SplashStar's Vision - Caves, Grass, Sea and Sky - Warrior Cats Adventure

Chapter Six

Sunrises passed and the clan grew hungrier. Currentstar was reluctant to send any warriors into the gateway, and continued to send all of the patrols to the beach. Cats worried Darkclan would steal territory, as they couldn't even patrol that area. Their scent must have been getting stale in so many areas. For once, no cat wanted to go to the next gathering.

"We only share a border with Meadowclan. The other clans have some space in between our borders. If our scent gets stale somewhere else...who cares? No cat will smell it. We need to keep our scent fresh on the Meadowclan border. I don't believe we need to venture out and drown somewhere." Currentstar announced.

 Splashpaw followed his clanmates out on a border patrol, listening to their grumbles. They all seemed unhappy about all the meetings the clan was called to these days.

Spraying his scent mindlessly on the border, Splashpaw stared across it into the meadow. 

The meadow looked beautiful compared to the icy waters. Like the beach, snow heavily cloaked the green grass, as well as the sharp little pine needles above. Paw prints stretched out through the snow, leading to unknown patrols. 

"Why, what are you looking at?" Whirling around, Splashpaw saw nothing at first, but then a dark shape in the bushes. 

"N...nothing!" Splashpaw took a step back. 

"Don't run away. I'd be pleased to meet you." The voice chuckled. 

"Uh...well...I need to go...I'm on a patrol...and...I...need...need to spray my scent." Splashpaw stammered.

"Ah, the warriors have taken care of that. A kit pretending to be a warrior will be caught soon enough." The voice rasped.

"I'm not...not a kit...a kit...pretending to be a warrior. I'm an...an apprentice...apprentice." Splashpaw replied slowly.

"Oh, okay. Then I'd love to train you." The voice replied calmly. 

"Train me...what?" Splashpaw asked, confused.

"Battle."

Suddenly, a huge red tom burst from the Meadowclan bushes, and slapped a paw over Splashpaw's mouth. He dragged him deep into the bush, not making a sound.

"Don't say a word, or your throat will be slashed." He hissed into Splashpaw's ear. Splashpaw nodded slowly. 

Letting go, he sheathed his claws. Splashpaw finally got to take a good look at him when he sat up.

The tom was huge, bigger than any cat Splashpaw had seen. He was dark red, a shade lighter than dried blood. Stripes cloaked his back, just like a tiger, but red. He was muscular, with thin fur. His eyes gleamed yellow.

"Who are you?" Splashpaw asked.

"To your warriors, Redstar. To you, Meadowclan." He replied, confusing Splashpaw. 

Shuddering, Splashpaw stood to face the tom. "You are a Meadowclan warrior. You are not allowed in our territory." He growled.

The tom just smiled, not bothering to defend himself from any blows Splashpaw was about to make.

Slashing out, he left a deep gash in the tom's side. The tom howled, and kicked out, sending Splashpaw flailing through the bush.

On the sand, he fought as bravely as possible, kicking and slashing the leader. A large gouge clawed his shoulder, making him hiss in fury. Doubling back, he rolled under Redstar and scratched his belly. Remembering his training, he spun around as not to show his back. Redstar was ready, and clawed his face.

Oceanwater and Minnowegg ran from the other side of the beach, springing on the red tom. They clawed his back while Splashpaw deftly clawed at his muzzle.

Howling in fury, Redstar kicked Splashpaw away as if he weighed nothing, and shrugged off the other two warriors.

Bleeding from many gashes, he stood up, and dashed over the border. Blood marked the sand, bleeding from all four of the cats. Splashpaw was staring at his paws.

"Are you going to tell us what happened?" His mentor asked.

"I was marking near Meadowclan, and he attacked me from the bushes. He's Meadowclan's leader." Splashpaw explained, still examining his claws.

"You fought hard," was all Minnowegg could say. Splashpaw was grateful that his mom was proud. As they stepped back into the camp, the clan burst into questions.

"What happened? Did you get hurt?" Navykit asked, swarming around his paws. Aquakit didn't go near him, but her eyes were gleaming, and he knew she wanted the whole story.

"I'll explain," he said aloud to the clan. "I'll explain everything."