"Ivytail! Dawn patrol!"
Ivytail blinked open her eyes. "I'm up." She muttered, pushing herself to her feet.
The clan deputy Flameclaw was standing in the entrance to the den, his orange pelt glowing in the dawn light. She narrowed her eyes against the harsh glare. "Wait by the entrance." He instructed. "I'll send a few more cats to join you."
Ivytail gave a curt nod and slipped past him into camp. It was quiet, and only a few cats were awake. The sun was just barely visible above the hollow, and the sound of songbirds waking pierced the silence. She padded over to the gorse tunnel to wait for whomever would join her, as Flameclaw had instructed.
"Hey turtle! Looks like we're patrolling together."
Oh how wonderful. One of my favorite people. Ivytail thought sarcastically. "I've told you before Willowclaw, my name's not turtle."
Her silver tabby clanmate padded up beside her, her fur smooth and glossy as always. Willowclaw laid her tail on Ivytail's back, who quickly swatted it away. "Would you rather I call you a rouge? That would also suit you, seeing as where you were born."
Ivytail began to bristle. "I was a kit mouse-brain! I can't control where I was born!"
Another scent filled her nose as a familiar reddish pelt pushed between the two cats. A scar covered face glanced at her then at Willowclaw. "Let's not start a fight this early, alright? Save that for the training hollow." It was Cedarscar.
"She started it." Ivytail muttered, staring icily at the other she-cat.
"Fine." Willowclaw snapped. "But keep your ugly face away from me."
Hurt glinted in Cedarscar's eyes as he dropped his head to the ground, hiding his scarred face.
I don't get why everyone makes such a big deal about his face. They're just scars.
"Come on." Willowclaw meowed. "We need to get going or Flameclaw will be furious." She added with a glance at the deputy sitting in the center of camp. Every cat knows she has a crush on Flameclaw. I can't blame her though.
The patrol headed out of camp and down near the ShadowClan border. They paused to renew their scent markers, then quickly headed on. Everything was peaceful, and Cedarscar even managed to catch a squirrel on the way back.
As soon as they neared the camp, Ivytail curtly meowed, "I'm going to hunt by myself for a while." And veered off into the forest before either of the other cats could respond. She trotted quite a way a way until she found herself back near the ShadowClan border. She out a small sigh, the tightness in her chest easing. She felt herself fill with tranquility as the sound of chirping birds and rustling leaves whispered past her ears. I might as well be productive and hunt a bit.
She began tasting the air for a scent, and quickly picked up the trail of a rabbit. It's meaty scent made her mouth water. She dropped into a hunter's crouch and began stalking it through the lush, Greenleaf undergrowth. When the rabbit was just a fox-length away, she wiggled her hindquarters, ready to pounce.
Suddenly, a loud rustle sounded in the bushes a little way away. The rabbit shot off and Ivytail hurried in pursuit. It zigzagged around until it disappeared into a hole next to a bush. Ivytail stood up and hissed angrily. "Who was that mouse-brain! You just scared away my prey!"
An apprentice stinking of ShadowClan stepped out of the bushes. His pelt was a smokey gray color, and his white-tipped ears were flattened in embarrassment. He looked newly apprenticed, judging by the kit-fluff still on his pelt.
"Is your brain made of thistledown? You just scared away my prey!"
A gray tabby she-cat padded over to stand next to the apprentice. "My apologies. This is his first time out of camp, he was just apprenticed last night."
"So what if he's just been made a 'paw? Every ThunderClan kit knows that if you go prancing through the woods like a overweight badger, the prey will go hide their burrows and dens. Are ShadowClan kits not taught this?" Ivytail huffed.
"Yes, our kits are taught that." The ShadowClan she-cat replied evenly. "But I'm sure you remember how exiting it was on your first outing as a new apprentice."
Before Ivytail could speak, a new voice joined them.
"What in Starclan is going on here? And why is Smokepaw standing there like he's just seen a fox?" A reddish-brown tom appeared, and his gaze surveyed Ivytail up and down before resting on his clanmate.
"We might as well be dealing with a fox the way this one is acting." The she-cat muttered, unknowing that Ivytail's sharp hearing could pick up every word.
"I'm no fox!' She growled. 'I'm a warrior of ThunderClan."
The tabby she-cat snapped her gaze to Ivytail, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I didn't mean-"
"Fox-dung to that!" Ivytail hissed. "You meant it all right! ShadowClan cats are liars, and that's a fact."
The reddish tom stepped forward, his fur bristling, and his ears pinned back. "Say that again fox-breath!" He growled.
"Fine. ShadowClan cats are lying, disgraceful, cowardly fox-dung."
"Mouse-heart!" He shrieked and flew at her across the border. The two cats became a tumbling, yowling mass of fur. Ivytail bit his tail and he swiped her ear. Scarlet blood dotted the sand-colored ground. Battle rage filled her from ears to tail tip until she barely knew where she was swiping anymore, her vision blurry and unfocused. Suddenly, Ivytail felt herself being dragged off the ShadowClan tom by the scruff as if she were a naughty apprentice.
"Let me go!' She shrieked.
"Stop!" The commanding and familiar yowl made her fall silent. "Ivytail! What in StarClan is going on here?"
Ivytail was panting as she fought to catch her breath. The thrill of battle disintegrated, and her vision unblurred. Blood was dripping from multiple wounds on the tom, and the apprentice, Smokepaw, looked horrified. She looked over to see that the cat who had dragged her from the ShadowClan cat was her clanmate Aspenstreak. Next to him were Briarshine and the clan leader, Fawnstar. Of course, just my dumb luck that the patrol who sees all this includes my clan leader. I'm going to be cleaning dens for a moon!
She stood up, wincing when her ear stung. "This mouse-brain." She began, waving her tail at Smokepaw. "Scared away my prey."
Fawnstar's eyes glinted with disbelief. "Great StarClan, that's what all this is about? Ivytail, for StarClan's sake, this is the fourth time this moon you've gotten in a fight with someone." The brown leader let out an exasperated sigh. "We'll continue this conversation elsewhere." She dipped her head to the ShadowClan cats. "I'm sorry about this, but we must be going now. May StarClan light your path."
"And yours." The tabby she-cat responded.
Fawnstar waved her tail for the patrol to follow and headed in the direction of camp. Ivytail trailed behind, her ears flattened and her head low. They padded into camp. Fawnstar waved her tail for Ivytail to join her at the edge of camp, and Ivytail padded over.
"Ivytail, Ivytail, Ivytail." She sighed. "What is StarClan am I supposed to do with you? Ever since Mistpool died you've been acting like an angry fox, fighting with ev-"
"Don't bring my sister into this!" Ivytail snapped.
Fawnstar eyed her.
"Sorry." She muttered.
"Are you hurt?" Fawnstar asked, changing the subject.
"Just my ear but I can see Frostberry later."
"Alright." Fawnstar meowed. "All I'm trying to say Ivytail,is just try to be more accepting of other cats. I know you weren't born in the clan, but you came pretty close. There are plenty of cats here who care about you. Cedarscar, for one."
"Yeah right." Ivytail huffed. "Mistpool was the only one who truly cared about me."
"Well, I wouldn't be too sure of that. Why don't you ask Cedarscar to come hunting with you and see how you feel then."
"Why Cedarscar?" Ivytail asked blatantly.
"You'll see. And try to be nice." Fawnstar meowed. Her eyes twinkled as she padded away into the center of camp.
Ivytail sighed. How can this day get any worse?