Bloodflower

Chapter 17

The sun was already beginning to rise when Rosepaw and Nightpaw crawled back into their nests in the apprentice den. I hope I can catch a bit of sleep before the day starts, Rosepaw thought.

But she didn't get her wish; she barely had time to close her eyes before Pineclaw's head popped into the den. "Hunting patrol, Rosepaw," he mewed.

Rosepaw mumbled incoherently, pretending she had just woken up, and then responded, "All right, coming."

As she rose from her nest yet again, Nightpaw murmured sympathetically. "Bad luck." Rosepaw twitched her ears in rueful acknowledgment and padded out of the den.

The Clan was beginning to stir. Beestripe was below the Cliffrock, with a few warriors sitting around him, waiting to be chosen for the morning patrols. Pineclaw was waiting for her beside the fern tunnel with Birchpelt.

As she trotted over to join them, she felt something soft brushing her legs. Surprised, she glanced down and saw Acornkit scampering around her.

"Please can I come with you?" she squeaked, her green eyes shining eagerly. "Look, I can hunt too!"

Rosepaw watched in amusement as the kit pounced clumsily on a nearby leaf, and rolled over with it caught in her tiny claws. "You'll be a fantastic hunter when you're an apprentice," she meowed.

"But I want to be a hunter now!" Acornkit sprang to her paws and stared hopefully at Rosepaw.

"Acornkit!" Rainfoot stuck her head out of the nursery entrance, her eyes stern. "Get back in here at once! It's feeding time."

Despondent, Acornkit stomped back into the nursery.

When Rosepaw joined her hunting patrol, Birchpelt commented proudly, "She's a firebrand, isn't she?"

Rosepaw purred. "She'll be a feisty apprentice!" Hopefully she added, "I'll be a warrior by then. Maybe I could mentor her, or one of the other kits."

"That would be great," Pineclaw mewed, gazing at his apprentice. "Now, let's get moving."

As the patrol walked along the familiar trail, Rosepaw struggled not to limp. Her shoulder was starting to ache again, and she licked it every few moments to make sure it didn't start bleeding. If anyone notices, they'll want to know how I opened the wound again. Then I'll get Nightpaw and I in trouble.

Trying to put it out of her mind, she lifted her nose to search for prey. It wasn't long before she sniffed out a mousehole, and she was praised by both Pineclaw and Birchpelt when she pointed it out.

"Here's what we'll do," Birchpelt meowed. "I'll run over and scare the mice, so they all come running out. Catch as many as you can before they can scatter."

Rosepaw nodded, while Pineclaw said, "Sounds good!"

The three cats crouched in a half-circle around the hole. Birchpelt scuffed his paws loudly in the dirt and let out a yowl. Rosepaw instantly heard panicked squealing from inside the hole. At least four mice scurried out within a heartbeat.

Rosepaw leaped forward eagerly, sinking her claws into one while grabbing another with her teeth. As she dispatched both of them, she saw Birchpelt slamming his paw down on the neck of a mouse, and heard the cracking of tiny bones.

She sat up with her catch at her paws and glanced at Pineclaw. Her mentor was empty-pawed.

"Mouse dung!" he scoffed. "I didn't catch a single thing."

"Bad luck," Birchpelt sympathized. "There's still plenty of time. Let's bury these and keep hunting."

As Rosepaw started digging her preyhole, she felt a sharp pain in her injured shoulder and yowled. A couple licks proved that her wound was bleeding yet again. Oh, great.