[Strelles] Strike the Match

Chapter 8: Growing Concerns (Edited)

"She's so thin."

"I can't believe any faction would treat an elder like this."

Cardinalpaw hummed his absent agreement - the return to the barracks had been incredibly slow. Nettleflower's leg slowed her down and Asterdawn hadn't seemed inclined to rush her - on the other side, Deerleap was so thin that she had no energy reserves left. By the time they'd made it to the ridge, Lionbelly was just short of outright carrying in her - something she refused to allow to happen even as her legs trembled with every step forward. As for Quietpaw... they'd ended up needing to stop mid-way back, catching a pair of small birds for her after the third time her stomach turned and rumbled loudly enough to be heard.

Upon returning to the barracks, Cardinalpaw had volunteered to ensure the survival of Deerleap (who he wasn't quite certain would make it through the season) and Nettleflower while Jackdawpaw had eagerly insisted that he could help Quietpaw settle in. As it was, the thin cadet remained curled in on herself; sitting just a little ways from the other cadets who were sprawled around their stump. Now that she'd eaten, she seemed content to just listen to the discussions happening around her.

"Do you think it has anything to do with the invasion on the Galespun?" Cardinalpaw voiced aloud, the thought having rattled around in his brain since the announcement when they returned.

"How bad was it Ravenpaw?" Wrenpaw demanded.

"Awful," said the lanky tom, flattening his ears. "Everything reeked of the Fennyield - and there were a few cats trying to live in the hollow. We couldn't smell Galespun anywhere - even in the barracks."

"They were trying to live in the hollow?" Cardinalpaw echoed.

"Yes but Galespun territory is terrible if you don't live there. I didn't see a single stream the whole walk - I bet the Fennyield couldn't find any water either."

"And going to the river risks clashes with the Shorerisen," he murmured to himself, rolling the concept through his head.

"...underground."

"What was that?" Chaffinchpaw asked as they all turned to the Galespun cadet. The dilute tortoiseshell watching with a cautious expression, as if unsure she wanted to reiterate her point.

"The water. It's underground," she explained, ducking down.

"...that explains everything," Chaffinchpaw said aloud, her tail swishing across the ground. "If the streams are underground... no cat is crazy enough to go looking for water in tunnels with no guide - what if they flood?"

"Didn't Our Storm say Fennyield territory is muddy?" Cardinalpaw jumped in, springing from her concept. "Wet-grounds would keep Fennyield cats from trying to burrow - the chance it floods is way higher than in the Galespun. And with wet mud, the tunnel entrances could collapse and trap them inside."

"So if all the water is underground, they'd have to leave," Chaffinchpaw concluded.

"Which means the Galespun was chased out for nothing," Wrenpaw scowled.

"Not for nothing - they still got some hunting territory," Cardinalpaw pointed out. "And anyway with the Galespun gone, the Stormborn will be their next target. There's more to gain from invading us - Snakerocks, good hunting territory, above ground streams..."

"Skua Raggedjaw will have a lot to answer for," Jackdawpaw said, narrowing his eyes. "No way Our Storm will just let him get away with driving off another faction."

"And may the Souls get him too," Chaffinchpaw grumbled, tucking her legs beneath herself. "It's been a tough couple cycles for everyone but no other faction has needed to push another out."