure we can find them soon enough."
" 'Soon enough'?" she curled her lips, revealing her fangs, "We need to find them NOW." she exclaimed
"Woah, calm down." FlareStripe broke into the conversation. She was light ginger, with a white underbelly. Dark ginger stripes covered her pelt. "They'll be okay." she said calmly, obviously hearing enough of the conversation to know what was going on. "This isn't the first time a kit has wandered out of camp." her fur bristled alonger her back. Was she nervous? She couldn't be; she's the deputy. She's led plenty of patrols before without breaking a sweat!
"We will find the kits, alright." She stroked PeachStump's pelt with her tail. "SparkPaw, how about you come with me to find them? I'll bring KindleRoot too." she offered
The deputy and one of the fiercest warriors of ShadowClan offering him to join a rescue patrol? He almost burst out of the camp in excitement. But all he could do was shift his paws and tail wildly.
"Of course!" he exclaimed, barely hiding his glee
"Very well then. I'm just going to get KindleRoot, and see if PaleFoot has any herbs for your nerves." she hurried along quickly.
"Okay…" PeachStump padded around tensely.
"We'll find them!" SparkPaw promised. He headed towards the entrance for this exciting new mission, completely forgetting about what WrinklePelt told him. I'm going to help find those kits, hear a story from DustEye, and prove to my clanmates that I'm a useful apprentice!