Warriors; Roar of the River

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

When Blackfeather awoke, he was bathed in a bright white glow of sunlight. Squinting against it, he glanced around the clearing of ThunderClan camp and noticed that only a few cats occupied the space. The night before, like many others, he had opted to sleep outside a den, because they were all so full. He had taken a spot next to the medicine cat’s den, with Emberleaf beside him, and Sparrowstripe curled around her in a way Blackfeather found amusing despite the turmoil of the situation between the Clans. Shadefall had slept at the foot of the Highledge with Splashpelt and her brother Salmonflash, under the careful watch of Sunfade. The scrawny golden tom had claimed that Shadefall himself had attacked him. And he probably wasn’t lying, Blackfeather thought.

Climbing to his paws, he saw Lionstar pacing the edge of the clearing by the thorn tunnel. Blackfeather glanced around again and saw a black-and-white RiverClan tom that he knew as Reedpaw, currently asleep, and he also saw Adderstrike and Birdpaw sharing a thrush. He wondered where Leafpaw and his heart jumped into his throat as he wondered if she was dead.

There’s no way, he thought while trying to calm himself. Even so, he padded over to them to ask. When he reached their side, Birdpaw didn’t even acknowledge him, and Adderstrike gave him an empty look. Blackfeather drew in a breath and mewed uncertainly, “I’m sorry about Featherfall.”

It was common knowledge that Featherfall had been killed, and Blackfeather had the suspicion that it was Shadefall’s doing by the guilty look he had had the night before. But he was supposed to believe that his brother was trying to help now. Trying to push his doubts away, he turned back to Adderstrike. The respected tom seemed to be staring through him, his eyes slightly glazed over. Blackfeather flicked his tail tip and took a wary step back, but then Adderstrike said, “I’ve received many other cat’s condolences, and I don’t need yours.”

Blackfeather shuddered. This was a shell of Adderstrike’s former self. The tom had never been rude to him, and never doubted his skill in ShadowClan, at least not on the outside. But now, Blackfeather had the idea that he blamed Blackfeather himself just as much as Shadefall for his mate’s death.

He turned his head and padded away, not wanting to face the grief-stricken warrior. It was disconcerting to see his Clanmates acting so lost and bemused. With a sigh, Blackfeather left the ThunderClan camp to explore the forest.

The oaks were much taller than the pines of ShadowClan, and the air smelled like the lush leaves of Newleaf that surrounded him. It was quite nice compared to the dark of ShadowClan, but Blackfeather liked lurking in the shade of the dense pine forest a lot better than walking around in the brambles under golden sunlight. He was grateful for the warmth here, though, and he enjoyed it as he tried to find prey.

It didn’t take long; Blackfeather detected noise in the undergrowth and crouched down to wait. Before he knew it, a huge rabbit burst from the bracken and shot across his path, followed by a silver tabby tom with a sleek pelt. Blackfeather recognized him as Waterglow of RiverClan and wondered just how many RiverClan cats there were with the other three leaders.

He heard a triumphant yowl and laughed lightly as the tom burst back through the bracken, looking cheerful and holding the plump rabbit in his jaws. He placed it on the ground and licked his lips. “I’ve actually caught a rabbit!” He meowed.