Warriors- Rise of Darkness

Chapter 9

     Hailpaw tossed and turned in her mossy bed, her eyes opened and waiting for the right time to leave. The moon was high in the clear sky, almost as bright as the sun. She knew that meeting with the Mountain Clan leader was wrong, but maybe something positive may come to this. They could develop an alliance with each other and repair their relationship.

She slowly stood up and carefully padded out of the apprentice den. She looked left and then right before sneaking past the clearing and into the forest. Her stripped gray fur glittered in the moonlight peeking through the branches above.

There was a high possibility that Mossystar wouldn't even be there or worse, but she had to at least try and see what his proposal was.

Through the forest, she skidding carefully, looking over her shoulder every so often before she made it down the slope. The wild grass blew in her face as she headed to the plains. She walked a few more steps before stopping in the middle and sat down. Her ears pricked, waiting to hear for an answer.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Mossystar approached her, coming out through the grass. He sat down next to her and looked up at the sky "It sure makes itself known that Starclan is watching over."

She scooted away, arching her back defensive "Enough small talk."

"Ooo," he purred amused "that's quite some sass you got there." She glared at him. He sighed, shutting his eyes "Alright, let's get going, we can't stay out here all night." He advised.

"Agreed" She grumbled.

"Let's start with the basics, what do you know so far?" He asked.

************

"Hailpaw, come on!" Sweetpaw nudged Hailpaw.

Hailpaw yawned. Her body sore and aching from training with Mossystar only a few hours earlier. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, looking at her litter mate.

"You slept in," Sweetpaw said, "Mintpool needs us on patrol."

Hailpaw stretched, feeling more drowsy than usual "What time is it?"

"Midday," Sweetpaw said sourly.

Hailpaw's heart dropped. She quickly shot up out of her bed "Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"I don't know," Sweetpaw said, "Don't yell at me."

"I'm in so much trouble, fox dung!" Hailpaw darted out of the apprentice den, seeing Mintpool conversing with Rosepool. His ears twitched and turned his head over to Hailpaw. Hailpaw staggered over, afraid of what was to come.

"I heard about your paw Hailpaw," Rosepool said, "How is it?"

Hailpaw looked at her surprised but didn't fail to answer her "it feels better today."

"What did you do to it?" Rosepool asked.

"She just tripped while practicing," Mintpool said quickly. Hailpaw looked at him confused. Why wasn't he saying anything about Mossystar?

Hailpaw's heart sunk. Had he over heard his deal with her?

Rosepool nodded "We are just headed to patrol the Mountain Clan border, we could use a little more warriors for midday patrol."

Mintpool's ear twitched "Yes, that would be wonderful. Hailpaw hasn't been out on a patrol for a while."

Rosepool purred happily "I'll go gather the others." She trotted off, flicking her Creamy, long, fluffy tail.

Mintpool turned to Hailpaw, staring her right in the eyes "I need you to stay quiet about what happened with Mossystar, okay?"

"Why?" Hailpaw asked curiously.

"I just need you too," He said with a pause. He looked around the camp, his blue eyes scanning carefully "I'll tell you later when you are older."

Hailpaw thought his comment was funny. Why would she have to wait till she was older to understand his weird reactions?

Rosepool trotted toward the group with a paw full of cats by her side. She pushed her way through the shady pine camp and lead the patrol to the mountain clan border. Hailpaw followed, her paw still sore but not leaving her paralyzed to move.

The group took their time, making their way through the pine trees and toward the small open field that peered in between the mountains that crossed both Mountain clan and Snow clan's territories. Hailpaw suddenly froze in her spot. What if her scent was still there from last night? They would know something was up and she would be up a tree if they smelt Snow clan cat scent on the Mountain clan side.

Mintpool stopped, looking behind him "Hailpaw, what's wrong?"

Hailpaw quickly raced through her thoughts "I thought I saw a snake."

"This far up the mountain?" he asked.

Hailpaw ducked down, slithering past her mentor who still stared at her confused. She gulped, her gut clenching as they grew closer to the border. The patrol has stopped at the edge of the border, marked a tree and then continued up toward where the sun always rose in the mornings.

Hailpaw held her tongue, watching as the warriors did their deed and continued on normally. She knew that at any moment if the wind picked up, it may lead them to her old scent. She prayed to star clan above that her scent was stale and dead.

Still, no matter how high they went up the mountain till they reached the edge of the territory and back, she was still on edge until they arrived back at camp. The sun started to set and Hailpaw's stomach rumbled.

Mintpool motioned over tot he fresh-kill pile "Got get something to eat."

Hailpaw nodded. She trotted over to the pile and picked up a squirrel. She took it over to her brother and sister who were busy eating a sparrow. She lied down and tore at the furry, cold flesh. Runningpaw looked at Hailpaw amused. Hailpaw blinked, before finally speaking up.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm surprised Mintpool didn't ring you out for sleeping in today," he said.

Hailpaw growled, "It's not my fault."

Sweetpaw nodded "She did hurt her paw Runningpaw-"

"I don't know why I'm even complaining, it's not like you'll be made warriors the same day as us," He said.

Hailpaw tensed up "What do you mean?"

"We are further ahead in our training," he said, "I overheard Bluetail and Songfur talking to Swiftstar about our warrior assessment."

Hailpaw shifted, trying to relax but she knew deep down in her blood her claws were unsheathed for combat with her brother.

"Runningpaw" Sweetpaw hissed.

"I'm just saying," He said "but it's not your fault Hailpaw for not taking it seriously" He pulled a bit of flesh off his prey and swallowed it "maybe you should go find some twolegs and be a kittypet. The lifestyle would suit you. Lazy and useless in battle."

Hailpaw's eyes filled with tears "I-I'm not lazy!"

"Kittypets aren't all that lazy you know," Birdwing said with a low growl behind Hailpaw. Runningpaw froze, looking at the medicine cat. Birdwing slowly walked up to him before standing his ground firmly "if you understood that not all kittypets are treated like kings you may understand that they may have to fight for their right to survive just like a warrior. In a way, they are their own kind of warrior." He flicked his tail sharply back and forth.

Runningpaw gulped, unable to speak. Sweetpaw quickly left the scene with Runningpaw trailing behind her not too long after. Hailpaw stood up and looked at Birdwing. He relaxed his muscles and stared at Hailpaw.

"T-thank you" Hailpaw stuttered.

Birdwing rolled his eyes and picked up a piece of prey and brought it back to his den. Hailpaw watched him curiously. Her first question was what he meant by a king and what that even meant, but then again, he was raised with different dialogue than she was. She looked down at her squirrel.

Runningpaw's comment rang in her ears. She had to try harder to catch up to them. She blinked. Maybe Mossystar's deal would be a good thing after all.