warrior life

From Kit to Warrior Part 21

I'm so sorry this is so late!! my only excuse is school. T^T

This is finally up.

Yeah, I'll update pretty rarely and inconsistently now.

So much homework.

Chapter 21!

Clouleaf's Pov

Cloudleaf pushed her way into her den and dropped the bundle of herbs by the rest of her stores.

"Bramblestar?" She called gently. The dark-brown lump in the back of the den stirred.

"Yeah?" Came his sleepy reply.

"I know something about the attackers."

Bramblestar sat up immediately alert again, "really? What'd you find?" Cloudleaf sat down in front of him, "They call themselves a Pack. Their leader knew about the clans and decided he liked their system, so he built his own. They're a lot like Bloodclan." She added after a moment.

Bramblestar stared at her, "How did you know all that?"

Cloudleaf stared down at her paws, "I...I used to be part of their pack."

There was silence after that. Then Bramblestar's disbelieving voice sounded, "You were part of their pack."

Cloudleaf scuffed her feet nervously. "Yes. I left after...after my brother died. Then one of your patrols found me. You know the rest." Bramblestar was silent for a few heartbeats.

"What can you tell me?"

Cloudleaf was startled by that answer. No suspicion? No questioning? Not that she was complaining...

"Well, as you noticed, they have no scent. They found a way to blend their scent with their surroundings. Only those who have been trained with them can notice it. They have the same basic system as a clan, but their leader does not care about his cats. They fend for themselves. They fight when asked, and provide everything for their leader. There also is a deputy. An enforcer would be a better word. Anyone caught disobeying will be...punished." Cloudleaf caught the look of disbelief and in Bramblestar's eyes before continuing, "they're assigned a mentor. likely the enforcer himself. If they are lucky enough to be assigned a friend or other fighter, whoever is their trainer will be threatened with death if they don't push their trainee hard enough." Cloudleaf stood up and began sorting the herbs she'd brought in that morning. "The leader is the best fighter of them all. He trained the deputy. Technically, any cat could try to take his position. But to do that, they have to fight him. No one has ever challenged him and survived. All his recruits are rouges, strays, or abandoned kittypets. They can't leave the Pack, the leader considers it a betrayal. And they have a special punishment for traitors. As I said, none of the recruits have a place to go. They're in the Pack because it's safer than being against them. Others..." She shivered, "Others truly support the leader as they take more territory. They enjoy killing. They've been obsessed with taking more land. They recruit any cats in their territory, as their force grows, so does their land. They gathered a lot of cats from the twoleg-place. I guess they've spread here too. They ambushed you because they want our best fighter out of commission."  Cloudleaf finished the polituce and started to change the dressing on Bramblestar's wounds. The dark tabby was silent as she worked, then he asked a question she fully expected,

"How did they know I was the leader?"

Cloudleaf sighed, "They are observant, cunning, and well-trained. They could recognize you because of the way you carry yourself, the air of confidence, the scars on your pelt, your skills as you hunt. They are very careful to keep these observations to themselves. They're fast, silent, and almost impossible to detect. Even their camp is well hidden. The only thing to guide them to it is a series of signs and codes they set up."

Bramblestar replied hesitantly, "But you can read them. Right?" Cloudleaf paused, "I do not know. It's been a long time since I've last used them."

"But you'll have to, if they want our territory, we'll just have to fight them off," Bramblestar said determinately, "We should send a scouting party, to see if you can still find their camp. Then, we'll send a patrol to tell them to leave. Most likely, they'll refuse, and we can get a better look at their forces while there."

Bramblstar stiffened, then he said slowly, "Cloudleaf, you said...if a cat leaves...they're considered a traitor, and they have a punishment for 'traitors'. You...you left. Does that mean...?"

He trailed off, and Cloudleaf nodded, "If they caught me, it'd be a disaster. It's possible they do not know I'm here. Its equally possible they targeted us because they know I'm here."

"What would they do?" Bramblestar asked quietly, "What would they do if you were caught?"

Cloudleaf shook her head, "Punish me, or, more likely, force me to join them again." She felt let kicking herself for letting that last part slip.

"why?"

Cloudleaf swallowed, Might as well tell him "You could say I was their...healer. The only one. I...was treated better than the others. They gave me that in exchange for me to heal them. And...I agreed." She said the last part quieter, "They want me back to keep their forces strong. Without me...they'd have a hard time keeping each other alive. When I was around, training was harsher because they knew I could heal anyone that was hurt. They didn't worry about holding back now they had a healer. They want to be able to do that again."

Bramblestar didn't say anything, and Cloudleaf finished up his flank wound and stepped back,

"Thank you for telling me Cloudleaf," Bramblestar said carefully, "Anything else?"

Cloudleaf thought for a moment, "A warning. There must be nightfall for there to be daybreak. You will find an ally in the Scarlet Bird. Do not forget your roots, for they hold the truth, In four days time, when the sun bleeds, you must fight."

Bramblestar thought over this for a while.

"Thank you Cloudleaf." He mewed finally

Cloudleaf nodded, relief coursing through her, "...and, you promise this will stay a secret?"

Bramblestar narrowed his eyes slightly, "I'll try, but it may be more important that the clan knows. At the very least I'll end up telling Squirrelflight." He shook his head fondly, "She tends to know when I'm keeping something from her."

Cloudleaf swallowed the dread and anxiety rising in her throat, "of course." She choked out. How would the others react? "And," she added quickly, "after a couple of days you should be able to leave this den."

Bramblestar's tail flicked excitedly, "Thanks, Cloudleaf."

The medicine cat nodded again and turned back to her herb stores.

Then she jerked her head up to the frantic yowls outside.

Oof, I feel like this really sucked.

At least I got it done.

The next chapter will be out as soon as I have enough time (and ideas).

Thank you so much for reading :D

-Fireflower