Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rainpaw

Approximately three days after Sunpool, Cinderstorm, and Lightningfeather left, the entire Clan had changed quite drastically. Rainpaw had to remind herself that she was in the camp sometimes; it looked completely different, like a fort. The walls were woven with brambles (which had been a pain to put in, if any cat was going to ask), and the entrance had been completely blocked up by rocks (also a pain). To get in, you had to enter in by climbing and sliding until you landed on the top of the medicine den. To get out, you had to climb back onto the medicine den and clamber over the wall- no easy task. Cloverfur and Pigeonpaw had been sending out patrols left and right to collect herbs, moss, cobwebs, and berries. A huge store was built up inside the medicine den, and Rosefoot and Windheart had been assigned the tasks of slipping them into packets that the two medicine cats would need if they had to get somewhere fast.

Meanwhile, the mentors (Fernpaw's had been re-assigned to Amberclaw, as Lightningfeather was gone) had been working double-time to train their apprentices. Even Peonystorm was coming out of her funk and had been pushing Emberpaw so hard Emberpaw actually had a reason to be exhausted. Peonystorm looked at Emberpaw with a glowing mixture of pride and love, which was more, Rainpaw thought privately, than anyone had ever looked at her. Even their own mother.

Patrols had been doubled, and now their were border patrols were going out of their territory to try and find the new camp that Applestar speculated had been set up. Rainpaw hadn't been on any of those patrols, as Applestar insisted on only warriors, but she had wondered how much success they had with digging around in the forest for a while and coming back, empty pawed.

The fresh-kill pile was constantly stocked, and there were points in the day when Rainpaw's mother didn't come out of her den at all, so preoccupied was she with thinking of new techniques to try and catch prey. Applestar had told them all that if they found nests of prey to not kill the young prey; instead, kill most of the older meat and leave some so that the smaller ones could grow. Eventually, they would return to get the prey. Rainpaw supposed this was a good system. 

The Clan was slowly moving forward in battle techniques as well. There had been a a massive training session two days ago where Applestar had taught all the warriors new moves, and Rainpaw, Fernpaw, Briarpaw, and Emberpaw had learned them the next day. At the end of the day, her body bruised and aching, Rainpaw had almost skipped her mouse and just gone to bed. It was only when Briarpaw shook her from her doze that Rainpaw decided to drag herself out of her nest to eat. There was more than enough prey to go around, but every day, Applestar was taking two or three pieces from the fresh-kill pile and sticking them in a hole behind her den, so she could "keep up strength for any oncoming battles" (which didn't make sense to Rainpaw. Rationing food so that they would eat it in the middle of a battle seemed ridiculous, because during a battle, they would be fighting). No cats went to sleep hungry. Not anymore.

It was almost a normal routine when a tiny, apprentice-sized she-cat toppled ungracefully over the medicine den into the camp.

"Hello! Is this CloudClan? I think I followed the directions, but you can never be sure. I'm in the right place, right? Oh no!" She gasped, slapping her tail - which wasn't even that extraordinarily long, it was just that her body was so small - across her mouth. Her words came through, muffled by her fur. "I'm not in HollyClan, right?" She asked in a tiny voice.

"No, of course you're not," Amberclaw assured her. His hackles were flared the slightest bit, the smallest amount that nobody would catch unless they were looking for it. Rainpaw knew that the apprentice wouldn't notice it, so she was surprised when the she-cat's eyes flickered towards the slightly stiffer fur across Amberclaw's spine. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Mistpaw, of FlowerClan, but I'm part of Sunpool's resistance Clan," the apprentice replied smoothly, as if she had practiced it before.

"Okay, Mistpaw," came Applestar's voice; she emerged from her den, blue eyes flashing menacingly. "What are you doing here? Besides announcing your allegiance to the wrong side to be on."

Mistpaw lifted her chin. "Sunpool," she said the name reverently, as if it was a divine force, "sent me to tell you that she has selected a camp base, and has recruited several cats to join her Clan. She wants you to know that her camp is across Sky Tree. She said if you just kept walking in that direction, you'll find it. Not that I didn't know that," she added hastily, "having just come that way and all. Bye."

"Wait!" Applestar called. Mistpaw turned, and Rainpaw could see, if she looked carefully, that the small she-cat was quivering - for what reason, Rainpaw didn't know. Fear at Applestar? Apprehension at being stared at by so many unfamiliar cats? For the whole Clan had come out to stare, even Pidgeonpaw, who hardly spoke to anyone except for his mentor. "I have a message for Sunpool," Applestar meowed calmly. "Can I trust you to bring it back to her unchanged?"

"Sure," Mistpaw said, which was not the most assuring thing in the world, but Applestar plowed on anyway.

"Tell her," Applestar said, "that what she has started will escalate into a war. As you can see," she indicated the entire camp with a sweep of her tail, "we are prepared. Tell her to prepare for a slaughter, because that is what will happen if she keeps up with this ridiculous facade. CloudClan is ready," she finished, and Mistpaw nodded two short, stiff nods, and scrambled back over the medicine den.

Yeeeee update

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO END SO SOON OH MY GOD I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO BE HAPPY OR SAD IDK

Just a few more chapterssssssssssss :)

~Rainfeather