Banditfoot's sorrow (UNDER COMPLETE REVAMP)

Chapter 14

Banditpaw slowly pulled her aching head up from the ground, putting her paw up to head and clenching her teeth in pain.

"Wha-what happened?" Banditpaw heaved herself up, falling back to ground again.

"Well... uhh... you kind of... got hit by... a monster? We've had this conversation a few times already, are you okay?" Ferretwhisper meowed

"It's all just so foggy" Banditpaw meowed.

"It'll be okay, we're getting you treated. You should be thanking Starclan that monster didn't hit you head on" Ferretwhisper meowed calmly.

"I probably should, and don't worry about treating me. I'm okay." Banditpaw heaved her way back up, stretching.

(roughly 5 days later)

Banditpaw limped out of the apprentice den, padding through heavy snow from a recent snowstorm. Immediately spotting Tidestar and Lostforest conversing regarding something that seemed to be about Willowsplash and if she should still be trusted around kits.

As she heard this she laid down and looked to the side, filled with a tinge of sorrow as she overheard this conversation. She wasn't supposed to be born and she knows it. She simply, shouldn't have existed.

She walked over to the medicine den to hopefully get something to calm her down. As soon as she entered she halted. Oh, yeah. Ferretwhisper is on an herb patrol.

"Maybe I can go and catch her on the herb patrol..." Her eyes lit up as this idea came to her head. She got up, cantering off to go meet up with Ferretwhisper by following her scent before it would disappear.

She panted as she skimmed across the snow, the scent getting stronger. She eventually heard the faintest voice "Why did I decide to patrol after a SNOWSTORM?" she recognized Ferretwhisper's voice. Sprinting over to where it came from.

"Ferretwhisper, hello!" Banditpaw purred, trotting over to the she-cat.

"OH GREAT STARCLAN" Ferretwhisper jumped, calming down when she realized it was just Banditpaw.

"Oh, my bad!" Banditpaw backed away nervously, sitting down, quite embarrassed. 

"Why'd you follow me all the way out here, that isn't very smart. Hasn't Fogstorm taught you this?" Ferretwhisper mewed softly.

"N-not really? Did I break a rule?" Banditpaw meowed nervously.

"Yes, now come with me." Ferretwhisper replied, heaving her way through the snow whilst Banditpaw followed.

Banditpaw caught the scent of a squirrel, and she couldn't help but resist it. Before Ferretwhisper could notice Banditpaw jumped into the snow, burying herself while still following the scent trails. They were fresh, she padded over to a tree. It's few leaves occasionally dropping snow and water.

She leaped, clinging onto the bark with her paws and climbing up until the scent got stronger, she eventually reached an area that appeared to be a nest of some kind, the scent was strongest here.

A Squirrel scurried down part of the tree with an acorn, noticing Banditpaw and scurrying off again, but she wasn't going to let it escape that easy. She leaped, still clinging onto the bark and clenching her teeth as she hit the solid ground.

She felt the movement under her paws eventually slow down, her hunt was successful! She picked up the squirrel, and limped back to where she thought she was last. But she was completely lost, the fog from the snow made it nearly impossible to see, she couldn't track her scent back because of the snow, she couldn't track her footprints because it was still snowing and they were covered up, and Ferretwhisper probably didn't even know that she wandered off.

She nervously padded around, getting more and more lost by each step. She continued to limp around until she collapsed, her stomach grumbled with hunger but she knew she couldn't break the warrior code, but she had to. If she wanted to make it back safely she needed something for energy. But before she could take a bite she felt a sharp pain in her back from the recent collision from the monster, and an orange and black figure appeared.

Banditpaw panicked, attempting to get up but in too much pain. She shut her eyes, worn out from all the current events exhausting her. She got up, a figure walking up to her amidst the fog. And she knew exactly who it was "Banditpaw, you need to get up. You need to fight back, you have to stay strong" the figure faded away into the fog.

Banditpaw shot up, clawing the figure in the eyes. But before she could do anything she realized what she was fighting, a fox. She hissed, panicking as the fox bit her and latched onto her, taking one last blow at her before throwing her back into the snow. The distinct sound of pawsteps hit her ears suddenly, but before she could turn around to see who it was, she collapsed.

"Banditpaw, they say?" a mysterious grey cat meowed, seemingly unphased.

"Who are you?" Banditpaw meowed cautiously to the mysterious cat, slurring her words.

"I can't tell you quite yet, but shall the time come you'll figure it out. But now, let's get you somewhere where your clanmates can find you, I'd rather you be in Windclan camp than out here. We don't want you getting frostbite, kiddo." He meowed, grabbing her by the scruff to assist her getting up.

"Why can't you?" Banditpaw mewed as he assisted her back to camp.

"I don't want to dive too deep into my past. But I know full-well I will if I tell you know" he meowed, grabbing Banditpaw's scruff and assisting her as he noticed a bit of struggle.

"We're here" he meowed, monotone as he disappeared off into the murk.

Banditpaw, tired from the long distance walk collapsed as she padded into the camp. Her legs giving weigh.

"I told you you could do it, my child." A faint voice meowed as a dispite the cold warm tear fell from her eye before falling unconscious from the cold, feeling Fogleap's presence around her, she felt warm again, happy.

(Chapter end)