Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sunpool

They were late.

That was okay. That was okay. If they hurried, they could get back in time.

If they hurried.

Sunpool and Cinderstorm didn't talk as they raced back to the territory. Sunpool kept one eye on the sky, which was rapidly turning a pale shade of pink as dawn came on. They ran faster and faster as the sun came up, but it wasn't enough; at dawn, they were still outside the territories.

That was okay, too. They had planned for that. "We have to hunt," Sunpool announced. Cinderstorm nodded. "Okay."

After a few more moments of walking, they came to the scent markers that marked the edge of their territory. "Here it is!" Sunpool hissed, darting across and rolling in the grass to get rid of the scent of the Starbrooke. "Here, you do this t-"

"Where've you been?"

It was Moonpaw. The silver tabby she-cat was staring at Sunpool and Cinderstorm like they were intruders.

"I- out for a walk," Cinderstorm answered her younger sister.

"Outside of the territory?"

"Well," Sunpool said, thinking fast. They were right around the place where Goldleaf had died. "You know that badger that killed Goldleaf? Well, we thought we scented it, so we decided to follow it and chase it out."

"That was foolish," came Hailheart's voice. His head poked out of a bush. "Good job; you found them," he added to Moonpaw.

"Why were you in a bush?" Sunpool asked.

"Because it was a good spot to wait. You can see anything coming in from outside the territory that way. Perfect for spotting cats who decided to take a stroll outside of the territory."

"We just told you," Sunpool began heatedly, "we didn't mean to go out of the territory, we just found the badger and decided to chase him out."

"Then why did you roll in the grass as soon as you came back? And why don't you have scratches on your fur? And why did you come from the way of the Starbrooke?" Hailheart's eyes were piercing, and Sunpool knew they'd been found out.

"I- we- long story," she finally squeaked out.

"I've got time. You both can tell me all about it. In Applestar's den."

This was not good at all.

-=-

"Where were you this morning?" Applestar asked, pacing around Sunpool and Cinderstorm. The three of them, plus Amberclaw, Hailheart, and (oddly) Lightningfeather, were seated in Applestar's den. Lightningfeather kept shooting them looks that were full of... something Sunpool couldn't read.

"We went out for a walk early," Cinderstorm said for the second time. "We both couldn't sleep, so we decided to hunt, practice our fighting skills, and just talk. But then we scented the badger, so we followed the trail, which was still fresh, to its set, and attacked it."

"Why didn't you either get more cats or come back and report it? You could have been killed," Applestar pointed out.

"We didn't want to disturb the Clan," Sunpool jumped in when Cinderstorm didn't answer. "We figured we could take it on our own."

"Then where," Applestar asked, "are your wounds?"

"We- we didn't get wounded?" Sunpool tried. Maybe it would work. Would it work?

It didn't work. Sunpool could tell that from the look on Applestar's face.

"Well, first off, we're going to send a team of warriors to check if that badger is really gone," Applestar said finally, looking away from Sunpool and Cinderstorm and to Amberclaw. "Can you organize that?"

"Of course." Amberclaw gave a curt nod and padded out.

"Second, you two are confined to camp for three moons. You may not leave unless you make dirt, and get moss. It's time you two stopped acting like kits. You will clean and fix all the dens, and treat the elders for ticks and fleas daily. You will also be in charge of entertaining the kits."

"What?" Sunpool blurted out. "All we did was try to help the Clan!"

"You were reckless and stupid," Applestar retorted, eyes slits. "You need to be punished. You are dismissed."

Sunpool turned and rolled her eyes when she knew Applestar couldn't see, and she and Cinderstorm made their way out of the den. Sunpool opened her mouth angrily as soon as they were in the open, but Cinderstorm cut her off. "Don't."

"But that was totally unfair!" Sunpool burst out. "We just went to the Starbrooke; we didn't deserve three moons' worth of boring camp time!"

"We did," Cinderstorm snapped. "We went out, we lied, we got caught. The lie was pretty see-through. No, we deserved what we got. Now, I'm going to go sleep, and you should, too. We are going to have a very long, very boring three moons."

-=-

"Catch!" Sunpool flung the moss ball to Rainkit. The gray kit caught it out of the air and Cinderstorm charged towards her; Rainkit sidestepped and tossed the ball to Briarkit.

They were two moons into their punishment, and Sunpool had to admit, it wasn't terrible. Sure, checking the elders for ticks was mundane and made her feel like an apprentice again, but Applestar's kits and Peonystorm's one surviving kit, Pigeonkit (who was now Pigeonpaw, apprenticed to Clovertail, who had finally reappeared) were all healthy and strong, and actually kind of fun to play with. Applestar's kits didn't really show a lot of traits of her, except for Rainkit's competitive spirit. Well, Emberkit did. Emberkit never played with them, and displayed Applestar's sulky and annoying personality well. Emberkit preferred to sit and watch instead of join in with her littermates. The kit annoyed her a bit.

It seemed weird, but Sunpool was actually enjoying her break from being a warrior. It was kind of nice.

But, of course, it couldn't last.

-=-

Updated for Swiftie :)

I am on a bus right now with her next to me and we are singing the Potter Puppet Pals.

DUMBLEDORE!!

~✨🐱✨ Rainfeather ✨🐱✨