SeaClan: Low Tide

Chapter Ten

A seagull pecked at the ground, and Saltblaze stalked toward it as quietly as he could, the sand under his paws muffling his steps. Just as he began to spring toward it, Splashpaw and Olivebird came bumbling out of nowhere, scaring the bird off before he could. Annoyed, he shot up and stormed over to the cats. "You scared off my bird!"

"Sorry, Saltblaze," Olivebird mewed, "Splashpaw and I were just worried about Tidepaw. Fishpaw took her out last night and neither of them are back." Her eyes flashed with worry for her daughter, and Splashpaw seemed just as distraught. "It's almost sunhigh; surely they'd be back by now? Do you know where she could be?"

"No," he admitted, "I last saw her when she almost fainted during swim training...she was supposed to learn water moves today. When I went to fetch her from the apprentice den, I just thought she and Fishpaw were out again." Splashpaw whined, but Olivebird stared at Saltblaze accusingly.

"Saltblaze, you're the least attentive mentor I've ever met!" she exclaimed, "Splashpaw said that Spikepaw saw her go last night and it's almost sunhigh and you have no idea where your apprentice is." Saltblaze guiltily stared at his paws and sighed. "We should tell Coralspray," he meowed, and Splashpaw cocked a brow in confusion.

"We should tell Wavestar, first," she meowed, "She's got more power, she'll be able to do more." Her tail flicked once, and she turned to fulfill her task. Olivebird and Saltblaze shared a glance.

"You're a rebel, then," she breathed, "You favor Coralspray's reign."

"Don't turn me in—"

"No, no, I'm on your side," Olivebird mewed, "But that doesn't matter now. Tidepaw and Fishpaw are missing. And Shrimppaw, too," she added as an afterthought. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if he were missing for a different reason. Maybe a seal got to him." She shrugged. "It's—" She was cut off by Wavestar's call to her Clan, and she sped off to the meeting, Saltblaze hard on her heels. He noticed Coralspray wasn't on her deputy space on the rock, but Sealfern was eyeing it hungrily.

"SeaClan, it has come to my attention that three of our apprentices are missing. Tidepaw and Fishpaw are said to have left camp last night." Fernroot and Spikepaw nodded almost simultaneously. "Shrimppaw's disappearance went unnoticed, however, and no one saw him leave."

"My baby!" Hornetwhisker wailed, "Fishpaw, my son!" Baystorm comforted his mate as Puffinfur merely stared at Fernroot and growled once, a sharp, threatening sound.

"You were guarding last night," she meowed, "Why didn't you see Shrimppaw leave?" Fernroot shrugged in response, and his mate, Turtleleap, came to stand beside him. "It's your job to make sure the Clan is safe when you guard, and now my son is missing. How could you let him get himself possibly killed?"

"What a coward's son does is no concern of mine," the golden tom replied. "If he's dead, SeaClan has dropped some of its dead weight. He wouldn't have been a good warrior, and no she-cat would want such a pathetic cat with bad genes, so he can't produce new warriors. Face it, Puffinfur; your son is useless." He was met with murmurs of agreement, and Puffinfur bristled.

"He is Shrimpear's son, too," she hissed, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Not anymore," Wavestar meowed, "Puffinfur, this has been a long time coming, and I think this is the best time to do it." She cleared her throat once, and cats looked up with interest. "I, Wavestar of SeaClan, hereby exile Puffinfur for her cowardice in battle and disloyalty to her Clanmates. You shall be treated as a rogue, as you have lost the right to call yourself a warrior. I strip you of your title as a SeaClan warrior and rename you a traitor to everyone you meet." SeaClan fell into silence as Puffinfur sputtered for a moment, disbelief scrawled across her features.