River of Blood (A Warrior Cats Fanfiction)

Chapter Seven

Spottedclaw had been right. Hemlockfoot was dead come morning.

It had rained the night before, making the grass wet with dew. Snow covered every inch of the moor, and Honeypaw stalked past, following the scent of a baby rabbit. She fluffed out her fur, shivering as cold air seeped into her bones.

The scent led her to the twolegplace. Honeypaw was cautious as she picked her way past the towering dens and unmoving monsters, sniffing around for any sign of the rabbit.

She found herself in front of a barrier of white thorns, the same ones that enclosed the barn and Prim's kits. When she looked beyond it, she could see the white-bobbed tail of the rabbit, burrowing for food.

"What are you doing?"

Honeypaw jumped at the voice, spinning around. She breathed out when she realized that it was just a kittypet, his neck wrapped in a blue tendril. When he moved, the ball at the end would jingle and sway.

The rabbit had been startled by the noise, and quickly, it ran back into the twoleg den, through a flap in the door. Honeypaw growled, "look what you did! You scared it off."

The kittypet tilted his head. "You mean Lily?" he asked. "Oh, you can't eat her. She belongs to my housefolk."

Honeypaw looked at him incredulously. "But rabbits are for eating. They don't belong to anyone."

"Lily does," insisted the kittypet. He sniffed Honeypaw curiously. "Are you a Clan cat? You smell like one."

"Er.." started Honeypaw, unsure if she could trust this cat. Eventually, she said, "yes. My name's Honeypaw."

"That's a strange name," said the kittypet. "I'm Ollie. Is it true you sleep outside and eat squirrels for breakfast?"

Honeypaw had no idea what breakfast was, but she nodded anyway. Ollie's eyes' widened. "Wow!" he meowed. "I couldn't imagine not having a warm blanket to curl up on."

They talked for a few more moments. The wind grew harsher, ruffling Honeypaw's fur and making her eyes water. Finally, she said, "I should get back to camp. My mentor will be looking for me."

Ollie seemed to remember something. "Oh! Stay right there. I've got something for you."

He bounded over to a patch of dirt still untouched by the snow. Ollie pulled at the earth until he uncovered the limp body of a mouse, dragging it over to Honeypaw. "Here you go," he meowed, voice muffled by its fur. "My housefolk will just give me kibble to eat anyways."

"That's awfully kind of you," Honeypaw told him. She took it from him, trying to ignore the rumbling of her belly. It seemed forever ago that she had eaten something other than scraps. But she knew she had to save it for Tawnybrook and her kits.

Honeypaw dipped her head towards the young tom, and trudged off. The snow dragged at her paws, nearly tripping her, as she made her way back to the SunClan camp.

-

Her clanmates were all gathered around the Fallen Willow where Hawthornstar made her announcements when the apprentice arrived. Even Tawnybrook's kits had been let out of the nursery, running in circles around their mother's paws. Honeypaw, dropping her mouse on top of the scrawny fresh-kill pile, went to sit beside Adderpaw. Their pelts nearly brushing, Honeypaw whispered, "what's going on?"

Adderpaw's fur was ruffled. He said, "FrostClan is being attacked by PineClan. Hawthornstar is sending a patrol out right now to help them."

Honeypaw unsheathed her claws. I'll show those PineClan cats! She looked up at Hawthornstar, waiting for her leaders' orders.