Warriors: Wolfstar's Storm

Ch.5

(Cat above is Goldenblaze)

"Hey, wake up!" A paw prodded Wolfpaw sharply in the side.

Wolfpaw blinked his eyes open to see Neetlepaw standing over him. "Dewspark assigned us to Goldenblaze's patrol."

Wolfpaw scrambled up, shaking himself to scatter scraps of moss and fern from his pelt. He slipped past Neetlepaw out into the clearing. He spotted Goldenblaze, Leaffall, and Goldfish waiting by the thorn tunnel. Goldenblaze nodded to the two apprentices as they approached then turned and lead the patrol through the thorn tunnel. As they padded through the forest, Wolfpaw began trailing behind the patrol, walking a good three tail-lengths behind.

"You're falling behind, Wolfpaw." Goldenblaze called over his shoulder.

Wolfpaw looked up, embarrassed. "Sorry, Goldenblaze." He bounded forward to walk beside Neetlepaw.

"Are you okay?" The brown tabby asked.

"Yes." Wolfpaw answered, quickly.

He kept his gaze on Neetlepaw, hoping that his friend would believe him. He was still grieving, his mind elsewhere when he should be focusing on what his mentor or any cat told him to do.
Neetlepaw eyed him for a moment then nodded.

As they approached the border, Wolfpaw hoped that they wouldn't meet a ThunderClan patrol. He didn't want to hear any member of the patrol tell them about Jaypaw, but everything was quiet. The scents of ThunderClan cats were fading, suggesting that their dawn patrol had passed by earlier. Relief flooded over Wolfpaw. He wanted nothing more than for no cat to mention the gray apprentice. Not that he didn't care anymore, but that it hurt too much to hear it.

After they finished remarking the border, they retraced their steps and headed back to canp. When they returned, the hunting patrols were bringing back their first catches. Goldenblaze dismissed the patrol, leaving Wolfpaw and Neetlepaw going to find their mentors. They found them sitting outside the warriors' den, deep in conversation.

"We're back from the dawn patrol." Neetlepaw announced.

"Good." Neetlepaw's mentor, Frogleap mewed. "How about you two go hunting? We'll do battle training tomorrow morning."

Wolfpaw and Neetlepaw nodded and raced through the thorn tunnel. Once in the forest, they split up and hunted on their own. Wolfpaw opened his mouth to taste the air. The scents of various prey overwhelmed him. Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes cause his ears to twitch. A rabbit hopped out of the leaves, and small cluster of grass in its mouth. Wolfpaw dropped into a hunter's crouch and slowly crept forward. The rabbit turned its head away for a slipt second and Wolfpaw too the opportunity. He leapt quickly, landing hard on the rabbit and killing it with a swift bite to the neck.

He small, triumphant smile crept across his muzzle. Thank you StarClan for this prey.

He bent down to pick it up but hesitated. He looked around, an uneasy ruffling his fur. Wolfpaw's tail twitched. He didn't see anything at first until his eyes rested on a pair of glowing amber eyes, watching him from the bushes.

"Who are you?" He called.

The cats didn't answer.

They took her.

Wolfpaw nearly leapt out of his pelt. The pair of eyes were gone. He looked around for the source of the voice but there was no cat in sight. The voice was dark and smooth and made Wolfpaw's pelt prickle.

They took her away.

Wolfpaw's heart began to race. "Who? What are you talking about? Who are you?!"

Why trust them? She's gone and they let it happen!

Wolfpaw stopped for a moment. Was the voice talking about Jaypaw?

Don't trust them.

Wolfpaw's mind was racing with questions. He waited and waited but the voice was silent. He sat down for a moment, allowing his heart and breath steady. What had just happened? Was it real? Or was he mind playing tricks on him?

"Hey, Wolfpaw!" Wolfpaw turned over his shoulder just as Neetlepaw appeared from the bushes.

"Are you ready to head back?" Neetlepaw asked.

"Yes. I need to see Rainfeather. I think I have thorn in my pad." Wolfpaw lied.

Neetlepaw nodded and the two toms headed back. Wolfpaw did his best to mimick a limp to make his lie more believable. When they returned, they dropped off their catches and Wolfpaw 'limped' over to the medicine den.

"Rainfeather." He mewed.

"Come in." Came the she cat's reply.

He walked in finding Rainfeather in the back of the den and Pinepaw more at the front, both of them sorting herbs. Pinepaw looked up and noticed his limp. "What happened?" He asked.

"I think I have a thorn in my pad." Wolfpaw explained. He hoped that the two medicine cats would just dismiss him. He wanted to tell them about the voice but part of him wanted to wait and find out more himself. After all it could've just been nothing.

Pinepaw looked at his pad for a moment. "I don't see anything. You may have just sprained it."

He looked behind him at his mentor. Rainfeather smiled and gave him a nod of approval. Pinepaw turned back to Wolfpaw. "Go lie down and stay off your paw. It should feel better tomorrow."

"Thanks, Pinepaw." Wolfpaw meowed, turning to leave. He slipped out of the den and made his way to the apprentices' den. He curled up in his nest and wrapped his tail around himself. His mind was buzzing with questions, the voice echoing in his ears.

Who was speaking to him?

And what were they warning him about?