Redblaze's Regret {COMPLETE}

Chapter 18

 "Come on Redblaze, you're bringing up the rear!" Twigtail's voice called over the heads of the patrol to Redblaze, dawdling at the back. The brown tom had stopped several tail-lengths ahead, along with Cinderfrost, Pebblenose, and Specklepaw. They all looked back at him, waiting for him to catch up. He'd trodden along on stumbling, clumsy paws, hardly giving a care about a routine patrol. He was exhausted; with the "wind" omen bearing no fruit and RiverClan's wariness unwavering, he was tired. Not to mention how fitfully he slept, and how little he did anymore besides Clan duties.

"Coming," he mumbled. He made eye contact with Cinderfrost; for a moment, his sister's gaze looked sympathetic, then she turned away. Normally she was so quick to snap at him. Had Maplenose spoken to her as well? Not a chance, Redblaze thought bitterly. I'm the disappointment to our mother, not her. He so desperately wished some cat would understand him, but such a cat probably didn't exist anywhere but StarClan. After talking to his mother, he watched Mudpelt more, and listened to him, and to his despair Maplenose had been right. Mudpelt was the same cat he'd been before Shadebelly's death; fun-loving, laid-back, and fiercely loyal to his Clan. No bitterness or resentment remained from the previous moons. Redblaze sighed and picked up his pace.

After a few more pawsteps, Specklepaw stopped quickly, nose thrust in the air and eyes wide. The tortoiseshell apprentice gave a sharp sniff and her ears flattened a little. "I smell something," she murmured. The other cats in the patrol took a wary whiff as well, and Redblaze could scent nothing but reeds and chill.

"I can't smell anything," Twigtail remarked, though he looked concerned.

Pebblenose shook her head and eyed her apprentice. "Me, neither," she meowed. "What are you smelling?"

Tasting the air again, Specklepaw's eyes grew even wider as she hissed, "WindClan!" Before any cat could respond, she darted off into the reeds. "This way! Come on!"

A little taken aback, the rest of the patrol followed quickly on her heels. Just as they reached the river, the rest of the patrol smelled it, too. It was unmistakably WindClan! The scent was fresh and strong, and it was coming from Sunningrocks.

"You're quite the tracker," Twigtail panted, complimenting Specklepaw. The young she-cat beamed with pride for a moment, then turned her gaze to the rocks on the other side of the water.

"We should check it out," Cinderfrost suggested quietly. "It's really fresh."

Twigtail took a deep breath and said, "I agree. Let's go, quickly and quietly."

The senior warrior waded into the river, silent as a fish, and was followed by Pebblenose, Specklepaw, Cinderfrost, and lastly Redblaze, whose ears were pricked and fur tingling along his spine. Bad things always seemed to happen to RiverClan where Sunningrocks were involved. Swiftly, the patrol reached the far bank and slid quietly onto the shore, creeping over the rise to see the entirety of this stretch of rocky territory.

Sure enough, there was a WindClan patrol standing leisurely on Sunningrocks, speaking quietly to one another. Redblaze picked out the pelts of Fernstripe, Thornpelt, and Crowshade with his apprentice Patchpaw. Twigtail looked between each of his warriors and nodded a silent command. On a flick of his tail, they burst over the rise, yowling their presence, landing a few tail-lengths away from the enemy cats.

"Trespassers!" Twigtail screeched, tail fluffed out and claws unsheathed. The WindClan cats snapped their heads to the RiverClan patrol in alarm. "You're trespassing on RiverClan territory. Leave now or be driven off."

Redblaze thought it was strangely kind of the brown tom to even give them the option. He wasn't sure he'd do the same thing.

"Uh, it's actually ThunderClan territory," Thornpelt replied dumbly.