Warriors: Traitors (Book One)

Chapter Seven

                Moonpaw padded into the camp, closely followed by Wolfstar. Two more days had gone by without trouble, though there were some chilly winds that reminded the cats that leaf-bare wasn’t far away. Luckily, it was only the beginning of leaf-fall and the prey they caught was even fatter than usual. Moonpaw struggled to carry a mouse and two plump birds all the way back to the camp. He put his catch on the fresh-kill pile and his mentor soon followed.

                Despite the tall pile of plump prey, Wolfstar looked worried and distant, making it seem as though she never quite understood what was going on around her. Her loyalty tests had lessened considerably, but even though Moonpaw knew he and his siblings had passed with flying colors, the leader seemed even more worried.

                “What’s wrong?” Moonpaw finally got the courage to ask her as she just sat next to the fresh-kill pile and gazed into the distance at something he couldn’t see.

                Wolfstar looked at her apprentice thoughtfully before she answered, “I can’t worry you with the Clan’s troubles.”

                “But I’m a Clan cat, I should be included in everything important like any other warrior,” Moonpaw pointed out as he sat next to her.

                “I’m worried about your father, Eaglestar,” she answered calmly. Before Moonpaw could get too confused she continued, “He said we would have two days to give you and your remaining siblings up. It’s been days since then and we haven’t seen a single hair off his pelt. I can’t help but wonder if I should be worried or not.”

                “I’m sure he won’t attack us after all this time,” Moonpaw said, not wanting to reveal that Eaglestar had been chased off his territory by his own Clan.

                Wolfstar sighed, “What makes you so sure? You’ve seen the way he killed Oakstar because of you. If he was willing to kill a leader at a Gathering, you can bet a couple of mouse tails that he’ll be back. I just wish I knew his angle.”

                “Well you can forget about him, for now anyways,” Moonpaw comforted her. “Is anything else bothering you?”

                Wolfstar purred, “The Clan is thriving, with numerous kits, apprentices, and warriors. What concerns me is the upcoming leaf-bare. I can’t imagine any way that we can catch enough food to last the leaf-bare without a kit or elder dying. I don’t need to remind you how old Rockstripe is, and Flamefur is starting to show his age.”

                Moonpaw looked up at her curiously before saying, “Everything is peaceful in our territory. Kits are playing, the elders lively as they usually are, and the fresh-kill pile practically overflowing, there isn’t any reason to worry right now, is there?”

                Wolfstar looked down at him and smiled. “There is much for you to learn Moonpaw. One day you will understand that all of this,” she waved her tail around the clearing, “could disappear at a moment’s notice.”

                The leader flicked his shoulder with her gray tail-tip before padding away to her den above Highledge. Her words made him feel uncomfortable as he looked around the clearing. Cowpelt and Daisyfur were watching their kits as they hobbled around the outside of the nursery, still looking too young for such an adventure. Outside the elders’ den, Meadowkit, Warmkit, and Bloomkit were listening eagerly to one of Rockstripe’s thrilling tales, Badgerface dozing off right next to him.

                Could it really change just like that? Moonpaw wondered as he looked down at the fresh-kill pile. His appetite had largely disappeared during his conversation with Wolfstar, but he forced himself to take a small vole from the pile and took a few bites until he had finished it. He had just buried the bones when Sunshine, the new deputy, padded over to him.