Rising from the Ashes

Chapter 30

Bramblestripe met the dawn patrol at the entrance tunnel. To his surprise, each of them carried a fish in their jaws, including Wildbloom.

"Uh, did I get my patrols mixed up cause I thought we were the hunting patrol,"

Bramblestripe meowed with a tilt of his head.

Thistletail shoved his way to the front, gaze stern as always. "What is this?"

"When we discovered the river had shrunk, we decided to take the opportunity to go hunting," Stonesplash explained.

"So, you just decided to forget about the rest of the border, like you were ordered

to do?" Thistletail demanded with a twitch of his tail.

"The Clan needs to be fed. We can't turn down an opportunity to do that."

Stonesplash kept his mew level, but Bramblestripe could guess it was a struggle.

There was a tense silence as the two toms stared at one another.

At last, Thistletail stepped aside. "See that the elders eat then. After that, do as

you please. Not like you listen to my orders anyway."

Stonesplash picked up his fish and slipped into camp.

Bramblestripe and Hareflight exchanged an awkward look before following after Thistletail. They continued into the meadow...if it could even be called that anymore. The grass hadn't recovered after the storm, leaving the once lush meadow a barren field. Bramblestripe had never felt so exposed before and he missed the vibrancy of the greenleaf meadow. It made his fur prickle with nowhere to hide if there were danger. Though, he supposed he would just have to get used to it.

"Are you able to lead this patrol or not?" Thistletail asked, pleasant as ever.

Bramblestripe twitched his ears. "Of course I can."

The big dark brown tabby continued moving and the patrol slowly spread out across the open expanse to hunt. It had taken days, but the prey had finally returned. Though, not nearly as plentiful as it had been before the storm. The patrol did its best, but they were starting to get used to their mediocre catches. Of course, the Clans were no stranger to hunger, and this was nothing compared to leafbare.

"Alright, we're going to have to head back to camp," Thistletail ordered.

"At least the dawn patrol was able to feed the elders," Hareflight meowed.

"So, this can help to feed the rest of the Clan," Bramblestripe meowed.

It wasn't enough for everyone to have a piece of fresh-kill each but at least they would be able to eat. The patrol headed back to camp and then went about divvying up their meager catch.