Eaglefeather's Call

Chapter 5

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Eaglepaw slowly opened her eyes. 'How long was I out?' She twitched an ear, and tentatively stretched her legs. A dull ache spread through her body.

She looked around, seeing bramble seemingly coming out of a rocky overhang. 'The Medicine Cat Den.' She looked over and saw Hawkpaw laying in a nearby nest. His pelt had been washed, but a lot of his fur was missing, revealing deep gashes. The smell of herbs radiated from his brown-and-white pelt.

Eaglepaw slowly stood up. Pain pulsed through her from her paws to her ear tips. Slowly but steadily, she padded out of the den and into the blinding sunshine.

Padding out of the Medicine Cat's clearing, she almost crashed into the Medicine Cat.

"Tulipfur!" Eaglepaw staggered backwards in shock. Tulipfur, her green eyes intense, simply gazed at her for a moment before meowing softly.

"You're awake." Her tortoiseshell pelt shifted in the wind, like leaves in the trees. Eaglepaw smoothed her own calico pelt, the shock subsiding.

"Yes, I'm awake. Is Hawkpaw ok?" Eaglepaw had to find out about her brother.

"He'll live," Tulipfur replied, flicking an ear. "But he's badly hurt. Then again, doesn't sound like much of a shock. If he took on the leader of StormClan, he's lucky to be alive. Although, when he got to me, he was barely hanging on."

Eaglepaw was irritated by how dismissive Tulipfur was being. "You're the Medicine Cat," she hissed. "So do something! Help my brother!"

Tulipfur bristled, baring her teeth. "I am helping your brother, which is more than the mousebrain deserves! He started a fight when one didn't need to be started! He deserves every claw mark, every rip from a fang, every wound on his body!"

Eaglepaw felt her jaw drop, but Tulipfur hadn't finished. "He could have gotten that whole patrol killed, and StormClan may still attack our camp! Hawkpaw needs to learn to think beyond his own nose, and maybe this will teach him to!"

Eaglepaw slowly and carefully crept around the Medicine Cat, and charged into the main part of camp, looking for Silverfur.

Eaglepaw found her mother in the Warrior's Den. Rushing into the den, she buried herself in her mother's fur, trembling.

"You aren't supposed to be in here," Silverfur meowed softly. "What's wrong?"

"Tulipfur said Hawkpaw deserved every injury he got," Eaglepaw whimpered. She heard a soft growl from Silverfur, and heard a slightly startled tom's voice from behind her.

"Eaglepaw? What are you doing in here?"

Eaglepaw didn't turn, didn't leave the comfort of her mother's fur. Thankfully, her mother didn't draw away. Instead, Silverfur replied to the voice.

"Whitefur, Tulipfur told Eaglepaw that Hawkpaw deserved every injury he got."

There was soft sigh from Whitefur. The BlazeClan deputy was obviously used to this. "I'll talk to her. In the meantime, Eaglepaw, there's something I want to tell you." Whitefur sat next to Silverfur and curled his tail around Eaglepaw.

"Hawkpaw deserved punishment for stirring up trouble, especially with StormClan. StormClan would have gladly killed every cat in the patrol, and they may still attack the camp." He went on before Eaglepaw could protest, clearly noticing Eaglepaw's bristling pelt. "He didn't deserve being shredded. Why didn't the rest of your patrol attack?"

Eaglepaw sobbed slightly, trembling at the memory of her brother, helpless, being shredded by the ruthless StormClan leader. "Stormclaw tried to stop me from helping Hawkpaw. He.. He said it wasn't a battle we could win..." Eaglepaw buried herself deeper into her mother's soft pelt.

Whitefur was silent for a moment. Then he stood up. "I'm going to go talk to Stormclaw. In the meantime, Eaglepaw, I'm going to do something for you that may help you recover from this." He rose and padded from the den, muttering a greeting to someone outside.

Then, a large tom, with reddish-brown fur and a white chest and paws, padded into the den. His intense green eyes focused on Eaglepaw. He glanced at Silverfur for an explanation.

"Swiftbreeze," Silverfur greeted the tom. She gave a quick explanation of what happened, and Swiftbreeze sighed.

"Tulipfur isn't normally like that, young Eaglepaw. She's just worried about losing cats. And rightly so." Swiftbreeze flicked an ear, slightly concerned for Eaglepaw. He was, after all, Eaglepaw's father.

"I'm sure it's nothing. You should do some training though. You need it if you want to become a warrior." Swiftbreeze stood up and padded out of the den. Silverfur licked Eaglepaw softly on the head before Eaglepaw rose and followed her father, looking around for Stormclaw. She spotted him by Moonstar's den, watching her with sharp eyes.

She padded to her mentor and he stood up. "We're not training right now. There's a full moon tonight. You've been chosen to go to the Gathering."

Eaglepaw felt a surge of excitement, but worry also sparked inside her. 'What will StormClan do?' As though noticing her worry, Stormclaw meowed comfortingly. "Don't worry. There's a truce."

Eaglepaw squirmed with excitement and discomfort. She was so excited to go to her first Gathering, but she just knew StormClan would try something.