Warriors: Falling Petals [Discontinued]

Chapter Six - The Coward's Way Out

Chapter Six
The Coward's Way Out

When Flowerkit woke, he had been shoved underneath brambles, tucked away behind the nursery where no one could see him. Stifling a groan of pain, he wriggled his way out.

The sky was still a miserable gray, so Flowerkit had no idea how much time had passed while he was unconscious, but it didn't feel like long. Everything ached. His injured shoulder hurt like thorns in his skin, and various scratches on his body inflicted by either Mosskit's claws or the brambles stung fiercely. The small kit was nearly swaying on his paws in exhaustion.

He had to leave. Looking back on the attack, Flowerkit had thought that Mosskit and Acornkit would actually kill him. They hadn't this time, but if Ashenbird or Sprucestar found out what they had done to him and they were punished further, well... Flowerkit feared for his life.

Glancing around, Flowerkit could hear voices, but from where he stood there were no other cats in sight. Good. No one could see him like this. He dropped into a crouch, wincing as his wounded shoulder protested, and crept forward, out from the shadow of the nursery.

Only a few cats were milling about the camp, and there was no sign of Ashenbird or his other supposed kin. Flowerkit hesitated. If we was going, now would be the best time to leave. No point in waiting until nightfall - the longer he stayed here the greater his chances of being found. Shock struck Flowerkit as he realized that his own home had now become just as dangerous as the ShadowClan camp.

The sooner he left the better.

Flowerkit's gaze raked the stone walls of the hollow. No escape there. There was no way he would be able to scale those, not as a kit, and definitely not injured. The only conceivable way out was the main path.

Checking once more that no one was watching him, especially his mother or any of the other kits, Flowerkit hurried forward, keeping close to the sides of the camp. He had just reached the way up and placed one hesitant paw on the path when voices sounded from above. The kit started and quickly ducked back into the shadows.

Four warriors scampered past him, each one carrying prey. The hunting patrol. It seemed like they'd done well, despite the weather. And that the prey in their jaws prevented them from scenting the tiny black kit pressed up against the stone.

Flowerkit watched as the cats out in camp turned with excited cries to the returned patrol. Everyone's attention was on them. Seizing the opportunity, Flowerkit scrambled up the path without looking back.

At the top, Flowerkit ducked under a thicket, his heart racing and his scratches screaming in pain. His heartbeat thudded in his chest, and he waited ten counts before slowly craning forward to look down at the camp.

No one had noticed him.

Flowerkit let out his breath in a whoosh of air. Escape was possible. He could finally get away from the bullies that threatened his life.

Even now, he could hear Mosskit's voice in his head, mocking him, branding him a coward for running away.

He wasn't running away. He was just... Taking measures to preserve his life. Yeah.

Finally when the beat in his ears calmed and his limbs stored shaking, Flowerkit dared to climb out from under the thicket. After quickly checking to make sure the coast was clear, he set off in the opposite direction than the way he had taken... Was it only two days ago? Heading away from the lake. Away from clan territory.

Flowerkit didn't really know where he was going, or how we would survive out on his own, but he knew he had to get away from the clans, away from the other kits, away from everything he had ever known.

He had only taken a few pawsteps when a voice spoke up from behind him, saying simply his name.

"Flowerkit."

Flowerkit whirled. There, with one paw hovering above the ground and that same fearful look in his eyes, was Sunheart. The medicine cat slowly put his paw down, taking a single step towards him. "You can't leave."

Flowerkit bared his tiny fangs in a hiss. "You can't stop me!"

"Flowerkit, you have a destiny written out for you - you can't run away. Please, stay with the clan." Sunheart's voice was pleading. Flowerkit wondered what it was that made the tom so desperately afraid - the destiny he'd mentioned? What did that mean? Something StarClan had decreed? For just a second, Flowerkit considered asking - but no. He wasn't interested. What had StarClan done for him lately, anyway? If he was truly important, they wouldn't let him get pushed around and bullied by the other kits like he was a mouse trapped by the cat's claws. The anger that burned in his belly now had another cause: not just Mosskit and the others, but those stupid dead cats who supposedly had so much power. He wouldn't let them stop him, or the golden tom who faced him now.

"You're wrong. I have no reason to stay. Watch me go!" Flowerkit snarled. He turned tail and ran, ignoring the cries of Sunheart calling his name. He thought maybe he heard pawsteps drumming behind him, giving chase, but when he risked a glance back there was nothing there. Just his own paws and his own ragged breaths. Suddenly he remembered the pain in his shoulder and had to shudder to a halt.

Flowerkit pricked his ears and gazed around, standing as still as he could, but he couldn't see or hear anything. No one was following him. And just when he came to the conclusion that he was safe, he realized he didn't know where he was. Which was almost scarier than the prospect of being chased. He suddenly very much wanted his mother.

But he would probably never see Ashenbird again. Flowerkit had to come to terms with that. So he lowered his head and trudged on in the same direction, heading into the unknown.