Cinder

Chapter 26

Cindercloud sat with her head on her paws, sadness gripping her. Since her break up, she had been more down and sad than usual, but she knew they had made the right choice. She had sent out all of the patrols, now she just sat and watched the bustle of camp. Graystep was wrestling with his kits while Heatherfall watched fondly from outside the nursery. Falconstar was sharing tongues with Leafstrike, Hawktalon beside them. Creekpelt and Patchfur were even sitting together, looking more relaxed than she had ever seen them. Nightsong and Tigertail were heading out on a patrol by themselves. Splashtail was teaching Woodclaw how to stalk a bird. Cindercloud felt lonelier than ever before.
She caught Creekpelt's eye, who waved her over with her tail. Cindercloud got up and sat beside her mother.
"We don't like to see the deputy by herself." Her mother purred.
"I guess I'm just tired." She said.
"Being deputy can be challenging I can guess." Patchfur said.
"It is." Cindercloud meowed, wishing she could tell them what she was really thinking. We are both so proud of you." Patchfur purred. "I promise to be a better father to you now on, and a better mate to your mother." Cindercloud smiled at him and dipped her head. She stood and walked off, deciding to go out hunting on her own.

     Once on the moor, she took off at a run, her tails streaming out behind her. She spotted the border patrol by the RiverClan border, led by Thistlewing. She waved her tail at the patrol as she flashed by. She spotted Tigertail chasing after a rabbit with Nightsong trailing him. Cindercloud veered in-front of Tigertail and pounced the rabbit, killing it with a nip to the back of the neck.
"Nice catch!" Nightsong called.
"Hey that was mine!" Tigertail growled, laughter in his eyes.
"Sorry, couldn't resist." Cindercloud said innocently.
"Hey, I cant argue with my deputy." Tigertail purred. Cindercloud shuffled her paws awkwardly. "Want me to take this to camp and let you two finish your hunt?" She asked.
"Sure. And don't take all of the credit!" Tigertail purred. Cindercloud dipped her head and made her way back to camp, feeling a bit better. She noticed Hawktalon sitting by himself when she entered camp. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, catching her off guard. She made her way toward him, mustering up some courage and trying to make friends.
"Wanna share?" She offered, dropping the rabbit at his paws.
"Why would we do that?" He growled gruffly.
"B-because i-"
"Leave me alone." He snarled, baring his teeth.
"You can keep the rabbit." She said, feeling dejected.
"I can catch my own prey thanks!" He said tartly, shoving the rabbit toward her. Cindercloud took it and padded away, head down, and dropped it back onto the pile, before she made her way to the warriors den alone...

   She took her patrol to the ThunderClan border, hoping to not meet any warriors from the enemy clan. All had been quite for some time. Perhaps Ravenclaw as deputy was a good thing? A pang of longing shook her.
   "Nothing here. Those cowards!" Hawktalon snarled, digging his claws into the grass. "I would shred a ThunderClan cat for a couple of mousetails!"
     "Me too. I want revenge for what they did as much as you." Ashcloud said sadly. He had recovered well from his wounds, but was bitter.
    "We will have our chance one day. For now, we should move on." Thistlewing meowed.
    "One day." Hawktalon promised before they turned away. Ashcloud stopped and pricked his ears before he spun around. Cindercloud felt her heart drop. A ThunderClan patrol was on the other side of the border and had spotted them. Hawktalon arched his back and spat threateningly. Cindercloud spotted Ravenclaw leading the patrol. With him was Blazeheart, Poppyflower, Sageleaf and Daisypetal.
"Stand down Hawktalon. We don't know if they will cause us any trouble." She ordered. Hawktalon glared at her and relaxed his stance, though his fur continued to spike along his back and tail.
"We want no trouble. We are just patrolling our borders." Ravenclaw mewed. Cindercloud stood at the border, feeling her fur spiking uneasily. This was her former mate and her best friend, but they could not show their history in front of their clan mates. She acted indifferent as she approached the patrol.
"I'll take your word for it." Cindercloud said, her voice flat. Ravenclaw stared at her, sorrow in his eyes for what they had lost.
"You're a fool for that Cindercloud! Ashcloud was attacked for no reason by these pieces of fox dung!" Hawktalon snarled. Ashcloud stiffened and bared his teeth. Cindercloud hated the tension between these two clans.
"I am sorry that happened to you. But we want no trouble. We only want to patrol in peace, like you." Ravenclaw said coolly.
"And hedgehogs fly." Hawktalon snarled.
"We should attack just because of your attitude WindClan slime!" Blazeheart growled, stepping forward. Hawktalon went to meet him and they stood nose to nose, snarling.
"Stand back!" Cindercloud cried, but her clanmate ignored her. "Hawktalon! Now! I am your deputy!" She cried. But he continued to ignore her.
"Blazeheart! Get back. We don't want to cause trouble today." Ravenclaw growled. Blazeheart backed away angrily.
"You're a weak and foolish deputy! Mudstar should have never chosen you!" Blazeheart yowled. Cindercloud was afraid he would strike his deptuy, but he did not. He merely spat and turned away.
"Thank you Ravenclaw. We will allow you to continue in peace." Cindercloud turned without looking back. She beckoned the patrol to follow, and they headed back to camp.