Diverging Paths (Warrior Cats Fanfiction)

Chapter 36

A few days later...

Highwings flattened her ears upon her head. "You know, I'm pretty sure Sunroar is able to do that too. That's not special."

Moorsprint's tail puffed out, and she glared up at her friend, who was sitting down beside her as she laid on the ground. "I'm not referring to the Clan-rogue thing. She can do that, sure, but I haven't seen her do this. And trust me, he can. Have a little spirit."

Highwings sighed heftily, as though trying to make her discontentment as loud as possible. Nokit was over by the fresh-kill pile, sniffing intensely at a particular mouse. Moorsprint had claimed that Nokit could smell a piece of prey and actually precisely identify the specific cat who had caught it. Highwings didn't believe it. Sunroar, at her best, could pick out if a rogue or Clan cat had killed a piece of prey. She could even point out Clan from Clan. But individual cats? That was bogus. Especially for a little kit with no training, not to mention the fact that he was missing two important senses.

"Well, even if he could, how is he even gonna tell us who it is? It's not like he can point to them or say their name," Highwings grunted.

"I taught him another way. What're you being so negative about? Is it your parents again or something?" Moorsprint huffed.

Highwings tensed up in rage. You really think that's the best thing to bring up? How in the Dark Forest does it have anything to do with this? "Uh, yeah, no, because finding out that I've been lied to my entire life totally isn't gonna make anything different. Great job, Moorsprint," Highwings spat, her tail flicking around wildly in anger.

"Calm down. I didn't mean- Just-" Moorsprint sighed. "Just watch him."

Highwings turned her judgmental gaze to Nokit, who was flicking his tail as his nose twitched and sniffed the prey. Highwings had seen Sunroar do the same thing many times before. She could identify the Clan of the cat who had killed prey. Individual cats, though, was something that the tracker had claimed nearly impossible. Unless the cat who had killed the prey had established their own unique group-scent different from the current groups, and even then, you would have to have the foreknowledge that they belonged to that new group of theirs.

Nokit's tail suddenly sprung up like a stick. Highwings raised her eyebrows, and Moorsprint's face began glowing with pride. Nokit waddled over to a group of cats with a huge smile on his face. Their small conversations slowly trailed off in awkwardness as they stared at the silver, white-marked kit hobbling casually through their friend groups. Nokit then buried his tiny pink nose into Sleekmove's slick blonde fur. The she-cat raised an eyebrow down at him.

Moorsprint let out a squeal of joy, prompting Highwings to snap her gaze back down towards her. The excited reddish-brown she-cat darted forward, picking up the prey that Nokit had initially been smelling, and carrying it over to where Sleekmove was. Sleekmove blinked in confusion, all eyes watching her as Moorsprint dropped the mouse in front of her.

Moorsprint gazed up at her, tail thrashing in excitement. "Is this yours?"

Sleekmove stared at her. "What?"

"I mean, did you catch this? Did you catch this mouse?" Moorsprint pressed.

Sleekmove blinked a bit, gazing down at the mouse with her golden eyes. "I guess so? I can't really tell. All mice look the same."

"Well, smell it or something! Do you recognize it?"

Twitching an ear in self-consciousness and concern for Moorsprint, Sleekmove bent down and put her nose to the mouse, inhaling its scent a few times. She raised her eyebrows and lifted herself back up. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did. Why?"