🍁🍃Warriors: A Poisonous Path🍁🍃

Chapter 12

Quietly, Emberheart tiptoed over to the lichen-enclosed medicine den. When she poked her long head inside, the first thing she spotted was Badgerpaw groggily opening his eyes. Her heart soared with hope. The black-and-white apprentice shook his head and opened his eyes fully. Emberheart walked towards him slowly.
"Emberpaw?" He was very happy to see her. Emberheart felt a wave of sorrow.
"Badgerpaw....I...." Emberheart trailed off. She stepped closer and licked his uninjured ear. He purred rustily.
"I'm glad to see you, Emberp-"
"Don't say that name, please....." Emberheart cut him off before trailing off again. Badgerpaw stared at her in confusion for a few heartbeats before realization crept in. He sagged.
"What's.... Your name?"
"Emberheart." She responded simply, then felt angry, and frustrated. "You should've been there too! Why did Brindlestar hold the ceremony without you!?" Emberheart hissed. She felt a thin tail brush her leg.
"Hey, it's okay, I bet I'll have it soon," he spoke with such conviction that Emberheart believed him.
"Emberheart! Come on!" Mudflower was calling her.
"Who's that?" Badgerpaw still had a good sense of hearing, even though one of his ears had been practically ripped off.
"Mudflower," Emberheart responded.
"And.... My brother?" He asked again as a small, impatient hiss came from outside.
"Haywhisker," Emberheart could barely choke out those words. "I'll come see you later, okay? I need to go hunt," Emberheart was sad to leave, though also eager to get out of camp.
"Sure," Badgerpaw meowed, putting his head back on the moss and closing his eyes. Emberheart padded outside.

The three newly made warriors headed towards the camp entrance, but as her two cat companions filed through with ease and she followed, a thorn tendril caught on her nose and she winced. Emberheart tried to continue forward when she noticed another thin bramble holding onto her leg; she must have dislodged it while going through that part of the tunnel. The orange-pelted vixen let out a snarl of frustration.

At the sound, Haywhisker and Mudflower turned around. Mudflower let out a snort of amusement, coming in to help her while Haywhisker just rolled his eyes and continued into the forest. Mudflower reached her and gently untangled first her muzzle than her hind leg. Just as Emberheart got free and padded a few tail-lengths, Shadeclaw erupted from behind her with a smirk.
"Hey, youngsters, I was ordered to come with you." He raised his head arrogantly. Haywhisker, seeing his friend, quickly trotted back to the group. Emberheart didn't bother to suppress her hiss. Shadeclaw's gaze switched to her.
"I'm the leader of this patrol," he announced superiorly. Emberheart rose to her full height, which was taller than any of the cats, and looked down at Shadeclaw, who seemed surprised by how much she had grown.
"Think again, traitor." Emberheart had just enough time to see Shadeclaw's shocked and slightly horrified expression before she stalked away, plunging into the forest. She took a deep breath, setting memories away for the time being. It's your first hunt as a warrior. You might as well enjoy it. Emberheart sniffed the air. There was a fairly fresh scent of vole, and Emberheart turned to it, nose to the ground, and began following it. Light footsteps sounded behind her and she swiveled her ears backwards, recognizing the faint scent of Mudflower. "What was that all about?" She said sharply as she fell in step with the big vixen. Emberheart was silent.
"Tell me! Shadeclaw is arrogant and a show-off, yes, but that gives you no right to call him a traitor!"
Emberheart's anger rose, and she spun around with her fangs showing. Mudflower backed off with a wince.
"You don't want to know."