Atrophy [Warriors]

05: Restless Thoughts

Foxclaw padded over to the fresh kill pile, dropping her squirrel on top. The hunting patrol she was on had just returned, and the tortoiseshell she-cat still couldn't stop thinking about her dream. It had felt so real, it had to be real.

But, she couldn't be sure. Unless....

Foxclaw looked around the camp until her eyes fell upon Snowbird, who was sharing tongues with Shadowpaw. Snowbird could give her answers, Foxclaw knew that she was a terrible liar anyways, so it would be easy to tell if she was getting the truth. I just have to word it right.

Foxclaw walked over to where her mother and brother were seated, and sat in front of them. "Hey," she casually greeted.

"How have you been, Foxclaw?" Snowbird meowed sweetly, while Shadowpaw just nodded in acknowledgement.

"I've been good," Foxclaw started, "but there's something I've been wondering about...."

"What is it?" Snowbird inquired, flicking her ear.

"Well... do you know who Blizzardpelt is?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Snowbird's yellow eyes went wide, and the fur at the back of her neck stood up.

The older she-cat spoke in a hushed tone. "Where did you hear that name?"

Foxclaw shrugged. "I just overheard the elders talking," she lied.

Snowbird looked unsure, uneasy. "Blizzardpelt was... he was a terrible cat. He used to be BoulderClan's deputy. He killed cats... he tried to kill Oakstar... then he died right after you were born."

Foxclaw noticed that she didn't mention anything about their relationship, but that could mean anything. She didn't press further. "I see... sorry for asking." She meowed.

Snowbird shook her head. "Oh no, it's no problem."

Foxclaw's thoughts drifted off once again. If Blizzardpelt had really attempted to kill Oakstar, he couldn't have been in StarClan, could he? Then where was I?

*°*°*°*°*

Foxclaw sat next to Stonecloud by the camp entrance, overlooking the silent clearing.

Everyone was sleeping, as the moon was growing higher in the sky. The two new warriors were holding their vigil, protecting the clan until the sun rose.

But Foxclaw was just watching the moon, waiting for when she would meet with Tinystripe. It was almost moonhigh.

"Hey, Stonecloud." Foxclaw whispered, and he jumped a bit. He had probably been falling asleep.

"What is it, Foxclaw?" He asked.

"I'm gonna go to the dirtplace, don't fall asleep." She replied in a teasing tone, before heading to the back of the camp where the dirtplace tunnel was.

She padded out, but kept going, then ran towards the StreamClan border. It wasn't too far, so she got there quickly.

The border was marked at a small stream, one of the many streams that ran through the other clan's territory. It was a common misconception that StreamClan cats could swim, though, because in reality, none of the streams were really wide or deep enough to swim in.

"Foxclaw!" Foxclaw turned to see Tinystripe bounding towards her from her side of the border. "You came!"

"Of course." Foxclaw purred. "But I can't stay long. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Tinystripe shifted on her paws a bit. "I was thinking, now that we're warriors, maybe we could... run off, y'know. Make our own clan, with our own rules. You could be leader, I know you'd be great at it, and I could be your deputy. We could-"

"Tinystripe." Foxclaw sighed. "I don't know about that. I know we talked about it when we were younger, but now it seems a little unrealistic."

"But we could do it! We could!" Tinystripe whined.

Foxclaw rested her tail on the she-cat's back. "I'll... have to think about it. But now, I really should head back."

Tinystripe let out a sigh, but nodded. "Okay, okay. See ya, Foxclaw." She said, before running off into her territory.

Foxclaw started walking back to BoulderClan camp. Could I really leave everything and start on my own? It only took a moment of thought before she shook her head. No, that's ridiculous. The Clans had been around for generations, all having a deep history and culture that simply couldn't be replicated. Starting her own Clan... that was the dream of a kit. If she wanted to be a real leader, she would do it with real Clan cats. BoulderClan would someday be under her power, not some made up fantasy Clan.