Warriors: Flamestar's Path (Lightclan Mini Story)

Chapter 5

Flamestar woke up, nearly choking as she breathed in the toxic-smelling air. Snapping to her paws, the orange she cat saw she had been sleeping right next to the nearly faded body of NoName. Ew. How long does it take for her to fade completely? She cringed, looking down to see the dried blood matted in the nest and her fur.

Without another thought, Flamestar darted out of the leaders den and pelted through the forest, running straight for the stream that used to signify the border between Lightclan and Ravenclan.

She regretted not checking the temperature of the water before diving in, but she fought through the shock of the cold water and started scrubbing furiously at her pelt. The water ran red with the blood on her pelt, washing away towards the sea. Flamestar sighed in relief as all the blood was removed, and she quickly climbed out of the freezing cold stream, sitting on the bank to dry off.

Flamestar soon returned to camp with thick, dry and glossy orange fur which was free from any blood and other types of filth. She smiled widely when she saw some of the warriors sitting around camp, all chatting happily to one another with fresh-kill being eaten freely. They were going to be back to their normal clans soon enough. Finally, the Dark Forest's reign was over.

A low snarl broke out from the other end of camp, near the nursery. Flamestar tilted her head toward the sound and saw Strike, Dime and Tyler sitting stiffly in a group as two apprentices sneered at them. Curious, Flamestar approached the confrontation.

"Your Dark Forest mango-pelts killed Sootpaw and Leafpaw!" Beechpaw- a Ravenclan apprentice- snarled at the three bigger toms, bravely glaring into their eyes.

Wrenpaw, a Lightclan apprentice, backed up Beechpaw with a hiss. "You murderers! You should die!" She lashed her tail, her amber eyes a raging fire.

Flamestar let her presence be known. "What's going on?" She snapped, watching as the two apprentices whirled around to face her. She felt the heated gazes from the three evil toms fix on her as well from where they sat together.

"We were just.." Wrenpaw trailed off, her forepaws shuffling nervously and her gaze glued to the ground.

Beechpaw was more defiant, his eyes staring right up at her. "Their warriors killed my friends! They shouldn't be allowed to live!"

Flamestar glanced at Dime, Strike and Tyler. They were completely silent, their heads dipped ever so slightly so that they stared at her legs instead of her face. She flattened her ears and turned back to Beechpaw. "Who did their warriors kill?"

"Sootpaw and Leafpaw." The little tom muttered, his claws unsheathing as he turned to glare at the three toms again.

"I don't know who your talking about." Dime muttered, his sightless green eyes staring into space.

"Exactly! They don't even care about all the cats they killed!" Beechpaw lashed his tail angrily and darted for Dime, attacking the dark furred tom. Before he could even lay a claw on him, Strike burst forwards and blocked the way, swatting Beechpaw aside with his wing.

The apprentice landed with a shriek, but he was uninjured. Flamestar snarled. "Enough! There will be no fighting here!" Then her voice softened slightly. "Look, Beechpaw I know how much your friends meant to you, but they're now safe and happy in Starclan. They're probably watching over you right now."

Beechpaw gazed up at the sky, his whiskers twitching as he was left alone to his thoughts for a few moments. Then he lowered his head and huffed. "I want to see them again. I miss them so much.."

"We all miss the cats we lost in the Dark Forest battle. But there's nothing we can do now." Flamestar murmured gently to the small tom. "We have to move on."

Beechpaw hung his head, mumbling in soft agreement. Then he turned to look at Dime. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't you who killed them."

"You're RavenClan right?" Dime asked, his eyes trying to find where the apprentice was just by listening.

"Yeah."

Flamestar watched as Dime mumbled. "Was it Inferno? The white she cat with wings?"

"Mhm." The reply was very quiet.

"I was the one to order her to join the attack on RavenClan. I told her to eliminate all the apprentices." A dry chuckle left the dark tom's lips. "I guess she was only half successful."

Beechpaw seemed to tense with rage, but then he quickly controlled himself and muttered. "It doesn't matter now, but thanks for telling me." Then he rose to his paws and left.

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