Caɾղaցe Ɱօօղ ~𝙰 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌

4 🌙

"Ugh. Tidepaw will get his warrior name before us now, since he's being trained by the leader and all of our mentors will die before she does."

Rowanpaw's targeted comment was jagged, and cut through the tense air like a claw-stab. Paying attention now, Crescentpaw pricked her ears and prepared to cut in.

"Ignore her," Tinypaw said. "We're all just afraid that appointing us warriors is the least of Eveningstar's concerns right now." She sighed, not hiding her misgivings but halting the confrontation.

Tidepaw nodded and agreed. He was tall for his age, with thin legs and a tiny black nose. The tom looked very similar to his mother Bristleberry, who had died from a wolf slaughter at night several moons ago. Tidepaw had just been a kit back then, the same as them.

"You're right." Crescentpaw noticed how he didn't even spare Rowanpaw a look, which caused her brown-furred sister to curl her lip. "The wolves have been coming more often, I think." He tilted his chin up in thought. "Do you think they're hunting the other clans to this extent as well? Or could they have camped close by to target Riverclan as a prey source?"

Tidepaw's tail bushed worriedly while he slid his claws out against the clovers. Swiveling her head towards the warriors den, Crescentpaw glanced towards its woven reed fronds. Through the opening she could see no cats inside. They must've all been in the medicine den, where Goldenheart had left them to go on her trip to the Moonpool.

"The other clans are probably still suffering as well, but there's no telling how badly." The tabby-and-white apprentice almost hoped it was true. That way it wasn't Riverclan alone that would find the situation dire enough to act.

"In order to find any news we'd have to get to a gathering or the other clan territories." She stretched out her long blazen tail to let the breeze catch and tug at it while she said so.

"And Drenchedleaf said that the gathering's were paused many moons ago. It was agreed to by all five clans to prevent wolf attacks along the lakeshore."

Rowanpaw wasn't arguing with that. They all knew that the wolf attacks were most prominent after nightfall, because it was when the wolves preferred to hunt.

Thinking of Drenchedleaf made Crescentpaw turn her face away. She still remembered how she had been yet again sheilded by her parent's haunches. Now they weren't here to shield her anymore. One by choice, one by death. In the end, she had lost them both.

"I wish the wolves had never come at all," Tinypaw mewed quietly. She hardly ever spoke her opinion in groups, so all of the cats mewed in open agreement. "I miss Echofrost. He always made me feel better when-"

"You sound like a kit," Rowanpaw interrupted, straightening up and throwing a condescending glance down at her sleek black-pelted sister. Tinypaw was much smaller, and so the look was appropriate.

But it still made Crescentpaw's blood boil.

"He's our father!" She snapped, easily looking down at her just like Rowanpaw had done to Tinypaw.

"And we're going to be warriors in less than a moon! So start acting like one," the crescent-marked apprentice's voice held the hint of a snarl in it. Great Starclan! I don't hate her, but she really rubs my fur the wrong way sometimes!

"Me?" Rowanpaw sounded full of mock-pity now. "That's what I just told her! What are you, slow?"

Crescentpaw stood up and unsheathed her claws. It was just a warning, of course, but she lifted a brow with surprise when Rowanpaw did the same.