Book 1: Echoing Voices - Warriors

Chapter 10

Drizzlepaw's POV

Drizzlepaw coughed, his vision wasn't working all that well so he tended to run into a random tree or bush. Sometimes he would just collapsed out of exhaustion, pain, and hunger.
I'm gonna die. He concluded.
Drizzlepaw staggered over to a tree and took in uneven breathes.
"I need to find herbs or something." he rasped to himself, shutting his eyes.
He felt his neck wound throb and he winced as he curled up. The scent of blood was probably going to attract some kind of animal, but he was too tired to worry about it. He let out a long sigh and almost fell asleep instantly.

When Drizzlepaw woke, he had no dreams and he wasn't sure how long he was out, but it was around dusk now. He lifted his head slowly, trying to see if his wound would hurt as much as it did before. It was worse. It felt sore and it still burned. Though there was no more bleeding.
Yay, so much better.
Drizzlepaw scoffed slightly before slowly pushing himself to his paws. He grimaced and tried not to trip over his own paws. He had no idea how to catch food, so the smartest thing he could do was look for water.
His ear twitched as he listened around, his muscles aches every time he took a step, as if they were yelling at him to stop.
Oh, good. Now I'm giving my muscles personalities. Drizzlepaw scowled slightly, And now I'm talking to myself.
He shook his head, which was a stupid, stupid idea. He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes tightly. When the pain in his neck just went back to a throbbing pain, he opened his eyes and continued forward.

The faint scent of prey caught his nose. It suddenly masked every other scent out and he headed straight for it, not even thinking about danger. It didn't take him long to spot a freshly killed squirrel. His least favorite prey, but that was the last thing he cared about. He licked his jaw and hurried over to the squirrel.
The was a low growl before Drizzlepaw could even reach squirrel. It was still maybe a half of a fox-length away. He looked up from the prey, his mouth opened slightly and he found an orange tabby tom standing in front of him, his lips pulled into a snarl.
It was Auburnpaw of ThunderClan.
Drizzlepaw flattened his ears as Auburnpaw slowly walked around him, his fur bristling.
"That's my squirrel." he spat.
Drizzlepaw carefully examined the other apprentice; his claws were unsheathed, his teeth were bared, his fur bristled like spikes, and his amber eyes flickered angrily, reflecting off any light that was shined onto them. It didn't help that Auburnpaw happened to be older and half way done with his apprenticeship. Drizzlepaw would have been excited to find another cat from a Clan if Auburnpaw hadn't been threateningly circling him.
Drizzlepaw lowered his head and tail back to their normal state and felt the fur on his own shoulders rise slightly.
"Can't we just share the squirrel? We're both obviously hungry." he meowed.
Auburnpaw's expression didn't change and he continued to circle Drizzlepaw. His gaze was still threatening, but there was something about him that was...unsettling. Drizzlepaw couldn't tell if it was in a bad way, or good way.
"I caught it. It's my squirrel." Auburnpaw hissed, "Find your own prey."
Drizzlepaw growled with frustration, "I can't!" he snapped.
Lashing his tail, Drizzlepaw dove for the squirrel and Auburnpaw let out a snarl as he leapt after the prey too. They ended up colliding and Auburnpaw made the first attack by bitting into Drizzlepaw's pad. Drizzlepaw let out a yelp and kicked Auburnpaw's ribs with his hind-leg to get him away. As Auburnpaw curled up slightly from the force of his kick, Drizzlepaw snatched the squirrel up with his jaws and raced off as fast as he could. It didn't take long for Auburnpaw to follow.
Drizzlepaw perked his ears slightly at the sound of rushing water nearby.
Auburnpaw is a ThunderClan cat. There's no way he'll know how to swim. Drizzlepaw grinned to himself through the squirrel at his idea.
He followed the sound of the water as he forced his legs to move faster, despite the screaming pain coming from his sides and legs. As the ground began to turn downward, it gave him an extra boost. His tail swung this way and that while he unsheathed his claws for a better grip on the ground to push himself forward, but somehow, Auburnpaw was still gaining on him.
Okay, maybe he was gaining because Drizzlepaw felt as slow as a slug.
From a distance, the river came into Drizzlepaw's sight. It was a gorge.
His tried to force himself to stop, but the fact that it was a slight hill, didn't exactly help. He dug his claws into the ground, causing him to roll over himself. The squirrel was torn from his jaws as his muzzle was forced into the ground and gravity pulled him down the hill. He desperately clawed at the ground, trying to find some kind of grip that would stop his momentum and he slowly came to a stop. He panted heavily as he clung onto the ground for dear life, listening to the water crash up against the walls of the gorge.
Drizzlepaw glanced up as he heard Auburnpaw's furious growl. The orange tabby was racing down the hill.
"Fox-dung." Drizzlepaw cursed.
He flattened his ears and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of Auburnpaw's body. It never came.
The last thing he could hear, other than the rushing water, was Auburnpaw's shriek.
Drizzlepaw opened his eyes and looked around for a moment and just saw as Auburnpaw slide right off the edge of the gorge. Drizzlepaw's jaw dropped and for a moment, he had the very intention of just leaving Auburnpaw to drown, but hearing nothing except the raging water, caused guilt to make his stomach twist. He stood up and trotted towards the edge of the gorge. The hill wasn't as steep as he actually thought it was when he had been running down it.
Drizzlepaw's eyes whisked back and forth, trying to find some glimpse of what might be Auburnpaw's pelt. Finally, on the side, his gaze caught onto a familiar tabby pelt that was clinging onto a rock, his eyes wide with terror.
I must be crazy.
Drizzlepaw stepped off the ledge and took in a gulp of air before plunging into the water.