The Warrior Games

Chapter 8

Runningpaw lay beneath the great oak tree. She was exhausted. She had chosen to make a run for it after she had been injured and now her paw felt even worse. She was lying in the same place where she had been left hours ago by Mossheart. The kind-hearted RiverClan she-cat had wanted to follow the BloodClan warriors and join them. Though Runningpaw knew she was putting herself in threat by showing her where they went, she also didn't want Mossheart as a real enemy. Maybe one day she would show mercy on Runningpaw because she helped her.

Runningpaw's meeting with Mossheart had been hours ago. She was so tired, but she had to keep her eyes awake. She tried moving her sore paw, and winced. She had twisted it. Was there anyone who could help her?

Suddenly, she remembered something Mossheart had mentioned when they had first met,

"My brother, Rabbitpelt has always been good with medicine. Why, her mother's sister was the Clan's medicine cat, and her apprentice was a good friend of Rabbitpelt's."

So maybe Rabbitpelt could help her? Runningpaw managed a smile. But then, why would the RiverClan cat want to help her? What could Runningpaw offer him? Maybe he wanted knowledge of his sister? That, Runningpaw could give him. Well, she thought, she could think of all this later. For now, she had to worry about finding him. Where would Rabbitpelt, a RiverClan warrior, go to?
The answer was obvious: A River!

Runningpaw forced herself to get up. She was tired, yet she finally had an idea of what she was doing. Her goal was to find Rabbitpelt and maybe he could help her paw.

She began to limp away, slowly, yet steadily. She would go west, for she had not been that way yet. And there had to be water somewhere!

The light brown apprentice she-cat limped into the trees with one goal in mind; Find Rabbitpelt!

***

Rabbitpelt was lying beneath an overhanging tree. He had caught a fish almost easily, and he was resting after having eaten it all up. He lay by the river, watching the sun slowly come up. It was a nice thing to wake up to. No cats had come here yet, so no threats were upon him. He felt completely at ease with his surroundings.

He heard a sound coming from behind the tree. Yawning, he stretched, shook himself, then got up to see what it was. Turning around the tree, he saw something scuttle up and he relaxed. It was just a squirrel.

It's your lucky day, squirrel! Thought Rabbitpelt. If he had been a ThunderClan warrior, that squirrel wouldn't live to see the sun set that evening. But then again, what happened to the squirrels in here? Were they just put in here? And when the Games ended, were they taken out? Or maybe the Dark Forest cats feasted upon them. Rabbitpelt looked up again. The tiny creature was still on the same side on the tree, and it was looking down at Rabbitpelt.

"I guess we're both stuck here." he said.

Suddenly, the RiverClan warrior felt extremely lonely. His sister was gone, and his clanmates were no longer by his side. For the first time since the Games started, he felt a hole in his stomach. He glanced back at where he had just been lying not long ago, under the tree and beside the stream. It was so peaceful, and he had loved having it for himself, with no worries.

But he would trade all of this and more to get back home to his clanmates, and to his sister. Where was Mossheart right now? He wondered. He hoped with all his heart that she was still alive, maybe one day soon he would go out to search for her. But for now, all he could do was watch the squirrel who was looking back down at him.

Suddenly, the hole in Rabbitpelt's heart became to much to bear. Looking up into the tree, he raised his forepaws and reached up towards the squirrel,

"Please! Be my friend! I won't hurt you! My claws are down! Please! You're all I have!" Rabbitpelt yowled as his forepaws flailed in the air. But the squirrel had dashed away as soon as he had seen Rabbitpelt's sudden movement. The warrior's claws went out and he scraped them on the bark of the tree. When his forepaws reached the ground, he shut his eyes tight.

When he opened them, he saw the peaceful stream. He saw where he had been lying, ever so calmly by the water's side. He was probably the luckiest tribute in the Games right now.

And he had never felt so alone.