Rising Storm

Chapter 9

"Is this wise?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Probably not," Skyfall shrugged, walking briskly through the forest in the direction of the RiverClan border.

Littlecloud and Whitethroat followed slowly, stopping occasionally due to the painful cramps raking their bodies. Skyfall's heart sank to her belly as she listened to their pain, but they needed to move quickly before the patrols began coming out. As they walked, a mouse squeaked nearby. The ShadowClan cats' ears twitched but they were too tired to try going after it.

Glancing at Cinderpelt, Skyfall shot away and made quick work of catching and finishing off the mouse. She dropped it between the sick warriors and stepped back as they slowly crouched and nibbled the still-warm flesh. It wasn't long before Whitethroat staggered to his paws and padded on unsteady paws into a clump of brambles with Littlecloud behind him, leaving the mouse half-eaten. Skyfall and Cinderpelt could hear their retching for a few long moments.

As they neared the RiverClan border, Skyfall whispered to Cinderpelt, "Perhaps we can have them chew some dandelion and juniper berries to get them through the day and take them some fresh-kill. We'll have to go over possible herb combinations outside of camp soon."

"Yes, those should work for now. Maybe we can slip some poppy seeds in so they sleep through the day. It'll help them fight through their hunger if they can't eat," Cinderpelt added.

Skyfall nodded in agreement. "I'll hunt if you want to search for them. I'm sure Yellowfang told you where they are," she meowed.

Cinderpelt nodded. Her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "There's that hollow tree we can put them in for now. It's hidden from the main path the patrols take and is surrounded with enough cover to hide their scents." she meowed.

"Good idea," Skyfall agreed, veering to the side in the direction of the tree. They eventually reached it and made quick work of gathering moss and helping them settle in.

"Cinderpelt is going to look for herbs while I hunt for you. Do not move from this spot unless you need to make dirt or get a drink, okay?" Skyfall asked, leaning down to peer into the tree. Littlecloud and Whitethroat were curled up together, looking even smaller than they had in the ThunderClan camp.

"Thank you for this," Littlecloud rasped. "We'll make sure Nightstar knows it was you who helped ShadowClan recover."

Cinderpelt limped off in one direction while Skyfall stalked through the undergrowth in another.

When she had caught two mice and a squirrel, Skyfall made her way back to the hollow tree. Cinderpelt must've already gone back to camp since a half-eaten pile of herbs lay beside both warriors and they were fast asleep. Skyfall tucked the prey into an open space beside Whitethroat and silently left the area to head back to camp.

Longtail was waiting by the warriors' den and bounded across the camp as Skyfall pushed through the gorse tunnel. "Are they gone?" he demanded when he neared.

"Yes, the ShadowClan warriors have crossed the Thunderpath back into their own territory. I'll have the patrols keep an ear out for any sounds or smells of them returning for a few days just to be sure." Skyfall replied. She couldn't help feeling guilty by lying to Longtail but she couldn't risk him telling anyone else.

"Most of the patrols have left already," Longtail told her. "Swiftpaw and I have stayed behind with Cinderpelt and Brackenfur."

"Good." Skyfall shook her fur to clear her worries about a patrol finding Littlecloud and Whitethroat. "Is Thunderpaw here?"

"He's over there," Longtail flicked his tail toward the tree stump where Thunderpaw was stretched out, dozing in the warm light.

"I'll be heading back out. I promised I'd take Thunderpaw hunting this afternoon."