Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sparrowstripe crouched at the foot of the warriors' den, watching the rain fall down. Beside him, Ravenheart was huddled, her eyes shut. Sparrowstripe took another bite from the shrew under his paw; it was tasteless. He looked across the clearing to where Shadepaw was talking to Blackpaw. Whatever they were talking about, it looked important.

He saw Emberpaw sitting by herself in front of the nursery, staring out across the clearing. Her eyes scored the shrew at his paws but never reached his eyes. He grunted and finished the shrew in two bites, turning on his side in his nest and shutting his eyes.

Sleep came more easily to him than he would've expected. When he woke next, Adderstrike was standing over him, his puffy tail flicking. "You're leading a hunting patrol, okay?"

"Got it," Sparrowstripe mewed, yawning.

He stood and stretched, moving across the camp to where Stonepaw and Birdpaw were standing frigidly. Emberpaw sat near them, and Mothshadow was shivering. Sparrowstripe tasted the air as he padded over. It was definitely cold. He nodded curtly to Mothshadow as he passed and led the way from the camp.

Frost coated the sparse grass below the pines. Sparrowstripe felt an icy breeze and shuddered with the cold as he padded toward a clearing and sat.

"Okay, I'll take Emberpaw and Stonepaw, and you can take Birdpaw," Mothshadow meowed to him.

"Okay Mothshadow, you can hunt near the marsh, and I'll go hunt in the pines." Sparrowstripe flicked his ear and scented the pines. Not tasting anything but pine sap, he stood and shivered again against the cold.

Stonepaw and Emberpaw followed after Mothshadow, and Birdpaw looked over at Sparrowstripe expectantly. He padded into the trees, glancing over at Birdpaw. "Do you want to split up?"

"Sure," Birdpaw meowed as she pranced around, kicking up pine needles. Sparrowstripe was determined to keep his patience, but she was growling and stalking a flimsy branch off of a tree. Sparrowstripe rolled his eyes and mewed, "Let's try to hunt the prey, not the trees."

Birdpaw laughed as if he was joking. She skittered off into the trees, leaving him alone to hunt as he pleased.

After he'd caught two mice, he heard a shriek. He lifted his head from the ground, his ears perked.

"Birdpaw," he meowed. There was no response, and his paws itched to find the apprentice. He darted through the trees, his pelt thrown by the wind.

He heard laughter and slowed down. Breaking out of the trees, his paws hit solid, frozen ground. The marsh sat before him, iced over. Stonepaw and Birdpaw were skidding over the ice, light on their paws. Mothshadow was also on the ice, looking amused as she stared through the cold surface. Emberpaw sat on the bank, playing with a small pebble in her paw.

"We're supposed to be hunting," Sparrowstripe meowed, not amused.

"Come on, they've got to have a little fun before their apprenticeship is over!" Mothshadow stood stiffly on the ice, hostility flashing in her eyes. "Besides, it's not always that the marsh is so frozen."

"The ice is thin," Sparrowstripe corrected her. "Birdpaw, c'mon, let's go back to hunting."

Birdpaw let out a whine as she crossed the ice, moving back to the bank. Stonepaw chased after her and leapt on top of her. The two of them rolled and tussled in a pile, laughing, completely ignoring what Sparrowstripe had told them.

Suddenly, the two cats fell through the ice. The water thrashed above them, but Sparrowstripe was on his paws immediately to help them.

Mothshadow pelted to his side, and Emberpaw crossed the ice, light on her paws. "I know how to swim; I can help them."