(Book 1) Warriors: Separations - Six Stars

Chapter 23

Blackpaw ran towards Fourtrees. He hadn't the slightest idea where to start his search for Snowpaw, but he was nonetheless determined to find her.

She's not in Thunderclan or Kittypet place, I turned those two territories upside down looking for her. I searched all over Windclan and the barn too while I stayed with them, so she couldn't be there...

Blackpaw spotted the bushes lining Fourtrees along with the four huge trees towering over the Great Rock. He darted through the bushes, twigs and pointy leaves snagging his fur. He winced, but didn't stop. He landed on the hard ground around the Great Rock. The clearing was so cold and lifeless without all the cats that were normally there whenever he went.

He looked to his left and saw the bridge between Riverclan and Fourtrees. He thought about going into Riverclan territory to look for Snowpaw, but he decided against it.

In Shadowclan–which was just to Blackpaw's right–, there were two apprentices that he knew quite well: Goldenpaw and Starlingpaw. Goldenpaw was blind, but had impeccable hearing and smell, and Starlingpaw seemed to always be sticking her nose into trouble, so Blackpaw assumed she might've run into something suspicious while out and about.

With a sigh, he began toward Shadowclan territory. He knew there wasn't even a huge chance that he'd be able to find the two immediately, but he had to try.

He walked through the bushes, the twigs and pointy leaves scraping his fur even more, but he tried not to think about it as he pushed forward.

He arrived on the other side of the line of bushes and padded toward the Thunderpath. It was night, so there wasn't a lot of activity–just a few monsters passing by then and now–.

He waited until he couldn't see monsters approaching on either side, then dashed across the Thunderpath. The weird stone was very cold and made his paws ache. He accidentally slid his paw on the stone instead of picking it up, so a sharp rock protruding from the ground sliced his pad. He winced in pain, but continued running until he felt grass beneath his paws.

After skidding to a halt on Shadowclan territory next to the Thunderpath, he sat down and looked down at his left front paw. It was bleeding pretty badly, and pain seared through the pad. He profusely licked it, however he didn't know how else to treat it.

When the wound was dry, he gingerly set it back down on the ground. When his paw touched the ground, a jolt of pain like lightning ran straight through his entire left leg, and he immediately pulled back.

He was wondering how he could heal it when he remembered what Snowpaw had taught him. I need cobwebs and...

His mind raced. He thought desperately about what exactly he could use to heal his injured pad. Then it finally struck him. Chervil! Yes!

He looked around frantically. "There has to be some nearby..." he muttered to himself.

"Some what nearby?" A voice spoke.

Blackpaw froze. He didn't even want to turn to look at who said it. He sighed and slowly turned his head around, expecting some big, burly tom with scars all over his body and unsheathed claws to be staring at him. When he finally saw who it was, relief swept over him like waves over the shore.

It was Goldenpaw. The blind she-cat tipped her head to the side and repeated her question, "Some WHAT nearby?"

Blackpaw chuckled nervously. "Um... Chervil. I scratched my pad." he held it up for her to see, but remembered that she was blind and just hid it again. Goldenpaw sighed. "Ah. I know a few good places for chervil." she told him. Blackpaw smiled. "Oh, thank Starclan."