Venom Within - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

My 'punishment' as it turned out, was spending half the night guarding the entrance to Pricklestar's burrow for the next half moon.

She would calmbour into her den as I stared bitterly at her. The moment she entered her massive burrow, she would let out a gusty sigh, as though I couldn't hear her. She was also probably thinking about how mousebrained the punishment was.

Like you wanted to spend time with me protecting you!

It did allow me plenty of time to think, though. I enjoyed the stillness of the camp, as the crisp night air billowed through DuneClan camp. I particularly relished the fact that Pricklestar had decided I, her least favourite cat in the clan, would be her guard.

The moment Pricklestar's shadow appeared at the mouth of the tunnel, my spine went rigid. I whisked my tail across the sandstone earth, wrapping it around my paws.

"Hey," I said.

Pricklestar narrowed her eyes at me, tilting her head to one side. At last, she let out a decisive nod, as though she had decided today was, in fact, not the day to give me another punishment.

I noted how ruffled her pale cream pelt was. There were also shadows under her eyes. She had a strange, tense aura about her as she made her way towards the shadowy entrance to her den.

"Why does Owlpaw like you?" she asked at length.

Great opener. I refused to roll my eyes. But the question struck deeper than a thorn in my pad as I thought about it. No other cat seemed to like me. They all seemed wary of me, waiting for the moment in which I unleashed some sort of sinister true nature.

"Because I care about her," I said, not quite able to meet my clan leader's gaze.

I wonder if any cat would say that of me...

"Do you?" Pricklestar blinked at me like I had just sprouted wings. "Because I've told you, practically ordered you, to keep your tail away from my daughter. And yet you still refuse... Even if it would be dangerous for you to be beside her and framed for attempted murder again."

"Yeah, well, I've been training with Dingofoot and the other Scouts so that I don't let her get hurt again."

I unsheathed my claws. Vivid images flashed through my mind of slicing and slashing open enemies. Any creature who dared hurt Owlpaw would face my wrath. She was the only cat truly kept me sane, in a world where everyone treated me like an outcast.

I forced a smile as Pricklestar continued to stare at me. "Is there anything you would like? A mouse or fresh moss, perhaps?" Or do you just want to punish me again...?

I couldn't play her games, get goaded by her words, even as they drew the thorn deeper into my chest. Burrowpaw was more important. Every breath I took felt thinner and shallower, as though without Burrowpaw, my mind was slowly leaving my body. I just wanted my brother to make it out alive.

"You're so like him," Pricklestar breathed out the words as she continued to stare at me. "And yet, I keep wondering why it hasn't played out the same way. Your claws, your fire: identical; but why hasn't the first blow struck?"

"Like who?" I narrowed my eyes. "Burrowpaw?"

Pricklestar blinked in surprise. "The dead apprentice?"

I had to bite back a snarl at how casually she mentioned Burrowpaw's death. My heart was pounding in my chest, my ears laid back against my face. I couldn't keep staring at this cat, the clan leader who refused to search for a lost clanmate.