Warriors: Quailsong's Path [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 11

⠀⠀A few days had passed since the battle. Thankfully, Quailpaw's wounds were healing up rather fast and Thistleleaf had told her she'd be back to training tomorrow. Quailpaw was relieved. She felt trapped in the medicine den and was itching to get out. Turtlepaw visited her a few times to check and see if she was okay. She'd also received visits from her parents, Eaglepaw, Otterpaw, Rubblepaw, and Redpaw who seemed especially worried.

⠀⠀Over the span of the few days since the battle, many more WindClan warriors had left RiverClan to be with Rabbitstar again. The remaining WindClan cats were mostly apprentices. Sagestar had been more than happy to let them stay, which surprised Quailpaw. She would've expected he'd want them out since they'd attacked. But she wasn't going to complain much. Due to Sagestar's kindness, she was able to spend more time with Turtlepaw.

⠀⠀Quailpaw moved to the entrance of the medicine cat den, just wanting to get some fresh air. As she did so, her mother, Mistcloud, stalked across the clearing, her ears flat against her head and her tail lashing behind her. Brokenwing was standing several fox-lengths away from her, his gaze fierce and bitter. Did they have an argument? Concern flickered in Quailpaw's chest. Eaglepaw emerged from the apprentices' den, his amber-green eyes troubled as he headed towards Quailpaw.

⠀⠀Quailpaw wondered what was wrong with her brother. He sat down beside her and she shifted over to make more room for him. "What happened with Mistcloud and Brokenwing?" she asked. Eaglepaw sighed and stared at his paws. "They had a pretty nasty argument," he responded.

⠀⠀Quailpaw blinked. "How bad?"

⠀⠀"So bad that Creekfall and Voletail had to move Mistcloud back. Alliumspark also tried to butt in but by the time she got there, the fight was practically over," he explained. Neither of them spoke for several heartbeats. A question was burning in Quailpaw's brain but something held her back from asking it. But there was no need. Eaglepaw answered it as if he'd read her mind. "They said...that they didn't want to be mates anymore."

⠀⠀Dread pooled into Quailpaw's body and she flattened her ears. "Great StarClan, why?" she meowed. Eaglepaw shrugged. "I have no idea, Quailpaw," he told her.

⠀⠀"Eaglepaw, come on!" Nightwhisker suddenly called across the clearing. The black and white she-cat was looking rather impatient. "You can talk to Quailpaw after training!"

⠀⠀"Fox dung!" Eaglepaw cursed under his breath. He shot an apologetic glance to Quailpaw. "I'll see you later." With that, he scampered across the RiverClan camp towards his mentor. Quailpaw watched them exit through the camp entrance and wondered where Troutpelt was. She'd be going back to her warrior training with him tomorrow.

⠀⠀Quailpaw's blue eyes drifted away from the entrance and down to her forepaws. It seemed the camp was mostly barren as many cats were on patrol, apprentices were out training, and a few others had joined Quailpaw in the medicine den from their battle injuries. Thistleleaf had gone out to collect more herbs as she was constantly using them. Though not many were injured, the injuries that were there were fatal.

⠀⠀Mistcloud had left the camp and Quailpaw had no idea where Brokenwing was. Hopefully they weren't fighting somewhere else away from camp. As the Siamese apprentice sat there pondering over the latest events she'd witnessed, she hardly noticed as another cat slipped in beside her. She jumped but relaxed when she recognized Turtlepaw. Warmth flooded her immediately.

⠀⠀The apprentice was holding a very battered-looking pike in her mouth. She dropped it at her paws. "So...I was allowed to try fishing today and I managed to catch this!" Quailpaw tried very hard not to burst out laughing. "What did you do to it?" she purred.

⠀⠀Turtlepaw shuffled her paws against the ground awkwardly. "Err...well, I'm not fit for fishing. I'm supposed to hunt rabbits and mice, you know? I ended up using my claws most the time but hey, not bad for a WindClan cat, right?"

⠀⠀Quailpaw examined the pike, seeing how torn its flesh was and how its blood soaked the grass underneath it. She couldn't hold back any longer and exploded in a fit of laughter. Turtlepaw swatted her around the ear but her green gaze was dancing with amusement. "Be grateful, fish-breath! I caught this for you!"

⠀⠀Quailpaw smirked at Turtlepaw and bared her teeth playfully. "Who are you calling 'fish-breath'? Huh, rabbit-breath?" she teased. Turtlepaw flicked her tail. "Oh, I'll get you."

⠀⠀"That is enough," came a new voice. The apprentices whipped their gazes over and froze as they spotted Thistleleaf. She'd returned with several herbs in her mouth. Her one undamaged eye glared at the two she-cats almost threateningly which was a huge surprise. Thistleleaf was usually gentle and kind.

⠀⠀She glanced over at Turtlepaw and the two held each other's gazes for many heartbeats until Turtlepaw took off towards the apprentices' den. Thistleleaf turned to Quailpaw. "Get back to your nest," she ordered, her voice muffled through the herbs.

⠀⠀Snatching up the pike, Quailpaw hurried back to her nest.

⠀⠀The next day came quickly. Quailpaw was roused the next morning by Troutpelt awaking her from her nest. Last night, Thistleleaf had allowed her to return to the apprentices' den which was a huge relief.

⠀⠀"Come on, Quailpaw," Troutpelt meowed.

⠀⠀Quailpaw scrambled to her paws, shaking scraps of moss and bracken from her pelt before following her mentor out of camp. "Redpaw and Eeltail will be joining us," Troutpelt told her.

⠀⠀"How come I never get to train with Rubblepaw and Otterpaw?" she complained. Troutpelt flicked her over the head with his tail-tip. "You have gotten to, silly. But it's nice for you to train with an older apprentice so you're prepared when facing a more experienced enemy."

⠀⠀Quailpaw wrinkled her nose. "Okay then why do you always pick Redpaw? What's wrong with Sleetpaw and Lakepaw?" she asked.

⠀⠀"You know, I'm starting to get the impression that you don't like Redpaw," Troutpelt said as they headed towards the Training Hollow.

⠀⠀"I never said that!" Quailpaw defended herself. "I think he's a great apprentice and a great friend. I just wanted a little change, that's all."

⠀⠀Troutpelt glanced over his shoulder and smirked at her. "How great do you think he is?" he asked.

⠀⠀Quailpaw frowned. "Why does that matter?"

⠀⠀"Maybe there's a reason I'm always paring you two up," Troutpelt chuckled.

⠀⠀Realization hit Quailpaw like a rock. "W-wait...you think I like Redpaw?" she asked in complete and utter shock. How could anyone even think that? She didn't spend a whole lot of time with Redpaw and certainly didn't have feelings for him. I like Turtlepaw, she thought. Wait. Did she really just say that to herself? Shame washed her ears. Did she really have feelings for a WindClan cat? And not to mention, a she-cat? Have two she-cats ever become mates before? Stop it, Quailpaw. She's just your friend.

⠀⠀Troutpelt seemed a little surprised by her question. "My mistake, I guess," he giggled. "Well anyways, we'll be there soon. Eeltail and Redpaw are waiting for us."

⠀⠀But Quailpaw could hardly focus. What was she going to do now?