Chapter 15
"Great catch, Starrypaw!"
Starrypaw held her head high as she began to dig a small hole for the finch she'd caught. It was sunhigh although the overcast sky prevented its light from warming the forest. She was on a hunting patrol consisting of Graystripe, Sorreltail, and to her delight, Shrewhunter.
It was a moon after ThunderClan had begun to prepare for battle heavily, and it was also a moon after Starrypaw's dream. She thought back to when she'd told Firestar and Cinderpelt about the message from StarClan.
"I'm not really sure why we got another warning," Firestar had said after Starrypaw had explained half the dream. "We're already about as well prepared as we can be."
Starrypaw had hesitated. She had seen no physical proof that Hawkfrost was behind anything besides his weird antics. She had finally decided to tell the rest of her dream.
Firestar had looked skeptical. "I don't know why a random RiverClan warrior would have anything to do with this, but we now know that battle is really coming. Thank you, Starrypaw."
Now, the Clan had become exhausted from the constant guarding and preparing since battle had been revealed by StarClan. Apprentices were not allowed to guard twoleg place for their own safety, but Squirrelpaw, Starrypaw, and Whitepaw were part of a large amount of patrols. They were also not allowed to leave camp without a warrior with them.
Starrypaw also knew that ThunderClan was becoming restless. The entire moon they'd spent getting ready had passed without a sign of the rogues. As much as she hoped there wouldn't be a battle, she hated the thought of all the time they would have wasted.
On the bright side, the kits were doing amazing in their training and had finally learned as much as Starrypaw could teach them at such a young age. Shr knew they'd prove to be strong warriors in their future. They'll fly through apprenticeship! she thought.
"Starrypaw, quit being so distracted. You just scared away my vole with your shuffling," Graystripe growled, flicking his tail in frustration.
Starrypaw lowered her ears and tail. "Sorry."
"We need as much as we can get this leaf-fall. Especially since we don't know when this battle will begin," Graystripe explained, his expression serious.
"But what if the battle never happens?" Sorreltail asked. Although Starrypaw felt sure it was coming, she wondered the same.
Graystripe shook his head. "It's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, StarClan sent a sign of its coming. We can't let our guard down."
Shrewhunter and Starrypaw exchanged an anxious glance as they continued through the forest.
Back at the camp, Starrypaw deposited her fresh kill in the pile and headed to highrock where cats were assigned a new task as often as they could spare it. The warrior placed in charge of assigning jobs was normally Graystripe since he was the deputy, but today Firestar had given him a chance to join patrols. Now, Thornclaw sat atop the highrock, and Starrypaw thought he looked much more serious than she'd ever seen him.
"Hey, Thornclaw. I just got back from a hunting patrol. Anything that needs extra attention?" she asked as she padded up.
Thornclaw scanned the camp briefly. "The nursery needs some final strengthening since the gorse tunnel has been the main focus. I already have Brackenfur and Rainwhisker working on it, and you can join them."
Starrypaw nodded. Suddenly, Firestar came rushing out of his den, causing her to jump as he ran past her.
"The next cats for twoleg place guard are Sandstorm, Ashfur, and Cloudtail! Time to switch over!" he called out.
Sandstorm stretched from where she was sharing tongues with Dappletail and padded over to Firestar. Starrypaw couldn't make out what he said to her, but he looked completely worn. Sandstorm gave him a reassuring lick and joined Ashfur and Cloudtail as they slipped through the gorse tunnel.
"I'm going to lead another hunting patrol. I want Dustpelt, Squirrelpaw, and Whitepaw," Firestar said.
As they all headed out, Starrypaw padded up to Firestar. She spoke softly into his ear.
"You are a great leader, Firestar. We all trust and believe in you."
Firestar purred his thanks before disappearing through the gorse tunnel with his patrol. Starrypaw joined Rainwhisker and Brackenfur by the nursery, twisting vines and branches into the bush thickets. She felt the work was slow and wished she could be done soon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brackenfur staring across camp.
"What's gotten you so distracted, Brackenfur?" Starrypaw asked.
Brackenfur nearly jumped out of his pelt. "No one, I mean nothing." He continued on nonchalantly although Starrypaw could tell he was nervous.
She watched him multiple other times and noticed how his eyes continued darting to the clearing. Starrypaw followed his gaze subtly and saw Sorreltail helping Leafpaw lay out herbs outside the medicine cat's den. After watching them for a bit longer, she noticed that Sorreltail kept glancing over at Brackenfur as well.
Well! We've got a new potential for kits! she thought, stifling an amused purr.
When a good amount of work had been finished, Starrypaw headed back over to Thornclaw to see what else needed to be done.
"There's not a ton else to do. You can rest for now, but be prepared to be called on patrols," he replied.
Starrypaw headed to the apprentice's den gratefully after letting Shrewhunter know where she'd be. As she curled up in her nest, she couldn't stop imagining Hawkfrost leaping at her from the shadows. He had not disturbed her dreams again in the past moon, but Starrypaw still felt haunted by the way he had looked at her. She hadn't attended the last gathering, and for that she was extremely grateful.
Finally, she fell asleep. It felt like very little time had passed before she felt a paw prodding her side.
"Starrypaw, you're on the evening patrol with us," Whitepaw said.
Starrypaw scrambled awake, frustrated that she'd slept longer than she'd planned to. Nevertheless, she followed Whitepaw to the gorse tunnel where Graystripe and Brackenfur were waiting.
The last light of the sun shone through the treetops as they departed, casting a yellow glow underneath the trees. Despite it's warm welcoming, the cold leaf-fall air pierced through to Starrypaw's skin, and she fluffed out her fur, shivering. She was at least grateful it wasn't the dawn patrol since the dead leaves scattering the ground would quickly frost over throughout the night.
"Let's head along the Thunderpath first!" Graystripe called back to his patrol.
"It's freezing!" Whitepaw said, echoing Starrypaw's thoughts.
"It's not even leafbare yet," Brackenfur chuckled.
"That doesn't mean it can't be cold," Starrypaw muttered to Whitepaw low enough for the mentors not to be able to hear.
Whitepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. They both pressed up against each other to share their warmth as they continued along.
As soon as the Thunderpath came into view, Starrypaw could tell something was off. She saw that all of her Clanmates felt the same as everyone's pelts bristled and ear's pricked. ShadowClan scent hit like a wave, and Starrypaw felt as if she were in their territory.
Suddenly, yowls of anger split the air as a ShadowClan apprentice burst from the undergrowth.
"Talonpaw!" A ginger tabby ShadowClan warrior padded out more slowly behind him. "You didn't get any orders did you?"
Graystripe's fur stood on end. "Rowanclaw! What are you-"
The ThunderClan deputy broke off as Blackstar slid out from behind the warrior followed by two others. Starrypaw recognized one of them as Tawnypelt, and she looked uncomfortable. Regardless, Starrypaw's ears flattened in fear with the realization that they were outnumbered.
"Prey stealers!" Talonpaw spat.
This is exactly what we need!
