Warriors: Flesh and Bone

Chapter 13

      As the two she-cats padded their way through the camp entrance, Scarlegs noticed Cricketpaw making her way towards them from the elders den. Her pale eyes brightened at the sight of the two warriors, calling towards them with a mew. Scarlegs signaled for her to follow them towards the fresh-kill pile where the two placed their prey, licking her jowls before nodding towards the young apprentice.

      "What is it, Cricketpaw? Are you alright?"

      "I'm fine Scarlegs," she blinked, a hint of apprehension in her voice. "Snowstar asked me to fetch you, is all. He's in his den now, with Suntail, Opal and Toadface." Scarlegs blinked, exchanging a confused glance with Leopardeye before nodding, flicking an ear awkwardly.

      "Er, okay; thank you, Cricketpaw. I'll head there now." Cricketpaw bowed her head before hurrying towards the apprentice den. Leopardeye flicked her tail, looking towards Snowstar's den near the half-tree.

      "What do you think that's about?"

      "I'm not sure," Scarlegs shook her pelt, taking a glance around camp. She could see Stormspirit and Nightbreeze sharing tongues near the den entrance, as well as Sparkwhisker fast asleep inside; "He must've been out on the dawn patrol," she thought to herself, wanting nothing more than to curl up and join him in snoozing the warm morning away. However, Snowstar needed her, and it seemed urgent.

      "I'll be back," Scarlegs mewed, licking her friend between the ears before bounding off towards Snowstar's den behind the half-tree. She could smell the group of cats within, blinking as she pushed through the thick wall of lichen, bowing her head in greeting at the cats who were seated there. Snowstar sat in the center of the den, surrounded by Toadface and Opal, with Suntail seated at his side. Opal looked nervous as usual, and Scarlegs noticed that Honeykit was not with her as she usually was.

      "Greetings, Scarlegs. Thank you for coming." Snowstar flicked an ear as he spoke, and the other cats gave their own mews of greeting as well.

      "I would've liked to have you on the dawn patrol this morning, Scarlegs," Suntail spoke calmly, and Scarlegs bowed her head once more towards the she-cat.

      "My apologies; I took Leopardeye out to stretch her legs, and we ended up hunting quite a bit."

      "That's alright. We have much more important matters to discuss," Snowstar interrupted, waving his large tail. "It's time we assemble a patrol to investigate Thornclan's camp."

       "Thornclan's camp, Snowstar?" Scarlegs blinked, "you mean you want to go there? How are we supposed to do that, especially after their attack?"

      Toadface grunted in agreement, flicking a shredded ear. "They're bound to be on edge, as well as on guard."

      "Perhaps," Snowstar mewed, "Opal, will you repeat what you told me earlier?"

      Opal nodded, turning her soft face towards the warriors in front of her. "Pebblestar has the camp spread out to make room for all the rogues; he's moved most of the cats deeper into the plains. The only cats who remain in Thornclan's original camp are the elders and the weak, to separate them from the stronger cats."

      "He's bound to have guards there regardless, however the chances of us getting close are much higher," Suntail murmured. "A patrol could certainly defeat a few guards."

      "Preferably, we won't have to," Snowstar grunted, "I want to avoid direct conflict as much as possible. Our true goal here is to get close enough to the cats who want to break away from Pebblestar to try and convince them to fight back. Opal believes there's enough of them to change the tide of this war."