𝘾𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙎 - 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴

-acornnose [ part i ]

acornnose, windfur, pebbleclaw, rockpaw, runningpaw, and brightshine are by December_Jones

sedgewhisker is by me, mothtiger

the wind brushed the reddish-brown tabby warrior's pelt. "where's pebbleclaw?..." she stuttered, youth evident in her shaky voice.

"shush!" windfur snapped quietly, his tail twitching. "rockpaw better not make loud noises with runningpaw," the senior warrior muttered under his breath, walking beneath the canopy of dark trees scattered around, creating thickets and thick shadows that made it hard for acornnose to see.

in the distance, the two warriors saw two apprentices - rockpaw and runningpaw. rockpaw was a light brown tom, his amber eyes shining even from 15 fox-lengths. runningpaw was a brown and white tom, his dark brown eyes almost lifeless like a ghost's black, hollow, empty orbs.

the red-brown, ragged senior tomcat rushed after the two apprentices. acornnose followed behind. the young warrior's sight turned around to see three wolves chasing after them, barking furiously. "run faster! we cannot afford to get injured!" windfur yowled, his pale green orbs focused on the front.

rockpaw and runningpaw were quick to rush behind the two adult cats, but the senior warrior tripped on a pebble and fell to the ground. "no!" runningpaw yowled as 1 wolf lunged after their grandfather. acornnose panted, her legs moving as fast as it could.

"don't slow down!" acornnose commanded as she ran faster, the remaining 2 wolves barking and howling. the young she-cat grabbed rockpaw's scruff, running towards a tunnel on the side of a large mountain. right after runningpaw went in, a boulder rolled from the top of the mountain and closed the tunnel entrance.

the brown and white tom sighed, panting. he did not like the fact that his kin was currently being bit into pieces by a mouse-brained creature. "rockpaw," he began. "i'm worried about windfur. are you?"

the other apprentice nodded, his whiskers twitching. he looked down at his paws which were tingling with anxiety.

"acornnose!" a familiar voice called out. it was muffled because it came from outside. the she-cat heard barking and aggressive biting.

"pebbleclaw?" acornnose yowled. she did not want her crush getting slaughtered by two- wait, no, she heard... five! the she-cat aggressively dug into the ground. the scene was intense, and pebbleclaw's life hung in the balance.

the white and black tom also dug into the ground, trying to seek shelter as wolves ripped off his fur. finally, he was safe, and a few rocks slid down to block the tunnel too! "i can't express how worried i was," acornnose licked the warrior's torn fur. some, tiny parts of his pelt were matted and some other parts didn't have any fur at all.

"same," pebbleclaw meowed as rockpaw and runningpaw approached him, licking his pelt. "the feeling of wolves biting me is not the best feeling..." he muttered. "wait, where's windfur?"

"the wolves killed him," rockpaw sighed, tail swishing side to side. runningpaw walked up to rockpaw, the silence of the tunnel was evident. the wolves have gave up on chasing the cats, and the apprentices' gazes were sad.

acornnose sighed as she lounged down in the wide space of the underground chamber. it was cold down here, and with her short fur, she shivered. "how do we get out? sedgewhisker's waiting at camp. we should've been back at sundown." it was getting colder and colder, and the she-cat knew the moon was rising.

pebbleclaw shook his head, a few cuts on his back stopped bleeding. "we could dig out," the black-and-white tomcat called out.

the three cats nodded and started digging their way out of the tunnel, their paws sweeping dirt towards the back of the cave.

-

"brightshine, the search patrol hasn't returned yet,"

"oh?"

"i think the wolves killed them."

"..."

"brightshine?"

"yes, sedgewhisker?"

"should i send out a patrol to find them?"

"no, thank you."

"aren't you worried about windfur?"

"y-yes..."