Aspenpaw glanced over her shoulder and saw Coalpaw picking a thrush. "I thought you had to clean out the elder's bedding?" She teased, but realized who's tail she was treading on.
"I-I mean...." Surprisingly, Coalpaw only shrugged, with mischief in his eyes. "I told Heavypaw to do it." He paused, then flicked his tail. "Um... Why are you staring at me?"
Aspenpaw then realized she was staring at him, mouth open to make a rude comeback. She thought he would say something mean to her.
"S-sorry," she stammered and glanced at the fresh-kill pile. That was the last prey. She had awoken from her afternoon nap hungry, but she was hoping after she had fed the Applefur and her kits that the thrush would be hers.
Her stomach growled loudly. Coalpaw heard it; he passed the bird to Aspenpaw. "Here, I had a couple of mice earlier," he told her and trotted to the apprentice's den casually. Aspenpaw stared after him, mouth wide-open.
She looked down to the thrush and bit down onto the delicious flesh and gulped it down within several heartbeats.
She looked up and saw clouds racing each other like snails. But they were gray, the sky was darkening, and she smelled rain.
She sighed and pushed the remaining of the thrush all the way to the dirtplace to dig it. By the time she came back, the sunhigh patrol had come back.
They were bristling with anger. Violeteyes was in the lead, her tail thrashing violently on the grass. "BlazeClan set their markers on our territory!" She announced, her teeth bared.
Brownpaw weaved her way to the front, accidentally knocking over Aspenpaw. Aspenpaw fell on her side, and with a scowl, regained her balance and shaking out her pelt.
The first icy gray drops fell on Aspenpaw's whiskers. By now, Violeteyes was almost done telling everyone what happened.
Aspenpaw realized with regret that the fresh-kill pile was empty. Some warriors would go hungry tonight. She hung her head and decided to not eat anything unless her whole Clan was fed from now on.
She loved the rain, but she knew it was rare to get fresh-kill in the rain unless some mouse was dumb enough to get its whiskers wet.
Then she heard a screech. "Flood!" Someone shrieked and instantly the cats streaked from their dens, clouding around the driest place.
Aspenpaw saw, with horror, water streaming from the hill that covered one side of the camp. Alarmed, she saw the elder's den was right underneath the hill.
"Get the elders out!" Russetstar hissed. Aspenpaw raced to the bramble den and entered, filled with relief to see that Whispyfur and Quartzpoppy were already being pushed out of the den. "Get all the kits, queens, and elders out of camp!" Greypattern ordered with a yowl.
Warriors and apprentices streaked past Aspenpaw with mud already clinging to their pelt. Three young apprentices were being pushed out and Applefur was on their side. Quartzpoppy's limbs were stiff but he almost reached the entrance.
Whispyfur was pushing him and together they fled. Aspenpaw narrowed her eyes into slits by the rain and waited until every warrior gathered the kits, queens, and elders out.
But by then it was too late. The waves of water crashed down on the ones who were halfway across. Aspenpaw heard screeches and yowls before she was plunged under water.
She thrashed her paws, her lungs screaming for air but the water showed no mercy and kept dragging her down down down....
Her head popped against the surface and she saw some cats running and swimming ungraciously out of the water.
But they were just flopping out like a fish and following their clanmates. Aspenpaw spotted Coalpaw hissing with rage; he unsheathed his claws and climbed up the tree, clearly squinting to see his clanmates and waiting for a chance to grab them to safety.
More warriors braced themselves, Aspenpaw's gaze met Coalpaw's but she was dragged under water again.
Teeth met her scruff. Aspenpaw was being hauled over from the side of the waves. She was pulled to shallower water and then soggy grass.
Aspenpaw felt a breath soak up. A paw pushed on her chest. Her body jerked and she coughed up more water than the biggest puddles of water in her camp.
She coughed one last time then sat up, still shaky.
She saw everyone of her clanmates. Whisperdusk, Violeteyes, Russetstar, Flamestorm, Goldenpaw! Finally, she spotted the golden tom who was lying on his side, panting heavily.
But his head turned and he met Aspenpaw's green eyes. "Aspenpaw!" He rasped and bounded over to the weak calico apprentice.
"Yes," she croaked then lie still. Goldenpaw licked her pelt clean until she felt warm already and he pressed his body against hers.
"I don't know what I would've done if you drowned!" He fretted.
She noticed that the sky was bright orange and blue, with the sun warming up the earth, but the stream that striked her camp was only just shallower.
She needed to rest.
She got to her paws, padded over shakily to a fresh clump of grass, and lay, Goldenpaw hurrying to sit a mouse-length in front of her.
Though Goldenpaw's thick golden pelt was covering half her view, the last thing she saw was Coalpaw's sad and anger, blue gaze. He was obviously hurt but Aspenpaw had already drifted off to sleep.
