Emberstar's Journey

Chapter 6

"Come on Emberpaw!" A roar called, "You can beat him!" 

Even underwater, Deertails call was clear as day. He opened his eyes and forced himself to stop panicking. His lungs expanded and he allowed himself to hold his breath. 

He felt Lionpaws paws on his shoulders, holding him down and wiggled forward a bit before he lashed out a strong blow to his hind legs, knocking them out from under of him. 

Above he heard a yowl and pushed off the stone floor and tackled the apprentices, pinning him on the water's edge.  The liquid lapped at the apprentices' chin but didn't go above. 

"You win." Lionpaw growled making Emberpaw move off him.

"Good job Emberpaw!" Deertail nodded, "You can go to camp and rest if you want!" 

The red tom dipped his head and bounded through the grass. He gazed around, taking in the scenery when his ears perked.

"Frog-dirt and fish-guts!" That sounded like Heatherspirit! 

He rushed towards the sound and froze when he saw where she was. 

"In all the stars, Heatherspirit, I could have sworn you were getting attacked by a pack of badgers!" Emberpaw cried, staring down at the she-cat who looked up. She was at the fast-water under the island, sitting at the bank.

"Sorry, Emberpaw, I fell and my leg twisted!" She hissed in pain as she tried to move but fell. "StarClan's kits that hurts!"

He slid down the cliff and sniffed as he moved close. "Where's Berrywish?" 

"Getting Sweet-Sedge from BreezeClan." She hissed, "You can help me though." 

"Me? I'm trained to fight not heal!" Emberpaws fur bristled in fear. "I'll get someone!"

"No!" Heatherspirits voice was forceful. "I need to get back! Barrontooth has an infection and she won't be able to fight it well enough without me!"

Emberpaws mind reeled and he sighed. "What should I do?" 

"Set my leg back in place. Grab it between your teeth and tug it to the right." She ordered.

Emberpaw nodded and moved forward as Heatherspirit laid down. He grabbed her hind leg out in his mouth and looked up. "Ready?" He asked, voice muffled. 

"Pull!" 

He shook his head and Heatherpspirits leg was placed right back in its socket. 

A piercing yowl made him whimper and back away. "I'm sorry!" He cried over hers and she slammed her paw on the ground. 

"I-t's fine." She breathed slowly. "Now go get some reed, they're strong and sturdy and will make a good splint." 

Nodding, he moved to the edge of the water and bit down on the bottom of the stalk. He moved back over to Heatherspirit and watched as she placed both sides of the reed to her legs, creating a splint. 

She looked up and slowly pushed herself up. "Now how am I going to get back up that ledge?"

"That won't be a problem!" A voice called, causing the two Clan cats to look up.

Rumblethroat was standing there with Nightfrost and Eagleeyes. 

Heatherspirit smiled. "Thank StarClan, I haven't been happy to see your face in a while." She said jokingly, grinning up at the deputy who chuckled. 

"How are we gonna tug her out? Her leg is hurt." Eagleeyes said, sharp eyes narrow. 

"I don't need your good eyesight to see that Eagleeyes." Rumblethroat said, though his voice was friendly.