Warriors: Starbound Paws

Starbound Paws: Chapter 4

Badgerpaw settled into his mossy nest angrily, his tail lashing to and fro. His body stiffened as he realized how close he was to hitting Whitepaw, who was sleeping soundly a tail-length away in his own nest. Silently seething, Badgerpaw placed his paws on the rim of the nest, placing his chin on his paws and looking out of the fronds guarding the den.

His eyes were growing heavy, but two cats stirring outside the apprentice den kept him from succumbing to sleep. Squinting, he could make out the black and white pelt of his sister and the creamy pelt of Spottedpaw. What are they up to? Badgerpaw wondered, leaning forward in an attempt to make out what they were talking about.

"H-how did you know about that?" Spottedpaw's surprised mew was loud, but she adjusted herself and looked around. "No one..." her head turned away from the apprentice den, obscuring Badgerpaw's hearing. "I'll take you..." That's it, Badgerpaw hissed inwardly. He lifted himself from his nest, cursing his temporary awkward limp, as it made him much more noticeable. I'll wait and follow their scents, he settled right near the den entrance, seeing Skunkpaw's tail disappear into the dirt-place tunnel.

"Badgerpaw?" Lightpaw hissed, nearly jumping out of his fur at the sight of his new den mate. "What in Starclan's name are you doing there?" Badgerpaw shifted to the side as Lightpaw budged into the den, his tail still fluffed up from Badgerpaw's unintentional scare.

"Sorry," he apologized quietly, hoping Lightpaw would take it and not press on about why he was sitting here.

"Whatever," Lightpaw sighed. He slogged over to the nest next to Whitepaw and plopped down with a huff. "Scared me out of my fur," he growled under his breath. Badgerpaw turned his attention back to the fading scents of Skunkpaw and Spottedpaw, lifting himself up and limping after the trail as fast as his paws would move.

-

"Are you sure you know where you're going," Skunkpaw asked tentatively.

"Do you want me to take you there or not," Spottedpaw mewed quietly, but Skunkpaw could see her fur standing up. Skunkpaw followed her carefully, the forest still foreign to her, and the darkness surrounding them making it much harder. Dodging around another tree root, Spottedpaw came to a halt, smelling the air and giving a satisfied nod. "We're here," she mewed, pushing her way inside a flower bush, her cream and orange tail looking as if it had been sucked into the bush.

Skunkpaw followed, finding that entering the bush was much easier than it had looked when Spottedpaw had done it. "So why is this place..." Skunkpaw trailed off, suddenly aware of the dimly lit area around her. Brightly colored flowers were scattered around the inside of the bush, their colors slightly dulled by the darkness outside. "Wow," she breathed eventually.

Skunkpaw took in the sight, smelling deeply at one flower and sneezing loudly when the pollen invaded her nostrils. Another scent hit her nose, the tangy smell feeling familiar but she couldn't quite put her paw on what it was. Ignoring it for now, she pushed past Spottedpaw and into the surprisingly wide interior.

"There you are," Spottedpaw mewed. Skunkpaw looked up at her friend, wondering how Spottedpaw had managed to lose her in such a small area... that scent again! "Who's there?!" Skunkpaw hissed, lowering herself against the plush grass.

"You brought someone?" A mew asked through the bush, not daring to enter.

"This is Skunkpaw," Spottedpaw comforted, "she said she had to see this spot." The northern side of the bush rustled, revealing the black and gray muzzle of a cat much larger than Skunkpaw and Spottedpaw put together. "This is Ravenleaf," she introduced the cat, who gave a curt nod.

"How can you meet a cat from another clan?" Skunkpaw questioned, looking from Spottedpaw to Ravenleaf, receiving a curious stare in return from Spottedpaw. "I thought... I thought you liked Badgerpaw!"