Beast of the Sea - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

We took a long walk back to camp, yet none of us really talked to one another.

I padded cautiously along the border between CaveClan and GladeClan, the Shimmersalt clamped tightly between my jaws. Beside me, Littlepaw, her tail drooping tiredly was holding fast to the Shimmermoor, though I could tell from the brown tabby she-cat's wincing that it wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to hold.

"I can take it now," Bubbleburst bounded up to me, nodding to the stone in my jaws, which glowed exuberantly in the midday light.

I gave my head a small shake, and with a reluctant sigh, the injured black and white warrior turned away. Once again, everything lapsed into silence, though I was keenly aware of the blistering sun over my head, the lacklustre and dull vegetation, and the tantalizing scent of freshkill. In the distance, ShoreClan's vast flora and fauna seemed not to be getting any closer. I sighed.

Perhaps that was a good thing.

I wasn't entirely certain of a plan. Look, I get how mousebrained it might seem to an outsider, but, I'm a spur of the moment sort of cat. There's no use worrying about all the millions of possible outcomes like I know my littermate was doing right now. Better just to act when action needs to happen.

As the sea and floral smell of ShoreClan permeated my scent glands, I glanced back at the cats trailing behind me, heads bent exhaustedly. We had gotten up early, yet our journey had taken significant time; the sun was in the west.

Then, I remembered that Puddle and Bubble were still travelling with us. The two rogues had, within such a short period of time, and begun to felt like a staple in my life. Now, I felt curiousity brewing in my pelt. With a nod to Littlepaw and Ripplepaw, I let the two young Bottom Feeders take the lead, and slipped back, hoping to talk to Puddle and Bubble about what they truly wanted with ShoreClan.

"Hey," I mumbled to the two rogues around the Shimmersalt as soon as I had slipped behind a limping Bubbleburst and solemn Shadefang.

"Ferretpaw," Puddle exhaled. The injured tom looked at me uneasily. "I-er-well the cave..." he began.

I felt the both of us wince away from the tender subject of me attacking him out of nowhere with glowing, murderous blue eyes. Bubble pressed his thin frame gently against Puddle, looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah," I sighed as a scarlet beetle flew overhead. "It's my foxdunged power. You heard about Redshade's curse. Same difference...I get angry, or I want to do something no normal cat could achieve, I go feral."

"Oh," Puddle stared at me, then opened his jaws and closed them, as though thinking of what to say next.

Now, we were in ShoreClan territory, but that hardly made me feel less uneasy about what he was about to say to me. I drew back, allowing the rest of the patrol to move out of our earshot, then waited for Puddle to say something like 'You're such a monster' or 'freak, ferals like you shouldn't be alive,' Instead, he simply meowed.

"Okay." Then, when I stared at him blankly, he added softly. "That's a terrible power! Why would your rock-thingy give that to you?"

"Mhm," Bubble nodded. "I dunno where my ShoreClan heritage of powers come from. Probably pretty distant relations, but still...I always wondered if Whisper has a power, since she was the one who asked us to come here in the first place..."

"Maybe she hides it," Puddle meowed.

"Who is this 'Whisper' cat?" I asked slowly. "You said you came here on a mission to help out her illness..."