Bright Forest

Chapter 7

They sat in a clearing next to the river. Fresh breeze rushed through the cattails around and brought a fresh scent of cold water. Spottedpaw looked at the border and then ducked down in the tiny space where grass towered her.

-So, what about my brother?- she finally asked.

-Well, err...- he muttered. -I was just wondering...

-Yeah?- she insisted. -Don't worry. I don't get mad easily.

-If he did something bad? Like, more than once? I'm not referring to anything specific, really, I just... he's just too much of an angry cat.

-Well, he did cause a few problems... but he wasn't the only one who did it. And is his angry attitude really that much of a big deal?

He shrugged:-N... not really.- He kept in mind the way Treefeather looked at the brown apprentice. It was as if she had just seen her kit being poisoned by an adder.

-Then what's wrong?- she asked.

-Well...

-His hatred towards kittypets? I understand your point of view, but you can't deny that you clearly have that too, after what happened today.

-It's not that...- his meow began to crack. -Well, it's also that, but...

-But what?

Finally, he admitted it:-While we were chatting earlier, I noticed Treefeather looking at him oddly. As if he just did a horrifying thing in front of her eyes...

Spottedpaw stood in silence and began licking her chest, then she stopped, sighing. -Treefeather's a weird cat, you know. She's always around her leader flir... I mean talking with her for no reason...

Rustpaw gave her a questionable look. "Was she about to say 'flirting'?" No wonder she kept hanging around her. He snapped back on topic:-But her face was incredibly shocked... I think she knows something about Branchpaw that we don't...

Spottedpaw mewed:-And what makes you think that?

He shrugged and shuffled his paws:-Well...

The calico apprentice flashed and stood in front of him, her tail moving and her golden eyes piercing into the ginger cat. -You shouldn't accuse anybody out of a pathetic rivalry. Especially when the cat you're accusing is my brother.

Rustpaw felt hopeless and stammered:-But...

-I'm done with your 'well's and your 'but's. I'm leaving now!- and after she said so, Spottedpaw fled away from the clearing.

-Wait!- he stammered, trying to chase after her.

He looked around: the river rushed silent behind the cattails around. He padded to the fresh pebbles and looked into his reflection, thinking about what he said to Spottedpaw. "She said it was hard to make her angry... well I guess her brother might be a touchy subject. Maybe for something that happened a long time ago... or recently. Wait... she might know what he did!".

A hiss came from nearby. "It's probably a snake." Then he heard a few yowls. "Oh, StarClan... Spottedpaw!".

He rushed around, trying to track her scent down. He could scent that she went a bit south, but he could also scent someone else. A yowl came from the scent track. -Who the hell do you think you are!

Rustpaw ran as fast as he could and bumped into a cat. -Spottedpaw! I'm sorry for what I said earlier...

But it wasn't Spottedpaw. -Ugh! Another one?- it was a gray tabby tom, eyes vibrantly yellow as the tansy surrounding them. He was small, but seemed to have a bit of an attitude. But also, he smelled like a DawnClan cat.