The Whispering Storm || A Warrior Cats Fanfiction

| chapter sixteen

Almost everyone shares one flaw in common, and that's saying whatever's on our mind before we think it through. Depending on their personality, others may have an easier time controlling that. Others, like me, struggle with that. Given a situation that we didn't prepare for or happens out of the blue and cause us to ignore our mind. We tend to say whatever comes to mind, and if it was supposed to be a secret or something best kept hidden, you find yourself regretting it.

Perhaps this is just human instinct. Saying what comes to mind is easy, it doesn't require much thought, but we all know there are times when we need to keep our mouths shut. When we speak up before we can understand the words, we all know that feeling of dread or confidence. If it's dread we feel, do we have enough strength to throw our pride on the ground and say we didn't mean it? 

Is there a way to stop ourselves from saying what comes to mind before we can understand what we're about to say?

X X X

"Entering CinderClan's territory and sneaking through the trees has got to be the most mousebrained idea and plan I've ever followed," Swiftbranch declared, gripping the tree branch underneath his claws. Mothpaw stayed at the ground, her eyes trailing up the trunk of the tree, new scratches painted its surface, showing her the struggles of climbing. Deerleaf was hanging on by both of her front paws while her back legs waved wildly in a poor attempt to grab the tree. Frostlight and Olivepaw kept watch, occasionally glancing over at their progress.

"Did I mention that CinderClan is a tree-loving Clan?" Swiftbranch repeated, and the apprentices lowered their ears in annoyance. Hiding his worry behind sarcastic remarks and pointing out all the flaws to Deerleaf's plan, Mothpaw saw a small resemblance with Olivepaw. Cautiously, the cream warrior crawled over to the spotted she-cat and extended a shaking paw. With one paw, the she-cat swung herself up, using his paw as a lever. She landed on the branch, and the tom lost his balance and crashed onto the forest ground.

Mothpaw grimaced and Frostlight rushed over, helping his friend up. Deerleaf rolled her eyes and stood up, eyes scanning through the trees. Beechpaw held his breath as they awaited the she-cat's report. In silence, she could hear the rustle of leaves and the soft song of a little bird. The forest was peaceful, sheltered from the sun by the tall trees, protecting life from rain or thunder. It was much cooler than out in the meadow, and it gave her a soothing feeling.

"Alright, I'm not picking up any scents," Deerleaf confirmed, motioning them to follow with her tail. "My father can't be far."

"Don't you find it odd that our mentors haven't found us?" Runningpaw noted, raising his tail. All eyes turned to the brown apprentice. He swallowed, collecting himself. "I thought they'd be onto us before we even reached the border. Unless I'm bad at picking up scents, I haven't even caught a whiff of them."

"Don't push our luck," Beechpaw hissed. "If we can get to this place without harm or getting caught, then we can find our answers sooner!" Frostlight padded over to the tree right as Swiftbranch leaped, locking his claws into the trunk. Slowly and staggering, the warrior began to claw his way up, furiously scraping the wood. Mothpaw flicked a chunk of wood away with her ear.

"I suggest we carry the apprentices," Frostlight said. Without waiting, Mothpaw let out a muffled yelp as the white tom picked her up. Getting closer to the tree, she braced herself and tried not to complain when the bumpy surface of the tree rubbed against her pelt. Her sister's former mentor did better than Swiftbranch but struggled as well. She could see a CinderClan patrol coming up and laughing at their pathetic climbing skills. It'd make things worse if Aspenstar happened to be out as well; endless mocking would be drilled into their skulls by the time Ashstar came to save them.