Warrior Cats: Rainfall

Chapter Twelve

   Sootpelt watched Ashfrost's kits frolic around with disgust. The admiration that Ashfrost showed to her kits—and which was returned to her—was unfathomable to Sootpelt. A true warrior had no time for kits. Especially Sootpelt. He had plans to escalate in only a certain amount of time.

   Sootpelt trotted up to Ambersong and requested to lead the dawn patrol. She inclined her head and called out the rest of the patrol. Rainfall, Scorpionfang, Fernpaw, and Ratpaw. 

   "That's a large patrol," Sootpelt commented neutrally.

   "Because I want you to bring back extra prey. The pile is low and now we have two queens. Don't falter under my order. Bring back plenty."

   "Alright," he agreed and joined the patrol at the entrance and led them into the forest.

   "Catch as much as you can!" He called back. "The pile is low and needs to be stocked."

   He assigned the patrol on the area in which they should hunt and he then went on his own. 

   His senses tingled as the presence of two mice came apparent to him. Sootpelt crept forward carefully as he followed the scent. When he came within view, the warrior twitched his whiskers in amusement at the two young mice. Sootpelt adjusted his position and pounced, conveniently able to crush both of them with each paw. 

   He picked up the limp bodies of prey and dug a shallow hole to drop them in. He then moved on to catch more prey. The more loyal he acted, the more loyal he'd be seen as. Sootpelt had to take every opportunity he could.

   When the patrol met back up, it turned out everyone had been waiting on Sootpelt for a while. The warrior had had to go back and forth several times to transfer all eleven pieces of prey he caught. He'd have to do so again to take the prey back to camp. With a quick apology, he observed the other catches. Rainfall had caught four; two mice, a blackbird, and a shrew. Fernpaw caught two mice. Ratpaw got his paws on three catches as well; a finch, a thrush, and a squirrel. Scorpionfang had caught three; one mouse, a vole, and a bird that Sootpelt oddly remembered seeing at Twolegplaces very frequently.

   "What is that?" Sootpelt poked the Twolegplace bird with an extended claw.

   "It's a pigeon," Scorpionfang shrugged. "We saw them when we gathered remnants of CloudClan in the Twolegplace. Haven't seen any around here before."

   "Odd," Sootpelt commented. "A migration?"

   Ratpaw flicked his tail, "How could it be a migration if they've never migrated here before?"

   Fernpaw batted his brother gently, "Maybe their former migration place became unfit for settlement! You should use your brain more often."

   "Do not quarrel," Sootpelt growled as he cut off Ratpaw's incoming retort. "We have to get back so I can train my apprentice."

   "Aspenpaw? She's so bossy!" Ratpaw sniffed. "Doesn't she annoy you?"

   "Often," Sootpaw twitched his whiskers in amusement before he stood up. "Let's get the prey back to camp."

   "Stonestar?"

   "Sootpelt, come in."

   Sootpelt padded into the leader's den with the pigeon in his jaws. He dropped it at the gray leader's feet. 

   "Scorpionfang caught this during the patrol today, we agreed that we'd bring it to your notice."

   "A pigeon? Out here?" Stonestar sniffed it. "That's unusual."

   "I was thinking what if there was a new threat in a previous migration path, then they transferred here?"

   Stonestar's nose wrinkled, "Come, smell this."

  Hesitantly, Sootpelt came forward and brought his nose to the freshly-caught pigeon. The strong scent of sickness wafted into his nose and he snapped his head back up. 

   "What is that!?" Sootpelt snarled in disgust. "Why does it smell so bad?"

   "Don't be a mouse-brain," Stonestar scoffed. "It's clearly infected with something. Throw it out, quick."

   "Sure thing, Stonestar," Sootpelt picked up the pigeon by its wing and made his way out of LightningClan territory and towards Shadow's Gorge.

   By the time he made it to the deep ravine, Sootpelt gingerly dropped the bird and watched it fall with amusement. He was earning their respect, and quicker than he presumed. 

   Sootpelt chuckled softly to himself. His plan would take one more major step. The night before the full moon.