Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 1. (The Legacy)

~The Legacy: Chapter 4~

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" came Stonestar's yowl in the early morning.
Spiralpaw woke up and was greeted to a big, fuzzy tail in her face.
"Ptah!" she spat. "Whitepaw, move your tail and get up!"
Her older sister growled at her as she stretched and shook her tail at Spiralpaw, strutting out of the den.
Spiralpaw seated herself alongside Daisypelt and Tigerfur.
Daisypelt greeted Spiralpaw with a soft purr. Tigerfur merely glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the leader.
"Windcaller and Redpelt have caught Whitecough," said Stonestar, evidently wishing to be rid of this meeting. "They are inside with Crookedfire and Russetpaw, being seen to. And, as a precaution, we will take extra border patrols and hunting patrols."
Specklefern yowled in confusion. "A precaution?" she hissed. "What did you not tell us from last night at the Gathering?"
Spiralpaw was surprised at the queen's sudden burst of outrage at Stonestar. Never had she seen a queen, let alone this specific queen, so angry.
Stonestar hesitated before saying, "Runningstar announced last night that a band of Kittypets and loners attacked RiverClan recently."
Yowls of outrage came from the cats who were not present at last night's Gathering.
"Why would you believe that lying flea-bag?" roared Spidertail from the back of the camp.
"It's obvious," growled Specklefern. "We all know how much they adore each other. It's no surprise he's so quick to listen to his former mate rather than his own Clan!"
Former mate? Was she really referring to the RiverClan leader, or had she misheard?
She assumed not, because Reedpaw, who she could view from behind, looked bewildered. Spiralpaw looked to Daisypelt as though to confirm this, but the queen said nothing. She merely sat, gazing forward.
Stonestar's impatience was clear. "I know what you all must think!" he yowled, aiming to get their attention. "But that is not the reason I am doing this. RiverClan is quite far off from ThunderClan, but if what Runningstar said is true, I'd think it better to be safe rather than sorry!"
A scornful howl came from the front of the crowd. Willowleaf, Spidertail's mate, had stood from her spot.
"Intruders!" she yowled, gazing upwards toward the camp entrance. Spiralpaw saw a flash of white before it disappeared again.
Spiralpaw instinctively rushed after the thing, whatever it was, Ashpaw and Reedpaw trailing close behind her. She briefly heard Tigerfur calling her back, and then the rush of paws pounding the earth, but she'd put on a burst of speed and raced after the cat.
It seemed she'd only run a short way when she reached the cat at what seemed to be a big wooden fence.
"L-Leave me alone!" whined the cat.
It was a small black she-cat with huge white spots along her fur.
She heard puffing behind her, and realised her brother and Reedpaw had followed her the entire way. "Why were you spying on us?" growled Reedpaw.
"I got lost!" the she-cat insisted. "I was chasing a bird and got lost! That's all! Now leave me alone!"
"If you were lost, how'd you find your way back here so fast?" Ashpaw asked in a threatening tone.
"I panicked..." the cat admitted.
"You're a kittypet," Reedpaw realised. "No wonder you look so pampered!" she snorted.
"Spots?" said another voice, from behind the fence.
"Spiralpaw, you and Ashpaw go back," Reedpaw said. "We aren't supposed to be here. This is Twolegplace."
"Spots?" said the same voice, coming closer.
She heard the scratching of claws as a new cat appeared on the fence. Another she-cat, but instead, she was fluffy and gray. She looked a bit like Fuzzyear, but softer and with Grayfur's colouring.
"Who are you?" she asked, suddenly alert.
The gray she-cat leaped off the fence and in front of the spotted cat.
"Leave my sister alone and go away back to your owners!" she growled.
"What?" Ashpaw said.
"You heard me," said the gray cat scornfully. "Leave and you'll stay in one piece!"
Spiralpaw, distracted by these two cats, turned to see Tigerfur, Voleroach, Creamfur and Spidertail rushing toward them.
Tigerfur, Creamfur and Voleroach all stopped by their apprentices, but Spidertail skidded to a stop just in front of the fluffy gray kittypet and hissed menacingly.
"You three!" he said, turning back to the apprentices, lashing his tail. "What were you fools doing, chasing after these kittypets? Get back to camp now!"
Spiralpaw glared angrily at Spidertail and followed Tigerfur back.
She heard him scold the two kittypets before they were too far away to hear a thing.
Creamfur and Voleroach had walked ahead of Tigerfur and Spiralpaw, leaving them at the back.
She waited for an outburst of rage from her mentor, but he stayed quiet as they padded along.
After a while, once they'd reached the camp entrance, Tigerfur stopped and led Spiralpaw to a nearby tree.
"You shouldn't have run off," Tigerfur began, pacing angrily in front of her.
"Nobody else was going to do anything-" she began to protest, but he held up his tail to silence her.
"That's no excuse!" he said. "Stonestar did say to be cautious when everyone went on patrols, but he did not mention anything of running off through the woods after a helpless kittypet!"
Spiralpaw curled her tail around her paws, shuffling angrily on the spot. She thought it'd be best to stay silent while he scolded her. She'd no doubt get in more trouble if she argued back.
Tigerfur was quiet for a while, and Spiralpaw waited. He seemed to calm down slightly by the time he spoke again.
"If you don't start listening to your Clan, I'll have you cleaning nests until you become an elder," he said seriously.
"I listen!" she said, unable to stay silent any longer. "Besides, if you'd actually take me on a patrol, then I'd be doing something productive rather than clearing old nests and collecting moss!"
Tigerfur hesitated for a short moment, then sighed, saying, "Fine. We'll go on a hunting patrol later with Mossgaze and Swiftflight."
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺! Spiralpaw thought.
They walked back into camp, Specklefern's view of Runningstar driven from her mind.
"Go and see if Crookedfire needs any help," ordered Tigerfur.
Spiralpaw nodded, avoiding her father and mother's gaze as she padded toward the Medicine den.
She walked in, smelling all kinds of different scents at once: the scents of Crookedfire, Windcaller, Russetpaw and Redpelt, as well as what she thought was Burdock and Thyme.
Russetpaw trotted over excitedly. "Hi, Spiralpaw!" she said enthusiastically. "You aren't sick, are you?"
"No," said Spiralpaw, "but I came to see if you and Crookedfire needed any help."
"Crookedfire said I can't leave the den yet because he wants me supervising those two." Russetpaw indicated her tail towards Windcaller and Redpelt, who looked terrible.
Windcaller, lying on a nest in the far side of the den, was asleep, but sneezing.
Redpelt was on a nest opposite Windcaller, and was having a small coughing fit.
Both of them had streaming noses, and their fur looked a bit messy.
Crookedfire was nowhere to be seen, Spiralpaw noticed. "Where's Crookedfire?" she asked.
"Out collecting Tansy and Catmint," replied Russetpaw. "He left not long after you and Ashpaw ran off. He told me to stay here and keep an eye on them."
"Oh."
"I can't wait to go to the Moonpool," Russetpaw said. "It's not a half-moon, so I can't go yet."
"Right... Well, do you know where Crookedfire went, if you don't need any help around here?"
"He went in the opposite direction you went in," Russetpaw offered. "But I don't know whether there's any Catmint in that direction. I know Twolegs mostly grow it near their nests, but I don't want to leave Windcaller and Redpelt."
"I can get the Catmint," Spiralpaw suggested. She knew Russetpaw was worried about her brother.
"That'd be helpful, thanks!"
Spiralpaw padded out of the Medicine Den and over to Reedpaw, who was, predictably, beside the fresh-kill pile with Ashpaw.
"Hi, Spiralpaw," said her brother. "Mouse?" he offered.
"No thanks," she said. "Do you two want to come with me to grab Catmint?"
Reedpaw almost choked on her sparrow. "Why?" she asked.
"Russetpaw can't leave the Medicine den and Crookedfire's gone to get Tansy," Spiralpaw explained.
"Stuck on herb-gathering duty, huh?" Ashpaw snorted.
Reedpaw flicked Ashpaw's ear with her tail. "Sure, we'll come with you," said the black she-cat.
"But Catmint is grown by Twolegs!" Ashpaw protested. "And Stonestar told Spidertail to keep an eye on us, so we can't go."
"Don't be such a kit!" Reedpaw teased, gently batting his ear.
"Okay, fine," said Ashpaw. He stood up and followed Reedpaw and Spiralpaw as far as the camp entrance, then stopped.
"Wouldn't we get in trouble, though?" he asked.
Spiralpaw laughed. She'd never seen her brother so scared!
"Not if we tell them," she said.
"Or we could sneak out," Reedpaw suggested.
"Sneak out to where?" said a voice.
The three apprentices turned to see Fernfeather gazing skeptically at them.
"Russetpaw needs Catmint, but she can't leave yet and Crookedfire's gone to get Tansy," Reedpaw said before Spiralpaw could answer.
"Tigerfur told me to see if Russetpaw needed help with anything," Spiralpaw explained.
"Ah, I see," said the ThunderClan deputy. "Although, I should come with you, or at least send someone with you."
"No need!" Reedpaw said quickly. "We can get it ourselves. We know where to find it."
"Near Twolegplace? I'm sorry, Reedpaw, but I can't let you three leave camp without sending somebody with you."
Reedpaw hunched her shoulders.
Spiralpaw had a sudden, possibly hopeless, idea.
"Russetpaw told me where to find some Catmint in a different spot, away from the Twoleg nests," she improvised. She knew it wouldn't work. If an apprentice or kit left camp, they were usually with another cat, specifically one that wasn't another apprentice or kit.
Though, Fernfeather wasn't as stern or as stubborn as Stonestar and the other senior warriors were with apprentices.
Fernfeather considered it for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. "Very well," she said. "Just don't go too far from the camp boundaries. I'll keep an eye on you three from around here."
Reedpaw still looked a bit mad, and Ashpaw was so silent Spiralpaw wondered whether he was awake.
It was good enough, though.
"Thank you, Fernfeather," Spiralpaw said. She gestured for her brother and friend to follow her.
Instead of moving toward the Twolegplace, they went in the opposite direction and stopped at a spot out of sight, hopefully, to Fernfeather, but also inside the borders.
"Here," said Spiralpaw, who was sniffing around a tree trunk for something to mask their scents.
"Roll around in these patches of lavender."
Once they'd finished only a few moments later, Spiralpaw got up and whispered to Reedpaw and Ashpaw, "Follow me and be as quiet as possible."
She could tell Ashpaw found this difficult. As far as she was concerned, he hadn't been taken out hunting yet, either.
Now, Spiralpaw was wondering whether they ever would. Judging by the state of the Clans right now, and Leaf-bare, which was soon to come, the prey was running short and, just because of Runningstar's warning, few warriors looked up toward Stonestar.
The three apprentices used whatever shrubs and bushes were left to sneak past the camp entrance, toward Twolegplace. She glimpsed Fernfeather sniffing the air as she moved to the warrior's den, but, thankfully, the deputy thought nothing of it, and continued to walk.
Once they knew nobody was looking, they rushed off into the direction of Twolegplace.
Maybe they'd also get to apologise for spooking the Kittypets.
They came to a stop at the wooden fence. The two cats were no longer there. Spidertail must have scared them away back to their nests.
"The Twolegs grow the Catmint," Reedpaw pointed out. "Which means we'll probably have to go inside their garden."
But Spiralpaw was barely listening. She curled her tail as she stood, deep in thought.
They could try going up and over the fence, but the Twolegs would see them for sure.
Trying to find another way around the entire Twolegplace would take longer than it would to reach the fence, though, she thought.
Before Spiralpaw could speak, Ashpaw scratched up the gate, heaving himself up to the top. He gazed around everywhere, then looked down at Spiralpaw and Reedpaw and said, "There aren't any dogs, and I don't think the Twolegs are home. I don't see those kittypets, either."
"Perfect," said Reedpaw, jumping up.
Spiralpaw hesitated. She knew someone was bound to be on the other side of the fence, but it wasn't the beings inside that worried her as much as it was the ones outside; her Clanmates.
After accepting that this would be her fault if they got caught, she jumped up and landed by her brother, who had already jumped down while Reedpaw was waiting for Spiralpaw.
Apart from the three apprentices, there was no cat in sight. Hopefully the Twolegs that lived in this nest wouldn't be back for a while.
Spiralpaw sniffed the air for any other cats. She couldn't smell anything except for the strong scent of herbs around the garden.
And it was at that moment that she realised, she had no idea what Catmint looked or smelt like.
"I can find it," Reedpaw said, probably noticing Spiralpaw's face, and how lost she looked.
"Let's carry back as much as we can so it saves the time of having to come back," Ashpaw offered, then hopped off alongside Spiralpaw to help Reedpaw look for Catmint.
Reedpaw picked up a small leafy, delicate-looking herb in her mouth and place it in front of them.
"There's some Catmint growing just in that corner of the nest," she said. "This is what is looks like. And remember the smell. Grab as much as you can and then we can leave."
Spiralpaw and Ashpaw got to work.
Ashpaw accidentally snapped one of the herbs.
"Be careful," Reedpaw reminded him. "Catmint is easily broken. You need to be gentle, but also grip it firmly. Like this," she demonstrated, gently picking up some Catmint, and holding it between her jaws.
They all did the same until they couldn't fit anymore in their mouths.
Spiralpaw put her clump down. "Let's go now, before the Twolegs come back, or we get noticed by any kittypets."
She picked up her bundle of Catmint again and followed Reedpaw and Ashpaw over the fence.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, they heard a loud bark and panting.
𝘈 𝘥𝘰𝘨! She held the herbs gently, but firmly enough so they wouldn't fall.
"Go!" Spiralpaw yelled through the leaves.
Reedpaw and Ashpaw rushed ahead, Spiralpaw not far behind them. The dog chasing them was big and brown. It wore a rope around it's neck, which, she could see, had been broken.
Reedpaw dashed away, straight for the camp, while Ashpaw sprinted off and quickly climbed up a nearby tree.
Spiralpaw only just missed the dog as she turned and ran on to what she thought to be the Thunderpath.
The horrid stench burned her nostrils, but she kept moving.
"Spiralpaw!" she heard her brother yell.
Spiralpaw didn't stop. She looked behind her; the dog was catching up.
She looked to her left and saw a monster zooming towards her. She jumped off the Thunderpath and onto the other side, looking over just in time to see the monster hit the dog.
She stared, wide-eyed, at the limp body just ahead on the Thunderpath.
Without hesitation, she dashed across before another one came and stopped at the tree Ashpaw was on.
He was still staring, disgusted and horrified, at the Thunderpath, the Twolegs now examining the body and hopping out of the monster's side.
Spiralpaw's heart was pounding hard against her chest.
Finally, Ashpaw shook his head as though clearing it, then jumped down. "Let's head back to camp," he suggested, and they half-walked half-ran back to ThunderClan, still clutching the Catmint leaves that, astonishingly, hadn't fallen out or gotten crumpled.
They made it to the entrance of the camp to see Stonestar, Tigerfur and Voleroach staring at them with a hard, cold glare on each of their faces.