Faith's Journey - Book Two (Warriors Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Rainpaw weaved her way quickly through the sea of green ahead of Faithclaw and Speckleshade.

"Is there a mother's scent around?" Speckleshade asked.

Faithclaw opened her jaws and tasted the air, she caught Speckleshade's eye.

"Not that I can smell." Faithclaw said, shaking her head.

The two warriors came to a halt as Rainpaw slowed her pace. Raggedstorm came to halt when he caught up, his ragged pelt brushed against Faithclaw's in the tight space.

"Listen." The tom hissed, his voice low.

"I hear it." Speckleshade replied out of the corner of her mouth.

There was indeed the shaky breathing of frightened kittens coming from somewhere in the grasses around them.

The group stood still, their ears pricked up for any sign of sound. A shocked yowl caused all of them to turn, Rainpaw was holding up a paw, blood dripped from a set of teeth marks that were embedded in her fur.

"Great StarClan!" The apprentice growled, her eyes narrowing at her injured paw.

Speckleshade came to stand beside Rainpaw, her eyes scanning the area and her ears pricked. Faithclaw noticed she struggled to keep her claws sheathed as Rainpaw tested her paw on the ground again. All the while, Raggedstorm had shifted into an attack position with Stagpaw crouched, his belly close to the ground, beside him.

"Come out." Speckleshade called into the grasses. There was a pause. Nothing came but the sound of the water a little ways away.

"We're not here to harm you." Speckleshade added, her eyes drifting to Rainpaw for a moment.

"Yeah. Tell that to my paw." The apprentice growled, loud enough for Faithclaw's ears to pick up.

The grasses rustled and Faithclaw watched as a patch of gray fur slowly crept its way out of the grasses with an orange tom kitten beside it, watching the group warily with his claws out and gripping the grass beneath them, small beads of blood were splattered against its muzzle.

Rainpaw had her eyes locked on the orange tom as she fully set her bloodied paw down on the ground.

There was another beat of silence before, 

"Who are you?" The tom questioned, his yellow eyes watching the group in front of him.

"Blaze..." The gray she-cat murmured, her eyes, the same yellow color as his, were watching him with a frightened look.

"Remember what Mother said." The tom called Blaze hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"Like we said, we're not here to hurt you." Faithclaw reassured them, looking down at the orange tom.

Suddenly a dark gray tom with black stripes, white on his ears, muzzle, chin, chest, belly, paws, and tail with dark blue eyes launched himself out of the ferns. His claws were outstretched, reaching for Faith. Faith's eyes widened as the tom's claws raked her ears. Faith rolled to the side and unsheathed her own claws. The tom was crouching, his tail lashing, and his blue eyes narrowed. The tom blinked at her and then sat up, his claws sliding back in.

"Oh, you're a kittypet." He meowed, looking her up and down.

Faithclaw pushed the memory away with a blink of her golden green eyes.

"How do you know that?" The silver gray she-cat spoke up, her voice still soft, as she cast her eyes over to where Raggedstorm was beside Faithclaw. 

Faithclaw stole a quick glance over her shoulder at her fellow patrol members, from Speckleshade and Raggedstorm beside her, and to Rainpaw and Stagpaw who were beside them. These cats were her clanmates. They accepted her into their clan despite where she came from. She was one of them.