Warriors: Storm Coming - Rising Dawn

Chapter 9

Emberpaw laid down beside Thistlebreeze in the forest. She looked around. She saw Larkpaw and Creekpaw curled up next to each other. Ivypaw lay beside the two. Perchpaw was a few feet away, laying by himself. Leafpaw lay, curled up against Tiger, who had a paw on her back. Emberpaw perked her ears up in interest; had Leafpaw warmed up to Tiger?

Emberpaw decided to lay her head back down on her paws. She wrapped her tail over her muzzle and fell into deep sleep.

She woke up to see the others getting up slowly. Emberpaw got up and arched her back in a stretch, yawning.

"Let's hunt," Ivypaw suggested. "I'll hunt with Perchpaw,"

"Me and Thistlebreeze can hunt together," Emberpaw meowed.

"I'll hunt by myself, I'm the only one here who eats fish besides Creekpaw, but she's a medicine cat," Larkpaw meowed. "Creekpaw, you should go look for herbs,"

"Very well," Creekpaw padded off into the forest.

"Me and Leafpaw can hunt together," Tiger meowed, getting up from beside Leafpaw. Without waiting for a response, he and Leafpaw padded off into the forest together, their pelts brushing.

"Let's go, Thistlebreeze," Emberpaw flicked her tail. She and Thistlebreeze padded off into the forest, sniffing the air.

Emberpaw scented a vole. Instantly, she dropped down on all fours, her belly barely brushing the underbrush beneath her. She creeped forward, sliding her paws against the ground to make no sound. She spotted the vole. Emberpaw swiped her tongue around her muzzle; she would be eating good prey today, not fish. She raised up on her back legs and pounced onto the thrush, killing it with a bite to the neck.

Emberpaw dropped her catch and buried it, remembering to pick it up later. She turned around to see Thistlebreeze had caught two mice already.

"Let's head back to the others," Thistlebreeze meowed through his mouthful of mice.

Emberpaw picked up her vole from the hole and padded off with Thistlebreeze back to the others. She dropped the vole with Thistlebreeze's mice. She was glad to see the others had caught prey; Ivypaw held a vole in her mouth, Perchpaw had a thrush, Larkpaw had a fish in his jaws, Leafpaw held a juicy vole in her jaws and Tiger held a mouse in his jaws.

Creekpaw returning, holding a few herbs in her jaws. She put them onto the ground gently. She padded up to Larkpaw and began to split the fish with him.

. . .

"Let's get going," Ivypaw meowed, getting up after eating her thrush. She swiped her tongue around her muzzle, clearly savouring the taste.

Tiger got up, followed by Leafpaw. "I will show you all where the Thunderpath is, but I won't go any farther." he meowed.

Emberpaw began to pad forward, following Tiger with Leafpaw trailing right behind him. Emberpaw's paw pads already ached but she kept going. She fell in beside Thistlebreeze, grateful for his presence.

"What do you think we'll find?" Thistlebreeze meowed.

"I don't know," Emberpaw meowed.

Tiger kept padding on. After about ten minutes, they reached a big Thunderpath.

"How will we cross this?" Emberpaw gasped.

Tiger's eyes sparkled. "It's easy," he meowed.

Creekpaw narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure about that? I don't want any injuries just yet," she meowed.

Tiger nodded.

"Should we trust him?" Perchpaw meowed, his eyes narrowed.

Larkpaw looked at Perchpaw. "We have no other choice,"