Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Eighteen

Grief as cold as winter's rain pricked at Pineheart's heart. He struggled to wake up, feeling depression like a damp blanket across his body. He could feel Frostfeather's presence as she shifted beside him.

"Are you ok, Pineheart?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice.

"I'll be fine," he grunted, every word an effort. Slowly, he blinked his eyes open to find dawn light filtering through the branches of the bush. Unfamiliar scents of the forest bathed his tongue as he took a short breath.

It seemed like he and Frostfeather were the only ones still resting. The others' scents were already fading, replaced by the harsh odors of the berry bush.

"Everyone went out hunting. I figured you could use the sleep, so I stayed behind to keep watch," Frostfeather explained quietly.

Pineheart huffed, feeling his insides quiver with sadness. "I don't even know if I can go on," he confessed, "I didn't think this journey would be so hard."

"Of course it was going to be hard," Frostfeather scolded him gently, "we are traveling into unknown territory with only StarClan's assurance that we are going in the right direction."

"I don't know why we can't just stay here. I'm sure we could find somewhere to camp; and then we wouldn't need to travel anymore," he grumbled.

"But this isn't where StarClan wants us to be. They told us to go to the sea," she insisted, "there we will find our new home."

The scent of fresh kill suddenly overwhelmed them. "Are you two awake?" Elkleap's voice called under the bush's branches.

"Yes we will be out in a moment," Frostfeather replied. She swished her ivory tail against Pineheart's flank, hoping to cheer him up.

"I'm sure they've brought back some mice. You know how much you love the taste of mouse," she purred.

With a reluctant sigh, Pineheart pushed himself to his paws. Frostfeather followed him closely out of the makeshift den, her tail waving behind her.

"We've found plenty of prey!" Elkleap tumbled happily as the pair came to join the rest of the group.

Sootsplash, Meadowshine, and Lionpaw were all happily crunching away on a rabbit. While Brokensong had tucked into a fat pigeon only a couple paces away. Pineheart looked over the fresh kill pile for a brief moment before choosing a plump mouse for himself.

"You didn't encounter any foxes?" Frostfeather asked Elkleap, "I know you had scented them last nite."

"No I didn't find any sign of foxes. My nose might have just been playing a trick on me," he laughed, his whiskers twitching.

Frostfeather purred and bent down to take a small robin from the pile. Elkleap, last to choose, took two mice for himself.

The patrol fell into a content silence, everyone happily munching away on their warm prey. Pineheart glanced up at the forest canopy as he took his last bites of his mouse. The sun was still shining brightly, casting brilliant beams of light onto the grassy floor below.

"It's still early," he commented.

Elkleap nodded, "yeah, it's not even sunhigh yet," he mumbled around his prey.

"Does that mean I have time to go and play?" Lionpaw piped up excitedly from beside her mother and father.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea...." Meadowshine mewed, "there could be something dangerous lurking out there."

"But Elkleap said he didn't scent any foxes, right?" she asked, gazing up at Meadowshine with innocent eyes.

"Yes, I guess he did..." she conceded. She looked at Sootsplash for support but he just shrugged.

"Just don't stray too far from the group. I scented rain on the wind during our hunt," Elkleap mewed, "we should be leaving again soon."

With an excited bounce, Lionpaw sped off into the shadowy forest. Sootsplash and Meadowshine watched her leave, worried expressions across their faces.

"All that's out there is mice and butterflies. She will be ok," Elkleap assured them. The two parents leaned into each other, their fur brushing against one another.

Pineheart looked into the forest, squinting at the shadows that swallowed Lionpaw's russet pelt. "I wish Shimmerpaw was still with us. Then Lionpaw wouldn't feel so lonely," Meadowshine mewed sadly.

Pineheart noticed Elkleap's eyes glitter with sadness at the mention of his old apprentice's name. "I can see the same joy and enthusiasm that Shimmerpaw had in Lionpaw. This whole ordeal has made her stronger... it has made us all stronger."

Pineheart couldn't help but agree. They were all so different than from when they were still living in IceClan territory. "We will need all the strength we can get when we get to our new home," Brokensong meowed as she stood from her prey.

"I hope it has everything that the old territory had," Meadowshine purred wistfully, "tall trees for climbing, tiny streams for fishing, vast hills for running..."

"What about snow?" Frostfeather asked, "it's been some time since we've seen snow blanket the ground."

"Yes, IceClan was known for its snow-lined slopes. I think our new territory will have different qualities," Brokensong mewed.

A soft rain had begun to fall, slowly dripping through the top most branches of the trees. "Well, I think that's our signal to head out," Elkleap grunted, "can someone climb up and see if they can find where the sun is?"

Frostfeather volunteered and quickly swarmed up the trunk of a nearby tree. Pineheart tilted back his head, watching the shivering branches where she had climbed passed.

After only a few moments, she reappeared and leaped down to the forest floor. She pointed her tail towards the west, "it's setting in that direction."

Pineheart could feel his pelt growing damp from the trickling rain. "Someone should go and fetch Lionpaw," he meowed.

"I'll go and get her," Elkleap mewed, "after we return we can leave." With a flick of his tail, he trotted off into the trees.

Frostfeather reared her head on her paws. "I can't wait to see our new home," she sighed.

"Me either," Pineheart whispered in her ear, "I hope it's everything we want it to be."

He could feel his depression starting to fade to be replaced with optimism. They had to almost be there.

All of the sudden, they could hear someone crashing back through the undergrowth towards them. Elkleap reappeared, his brown and black pelt spiked with distress.

"Lionpaw is gone!"