The Rogue Traitor #1 - Beginning of the Curse

Chapter Twenty Three

Birdpaw swallowed the last piece of pigeon and buried the bones at the roots of the tree she had been sitting under. She stood up, stretched and headed towards that camp barrier, ignoring the warriors looking at her and wondering why she was going out when there had been a recent attack. It was probably not one of her smartest ideas, but she still pushed through the ivy dangling at the camp barrier. Her paws sunk into the lush grass and birds chirped and whistled, adding to the pleasant atmosphere. There was a slight breeze blowing and it weaved its way through Birdpaw's fur, refreshing her and giving her energy for a quick sprint.

The apprentice bounded away, her paws thumping the ground and wind whistling past her ears. She loved going for runs, it cleared her mind from worrying thoughts, and it gave her an adrenaline rush. She jumped over a bushed and ran around trees, her paws nimble and light. The apprentice began to slow down from a sprint to a jog before slowing down to a calm walk just as she reached the AutumnClan border. Her breath came out in short gasps, but she enjoyed how stretched her muscles felt. Birdpaw was just about to turn back around to start racing back to camp when she saw a flash of dark ginger fur near one of the bushes. Maybe she felt a little light-head from her run, or she thought it might have been a squirrel but Birdpaw didn't think anything about it. She set off at a walk but before she would move into a jog, a deep voice spoke.

"Well, hello Birdpaw," it said, and the apprentice jumped, pinning her ears against her head, "I have missed you; you should have come to visit me sooner!" Birdpaw flattened herself to the ground as she got a whiff of Maplestar's unmissable scent. She slid out her claws and began shaking. The apprentice debated whether she should run but she probably wouldn't be able to outrun the dark ginger tom. She racked her brain for more ideas but before she could even think of one, her former leader and mentor slid out from a pair of holly bushes.

"I am not scared of you," she squeaked and cursed her kit-like voice. If anything, it just humoured the rogue, his amber eyes glimmering.

"Not scared of me?" he snarled, no humour left in his voice, "Well you should be!" Birdpaw knew he was about to leap at her and before she could question whether it was a good idea or not, she turned and ran. The ground was a blur underneath her black paws and the wind whipped past her eyes, making tears leak from them. She could hear Maplestar's paws also thudding the ground and he didn't sound far away at all. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the tom only about one or two fox-lengths behind her, but as she glanced over her shoulder and continued running, a large log loomed in her path. By the time she turned back around to actually see where she was running, there was no time to stop, and she ran full pelt into the log. Stars danced in front of her eyes as she struggled to stand up, watching Maplestar skid to a halt just in front of where she laid. He put a paw with unsheathed claws on her neck and looked fiercely over her, amber eyes menacing. The apprentice struggled under his huge paw as she tried to suck in air, but he just pushed her down further and growled.

"I will not kill you today but tell your weak Clan this. We will come next full moon so you either wilfully hand over your territory to us or if you put up a fight, you must prepare to be destroyed." He released his paw and Birdpaw wasted no time in scrambling up from the ground, leaves and twigs mattering her once clean fur. She towards SpringClan camp, not bothering to check if the dark ginger tom was following.

She pelted at full speed through the camp barrier before actually realizing that she was in camp. All the warriors in the clearing looked up at her, startled by her mattered fur and wide eyes. Birdpaw's windpipe hurt from having Maplestar's paw on it and sprinting all the way to camp. Her vision began to darken, and her head pounded.

"He is coming," she whispered before her legs buckled underneath her. The last thing she saw was Dewpaw rushing towards her and then she fainted.