Warriors: Solemn Wishes (Warrior Cats Fan Story)

Chapter 25

Oceanbutterfly's ears were pinned to the sides of her heads as she soldiered through the ThunderClan forest, en route to the Clan's camp. The camp where she would directly approach Mazestar and, for the first time in both their lives, talk one-on-one with the leader. She had never had the chance to actually ever share a real word with the ThunderClan she-cat, and maybe this anxiety should've been what occupied her thoughts, but her mind was, in fact, on something else entirely: The environment.

As opposed to the drooping, friendly trees that consoled her in the RiverClan woods, those that grew in ThunderClan soil felt cold and inconsiderate. Towering, tall, watching her with sinister hidden eyes; it was even worse right now in the nighttime. The deputy wondered how ThunderClan could live all their lives under these monstrous oaks. A primal part of herself thought the foliage would turn on her any moment, grab her with its sharp branches, and toss her out of the territory screaming and fighting. This irrational fear forced her claws to unsheathe, to grab the soil underneath her with each step she took.

She was both fearful and hopeful for a patrol to run across her. She couldn't stand being alone in this woodland much longer, and she would probably look less suspicious and conniving if she were escorted in rather than waltzing in. The only problem was that ThunderClan was wildly unpredictable in behavior and attitude. And she was willing to guess they would not be so homely when there was so much domestic turmoil for them already.

Her fight or flight mode kicked in when she began to hear rustling and detect movement somewhere near her. She whipped around to and fro, but the foliage had stopped rumbling, leaving her with no idea which direction the possible stalker could be.

Heart beating faster, she chose negotiation, and fearfully called out, "ThunderClan, I mean no harm! I'm going to your camp, and would be glad to have an escort!"

Initially there was no response, as the forest remained quiet and the crickets' chirping filled in the space around her. She remained still as a statue, her claws dug into the soil, feeling her muscles tighten until she barely even breathed.

She heard an adult yowl "NO!" somewhere behind her. Whipping around, she saw a young cat flying at her face with an open jaw and unsheathed claws. Warrior training kicked in, and her back legs kicked her off the ground, her front paws flying out to meet the attacker. She didn't intend to actually hurt them, but just make sure she didn't get pinned.

The two collided together. Due to having more momentum, the pouncing cat knocked her backwards; but, due to being in the air, Oceanbutterfly avoided being slammed on the ground, and the two of them landed together on the forest grass, scrambling a bit before Oceanbutterfly felt the other wrenched away abruptly.

With the attacker gone, she was able to stand up in half a second, adopting a firm, ready stance, but there was no need. A creamy she-cat with dark ginger spots was restraining Oceanbutterfly's assailant, who turned out to be a mottled red-brown silver-flecked tabby apprentice. Oceanbutterfly recognized the former as a warrior named Raspberryfir, and the latter as a newer apprentice named Leechpaw.

"She's an intruder!" Leechpaw whined loudly.

"And then you disobeyed my order. What kind of apprentice doesn't know what 'no' means?" Raspberryfir hissed, making Leechpaw crouch down with shame. The warrior then turned her head to Oceanbutterfly, her ears airplaned. "I'm so sorry. Leechpaw's still pretty new to handling intruders."

"Oh, it's all right. Apprentices can be a handful, after all," the peach deputy reassured her. Oceanbutterfly couldn't help but notice the lean frames of both mentor and apprentice. Redwhisker had not been kidding when he talked about ThunderClan's starvation. In fact, both ThunderClan she-cats couldn't seem to be able to keep eye contact with Oceanbutterfly for an extended period of time; they kept glancing at her rotund body with apparent jealousy. The RiverClan she-cat grew flustered.