Warriors: The Chosen Warrior: Short Stories

Rosepool's Curiosity

Through the gap of leaves, the hot sun scorched a ginger tabby pelt in the hollow below. The she-cat was sprawled out on her flank, her eyes narrowed in the sunlight. A tortoiseshell she-cat lay nearby, finishing up a thrush that they had shared.

"Why is it so hot out, Willowheart?" Rosepool complained. "I think StarClan's cursing us."

Willowheart licked the last scraps of the fresh-kill off her whiskers. "Well, I think it's hot out because it's the middle of greenleaf, sunhigh, and you're the one lying in the sun." She shrugged and added before beginning to groom herself, "But that's only my opinion."

"I'm not saying that I'll betray ThunderClan this way," the ginger she-cat sighed, "but I bet the whole of RiverClan are swimming in the lake right now."

Willowheart looked at her with an amused gaze. "You mean betray as in joining RiverClan just to swim in the lake?" she huffed. "Rosepool, you're smarter than that. Plus, there's probably a ton of Twolegs on their side of the lake. The hot weather even draws them to water. And we're the ones with more fur!"

Rosepool lifted her head and looked at the black-furred warrior. "Then there won't be Twolegs on our side of the lake?" she asked.

"Not as likely as we don't have a Thunderpath like there is between RiverClan and ShadowClan territory, but I won't be too certain they won't end up wandering over here. Pray to StarClan they won't," she muttered.

Rosepool remained looking at Willowheart groom herself for a moment, thinking. Then, making her decision final, she pushed herself up, shook out her pelt, and began walking toward the camp exit.

"Hey!" Willowheart called after her. "Where are you going?"

Rosepool halted in her steps and glanced behind her shoulder. "The lake! Do you want to come with me?"

The she-cat slightly flattened her ears. "But what if there are Twolegs?"

"Then we'll come back and warn the Clan!" Rosepool insisted. "Come on, aren't you melting in that fur? I'm about ready to tear mine right off."

Willowheart seemed to be holding her breath for a few heartbeats before she exhaled, her ears perking up again. She blinked at Rosepool. "Okay," she agreed. Rosepool happily led her out of the camp.

The forest was almost as hot as the camp despite the she-cats walking in complete shadow. It was like instead of the canopy keeping the sun's heat out, it was keeping it in. Soon enough, the blue surface of the lake came visible between the trunks and undergrowth. The two ThunderClan she-cats crouched behind some bracken fronds and peeked over them cautiously, scanning for any signs of Twolegs.

Willowheart was right from earlier. There were no Twolegs that she could see on the ThunderClan shore. In the distance, however, Rosepool could just barely see a few monsters crouched on the wide Thunderpath that made the ShadowClan and RiverClan border. There were also several water-monsters roaming the lake with Twolegs on their backs. The sound even from this distance hurt Rosepool's ears.

But it's worth it in order to not start on fire! thought Rosepool.

She surged out behind the bracken fronds toward the water. Her paws caused large splashes as she entered the lake, but as the water reached her belly, she leaped backward out onto the shore again. "That's freezing!" the she-cat squealed.

Willowheart sat down on the sandy and pebbly shore a tail-length away from where the water reached and snorted playfully. "First you were complaining about being too hot, and now you're saying you're too cold?"

Rosepool ignored her friend as she stared into the lake. Her tail flicking, she forced herself from the shore and jumped into the lake. The cool water took her in as she was submerged entirely, her pelt quickly growing damp and heavy. She felt her paws brush against the pebbly bottom and managed to place her paws firmly on it. Moving up, her head broke the surface, but she continued running up the slope toward Willowheart. As she emerged out of the water and on the shore, Rosepool shook out her drenched ginger fur, spraying Willowheart.