Warriors: 9 Lives of TERROR

Chapter thirty- I am nothing but raw power. It will make you scream and yowl.

Froststar passed Coldrose on guard duty as he slipped back into camp. "How did it go?" she asked. Like always, he couldn't read her expression or tone. Coldrose was one of the only cats who knew of his plans with Russetclaw.

"Perfectly," he replied through gritted teeth, slightly agitated about the wound on his shoulder. I shouldn't get hurt in battle. Maybe I'm not training hard enough. I will have to ask Sageweed to give me more opponents. 

That's not a problem with me. 

Right. Forgot you were there. 

Since when am I not?

When you're doing dark forest business or in Russetclaw's head or something. 

True- but you're part of the dark forest business, I discuss nearly everything with you.

Froststar didn't say anything back because he had arrived at the medicine cat den. As he entered the den, he was greeted by the strong stench of herbs. Wishfeather lifted her head from where she was sleeping in her nest. "Froststar? What are you doing here so early?" she asked, sounding surprised. "Is Mistfeather and the kits okay?"

"They're fine," Froststar said. He trotted closer to her and she slipped out of her nest, stretching. "I had a scratch on my shoulder and it re-opened while I was sleeping, I was thrashing around a lot," he lied. It was amazing, how easily a lie slipped off his tongue nowadays. Froststar saw Wishfeather nod in the dim light, but felt her tense muscles as she treated his wound. She knows something happened- but she doesn't know what. I rolled in bracken until the ShadowClan scent was off me, and licked all the blood off my claws. She'll never know what happened, but she might guess when she hears about Marshstar's death.

When she finished, Froststar thanked her with a quick nod. He felt her eyes on his back as he left. I don't like her. I wish she wasn't such a valuable member of the Clan, or else I'd kill her.

When Froststar climbed into his nest to sleep, Sageweed didn't visit him in the dark forest. Still, it felt all too soon when dawn came.

~~~~~~

"Where's Coldrose?" Froststar asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"She says she was training her apprentice Amberpaw," Wishfeather replied, who was outside drying herbs in the chilly leaf-fall sun.

"Finally! I'm done!" came Amberpaw's cheerful mew. Froststar looked over to see Amberpaw trotting out of the elder's den. The entrance to the camp rustled, and Coldrose slipped inside. Froststar frowned, and saw Wishfeather looked confused. Why would Coldrose lie about training her apprentice? He watched as she trotted over to Amberpaw and murmured something to her. Is she going to betray me? Wasn't she talking about something being dangerous?

Don't be paranoid. Coldrose isn't betraying us, she's meeting a tom at the border. 

Ah, I see. Well I don't care who it is, it just means more kits for ThunderClan.

Froststar padded over to Coldrose. "Coldrose." She turned towards him. "Do you think Amberpaw is ready for a pre-assessment?" he asked. She nodded.

"Definitely. She's mastering advanced moves perfectly. She's a very quick learner," Coldrose replied.

"Good. I will test her today, after Silverpaw and Quickpaw take their assessments. Please organize a border patrol, I'll do the hunting patrol," he said. Froststar scanned the camp, which was fully awake now that it was morning. He made sure he caught sight of every WindClan cat. He no longer tried to hide his intentions of wiping out WindClan. Froststar called Flowerbreeze, Firelily, her apprentice Maplepaw, Berryleaf the SkyClan cat, Poppyfeather, Fernclaw, and his apprentice Fiercepaw over. "Firelily, I want you to lead this hunting patrol. Hunt near the ShadowClan border, and try and stay away from Silverpaw and Quickpaw who will be having their assessments. Understood?" he asked. His warriors nodded.