Heartstar's rise : Book one

Ch. 37

Heartpaw lunged, his paws extended, his eyes locked on his opponent. He imagined a Thunderclan cat and with a ferocious growl, he dodged sideways just in time as Pinestar threw out his front paw. He twisted around and grabbed Pinestar's tail in his mouth and yanked. Pinestar almost yelped but kept his mouth closed. Heartpaw saw Pinestar's momentary lost of balance and jumped onto Pinestar. Pinestar fell the the floor and Heartpaw pinned his back legs to the ground and bit into Pinestar's ear. Pinestar threw him off with a great heave and a harrumph and Heartpaw rolled to the ground. Pinestar then leapt at him but Heartpaw quickly slid sideways and raked his sheathed paws on Pinestar's side. Pinestar landed on the ground, panting heavily, his eyes looked tired.

            "Good, that's all for now," Pinestar said. With a suppressed sigh, he flicked his tail. "You can go." Heartpaw nodded and slipped off. He was glad to be let off early. He probably did exceptionally well. The ground was cold and the air stiff. Heartpaw felt the cold wind on his pelt and relished it happily, he was sweating and hot from the fight. Leaf bare was arriving in a moon and a half but it already seemed like leaf-bare. Most trees had already lost all their leaves and Heartpaw sometimes awoke to see the grass covered in frost. He padded through the quiet and cold forest, listening for prey. He loved hunting. It gave him a purpose and something to focus on. It also took his mind off Ivypaw. Ivypaw, ugh, why did he have to always think about her? Suddenly, he snapped his head up. He heard a small scuffling. A mouse. He better not miss it. The Clan was low on food although nobody said it or seemed to mind. Crouching, Heartpaw crawled towards the noise. He spotted a small mouse, scuttling around the bottom of a tree. Its paws disturbed the leaves which made it easy to hear. He grinned to himself. Then, quickly, he snapped forward and caught the mouse in his jaw. With a quick bite, he killed it. He buried it quickly and continued on his way, thanking Starclan silently. Heartpaw felt a shiver run down his spine as a strong smell wafted to his nose. He knew he was near the Carrionplace. Nobody had talked about it since Heartpaw was a kit and Pinestar had never mentioned it to him but he knew what it was. He knew it was a home to many rats. Which were prey but dangerous prey. Curious, he walked cautiously towards the smell. He peered through some trees and spotted a large metal wall, eaten by rust. There were many gaps which would let a cat slip through into the home of the rats. Heartpaw's whiskers twitched, he could hear the loud squeaking of rats. Food. Big fat food. 

             "Tempting isn't it?" came a voice. Heartpaw almost jumped. He looked up. On the wall, balancing cautiously was a large light grey cat. He grinned. 

             "Who are you?" Heartpaw said, lowering himself, preparing for attacking. 

            "I believe I am what you would call a loner, or a rogue," purred the cat. He stood menacingly and Heartpaw felt a shiver of fear. 

            "What do you want?" asked Heartpaw. 

            "Nothing," shrugged the cat. "But I know what you want. You want to feed your Clan. Already running out of food and it isn't even winter yet." 

            "Winter?" repeated Heartpaw, confused. 

            "Yes," answered the cat. "Winter. Or leaf-bare. Ha. What a stupid name."  

             "Oh...," Heartpaw frowned. 

             "Yes oh. Now, do you want me to help you or not?" asked the cat. 

            "I don't need help," replied Heartpaw. 

             "Really?" the grey cat said, whiskers twitching in slight amusement and disbelief. 

            "Yeah, I just caught a mouse," Heartpaw announced. 

            "Oh a mouse eh. So will this mouse, feed your whole Clan?" said the grey cat. 

             "No...but," Heartpaw said, frowning. His confusion was growing by the second. Who was this loner?

             "Come, I know how to hunt rats," said the grey cat and jumped to the other side of the fence. Heartpaw listened and waited. The cat didn't reappear. He should just go back to camp. But instead, pricking with curiosity, he crawled under the fence and into the Carrionplace.