Incoming Storm

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Brownpaw glanced back once more towards Wavepaw and Splashpaw. The two toms' eyes were wide, and tails were flicking to and fro uneasily. She couldn't help but share their premonition as she slipped silently into the undergrowth; things weren't looking up.

Part of her had thought going to the gathering would be a safe time to learn how ShadowClan was doing, but since they hadn't shown up, and Lightningpaw had found her, she had realised that it wasn't safe.

Thinking about the stoic grey tom, Brownpaw tried to remember where she thought she had seen him, but nothing was coming to her. With a determined sigh, she slipped silently into the leaf-fall waters, and paddled quietly towards the shore.

What now? That was the first question Brownpaw asked herself as she reached the bank, and shook out her fur. All around her were the scents of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. The pine trees loomed above her, and Brownpaw sighed. Do I... find Moonshade? Or face the rogues?

She had slipped away from Lightningpaw and Splashpaw without promising to help them, but it made sense that she should fight against the mysterious rogues that had begun to congregate in the Secret Caverns.

Still, there was the question of whether she should even try to help the clans. She wasn't one of them, and no cat saw her as one, after all. Ivytalon, Littlepatch and Brushwing had all helped her, sure, but they hadn't fought back when Woodstar had exiled her.

Then there was Moonshade... Brownpaw ducked under a low tree branch, and padded silently over the pine dusted canopy. She weaved silently among the pine trees, mind racing.

Did Moonshade want to kill her? After all, he hadn't stopped her fall, and she had nearly died. And who was the cat who had rescued her? A loner, or one of the rogues? And where had she gotten the strange vision from?

Brownpaw tried to think about the vision, but her memory of it seemed to be slipping away with each passing heartbeat. She knew she held a secret, but it got blurrier and blurrier the more she thought about it, as though she was growing more and more disconnected from where she should be.

If I ran away, would any cat really care? And what if I died? Brownpaw stared up at the dark sky. The moon watched her coldly, its light seeming far, far away.

Brownpaw realised that her paws were leading her gradually deeper into ShadowClan territory, but in the direction of the two-leg place. She stopped suddenly, tail erect.

Maybe she was just a small quiet she-cat, but she had answers, and even if the clans didn't respect her, it was her duty to help them. Sure, maybe she wasn't the loudest cat ever, but if she could help the clans, she might find meaning in her life. More than that, Brownpaw might find a friend. Some cat who cared even a bit about her.

That's why I wanted to know the answers, know the secrets, Brownpaw realised suddenly, heart beating in her chest. Because then I'd figure out the right things to say to each cat to make them like me.

Brownpaw took a deep breath. It wouldn't be easy; it never had been. But if she raced back to Woodstar now, she could ask him to make real use of her. She could show the ShadowClan cats what she knew. Maybe, in exchange, one of them might say something kind to her back.

Brownpaw took a deep breath, chin raised, and was about to head toward twolegplace when suddenly, she heard the snap and crackle of bracken behind her. Immediately, she whirled around, and her jaw opened in horror at what she saw.

A black tom with a spiky tuft of fur was limping forward, eyes glazed. Bloody red scratches criss-crossed his flank, and his left eye was swollen shut. Blood ran down his shoulder, leaving a steady stream wherever he walked, and he didn't seem to see where he was going.