Warriors: Crow's Carrion

Chapter Two

     "Can I be Spottedpath?" Ospreykit blurted out, jumping forward. "Reedtuft made her sound so cool!"

     "Oh—well, you're still a bit weak," Currentkit mewed quickly, his tail flicking. "We—I mean, Crab and I figured I could be Spottedpath and he could be Deadeye! You could be one of Spottedpath's closest allies, though, if you want!"

     "That sounds good," Splashkit spoke up, nudging Ospreykit with his shoulder. "I can be one of Deadeye's followers, and we can fight while they do! And Pool can help one of them fight, if they need it."

     "I guess that's fine," Ospreykit mumbled quietly, though the other kits had already started playing.

     Crabkit and Currentkit circled each other eagerly, while Poolkit watched without much interest. Splashkit offered a reassuring murmur before dropping into a playful crouch. Ospreykit took another glance at their denmates before mimicking him, tail lashing with excitement. I don't need to be Spottedpath—Splash and I will have our own battle! they thought before pouncing at him. Despite putting their all into the pounce, Splashkit effortlessly shoved them off and gave a squeak of surprise.

     Before they could jump at him again, Ospreykit caught a glimpse of Currentkit already leaping onto Crabkit. He tackled the brown tabby down and promptly perched halfway on his shoulder. Quickly, Ospreykit stood up to watch the scene play out.

     "With one fell swoop, I, Spottedpath, end your treacherous reign!" Currentkit yowled and pretended to attack Crabkit. "Die, Deadeye!"

     When Crabkit made an exaggerated choking noise and pretended to die, Poolkit scoffed quietly. "Fights aren't that fast!" he criticized them with a shake of his head. "Splash and Osprey couldn't even get started!"

     "Yeah, well, Spottedpath and Deadeye probably fought as fast as that!" Currentkit retorted and hopped off of Crabkit. "She was a hero!" Ospreykit opened their mouth to speak up when a new voice silenced them all.

     "You know, Spottedpath was more than just a hero in battle." Runningblaze approached them almost silently, then sent a reassuring glance at Ospreykit. "And she was quite the underdog, too. Ripplestar knows a bit more about it—the leader before her, Wolfstar, was alive during the war. He told her stories of what he saw before he passed on."

     "Did Ripplestar tell you the stories?" Ospreykit gasped, watching the dark-furred warrior. "Is it different from what Reedtuft knows?"

     Runningblaze blinked in surprise as the other kits quickly echoed Ospreykit's questions. They glanced between the kits and quickly gave in, speaking with a sigh, "I'm nowhere near as good at this as Ripple, Wavedance, or Reedtuft are, but I guess I could tell the story I know. Wolfstar didn't know Spottedpath personally, but word traveled quickly when a young Gorge apprentice escaped into BlazeClan territory. Only Spottedpaw then, and . . . about as tiny as you lot, she was sentenced to death for believing in StarClan and receiving dreams from the ancestors above. With—with the Clans' help, and a few friends within Deadeye's ranks, she plotted against him and—"

     "Ran, come on! Eveningshell wants us to scout along the shorelines!" a gruff voice interrupted the warrior. Ospreykit glanced toward the noise and saw Runningblaze's brother, Darkshadow, scowling at them.

     "Of course," Runningblaze responded, looking all too relieved. "I'll be right there! Sorry, kits, I'll have to tell the story another time." They swiftly dipped their head and bounded to their brother before vanishing in the reeds of the camp walls.

     "I wanna scout, too," Ospreykit grumbled, watching them leave.

     "You can be a scout with us, Os," Splashkit mumbled and flicked his tail at them. "Well, sort of. That last game was no fun, so what if we play hide and seek? You can be the seeker!"