Warriors: The Prophecy of Frost - Apprentice's Journey

Chapter 12- Emerging Warning

"Can you stand?" Frostpaw asked the rogue.

"Can't you tell?" Bitumen snapped.

Frostpaw rolled her eyes. "Fine," she mewed, grabbing the tom by his scruff.

Sofie padded forward to help her and they managed to support him to the cave they rested last night.

When inside, Frostpaw mewed to Sofie, "Can you help me watch him? I'm going to get some cobwebs and maybe marigold for Bitumen's wounds."

"Sure," Sofie replied.

Frostpaw walked out of the cave and began her search for the herbs she wanted to find.

~~~~

"What's that?" Bitumen grunted as Frostpaw carefully chewed up some horsetail. She was not able to find the yellow flowers, but found some horsetail nearby.

"Horsetail," she replied as she carefully applied the juice.

Frostpaw had asked Sofie to rest; it had been a long day for both of them and it was her own decision to help the rogue.

Bitumen looked at her with an interested expression as she fixed the cobwebs over the horsetail juice.

"Done," Frostpaw mewed in satisfaction. I managed to remember what Sunstream taught me!

"You are a Clan cat," Bitumen's voice shattered her thoughts.

"How do you know?" Frostpaw mewed in surprise. "The Clans are far away from here..."

"What Clan are you from?" he asked, his voice becoming curious.

"ThunderClan," she replied, confused.

"ThunderClan?" he echoed. "Never heard of it. I only know DragonClan-" Bitumen stopped speaking abruptly.

"Wait," Frostpaw mewed in realisation. "You came from a Clan. You were about to say it but you stopped yourself from. Why?"

"I don't come from a Clan," Bitumen spat, unsheathing his claws angrily.

"Then how do you know all these things?" she challenged bravely. "How do you know I'm from a Clan?"

Bitumen bristled; Frostpaw knew that he was hiding something.

"Tell me what Clan you are from," she mewed firmly.

"Why could I tell you?" he growled.

"Tell me," Frostpaw mewed again, getting annoyed.

"Fine!" he snarled. "I was from MarshClan, happy now? I left that Clan long ago, because of what they have done. It was never a real Clan."

"They don't know the warrior code?" Frostpaw guessed.

"They follow part of it," Bitumen growled with a voice that stopped Frostpaw from asking anymore questions.

She sighed and fell asleep.

~~~~

When she woke up, Sofie and Bitumen were nowhere to be seen. Frostpaw sprung up and raced out. She was relieved to see Sofie padding towards her.

"Have you seen Bitumen?" Frostpaw called out.

"No," Sofie mewed worriedly. "I didn't see him when I woke up. I went for a quick walk to see if he's nearby, but his scent was stale."

What if he decided to leave? What if...

"Don't think so much," Sofie mewed kindly. "He will - I think at least - come back. They always come back."

Cats come back, but not to their original self, the voice echoed in Frostpaw's head.

"I'm going hunting," Frostpaw mewed, forcing her thoughts away.

"I will stay and look out for Bitumen," Sofie offered.

"Thanks," she mewed.

As Frostpaw padded into a small patch of greenery, she spotted a familiar sleek black pelt standing on top of a hill.

"Bitumen!" she yowled to the rogue. He didn't reply.

Frostpaw climbed up the hill and nudged him to get his attention.

"You kept me waiting," Bitumen mewed, without looking at her.

"What do you mean?" Frostpaw asked.

He remained silent.

"I have told you many things about me," he mewed. "But you haven't told me much about you; not even your name."

"Okay," she mewed hesitantly. "My name is Frostpaw."

"An apprentice," Bitumen commented dryly.

"Yes, I am an apprentice," Frostpaw mewed. "I am from ThunderClan. It is one of the four Clans living in the forest. The other Clans are ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan."

"Four Clans?" Bitumen blinked, then he shook his head. "Carry on."

"The Clans follow the warrior code," she mewed. "One day, during a battle, all four Clans joined an alliance to prevent my Clan from being destroyed. It was the warrior code. And I was sent by StarClan to go on a journey to the lake."

"Four Clans you say?" he mewed when Frostpaw finished talking.

"Wha-" Frostpaw began but Bitumen cut her off.

"The lake is that direction," he mewed briskly, before narrowing his eyes and staring at her.

"Beware of MarshClan," Bitumen mewed.