A/N: Part two is now here! Rainclaw is now a warrior, and it's jumping right into the action. There is mention of blood and violence in this chapter, and may be gory. AmberClan will be getting more involved in the story from now, too.
See you in the next chapter!
~ Ember <3
four moons later
A warm, green leaf breeze gently fluttered into the warriors den, brushing at Rainclaw's fluffy pelt. Discomforted, the tortoiseshell she cat rolled over, glancing around the warriors den.
It had been two moons since she'd become a warrior, and she still hadn't adjusted to the warriors den.
There's too many cats! She let out a growled hiss as a cat trod on her tail.
"Sorry." Meadowtail's yellow peered back at her green ones as he flattened his ears and walked out the den. Rainclaw sighed, allowing her face to drop into her paws. Being a warrior meant getting up early for patrols. If she remembered, Darkwing had put her on the dawn patrol with Meadowtail, Pondmist and Mistflower.
Oh the irony. All the cats who teamed up with me on the same patrol.
Rainclaw stretched out in her new nest, careful not to accidentally swat a sleeping figure of Swoopfeather in the nest next to her. With not much enthusiasm, the she cat walked out into the clearing, seeing Pondmist. In an instant the young warrior ran over to her best friend, pressing her tail to his shoulder.
"Oh, hi Rainclaw!" Pondmist said in a flurry of words, but quickly recovered, apparently realising something. The grey tabby tom straightened out, then turned his head back towards the nursery, where he was heading.
Rainclaw, a little hurt from his gesture, took a step back.
Why's he ignoring me? The she-cat wondered, then shook her head. She shouldn't think like that. Pondmist had more duties now, being a warrior and a medicine cat helper at the same time was tough for him.
As if he'd read her mind, Pondmist turned around quickly and stated, "I'm checking on Brackenflower. She's worried that the kits might come early."
For a split heartbeat, Rainclaw was surprised by confusion. What kits? Her and her brother were the youngest cats in BirchClan, there were no queens expecting kits. Then again, she hadn't seen Brackenflower in a while, neither had the grey and ginger she-cat been sleeping in the warriors den up until a moon and a half ago.
"Brackenflower is having kits?" The sudden realisation rocked her. Rainclaw thought she was observant, but apparently not.
"Yes." Pondmist responded, his tone miffed. "I better go now."
Meanwhile, Rainclaw took a step back, watching the tom head to the nursery, before Meadowtail stepped aside him. The senior warrior bent down next to the medicine cat, muttering something in his ear. The dilute tortoiseshell guessed that Pondmist had been told that he was going on the dawn patrol, as he now returned, tail dropping, herbs flittering in his mouth.
"How was I so oblivious?" The tortoiseshell questioned as she headed off with Mistflower, Meadowtail and Pondmist in tow. She wasn't paying much attention to her surrounding, but rather troubled at the fact that Brackenflower was expecting Leopardshade's kits, and she hadn't even known.
"To be fair, you and Brackenflower don't really see the same leaf. I'm not surprised you weren't told." Mistflower spoke the air between the two cats tense. The last time Rainclaw had really spoken to Mistflower was when she'd ran back through the forest.
"Well I would've thought I would've learned sooner." Her mouth bared a short snarl towards her mentor, as Mistflower backed off, amber eyes wide with alarm.
"This is about that. Isn't it?" The curly furred she cat showed no hesitation, and Rainclaw nodded, her shoulders hunched up and fur bristling.
"I don't know what you expect me to say Rainclaw. I wouldn't, I couldn't kill a cat." Kind eyes flashed back at Rainclaw's piercing ones, yet Rainclaw wouldn't budge.
"Are you sure about that? We've all done things we regret." With a tone of cheek in her voice, Rainclaw tilted her head, awaiting her former mentors response.
Mistflower seemed to shudder for a second, eyes trailing away from the floor, before she looked back up at sharp green eyes. "He deserved it. Deserved everything he got."
"And you're saying Duststar doesn't?" Rainclaw shot back within an instant, before her ears pricked up.
Before Mistflower could muster a response, she'd also caught onto what Rainclaw had sensed.
Badger.
Rainclaw couldn't forget that disgusting, foul scent that had rotted the territory the night her and Reedspring went out to battle practice moons ago. She puffed out her fluffy pelt, instantly getting into a crouch and stalking round a tuft of bushes, where the scent was distinguishably stronger.
Pondmist can't fight! The realisation struck her sickeningly as Rainclaw turned back to look at the patrol, Meadowtail and Mistflower getting into defensive crouches, Pondmist looking confused.
I will protect him. Even if it costs me in the process.
A thick shadow could now be seen, growing taller and taller as the figure came closer to the clearing that the four cats were gathered in. Sunlight was killed away by the shadows consuming.
And there, a flash of black and white lumbering through the bushes, eyes dark with malice.
Mightily leaping, Rainclaw took a pounce at the beasts shoulder, scratching it's shoulder with her claws. The creature responded with a loud growl, and no soon after, Meadowtail and Mistflower followed after her actions.
"Quick, we need to get this sorted!" Mistflower yelled as she snapped at the creatures paws. A swipe of claws went up and Meadowtail let out a yowl, limply lying on the ground, still breathing however.
"We're just two cats! This is impossible!" Rainclaw yelled back as she dashed underneath the badgers lumbering paws. Terror filled her as she saw the badgers giant paws slice down onto the ground, leaving a deep wound on her hind leg in the process.
Pain sizzled her leg. But she wouldn't give up that easily. With a mighty battle cry, Rainclaw leapt at the badgers leg, clinging on for dear life and sinking her teeth into flesh. Blood filled her mouth as she pulled back, the badger roaring and twisting, try to slash at her in its blind fury.
"We're here!" An unknown voice suddenly called, and Rainclaw peered sideways from the badgers leg, seeing a patrol of AmberClan cats rushing forward. With the sudden surge, it was a massacre.
Yowls and cries filled the clearing, cats battling with all determination. Rainclaw let out a cry as she felt a strong paw lash at her ear, tearing it badly. She could see the snapping jaws, mousetails away from her face, and braced, waiting for another terrible surge of pain.
Quick as a flash, a ginger and orange blur flew over her, and down came the badgers jaws. Hyperventilating, Rainclaw yowled as the cat above her was caught in the badgers jaws, a sickening snap following afterwards.
"No!" Rainclaw yelled as the ginger and white cat was thrown back down, limp and unmoving.
Then it sunk in.
That cat had saved her life.
She didn't even know their name.
Unaware of the battle finally subsiding around her, Rainclaw limped over to the ginger body, wincing as the deep cut in her hind leg screamed in pain.
"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have died."
Rainclaw pressed her nose to the cats fur, bloody and mangled, as a young shout filled the clearing. A brown and grey marked apprentice looked upon, stumbling towards the ginger cat.
"Snownose. Please no! Please no, you can't be dead!" The apprentice wailed, and Rainclaw wrapped her tail around the apprentice's shoulder.
It was then that Pondmist ran over, herbs in his mouth, and his nose wrinkled from the smell of blood.
"Who's injured? It smells serious." His voice showed a hint of worry as he pressed a paw cluelessly to the body infront, and winced.
"My mother! Her name is Snownose. Please, you have to save her!" The brown apprentice gasped, her blue eyes wide with some hope that Pondmist would be able to save her.
"Oh no.." Pondmist trailed off silently as he pressed his paws on Snownose's injuries. He pressed an ear to her side, eyes wide and worried.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The medicine cat turned around, ears plastered to his head.
He ignored the cries of the brown apprentice who grieved her mother's body, ignored the stench of blood in the air. That was his fault. He could've done something. If only he hadn't been gazing off and watching cats fight for their lives against the badger, he could've done something.