Warrior Cats: Into the Unknown.(1/3)

Chapter 9

The sun was sinking behind the trees, turning the sky indigo blue and a few warriors of Starclan had appeared. A light breeze ruffled her fur as they crossed the Thunderclan scent marks. She felt instantly relieved to be back in her own familiar territory. Ambermoon led her through the trees and Fernpaw had to stop herself from racing ahead of her when she saw the barrier. They padded silently through, and Fernpaw closed her eyes in comfort when Thunderclan scents washed over her like a wave. Just as she stepped out of the tunnel, an excited squeal sounded from the apprentices' den and Cloverpaw raced toward her. "There you are!" She mewed, covering her face in licks. "Where have you been?" She asked, her tail worried and concerned. She shot an uncomfortable glance at Ambermoon. "Ambermoon and I went exploring a bit beyond our borders, and just had some mentor-apprentice thing. Nothing dangerous." She joked, butting her sister in the shoulder. "You must be starving." Cloverpaw murmured, and she was right. Fernpaw's belly growled with hunger. She nodded briefly before trotting toward the fresh-kill pile. Her eyes followed Ambermoon as her mentor padded to the warriors' den. She grabbed a wood pigeon from the pile and padded to where Rainsong, Sorrelstripe and Leafheart were sharing a plump rabbit. Fernpaw padded up to them and dropped the pigeon. "Can I sit with you?" She asked. "Of course." Sorrelstripe mewed while chewing. Leafheart whacked her in the head with sheathed claws. "Don't eat with your mouth full." She scolded. Sorrelstripe growled playfully at her and gulped down the morsel she was chewing. She dropped into an attack crouch, and Leafheart let out a yowl and rolled over when Sorrelstripe lunged toward her. Together, the two she-cats rolled over and over in a playfight, claws sheathed. Rainsong watched them fondly as she ate the rabbit in quick, neat bites. "How was your day, Fernpaw?" The grey she-cat nearly jumped at Willowpaw's sudden voice. The pale cream she-cat came and crouched beside her with a small mouse. "You nearly scared me out of my fur!" Fernpaw mewed, flicking Willowpaw's ear with her tail. Willowpaw snorted amusedly. "Sorry." She mewed as she took a bite from the mouse. "But it was fine, I guess. I saw a lot of things." She mewed, careful not to give anything away about the Renegades. Willowpaw nodded slowly and waved her tail in greeting at her mentor, Rainsong. Fernpaw turned to look as Sorrelstripe pinned Leafheart down, but the tortoiseshell she-cat quickly pushed up with her hindlegs. Sorrelstripe let out a yowl but landed on four paws. "I almost won!" She complained as she padded up to them. Rainsong snorted as the two she-cats settled beside her again. "Leafheart is one of the best fighters in the clan, Sorrelstripe." She mewed and sat up. "Thanks." Sorrelstripe muttered and prodded her with a paw. Rainsong just flicked an ear and licked a paw and drew it over her face. Fernpaw got to her paws and settled down beside Willowpaw. Without a word, the two she-cats began sharing tongues.

Fernpaw trotted after Cloverpaw, Sparktail, Molewhisker and Honeyleaf as they patrolled the Windclan border. The sky was grey, and the sun hiding behind them was just a small grey disk that struggled to shine through the heavy clouds. Fernpaw could smell rain on the way, and the wind that blew across the moor thrashed the branches and flattened the ferns. She shivered as the wind tugged her fur the wrong way. The stream gurgled and foamed beside her, and in a distance she could see five Windclan cats racing toward them. Molewhisker, who was in the lead, signaled with his tail for the other cats to stop and wait. The Thunderclan cats waited patiently until the moor-cats caught up to them. Molewhisker dipped his head as the cats stopped at the bank of the stream. "Good morning, Skyheart." The brown and cream tom murmured. "Who are they?" Fernpaw asked Honeyleaf. "The white and black tom is Skyheart, the black tom is Breezepelt, the tortoiseshell is Poppypool and the apprentices are Robinpaw and Blackpaw, I think." Honeyleaf murmured as she bent down to whisper in Fernpaw's ear. The grey apprentice nodded, but she had already spotted Robinpaw. She waved her tail in greeting, and Robinpaw flicked an ear in return. "Molewhisker." Skyheart mewed and dipped his head. "You seem a bit close to our border." He murmured, and Breezepelt bared his teeth. Honeyleaf hissed at him, and Fernpaw was a bit surprised that the usually calm she-cat was so keen for a fight. Molewhisker touched her shoulder with the tip of his tail before cocking his head toward Blackpaw. "Are you Blackpaw's new mentor, Breezepelt?" He asked. Fernpaw knew that Molewhisker was trying to focus on something else than hostility. Tension crackled the air between them. But since the gathering a half a moon ago, Fernpaw could understand that well. The clans were scared and afraid. Breezepelt opened his jaws for a stinging retort, but Poppypool stepped in front of him and silenced him with a glare. "Yes, Breezepelt is Blackpaw's new mentor." She mewed calmly. Molewhisker nodded. "We'll just continue marking our borders." He murmured and signaled his tail for his patrol to follow him. "We'll be sending extra patrols along this border!" Skyheart yowled after them. Fernpaw twitched an ear and snorted. "We didn't even cross the border." She murmured to Cloverpaw, but her sister didn't answer. She kept looking back at the patrol, her eyes clouded. Fernpaw opened her mouth to say something but before she could, Sparktail shot into a nearby bush. Fernpaw quickly sniffed the air and could smell a squirrel. A few heartbeats later, Sparktail appeared again with a squirrel dangling limply in her jaws. "Right, let's get back." Molewhisker mewed as he sprayed his scent at the border.

Fernpaw padded after Molewhisker beside Cloverpaw while Honeyleaf and Sparktail brought up the rear. Fernpaw wrinkled her nose when a strange scent hit her nose. "Molewhisker, can you smell-." Her mew was cut off by a screech from the trees. "Badger!" Molewhisker whipped around and raced into the trees. "Dewnose!" Sparktail yowled as she sped past Fernpaw. Their paws pounded on the forest floor, and the scent became steadily stronger, and the powerful reek was overwhelming. They burst from the undergrowth, and Fernpaw's heart dropped. Dewnose was lying unconscious on the ground, his eyes had rolled to the back of his head, and his tail was gone, only a large pool of blood around the stump. "Dewnose!" Sparktail screeched and flung herself at her mate. The badger's scent still hung heavily in the air. Yowls and hisses came from the trees. "Come on!" Molewhisker yowled and sprang toward the sounds. Fernpaw followed him, her fur brushing her sister's. She skidded to halt when she saw a huge black and white animal, with two rows of yellow, sharp teeth. It's tiny, bulging black eyes were blazing with fury as it snapped its jaws around. Berrynose was clinging onto its back, his teeth fastened in its ear. Snowbush dashed in and raked his claws down the badger's side. He shot out of range as the badger whirled on him, blood gushing out of her side. He shook his paws fiercly to dislodge the thick black fur. Molewhisker let out a fierce battle cry before leaping off the ground. He dug his claws into the badger's hindquarters while Honeyleaf fastened her teeth into hind leg. Fernpaw and Cloverpaw exchanged horrified glances before sprinting in to help them. Cloverpaw swiped at its flank, while Fernpaw tried to scratch its shoulder. She let out a screech as a massive, heavy paw was swung at her. The paw hit her with a fierce blow and she let out a shriek of pain as its blunt claws tore open her belly. She landed a couple of tail lengths away. The shapes in front of her became blurry. Cloverpaw let out a muffled screech and raced toward her while Molewhisker yowled orders. Fernpaw felt searing pain in her wound, and it burned.