blurred. - a warriors fanfiction

• part two - WITHOUT A TRACE

"Hey, Wolfscar, did you hear about Eldertuft?"

Wolfscar paused in the middle of tearing her breakfast to shreds and hungrily wolfing it down— pun intended. "What about him?" she responded, licking fish blood off her whiskers.

Morningshade's eyes went wide as he replied, his tortoiseshell fur bushed out. "He's nowhere to be found! Sandstar sent out a patrol as soon as Streamwhisker realized he was missing."

"Really?" She frowned. With almost half the Clan gone on a StarClan-ordered quest, now was not exactly the perfect time to have cats vanishing in midair. "That's worrying."

"Very." Wolfscar watched her brother shake his head vigorously. "You don't think he went to find the others, do you?"

The heavily scarred she-cat shrugged her strong shoulders. "I hope. That sounds like the best case scenario."

When Pebblewing returned with news of a terrible sickness that was causing JaggedClan— the Clan inhabiting the rocky terrain near GorseClan— to collapse and dwindle, it was Sandstar who offered to send her warriors to recover the herbs that would save JaggedClan. At the time, Wolfscar couldn't have been more furious with her leader. How dare she send GorgeClan cats off and put their lives at risk, just for the sake of a Clan they never got along with? But when they returned home that night, after the Gathering, Sandstar explained her brilliant plan. Her proud words still echoed in Wolfscar's torn ears.

"Once the chosen cats return, we will demand JaggedClan give us some of their territory as their thanks to us," the cream tabby had said, her voice ringing with triumph. Her hazel eyes had glowed with pride. "How could they refuse? We're quite literally saving their lives!"

"Wolfscar!"

Wolfscar shook her head. Leafpaw and Morningshade were both staring at her, irritation and concern in their eyes respectively. "Oh, my apologies, Leafpaw." She stood up and licked her chest. "I was thinking back to Sandstar's glorious plan."

The brown tabby lashed his tail. He looked angrier than usual, his green eyes dark. "Let's just go train," he mewed.

Right, Wolfscar nodded, Eldertuft is his father. She did not know what the sudden and unexpected absence of a parent felt like; both her parents— Quailsmoke and Ashtooth — were alive and healthy. She couldn't sympathize with her apprentice.

"Alright. Morning, are you coming?" She cocked her head to narrow ledge that lead to the flatlands above.

The tortoiseshell nodded, bounding after Wolfscar and Leafpaw. "Sandstar said to keep an eye out for any traces of Eldertuft!" he called to them.

As Wolfthorn climbed up the steep ledge with ease— she'd been doing it for seasons, and nothing could be easier— she looked down into the gorge. Why would he ever want to leave? He didn't fall to his death or fall into the stream. There would be blood, and the warriors' den is too far from the stream. Did Eldertuft really go find the journeying cats? Wolfscar didn't take that cat for a fool; the cats left three sunrises ago. They were long gone.

She looked at Leafpaw from over her shoulder. Well, whatever. I have an apprentice to train right now. Hypothesizing isn't going to help much. Wolfscar sighed. All we can do is hope Eldertuft shows up. You can't find someone if they're disappeared without a trace.

[ a / n ]:
I will love you forever if you get the reference I made with parts one and two.