Warriors: Frecklesky's Heart

[ 14 ]

Darkness soon swallowed the marsh, the sun leaving a faint glowing line in its wake. Frecklesky pricked her ears as slowly, the singing of crickets and frogs rose to greet the evening. She stretched to her paws, glancing to the side. Rachel's eyes were closed, and she breathed softly as she slept.

She stared for a while longer until eventually she prodded her awake. The kittypet stirred, a breathless gasp bursting to her lips. "What is it?" She murmured, blinking sleepily.

"It's time for us to go," Frecklesky explained. "A patrol will be coming soon, and your twolegs must be missing you."

Rachel stretched to her paws. "Thanks," she mewed. "But my owners don't mind too much. I can disappear for days and they'd hardly notice." She tilted her head to face Frecklesky with a golden smile. "Let's meet again, okay?"

Frecklesky smiled. "I'd love to. Does tomorrow sound good? At the same time?"

Rachel tilted her head and nodded. "Yeah, that works great. Thanks, Frecklesky." She turned around and began padding away, casting one final glance at the large tortoiseshell. She blinked warmly, then raced across the empty thunderpath, disappearing into the shadows of enemy land.

Frecklesky sighed longingly, already missing Rachel's presence. She waited for a few minutes, watching the thunderpath as monsters whizzed past, before standing to her paws and padding back in the direction of camp.

She kept her nose to the air to see if she could find any prey. After all, she'd told Fallowstep that she would be night hunting.

The earthy smell of mouse touched her scent glands, and she dipped into a crouch. She slipped forward, watching her paws as she pushed through the damp terrain. She pushed aside some cordgrass, peering down into the dip where water began to gather in a shallow scoop of ground. At the edge, a little mouse drank its fill, before backing away and washing its whiskers with its tiny paws.

Frecklesky rasped her tongue across her lips and slowly slipped down into the hollow until she was about a tail-length away from the rodent. In a flash, she pounced, dispatching the mouse with a swift bite to the neck. She set it aside and waded into the turbid, belly-deep water, washing away the scent of Rachel and the thunderpath.

Once finished, she picked up the mouse and continued her trek. She reached camp after a short period of time, ignoring the Dewfrost's scowl from his position as the nighttime sentry as she padded over to the fresh-kill pile.

She noticed green eyes staring at her from the shadows. She flicked an ear in acknowledgement. "Go to sleep, Fallowstep," she mewed.

Fallowstep blinked and stood to her paws, padding across the clearing. "I just needed to make sure you made it back safe," she mewed, her nostrils flaring softly. "Do you need help with that mud again?"

"No, I can take care of it." Frecklesky shook her head. "It's been a long day for both of us. Goodnight."

Fallowstep sighed. "Okay. Goodnight."