Warriors:Into The Wild AU (2024 Rewrite)

Chapter Eleven

A bit of a longer chapter, but I promise it's getting exciting. Please enjoy!

The sound of Tigerclaw yowling brought Briarpaw out of her fitful slumber, and she shook herself awake when she saw the Clan gathered outside the den, and she became aware of a jeering hum that echoed throughout the camp.

As she slid out, she looked to the Highrock where Tigerclaw's yowl had come from, and she saw a ragged heap of dark gray fur settled at the base of the Highrock. Bluestar was speaking to the senior warrior, and Briarpaw strained her ears to listen.

"...would the Shadowclan medicine cat choose to leave her Clan? You seem afraid that Yellowfang will share our secrets with Shadowclan, but have you thought about how many Shadowclan secrets she might share with us?"

Briarpaw didn't like the sound of that as she had crept as close as she dared, but stopped when she saw Tigerclaw calm down before he nodded and went to take his share of freshkill.

Bluestar remained where she was, watching a few kits playing and stirring up dust before she stood up and began to walk toward Firepaw, who had been sitting, looking miserable. He looked alarmed and even fearful, but Bluestar walked right past him. She did not even glance at him; her eyes were clouded with unknown, distant thoughts.

"Frostfur!" she called out as she approached the nursery. A pure white she-cat with dark blue eyes slipped out of the bramble, her coat thinner and her eyes far lighter than Sky's. Inside the nursery, the noise of mewling grew louder. Frostfur hushed them and Bluestar informed her of a fox that had been reported nearby.

"Warn the other queens to guard the nursery carefully. And make sure all kits less than six moons stay inside the camp until our warriors drive it away." Frostfur nodded at Bluestar's words and promised to pass on the warning before she squeezed back into the nursery to quiet the crying kits.

Briarpaw looked up then to see her mother approach the dark grey cat that still sat at the base of the Highrock, and the cat seemed to spit at her, causing an amused expression to fall over Sky's face.

By the time she got to her mother's side, the cat, a large, old she-cat with a broad, flattened face, had turned to see her as well. She had round orange eyes, torn, ragged ears, long, dark gray fur that was heavily matted into smelly clumps, and her muzzle was traced with the scars of many old battles.

"How many kittypets has Thunderclan taken in?!" the old she-cat hissed when she caught sight of Briarpaw, causing the apprentice to roll her eyes, though she stopped with a sharp look from Sky. The white she-cat turned back to the newcomer with a welcoming purr.

"I think you'll find that my daughter and I are no kittypets, Yellowfang, was it?" Sky was very friendly to the elderly she-cat, who hissed again. Briarpaw's eyes flicked between Yellowfang and Sky, an inquiring look in her eyes.

Her mother bent down to whisper, very lightly, "Bluestar's patrol brought her back, she was Shadowclan's old medicine cat, and apparently, Firepaw had fed her before the patrol found them."

The words tickled Briarpaw's ear fur, but she just nodded and looked over Yellowfang.

There was a small gash in Yellowfang's leg, barely cleaned and still untreated, no doubt caused by Firepaw. Though she knew now that her friend had broken the warrior code by feeding Yellowfang, she felt very little in that regard.

That must have been why he was so fearful of Bluestar earlier, her thoughts reasoned as she padded closer to Yellowfang.

"May I clean your wound? It looks pretty nasty," she offered, causing the old cat to glare at her.