🍁🍃Warriors: A Poisonous Path🍁🍃

Chapter 7

Emberpaw yawned. It was dawn, two days after Shadeclaw's warrior ceremony, and she still loathed him with every hair on her pelt. He was on patrol now, thinking he was the best warrior in the Clans. She rolled her eyes, imagining him, and slowly padded outside. Almost immediately, she got called into a border patrol with Graytuft, Shellflight and Rainwish. As she trotted along the ShadowClan border, she could not help noticing the small but noticeable smell of fear in some of the border marks. "Hey, are the ShadowClan cats scared?" Graytuft confirmed her suspicion as he said that. 

"I'm pretty sure I know why," Rainwish shot her a meaningful glance. She puffed out her chest, feeling proud and awkward at the same time. They checked the WindClan border, but there was also slight fear in them.

"Have he Clans gone mad?" grumbled Shellflight.

"Yeah, WindClan is never scared of our threats." agreed Graytuft with a thoughtful look.

"We can use this to our advantage," remarked Rainwish, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Shellflight rolled her eyes. Emberpaw snickered. Then pricked up her ears at a fresh scent. WindClan!

"I smell fresh WindClan scent!" she barked to the rest of the patrol.

"Your right," confirmed Graytuft. "Follow me." He led the patrol into a patch of ferns, and a few moments later, a pair of WindClan cats appeared, gossiping loudly. 

"I'm not scared of ThunderClan's pet fox!" boasted one.

"Yeah; I bet I could give her a good clawing on the nose and she'd go running off whining." the other, a dark gray furred tom, spoke up.

"Yeah, let's hunt and show them we're not scared,"

As Emberpaw listened, hot rage built up into her as the two young WindClan warriors crossed the stream into ThunderClan territory. "Will we attack?" she whispered, hoping for a yes. Graytuft didn't respond in words, but nodded, signaling with his tail for the patrol to encircle the WindClan cats. Smoothly, the patrol split up. Forming a circle around the enemy cats. Suddenly one stiffened and scented the air. 

"Fresh ThunderClan scent!" he whispered urgently to his companion.

"Glad you've got noses." mocked Graytuft as he emerged from a bush. 

"Is there only one?" whispered the other shocked WindClan cat, a light brown tabby. 

Then Rainwish came from a few tail-lengths away, and emerging opposite Rainwish was Shellflight, her eyes narrowed menacingly. Blood pumped in her veins. Emberpaw was right behind the pair. They gazed around with determination and fear. 

"We'll beat them! They're no match for us!" but even he sounded uncertain. Emberpaw felt a small grin spread on her face.

"At least they haven't brought the fox," the tabby looked relieved. 

Graytuft watched in silence. "What brings you here, thieves?" he snarled.

"We're not thieves! We're honorable warriors, unlike you!" yowled the dark gray tom, glaring defiantly at the patrol. Shellflight hissed and Rainwish's fur fluffed up. The dark gray tom seemed to regret his words for a heartbeat but quickly went back into hostility. Emberpaw's grin widened and she stepped out from the ferns. "What was that, rabbit-chasers?" They both spun around and their eyes widened in dismay and fear. Even an apprentice, Emberpaw was almost their size. As they scrambled backward, Graytuft sounded the battle cry: "ThunderClan, attack!" Emberpaw leaped at the tabby, bowling him over and biting into the scrawny flesh with all her might. He shrieked in agony and tried to wriggle free from her grasp. One of his flailing paws hit her cheek and Emberpaw hissed in pain. Rainwish came in to help, clawing at his ears and muzzle. Emberpaw snarled as he threw her off. The WindClan cats were heavily outnumbered and obviously wanting to get out of the fight as soon as they could. The tabby managed to hit her shoulder this time, and she redoubled her attack, biting his forepaw hard and slashing his flank with long claws. The dark gray tom soon fled. When the tabby saw that, he wrenched free, yowling in pain, and raced for the border. Emberpaw managed to land an ending blow onto his haunches as he fled.

Emberpaw made her way to camp with the patrol. No one had been badly hurt, except for a little tear on the tip of Shellflight's ear. When they reached camp, Brindlestar leaped down from Highledge with a frown, demanding: "Where have you been!?" Emberpaw noticed all the patrols had come back. Badgerpaw, his eyes shaded with worry, and Shadeclaw, looking annoyed.

"WindClan cats," informed Graytuft. There were few exclamations of surprise. Emberpaw didn't bother to listen to the story, instead, she made her way to the medicine cat's den with Shellflight and Rainwish. 
"You fought well," praised Rainwish. Emberpaw puffed out her chest in pride. 

While she was in the medicine den with Sagehawk looking her over, Badgerpaw came to chat.

"Did you really beat a WindClan warrior by yourself?" he asked in wonder.

"Yep. He was as weak was a mouse!" Emberpaw chuckled.

 They talked until she had been treated, then she stumbled on tired legs towards the apprentices' den, where she fell asleep almost instantly.