Lies, Secrets, and the Storm | Book One of the LSatS Trilogy

Chapter Fifteen

Stormpaw woke, blinking sleep from her eyes. Her mind was hazy and for a moment she wondered why there was warmth of another pelt all around her when she remembered the night before. Coalpaw had stayed with her all night long. Her heart fluttered but stopped when she made a realization.

"I have my warrior assessment at sunhigh tomorrow," Coalpaw meowed, his eyes bright. "Hopefully Stripeface doesn't mess me up this time."

"Coalpaw! Wake up!" Stormpaw whirled around and prodded him with a paw in attempt to wake him. Coalpaw blinked awake, still half asleep.

"Wha..?"

"No time! It's past sunhigh-you're late!" Stormpaw meowed urgently. Coalpaw's eyes stretched wide.

"Oh foxdung!" he yowled. "I-I'll see you later, okay?" Coalpaw was on his paws at once and bolted out of the den. Stormpaw let out a heavy sigh, concerned if he would make it on time or not. She got to her paws, hardly feeling any pain in her wounds.

"How are you feeling?" Clearspirit's voice made Stormpaw jump. She quickly turned around and saw Clearspirit emerging from the herb storage.

"I-I'm feeling much better," she admitted, stuttering slightly from the surprise. Clearspirit's eyes flickered with amusement.

"Disappointed that Coalpaw has gone?" He guessed. Stormpaw's heart skipped a beat. She flattened her ears in embarrassment.

"No!" she bluffed. She did miss his company. But she didn't like him that way. Didn't she?

"I'm teasing," Clearspirit purred. "Don't get your whiskers in a knot! Now, why don't you go and stretch your legs and maybe get something to eat, hmm?"

"Okay," Stormpaw meowed, dipping her head. She padded out of the den and sighed at the sun's touch. Her ears perked at the happy atmosphere and she padded towards the freshkill pile. She saw Hawkpaw and Skypaw sitting near the pile.

"Shouldn't you guys be out training or something?" Stormpaw asked in curiosity. Hawkpaw looked over at her, his face holding a frown.

"Brindlelight isn't here," he muttered. Skypaw gave her brother a reassuring shove.

"I'm sure she's fine," Skypaw mewed. She turned to Stormpaw. "No cats has seen Brindlelight since last night. Swiftstep and Charcoal think it might have been BloodClan. I just hope she's okay, wherever she is."

"Me too," was all Stormpaw could say. The thought of the ThunderClan warrior being missing shocked Stormpaw, and she wondered where she could have gone. She'd suspected BloodClan as well; if they could steal two cats, they could defiantly steal more...

~~~~~

Coalpaw stalked through the undergrowth, keeping this body low as he approached the enormous wood pigeon that was on the other side of the clearing. He carefully moved downwind before lunging forward, taking advantage of the element of surprise. The pigeon began to scream out an alarm call but it was cut short by Coalpaw's teeth sinking into it's neck and fell limp. Pride rushed through him as he scrambled off of his catch. It was nearly as big as he was! He gingerly his it in a bush nearby before tasting the air. His pelt pricked at the scent of blood. Unsheathing his claws, he cautiously padded towards the smell. He spotted a large pool of blood near the WindClan border. Scenting the air, he also picked up the scent of badger. He gritted his teeth in anger. How could this happen?

He followed the scent trail, keeping his claws unsheathed as he padded along. His hackles raised when he noticed dry spots of blood along the tail. The reek of blood and badger filled his nose. Coalpaw saw movement in the shadows and quickly took cover in some ferns. He stiffened in terror as he saw something beginning to emerge. A large black and white-striped head emerged, holding something in his jaws. Coalpaw's stomach churned when he made out what it was. The badger threw the object a few places away from its den before lunging back inside. After a few moments, Coalpaw hurried over to it.

"B-Brindlelight..." he whispered, his voice thick with grief. The warrior's body was mangled, the flesh on her belly, chest, and throat all gone. Her tortiseshell fur was matted and bloodstained and her eyes were dull and half closed. Coalpaw backed away before running as fast as he could back towards camp. He crashed into Stripeface, who was followed by Littlebounce, Swiftstep, and Charcoal.

"What in StarClan were you thinking?" Stripeface snarled. "You could have been killed by your stupidity!"

"B-Brindlelight...." Coalpaw choked out. "S-She's dead...."