Waging War Book 4: Empty Peace {COMPLETE}

Chapter 17

Blossomtail watched the snow fall past the entrance to the apprentice den, she could feel the warmth of her Clanmates surrounding her, protecting her from the harsh cold outside. She let out a quiet sigh, her paws itching to do anything, but knowing very well that she couldn't leave and judging by the thick layer of snow in front of the den, it would still be a few days.

Blossomtail had no idea when the snow would stop, she just hoped it was soon. SunClan had spent several days preparing for the blizzard after Honeyfrost and Pebblestep warned them about it. They reinforced the dens, hunted to make sure every den had enough prey and separated the Clan to make sure each cat would be warm.

With no apprentices they essentially split the warriors in half and sent the younger ones to the apprentice den. In the den with her, aside from her siblings, Earthpelt, Mudfall, Hollystorm, Bluestream, Windsong, and Bramblestrike had all been moved back into the apprentice den. Larkthorn, Burnclaw, Snowfeather and Mapleshine were originally supposed to be in there with them, but all three of them were currently sick in the medicine cat den along with Cherryleaf, Adderstrike, Squirreltail and Sandfoot.

Sickness had really taken its hold on SunClan, and given that they were such a large Clan, Honeyfrost and Pebblestep had been working hard in order to stop the sickness from spread to the elders and nursery.

So far the only elder to get sick was Sandfoot and she had been isolated in the medicine cat den. Pebblestep was alone in there with them while Honeyfrost was in the elders den keeping an eye on both them and the nursery. So far everything seemed to be going well, other than Blossomtail losing her mind in boredom.

She had been working so hard on her hunting skills lately, she had been training as much as she wanted since getting her warrior name and she finally felt like she was improving and now it had all come to a halt. If it was up to Blossomtail, she would be out there braving the cold to keep training but she knew no one else would allow that.

"Hanging in there?" She heard a voice behind her as Rushtail shifted up closer to her. "You look like you're about to go out and run around."

She would always be impressed by how easily Rushtail could read her, he seemed to always be able to read all their siblings. "It's because I want to." Blossomtail replied with a flick of her tail. "I hate sitting still for this long. It's been four days and I haven't been able to stretch my legs other than to make dirt!" She dropped her head, resting her chin on her paws.

"It's for your own safety." Rushtail nudged her shoulder with his muzzle.

"I know that." Blossomtail sighed in frustration. She knew Rushtail was just trying to help, but the only thing that could help her would be to run out and hunt again. Being cooped up in the den for four days straight with nothing to do left her with only her thoughts.

She was faced with her own insecurities and self doubts, fearing that she would lose her skills. She already doubted her own abilities as a warrior, but she had finally started to feel like she was making progress and this stupid storm completely halted everything. She hated it, she hated being with her own thoughts for even a moment, they were always so scathing and harsh. She didn't want to feel this way, but the only way she could find any confidence in herself was when she was improving her skills.

"Hey, you listening?" Blossomtail shook her head and realized that Rushtail had been talking to her.

"Huh? Yeah...I'm listening." She lied but Rushtail wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"I'm worried about you." Her brother said, lowering his voice. "I've been worried about you for a long time."

Blossomtail lowered her ears, feeling guilt crawl in. Should she tell him? Should she tell her brother all that had been tearing her apart daily? Part of her really wanted to, she wanted these thoughts to stop. She didn't want to live every single day hating each herself. "I'm okay." She mewed quietly. "Just wanting to keep serving my Clan, you know?"