The Warrior Guard Book 1- Rise of the Guard

Chapter 2- Out on a 'Climb'

Pic: A close as I can get to Sunblaze

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Bristleclaw eyed the darkening sky. She was still unsettled about what happened earlier. Suddenly the camp felt confining, even stifling. Abandoning the squirrel she'd been picking at, she made her way to the camp entrance, hoping that no one saw her exiting the camp. She crawled her way through the log tunnel that led out of camp. Bristleclaw's sister, Sunblaze, was standing guard. Bristleclaw stifled a groan. She loved her sister, but the cat could be too protective and questioning.

"Bristleclaw! You're not on patrol. Is something wrong?" asked Sunblaze.

"N-nothing's wrong. I'm just, uh, g-going for a short, um, walk," Bristleclaw lied.

"Want me to come? Maybe we can walk by the stream, like when we were apprentices. We never do that anymore," Sunblaze offered.

"No it's fine. You're on guard duty anyway. Can't abandon your duties, you don't want to get in trouble with Galestep. You know how he is," said Bristleclaw.

"Are you sure? I can ask..." said Sunblaze

"It's fine."

"Are you really sure?"

Bristleclaw twitched an ear in annoyance. Can't Sunblaze a hint?

"Yes, I'm sure, Sunblaze,"

"Well okay, if you're really sure.." Apparently not.

Tail twitching, Bristleclaw got out of there as fast as possible without it being awkward. She calmed once she was far enough from the camp that the forest scents covered everything. Bristleclaw clawed her way up to near the top of a oak tree, then leaped the the next tree and so on. Many cats would think that she was weird; trees were for hunting, not enjoyment. But the golden she-cat didn't care much about what her clanmates though. At least what most of them thought. The trees where her element, like StoneClan to tunnels and SnowClan to the mountains. 

The clan is wonderful, I suppose, but some are nosy cats who stick their whiskers in every cat's business! Is it such a crime just to wish that they'd leave me alone sometimes?  Sunblaze kept on asking me why I'm going on a walk. It may be because of the stupid dream and Saltpaw's tree accident, but can't a cat just go on a walk? Or a climb, for me. Stupid dream's been ruining my day. And what in StarClan was that even about?  Firestar telling me to go to that cave or something I don't even know why- 

Bristleclaw let out a startled meow. as the branches suddenly ended. As it turned out, she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going and had accidentally had crossed where the tree line ended. Bristleclaw fell. She tried to grab onto one the branches, but she couldn't get her claws into any. The cat fell into a rock surrounded clearing. The last thing she remembered was plunging into water and a sharp pain in her head. Then, there was only darkness.