Burrfleck's Demise

Chapter 5

After Willowpaw's lecture, Burrpaw felt terrible. It had happened the night before, yet his sister was still being very cold towards him, nearly refusing to look him in the eye. Had he really been that harsh? Bitterness rose in his chest and he let out a huff. No, it wasn't his fault! Dancingleaf had been trailing after him like a kit ever since he became an apprentice! Wasn't he allowed to have three seconds without his father looking over his shoulder? Then, guilt settled in Burrpaw's chest again. Dancingleaf was only trying to be a good father. After all, their mother had died giving birth to himself and Willowpaw. He just wanted to make sure he was safe and doing well. Shaking his head, Burrpaw slipped out of camp, his paws gliding across the grass underpaw as he snaked through the tall stalks of heather and moved towards the hills.

The tabby apprentice made quick work of the distance between the camp and The Sky Stone, which had intrigued him ever since his territory tour when he was first made an apprentice. He sat before it, tracing all the cracks and crevices with his eyes. "Oh, Sky Stone..." He murmured, "What stories have you to tell?"

Suddenly, the sound of rustling heather behind him made him stiffen. Burrpaw turned his head, preparing for an enemy to leap out at him and attack, but he quickly relaxed when he recognized the snowy white pelt of Frostpaw emerge from the stalks. She stared at him with wide, innocent eyes for only a minute, before padding over to sit by him. "I'm sorry if I frightened you," she said apologetically, smiling bashfully. "You just looked sad, then you left, so... I thought I'd follow you. You don't need to tell me what's up... Just, sometimes, when I'm sad, it's nice to have a bit of quiet company."

"Thanks," Burrpaw murmured quietly, looking away from the older apprentice. He was silent for a minute, then spoke again without looking at her. "You're becoming a warrior soon, right? When's your assessment?"

Frostpaw looked like she wanted to get excited and tell him all about it, but she quickly thought better of doing so and relaxed her muscles. Strange cat. "Well," She began slowly, "Canaryspark says that I'm going to have my hunters' assessment tomorrow at sunrise, and then my mock fight at sunhigh with Stormpaw. After that, if I pass, she'll tell Wrenstar that I'm ready to become a warrior." She spoke calmly, but the sparkle in her eye said otherwise. Burrpaw's lips turned up into a smile for a second before he looked away, straightening up.

"That's good," He replied, "I'm excited for you, Frostpaw."

"Anyway...." Frostpaw trailed off, "I hate to pry, but... What is wrong with you right now? I mean, of course, you don't need to share, but I just think that when you're upset it's good to talk to someone and-"

"Hey," Burrpaw soothed, resting his tail on her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. It's fine. It's just... I argued with Willowpaw last night." he let out a long sigh before continuing. "It wasn't like our normal arguments. It's just... Dancingleaf has been following me around ever since I became an apprentice. It's kind of embarassing. And, I know, I know... He's my father, he's just trying to look out for me, all that stuff. But I've told him before I don't like it when he springs up out of nowhere and just starts trying to talk to me. I've told him it bothers me, yet he does it anyway. Well... Yesterday, I snapped at him again, and Willowpaw didn't like that. She yelled at me, and hit me, and..." He shook his head and looked away from his friend, who just stared at him with a soft gaze.

"Oh, Burrpaw," She murmured, "I was there, I saw what you said to Dancingleaf. It might have been harsh then, but when Willowpaw, Stormpaw and I went to go collect materials to patch up the den, she told me something you probably don't know she even said. She told me that she didn't want to snap at you like that, and when she hit you, she didn't even know what she was doing... But she just got so mad when she saw you treating Dancingleaf like that. You know how your sister is. She won't apologize to you unless you apologize to her first and start trying to make a difference. She said she wasn't gonna stop being mad at you until you make up with your dad, even if she doesn't want to. She told me she wants you to learn."

Burrpaw pondered Frostpaw's speech for a minute, scuffing the dirt with a forepaw. "Well..." He grumbled, "Maybe... maybe I'm not ready to talk to my dad yet. Maybe I'm not ready to confront him about everything. Because it isn't just that he runs after me all the time and is constantly asking me what's going on my life. He's just... He's so... He pretends like everything's okay. He hasn't said a word about our mom to Willowpaw and I, even when we ask. He just tells us that she died while she gave birth to us and she was a very noble cat. But that isn't how it's supposed to work... is it? Why doesn't he tell us stories about her, or get reminded of her when he sees something? He just acts like he erased her from his life and I don't know why. He's so secretive when it comes to my mom."

Frostpaw stared at him for a minute, as if she didn't know what to say. "Alright," She started, "L-let's just go... Let's go hunting or something. I don't think Wrenstar would want us to come back empty-pawed after being gone so long." Frostpaw rose up and began to bound down the hill towards the RiverClan border. Frustration bubbled up inside Burrpaw. Why was everyone so uneasy whenever his mother was mentioned? Even Frostpaw changed the subject on him and ran off like a mouse! Nevertheless, he rose to his paws as well, trotting down the slope after his friend.

Frostpaw led the way towards the RiverClan border, heading towards a spot that was rather known for its thick and lush undergrowth, good for finding mice during leaf-bare but not so good for running like most WindClan cats preferred to do. Suddenly, Frostpaw froze in her tracks, causing Burrpaw to nearly bump into her. "Hey! What did you stop for-"

"Shhh!" Frostpaw hissed through clenched teeth, stalking forward through the thick undergrowth. Burrpaw moved in beside her and stretched his neck to see what Frostpaw was freaking out about. What on earth could be over there?

Suddenly, the apprentice's eyes widened at the sight of five RiverClan warriors, setting scent markers on WindClan's side of the border.

"Those rats!" Frostpaw snarled, whipping around and barging past Burrpaw. "We have to go tell Wrenstar immediately! Let's go!"

Burrpaw hesitated for a minute before hurrying after Frostpaw towards the WindClan camp. What did RiverClan need that land for? They had plenty of territory already to hunt in!

Oh well