Well then, Chapter 8! It's been a while, I know. Alongside this chapter I finalised the allegiances, which is an indicator for me more than anything. I wanted to finalise it before I write any gathering chapter at most. Not really important rn. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Flarestripe yawned as she stretched from her nest, carefully moving each paw step as she manoeuvred through the den of sleeping warriors. She looked at her brother before moving to the entrance. The dawn patrol clearly hadn't started yet. She chuckled a bit before heading out. The sky was a mix between dark and light blue, a few of StarClan ancestors could still be seen, but barely. As she made her way towards the fresh-kill pile, she saw someone she didn't expect to.
"Clawleap? What are you doing up so early?" she asked the blue-grey brindled she-cat.
"Oh hey Flarestripe!" Clawleap looked up from eating a small frog. "I could say the same to you. I wanted to be on the dawn patrol." she explained.
"I wanted to do some patrolling on my own before dawn." Flarestripe explained, tentatively licking a paw and cuffing it over a recently nicked ear.
"How have you been feeling since the battle?" Clawleap asked
"Fine, I'm fine," Flarestripe sighed. "I don't know why we even have that spot anyways, but I was going to freshen its scent markers. Do you want to join me?"
"Alright, let's go!" Clawleap got up and started walking towards the entrance. Flarestripe quickly followed her.
Their walk in the marshes was quite quiet. Some birds could be heard twittering, and the marshy ground was more solid beneath the small patrol's paws.
"So how is ThunderClan doing?" Clawleap asked as they walked.
"They certainly still have their battle prowess, though they are going a bit soft." Flarestripe explained
"Oh? How so?"
"They let a kittypet into the clan. Fresh with his collar and everything."
"A kittypet? Why on StarClan would they do that?"
"I dunno. He was on the patrol that started this whole battle, and supposedly Sparkpaw saw him during it as well." Flarestripe went on, "They're saying he's a good speaker, but I guess we won't get any true answers until the gathering." Clawleap nodded along. After a few heartbeats of silence, Clawleap asked,
"So what do you think about kits?"
This caught Flarestripe off guard. "W-what do you mean?" she asked, startled, "I-I guess they're fine. They can be a bit rough, but they are cute."
"No, not like that." Clawleap explained, "I mean having kits, kits of your own to raise. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Yeah, it would be okay." Flarestripe agreed. "Though you need a tom to do that, and there aren't any in ShadowClan that catch my interest."
Clawleap frowned. "Oh. That's too bad."
Flarestripe felt the awkwardness in their paw steps as they began to go underneath the thunderpath. "Is there a cat that you like?" she finally asked
"Yeah, there is actually," she said, "I'd like to ask Jaguarpelt out, but I'm not sure if he's into me."
Flarestripe agreed, though she thought that Jaguarpelt was a nice cat, but a bit too lazy and uninteresting for her tastes.
"I was thinking if you could maybe put me and him into patrols together, so we can get to know each other a little better. Can you do that?"
Flarestripe blinked. "Yeah, sure, why not. I was going to assign you for the hunting patrol at sunhigh, if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind! It'll be a great way to impress him with my hunting skills." she flexed her claws as she made a border mark. Flarestripe chuckled.
"Well, how about you show me some of your hunting moves on the way back? We should do a little hunting for the clan while we're out anyways." Clawleap nodded agreement and the two she-cats went underneath the thunderpath again towards ShadowClan territory.
The marsh was cold under the morning light, and Flarestripe couldn't help but feel the melting frost prickling her fur as she crept through the undergrowth. She looked over to Clawleap, who was leaping slowly through the marshes with sheathed claws. How did she learn how to do it so well? Flarestripe thought, who couldn't help but to feel impressed by her friend's skill. Smelling the undergrowth, she picked up the scent of a rodent. Creeping silently, she followed the trail, barely managing to see the mouse skittering ahead of her. Creeping back a bit, she slowly unsheathed her claws before pouncing, biting the mouse's back in a great bound. She carried it back over near Clawleap, who had two lizards hanging in her jaws.
"Good job!" Flarestripe exclaimed, putting her mouse on a nearby rock.
"Thanks, you too!" Clawleap replied, setting her prey down as well. "There just so happened to be a second lizard laying on the same rock as the one I was going for, so I got them both."
"Nice," Flarestripe nodded.
They took their prey with them as they checked out the crosspaths between the ShadowClan and WindClan territories. In the distance, what looked to be a WindClan apprentice was running alongside the dangerous path as their mentor ran with them.
"Seems they've already started training for the day," Clawleap commented.
"I suppose so," Flarestripe added, trying to suppress a yawn. "Looks tiring. I'm gonna head back now." Flarestripe decided, and started to walk back to camp, not caring all that much if Clawleap followed. She could do what she wanted, but Flarestripe just wanted to go back now.
Flarestripe was partially enjoying the walk back when Clawleap called to her
"Flarestripe! Flarestripe come see this," she was running to the deputy. Flarestripe's head jolted
"What? What is it?" she quickly turned around to face the blue-grey she-cat.
"I decided to look around the Carrionplace for more prey, and there was something there. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I think it's important enough to report it."
"Let me see it." Flarestripe quickly replied, dropping her mouse and followed Clawleap.
By the fence of the Carrionplace was a crow talon. It was stabbed through the earth, taking what looked to be an owl feather with it. Around the bird imagery was a partially complete circle, almost full but not quite.
"What is this?" Flarestripe asked, confused
"I don't know. Like I said, I found it here. I'm not sure what it means, but I think it may be a threat."
Flarestripe's fur bristled when Clawleap said threat. What was it a threat against? The leader? The clan? This wasn't natural, something put this here intentionally. She sniffed the air, but only caught the foul odour of the Carrionplace nearby.
"Did you see anything? Any cat who might've put this here?" Flarestripe asked
"N-no, I didn't." Clawleap lightly stammered, caught off guard by Flarestripe's urgent tone. "It was just there when I went past it. Do you think it's that serious?"
Flarestripe thought of the scene a few nights ago, how Palefoot saw his vision of fire, and a cat on a rock looking down at two other cats below. Was this connected to that? Was ShadowClan in danger? Or was she just overreacting?
"..Hey, hey! Flarestripe, I asked are we going to report this?" Clawleap's voice broke through her churning thoughts. Flarestripe forced her fur to fall flat, and she shook her head to regain focus.
"Yes, of course we are. We're going to tell EagleStar and Palefoot as soon as we get back. Come on, let's go. Make sure to take the prey with us."
With prey in their jaws, the two she-cats made their way through the territory back to camp. They were close to the path that led to the entrance when they were met by Kindleroot and the rest of the small dawn patrol.
"What do you think you're doing up this early? We haven't even set out yet, and you bring fresh-kill with you?" Kindleroot asked, a mixture of surprise and anger in his voice.
"I was just scent marking the new border near ThunderClan." Flarestripe calmly told him.
"You could have brought that up with me." Kindleroot meowed back
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know I had to bring it up to the great leader of the dawn patrols," Flarestripe chuckled a bit. "But we caught some fresh-kill if that makes you feel better."
Kindleroot sighed, "Okay, okay, but next time I'd like to know these sorts of things beforehand.'' The dawn patrol let them pass into camp, and Flarestripe could faintly hear her brother making orders to the rest of the patrol. He was reliable like that.
The camp was starting to liven up, with cats yawning and stretching in the clearing. She left her mouse at the pile, and with Clawleap going off to mingle with other clanmates, Flarestripe paid a visit to the medicine den.
"Palefoot, wake up!" She shook the sleeping medicine cat with her paw. The medicine cat rolled over in his nest, eyes widened.
"What's wrong, what's happening, is any cat hurt?" he asked quickly
Flarestripe shook her head, "It's not that. I saw something by the Carrionplace. I think it's an omen. A bad one."
Palefoot stretched. "Alright, let's see it then. Shall we get EagleStar?"
Flarestripe's eyes shifted from side to side, "Are you sure? What about-" but Palefoot sighed, cutting her off
"Just come on. You won't be able to get over your fears if you don't face them. Let's go."
"And that's how I became deputy of ShadowClan!" EagleStar finished the story he was telling his kits in the leader's den.
"Wow, you're so cool! I wanna be just like you." Bearcat squealed
"Can we hear another story?" Sharpkit asked, while Dawnkit stared at her father with big eyes. "Please?" she mewed quietly.
EagleStar laughed quietly. "Not now, kits. I promised you a story if you took your nap after. Now get to the nursery. Your mother's waiting for you." The kits ran out of the den, and EagleStar finally noticed Flarestripe and Palefoot standing there.
Standing up, he asked, "Flarestripe, Palefoot, what brings you here this lovely morning?"
"There's something you have to see." Palefoot told him.
The trio of cats made it to the strange symbol near the Carrionplace. EagleStar sniffed it.
"And what exactly is this supposed to mean?"
"Well you were right to assume it was a bad omen," Palefoot inspected the sight, "It's definitely an aggressive one, whether for good or bad I'm not sure yet."
"Is it a sign of war?" EagleStar bristled his fur
"No, not that I can see." Palefoot responded calmly, "But I think the crow talon and the owl feather are supposed to represent something."
Flarestripe thought for a moment, "Does it mean maybe ShadowClan and ThunderClan? ThunderClan has that 'owl tree', right? And crows come for crow-food, so.."
"Aha! Yes; This is clearly a sign of victory then! We will crush our rivals like the claw does to this feather!"
Palefoot blinked a couple of times, "Well, maybe. We did just win a battle with them, so I'm hesitant to say this is related, but you could be right."
"What does this half circle mean?" Flarestripe pointed out the circle that enveloped the bird imagery almost fully around it.
"Good question," Palefoot looked at the rounded outline. "It definitely looks to be important, and it's highlighting the crow talon stabbing the owl feather into the earth."
"What if it's meant to be the moon?" Flarestripe offered
"Yeah, yeah, that might be it," Palefoot drew in the dirt as well, finishing the circle a mouse-length away from where it was actually.
"So, the crow is attacking the owl..at night?" Palefoot tried to summarise what the message was.
"I still think it's a sign of a challenge," EagleStar commented.
"Either way, let's not rush into things so quickly after the border battle we had." Flarestripe told him.
"Okay, but if any scents get into our borders I give you full permission to claw their ears off."
"A-alright," Palefoot stuttered. "Let's hope StarClan it doesn't come to that though."
Then, almost suddenly, a rustling emerged from the nearby Carrionplace. The trio of cats rose and turned their heads, with EagleStar unsheathing his claws. "That rogue might be back. What if they've done this?"
"From what I heard, it was only a single cat, and it was driven out days ago. Why would they still be lurking here?" Palefoot countered.
As if to answer their questions, a black and white striped tom with grey paws and tail tip stumbled out of the bracken, his light brown eyes looking around nervously before starting to walk again.
"Hey!" EagleStar yowled, sprinting towards the apprentice. His eyes widened before backing away, ears pinned with fright
"Sparkpaw? What are you doing here? Where's your mentor?" Flarestripe asked, surprised.
The anxious tom looked around, "I was just..hunting, and patrolling. Normal warrior stuff."
"Where's your mentor?" Flarestripe asked again
"A-around," Sparkpaw stuttered, "I-I thought to get a little experience in my spare time, y'know?"
"Get back to camp, and start tending to the elders." EagleStar ordered. "If I don't come back to camp seeing you picking their ticks you'll be in far more trouble."
"Y-yes, EagleStar!" Sparkpaw mewed, and started running in the direction of camp.
"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Flarestripe asked as they finally headed back to camp.
"Perhaps, yes, but he knows better than to head to Carrionplace on his own like that." EagleStar explained. "He's been a little eager, let's say, in hunting and exploring. While it's good, ShadowClan doesn't need him getting too reckless."
Flarestripe could agree with that, but it still felt a bit too harsh. Slowing her pace, she whispered to Palefoot, "Do you think that sign is connected to your dream from a few nights ago?"
"Oh! Glad you mentioned it; I did speak to the other medicine cats about it at our halfmoon meeting." Palefoot responded. "They actually didn't have much to say about it. Sprucestripe said I shouldn't worry about it."
Flarestripe felt like rocks just fell off her shoulders. At least there was one less thing to worry about.
They returned to camp, Sparkpaw looking for the elder's ticks, just like EagleStar told him too. It was already past sunhigh by the time Flarestripe could finally take a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, and started to eat.
"How was it?" Clawleap padded over.
"Good." Flarestripe answered, feeling much better after investigating as well as eating something for the first time today.
"Camp's been peaceful since you've been gone," Clawleap continued, "Kindleroot organised some patrols while you were out, and from what I've seen the apprentices are doing good. You should be getting ready for Bristlepaw's final assessment, right?"
That fact made Flarestripe stop with anxiety, the mouse suddenly feeling dry in her throat. She had forgotten about that. Clawleap was right; she'd have to get that ready, along with Splashpaw's. Guess there was more to worry about after all.
"What do you think about giving me an apprentice soon?" Clawleap asked
"Another one already? Birchfur's hardly been a warrior for eight moons and you want another cat to mentor?"
"Yes, if you don't mind. I always find it fun and fulfilling to nurture the young cats of the clan." She explained. Flarestripe always thought of it as stressful, but Clawleap did have a point. Watching Bristlepaw catch a lizard in one try, passing her assessments, it was in a sense rewarding.
"I'll try to make that happen when we do get new apprentices." Flarestripe nodded
The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful.
"That's it, Bristlepaw! Try it again," Flarestripe instructed her apprentice as they trained in the marshes. She was testing her apprentice on a battle move in preparation for the final assessment she was holding for the ready apprentices a night close to the gathering. Bristlepaw lept again, turning as she tried to attack her mentor from behind. Flarestripe caught her, and the two she-cats traded blows before Bristlepaw jumped onto Flarestripe's back, pinning her to the ground.
"Good job, Bristlepaw!" Flarestripe praised the apprentice. Bristlepaw carefully stepped off, a little embarrassed. "Th-thank you." she mewed quietly. The two of them started walking back towards camp.
"Are you sure I did a good job?" Bristlepaw asked
"Yes, of course!" Flarestripe responded. There was silence for a few moments.
"Are you sure?" she asked again
"Yes. Yes I'm sure." Flarestripe responded.
There was a few more heartbeats of silence
"I feel I made some mistakes. The leap wasn't as high as I thought it would be, and it was a pretty loud manoeuvre overall. How am I supposed to be a good ShadowClan warrior if I keep being this clumsy and loud?" Bristlepaw sighed after her assessment of herself.
"You're a good ShadowClan cat, Bristlepaw." Flarestripe assured her apprentice. "You don't have to be perfect all the time; you're still an apprentice."
"But soon I'm not going to be an apprentice, so that excuse isn't going to apply anyways!" Bristlepaw countered
"Well then you'll still be a young warrior. That's not too far off from an apprentice. Just only in name."
"That's what my mom tells me." Bristlepaw replied. "I'll still have my warrior name, regardless of age. I have to be the best I can."
"Well then keep trying your best. Don't overexert yourself, okay. Now, go on ahead towards camp and choose some freshkill. You're off for the rest of the day." Bristlepaw padded ahead quickly back to camp, with Flarestripe taking more of her time to examine the territory.
"Bristlepaw will be a fine warrior, although she may be a bit harsh as a mentor. That may be a bad thing, or maybe not. It reminds me of my own apprenticeship days, heh." Flarestripe noted as she entered the camp.
The camp was peaceful, much to her relief. Sparkpaw was tending to the elders as he was told, and said elders were in the clearing sharing tongues. Warriors were about, taking fresh-kill or watching the kits hang around the camp. She walked towards the clearing when Kindleroot signalled her.
"Hey, while you were training your apprentice, I organised a couple of patrols for the evening. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course, thank you." Flarestripe was a little surprised, but it was nice of her brother to do that, especially with the omen scene that happened earlier in the day.
"Yes, anytime. How was Bristlepaw?" he asked
"She was good," Flarestripe responded, sitting down. "She's getting good at attacking from behind. She's going to be a good warrior, but she doesn't think that. I'm not sure how I'm going to convince her."
"You'll be able to do it, trust me," Kindleroot responded, licking the top of her head. "If you're good enough to become deputy, you can convince an apprentice she's a good warrior. You've done this before, and you can do it again."
"Thanks, Kindleroot," Flarestripe purred. "How's Littlepaw's training going?"
"Good, good. She complains sometimes, but I've got it under control." Kindleroot chuckled a bit, then stretched. "I'm gonna go get some fresh-kill, then head to the nest to sleep."
"Alright," Flarestripe wished him well, and headed off to a space in the clearing. "I was thinking if you could maybe put me and him into patrols together, so we can get to know each other a little better. Can you do that?" Flarestripe remembered Clawleap's request. She bounced back to Kindleroot
"What-"
"Make sure to get Clawleap and Jaguarpelt out on your dawn patrols if you can. Please?" Flarestripe asked. Kindleroot looked confused at first, then nodded.
"Sure, anything for you." He then went back to the pile, grabbed some prey, and went somewhere else in the clearing. Flarestripe chose hers, a mouse, and settled into the clearing. She watched the clan go by. She was tired, and as she ate the mouse, she felt her eyes fluttering, eventually turning to sleep.
It was night when she woke up. The mouse she had been eating was gone. She rose to her paws and looked around. The sky was dark and cloudy, and the winds felt cool. She headed towards the warriors' den before she noticed the leader's shadow on the clan rock. She jumped up on the rock to talk to him. His face looked lost in thought.
"EagleStar, are you okay?" she quietly asked
"Oh-!" EagleStar turned around, startled. "Sorry, you scared me there a bit. What can I help you with?"
"I'm just wondering why you're sitting up here. I just…I'm just curious." Flarestripe didn't mention her sleeping in the clearing.
"I've been thinking of the omen we saw earlier. I think it has something to do with me."
"What do you mean?"
"There was a feather underneath a claw. While it may have been different birds, it reminds me of my warrior name, Eagleclaw. I've been watching the moon. I think this omen is a challenge."
"Wh-what kind of challenge?" Flarestripe asked, a bit alarmed.
"I challenge to fight, of course! I'm not sure who, but I am going to defeat them! I will find that rogue and make sure they never venture a pawstep into our territory again." EagleStar explained passionately.
"Are you sure? You only have two lives left? What if it's a trap?" Flarestripe protested.
EagleStar laughed, "I am EagleStar, leader of ShadowClan. I can take on any threat! Don't worry about it, okay?"
"Alright." Flarestripe nodded. She watched as EagleStar leapt off the rock. He turned to face her,
"May StarClan light your path." before leaving the camp through the entrance.
"You too." she responded.