Warriors: The Prophecy of Frost - Apprentice's Journey

Chapter 4- Troubling Times

Instantly Frostpaw felt ashamed. How could I not know Bluewish was my mother?

"It's fine," Bluewish mewed. "I know that Hailfall didn't tell you."

"Why didn't he?" Frostpaw asked, edging closer to her mother.

Bluewish moved closer to her and brushed her pelt on hers. "Because he was grieving," she muttered, almost regretfully. "He blames himself for everything that happened to him, the cats closest to him dying."

"I never thought of that before," Frostpaw admitted guiltily.

"Don't worry about it," Bluewish purred. "Now go back and learn as much as you can. And don't tell Hailfall about this."

"Okay," Frostpaw mewed in understanding.

~~~~

It was been two whole moons since Bluewish's visit. Frostpaw had been training hard, but she was unsure of the reason why Bluewish wanted her to.

Lightningpaw was as prickly as ever, always grumbling about apprentice duties. Blazepaw became good at fighting, and he liked to have a mock tussle with Poolpaw, who preferred to hunt.

That day, it was Frostpaw's turn to do apprentice duties. Timberclaw was supervising her, patiently giving helpful advice.

He is a good mentor, Frostpaw thought.

"Squeeze the moss gently," he mewed as she grabbed out some wet moss. She stepped on the moss as gently as she could but Timberclaw shook his head.

"More gentle," he mewed. "You are doing it wrong. If you step too hard, it will ruin the moss."

Frostpaw nodded and concentrated more. But it was frustratedingly difficult for her to concentrate.

"No, you are still doing it wrong," Timberclaw sighed. "You have been distracted recently, and as your mentor, I have the right to know your troubles."

Frostpaw stared at her mentor, debating on whether to tell him.

"I won't tell any cat," Timberclaw promised. "I need to know. It is affecting your training."

"Bluewish came to me in a dream," she mewed quickly. "She told me that I have a special destiny, but she didn't tell me what am I going to do. It has been two moons and I am worried."

"I see," Timberclaw mumbled. "I will have to teach you some things..."

He shook it off and mewed, "Well, I will do the moss. Meet me at Tallpines."

Frostpaw nodded, blinking in confusion.

~~~~

Timberclaw led her to a structure. "Why have you brought me here?" Frostpaw asked, recognising the structure known as Rocktip.

"To show you something," came his reply. "Follow."

Frostpaw stared at the dark tunnel warily but she padded in, following her mentor's brown pelt.

The ground felt cold and wet at her paws, and everytime she took a step, she expected herself to sink under the mud.

Finally, they arrived at a cavern with a pool. It reflected the sunlight and Frostpaw looked at it in awe.

"I'm here to show you something that me and my littermates found as kits," Timberclaw explained, padding towards a side, which was covered with brambles.

He moved the bunch of brambles aside carefully and it revealed a hole. Frostpaw narrowed her eyes, trying to see the end of the hole.

"It's dark, but just follow my scent," Timberclaw mewed.

She nodded tensely. As she stepped in, she felt her fur instinctively pricked up but she continued to follow him.

Suddenly, the ground became steep and smooth, causing Frostpaw to fall onto her mentor.

Timberclaw gave an amused grunt and shook her off. Frostpaw landed on a bunch of moss.

Blinking, she glanced at the area. It was filled with a lot of moss and it was lighted by a small hole.

"What's this place?" she asked in wonder.

Timberclaw shrugged. "Only StarClan knows. But me and my littermates found this when we were driven out of our territory from a flood. Standing around in the cavern back there is boring, so we decided to explore. Dewsplash accidentally fell through the brambles and stumbled upon this place."

"Cool," Frostpaw commented. "But... how do we get out of here?"

"Simple," Timberclaw replied. "Just go to that tunnel there." As he spoke, he gestured to another dark tunnel with his tail.

Frostpaw padded over to the tunnel and pricked her ear in surprise. Firstly, the tunnel was not as dark as expected. Secondly, at the end, it was blocked by rocks.

"Why is the exit covered?" she asked her mentor.

"Mouse-dung!" Timberclaw growled. "Now we can't get out."

"Can't we go out the way we came?" Frostpaw suggested in a small voice.

"No," he replied flatly. "We tried that many times, but it is too slippery."

"Isn't there another way?" Frostpaw asked nervously.

Timberclaw narrowed his eyes. "Yes," he mewed at last. "But I have never tried it. It was darker than a fox hole, and it smelled foul. We stayed away from it. Silverstar that time wondered a bit and mentioned that she saw sunlight, but she ran back after she saw a badger digging for worms."

"We can try," Frostpaw mewed.

"It's our only chance anyway," he grunted. "Then, stay close to me."

She followed her mentor through the tunnel. It was so dark that she couldn't see her own whiskers, and a strange feeling in her paws told her something is not right.

Frostpaw heard a growl and felt her mentor tensing his muscles.

"Dog," he hissed.

They were coming closer to the exit, but there was a small, brown dog. It barked at them but it didn't lunge.

Timberclaw unsheathed his claws. The dog let out a threatening bark and sped forward.

Snarling, Timberclaw stepped forward to meet it.

The dog swatted Timberclaw aside, slamming him against the wall of the tunnel.

Frostpaw pounced forward to help but the dog pushed her towards another wall. The impact was so hard that her vision became blurry, and she collapsed on the ground limply like freshkill.

"We will be alright."

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A/N: Firstly, I want to thank all of you for 1k over views on Danger Lurking. It is really amazing. :')

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