𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑨 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄

Chapter 13

As Maplepaw opened her eyes, the stale, rancid smell of death and swamps notified that she was in the Starless Forest, for the territory was not much different, just endless stretches of densely packed forest for both territories...perhaps MistClan's territory was not as depressing as the Starless Forest's, but was close enough to look like it.

Maplepaw headed towards the center of the territory, towards the Tree of Death, which she had dubbed it. The scent of corpses, blood and, of course, death, lingered so strongly in the centre of the Starless Forest that she reckoned it overwhelmed her so much the first time she arrived that she nearly fainted.

"My beautiful daughter," Scorchflame meowed, gently headbutting Maplepaw and rubbing her body against hers.

"Sister!" Goldenkit squeaked, bouncing up and down.

Maplepaw smiled. Now that Silentpaw had left for the so-called 'quest', her mother and deceased sister were the only ones who truly made her feel as though she was part of a family, despite the aching in her heart.

"We will continue training tonight," Scorchflame meowed.

Maplepaw kept quiet, but the gleam in her eyes told her mother everything. She saw her mother whipping her gaze around and frowning before she bellowed, completely scaring the wits out of Maplepaw, who never knew someone with a frame as delicate and elegant as hers would be capable of producing such a voice,

"Mapleshade! You lazy mouse-brain, get your paws over here this instant before I grind you into a pulp!"

"Yeah, yeah," a harsh, slightly distant voice called from her right.

Mapleshade burst through the undergrowth, a pale grey tom with dark grey paws and yellow eyes trailing behind her.

Maplepaw was confused by her sudden twinge of annoyance, until she noticed that this was the apprentice, Grovepaw, of Dovesprig.

"What's a medicine cat apprentice doing here?" Maplepaw sneered, astonished by her own ferocity.

"That's my child," Scorchflame purred, twining her tail around Maplepaw's.

Maplepshade gave a grunt before replying in a raspy voice, "He accepted my deal-"

Scorchflame's face twisted into utter fury, her features grotesque from rage as she screeched, thrusting herself forward until her whiskers practically brushed against Mapleshade's,

"You gave a deal to a good-for-nothing medicine cat apprentice when my daughter was right there in MistClan and killed an apprentice during the first days of her apprenticeship? What were you thinking?"

Mapleshade growled a response, baring her fangs, not fully, but it was certainly enough to make Scorchflame recoil slightly, though it certainly didn't cease the anger burning in her eyes.

"Look here Scorchflame. I've promoted you to a respected title, and this is how you treat me? Nevertheless, I will forgive this, just this time, since I understand a mother's devotion to her kit. But the reason is that I believe you will train her better than any other warrior here, since you are her mother and care about her much more than I do."

Scorchflame muttered some inaudible words but slunk back, standing behind Maplepaw.

"Do you know this apprentice?" Mapleshade continued coolly, almost as though the sudden spat had never happened.

Maplepaw forced to still herself as she replied with equal calmness,

"Why, of course not. I thought you knew that MistClan tends to not associate itself with others."

Mapleshade dipped her head in understanding, but she swore that she could see a glimmer of twisted happiness within those amber eyes of the warrior.

"Grovepaw," Mapleshade meowed, looking at the tom, "how about we teach this little kit about respect, eh?"