Shattered Roots #1: The Last Leaf

Chapter 8

The patrol arrived near SparkClan's border where they found Owlpaw wrestling with the unknown cat. They clawed and bit at each other. Owlpaw was losing losing the battle. Although he knew a couple of fighting moves, the cat's movements were too fast for him to handle. It pinned Owlpaw to the ground using its claws and was about to strike him.

"Owlpaw, no!" Leafpaw called with concern in her voice. Her eyes were wide open, her body shaking. The cat stopped attacking in an instant once it saw the patrol.

Morningpaw reassured her, "It's alright, Leafpaw. We'll beat up this cat who tried to hurt our friend!" The cat wore a scared expression when it heard those words, probably due to the amount of cats present.

"Morningpaw, stop acting like a kit and grow up. Even if you've been training with me for only a moon, you should know that we are not savage felines unlike outsiders," Swiftstrike scolded.

Mistypelt stepped forward. She asked, "Who are you and what are you doing in FrostClan territory?"

The cat sat up with a grimace. Leafpaw paid attention and observed that the cat was a light gray tabby tom. He was full of battle scars and wore a damaged purple collar. 'He must have been a kittypet who stumbled upon our territory! I don't see why he'd want to kill Owlpaw,' Leafpaw concluded.

"My name is Bootsie. I, er, was a house cat, but I was abandoned by my owners. So, I decided to venture off into the woods," Bootsie started. "I was very con-"

"Stop saying useless fluff, kittypet!" Swifstrike snarled. "We want to know why you're here, not your life story. Or do you prefer getting a couple of scratches?"

"I may have lived a life of comfort but I won't stand being treated like dirt." Bootsie's tone was surprisingly stern. "I never knew that you forest cats could be so hostile and brash!"

"How dare you speak to me like that, filthy outsider? You are trespassing on our territory and you shall be treated however we deem suitable!" Before Swiftstrike spit another insult, Mistypelt shot him a disapproving look, causing him to reluctantly stop. He continued, "You still haven't answered the question. Why are you here?"

"I want to join your Clan. Ever since I was abandoned, my food ran out and I lack proper hunting skills. I'm very sorry for hurting one of your friends, I thought he was going to hurt me."

Swiftstrike scoffed, lifting his chin. "I suppose we should let Pebblestar decide his fate. Let's go back to camp. Leafpaw, help carry your friend over there who got defeated by a soft kittypet." He tilted his head, signalling the others to follow, including Bootsie. Leafpaw assisted Owlpaw to walk since he was injured during the fight.

"Are you okay?" Leafpaw asked. Her eyes were wide with worry.

"Don't worry! I-I'm fine... Can you drag a 9 moon old cat to the medicine den?"

Leafpaw stayed silent. Concern filled her eyes.

"Seriously, seriously, I'm fine! Let's change the topic if you're gonna waste your time worrying. How about... that Bootsie guy? I don't know about you hut he seems pretty sketchy." He bared his teeth at the thought of the kittypet.

Leafpaw simply shrugged. 'I don't know what his deal is but he does seem slightly suspicious,' she told herself.

————

"Molestripe? Robinpaw? Owlpaw got injured," Leafpaw called into the medicine den. Molestripe approached her and inspected Owlpaw's wounds.

"What happened to him?" Molestripe asked. "Those scars are pretty bad!"

"Got attacked by a kittypet, as embarrassing as it is," Owlpaw answered.

Molestripe wrapped Owlpaw's scars with cobwebs and applied a paste made from herbs. "This might sting a little!" The red tom winced at the pain.

"That wasn't so bad, right?" Molestripe chuckled. "Speaking of attacks, the recent attacks have been really concerning, don't you think?"

Leafpaw lifted her head with with curiosity. "Attacks?"

"Haven't you heard of them? I gotta admit this rumor is more commonly talked about among warriors but I'm surprised you haven't heard of them at all."

"What do you mean by attacks?"

"They say someone has been targeting FrostClan cats. No one has no idea who the culprit is. Sometimes the victims make it out alive but on unfortunate occasions they die. Y'know, like what happened to Runningspirit. Even my apprentice, Robinpaw, fell victim as well. Luckily he survived."

"Molestripe, stop filling their ears with gossip," Robinpaw grumbled as he entered the medicine den.

"Oh lighten up, it's an interesting case to say the least!"

"Let all cats old enough to hunt their own prey gather around the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Pebblestar announced. Cats started to come together beneath their leader. 'I should join,' Leafpaw thought. She padded to the large group of cats.

"Earlier today, we found a kittypet named Bootsie in our territory near SparkClan border. I would like to thank Leafpaw and Owlpaw for helping us bravely before we proceed." The whole Clan yowled the two apprentices' names with pride. 'This is the first time she's ever been proud of me...' Leafpaw thought with amazement.

"Moving on, Bootsie is a kittypet who needs a place to live. His twoleg owners have abandoned him and he has nothing left. I have decided to let him be FrostClan's newest member. Cats of FrostClan, do you support my decision?" Approving meows .

Swiftstrike let out a hiss of disgust. "Pebblestar, may I voice my opinion?" The spotted she-cat nodded.

"Why should we trust the words of this random outsider? Leafpaw, Owlpaw, and my patrol all saw how well Bootsie fought despite being a starving kittypet. What if he's a spy from another Clan in disguise? Owlpaw is far from a bad fighter and I know he wouldn't be easily beaten like that."

The crowd started murmuring, expressing their agreement with Swiftstrike's statement. Cats who weren't Clan-born, like Quailpaw and Robinpaw, looked offended by his words. Other cats wore worried faces while some were simply confused.

Pebblestar broke the murmurs. "Swiftstrike, I completely see where you're coming from. However, I do believe Bootsie is what he claims to be. I don't think a spy would be able to get a free kittypet collar. Being a kittypet also doesn't automatically make you a bad fighter." Swiftstrike scoffed at her response as approving yowls filled the air again.

"So it is decided. Bootsie will be the newest member of FrostClan. He will be training with us as an apprentice. As a part of Clan tradition, Bootsie, your new name shall be Birchpaw. I will assign your mentor later on after observing your training progress. For now, you will train with Leafpaw and Silverpaw. May you grow to be a loyal warrior of our Clan." Pebblestar stepped towards Birchpaw and bit his collar off. It was already heavily damaged, so it came off easily.

"Birchpaw! Birchpaw! Birchpaw!" the Clan yelled.

A/N: Robinpaw stop being rude to ur mentor  smh >:/