☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 13

𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓅𝒶𝓌

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Sunpaw thought if Slowpaw were to die, he'd be fine. If it ever happened, he wouldn't have to deal with the obnoxious younger apprentice getting on his nerves. But once the fox got to him, Sunpaw found it hard to watch it attack his clanmate.

Hazelstripe was the first cat to charge at the predator, sinking his claws into the creature's gray fur, but it kept a tight grip on Slowpaw's scruff. It easily shook the warrior off, but Pounceheart was there to take his place, swiping at the fox's long snout with his outstretched claws.

But it dodged the warrior's attack, shaking the light brown apprentice in its jaws as if he were prey. Wolfcall joined the fight alongside Pounceheart, snapping at its flank with her strong jaws. With an irritated growl, the fox threw Slowpaw to the ground, and Sunpaw watched as the apprentice went limp.

Hazelstripe joined his clanmates once again and together the three warriors were able to overtake the fox and easily pin it to the ground beneath their paws. Wolfcall was the one to make the final blow, sinking her teeth into its thick-furred neck.

Sunpaw didn't do much more than twitch his tail during the entire fight. He stood there frozen in fear as if his paws were stuck to the ground until the fox was dead. It was just a lifeless heap of gray fur now, the oozing blood on its neck turning it crimson.

Not one of the warriors seemed to even notice him though as they all circled Slowpaw. "He's still alive, but we must bring him to Swallowflower and Cloudysky to keep him that way!" Wolfcall mewed, grasping the apprentice's scruff in her jaws. Hazelstripe followed the deputy as she made her way back to camp, her eyes narrowed and determined despite Slowpaw's weight.

Only Pounceheart waited up for Sunpaw, stroking his apprentice comfortingly with his white-tipped tail. None of them spoke until they reached BreezeClan's camp and Sunpaw found the awkward silence unsettling.

There were times when Sunpaw wished his mentor would just shut up, but at that very moment, he wished he could listen to Pounceheart's soothing and calm voice. He wanted to hear his words of encouragement, of assurance that everything would be okay. But the gray and white warrior seemed stunned to silence, his gaze on his trudging paws, and his ears drooping.

Finchfrost was at the camp entrance once they arrived, dipping their head to greet them, although his green gaze glistened with worry. "What happened out there?" They asked. "Is Slowpaw alright?"

All the cheerfulness that Pounceheart's voice once had seemed to vanish as he answered the messenger. "We ran into a fox," he sighed. "I'm really not sure about Slowpaw..." As the warrior's voice trailed off, he padded away, leaving Sunpaw.

Finchfrost turned to the apprentice. "I don't think Pounceheart will be up to training you any longer today, but you can always join me and Fleetpaw." The warrior offered. "We'll be heading out to hunt soon."

"Yeah, I can join," he said with a nod. It would be a good way to keep his mind off of what had happened during his last patrol.

Sunpaw padded into camp to wait for Finchfrost to finish up their guard duty and found himself about to run into Fleetpaw. Her eyes were closed and her light brown tabby head was pointed toward her paws. Her cream-colored tail was wrapped neatly around her paws and she didn't seem to hear him approach her.

He caught himself just before bumping into her and sending her out of the odd trance she seemed to be in. Their pelts were almost touching and he could smell her sweet scent as he processed what was happening. He backed away, silently wondering whether he should get her attention or not.

But before he made up his mind, the female apprentice's eyelids lifted, revealing her round dark green eyes. Sunpaw's heart pounded as their eyes met and he struggled to compose himself.

"Sunpaw? What is it? Do you need something?" She asked, surprise glistening in her flustered gaze.

"I-I- No. No, I don't need anything." He told her. Nervousness pricked at his pelt and sent shivers through his fur. "I was just... wondering what you were doing." He admitted, licking his chest a few times in embarrassment.

"Oh, so the training of a messenger has piqued your interest I see." She said with a flick of her tail, looking pleased that some cat actually cared about what she did as Finchfrost's apprentice. "They're just breathing exercises." She informed him, "Finchfrost says they're necessary for any messenger, even though they don't help me in any way as far as I can tell." She rolled her eyes. "Wanna try?" She asked, "I could probably teach you some."

But just as he opened his jaws to give her an answer, her mentor approached them, beckoning them with a few flicks of their tail. Fleetpaw eyed the other apprentice, as if wanting to ask why he was coming with them as they went out to hunt, but she didn't say anything.

They made their way towards the StreamClan border. The grass beneath his paws was a little mushy and his paws sunk just a little every time he made a step. The beginning of the marshes was his least favorite part of BreezeClan's territory. He wasn't very used to the forest floor trying to swallow him up at any chance it had even though he had hunted there countless times before.

How does StreamClan hunt prey in such land? He wondered. But then again, they willingly got their fur wet and primarily ate slimy fish. What an odd clan.

Sunpaw kept his ears pricked, his nose high in the air as he tried to catch any prey scents that lingered there. Both Finchfrost and Fleetpaw had gone in different directions to search for suitable food, so Sunpaw was alone. He thought back to the earlier border patrol, the memories of the fox attacking Slowpaw resurfacing in his mind. He shut his eyes tightly, wincing at the image. He shook his head, trying to shake the memories away and keep his focus on the task ahead of him.

Once he had regained his concentration on trying to track prey, the scent of a vole hit his nose and he caught sight of it gnawing on something it had found. Sunpaw lowered himself, positioning his body into a crouch, ensuring the prey wouldn't sense him. Once he was confident, he could catch the creature, he lunged, his claws outstretched catching the small animal. It let out a screech of surprise but it was quickly cut off by Sunpaw's swift, fatal bite.

He let out a low growl of pride, snatching the prey in his jaws. But as he began making his way towards Finchfrost, he heard pounding pawsteps come from behind him. He spun around, expecting a fox or some other predator to lunge at him, but instead found Fleetpaw at the heels of a large rabbit. His clanmate was chasing it towards him! He couldn't let the apprentice down.

The rabbit veered away, but Sunpaw was fast enough to pin it to the ground, tossing his vole to the side. It struggled against his grip, but he wasn't going to let go. He nodded toward Fleetpaw.

"You should be the one to make the kill." He told her and she smiled, giving him a thankful glare before bending her head toward the struggling animal, snapping its neck in a matter of seconds.

"We make a great team, don't we?" Fleetpaw said to him, giving him a nudge.

"Thanks, but I'm sure you would have caught it even without my interference." He told her. "You're a messenger apprentice after all!"

"Well, done! Both of you!" Finchfrost emerged from the undergrowth with two large, fat mice dangling in their jaws. "We should get back to camp. I'm sure Pounceheart would be proud to see how successful your hunt has been." They told Sunpaw.

The apprentice dreaded every step he took as they headed back to camp. He was worried about how Slowpaw was doing. He didn't like the apprentice, but if he died, it would be Sunpaw's fault.