Warriors: The Six Clans (EDITING ATM)

Chapter 21

Helloo fans!! 

95 votes?!?! That's like, aweshum! So... this is the 21th chapter, and I'll like to thank you all for your support! I think that this book should end at the 27th chapter or so... If you didn't know, I'm participating this book in the watty awards so I need to finish it by 31/10 so take my word this story will be finishing soon and... I'll make a sequel! \^·^/

So I present to you... chapter 21! ;DD 

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"Woodpool, wake up!" A cat's voice woke Woodpool up. He turned around to see Cinderleg shaking him. 

"Huh?" Woodpool asked wearily, still sleepy. He looked around and saw that most of the other cats were already awake. 

"Greenstar had ordered us to create a hunting patrol with Flowerclaw and Rosetail," Cinderleg explained. "Come on!" 

Woodpool licked his paw and drew it over his ears several times before finally heaving himself up. "Let's go," he mewed. "But where's Flowerclaw and Rosetail?" 

Cinderleg purred affectionately, "They are over there." Woodpool nodded and the two cats headed towards them. 

Before they got there, Woodpool saw the Waterclan elders carrying Splishclaw's body to a secluded corner and was about to bury him. Woodpool felt a pang of sadness. Splishclaw had been his best friend in Waterclan. "And now he can't even be buried in Waterclan territory," Woodpool thought sadly. 

Cinderleg followed Woodpool's eyes and realised that Woodpool was staring at Splishclaw. She went closer to Woodpool until their pelts touched. 

"Splishclaw had died a warrior's death," she comforted. "You should be proud of him." 

Woodpool breathed in deeply and savored Cinderleg's sweet scent. "I'm fine...," he lied. 

By then, Birchpelt, who was passing by, saw the whole thing. He flicked his grey tail and growled, "Kittypet, you have a boyfriend?" 

"None of your business, that's for sure" Woodpool retorted back at him. He showed his canines threateningly at him. Birchpelt narrowed his eyes. 

"Ignore him," Cinderleg whispered to Woodpool. "Let's go." 

Reluctantly, Woodpool followed Cinderleg towards Flowerclaw and Rosetail. 

"Yes, run away, kittypet-lover!" Birchpelt snarled. 

"How rude!" Woodpool thought.

* * * * * * * *

When the the hunting patrol left the temporary camp, Woodpool was a little unsure if there would be any prey here in this unknown territory at all. 

But he was proved wrong when he immediately scented different prey scents. He was prepared at hunt a mouse nearby when Rosetail advised, "Beware of dogs too. They might come back." 

Woodpool nodded to acknowledge his agreement when Cinderleg asked, "What do you want to hunt?" 

"Mouse. Over there," Woodpool whispered as he pinpointed the mouse's location. 

"Go on," Cinderleg purred. 

Without hesitation, Woodpool noticed the mouse below shady tree. He crouched, and began to stalk it. Lucky for him, the mouse was too busy nibbling a seed to notice him. At the last moment, Woodpool pounced and landed directly on the mouse and bit on its neck. The mouse immediately went limp and Woodpool picked it up and buried it to take it later. 

"Great mouse!" Cinderleg praised. "Now I'm going to hunt too." She then stalked off. 

Woodpool then decided to explore further, but first made sure there was no dog scent. There wasn't. 

Alert of the surroundings, Woodpool padded on and finally reached a lake. The water was still, and it was obviously that the water was about two metres high. 

Eventhough he was a Plantclan cat, Woodpool decided to hunt some fish for Waterclan. He crouched low near the lakeside and waited for a fish to swim close. 

Just them, a sliver plump fish swam close. Woodpool unsheathed his claws and quickly placed his paws into the water and skillfully scooped up the fish. The fish landed on the ground and flopped around for a while and went still. 

Looking at the dead fish, Woodpool's eyes were whelmed up with tears. It was Splishclaw who teached him how to swim, too. Now, they could not hunt together again. 

Picking up the fish, Woodpool heard Cinderleg coming towards him. He turned around and indeed saw Cinderleg running towards him, a finch in her jaws. 

When Cinderleg got closer, Woodpool saw anxiety overwhelming in her eyes. She dropped her Cindy on the ground and opened her mouth to speak. 

"I-Ivytail's dead!" She stammered, legs shaking uncontrollably. 

"Huh? What happened?" 

"I-I-I was about to bury m-my finch when I-I smelt a strange scent," Cinderleg muttered, her eyes wide with shock. "S-so I followed it and I-I saw Ivytail's body half-buried in the ground hidden behind a blueberry bush." 

"Lead me there," Woodpool instructed, though trying hard to contain his fear. How could have killed her- his mother? Fox, dog, or... a cat? He thought silently. 

Cinderleg immediately sprinted off. Woodpool followed her scent and found her in a blueberry bush, abandoning his fish. 

"Th-there it is," Cinderleg whispered softly. Woodpool took a deep breath and padded in. 

What he saw was shocking. Ivytail's white pelt was dirted with soil and her eyes were rolled back. Her chest was not rising, not even a bit. Woodpool could not believe his mother was dead.

Slowly, Woodpool plodded to Ivytail while Cinderleg followed timidly behind him. He then nosed Ivytail's body to confirm that she was dead. Ivytail did not move, and she was filled with a strange scent -the scent of death- and another faint scent beneath it. But it was too faint for Woodpool to recognise its scent accurately but he knew that it was a cat's scent. 

"W-what are we suppose to do with it?" Cinderleg asked, trembling. 

"We need to drag it back to camp," Woodpool answered. "Get help from Rosetail and Flowerclaw, they should be nearby." 

"B-but what about you?" Cinderleg stammered. 

"I'll stay here and see if I can find the cause of her death, " Woodpool comforted her. "Just be quick." 

Cinderleg nodded slowly, her eyes clouded with anxiety for him and fear for the cat who killed Ivytail. She then bounded off to look for the two cats. 

When he was alone, Woodpool felt nervousness taking over him. He was near a dead cat, a cat that was his mother. Trembling, he padded next to Ivytail's body and breathed her fur, trying to find what cat scent it was. 

But still, it was too faint. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find the scent. He gave up and decided to look for claws and bites that might have cause Ivytail's death. Since there was no blood, Ivytail probably died from poison, fracture, or internal bleeding. 

Woodpool looked through Ivytail's body and found claw marks on her neck. They were definitely cat's claw marks, based on their length and skillness. Those marks were not as clumsy as badgers, and not as strong as a dog's. But the marks were not deep, so they could not have caused her death. 

Woodpool then touched Ivytail's head. He gasped when he felt that her head was cracked and broken. The injury seemed to tell Woodpool the whole incident. A cat, strong and muscular, had used his paw to crush Ivytail's skull. But who? Woodpool did not know. 

Just then, he realised something astounding. Ivytail's claws were filled with cat fur. And Woodpool can immediately recognised who fur belonged to...

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Ha-ha! Hope I kept you in a suspense. :PP

Vote or comment pls! :))

SHQ ~~^^