Warriors: The Trail of Centuries

Chapter 24

Author's Note ;; Happy Friday guys! Please disregard the lack of indentations and proper em dashes. Wattpad has a habit of deleting them all when I publish works, and I've just now noticed it—I'm fixing it when I find the time! ♡

This chapter contains themes of violence that some might find disturbing. Continue with caution.

     Spottedpath padded slowly across the moorland, the midnight breeze stinging her face and making her eyes water. While she walked, she wondered when the first snow would hit; truthfully, her wandering mind was just a way to mask her overwhelming anxiety over meeting her brother. Fishstar hadn't told her who he'd chosen to tail her to their meeting, or if he'd decided to be the one to do it. Spottedpath threw a glance over her shoulder, squinting in the darkness in an attempt to seek out any secretive shadows. To her dismay, the half moon didn't provide nearly enough light for that, and she was stuck wondering who could be watching over her—or if anyone was following her at all.

     She found the southern border with the Gorge, wrinkling her nose at the now-foreign yet nostalgic scent of it. Peering into the forests on the opposite side of the border, she felt a distant sense of longing; more overwhelming than that, however, was a gnawing feeling of dread. Spottedpath wondered what Deadeye was currently doing in their cave, if he was further terrorizing the more emotional cats, if he was still forcing his own children to endure warrior training through their sickness.

     When she finally reached the spot she'd told Nightpaw to send Riverdash to, there was no sign of the brown tabby. Spottedpath glanced around warily and, though she desperately tried to restrain herself, she paced anxiously back and forth in front of a tree she didn't realize she'd chosen. A few moments of subconscious pacing, a few glances to the steadily-rising half moon, and Spottedpath became worried. Where are you, Riverdash? she fretted anxiously, pausing her pacing only to peer into darkness. If I have to wait much longer, I'll just have to call it off—

     "Spottedpaw?" a wavering voice came from the darkness behind the trees, laced with uncertainty. The voice cut off Spottedpath's thoughts as she whipped her head to identify the source, though she already knew who it was. The scent of her brother, though it was a distant memory until now, washed over her, and Riverdash padded out of the shadows. His green eyes glittered with anticipation until they met hers, and then they lit up with recognition and relief.

     "Riverdash!" Spottedpath breathed out, rushing to greet him at the border. "I-It's actually Spottedpath, now—I was granted my warrior name shortly after the Gathering." The young warrior was careful not to stray into Gorge territory, and Riverdash seemed to have the same idea, not letting a whisker cross the invisible border.

     "What happened?" he questioned her warily. "Obviously you got away, but . . . Frostheart came back with more blood than a scratched nose would do." Her brother glanced at her shoulder hesitantly, inspecting the gross scar that served as a permanent memory of her escape—as if the death of her mentor wasn't burned permanently into her mind.

     "Frostheart almost got me," Spottedpath mewed, glancing around. Briefly she wondered if she had the time to explain it, then decided that a quick explanation wouldn't hurt. "I barely managed to escape, and I ended up losing consciousness on BlazeClan territory. Heatherstar took me in and sheltered me—until the medicine cats requested that I move to another Clan. The leader said that he'd be willing to help us."

     "Help us?" Riverdash echoed, though there was no confusion in his expression, nor his voice. He knew exactly what she meant.

     "Yes," Spottedpath held his gaze, careful not to waver. "Riverdash, what if you helped sneak out anyone that doesn't want to be there? I-In the Gorge, I mean."