The Bright Sky (The Blazing Fires Book 2)

Chapter 9

Stonepaw and Yellowpaw were battle training in the forest. Stonepaw leaped back, dodging a front paw blow from Yellowpaw. Yellowpaw then leaped on her littermate's shoulders and pinned him down. She slashed her paws down Stonepaw's back.

"If that was a rouge you'd be in StarClan by now." Brindlepelt mewed light-heartedly.

"Sorry, I didn't see her coming," Stonepaw replied.

"Stonepaw, remember to use the  leap-and-hold when going against a bigger warrior." Brindlepelt reminded. The two apprentices nodded and continued their mock battle.

Meanwhile, Morningeyes was in the nursery. She was giving birth to Brightstar's kits. First, a black calico was born. Smallpaw felt the queen's stomach, as Brightstar was pacing anxiously outside the nursery. Windflower pressed damp moss on her head to cool her off. "It's a she-kit." The medicine cat apprentice spoke, referring to the black calico. "One more." Smallpaw mewed. Then, a brown bundle fell into the nest next to the black calico. Smallpaw took a glance at the brown kit. "It's a tom."

"Brightstar, you may come in," Windflower spoke to the brown leader. The ValleyClan leader quickly rushed in. His eyes grew cloudy when he saw his kits. His smile was brighter than ever.

"Can we name them Skykit and Skykit?" He squeaked. Morningeyes gave her mate a stern but silly look.

"How about we name the brown tom Berrykit?" Morningeyes mewed. 

"That sounds perfect. And maybe we could call the black calico Ashkit?" The brown leader purred.

"Berrykit and Ashkit. Our kits." The two cats rubbed their muzzles together, purring. 

Soon enough, Yellowpaw, Stonepaw, Brindlepelt, and Nightchaser returned from training. The two apprentices were just about to settle down near their den, before Brightstar called out to them, "Stonepaw! Yellowpaw! Come meet your new kin." The two apprentices rushed towards the nursery and gazed happily at the two newborn kits.

"The she-cat is Ashkit, and the tom is Berrykit." Morningeyes purred.

"I'm sure they'll be excellent warriors." Yellowpaw mewed.

"Yellowpaw," Nightchaser called from outside the nursery. "Meet me at the fern tunnel when you're finished. We're going on the sunset patrol." The warrior then slid out of sight.

"Well, I should get going," Yellowpaw said. "But I'll visit after the patrol." The dark yellow she-cat slipped out of the den and trotted towards the fern tunnel, where Mistwing, Nightchaser, and Whitetip waited. The patrol then dipped out of camp.

First, the four cats trotted near the SwampClan border, keeping their ears pricked and their jaws parted. Suddenly, Yellowpaw heard paws pounding on the earth. "Do you hear that?" Yellowpaw mewed the patrol. Nightchaser's ears perked up, and she nodded. Mistwing also lifted his head. Whitetip swiveled her ears around.

"It's coming from SwampClan's side," Whitetip hissed. "It could just be a hunting patrol. Let's keep moving." The patrol started trotting ahead.

"Alright," Yellowpaw reluctantly started moving, until a mass crashed into her at full force. They both tumbled to the ground, Yellowpaw having the wind knocked out of her. "What in StarClan?" She yelped out. The mass got up, to reveal a brown she-cat, around apprentice age, seemingly near the end of her training. She had bulky shoulders and lean legs, and her scent gave away that she was SwampClan.

"You flea-brain! I could have caught that squirrel if it wasn't for you!" The brown apprentice hissed.

"Excuse me?" Yellowpaw growled. "That squirrel passed on ValleyClan territory, so either way you couldn't get it!"

"You can't tell me what to do! You're just a ValleyClan piece of crow-food!" The apprentice snapped.

"Piece of crow-food?!" Yellowpaw's claws unsheathed. "You shouldn't be talking, you trample in frog-dung all day long!" Both apprentices' backs arched before they leaped out at each other. Yellowpaw slammed her paw down on the apprentice's head, causing her to stumble. But she quickly regained balance and slashed at Yellowpaw's ear. The apprentice quickly turned around and kicked Yellowpaw square in the nose. She staggered back in pain, before the brown apprentice slid under her belly, raking her claws against Yellowpaw's skin.

Yellowpaw howled before leaping back and clamping the SwampClan apprentice's paw in her jaws. She sunk her fangs deep until she felt fur on her lips. The grey apprentice quickly snatched Yellowpaw's scruff and shook it wildly. Dizzy, Yellowpaw stumbled back. Then, the apprentice leaped on her back, tearing at her shoulder, until Yellowpaw collapsed under her weight. She felt claws scrape behind her ear.

"Sunrisepaw!" A voice snarled from the SwampClan border. Yellowpaw managed to turn her head, to see an older black she-cat, coldly gazing at the grey apprentice.

"Rainsong!" Sunrisepaw jumped in shock. "It's not what it looks like, I swear!" Sunrisepaw squeaked like a lost kit, which made Yellowpaw purr in amusement.

"Save it for Willetstar." Rainsong snapped. "As soon as we get back to camp, you're going to be the one explaining to him why you're attacking a cat on her own territory." The SwampClan warrior beckoned her apprentice with her tail, and Sunrisepaw reluctantly followed.

"Yellowpaw, there you are!" Nightchaser emerged into view. She paused and scanned the she-cat's wounds. "Did a fox attack you or something?"

"No, a SwampClan apprentice did." Yellowpaw hissed, flicking her tail. "Her squirrel crosses over onto our territory, and she got mad at me."

"Take this as a lesson to stay with your patrol." Nightchaser sternly mewed. "Now, I'll take you back to camp so Windflower can look at your wounds, and we're reporting this to Brightstar."
The two cats started trekking back to camp. As soon as Yellowpaw returned, Stonepaw dashed up to her, nearly crashing into her.

"What happened to you?" Stonepaw meowed, his eyes flickering between the wounds on his sister.

"Nothing. Just a few scratches." Yellowpaw continued to walk towards the medicine den, where Smallpaw and Windflower were applying a goldenrod poultice onto Lilystomp's joints.

"Oh, Yellowpaw, what happened?" Windflower rushed over. "Keep applying the poultice to Lilystomp's joints." She called over to Smallpaw.

"I got attacked by a SwampClan apprentice." Yellowpaw huffed, as Windflower started licking her wounds clean. "She completely beat me! How could I let her beat me?" The dark yellow apprentice growled.

"You don't have to win every battle," Windflower applied some poultices to her scratches. "As long as you did your part, and you're not too badly hurt, that should be considered a win."

"But you don't understand," Yellowpaw went on. "You're a medicine cat. You don't fight battles."

"Sometimes I do," The mottled golden she-cat started. "Just not the battles you do. Many, many moons ago, when I first became a medicine cat apprentice, my mentor, Ravenstripe, fell very ill. I had no idea what to do, so I panicked. And when other cats needed me, I couldn't help them. I felt like a failure. A medicine cat from another clan had to help me."

"But you were just starting out. I'm going to be a warrior in a few moons." Yellowpaw retorted.

"I've also made mistakes recently, and I've been a medicine cat for seasons!" Windflower added. "Last night, actually, Dewfur couldn't sleep, and I accidentally gave her nettle seeds instead of poppy seeds."

Yellowpaw let out a purr of amusement, her confidence returning.