Falling Star [1]

Chapter 16

          Ashpaw stalked out of
the apprentices den, still infuriated that Moonpaw would even think about saying something like that to her. Rainleap padded up and started to say hi, but she just kept going. Where? She didn't know. She just needed to cool down a bit. She decided to retreat to the elders den, where she thought for sure Ravenwing would be waiting to calm her down. But instead the den was empty. Deciding that the elders were probably sunbathing in the clearing, she curled up in the corner and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her head.
  Surely she was overreacting, but possibilities such as that didn't matter to her. At least not right now.
   Once she had straightened out her thoughts she took a few deep breaths and departed from the small den.
Rainleap was waiting outside for her, looking concerned.
She tried her best not to snap
when he asked if she was alright.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just a little shaken up is all."
He still looked worried but moved on. "So do you think it'll be fine if I take you on a hunting patrol?"
She nodded. "Sure."
Barkwhisker and Maplefur joined them with Webpaw, who mostly stayed quiet as she padded alongside the rest of the patrol. A border patrol made up of Heatherclaw, Lionface and Featherpaw also left, parting to head towards the BlazeClan border.
   Barkwhisker left with his apprentice to work on her hunters crouch while the rest of the cats scented the air.
   Rainleap left to chase down a squirrel while Maplefur clawed her way up a tree to catch a sparrow. That left Ashpaw with nothing else to hunt. As Leaf Bare approached with its chilly air, so did the lack of prey.
She saw a mouse scrambling across the roots of a spruce. She dropped down, checking the wind and finding with pleasure that it was blowing against her.
She avoided the numerous twigs
and dead leaves scattered across the frosty grass as she crept towards her prey. Once she was about a tail length away she pounced, landing the mouse in between her claws and snapping its spine easily.
Rainleap and Maplefur returned
with their own catches where they waited for Brackenwhisker and Webpaw who turned up with nothing.
The trek back seemed longer than usual, a suffocating silence hanging amongst the group. Finally, Brackenwhisker spoke. "Hopefully that patrol didn't have any issues," he said. "I mean they did head towards the BlazeClan border. Anything can happen with them."
Maplefur nodded in agreement.
They returned within a matter of minutes, dropping their prey off and scattering throughout the camp. With no one to turn to besides Rainleap, Ashpaw chose a sunny spot near the medicine cat den to rest in.
After awhile she decided that
sitting around was boring, so she went to get something to eat. She chose a small vole for herself and carried it into the apprentices den, scarfing it down quickly. Frustration took over. Having a busy warrior as your only friend can make boredom a reoccurring feeling. She gave a hefty sigh, deciding that a nap would do her good. Sleep quickly overthrew her boredom, bringing her into a soft flowing meadow with wild flowers of every kind.
Suddenly, rain started pouring down, pounding the earth with it's thundering force. The scenery changed to match the vast mossy Stone Clearing, but instead of four clans peacefully sitting she found a waging battle, caterwauls and screeches everywhere. She felt something hot and sticky engulf her paws and looked down. She stared in horror at the river of blood flowing from the boulders in the center of the clearing. Her fur became stiff with dried blood as she tried to escape, the smell suffocating her and she slipped and fell onto a dead cat. It was too much for her. Too much..
She woke up gasping for clean air.
It was still light outside, and she guessed that only a few minutes had passed.
Trying to shake her nightmare off,
she padded outside.
The whole clan was crowded around the base of the dirt ramp that led to the entrance, making her push her way to the center in curiosity.
She almost had a heart attack when she saw what had drawn everyone's attention.
It was her father.