Warriors: Omen Of Fire

Chapter 17

As the sky began to turn a lighter grey, three SapphireClan warriors scooted up the side of the rock. The deputy Watershine was in the lead with Snowclaw and Talonclaw following behind. They each carried prey in their jaws, and as they reached the top of the rock they tossed it towards the EmeraldClan leader.

He had been lying down and as one of the slimy fish landed near his face he jerked his head up. Nose twitching he asked, "what's this?"

"Tawnystar demanded we bring you something to eat, seeing as you're not allowed to hunt on our territory," Watershine declared loudly.

Sleetstar sat up and sniffed the fish. Nearby Sparklekit piped up in her tiny high pitched voice.

"It smells gross!" Her mother shushed her and Snowclaw's ears folded back.

"Be grateful you have anything at all!"

Flameclaw stepped up to the tom, nose to nose. "Thank you for this meagre offering of prey. Maybe it'll make up for the prey you stole from our territory." His voice was thick with sarcasm. Snowblaze couldn't believe the hostility emanating from the SapphireClan warriors. Snowclaw narrowed his eyes, but Watershine laid a tail on his shoulders, signalling their departure.

"Good luck," was all they had to say before they left to head back to their own camp. Sleetstar looked down at the prey they had offered. He sighed and called the elders forward.

"Are you able to share this fish?"

Swiftear looked down at it pitifully and grumbled. "It's dry. Aren't fish supposed to live in water?" He pawed at it angrily, but he picked it up and brought it over to the overhang where the elders were sheltering.

The rest of the prey was rationed out. Charfur, Lizardbelly, and their kits shared a small mouse. The apprentices and the youngest warriors, Snowblaze included, shared a squished fledgling. The last scuffed up rabbit was shared between Sleetstar, Moonbeam, Cloudwhisker, and the elder warriors.

It was hardly a mouthful each between every cat, but Snowblaze savoured what he could. Who knows how long it would be before prey returned to the forest. He had noticed, unfortunately, that his sister wasn't given a share. Snowblaze took his last bite and snuck quietly over to her.

"Here Emberbreeze, it's not much, but it's all we had." He dropped the mouthful at her feet. She looked down at it gratefully and gently chewed it and swallowed.

"Thank you Snowblaze."

He ducked his head and an awkward silence followed. Snowblaze's mind raced at what to say. After what he had seen his mind was drawing a blank. He hadn't talked to her since the incident.

She was the one to break the silence. "Do you hate me?" Her yellow eyes were swimming.

"I-I don't think I could ever hate you."

"But you don't trust me," she said matter-of-factly. He looked into her eyes and knew he couldn't lie to her.

"I'm not sure if I do or not. I just don't understand what you were thinking. Were you planning something like this?"

She sighed. "For a long time I was so angry about our parents that I didn't know what to do. I couldn't sleep and I only ate to keep my strength up. I blamed Sleetstar. He was the one who had sent them away and they had trusted him. After they didn't come home I knew I couldn't trust him. Someone with that much disregard for life wasn't fit to be a leader. I couldn't just be an ordinary warrior and do nothing about the way I felt." Her white fur was spiked in agitation. "I don't know if I should tell you more. You know how I feel at least."