StarClan's Choice

Chapter 12

Ivypaw blinked, then yawned. She stood up an walked out of the apprentices den. She had barely slept after discovering her powers. As she settled by the fresh-kill pile to eat, she saw  Strawberrypaw and Pinesap walk by, a thrush in his jaws.

"Hi!" Pinesap said to her through the thrush. Ivypaw's heart fluttered. "Hey," she mewed back. She had a tiny crush on Pinesap, and she looked enviously at Strawberrypaw, who was walking beside him. "Hello!" Strawberrypaw said. "Wanna come on a hunting patrol with us and Dawnflower?" "Okay," Ivypaw said, gulping down her mouse.

As they headed out of camp, Ivypaw's pelt tingled with excitement. By camouflaging her pelt, she could catch so much prey! And she would impress Pinesap.

"It's a quiet morning," Dawnflower observed. "We won't catch so much as a group," the ShadowClan deputy continued.

"I have a great idea!" Ivypaw said. "Why don't we hunt in pairs and spilt up?" 

"That's a great idea!" Dawnflower purred. "I'll go with Ivypaw, and Pinesap can go with Strawberrypaw!"

Ivypaw sighed. She wanted to go with Pinesap. 

Dawnflower continued, "Ivypaw, you're turning out to be a great hunter, I want to see your progress." Ivypaw perked up, and felt even happier when Pinesap gave her a nod of approval.

~

As the patrol split up, Strawberrypaw turned to Pinesap. "Where do we go?" she said. He looked at her. "That way," he said, gesturing to the left.

As they headed there, they saw Snowflake gathering juniper berries. "Hello," she said. "Are you heading to the pine grove?" she said warily. "Yes," Strawberrypaw said.

As they reached the grove, they split up and Strawberrypaw caught a mouse. As she buried it, she noticed markings on a tree. She took a closer look. They were on several trees, even on some outside the ShadowClan border. "Pinesap?" she called. "Come over here."

He came. "What is it?" he said. Before she could reply, a cat lunged out of the bushes and slashed his throat and flung him away. He skittered to a stop on the ShadowClan border, unmoving.

Strawberrypaw gasped with disbelief and anger. "What did you do?" she yowled at the cat. The scent of the cat was familiar, but she couldn't tell who it was. She shot a glance at Pinesap's unmoving body and hissed. She was prepared to go down fighting of she had to.

~

The first snow was falling, even though it was still leaf-fall. Ivypaw's paws hurt from walking in the frosty day, but Dawnflower was impressed by her hunting skills, so she was happy.

"Ivypaw," Dawnflower said. "We should head back now, please go get Strawberrypaw and Pinesap. They went to the pine grove, I think."

"Okay," Ivypaw agreed.

As she padded to the pine grove, she froze. Something was wrong. She smelled... blood.

She ran to the pine grove, and stopped. There was a little snow on the ground, but not much. Pinesap and Strawberrypaw were nowhere to be seen.  She suddenly caught sight of reddish-pink fur behind a tree and padded there slowly, afraid.

She held back a shriek as she saw Strawberrypaw. Her pelt was bloody and torn, and she wasn't breathing. She backed away, and ran back to Dawnflower as snow felt harder and harder.

~

Pinesap blinked and stretched. Halfway through his stretching, he froze. Why does my pelt hurt so much? He hissed in pain as he stood up. How am I not dead? What happened to Strawberrypaw? His pelt had been slathered with marigold and cobwebs. 

He looked up and almost jumped out of his fur when he saw the where he was. He wasn't in the ShadowClan camp, or the pine grove. He was in a small den. It was snowing outside, and there were herbs on the floor.

He looked behind him and gasped as he saw a cat behind him. She had white fur as fluffy as the snow, with  thin ribbons of dark and light grey on her fur. She had ice blue eyes, and owl feathers and snowdrops decorating her pelt. She was pretty, but her annoyed and angry expression reminded him about a snooty ThunderClan cat who thought they were the best.

Pinesap disliked her immediately.

 "You're finally awake," she growled. "Are you well enough to get out of my den, you oaf? It's meant for one cat, not two,"

"Oh, excuse me," he retorted. "Sorry if me almost dying didn't fit into your schedule. I'll leave right now." He tried to walk but stumbled, and bit back a hiss of pain. The she-cat sighed. "I guess you're not well enough, then. I guess you can stay for a while. My name is Snowy, by the way."

He sat down, trying to look indifferent. Why do I care what she thinks? "I'm Pinesap of ShadowClan. Why am I here?" he asked. "I found you outside your Clan border, half-dead," Snowy said. "I know some herbs, so I helped. Don't take it personally, I have morals. i'll help any half dead cat," she added quickly. 

"What about the other cat I was with?" Pinesap asked. "Oh, the one that had the red fur?" Snowy said. "She's dead. I'm... sorry," she said. 

Pinesap lowered his head. Strawberrypaw's dead? He sighed and looked up. "I'll try to get out of here as soon as I can," he whispered.

"Are you hungry?" Snowy said. "I'll get you a mouse." Before he could say anything, she was gone.