Warriors: Frecklesky's Heart

[ 12 ]

Frecklesky slipped into camp with a squirrel dangling from her mouth. Its was furry and plump, caught on the other side of the thunderpath on what once was ThunderClan territory. Since they'd won the battle against the forest-dwelling Clan, Larkstar had ordered her warriors to mark a fresh boundary a few tail-lengths over the old border, and it had come in handy with adding some variety to the fresh-kill pile.

Frecklesky deposited her furry catch into the growing pile of prey, pleased to see how high it was stacked. She turned her eyes to the sky. The sun was slightly past its peak, leaving her with a few hours left until sunset.

It had been a long day of constant patrolling, but she still had a lot of time left, even though she felt sticky and hot underneath her thick pelt of fur. She padded over to Chiveclaw, her ears pricked intently. "Are there any patrols left for me to attend?"

Chiveclaw blinked in surprise. "No, you've already done enough. Nervous about your sister?" He guessed.

Frecklesky scuffed her paws against the ground. "I am nervous," she confessed, but not about Fallowstep.

It had only been a day since Fallowstep had gone to the Moonstone, and unless she was missing by sundown, her time away was taking no longer than usual. If anything, Frecklesky was nervous about meeting Rachel. But she couldn't let the deputy know that.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure of it," Chiveclaw mewed reassuringly. "If you really need something to do, I'm sure the apprentices would like some help repairing the nursery." He flicked his ears to the den, shielded by buckthorn.

Frecklesky wrinkled her bandaged nose at the sight of Willowpaw arguing with Marshpaw over a pile of moss. "I'm okay. I'll just sit it out."

Chiveclaw chuckled. "All right, suit yourself. I'll let you know if I think of anything new for you." He smiled and padded off, fetching himself an item from the fresh-kill pile.

Frecklesky sighed breezily and meandered across the clearing, finding herself at one of the exposed corners of camp that bled off into a small freshwater pool of water, brimmed with cattails. She splashed a paw into the water to clear away the clustering algae, and bent down for a drink, lapping up the cool liquid.

She finished up and settled back down, her eyes training on the sky as soft white clouds drifted by. Eventually, the sun was settled about a whisker-length above the horizon, and she stood to her paws.

It was time. If she left now, she'd have some time to spare once she arrived.

She padded across camp without any troubles, ignoring Silentmoon as the polite she-cat dipped her head in farewell.

She pushed through the camp entrance, her paws tingling with excitement as her walk picked up to a jog. She slammed into a Clanmate as she hurried past, but kept her paws moving.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

Frecklesky spun around, her lip curled back in the beginnings of a snarl. Her eyes grew round and her expression faltered at the she-cat's amused grin. "Fallowstep! You made it."

Fallowstep gave her chest fur a brisk lick. Her fur was messy and ungroomed, but her eyes were soft with relief. "Of course I made it, I was only visiting the Moonstone." She hurried forward, investigating the cobwebs across Frecklesky's fur. "You didn't get injured too badly, did you?"

Frecklesky shook her head as her sister gave her a good, thorough checking. "I'm fine, Fallowstep. You don't have to worry." Her paws kneaded anxiously into the earth, and she glanced at the sky. "I need to go, though."

"Go? How come?" Fallowstep's green eyes darkened slightly, twinkling with a faint starry light.

"I'm... going night hunting," Frecklesky lied. I've never lied to Fallowstep before. Guilt swallowed her, but she kept her face neutral.

Fallowstep frowned, but the expression quickly flitted away. "Okay, that's fine." She leaned forward and rasped her tongue across her sister's ear. "Be safe, and come back soon, okay?" She whispered.

Frecklesky nodded. "Yeah, of course. There's no danger in hunting, so you don't need to worry."

Fallowstep's expression darkened, more worried than Frecklesky had seen before. "I'll... see you soon, then," she mewed softly.

Frecklesky's guilt was chased away by a surge of excitement, and she skipped backwards. She waved her tail in farewell, and Fallowstep did the same, though her shoulders were sagging and her ears were drooping.

Turning around, Frecklesky pushed the thought of her sister out of her mind and raced off to find Thunderpath. To find Rachel.