Warriors of FoxClan

Ch. 4

"The clan meeting is over. Every cat get to work!" Redstar leapt down from the Great Stump and walked quickly over to Moonsky and helped her carry their kits out of the camp. A rumble of thunder could be herd in the distance. Creampaw, Featherpaw, and Beepaw were already at the Medicine cat's den, picking up a load of herbs. Shadowpaw picked up some marigold, while Fawnpaw got poppyseeds. Pinetail seemed to be trying to gather all the herbs at once. The five apprentices left camp and quickly ran through the forest.
They reached the Great Tree in a couple of heart beats. Warriors were already helping the elders onto the tree's massive branches. The apprentices trotted over to the rocky overhang and left the herbs in the back of the small cave-like place. Pinetail was behind them, and he had so many herbs that is was a miracle he could still breath. Pinetail told them that he had brought the rest of the herbs with him. The queens with the youngest kits were already under the overhang.
"You five better get up into that tree." Pinetail panted as he sat with his herbs.
Fawnpaw and the other apprentices scurried up the large tree trunk. Then the whole of oak clan waited in a deathly silence. I hope my dream was accurate. Fawnpaw thought, gripping the tree branch with all of her claws.
Fawnpaw rested her head on her pale yellow paws. A few elders grumbled complaints. Shadowpaw was on the branch above her. His black tail was tickling her nose, she thought about nipping it then pushed the thought away.
Then lighting flashed so bright, it looked as if the sun exploded. The following thunder clap made the tree shake. Even after the thunder ended, there was a low rumble that continued and got louder every few heartbeats.
"It's the stampede!" Fawnpaw yowled, righting her grip on the tree branch. Shadowpaw's tail twitched even more.
Then the deer ran through the clearing. They ran right over the overhang where the queens, kits, Pinetail and his herbs lay in wait hiding. The Great Tree it's self was shaking as the deers' hooves pounded the ground below. Fawnpaw felt like she was going to fall right into the stampede below. There was a cracking sound above.
A tree branch crashed to the ground, an elder leapt off the branch before it hit the ground. With his from claws the elder, Timbertail, was holding on for dear life.
Fawnpaw reached down and tried to grab the elder. Fawnpaw just helped Timbertail onto the branch when the stampede past. The thunderous deer left the forest for the moor.
"Thank you, Fawnpaw." Timbertail wheezed.
"Is everyone alright!" Redstar called. The clan replied with mumbling 'ok' and 'yes' a few nodded their heads. "Everyone ok down their!" Redstar yowled to the cats under the overhang. Fawnpaw herd Pinetail's response, but couldn't make out what he said. The warriors started to help the elders down.
Once all the cats were on the ground, Redstar ordered everyone to help out. Fawnpaw and the other apprentices helped Pinetail take the herbs from the overhang back to camp.
When the clan got back Fawnpaw's tail dropped. The camp was nothing more than a trampled pile of bramble and grass. Redstar stopped in his tracks and stood thinking.
Redstar turned around to face his clan. "Warriors of OakClan, the stampede has destroyed our camp. So until it is rebuilt the warriors and apprentices will help rebuild the camp. I want at least one warrior guarding the queens, kits, and elders all day. Clan meeting is over, Amberclaw please help the queens find I place to rest with their kits." Redstar finished speaking and looked down at his red paws in utter defeat. Amberclaw gathered the queens and kits to a temporary den made of a thorn bush. A few warriors were already dragging branches to build up a strong camp wall.
"Fawnpaw! Come." Frostfoot called. The white warrior had gathered two more warriors. "Redstar wants us to try and find food for the clan." Fawnpaw nodded her head and followed the warriors down a trail. Fawnpaw could smell nothing but deer. Then the patrol found an unfortunate rabbit that got crushed by the stampede.
"Can we eat it still?" Fawnpaw asked, poking the rabbit with a paw.
"No, the clan needs fresh kill, not prey that has been crushed to death." Frostfoot replied.
After an hour of hunting, the patrol came back with only three mice. Fawnpaw had her tail and head drooping out of exhaustion. Frostfoot reported back to Redstar.
"Where'd all the prey go?" Shadowpaw asked. He had a leaf stuck on his head.
"The stampede must have scared everything out of the forest. Either that or crushed it to death." Fawnpaw replied, picking the leaf off Shadowpaw's head. "How are the repairs?" she asked.
"Well, it's better than it was before." Shadowpaw smiled.
Fawnpaw sighed, "Yeah. I just wished I could have found some food for the clan. I feel like a failiur." Fawnpaw bowed her head.
"No your not, because of you the whole clan is still alive!" Shadowpaw murmured licking Fawnpaw's head to help calm her down. "Hey, at least we finished the nursery and started the apprentices' den." Shadowpaw said. Fawnpaw followed her clan mate to the incomplete camp.
When they got to the apprentices' den, Fawnpaw noticed there was no moss for bedding. The other apprentices were sleeping on the cold hard ground.
"We had to give the queens all the bedding." Shadowpaw told her. Fawnpaw could smell the spot where her nest used to be. Curling up against the chilly night air, Fawnpaw fell asleep.
Fawnpaw sat on the cold ground. Leaf fall was here, if the clan didn't rebuild their camp fast enough then lead bare would sneak up on them and grip OakClan with ice cold claws. Fawnpaw shuddered with the thought.
"Fawnpaw! Hunting duty! Wake up Shadowpaw will you?" Frostfoot yowled across the clearing with Blossommoon, Shadowpaw's mentor. Fawnpaw shook her comrade awake. The foursome trooped out of the broken camp and into the forest.
"Hope we have better luck this time." Frosty foot muttered. Fawnpaw nodded in agreement, she could hear Shadowpaw's stomach growl. The cats split up to cover more ground.
Fawnpaw stalked quietly threw the undergrowth, brambles tugging at her sandy yellow fur. A plump pigeon fluttered to the ground in front of her. Wasting no time, she pounced and swiftly killing it. Giving thanks for its life, Fawnpaw buried it for later. Stepping around a rock, Fawnpaw came nose to nose with a fox. The fox snapped and snarled in her face. Fawnpaw bounced back and yowled in alarm. The fox had her paw caught in a trap. It was a string trap, the fox's hind leg was bent at an odd angle above the ground. Frostfoot charged through a bush and was about it pounce when he noticed the fix was trapped.
"What should we do?" Fawnpaw asked, looking around for more traps.
"We need to find Blossommoon and Shadowpaw and warn them about the traps. We not need to worry about the fox unless she gets out." Frostfoot reassured his apprentice. With that, the two ran through the forest calling Blossommoon and Shadowpaw.