Warriors Fanfic: Snowstorm

Chapter 1

Cinnamonpaw awoke in his nice and soft moss nest, he opened his eyes and looked around the dim cave, the walls were covered with an icy frost, he stood up and stretched.

And turned his head toward some of the other sleeping apprentices, their flanks rising and falling as their exhales turned smokey in the cold air.

He felt very drowsy; maybe some morning training will help wake him up! Or tire him out, even more; he walked over to the vines and began to crawl under them, being easy considering he was smaller. Some of the vines got tangled around his hindquarters, but he thrust himself out of the grasp of the vines and tripped onto the cold stone ground.

He pushed himself up and shook his head; he heard a cat letting out a mrrrow of amusement, and looked up to see his sister, Sunsetpaw, sitting outside the apprentice den. The ginger, brown she-cat was watching Cinnamonpaw.

"Stuff a penguin feather in it." Cinnamonpaw purred and touched his nose to his sister's ear.

Sunsetpaw meowed, "Good morning, brother. Do you have training today?" Cinnamonpaw sat down to lick his paw and draw it over his ear. "I have to train with Penguinfeather," Cinnamonpaw replied.

Cinnamonpaw honestly liked Penguinfeather; his mentor was very nice and supportive. Cinnamonpaw closed his eyes and remembered when he was training prior. "Come on Cinnamonpaw! Just put your weight into your headbutt!'' Penguinfeather encouraged Cinnamonpaw. The ginger furred apprentice growled with frustration, and used his newly found fire, he rushed toward his mentor. He leaped toward Penguinfeather and barreled into the older tom's chest.

Penguinfeather staggered back; as Cinnamonpaw was knocked back, he landed on his paws. Penguinfeather regained his composure and praised Cinnamonpaw. "Good job! You did much better!"

He opened his eyes to another cat calling his name; he muttered a quick goodbye to his sister and rushed over to the warriors' den. His mentor, Peguinfeather, was sitting at the entrance, waiting patiently. Once Cinnamonpaw came up to him, Penguinfeather meowed a friendly greeting and then informed Cinnamonpaw. "You have to go to Polarclaw's cave for a checkup." Cinnamonpaw looked slightly confused. "Since when was that a rule?"

Peguinfeather stifled a sigh. "Since there was a greencough outbreak, it happened when you were a kitten." He interrupted before Cinnamonpaw could protest, "It killed one kitten and two elders." Penguinfeather meowed, his eyes now filling with grief.

"That's great and all," Cinnamonpaw mewed sarcastically, "But what does that have to do with me?"

Cinnamonpaw felt a chill run down his spine, not from the cold of the tundra, but from how Penguinfeather looked into his eyes. His eyes were half-filled with grief. Half filled with anger. "Blizzardstar requested that every cat gets checked at least once every moon or few." He meowed coldly, then wondered off toward the fresh-kill pile.

Shuddering, Cinnamonpaw decided to pad towards the medicine cat's cave, not daring to glance back at his mentor. Approaching the entrance of the medicine cave, he scrabbled under the frosty vines and pushed himself into the cave that lay at the other side.

The medicine cave, oddly not as cold as the apprentices' den. Was just a plain sight, sorted herbs lay in piles, covered with bits of leaf. There were only a couple nests, one in the far back corner where Polarclaw, the medicine cat. Slept, and a couple more closer to the entrance, where the sick cats rested.

Walking in, he noticed the FrostClan medicine cat sorting various of fresh, and plump berries that were an icy blue, bluer than the ice that covered the lake outside like a blanket.

"Polarclaw?" Cinnamonpaw's meow rang out like the echo of an alert call from a bird in the forest.

The medicine cat's ear pricked, and he looked up from the berries and stared at Cinnamonpaw, with friendly eyes. "Ah, Cinnamonpaw!" Polarclaw mewed and then got up to go over to the young apprentice. "Checkup I assume?"

Cinnamonpaw nodded, Polarclaw's scent was unique, unlike any scent that he'd caught. The medicine cat smelled like the crisp air mixed with earthy and herbal scents, that Cinnamonpaw quite enjoyed.

Polarclaw studied the apprentice for a good couple of heartbeats, before sniffing him once and then nodding. "You don't smell sick, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're fine."

Relief washed over Cinnamonpaw; it was not like he was worried about being sick or getting sick. But it was nice to get some confirmation.

"Thanks Polarclaw!" Cinnamonpaw mewed thankfully, he was about to leave, but something pierced his heart like a thorn. A question he never thought about asking before, he sat down and looked up at the medicine cat.

"Polarclaw...what happened to my mom and dad?" Cinnamonpaw asked dully.

Polarclaw just froze, but after a couple of heartbeats he sat down and then stammered. "I-I don't think you're ready for the truth yet, Cinnamonpaw."

Cinnamonpaw felt himself becoming frustrated. He stood up, claws unsheathed, and scraping against the cold stone below. "Tell me now!" He hissed.

Polarclaw looked down at him and just nodded, "Come over to my nest then." The medicine cat meowed and then stalked over to his nest, sitting down in the comfortable nest. Cinnamonpaw stared after him before shielding his claws, and going over to sit in front of his nest.

The medicine cat was silent for a second, taking the time to search for the right words. "Well..." He finally broke the silence. "Your mother died giving birth to you and your sister." Polarclaw's eyes suddenly clouded with grief and guilt. "It was only six moons ago when your mother was kitting...but the reason why she died is b-because I couldn't save her." Polarclaw's confession struck Cinnmonpaw like a monster; he felt the weight of the medicine cat's guilt pass onto him.

"You...killed my mom?" Cinnamonpaw asked, feeling sadness overpower his other feelings, he longed to wail for his mom like a hungry kitten.

"It was an accident," Polarclaw replied reassuringly.

Cinnamonpaw buried his face into the medicine cat's fluffy white fur. Polarclaw was the closet to a father figure he had right now. Polarclaw wrapped his tail around him in an attempt to comfort him.

"What happened to my father?" Cinnamonpaw muttered through Polarclaw's fur.

"We don't exactly know, Cinnamonpaw." Polarclaw mewed, with uncertainty and still with guilt. "A search patrol found him dead on the Thunderpath, he got ran over, we don't think it was an accident though..." Polarclaw sighed. "We think he killed himself after Autumnheart died. The Thunderpath is far away and he had no reason to go over there anyway, we think he traveled that far out to sit on the Thunderpath and after waiting, a monster came by and struck him. So he could be with his mate in the ranks of StarClan."

All that just surprised Cinnamonpaw, to the point where he couldn't manage a single thing to say. He was just utterly shocked. Would he still be alive if he didn't sit on the Thunderpath? Cinnamonpaw wondered. After breathing in Polarclaw's unique and calming scent, he pushed himself away from Polarclaw and took a deep breath. "I can't believe..I just..I have to let Sunsetpaw know too."

"No!" Polarclaw yowled suddenly. "I mean, not yet." Cinnamonpaw's eyes narrowed. "You already told her, didn't you?" Cinnamonpaw asked suddenly.

"Erm...yes," Polarclaw admitted. Cinnamonpaw's neck fur bristled, his other feelings quickly being replaced with anger. "Listen, Cinnamonpaw. You're a smart cat, but you tend just to be emotional. You can quickly get excited then sad next. Sad then angry." Polarclaw added after the apprentice hissed.

"You told my sister about our parents without me because you think I'm emotional? What about you? I know you're still guilty after six moons! Apparently, it's not right for me to be emotional, because my parents died!" Cinnamonpaw growled, hot with rage. Before Polarclaw could say anything else; he stormed off. Tearing through the vines and then going to the apprentices' cave, not seeing Sunsetpaw sitting out anymore. To crawl into his nest and close his eyes, too upset to think about anything else, he drifted off to sleep...