Warriors: The Deadliest Challenge

Chapter Four

Ambertail groggily padded out of the warriors' den, her paws dragging across the ground. The weak dawn light filled the camp, and a chilly leaf-bare wind blew her whiskers askew. Her apprentice, Puddlepaw, limped out of his den after his littermates, Tigerpaw and Mistypaw. She beckoned her apprentice to her, and he quickly made his way over.

"Good morning, Ambertail," he mewed.

"Morning," she replied. "I'm slightly concerned about your injury."

She looked down at his injured hind leg, where his wound had dried-up blood covering it and a few stray cobwebs from when Streamswirl had patched it up.

"It's fine," Puddlepaw told her dismissively, giving his leg a quick shake.

"Are you sure?" she asked, watching him suspiciously. "It looks like it still hurts."

"I told you, I'm fine," Puddlepaw insisted.

Ambertail sighed with defeat, knowing that her apprentice wanted to show that he was strong.

She took her place with the group of cats in the clearing, waiting to be assigned to a patrol, which were being organised by Driftwater.

"Um, okay...how about Pinewhisker, you lead a hunting patrol with Seedfall, Ambertail and Puddlepaw," the tabby medicine cat meowed.

Ambertail exchanged a glance with Pinewhisker, who had sat down beside her.

"The fresh-kill pile is overflowing from yesterday," Pinewhisker called to Driftwater.

"Oh, in that case, you can patrol the ShadowClan border," he meowed awkwardly. "And Fishpatch, Seedfall, Waterheart and Mistypaw can patrol the WindClan border."

"But you just put me on the ShadowClan border patrol!" Seedfall called out.

Driftwater looked incredibly uncomfortable as all the warriors watched him making mistakes.

"Yes, sorry, you go on the first patrol," he blurted out quickly. "Specklepelt, you can go on the WindClan border patrol instead."

Ambertail softly chuckled as Driftwater looked down at his paws, and she followed Pinewhisker as he gathered his patrol.

"Okay, lets go," he told them and headed out of camp at a fast pace.

Ambertail walked just behind him with Puddlepaw beside her and Seedfall bringing up the rear.

As they padded through the marshes of RiverClan towards the border with ShadowClan, Ambertail bounded forward so she was beside Pinewhisker.

"I think you'd make a good leader," she told the brown tom. A smile spread across his face and he flicked his tail.

"Nonsense," he scoffed. "I think you would make a much better leader, but I would be honoured to serve as your deputy," he added with a smirk.

Ambertail gently cuffed his ear with her paw and the patrol continued on its way to the ShadowClan border. The trees became denser and a few pine needles covered the ground, and the scent of ShadowClan washed over Ambertail. There must've been a patrol nearby.

"We should renew the scent markers," Seedfall suggested. Pinewhisker nodded and stepped up to renew them, but Puddlepaw bounded forward before he could.

"Can I please do it?" he begged. "I know how to!"

"Alright," Pinewhisker said, allowing the apprentice to take his place. Puddlepaw beamed and renewed the scent marker.

"There, now those ShadowClan cats will never-"

"Never what?" a voice interrupted.

Puddlepaw yelped in surprise and jumped behind Ambertail in fright. Ambertail looked through the trees and saw a ShadowClan patrol emerging. She recognised Bearpounce, Curledfur and Hailfall instantly, but there was a small grey-and-black tabby she-cat in the patrol that she had never seen before.