The Weight of Living | warrior cats fanfic

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 | 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

twelve

rising tensions

___________________________________

Peace.

To Cottonpaw, peace felt like golden sunshine gently warming him on a cool day. It was sharing tongues was Hollydapple. It was observing ripples chase one another across puddles on a rainy afternoon.

Cottonpaw lay beside Aldermist and let his peaceful thoughs spread from himself and shed onto her, like sunlight reaching through treetops to dapple the grass below. He hoped it was working— the gray tabby had her eyes closed as she basked in the Green Leaf sun. He could sense a calmness in her today, and with that, a purr rose in his throat.

Acaciapaw was across the camp sharing a hare with Pecanwhisker and Catalpapaw. The moon had grown from half full to nearly full since the night on the Bluff. Pecanwhisker was still off, but Cottonpaw hadn't felt that same feeling of hollowness and surrender from her that he had sensed before. Catalpapaw was silent but absorbed the conversation around him— something that was becoming more and more common for him. Acaciapaw talked about the latest fighting move she had been practicing with Camelliaheart, and how she was working on building muscle by climbing trees.

"Climbing trees? Don't get stuck in one," Pecanwhisker mused, to which Acaciapaw flicked her tail.

"I'd never!" Cottonpaw knew that was a lie. The first time she climbed one, she had gotten stuck. She froze on a birch's limb, and had begged Camelliaheart to climb up and carry her down. Camelliaheart denied her request flatly, and instead calmly instructed her on where to put her paws to get down.

Low conversation swayed through the camp with a hum. Sumackit, Apricotkit, and Auburnkit swat a moss ball around under the watchful eye of Honeywing. The trio were very nearly 6 moons, and would join the apprentices den any day... it would be packed in there.

Movement sounded at the camp entrance, and Cottonpaw lazily glanced up to see who was returning. He blinked in shock, jumping to his paws as the sun high patrol led by Blizzardstream crashed in. Blizzardstream was supported heavily by Balsamfur. At first, Cottonpaw thought the sun's warm rays were glowing against his father's pelt, but then he realized the snowy fur really was red in several places— it wasn't an illusion from the sun. Camphorwind followed close behind with a new tear in his ear, and The nearly full-grown Poplarpaw was at his heels.

"Dad!" Cottonpaw gasped, rushing to his side. Aldermist had already bounded over to her mate, nosing him with fear-filled eyes. His stomach turned at the sight of the crimson, thick droplets spattered down onto the dusty packed earth below him. It was blood.

Smallbush, the deputy, tore away from where he shared tongues with Ryefoot to encounter the patrol.

"What's happened?! Catalpapaw, go fetch Fallowbark and Sequoiapaw!" He barked to the apprentice. His blue eyes were wide with surprise, but snapped a "yes, Smallbush!" and dashed to the medicine den. Acaciapaw left her mother's side to get in closer, her tail bristling. She eyed up her father with a look of resentment. Other clan cats gathered around, and Honeywing tried to usher her kits away without much success.

"CopseClan attacked our patrol," Camphorwind growled. "They were placing scent markers past the stream border all the way up to the tree line as a new border."

"What?! The stream has been the border since I was a kit! They'll gain several fox-lengths of our territory as theirs!" Smallbush hissed. The messy-furred black tom scowled in disbelief, and got closer to the patrol to sniff over his daughter, Balsamfur. "We'll need to wait for Aspenstar to return from hunting before we make any decisions," a sense of calmness returned to the undersized deputy, and he forced his fur flat. The crowd of bristling gathered cats parted for the two medicine cats as they made their way through. Sequoiapaw got to work right away assessing the injured, quickly landing on Blizzardstream as the highest priority. Cottonpaw stayed close to his father's side, and tried his best to hold his fear and unease back from impressing on any other cat, and the great white warrior was led away toward the medicine den.