Marked Sky: A Warriors Fanfiction

5.0 - Brightpaw ☼

Brightpaw was excited.

It was his first patrol as an apprentice of FlareClan, and Tremblingstar himself had assigned him to it. Along with his brother Cliffpaw and his mentor Charredfoot, six other warriors and two other apprentices joined them for the patrol along the HaloClan border, a small creek that winded through the rocky territory. While AuroraClan and EclipseClan territories were in the Wildlands, a lush forest territory with abundant prey, HaloClan and FlareClan existed in the Barrenlands, where prey was less plentiful and often dangerous. FlareClan and HaloClan were at near constant odds with one another in order to have enough prey to get them through the dry season.

Brightpaw wasn't sure about HaloClan's camp, but he knew his clan, FlareClan, was on a rocky plateau, and the cliffs nearby the camp held spectacular views of forest and mountains in the distance. Their prey was mostly shrews and mice, but occasionally the hunting patrol would bring back a rabbit, which the entire clan feasted on.

From what he saw when Charredfoot showed him around the territory the day before, HaloClan had more sand and grass than they did, though FlareClan did have their own area of parched land below the camp.

His thoughts wandered back to Tremblingstar. He thought it was a bit strange that the queens never talked about him. They would choose their words carefully, always looking over their shoulders, but Brightpaw had always dismissed it.

The queens had been quite helpful to the kit, always giving him plenty of advice. The grey and white tom recalled everything the queens in the nursery had said about patrols. According to them, the patrol would travel the border of FlareClan and HaloClan, remarking their territory on and even a little further onto HaloClan's land. If they came across a patrol from the other clan there would be a stand-off, but the smart thing for both clans to do would be to keep going. The queens would especially tell the kits this last bit over and over again, that the other clans weren't out for blood, that they will only attack if you attack first.

But Brightpaw also knew that it was rare to come across the other clans in a regular patrol, even along the HaloClan border where both clans consistently contribute to the markings along the craggily stream separating the two. It disappointed him a little that he probably wouldn't get to see another clan just yet, but he was still determined to do his best.

A large pointed rock jutted out of the ground, the pawstep-wide creek having carved a small archway underneath it long ago. The warriors in the front of the patrol began to mark on and around the bear-sized rock, and with a quick nod from his mentor, Brightpaw bounded ahead to join them.

-{}-

Charredfoot was conflicted.

Tremblingstar had planned this 'border patrol' entirely for Brightpaw, notifying Charredfoot just moments before the kit was apprenticed. The leader had laughed, laughed at Charredfoot's concern that the kit wasn't trained in the slightest, and there was no way to prepare him for a fight in the off-chance that one occurred.

'On the off-chance?' the spotted leader repeated mockingly. 'Do I need to knock some sense into your head, Charredfoot? Don't tell me you've never noticed the patrol patterns.'

Charredfoot tilted his head slightly in confusion, and Tremblingstar's blue and green eyes narrowed. The leader sighed. 'I'm disappointed in you, Charredfoot. I thought you of all cats would see. No matter. Perhaps someday you'll understand.'

'I-' Charredfoot was genuinely confused. The elders had always mentioned that there was something off about Tremblingstar, but Charredfoot had never been witness to his ramblings himself. The gold-and-ginger tom attempted to compose himself. 'I-I just feel that Brightpaw isn't ready for a large patrol like this. I don't think any apprentice wou-'