Runaway [Warriors Fanfiction]

T H R E E

Another quarter-moon later, Cinderbrook found herself hissing violently as Blueleaf pressed a poultice of unfamiliar herbs to her stinging foreleg. Dawnpool sat beside her, purring softly at the blue-grey tabby's sour expression. 

"Oh, hush up," Cinderbrook mewed with a frown.

The cream she-cat twitched her whiskers. "You should see your face right now."

"It's appropriate!" she countered in mock-defense. "These herbs burn."

Blueleaf briefly glanced up from the leaves he was using to wrap her leg. "That just means they're working."

When he finished, she shook her paw. "How long will this take to heal?"

"Not long, given you don't trip over any more brambles."

"Your clumsiness astounds me." Dawnpool mewed, nudging her playfully.

Truthfully, clumsiness was no factor in Cinderbrook's mild injury. She had forced herself to walk through the thicket on purpose to give herself an excuse to visit the medicine cat den. Ever since Sedgetuft's conniving agreement with Aspenstar, she found herself unable to even speak to Hazelpaw, always assigned on separate patrols and never in the camp at the same time. But she eventually learned that the hostage had somehow fallen ill and was holed up with Blueleaf for the time being. Unable to resist, she had created an opportunity for herself to personally check up on the small apprentice.

Cinderbrook nodded at Hazelpaw's sleeping figure across the den. "Hey, how's that one doing?"

"She'll live," Blueleaf replied flatly while Dawnpool shot her a curious look.

"For how long?"

"At least until the ransom is paid." He shook his broad head, appearing positively disinterested in the subject. "We have to keep her alive, remember?"

"Yes," she muttered after realizing that she couldn't ask more without raising suspicion.

At her disheartened gaze, Dawnpool stood abruptly and padded toward the entrance of the den. "Come on, Cinderbrook. We should grab some fresh-kill before there's none left."

"Yes, let's go," she agreed numbly as she pushed herself to her paws and followed her friend back into the camp, her sore limb giving her a slight limp.

Utterly famished, Cinderbrook grabbed the plumpest rabbit she could find and tore into it with little discretion. Dawnpool opted for an average-sized mouse, taking her time to consume the meal. 

"You seem very interested in the prisoner's wellness," Dawnpool remarked between bites.

"Yeah, so?"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's not pretend that you don't have a soft spot for her."

"What if I do?" Cinderbrook asked with a mouthful of the rabbit. "I just don't think any cat deserves to be treated as inferior."

Dawnpool shook her head. "It's more than that. I think she reminds you of Flashpaw."

Cinderbrook was suddenly acutely aware of how her ears heated up, and she fought vainly to suppress a moons-old memory of she, Dawnpool, and their black-furred friend play-fighting in the forest.

"What do you mean? Hazelpaw's not nearly as energetic and talkative as he was."

The cream she-cat offered a small smile. "I just meant that you see her as another cat that needs your help."

Cinderbrook sighed. "I suppose you're not wrong."

"You don't need to feel obligated to help her, you know," Dawnpool told her, lightly ducking her head. "I don't want you getting in more trouble."

"I only feel obligated because no one else is willing to step up."

"But you're risking your own Clan standing in the process." 

"I know," Cinderbrook stated with a flick of her tail. "But I don't care."

Their conversation briefly faltered as both she-cats ate in silence. Eventually, Dawnpool spoke up again.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you're truly Aspenstar's daughter."

Cinderbrook flicked an ear. "We are pretty different, aren't we?"

"Even your mother had a different attitude." 

"So? I don't see why I need to be like my parents."

"You don't," she mewed quickly, "that's not what I was saying. I just think you'd fare better if there were more cats like you in the Clan."

The blue-gray tabby nudged her friend. "Hey, you're not so cruel."

"True, but I'm still not like you. I may not harm the prisoner, but I'm certainly not risking my own pelt for her."

"Don't blame yourself," Cinderbrook mewed. "That's still kind compared to most of this Clan."

"I suppose."

She released a long breath. "Do you ever wonder what made my father hate outsiders so much?"

"I have a theory that he must've been hurt by someone outside the Clan and it left him perpetually hostile." 

"That sounds likely, but I've never heard him speak of such a thing," Cinderbrook pawed at her rabbit, searching for any scrap of uneaten meat. "And I don't see why that would lead to unwarranted attacks on the forest families."

Dawnpool tilted her head, seemingly deep in thought. "There must be something that the Owls have that Aspenstar needs."

"I wonder what it could be."

Her friend shook her head. "I haven't the slightest clue."

As Cinderbrook stood to bury the remains of her meal, she spotted Aspenstar leaping onto a low-hanging branch of the Clan Tree. He remained there for a moment, his dark grey fur neat from recent grooming. Cinderbrook suddenly realized just how authoritative her father appeared on his perch as his yellow gaze surveyed a camp full of cats predisposed to his judgment. After several long heartbeats, he opened his mouth and released a powerful yowl. 

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Clan Tree for a meeting!"

Cinderbrook and Dawnpool made haste to bury the bones of the prey before joining the growing cluster of cats. She found herself squished between her friend and the brown pelt of Sedgetuft, who shot her a condescending glare. 

Does he know something? she thought suspiciously.

Aspenstar cleared his throat to calm the mutters of curious warriors. "I come bearing news about the Owl Family."

Cinderbrook's heart flipped in her chest. Had the Owls paid the ransom? Was Hazelpaw able to leave?

"I regret to inform you that the Owls have made a few weak offers, but they have failed to come up with the appropriate compensation for our prisoner."

Cinderbrook stifled a horrified gasp. This isn't good.

"Due to the expiration of the half-moon time limit, I now have no choice but to keep my promise and execute her to prove that LichenClan does not stand for being trifled with. It will happen tomorrow at sunrise"

Cinderbrook went rigid as her blood turned to ice. Servitude was bad enough, but now he wanted to execute her? It wasn't right. None of it was. She unsheathed her claws and scraped them against the dirt. She didn't care if she ended up banished. There was no way she was going to let this happen.