Alive

Chapter 4

Published July 9, 2016.

"A mighty pain to love it is,

And 'tis a pain to miss;

But of all the pains, the greatest pain,

It is to love, but love in vain."

-Abraham Cowley

Hawkstripe awoke sleepily as rain splattered on the warriors' den.

"Dawn hunting patrol," Mousejaw nudged Hawkstripe awake.

Hawkstripe yawned and glanced at the entrance of the den. The day was pebble gray, dark clouds shrouding the sun. Water glittered on the grass.

"Coming," Hawkstripe mumbled as he stepped out into camp, Mousejaw following him. A thick fog of exhaustion resided in his brain, until-

Doe! Doe!

"Do you know if Doe's awake yet?" Hawkstripe asked Mousejaw.

"No. C'mon, we have to get food for the Clan. Loners can wait."

"But can we invite her on the patrol?"

"What is your obsession with Doe?" Mousejaw asked, flattening his ears. "We already have plenty of warriors - Minnowstorm, Owlwatcher and Waspstreak."

Waspstreak was waking up Minnowstorm and Owlwatcher, as Mousejaw eyed the thick TreeClan forest eagerly, his paws twitching.

The other warriors joined Mousejaw and Hawkstripe, and the patrol began through the forest. The rain was both helpful and bothersome - the cats' pelts were soon soaked, and the land prey was reluctant to come out. However, the fish in a small pond within their territory were plentiful. As the rain began to be less heavy, Hawkstripe saw a small flash of brown.

The vole paused at the base of a tree, and as Hawkstripe dropped into a hunter's crouch, the other cats seemed to disappear. It was like a battle - just him and the vole.

He crept towards it slowly, his paws light on the damp forest soil. He began to go closer, closer...

CRACK!

He had stepped on a twig.

The vole dashed away, fear scent sharp in the wet air.

I'm such a mouse-brain!

Suddenly, he saw another paw catch the vole. Hawkstripe looked up at the cat - a thin russet she-cat with green eyes.

"Deercl-Doe?" Hawkstripe asked, as a smile unfurled across his face. His own eyes glimmered, and his sopping wet pelt seemed warm and dry. He licked his chest fur hastily.

"Can I eat this?" she asked, holding up the vole. It dangled from her paw. "Or do you want it? I'm not that hungry."

"You've forgot about the warrior code already?" Hawkstripe laughed. He stopped at her look of confusion. "I'm just kidding."

"So...do you want the vole or not?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Doe, it's - it's the warrior code. I know you used to be Deerclaw, why are you forgetting all this?"

"Oh, Birchcloud mentioned the warrior code. He's training me to fit into TreeClan. He's also very smart and kind, and he has such a nice pelt." Doe added, a wisp of a smile appearing on her face. She glimpsed up at the sky. "Do you know Birchcloud?"

"Of course I know Birchcloud," Hawkstripe snapped. And I don't see what's such a big deal about him.

His tail lashed on the ground. "But why are you forgetting everything?"

"I don't understand. I never knew about the warrior code in the first place. I don't even know who you are!"

"But you used to be Deerclaw -,"

"I don't know who Deerclaw is!" Doe's tail lashed on the ground.

"You've just forgotten," Hawkstripe reassured her. "I'll re-teach you everything, it's okay. I'm Hawkstripe. Deerclaw was your old name." He tried to touch noses with her, but she turned her head away.

"Leave me alone!" Doe shouted, unsheathing her claws.

Suddenly, Birchcloud stepped through the trees. "Doe, where were you? I need to teach you so much more!"

Doe dropped her vole in front of Hawkstripe. "Take it. You wouldn't want to break your warrior code."