A Dangerous Path

Chapter 8

"Tangledbranch, Heathersky!" 

Frosttiger stared at the limp body of his mate, pain and sorrow in his heart. He moved towards it and twined his tail with her limp one.

Stormysky was soon next to him, looking at him pain. 

"What am I going to do without her?" Frosttiger asked, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Stormysky frowned and pressed against him, "We'll find a way.. we always do." She licked his cheek and turned, padding away. 

Frosttiger watched after her before he gazed back at Heathersky and laid down, resting his head on her soft fur. 

----

"Frosttiger?"

He snapped his eyes open and gazed at Reggy, who was standing their with a gentle expression. "It's time to let her go."

Frosttiger bit back a retort and got up silently, watching Longclaw and Crookedheart pick the body up and move outside of camp to the burial area. 

Heart prickling with loss, he turned around stiffly and saw that life was going as usual. Apprentices were either eating, going over battle moves, wrestling, or cleaning the elders bedding. The senior warriors, being Sandycloud, Featherfur, Eagletalon, Nettletail, and Silverwind were sharing tongues and sharing prey. Dogclaw and Blueheart were curled up together in the sun, Dogclaw muttering something to his mate who nodded shakily. Foxfur, Dawnlight, and Mousedusk were talking in a small circle, laughing at one another, and Tangledbranch was nowhere to be found, probably out hunting and stretching his legs after staying up all night. 

"I know it's going to be hard for you." Graystar's voice made him look up, seeing the leader standing next to him, green eyes glowing with knowledge. He sighed, "I loved her, but.. Stormysky.. I'm so confused Graystar. I have feelings for Stormysky but I had feelings for Heathersky.. I don't want it to seem as though I didn't care about her." 

Graystar gazed at him steadily before sighing, "Just wait then. Don't leap a gorge when you can't leap a hole." With that she walked off, mewing something to Eagletalon who waved his tail in acknowledgement.

Frosttiger sighed once more and yowled over to the deputy, "I'm leading a hunting patrol!" 

Eagletalon looked up and nodded, "Take Sunpaw with you! Chestnutfligt has been complaining about his apprentice not listening." 

Nodding, he turned and looked at Flamepaw, "Come on you, go get Sunpaw." The ginger she-cat nodded and shot off. The tom turned and looked over at Aldertuft, "Care to join me?" 

The russet tom nodded, "Sure, Thistlestrike! Come with us." 

The gray tom nodded and stood up, shaking dirt off his pelt and followed Flamepaw, Sunpaw, Frosttiger, and Aldertuft out. 

"Alright you two. You are going to do partner hunting, one cat scares the prey into the others paws. Can you do that?" 

Flamepaw nodded and glanced over at Sunpaw who nodded.

"Alright, I'll watch them, you two can go." Frosttiger told Thistlestrike and Aldertuft, who nodded and disappeared among the ferns. 

He gazed at the two before looking around the clearing that was near the MarshClan border before nodding. "Alright, show me what you can do." 

Flamepaw nodded and turned, mouth open. "There's a squirrel, Sunpaw scare it to the right, I'll hide in the bushes." She looked at the golden she-cat who nodded and moved to get in place. 

The brown-gray rodent moved out in the clearing, a nut in it's paws. Frosttiger moved so that it wouldn't run off because of him and watched as Sunpaw darted at it, making it run to the right where Flamepaw leaped out of the bushes and killed it.