Pineheart followed Weaseltail through the dense pine trees of IceClan's territory. Lionpaw hopped after them, her eyes still alight with happiness. Pineheart could remember when he felt like that. As a small apprentice learning the territory, there was always something to be excited about. And always something new to explore, he thought to himself
His father had told him that before he was born, the forest had went through a great thaw. The ice and snow of the sacred pine forest had almost completely gone, and left marshy swamps and massive mud puddles in its place.
Now, the ground was thick once more with a layer of ice under a large blanket of snow. Despite the frigid conditions, the foliage still managed to thrive. There was plenty of thick bushes and grasses for prey to live and survive. IceClan rarely had to go hungry.
As they continued on through the seemingly endless forest of trees, Weaseltail came to a halt and turned to his apprentice. "Okay, Lionpaw. I just want to remind you that when we get to the border you must control yourself. Just because there isn't another Clan of cats next to us, doesn't mean you should cross the scent markers."
Lionpaw rolled her eyes. "I was only trying to catch that rabbit," she meowed.
Weaseltail flicked his tail and looked at her sternly. "But there's other creatures that hunt beyond our territory! If a fox or a badger were to find you, I'm sure they'd think you'd be an easy meal."
Lionpaw shuddered as she imagined coming face to face with a fox or a badger. "Now don't go and frighten her," Pineheart muttered. Weaseltail didn't seem to hear him as he turned to lead the way through the forest once more. Suddenly, a loud racket erupted behind the small patrol. Leaves rustled and twigs snapped with wild abandon. Weaseltail whirled around and started to move forward to shield Lionpaw behind him.
"Mousedung!" a cranky voice hissed from the depths of the spiky wildflower bush. Pineheart relaxed as he picked up a familiar scent that had been ignored in their surprise. He moved forward to help the entangled cat.
"Nightvolt, what are you doing out here?" Weaseltail called as Pineheart started to pull back the branches so that the tom could escape the vicious thorns. He squinted and tried to discern the dark pelted tom from the shadows under the bush. He noticed the elder's yellow eyes flash with contempt.
"I can get myself out," he growled as he tried to turn in the tight space to free himself. His gray tabby fur was riddled with thorns and sharp bits of twig. Pineheart ignored his ill tempered reply and pushed further into the bush to help. He could feel the thorns hook into his fur, stinging like claws. "I'm only here to help you," Pineheart soothed as he clenched his teeth when branches lashed his muzzle.
"I told you I don't need help," he retorted as he flicked out a paw to swipe at Pineheart. The whole bush shuddered as Nightvolt shifted and made the thorns dig further into his skin. Clumps of snow that were perched carefully on leaves thumped down to the ground around them.
Nightvolt immediately stopped his struggle and started to whimper with pain. Blood dripped from where the branches had dug into his fur. "Just stop fighting and let me help you," Pineheart grunted as he inched closer to the elder. Once he was close enough to inspect the knots, he noticed the tom was covered in scratches. All along his back, the thorns and branches were entangled with his gray and black striped fur.
"I'm going to have to bite through your fur," Pineheart murmured as he stepped even closer.
"What's going on in there?" Weaseltail asked as he stuck his nose through the bush's branches.
"You IceClan warriors are mouse brained," Nightvolt huffed as Weaseltail attempted to push his way through the outermost branches. Pineheart flicked his tail, surprised at Nightvolt's unwarranted attitude. All I'm trying to do is help you, he fumed.
"Last I checked, you were the one caught in a wildflower bush. I am also quite sure that you are an IceClan warrior just like us," Weaseltail grumbled.
Pineheart, meanwhile, had started to gnaw at Nightvolt's short tabby fur. After what felt like an eternity, he came undone and was free from the dreaded thorn bush. As soon as he felt the thorns disappear, he rushed forward to tear himself from the remaining branches.
Pineheart followed him. He didn't want to find himself also stuck in its spindly branches. Nightvolt stood a few paces away. He had turned his head to inspect his scuffed pelt.
"Are you alright?" Weaseltail asked as he stepped forward to sniff at his scratches. Lionpaw huddled close behind her mentor to watch from behind his tail, her eyes wide.
"I'm fine," he snapped, his yellow eyes flashed like fire. Lionpaw yelped, intimidated by the cranky elder. Weaseltail flicked his tail over her shoulders, not even remotely fooled by Nightvolt's bad temper.
"You don't have to worry about him. He's all yowls and no claws," Weaseltail assured her as he kept his gaze level with Nightvolt. Pineheart watched the exchange from a few steps away. He really thought Nightvolt needed to return to camp to have Brokensong tend to his injuries. But it looked like Weaseltail wasn't ready to leave.
"You should be more greatful to Pineheart! Without him, you could have been stuck in that bush all night," Weaseltail growled
"I don't need IceClan cats padding after me all the time! Just because I'm an elder doesn't mean I can't take care of myself," Nightvolt hissed in frustration. As he turned, Pineheart noticed that some of the lacerations close to his paws had grown an angry red.
How did he get scratched from the bush that close to his paws, he wondered. In his distraction, Weaseltail had stepped nose to nose with Nightvolt. His tail flicked back and forth as he spoke, "but you can't take care of yourself! If you would have stayed in camp with the other elders, you wouldn't have gotten stuck in that bush!"
Pineheart kept his mouth shut as he watched the exchange. It seemed like Weaseltail was unusually furious, but he didn't know why he would be so upset with the snappy elder. Nightvolt must have just wanted to leave camp and had some bad luck?
"Weaseltail, I think Nightvolt needs to go back to camp and see Brokensong," Lionpaw piped up as she nudged his flank with her nose. The elder opened his jaws for another rude retort but instead just turned and started to head back towards camp.
Weaseltail huffed and started to pad after him. Lionpaw sped after her mentor, her orange tail raised high over her back. "I guess Blizzardstar will have to send out another border patrol later," Pineheart muttered as he trudged after them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the safety of the camp, Nightvolt stomped over to Brokensong's den. Pineheart watched him go, but he felt mild curiousity as to what the medicine cat would think of his wounds.
They couldn't have all been from the thorn bush, he thought to himself. After Nightvolt vanished into the split rock, Pineheart glanced around the snowy clearing. He noticed Blizzardstar, who sat like a frozen statue next to his den.
"You know it's not polite to stare," a feminine voice teased from over his shoulder. He felt his fur ruffle in embarrassment as he turned to face the newcomer. It was a fluffy, orange she-cat; her eyes gleamed as she gazed at Pineheart.
"I was just looking for Frostfeather," Pineheart insisted. He tried to avoid her gaze as he looked down at his paws. Even though he had been a warrior for some time now, he was still somewhat shy around his adopted mother. She had always been there for him, after he and Frostfeather's mother was killed in the Great Battle.
"Well, Smallfire and I were just about to go out for a hunting patrol. If you'd like to join us, you're more than welcome," she purred. He thought about it for a moment, but after the ordeal with Weaseltail's patrol he decided he would just stay in camp. Besides, they would fare better without him.
"I'm sorry, Foxstreak. Maybe I can join you both on a patrol tomorrow," he offered. He dared to look up into her viridian eyes.
Despite her age, she still radiated energy and her pelt shined with health. She and her kit, Smallfire, would be perfectly fine on a patrol by themselves. Inwardly, Pineheart didn't really want to be around Foxsteak's only biological kit. Sure, they had grown up together. But Smallfire had always been greedy for his mother's affection. I'm sure he wouldn't thank me for intruding in their patrol, he thought inwardly.
Foxstreak almost looked ready to object, her eyes brimmed with disappointment. "Well, be sure to get some rest then. I'm sure Frostfeather had you awake before dawn," she meowed after several heartbeats. Before she turned to leave, she gave Pineheart a rough lick between his ears.
He watched her depart towards the camp entrance as Smallfire bounded up to join her. Jealousy burned like a hot coal in his stomach but he tried his best to ignore it. After all, he had said no.
While he was distracted, Blizzardstar had vanished back into the depths of his den. Pineheart narrowed his eyes as he tried to make out the shadowed shapes hunched inside the entrance of the hollow tree. It looked like Brokensong's brown and black spotted pelt in the darkness. Shouldn't she be in her den?
He fought his intense curiosity to creep forward to eavesdrop on the two cats. They had wanted to be alone for a reason. With a sigh, he turned to slink back towards the warrior's den.
A short nap wouldn't hurt anything, and when he awoke he was positive that he would find Frostfeather back in camp. As he started to make himself comfortable in the soft moss, he thought back to the events from earlier in the day.
It seemed so strange that Nightvolt had wandered into the forest by himself. It was even more strange that he seemed to have acquired angry, red scratches from even before he had gotten trapped in the bush. Maybe he's just clumsy. That could have been the third bush he had fallen in since he left camp. But he had been acting so prickly. It was quite unusual.
He let his thought wander as he started to fall into a fitful sleep.