StormPelt's Challenge

Chapter 5

It had been 2 days since Cherrystar's threat and Ashstorm's unfortunate death. Yet the storm had still been unrelenting, the ground was marshy now and much of the prey that scattered the forest now hid in burrows where it was harder to reach. Stormpelt could feel his strength dwindling every moment as the fresh kill pile became emptier. Greenclaw and lilyflower had fallen ill, and many other warriors should be in the medicine den if they weren't needed to catch as much fresh kill as they could find. Stormpelt was one of them, ever since the dawn after Ashstorm's death his sleep had been spotty. Now he was hunting with Coralfoot and Adderjump for the little food they could find.

"Stormpelt?" Coralfoot nudged him, he had been woozy ever since heading out but his lack of sleep was now catching up to him.

"I'm fine-" he said dejectedly, trying to focus his vision on the roots of the trees.

"You should really go and see Birchfur you know." Her voice was filled with worry, but he knew he would be stuck in there until Birchfur felt he was ready, which could be moons from how he was feeling now.

"I- I can't right now, I'm needed in the clan." He deflected. Soon Adderjump jumped through the bush with a particularly bony mouse in hand.

"Are you sure you aren't too weak to be going out right now." He jeered, placing the mouse on his paw the stop the sticky mud from grabbing it,

"I've seen elders with more spark in their eyes" Stormpelt let out a weak hiss, it was the only retort he could be bothered making, Adderjump had never approved of him and seeing his deputy like this was giving him far more reasons to.

"Theres a mouse den over here." Not giving Adderjump a word back, he jumped over the bush towards where he remembered a large family of mice burrowed, but when he arrived, there was nothing but rotting mouse and a waterlogged tunnel. Stormpelt sighed, the clan couldn't go on like this, not for long.

Once he had come back to camp there was nothing more than a sparrow and an old mouse between them, which was made even worse when Stormpelt saw the less than a dozen pieces of kill on the pile. His tail thudded on the ground and his muscles gave way to his exhaustion, he practically collapsed onto the floor beside the highrock, something Snowstar noticed quickly.

"Stormpelt!" She crouched and looked into his reddened eyes.

"Are you alright?" He lurched himself up to sit with her as professionally as he could manage.

"The storm has rocked my sleep slightly," he grappled with his tiredness and stuffed nose to keep eye contact with Snowstar,

"I'll be fine. Someone must hunt for the clan." Truly he wanted to curl up and let starclan take him but he was not much of a deputy if he did that.

"But I would like my deputy healthy." It was almost as if she had read Stormpelt's thoughts

"but-" he was silenced with Snowstar's tail.

"Go and see Birchfur, you have to listen to me after all." She chirped, Stormpelt brightened to see Snowstar in such high spirits.

"Yes snowstar." He smiled weakly at her before walking towards Birchfur's den.

"Don't tell me you've fallen ill too?" Birchfur snapped unusually. He quickly mumbled an apology.

"Snowstar sent me here, I'm just tired is all." He insisted, looking at the unfortunate cats inside.

"Snowstar wouldn't send you here for a simple lack of sleep." Birchfur studied his face deeply and sighed, Stormpelt felt his anxiety fall back down on him like a curtain.

"Whitecough, like the rest of them." He half looked back at the sniffling cats in the medicine den. Stormpelt tried to retort but Birchfur just shook his head.