Rising from the Ashes

Chapter 57

Honeypool woke with a start, heart pounding in her chest and her nest a jumble of dried grass. She sat up as she got her bearings and ran a paw over her face. It was only a nightmare. It had been several days since she had returned from Star Stones with her vision, but it had haunted her dreams since. She was exhausted.

The young medicine cat decided to take a walk to clear her head. She walked past the group battle practicing.

Thistletail looked over at her. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Honeypool responded vaguely, knowing it would irk the prickly deputy and not caring for once.

"Out where?"

Honeypool forced her claws to stay sheathed. "Nowhere specific, Thistletail. I just need to get out of camp for a while."

"We're under threat from a rival Clan and you want to leave camp just because you feel like it?"

Honeypool flattened her ears at Thistletail's scornful tone. "I'm a medicine cat. No warrior would dare touch me."

"That's exactly my point. I wouldn't put it past PineClan to steal you to weaken us further."

Honeypool snorted in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

Thistletail glared at her. "Since when am I not?"

"You can't confine me to camp! The only cat with that authority is Hawkstar and he isn't here."

"Just let her go, Thistletail," Swanflight meowed.

"Fine." Thistletail jerked his head to dismiss Honeypool before returning to the training session.

Honeypool left camp and tried not to let Thistletail's temper get the best of her. She usually didn't but they were all feeling the stress of the upcoming battle. The worst was not knowing when. How much time did they really have? Would it be enough?

Honeypool shook her head. She walked through the frosty grass, trying to distract herself from her worries. The overcast sky and dead grass didn't do much to improve her mood. The meadow was vibrant and alive most of the time. Now it just looked sad and dead.

Honeypool shuddered, trying not to see that as an omen. As she had told Thistletail, she had no set destination in mind. Her mind wandered as her paws led the way. So, it was a surprise to find herself at the ravine. She sat at the top of the slope looking across to the pine forest that she had once called home.

So much had changed!

"Hey look! There's Honeypool!" Birchleg yowled, bounding across the grass as the rest of his patrol trailed behind.

"Is everything alright?" Bumbleflight asked, looking at his sister in concern.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Are you collecting herbs?" Brightwhisker asked.

"Collecting my thoughts more like," Honeypool responded.

Stonesplash gave her a sympathetic look. "Thistletail getting to you, too?"

Honeypool flicked her ears. "Something like that."

"He's so intense!" Birchleg shuddered with almost comically wide blue eyes.

"He's the deputy of the Clan and we are preparing to battle a rival Clan so it's not surprising," Stonesplash meowed.

"Do you wanna head back to camp with us?" Birchleg asked with a tilt of his head as he looked at Honeypool.

Honeypool nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Besides, if I don't go back soon, I'm sure Thistletail will send out some cat to fetch me."

Honeypool fell in beside her brother as Birchleg once more took the lead with

Brightwhisker just behind him and Stonesplash bringing up the rear. Birchleg set up a steady stream of chatter that hopped from the weather to their patrol to what was going on in camp and everything in between. Honeypool had been looking for a distraction when she left camp and she had certainly found it! It was exactly what she needed, and she felt herself relaxing as she traveled home with the dawn patrol.

Honeypool could almost forget that their future was still threatened by darkness and that there was no guarantee that they would ever see the light again.