Warriors: Frecklesky's Heart

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An icy wind bit into Frecklesky's face as the first snowflake fell from the sky. Her ears twitched idly to the rattling trees above as she padded alongside Elmshine, Riftpelt, and Chewpaw, rubbing her cheek along one of the jetting brambles.

"It's snowing!" Chewpaw mewed excitedly, his pace picking up to an eager skip as he raced ahead of Frecklesky and the rest of the patrol.

Riftpelt followed the young apprentice with his gaze, a soft smile cresting his face. Frecklesky cast the tom a sideways glance. "Aren't you going to call him back?"

"It's fine to let apprentices be kits for a while," Riftpelt shrugged. "Let him have his fun."

Frecklesky fluffed out her fur in response, not bothering with a genuine reply as she continued trekking through the woods. She never wanted to have an apprentice. They were too full of energy for her liking, especially when they were fresh out of the nursery like Chewpaw.

Her eyes caught movement to the side through the fluttering of white snowflakes, and she flicked up her tail. Riftpelt caught her signal and hurried ahead to fetch his apprentice. Frecklesky lowered to a crouch and slipped into the underbrush.

She was extra wary of her footsteps over the crackling leaf-litter. The wind brushed towards her face from deeper within the forest, so she remained downwind, maneuvering warily around a bush.

Ahead, the little mouse was digging through the ground in search for food. It paused for a moment to wash its face before continuing, curiously poking around where little shoots of green bloomed. It began nibbling on a stem, and with one more carefully placed step, Frecklesky was within pouncing range.

"See how carefully she's sneaking up on it?" A quiet whisper caught on the breeze behind her. "Tonight, we'll try night-hunting at the Great Sycamore."

Frecklesky heard Chewpaw's small mew of surprise, and she ground her teeth together as the mouse heard it too. In a flash, the mouse scampered away into the trees.

Frecklesky turned around with an unamused glare. "Chewpaw, you can't be making noise during a hunt!"

"I'm sorry." Chewpaw shrank back as guilt swept his face, ducking behind his mentor.

Riftpelt shook bits of snow free from his fur with a sigh. "I suppose I'll have to teach you to be quiet, too. Come on, let's go."

Frecklesky parted her mouth for a harsh reply, but thought better of it, and instead gave her pelt a brisk shake, trudging angrily along with her pelt prickling in irritation.

❀

Frecklesky padded eagerly towards the thunderpath as sunset befell the snow-dappled marsh. Her paws stung from the cold with every step, but she ignored the sensation. She couldn't wait to see Rachel's reaction to the leaf-bare weather. Had the kittypet ever seen something like this before?

She reached their typical meeting place and leaped atop the small, flat-faced boulder, her ears pricked in the direction of the forest. She cared little for catching attention now, as she'd been meeting with Rachel for so long that she doubted anybody would pass by at this time in the evening. Especially since Fallowstep had promised to keep the secret.

Her heart twisted at the thought of her sister's disappointed face, but she pushed it away with a flick of her tail. If she can't support me, who gives? I'm happy meeting Rachel, and I'll never stop, she thought, her eyes flicking to the thunderpath as she waited. A rather large trail of monsters crawled by, much slower than usual to keep from slipping on the ice.

Night swallowed the sky, painting everything in darkness and shadows. The atmosphere was still overcast with clouds, leaving the moon and stars veiled from sight. Frecklesky picked her claws anxiously at a small tuft of grass that grew between cracks in the rock.

Where was Rachel?

She waited for a few minutes longer before dropping from the rock. It was pitch black at that point, with only the barest glow from the moon lighting the marsh. She padded along until she reached the edge of the thunderpath, gazing off into the trees on the other side.

"Rachel?" She called out, her ears straining for a response. When none came, she ducked back into the cordgrass to hide from the glaring eyes of the monsters, and began padding anxiously along the border. Perhaps Rachel had run into trouble with ThunderClan and entered through another spot.

Frecklesky trotted along the border for ages until she turned back. When she reached their meeting space again, she gave the air a good, long whiff, but detected no fresh scent. The only sign of Rachel was some flattened grass where the two would stargaze together, but the smell there was faint, too.

Frecklesky clambered back onto the rock, her ears flat. It felt like a rat was tearing her heart to shreds as she waited, and it was well past moonhigh when finally, she descended and began the trek back to camp.

Had Fallowstep somehow gotten into contact with Rachel and told her not to visit again? Did Frecklesky do something wrong? Could Rachel be angry? Her paws were heavy as she dragged herself into camp and slipped off to her den, ignoring Dewfrost's typical scathing and suspicious glare.

She curled up into her soft nest, her brow drawn taut. She hadn't bothered to catch anything on the way back to camp. Why should she bother? The she-cat she cared so dearly for was missing, and she hadn't a clue where to look next.