Warriors: Solemn Wishes (Warrior Cats Fan Story)

Chapter 1

"Whitesilver, Lonelyblue, hunting patrol. You can bring Mothpaw with if you want; it might be a good way to boost his hunting skills."

The cats in question nodded their heads at the deputy up on the WetRock, and Mothpaw hurried to his mentor's side. Lonelyblue smiled down at his apprentice and whispered something in his ear, praising him for jumping at the opportunity to learn.

Redwhisker blinked and turned his head to the nursery. Krillstare would have been on that hunting patrol normally. There was no better hunter in the Clan than he. However, with a new litter fresh in the nursery, Redwhisker couldn't blame him for his exemption. Any father would be too elated by his new children to go on any patrols. Redwhisker himself wanted to see the kits.

Of course, though, he...had not been allowed yet.

"Redwhisker." He heard his name and his attention snapped up to Oceanbutterfly. "You'll be on a border patrol with with Waveclaw and Fallriver."

There were restrained grumbles and irritated, "Well, that's my luck for you"s from the cats whose names had been mentioned. No one was ever thrilled to go out alone with the Clan fox, and Redwhisker would be bothered by this sentiment if it didn't happen so often.

In fact, he himself was dejected, but not for the same reason as his comrades. Patrols were annoying for him, not because he had anything against cats, but because of his morals. Pacifism was one of his biggest defining ideals in his life, and he was bent on ensuring that he never hurt anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. Border patrols commanded the opposite; he had to hurt someone, he was quite literally going out to look for cats who were intruding so he could hurt them. And while he'd never tell the Clan how to run itself, he also never enjoyed having to play by its crueler rules.

"Clan dismissed; patrols will go out right now, as dawn patrols were skipped." Oceanbutterfly leapt off the WetRock and trotted straight up to Bronzestar. Though she was out of earshot, Redwhisker could almost hear her in his head, saying "Patrols have been sent out, Bronzestar," as she always did, as though Bronzestar had not been right there watching. And then he'd say "Excellent," and then they'd talk about whatever deputies and leaders talked about.

Redwhisker spotted Waveclaw and Fallriver slinking out of the entrance of camp quietly, far away from him, as though hoping to leave him behind amidst the rabble that usually was sparked up by the end of any meeting. He did not object to this; in fact, he indulged them. He waited until they had been gone from camp for about a minute, before promptly following them out by himself.

The fox stepped out of the camp into the sparse forest, which was intersected and split up by many mini-rivers and streams that ran to and fro. Some he absentmindedly stepped through; some required him wading a bit and exerting himself, as the water reached up to his torso; and some outright demanded he swim through them, as the water ran too deep for even his long, lanky legs.

Originally he followed the scent of his patrolmates, but in RiverClan territory, the water dictated that scent could never last long. Redwhisker was not the only one wading through water to get through the territory; his Clanmates were too, and their scent eventually became scattered, unpredictable, and faint because of it.

At one point he gave up on trying to find them, and went his own way. He wandered absentmindedly towards WindClan territory. ShadowClan, he knew, was secure; ShadowClan had been more or less placid lately, and had little troubles with either of its neighbors. That wasn't to say WindClan-RiverClan relations were hostile by comparison, but it was probably more productive to check their border instead of the ShadowClan one.

As he came upon their land, he stood at the scent-marked border between his home and the windy moorlands. Even from here, he could taste on his tongue the smell of the meadows and all the rabbits that lived there. He could almost feel the rush of the lithe, fast cats racing by. There was no one around him except wildlife, but he still daydreamed of what they must feel. Freedom, maybe?