A New Form || A Warrior Cat Fanfiction Series \\

=|Chapter 32|=

                     Northpaw's gaze wandered to the medicine apprentice of MandevillaClan, studying him. "We looked slightly alike," She murmured, tilting her head. "But with extra markings." Archpaw seemed to catch on over the border, catching Fogpaw's attention to at least look over the border.

Fogpaw snapped out of his trance, looking at Archpaw, then to the apprentices of the opposite patrol. ". . . Hello?" Fogpaw waved his tail briefly, he was not quite suitable for talking. Fogpaw made eye contact with Northpaw, then he looked to the ground. "Hi there." Northpaw meowed, and Fogpaw lowered his head politely.

"Are you guys going to the gathering tomorrow night?" Archpaw questioned, leaning forward. "Shiveringstar hasn't announced anything yet, so we don't know." Oddpaw thought, and Archpaw nodded, not knowing what to say anymore. "I hope I see you two again soon, you look nice." She blurted out, noticing the QuetzalClan patrol starting to take their leave after the brief chat. 

"We hope too, bye Archpaw! Bye Fogpaw!" Oddpaw grinned, leaving no time for Northpaw to say her goodbyes when she nudged her littermate along, watching Birdfeather and Timberheart climb down first. "You didn't let me say my goodbyes, sis." Northpaw's expression fell, slightly disappointed. "It's alright Northpaw, cheer up! You will see them again sometime." Oddpaw ignored Northpaw's small frown, "And to think I was scared of heights before, this hill is decent enough now." Crooned Oddpaw, her whiskers quivering at the thought. 

Northpaw remembered, "You almost killed me though," She sighed. "H-hey! It was an accident! Echopaw saved you still."  Oddpaw huffed. "I'll let that slide for now." Northpaw flicked her ear, carefully beginning to take small paw steps down the rocks.

"Be careful sis!" Oddpaw called out, "She'll be fine." Commented Kestrelpelt, Northpaw's mentor. Oddpaw muttered something inaudible, her tail swaying slightly when she heard Kestrelpelt's voice. "What he said Oddpaw, don't worry about me." The apprentice steadily leapt down from the last rock, looking back up the rocky hill. 

"Do you need help in getting down Oddpaw?" Junipertail's voice caught Oddpaw off-guard, which Northpaw noticed from below. The interaction became inaudible for Northpaw when she saw a reddish-orange hue glowing around the corners of a tree. Northpaw forgot about the red light from earlier, though she was looking forward to meeting other Clan cats.

Northpaw couldn't understand what the mixed-coloured light meant, but she thought it had something to do with a warning. Nothing had happened yet, so she would have to focus on the present at paw.

The soothing winds from the east ruffled the patrol's pelts, Newleaf was coming to a draw, and the gathering was close. Small flowers bloomed as the rest of the patrol climbed down the rocky hill, continuing their stroll. "We will start going to VireoClan's border, and check Caiquecrest's tree as well." Junipertail looked over to the temporary members, his almond eyes sharp and unwavering. 

Some cats murmured, still wondering about QuetzalClan and VireoClan's tense rivalry over the many cycles throughout. "We do not need any more remembrance of the past, what we need to focus on right now is holding our Clan's borders." Growled Junipertail, his voice rising higher to drown out the other cats' hushed voices, then his throat rumbled with little annoyance. The mumbling stopped, seeming slightly displeased and satisfied, the older warrior flicked his tail, signalling the cats to follow him.

It took them a small while of walking, the scents became different. The woodlands' scents became more evident, washing out any rainforest scents, and the wide canopy stretched out for many tree lengths.

The scents of VireoClan's territory borders were stale as if their patrols had been late to renew them. But the scents were still there, marking their borders with each other, and the cats of VireoClan made sure the QuetzalClan warriors scented it even from tail lengths away. There were limited shades and plenty of sunlight across the border. 

The cats trekked closer to the border when Cloudpuddle's meow arose cautiously. "Wait! I smell a bear!" breathed Cloudpuddle. The pale queen had her eyes sharpened, making the others guarded. "I smell it too; it's strong." It was Timberheart who spoke, his fur ruffled from the winds that came from VireoClan's territory. 

The scents hit the patrol's noses, wavering in the air. "They're right, but we cannot dwell further in the scent. We will report this to Shiveringstar later on." Northpaw's ears twitched at Junipertail's words, she could pick up some uncertainty in his tone.