MistClan's Path SE: Miststar's story (VERSION 2) (a Warriors fanfiction)

Chapter 9

AUTHOR'S NOTE: We're back, everyone! It's been a long hiatus indeed, what with my new life in college, but with this new chapter... let's hope it doesn't happen again! Happy reading, and my apologies for the delay on this long-overdue chapter. To make it up to you, I wrote some of this chapter on a typewriter I got for a belated 20th birthday present. Enjoy this first draft typing of one of the scenes in this chapter... but beware of spoilers. May be best to read it after.

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As day crept up on the apprentice and her mentor once again, Mistpaw found herself stretching as the sun rose higher.

Soon, she heard a gentle voice nearby, making her nearly jump.

"You enjoying your morning?"

"Oh- Whitefur!" She gasped, shaking herself until her startled feelings shook away with the dust on her pelt.

"Sorry. It was hard to rest. That assessment... I was thinking too much about it. What would someone as worthy as you be good at? And then... it came to me. Now, picture this..."

Suddenly, loud screeches of horror and grief resounded throughout the camp.

Through the noise, Mistpaw could only hear one name...

"H-Harefur..?"

"What?!" Whitefur exclaimed, stepping out with her.

And, cats were indeed dragging his body into camp.

It had been soaked with blood, and his paws were limp. His eyes were clouded and his jaw hung open... a face of cold death.

Mistpaw only stared at the horrible sight, before noticing Hopestar padding out into the misty clearing.

"How did this... happen?" Even she was in disbelief, needless to say.

"We found his body outside our territory... already dead." A cat murmured, his pelt shaking.

"I bet it was SunClan!" A she-cat roared, causing many yowls of agreement. "They're getting vengeance on him for the attack!"

"No," Hopestar replied immediately, much to the shock of the other cats.

"What do you mean?" Mistpaw asked, walking with Whitefur to the front of the group huddled around him.

"Look at the clumps of fur in his paws."

She looked down at her leader's request.

"It's... a red-orange. Definitely another cat's fur."

"When you were attacked by the patrol, did any of the cats you saw have this fur color?"

"...no," Mistpaw replied.

"She's probably delusional!" Exclaimed the same she-cat. "Who else could it have been?"

"No! Mistpaw is right!" Whitefur replied, growling. "I didn't see any cats that matched that description either!"

"O-One of the other clans, then?" The she-cat was now at a loss for words.

"No," Hopestar murmured again. "We are at peace with the other clans right now. This was clearly an act of tyranny... by outsiders."

"Outsiders?" Many cats piped up.

"Surely you cannot deny that other cats live near these woods! Maybe even another group that we are unaware of. If what I suspect is true... then this group is truly a threat to our clans. If this is what one cat has done to our deputy, imagine what an army of them could do."

Horrified gasps rose throughout again.

"But for now... we should not worry about this as much... we must honor Harefur's life. He was truly a brave warrior, whose loyalty to me never faltered. He would have made a fine leader one day... to those of us close to him, we must keep a vigil until nightfall. As for the rest of you, I wish for groups to set out and guard our campgrounds."