Warriors: Quailsong's Path [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 5

⠀⠀⠀A quarter moon went by. RiverClan patrols continued to find WindClan scent on their side of the border. Everyone was waiting tensely for another attack.
⠀⠀⠀One evening, Quailpaw had overheard Cloverheart and Sagestar discussing whether they should launch an attack on WindClan this time, in revenge for the scent markers. Cloverheart had ordered two warriors to stand guard at the WindClan border at a time just recently.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw was roused from her sleep as the impatient meow of Troutpelt reached her ears.
⠀⠀⠀"Come on, Quailpaw!" the gray tabby hissed through the den entrance as she lifted her head.
⠀⠀⠀She was due for the dawn patrol. She grumbled sleepily and rose to her paws, stretching the tension from her muscles and shaking out her pelt.
⠀⠀⠀I became an apprentice not too long ago, she thought. Why is Cloverheart already ordering me on the dawn patrol?
⠀⠀⠀She quietly stepped around her denmates. She couldn't help but feel jealous of them. Their mentors wouldn't be waking them up for a while.
⠀⠀⠀The sun was barely peaking over the horizon as Quailpaw met Troutpelt outside the apprentices' den.
⠀⠀⠀"Sorry," she mewed shamefully. Last night, she had promised herself she'd wake up extra early to impress her mentor. That plan had obviously failed.
⠀⠀⠀The anger melted from Troutpelt's gaze and he sighed. "It's all right," he purred with amusement. "How can I be mad? I pretty much did the same thing on my first dawn patrol."
⠀⠀⠀Feeling comforted, Quailpaw followed her mentor to the camp entrance where Hailclaw, Eeltail, and Redpaw were waiting. She had completely forgotten Redpaw had been told to join the dawn patrol as well.
⠀⠀⠀"So she finally woke up," Eeltail grunted moodily.
⠀⠀⠀Troutpelt's tail-tip twitched and Quailpaw felt a flash of frustration in her chest.
⠀⠀⠀"Don't tell me you never slept in as an apprentice, Eeltail," Troutpelt retorted. "We all did."
⠀⠀⠀Eeltail scoffed. "Whatever," he growled. "Let's get going."
⠀⠀⠀As the patrol set out of camp, Redpaw dropped back to walk at Quailpaw's side.
⠀⠀⠀"Don't mind Eeltail," he murmured kindly. "He's a bit of a grump in the morning."
⠀⠀⠀"Otterpaw and Pikepaw told me he's always like this," Quailpaw mewed.
⠀⠀⠀"He can be," Redpaw admitted. "He's my mentor, though, so I spend a lot of time around him. He has some soft spots."
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw thought about what Redpaw had said. Did that mean Thistleleaf, who never spoke, had moments where she could never shut her muzzle? She flung that thought away. There was no way in the name of StarClan that Thistleleaf had ever held a conversation. Or had she...? I guess everything's different than it first appears, she thought.
⠀⠀⠀They emerged from the trees and arrived onto the shore of the river. Quailpaw remembered hunting here for the first time a few days after becoming an apprentice. It had been a difficult task and she certainly needed to work on it. If she was going to be a true RiverClan warrior, the first thing she needed to be able to do was catch fish. Perhaps she'd ask Troutpelt to take her out fishing later.
⠀⠀⠀They continued walking until the familiar rabbit-scent of WindClan reached her nostrils. She watched as Eeltail and Hailclaw approached the border and left their scents.
⠀⠀⠀"Do you smell any WindClan?" Troutpelt asked cautiously. His nose twitched.
⠀⠀⠀Hailclaw lowered his muzzle to the ground and drew in the scents. He lifted his head again and shook it. "Surprisingly, it's stale," he replied. "Maybe WindClan has finally gotten tired of messing with us. Maybe Rabbitstar finally accepted that we didn't kill Icepaw."
⠀⠀⠀"No, I don't think that's it," Eeltail meowed darkly. "They're probably planning another attack. I think they want to catch us off-guard. We better report this to Sagestar."
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw felt the fur along her spine bristle. It was as if someone was...watching her. She looked over her shoulder, her heart beating faster. She could see nothing but the dark undergrowth behind her. But there seemed to be another scent...
⠀⠀⠀"Is everything okay?" Redpaw mewed.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw looked over at him and nodded, trying to flatten her bristling pelt. "J-just thought I smelled something," she told him.
⠀⠀⠀Troutpelt seemed to notice something was wrong, too. He lifted his muzzle and sniffed carefully. "There's another cat," he murmured.
⠀⠀⠀Hailclaw and Eeltail looked over curiously.
⠀⠀⠀"Another cat?" Hailclaw repeated questioningly.
⠀⠀⠀The bushes rustled and a tom with a long, white-blonde pelt stepped out. He blinked a mysterious set of pale gray eyes at them.
⠀⠀⠀Eeltail hissed and leapt forward, tackling the stranger to the ground and pinning him down by the chest. Eeltail dug his claws into the tom's fur.
⠀⠀⠀"Who are you?!" Eeltail demanded angrily.
⠀⠀⠀"Not trying to cause any harm," the strange tom replied. He twisted himself over and freed himself of Eeltail's grasp. He shook out his sleek pelt. He gave the RiverClan patrol a bit of an offended look.
⠀⠀⠀"You're in RiverClan territory," Troutpelt growled. "So get off."
⠀⠀⠀The tom sniffed. "I've seemed to touch a nerve," he rumbled. "Can't a rogue simply travel in peace?"
⠀⠀⠀"Not in our territory you can't!" Hailclaw retaliated. He unsheathed his claws.
⠀⠀⠀"I've been hanging around here for quite some time, actually," the rogue said. "I'm surprised you didn't catch me earlier." He paused. "My name is Lucius, by the way."
⠀⠀⠀Hailclaw, Eeltail, and Troutpelt all exchanged glances. Quailpaw could see something flash in each of their gazes and turned to Redpaw. The dark ginger tabby apprentice was looking extremely uncomfortable.
⠀⠀⠀"Lucius, we'd like to take you back to camp with us," Eeltail meowed. Suspicion was lighting the silver warrior's gaze.
⠀⠀⠀Then Quailpaw understood. They think this cat murdered Icepaw, she thought. The RiverClan warriors and even Ashstar had said a rogue very well could've killed the WindClan apprentice.
⠀⠀⠀"Why do you want me to do that?" Lucius asked.
⠀⠀⠀"Our leader would like to know about you," Hailclaw said. "Don't worry, it won't be long."
⠀⠀⠀Lucius seemed to hesitate. He stayed quiet for several heartbeats before giving in, sighing. "Oh, alright," he meowed. "But it better be quick."
⠀⠀⠀"It will," Troutpelt assured him.

⠀⠀⠀When they arrived in camp, surprised glances met them. Eaglepaw, Otterpaw, Pikepaw, and Rubblepaw had been practicing battle moves and broke apart when the dawn patrol entered.
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar leapt down from the rock in the center of camp and met the patrol. "Who is this cat?" he asked, eyeing Lucius suspiciously.
⠀⠀⠀"Can we talk in private?" Eeltail asked. "This is important."
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar met Eeltail's gaze and blinked. "Okay," he meowed. He turned to Hailclaw and Troutpelt. "Keep watch of this tom. Eeltail and I will be right back." The two toms headed for the leader's den and disappeared inside.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw crossed the clearing and sat with Otterpaw and Rubblepaw, while Pikepaw and Eaglepaw settled not too far away.
⠀⠀⠀"What's going on?" Otterpaw murmured anxiously.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw swallowed hard. "You'll see," she replied. She wanted to explain to her friend why Lucius was in the camp, but she felt it wasn't her place to do so.
⠀⠀⠀Redpaw padded towards them and sat down, curling his tail over his forepaws and fixing his gaze on the grass underneath. He still looked quite uncomfortable.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw suddenly had a flashback to the night her, Otterpaw, and Rubblepaw had snuck out of camp when Redpaw had found them. She remembered the dazed look that had come into his eyes when she'd asked him who he thought killed Icepaw. He seemed to know something about the WindClan apprentice's death that he wasn't saying.
⠀⠀⠀Did Redpaw kill Icepaw? Quailpaw thought, horrified. She pushed that thought away immediately after. Why would Redpaw, one of the sweetest, gentlest cats in RiverClan, kill another cat for no reason at all?
⠀⠀⠀Still, that didn't explain the discomfort he seemed to show every time Icepaw was mentioned.
⠀⠀⠀Finally, Eeltail and Sagestar emerged from the leader's den. Sagestar leapt up onto the rock. The whole Clan gathered immediately (except for those who were out of camp).
⠀⠀⠀"Eeltail has explained to me that this rogue named Lucius has been lurking around our territory for a while," the RiverClan leader begun. "He tells me he thinks he might have something to do with Icepaw's death."
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar looked down at the white-blonde rogue. "Lucius," he meowed. "Please step forward."
⠀⠀⠀Lucius's silver gaze was completely shocked as he walked towards the stone, staring up at the black tom. "Who is Icepaw?" he asked.
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar flicked his tail. "How long have you been around here?" he asked.
⠀⠀⠀Lucius didn't answer for a few heartbeats. "I'd like to say six moons," he meowed. "Why?"
⠀⠀⠀"Did you ever come across any young toms on the moorland?" Sagestar asked again, his claws unsheathing and sheathing against the stone.
⠀⠀⠀Lucius bared his teeth. "Is this Icepaw you're referring to?" he growled. "I haven't killed anyone! I've just been trying to find a good place to settle and it's taking a while."
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar flattened his ears against his head. "I don't want to go around blaming random cats for Icepaw's murder," he said, "but I'd rather it be you than one of my warriors." He jumped down from the rock and faced the long-furred tom.
⠀⠀⠀Lucius peeled his lips back into a snarl, revealing a set of sharp teeth. "I swear on my life, I've never, ever killed a single cat," he retorted. "Especially not a young cat."
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar held the rogue's gaze for quite some time.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw could feel Otterpaw and Rubblepaw tensing beside her. She herself was trembling a little bit. Was Lucius lying? Did he really kill Icepaw? Would the mystery finally be solved? Would WindClan apologize and forget about the whole thing?
⠀⠀⠀Lucius backed away from the leader, the snarl on his muzzle fading and the rage dying from his distinctive silver eyes. He stepped back a few paces. "I'm not going to fight with you," he meowed calmly. "I haven't done anything wrong. Well, except for walking around on your territory. I apologize dearly for that. I will go somewhere else. But I promise, I don't know who killed this young tom. It certainly wasn't me or anyone I've met."
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar's shoulders slumped. He closed his eyes and turned away from Lucius. "Alright, I believe you," he meowed, opening his eyes again. He glanced at the rogue. "You may leave now. Creekfall, Frostfoot, escort him, please."
⠀⠀⠀"I can see myself off," Lucius grunted.
⠀⠀⠀"I don't care," Sagestar replied. "Creekfall and Frostfoot will be assisting you anyways."
⠀⠀⠀The two she-cats padded towards the long-furred tom. Lucius flashed one last glare at the RiverClan leader before turning and following Frostfoot and Creekfall out of camp.
⠀⠀⠀Just as they were leaving, a yowl of surprise came from Thistleleaf who had stuck her head out of her den to watch. Redpaw jumped slightly and scrambled to his paws.
⠀⠀⠀Sagestar looked over at the medicine cat, shock in his eyes. "What is it?" he asked in panic.
⠀⠀⠀Thistleleaf stepped out of her den, swishing her fluffy gray tail upwards.
⠀⠀⠀Quailpaw followed to where the she-cat was pointing, her gaze traveling towards the sky. Her heart lurched in her chest when she saw a cloud of smoke rising in the distance.
⠀⠀⠀"That's coming from WindClan!" Cloverheart yowled.