Frostwing's Decision--On Hold

Chapter 5: Remember

"Until you receive your warrior name, you will be Frostpaw."

Yes! I was so excited to be an apprentice, a warrior in training. Plus, Silverpaw, Brindlepaw, and Tigerpaw were joining me. Oh, and of course, Blizzardpaw. I was still stuck with him.

"Congratulations, Frostpaw! And you too, petalpaw!!"

Brindlepaw's voice brought me back to the present.

"Same to you, Brindlepaw. Great Starclan! It's good to be out of that nursery! I thought we'd never get out of that stuffy place."

"Yeah, I know. Say, where's Tigerpaw? He was only just here a minute ago. No doubt he's sneaked off with Stonepaw."

I viewed the mass of cats surrounding us. Sure enough, there he was, talking away with Stonepaw, as Blizzardpaw stood idly by smiling proudly at everone around him. When he noticed me looking at him, he smiled even bigger, as if becoming an apprentice was an amazing feat of bravery. Some cats...

I turned back to Brindlepaw, about to point her brother out, when I noticed over her shoulder Cloudblaze, my new mentor. He crept quietly off, constantly looking back to make sure no one was following him. Then, he leapt into the shadows and disappeared. Odd...

"Your brother is such a crazy furball, you know. He does the wackiest things," Brindlepaw commented on spotting Tigerpaw. I hadn't even heard her, so when she looked at me for my assent, I stupidly blurted out, "What?"

Brindlepaw rolled her eyes jokefully. "Honestly, Frostpaw. Have you been listening to a word I've said?"

"Sorry, I was, uh... watching someone else."

Brindlepaw followed my gaze to the crowd of toms.

"Oh, I see," was her only answer. I could tell she was holding back a smile. I knew exactly what she was thinking, and I didn't want to hear what she was about to say next. I abruptly answered her unasked question. 

"No, I do not like him! I've hated him since we 'met', Brindlepaw! His behavior makes me want to hurl." 

Brindlepaw looked at me curiously, then meowed softly,"Actually, I was about to comment o-" 

"Brindlepaw! Where are you?" 

As Tigerpaw came darting through the crowd, I crept quietly towards my new bed in the apprentices' den. I could hardly keep my eyes open as I flopped down onto one of the fresh nests, welcoming the sweet black wave that washed over me...

Darkness. It covered everything, swirling under my unseen paws. Slowly, the strange, empty expanse ahead of me changed to a place of light, and of birch trees bending over a large river. An eerily familiar scene flashed before my eyes: the river flowing through bank reeds, past a pale, bleeding lump of fur, washing away streaks if silky red. Before I could investigate, the scenery shifted once again. Now a soft colored, white cat tended a small tom, pressing a poultice onto a big gash in his side. She finished, and he quickly ran back towards the battlefield.

Out of nowhere, a massive tabby came running and rammed his huge body into her side, slamming her against a nearby rock. I could almost feel a sharp jolt of pain on my side; I wanted to scream, but no words came out. The cat strode slowly toward the place where she lay, unmoving. I felt as if I should know him, but I had never seen him in my life. Just before I darted forward to do something, her eyes met mine. She watched me with a clear green gaze, calm and steady; she was almost smiling. That face made me stop mid run. So peaceful, so quiet, and yet bursting with confidence...  

Her attacker pounced, biting her neck, and ripping away large tufts of fur.  

"No!" were the last words I shouted before the image disappeared. I was too late... 

* * * * 

A small patch of dawn light filtered through the holes in the den ceiling. Hollystar had meant to organize a proper patrol for the repatching of several dens, but a couple various warriors had reported a couple foxes lately, and the clan leader reassigned the renovating patrol for this morning.

And I was in it. I hadn't been apprenticed for more than a week before the rain season hit; Stonepaw, Brindlepaw, and I already had this patching business down to a science. But experience doesn't generate excitement. Star clan knew patching tents was the worst duty an apprentice could have. Beside checking the elders for ticks of course.

"Frostpaw! We're running out of sticks. Wanna come get some with me?"  

Rockpaw, a recently apprenticed tom, walked away from his place by the apprentice den. Honestly, the stick pile was reasonably high. But the older apprentices had learned fairly quickly that Rockpaw had a horrible temper when he didn't get his way. Not that I knew he was dying to go collect sticks with me, but it was best to let him have his way.  

"Um, yeah, I guess..." I answered exasperatedly. Not that he could tell of course; Rockpaw probably wouldn't know a refusal if it sat up and bit him. Before I could finish the  sentence, the energetic young tom bounded up the path to the camp exit and into the woods. I followed half joyfully, feeling the excitement of running begin to course through my swift paws. Soon I left Rockpaw behind as I leaped over fallen trees, raced past towering bushes, enjoying the crisp leaf fall air rippling through my clumped, damp fur. This past green leaf had been a hot season indeed, and any moving wave of air was a welcome one.

I dodged past a tall rock, as if to block out Rockpaw's griping voice. I came to a skidding halt when I heard a raspy voice hissing behind a group of trees just a few tail-lengths ahead of me. Ducking underneath a rather bulbous bush, I strained to catch a few of the words spoken too loudly.

"...if we want to repay them. Unless you have a better plan, mange-pelt. I haven't heard a peep from you but complaints. If you accomplished as much as you mumble, this whole mess would be over already. But you just can't seem to do a single thing I tell you. One cat, I said. Just take care of one cat, and we could go on with the plan. And yet, you can't even stand to be around him! Are considering giving up, coward?"

The other cat retorted desperately, "You said there wouldn't be any problems. You told me no one would find out. And just because you slipped up, now you're making me clean up your mess! Why don't you do it? You seem brazen enough."

The first speaker hissed through tightly clenched teeth. I thought for a second that he might explode, and I waited for the pop, but the hiss turned quickly into laughter dripping with malice. "No, but I certainly won't run away from a job with my tail between my legs. And why won't you kill him, mmm? Too scared? You told me from the start how eager you were for that cat to die. But you won't sacrifice one life so that plan can stay in the dark corners where it belongs?"

"This is different, Jadefur! He's a clanmate, and he's so young. And..." the second speaker trailed off briefly, as if half giving in to the first cat's demands. "How would I kill him anyway? It would be anything but inconspicuous if I took him with the other mentors watching. Even if I did manage to drag him on some hunt or such, well... he's just too smart for that."

The other cat's voice started to drift into the distance as he walked away. "Just make sure its done before we meet again. And remember, this is your revenge, not mine."

Before those last words had a chance to get out, I started making my exit first. Unfortunately, there a was a small twig in my way, one of those sticks that makes a really big snap. I cursed inwardly, backing into a thornbush as the tom came straight towards my hiding place. Suddenly, a shrill scream froze the sweltering air, and the cat turned, sniffed the air, and bounded in the direction of the noise. Breathing a sigh of relief, I ripped myself from the thorn bush, tearing out several clumps of fur. Great. If I don't get asked what happened, I'm a rabbit. I knew I should've run the instant I heard voices; whatever they had to say wasn't my business.

Then I smelled it too. That reek that I'd smelled several times during recent border patrols: fox. Another shout, this time definitely a tom's, sliced through the air, and I sprang past the tall oak trees and toward the commotion. But a thought kept nagging me at the back of my mind. Before the tom ran into the trees, I had caught a glimpse of an unmistakably white tail.