Flames At Night: Book 1: A Shattered Path

Chapter One

Patterpaw

Patterpaw hurried to keep up with her patrol. Her short legs made it harder to run fast. She splashed into a puddle, soaking her belly fur, then climbed back out and looked around, her heart sinking. We're hardly halfway through the territory!

"We've only been walking a few minutes," said her mentor, Crowflash. Patterpaw shuffled her paws in embarrassment- she hadn't meant to speak out loud.

"But it's so hard," she mewed, blinking up at him. "Why is our territory so big?"

"Because our clan is big, and we need lots of prey to feed it," the black tom replied.

"Are you coming or not?" Hyacinthfrost called back to them. "In case you forgot, we still have to patrol the SwiftClan border." Next to her, her apprentice Echopaw giggled.

Patterpaw glared at her sister. "Shut up!" she said. "It's not my fault my legs are small!"

"I don't get why you're so little," Echopaw said, dancing up and poking Patterpaw in the shoulder. "At this rate Bearkit looks like he's going to overtake you!"

"Echopaw, be nice," Hyacinthfrost reminded her. Echopaw grinned and accidentally-on-purpose bumped into Patterpaw.

"Bye!" she sang. "See you when we get to the border!" She raced off through the birches.

Patterpaw growled to herself. Echopaw was probably right. Bearkit was their adorable little brother, but lately he wasn't so little anymore.

"Are you all right?" Crowflash asked. The little black and white apprentice sighed.

"Echopaw is so annoying," she meowed. "Just cause she's got decent-sized legs and she's stronger..." she trailed off.

"Well, you're better at hunting mice and shrews than her," Crowflash said.

"That's just because she spends most of her time catching birds!" Patterpaw exclaimed.

"And the kits like you better. They always go to you for fighting moves."

The apprentice felt a sharp pain in her pad. "Ow!" She pulled her foot off the ground and licked at the huge thorn embedded in its surface.

"What happened?" her mentor asked, sniffing at her pad. Patterpaw held it up.

"There's a thorn," she mewed, wincing as Crowflash's soft nose bumped against it.

"You should go back to the medicine den," he meowed. "Will you be fine on your own?"

"Y-Yeah," Patterpaw said. "You've gotta go and be on patrol with Hyacinthfrost and Echopaw. I can make it."

"Well, good," said Crowflash. "I'll come and check on you in a while."

"Thanks." She left her mentor and headed back the way they had come. Carefully keeping her paw out of the mud from last night's rain, Patterpaw walked back towards the SparkClan camp.

"Oh, StarClan, not again!" Swiftpaw exclaimed as she walked into the medicine den. The fluffy red tom was hurrying between five different nests, fetching herbs and water. "What is it this time?"

"What do you mean?" Patterpaw frowned. "Is someone sick?"

"Everyone's sick!" Swiftpaw sighed. "I wish I was a warrior apprentice!"

"I brought more marigold!" Rowanfoot said in a happy voice, coming into the den. She had a bundle of herbs in her jaws. "Hi, Patterpaw. You probably shouldn't be in here, it seems we have whitecough."

"I-I have a thorn in my paw," Patterpaw said, holding it up. Rowanfoot set down the herbs, quickly saying something to Swiftpaw, then turned back and sniffed the apprentice's pad.

"Lick it until the thorn comes out," she ordered. The dark brown she-cat pulled a few leaves off a stone ledge and chewed them into a pulp.

Patterpaw spat out the thorn and held out her pad. Rowanfoot spread a little of the pulp on the wound.

"There! All better!" she declared, already turning to coax a few leaves into Daisypaw's throat.

"See you later, Swiftpaw," Patterpaw mewed. As she was stepping out, she heard Rowanfoot calling her back. She poked her head back through the curtain of moss. "Yes?"

"Look, I hate to ask this," the medicine cat meowed cautiously, "but will you help me and Swiftpaw? All four of Briarheart's kits are sick, and they, um, don't like Swiftpaw."

Patterpaw hesitated a moment. "I'll help," she said.