Battlecats - The Path to the Trees

Chapter 11

Gingerpaw stirred suddenly from her sleep. She quickly opened her eyes and scanned the battlekits den. As her eyes were adjusting to the dim light of the moon filtering through the leaves of the den, she scanned over each of her denmates carefully. She was sure everyone was asleep, but the quiet sound of rustling stirred her ear fur. It was coming from somewhere behind Goldenpaw. Gingerpaw peered over her brother's sleeping form and she spotted a tail just disappearing through a hole in the back wall of the den.

She got to her paws, her curiosity getting the better of her. Who was that? She thought as she peered around the den once more. Finally, she spotted an empty nest, and she knew exactly who's nest it was, Wolfpaw. What was he doing up so late? And sneaking out through a hole in the den no less! No wonder Gingerpaw had kept feeling a draft this last week.

She picked her way around her brother and made her way to the hole. She stared at it for a moment, thinking she might not be able to fit through as it was quite small now that she could actually see it. But Wolfpaw made it through. She thought before she steeled herself and started slowly pushing her way through.

Gingerpaw was immediately aware of all of the branches stabbing her skin and she winced at the feeling of them scratching her pelt as she continued her way through. Gingerpaw pushed and pulled and tugged her way through the thorny branches of the tree before, finally, she had made her way through. When she tumbled out of the hole, she started panting, realizing that sneaking through a hole in the den took more out of her than she realized. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Time to find Wolfpaw.

Gingerpaw sniffed the air, trying to pick out Wolfpaw's scent on the cool night breeze. She found it quickly among the other scents of the night. Almost immediately Gingerpaw followed the scent.

The calico she-cat followed his trail until she caught up with him, to which she crouched low as to not let him see her. As she followed him across the territory, Gingerpaw finally realized where he was headed, toward the marshes that led to the mountains. What was he doing going to the marshes?

Eventually, Gingerpaw was stalking him under the cover of trees. She shivered slightly. Gingerpaw couldn't stand the cover of trees. She much preferred the open flatlands and hills of her home in WebPod. But now, they were beyond WebPod or any other pod's territory for that matter. It made Gingerpaw feel uneasy being in this uncertain land.

Wolfpaw finally halted, just in front of a line of bushes leading into what appeared to be some kind of grove. Then, he pushed his way through the bushes and disappeared. Gingerpaw immediately followed, however, deciding to stay at the line of bushes instead of getting any closer as to not disturb the other battlekit.

When she crawled into the line of bushes she was greeted with a beautiful sight. In the grove, a field of lavender stretched out in front of her. Gingerpaw was in awe. This was such a beautiful place, yet Wolfpaw of all cats was coming here. She watched as Wolfpaw made his way into the lavender a little ways before he decided to sit down. Gingerpaw tipped her head quizzically. What is he doing out here? She thought. She thought about going to ask him, but would that seem creepy? Would he be mad at her for following him all the way out here? She dug her claws into the dirt below. No, if he finds out I followed him here, he'd think I'm some kind of creep! I shouldn't have even followed him. Gingerpaw sighed, thinking it was best to head back to the den and sleep the rest of the night. Gingerpaw began pushing her way out of the bushes but as she was doing so, a twig that caught her pelt snapped and it echoed through the quiet night air. She immediately froze, anxiety welling up inside her chest and making it tight.

Wolfpaw spun around, his fur bushing up and his teeth bared in a snarl. "Who's there?" He commanded, taking a threatening step forward. Gingerpaw cursed herself for being so careless. She was caught now. To avoid any sort of confrontation with the larger tom, she stood up slowly peeking over the bushes at Wolfpaw sheepishly.