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

Chapter 12

Fernpaw woke up and blinked sleep from her emerald green eyes. A light breeze had pushed its way through the lichen that covered the entrance, chilling the den. Fernpaw shivered as she scrambled to sit up. She looked down at the wound where the badger had ripped open her belly. She shivered, remembering its long blunt claws and slavering jaws. But the wound was healing well, to her relief. She glanced around herself, only just able to see Lionblaze's golden pelt at the far corner of the den through the gloom. He had been too reckless in the battle, and now it had gotten the better of him. She sighed as she climbed out of her nest and shook scraps of moss from her grey dappled fur. She had been named after Ferncloud, a she-cat that had chosen to stay in the nursery, but had died in the battle. Her mother said that they looked exactly alike. She passed Dewnose on her way to the entrance. The poor grey tabby tom had lost his tail in the fight with the badger, but Jayfeather said that it was healing well, just like Fernpaw's own wound. Briarlight was sleeping beside Jayfeather and Alderleaf close to the pool in the back of the den. As she brushed past the lichen, worry washed over her. She had been visiting the Renegades almost every other day since Ambermoon took her there the first time, and she was getting more and more used to it. But she missed Alex, Coal and Diesel. They were becoming good friends of hers, and had been showing her around twoleg place and how they hunted and fought. Her claws had gotten sharper and her skills in both hunting and fighting had gotten better. But Shadowclan had attacked Thunderclan's patrol because of Ambermoon and Fernpaw. She closed her eyes and breathed in the pure air of the night. Acornfall and Frogleap were sitting below the highledge, keeping their silent vigil, watching over the camp. Fernpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement when Acornfall kept nudging her brother to keep him awake. Fernpaw shook her fur and padded out into the clearing. She reached out with her paws and dug her claws into the ground before arching her back into a luxurious stretch. Acornfall nodded toward her when she passed, but she wasn't allowed to say anything. "I'm going for a walk in the forest." Fernpaw whispered, flicking her tail. Acornfall pricked her ears before shaking her ears. "I'll be back before dawn, I just want to stretch my legs." Seeing that the siblings were not yet convinced, she rolled her eyes. "I'll be alright, I promise." She mewed before bounding away to the barrier entrance. It sounded eerily silent, no birds singing or mice scuffling around in the dense undergrowth. Taking a deep breath, she began her walk. She headed for the lake, brushing past holly bushes and prickly thorn thickets. Through the densely grown trees, Fernpaw could see the lake glittering. Padding out of the forest, she stepped onto the shore. A ruffled disc of white light trembled on the surface of the lake, and up above the stars of silverpelt blazed in the night sky. She slowly sat down, gazing across the lake and into Riverclan territory. Then, something moved on Windclan's hillside. She narrowed her eyelids to look better. A silhouette of a feline was running down to the boundaries that bordered Riverclan and Windclan. Fernpaw rose to her paws. She could just barely see another cat making its way to the border from Riverclan's side. Fernpaw shook her head in confusion. What was going on there? Then she just flicked her tail and turned around and made her way back to camp. As she passed the Sky Oak, she heard rustling behind her. Cold claws of fear gripped around her heart and she stopped. Her breath was coming in shallow gasps as she slowly turned around. The stench of fox hit her nose. Oh no. She was about to run away and screech for help when three pairs of eyes shone through a holly bush. Cat eyes? She arched her back, the fur along her spine rising as she let out a threatening hiss. Then out of the bush stepped three cats. Fernpaw straightened herself and let out a wordless mew of astonishment when she saw Coal, Alex and Diesel. "Coal?" She croaked, her eyes wide. Then she bounded forward and brushed her muzzle along Alex's and nudged Coal's shoulder. She gave Diesel a quick lick on the cheek before stepping back again. "What are you doing here? My clanmates could see you! It's dangerous for you." She hissed, her gaze flicking back and forth. They could be watching them just now. Coal shook his large jet-black head. "No, have you smelled us? We stink of fox dung." He mewed with a glance at his friends. Fernpaw wrinkled her nose. "Why would you do that?" She asked, her ears pricking. "Because we wanted to visit you. Ambermoon said that you had been confined to the medicine den. We've been coming here every night since she last came to visit." Diesel mewed, sitting down and scratching himself behind the ear. "Yeah, but we never saw you, but we really wanted to meet you." Alex added. Fernpaw purred, until she realized that she herself must stink of fox too. She grunted as she turned her head to sniff herself. "You'll have to wash yourself before you go back to camp." Coal murmured, his yellow eyes wide. Fernpaw nodded. "So, how's life going in the Renegades?" She asked, cocking her head toward the lake. "Just the normal. Except that we've found two new cats that have wanted to join us. One's named Juniper and the other one is Aurora. They're both former kittypets, but left their homes." Coal told her as the four cats padded toward the lake. "Yeah, and Alex is already crushing on Juniper!" Diesel teased his friend. Alex gasped, glancing awkwardly away. "Am not!" He mewed. Diesel rolled his eyes and nudged his friend. "I'm only teasing." He purred with a mischievous glance at Fernpaw and Coal. The Thunderclan cat and the Renegade both twitched their whiskers and purred in amusement. "You seem to be getting closer to Cotton!" Alex shot back at his friend. Diesel snorted. "Alex, she's at least 10 seasons older than me." He mewed. "No, she's not that old." The ginger tom objected. Fernpaw turned her head toward Coal, leaving the two toms to bicker. "They seem as lively as always." She purred. Coal nodded. He was about three moons older than Fernpaw, but he still treated her like an equal. "How is it going in Thunderclan?" He asked, lightly touching her ear with his muzzle. Fernpaw shrugged. "Acornfall and Frogleap have earned their warrior names, Cinderheart and Sparktail have moved to the nursery so Cloverpaw will have to get a new mentor and Dewnose lost his tail in a fight with a badger." She mewed. A shudder ran through Coal and he tucked his tail closer to him. Then Bramblestar's last meeting struck her head. "But yesterday, Bramblestar held a clan meeting." She murmured and Coal pricked her ears. "Shadowclan attacked our patrol, and Oakpaw and Timberpaw were a part of it. Lionblaze is in great danger. But that's not what I was going to talk about." She added when Coal glanced at Alex who was constantly shaking his head as Diesel teased him. "Crowfrost, Shadowclan's deputy, said that Thunderclan have been lurking around close to the borders and some cats have been stealing prey, so of course he's blaming it on Thunderclan." She mewed worriedly. Coal nodded thoughtfully. "Well, Renegade sometimes sends us into the forest, and has been increasing it now that leaf-fall will be setting in soon. But it could also be the Strikes." He added with a hint of growl in his voice. Fernpaw nodded, worry pricking her like thorns. "I just hope that Shadowclan won't attack us or anything again." She murmured. As they padded toward the shore, Fernpaw saw the moon beginning to sink behind Shadowclan's territory, and the sky were just turning milky pale with the first signs of predawn. "You should be getting home soon. I don't want to get into trouble and have to explain why I've been meeting rogues in our territory." She mewed. The dawn patrol would be setting out soon. "I need to wash myself." Fernpaw added, to no one particularly as she bounded toward the lake. The waves slapped against the shore. She stepped closer to it and suppressed a gasp when the water washed over her tiny, neat paws. It seeped through the space between toes and she shivered as she waded farther into the lake. The water brushed against her belly fur and soaked through her pelt and touched her skin, chilling her to the bone. She stiffly turned around to call to Diesel, Coal and Alex. "You should wash yourselves too!" She yowled as she rubbed her flank with her paw. Coal nodded and waded into it, Alex and Diesel on his heels. Diesel kept muttering something under his breath and Coal gasped as the water soaked into his fur. Diesel padded up to her. "Can you wash my back?" He asked, turning around. Fernpaw nodded before splashing at the water and scooping it up his back. He let out a gasp and his whole body stiffened, but after a while he relaxed. Glancing sideward as she rubbed her paws over Diesel's foul-smelling back, she saw Coal washing Alex, who sat with his shoulders hunched. When the four cats had finished they waded back to the shore. Fernpaw shook water out of her fur, careful not to open her wound again. The camp wouldn't be awake for a while yet. She hoped as she looked up to the Windclan border. "I still have some time." She mewed as she slumped down into the undergrowth. She felt exhaustion washing over her, but she couldn't fall asleep here. Alex trotted toward her and settled beside her. Coal then came with Diesel on his tail and the four cats began to wash and warm each other up. Fernpaw ran her tongue up Coal's neck and the black tom washed her back with rhythmic strokes. Then Diesel heaved himself to his paws. "We'd better be getting back." He mewed, shaking his fur. Fernpaw nodded and sat up and gave her chest a couple of licks. "I hope I can visit the Renegades soon, but I don't know how long I'll have to stay in the medicine den." She murmured, looking up at the thick canopies of the trees. A leaf slowly fell to the ground, swirling in the air, until a blur of ginger movement flashed in front of Fernpaw and Alex pinned the golden leaf to the ground. The four cats looked down at it. "Leaf-fall will soon be upon us." Diesel murmured, his ears flicking. Fernpaw nodded slowly before pressing herself up to the black and white tom. "Goodbye." She mewed before padding over to Coal. She touched his chin with her forehead and wove herself around him before touching her nose to Alex's. "I'll tell Ambermoon about your visit." Fernpaw mewed as she bounded away.

Dread filled up inside her as she padded through the thorn tunnel. It had taken longer for her to walk back to camp than she intended, and the sun was already climbing over Windclan's hills. Cloverpaw was sharing tongues with Willowpaw outside the apprentices' den while Badgerkit and Smokekit dashed up to their father, Thornclaw, who was sitting outside the elders' den. Greystripe was sharing a squirrel with Brightheart and Brackenfur while Cloudtail talked to Acornfall and Frogleap, sending them back to their den. Bramblestar sat on the highledge with Squirrelflight by his side. Rosepetal was curled up beside her mate, Mousewhisker, while their kits Foxkit, Hazelkit, Icekit and Toadkit scuffled around them. Icefeather and Molewhisker were sharing a pigeon at the basking rocks while Cinderheart and Sparktail were talking to Squirrelflight. Then the deputy turned around and leaped up the tumble of rocks and whispered something into Bramblestar's ear. The Thunderclan leader nodded before yowling out. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the highledge for a clanmeeting!" Snowbush emerged from the warriors' den with Lilyheart by his side. Timberpaw and Oakpaw padded from the apprentices' den and Pigeonpaw and Swiftpaw stopped play fighting and settled beside their parents, Dovewing and Bumblestripe. Acornfall and Frogleap stumbled out of the warriors' den. Their much-wanted sleep wasn't going to happen. Dewnose, Briarlight, Alderleaf and Jayfeather sat in the entrance of the medicine den. Fernpaw bounded toward Willowpaw and Cloverpaw and soon, the whole clan had gathered beneath the highledge. "We have gathered here because Sparktail is moving to the nursery and Cloverpaw needs a new mentor." Bramblestar began, nodding to Cloverpaw who stood up and padded toward where Sparktail sat. "I have decided that Sorrelstripe will take on Cloverpaw's training from now on. Sorrelstripe, your courage and enthusiasm will make you a great mentor for Cloverpaw." The leader mewed. Sorrelstripe sprang to her paws, definitely not expecting this, and padded unevenly to Cloverpaw and touched her nose to hers. Then she turned her head up to Bramblestar. "Bramblestar, I promise I'll do my best to make Cloverpaw a great warrior." She mewed, her voice strong. "I know you will." Bramblestar purred before dismissing the clan meeting.