Blizzard [Warriors Fanfiction]

Chapter Five

      Frozenpaw felt uneasy as he trotted back to a hunting patrol consisting of Ravenpaw, and to his disappointment, Briarpaw. Their mentors had given them a practice assessment, having them hunt as a group until dusk to try and bring back as much prey as possible. The white tom feared what trouble he would be in for accidentally crossing the DewClan border and having a conversation with a strikingly familiar rival apprentice.

      "What took so long?" Briarpaw sneered slightly while Frozenpaw flashed him an annoyed golden glance. "Get caught on a bramble tendril while pathetically chasing that rabbit?"

      "Will you shut up, Briarpaw?" Ravenpaw instantly came to his defense. "At least he tried to go after it, whereas you stood like a lazy mouse-brained fool when the prey was right under your claws!"

      That was another new change that had surprised Frozenpaw. Ever since he uncovered that the black she-cat had planned to meet up in secret with a ThornClan cat, Ravenpaw had done basically everything she could to keep Frozenpaw happy. When he was asked to care for the elders, she volunteered. When he was about to grab some fresh-kill, she brought it for him.

      Briarpaw replied with a grunt and turned his back, trotting deeper into FoxClan territory. Frozenpaw glanced upward to see the sun beginning to set. "It's probably time to start collecting the prey we've buried." He suggested quietly. 

      Ravenpaw nodded vigorously, "good idea." She shook out her ruffled black pelt and started running at a steady pace to the place they had last hunted.

------

      By the time the three cats made their way back to camp Frozenpaw was exhausted from the amount of effort it took to carry back all the prey they had caught. Lynxstep, Otterstrike, and Duckflight, Briarpaw's mentor, were waiting for them when the apprentices arrived. 

      Lynxstep's expression was slightly impressed, yet etched in a way that made it look like she expected that much prey to come back. "Nice job, you three." She mewed with an approving nod.

      The other two mentors agreed as well, giving them permission to get something to eat. Frozenpaw trotted to the fresh-kill pile, with Ravenpaw on his heels. "Will you ever stop following me?" He hissed, sudden anger rushing through him and destroying his usually calm demeanor.

      Ravenpaw sat up straight, worry and hurt brimming in her mossy green eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to annoy you. It's just-"

      The FoxClan apprentice flattened his ears, a growl rising in his throat. "It's just that you can't bear the fact that someone knows about you wanting to sneak off with a ThornClan tom, so you cling to me in order to keep me from saying anything! I already promised I would keep my mouth shut, is my word not enough?"

      "No! That's not it-"

      "Then what is it?" He asked, golden eyes blazing.

      "Never mind." The black she-cat muttered, walking away to a quiet corner of the camp where she laid down and rested her chin on her paws.

      "You're such a mouse-brain." The voice came from Echopaw, another one of his denmates who had watched the whole exchange. Frozenpaw swallowed, realizing that now one more cat knew about Ravenpaw's secret.

      He turned to the pale gray apprentice. "Listen, don't tell any cat about-"

      "How stupid could you be?" She cut him off, amusement twinkling in her dark blue eyes. "I'm her best friend, I already knew about Kestrelpaw before she had even gone to meet him. And for the record, she's not padding after you because she is afraid you'll tell someone, she likes you!"

      Shock overwhelmed Frozenpaw. He'd never had a she-cat take interest in him before. "B-but I thought... she- you know, wanted to be with Kestrelpaw..."

      "That was only minor curiosity. This is real. She wants to get to know you better."

      "I..." He trailed off, completely dumbstruck. 

      "You go on ahead and think about that for a while. I'm going to try and calm her down after you yelled at her." Echopaw mewed stiffly and stood, padding toward Ravenpaw.

      Guilt swamped Frozenpaw and his head drooped as he dragged himself into the apprentices' den to settle into sleep. Before he could think "mouse", the scenery changed to an eerily quiet clearing with icy moonlight gleaming through a small gap in the clouds.

      "Frozenpaw!" A familiar, young female voice cried out right before she barreled into the startled white tom. As the unknown cat scrambled off of him, he noticed in particular the feel of her medium-length white fur. It took him back to a time when there was nothing but howling winds and blowing snow, where he was placed next to a kit with the same textured pelt as this she-cat here.

      "Frostpaw?" He asked after getting a whiff of the she-cat's scent. "Why are you in my dream? Is anyone else here?"

      "Yes." A different voice answered, and Frozenpaw spun around to see another familiar white cat, this time a tom with copper eyes.

      "You! You're the one who fought me in the battle, but hesitated before I got seriously injured." 

      "That's me," he answered, "I'm Icepaw. Has anyone seen Snowpaw?"

      Frostpaw glanced around warily. "Who's Snowpaw?"

      Another white she-cat, this one with green eyes, appeared from the darkness of the night and into the clearing. "I'm Snowpaw. Listen, I'm not sure why we are are all here, but I bet it's got to do with what Icepaw and I figured out."

      Something about how the two cats were conspiring made Frozenpaw uneasy. "Wait... Icepaw is from ThornClan, yes? And you smell like LeafClan. When did you two have time to discuss this?"

      "We'll explain that later," Icepaw replied, "but right now we need to tell you something."

      "All four of us are littermates." Snowpaw blurted with a worried glance at Icepaw.

      A moment of silence followed, and Frozenpaw felt numb with shock. How was that even possible? He had always known he was once a rogue kit, but figured he was alone. If he had siblings, why didn't FoxClan take them in too?

      "What in the name of StarClan are you talking about?" Frostpaw hissed, the fur on the back of her neck rising.

      Snowpaw sighed. "It's a long story..."

      "Then start explaining." This was Frozenpaw speaking, slightly afraid to hear the story that would rip away every bit of truth he had ever known.