[OLD AND OUTDATED] Warriors: Lightspark's Call

Chapter 6

The cold air made Lightspark's fur bristle. She felt as if she was sleeping outside. Cautiously, she stepped outside. The snow crunched beneath her paws, she suppressed a shiver. Lightspark kept walking out of the den, her paws beginning to feel numb because of the cold shards of ice. Beechpaw and Brightpaw were playing in the snow, flinging it at each other. While Cedarpaw watched from the medicine cats' den.

The apprentice had to stay in camp because of his wounded shoulder. Lightspark felt a bit of pity for him. Every time she breathed out a puff of smoke every time, she fluffed out her fur twice her size.

She continued padding over to Brightpaw; whose fur was covered with white flakes. "Lightspark!" her apprentice mewed quickly. "What will we do today?"

Lightspark flicked a flake of snow from her ears. "Hunting."

"I better get this snow off myself, right?"

Beechpaw's eyes widened with surprise, her shoulder fur bristled. "Snow! It'll help you stay camouflage. Thanks Brightpaw! If Bramblenose asks me today about how snow helps, I'll reply that it camouflages you!" she blinked gratefully at her, Brightpaw shuffled the snow in the ground embarrassedly. Beechpaw flicked her tail respectfully at Lightspark and ran to Bramblenose, who was picking prey from the fresh-kill pile.

"We'd better get going, and make sure that snow stays on you."

They padded outside of camp, Brightpaw's fur was hardly visible in the snowy forest. Lightspark tasted the air for prey, but there were hardly scents and most of them were stale catches that a few of the warriors caught long ago. Brightpaw sniffed every burrow, but there was no prey to be found.

A few shuffling could be heard from far. Lightspark quickly got the smell of a rabbit. Brightpaw's ears perked up, she flicked her tail, telling Lightspark this was her catch. I could at least tell you how to hunt it in the snow! But I guess not! Brightpaw crouched down, doing the hunter's crouch. She left her tail on the ground, a bit floating. Quickly, Brightpaw stepped forward. Her muscles hunched up to pounce. As soon as she stepped, a huge crunch could be heard. The rabbit lifted its head and ran off to the trees, its tail bobbing.

"Fox dung!" hissed Brightpaw.

"Don't worry." Lightspark told her. "There are more prey in the forest than whiskers on cats."

Brightpaw looked bleakly at the ground. She murmured something and padded off. I wonder if Quillflight is around the border. "Perhaps we should hunt by the Training Trees?" Brightpaw asked quickly, "I saw burrows there the last time we were there."

"Er—yes. Good thinking, Brightpaw. But maybe they're by the Thunderpath, waiting to

cross the path to find their burrows on the other side."

"But—" before she could object, Lightspark swiped her tail over Brightpaw's mouth and took a turn, heading to the Thunderpath's direction.

Disappointment swelled in Brightpaw's eyes. I would have been disappointed if I couldn't go to see Quillflight by the border, but life isn't fair. She wondered if Brightpaw wanted to do a few battle moves at the Training Trees, and that's why she wanted to go. Lightspark's stomach grumbled, she could hear the faintest trace of Brightpaw's as well.

"I'm starving! Can we eat?"

"No." Lightspark replied coldly, her eyes squinted as snow plastered onto them.

"But we aren't on hunting patrol." Brightpaw pointed out crossly, her eyes were full of disappointment and desperation.

Sighing, Lightspark agreed to hunt. Once they reached the Training Trees, the smell of prey swirled into her nose. She sighed with relief. There was prey here. Brightpaw caught a scrawny vole that could hardly feed the both of them. "You can eat it." mewed Lightspark.