Lighttail's Courage (A Warrior Cats fan fiction)

Chapter nine

Sunlight warmed Lighttail's back as she walked on with Barkfur and Silver at her side. After a quick hunt this morning and a check to see if they were being followed, the three had been traveling for about three hours and were approaching a long stretch of land that seemed to go on for miles and miles. Lighttail let out a groan and Barkfur kneaded his claws in the ground out of frustration.

 "Now I know we're all tired, but I'm sure that after this we'll be at the river. We just have to cross this and we'll be fine. Lets get a move on." Silver coaxed, and seeing no other option, Lighttail and Barkfur followed Silver's lead. The day had dawned cold and windy, and clouds scuttled over the grayish blue sky, like wisps of flyaway fur.

 A chilly wind began to whip its way through the barren terrain, brushing snow and ice up onto their noses, reminding Lighttail with a pang of the kits back home, who would brush up snow and ice purposefully on scornful warriors before rushing back in the nursery before their victim could punish them. I miss Thunderclan so much. She thought with a sigh. Right when she thought homesickness was going to engulf her, she felt a tail on her shoulder, and turned to see Barkfur giving her a pained gaze, as if he to was thinking of his clan. 

"Come on. Sooner we get there, sooner we get back home." He whispered. Lighttail nodded in agreement, and with a new sense of encouragement she picked up the pace with the others striding beside her, heart set on the thoughts of getting back to the clans. Yet, after a couple of hours, her hope began to dwindle as they continued trekking across the fields. They were halfway through the second field, and the world seemed so bleak as they stared across the endless hills of snow. She looked at her companions and saw Silver looking around excitedly, while Barkfur was exhaustedly swearing under his breath as he looked around at the long stretches of land in front of him.

"Silver," Barkfur began in a seemingly calm voice, though his eyes were flashing, "How long until we get there?" he asked for the third time. Silver rolled her eyes playfully and nudged him rather toughly. "Come on guys! We're doing fine. Stop complaining and get going!" and with that she bounced along, while Barkfur shot angry looks at her. Lighttail, exhausted she, was about to settle them down before a full out fight when out of the corner of her eye she spotted a flash of red in the snow. "Hey guys, what's that?" she asked warily, using her tail to show what she found. Her two friends stopped and stared, and an uneasy feeling began to prick the hairs on her spine as Lighttail took a wary step forward. 

She continued until she was only a couple of mouse-tails away from the mysterious red spot. With another careful step Lighttail's breath caught in her throat as she looked down at the red spot. It was a tuft of red fur, and when Lighttail sniffed it the scent of dog and Windclan began to choke her nose. Heart thumping, she ran back to her friends and grimly reported what she saw. Her friends exchanged alarmed glances, and they all agreed to pick up the pace, though Silver didn't seem very excited about that. I wonder what's on her mind... 

Leaving her thoughts to wander, the three continued to walk until they had finally reached the last field. When they were about halfway done Lighttail could hear a faint rushing sound, and her heart fluttered at the thought of the river. Silver then stopped and tasted the air. "Prey. Lets stop and eat and then we can continue." Without waiting for their reply she bounded off towards a tumble of rocks surrounding a crumbled and abandoned Twoleg den. While Silver hunted Barkfur and Lighttail rested until, finally, Silver came back with two mice. "It took you quite a while to find those." Barkfur remarked quietly, as he looked at the prey in her jaws. "Well, I-I-I," Silver stuttered "Preys scarce." Then with an odd look at the ground she began to eat. 

Questions began to form in Lighttail's head but she ignored it and focused on her prey, fully aware of Barkfur's suspicious gaze burning her pelt. After they ate they got up and began to trek across the fields again. As they grew closer Lighttail could hear the gurgling, and though she was churning with excitement, slight fear struck her. The river sounds high. We should be careful. Finally the river was in sight and the three exchanged glances before running off towards it.