Warriors: Pebblescar's Reality

Chapter 11

The only sound that echoed in Pebblescar's mind was footsteps as he ran from the rogues, his blood-stained paws leaving parks on the soil. He could hear Twolegs shouting loudly and pointing, but the tom only angled his ears forward and ignored them. Run, whispered a voice in his ear. Run until you can't feel your paws. Run until the only thing in your head is me. Pebblescar obeyed the voice, sprinting harder. The ground in front of him became a blur. With a splash, Pebblescar dived into the river and started paddling across, still keeping the same speed. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears.

"I killed him," Pebblescar spoke to himself, gritting his teeth together. "I killed that rogue, and now they're all mad." He swallowed, remembering the orders of Reedstorm. He was supposed to find out what was happening, not provoke an endless series of battles.

Great. Now I'll never get my rightful position in the Clan back, he thought bitterly, slowing into a jog as the familiar scent of RiverClan enveloped his, wafting into his nose. Pebblescar noticed that the sun was setting, bloody streaks staining the clouds above. Bloody streaks just like the ones that had stained the ground after he murdered.

As much as Pebblescar was disgusted by his own actions, he was also excited. The thrill of sinking his claws into an innocent cat's chest could send him into a reality that outweighed his consequences. But, doubt would always plague the back of his mind, keeping most of his actions sane.

"You've been gone the whole sun!" Reedstorm hissed, padding up to him. Pebblescar noted that not a single hair on the brown tom's pelt was out of place. Probably sat around the entire time I was gone, just cleaning his pelt and ordering cats around.

Pebblescar gritted his teeth as he dipped his head, forcing respect into his tone. "I got a little lost on the way back," the dark gray tom lied. "And some Twolegs chased me toward the moor." 

Reedstorm muttered something under his breath and padded away, seeming disappointed that he didn't get to yell at the warrior further. With a sigh, Pebblescar padded into the warriors den and settled down in the moss.

The tom opened his eyes to light filtering through the top of the den. Cats around him were awake and chattering. "Hey, sleepyhead!" Minnowfrost purred from her nest. "It's been forever!"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Pebblescar managed to respond, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Sorry."

Minnowfrost chuckled. "Our deputy can't be slacking, can he? You should go organize patrols—we have been enjoying the sun, but there's been scent marks near the border that Reedstorm found." Surprise jolted through Pebblescar—what would happen here if he sent some cat to go check it out. Surely no one would be murdered, and no war would begin.

He gave the she-cat a nod. "Thank you," Pebblescar meowed, licking down the fur on his shoulder. "I'll be outside." The dark gray tom got to his paws and exited the den, tiredness dragging his limbs into the dirt. Still trying to stay awake, Pebblescar padded toward a small group of warriors.

"Gingerfoot, Gartooth, Silvertail," he addressed the group of cats. "Can you lead a patrol near the WindClan border? Gartooth, you can lead today." The light brown tom nodded and beckoned the rest of his patrol. The fourth cat, a tom named Shallowtail, was still standing there. "Can you check out the scent marks on the far border? Minnowfrost reported some strange cats visiting there, I guess." 

"Sure thing," Shallowtail meowed cheerfully. "It's probably rogues, though." The rose-cream tom got to his paws and trotted out of camp. I wonder what he'll discover, Pebblescar thought as he talked to some other cats who had just entered into the camp.

In the end, Pebblescar decided to visit Hailtail in the medicine den. He wasn't exhausted for no reason—the alternate world that plagued his dreams was leaving him with sore paws and heavy limbs. "Hey, Bumblepaw," he meowed to the apprentice. "Where's your mentor?"

The she-cat blinked from where she had been making a packet of herbs. "Oh, she's gathering some ragwort for Gem—she's been complaining about her pads for suns! I'm just gathering some tansy for Blindeye's cough, so I can help you if you need." 

"I've been having trouble sleeping," began Pebblescar. "And I'm never well-rested when I wake back up."

Bumblepaw blinked, turning around from her herbs. "That's strange. I guess I can give you a poppy seed so you can sleep. Do you have any patrols today?" Pebblescar shook his head. "Then why don't you go rest now? I'm sure the light will keep any night terrors away," Bumblepaw comforted. 

 "I don't think I can fall back asleep." Pebblescar swallowed, thinking of the world where he was a measly warrior and a murderer.

"Okay, how about you come visit the elders with me? I need to check them for ticks anyways," Bumblepaw suggested brightly.

Pebblescar nodded. The apprentice's happiness was quite infectious, so it was hard to keep his ears from perking up.

"Alright! Take this tansy, and I'll get some juniper berries for Gem as well." Bumblepaw pushed the stack of leaves toward Pebblescar, who picked them up in his jaw. He enjoyed having a purpose, even if it was talking to the old grumpy elders. 

They padded toward the elder's den. Pebblescar hadn't visited it since he was an apprentice practically, except for once or twice when he wanted a good story. With regret, he remembered all the times that his sharp tongue ended him up in the den, cleaning out fleas and ticks from the elders' pelts. "Haven't seen you in a while," commented Blindeye, raising his head. Blindeye was an ancient-seeming tom with thin white fur and an eye without a pupil. Even when Pebblescar had been a kit, Blindeye was in the elders' den, telling stories and cracking bad jokes.

"I brought you some tansy for your breathing," Bumblepaw told the tom. "We have so much of it that I thought you could have some of the older leaves." Grumbling, Blindeye took the herbs and chewed them up, wrinkling his nose after swallowing.

Gem stretched out her paws. "Care to hear a story?" she asked, tilting her head. Pebblescar had always chosen Gem as his favorite elder. She had joined the Clans as a warrior when he was an apprentice, and she only served for a few moons before an injury to her spine made her retire to the elders' den. Nowadays, she was perfectly healthy, with limited mobility of course, and numbered seasons left in her old body.

"Sure," Bumblepaw meowed. "But takes these juniper berries—they'll help with the snoring that Blueshimmer keeps complaining about!" 

Blueshimmer nodded as Gem swallowed the berries. "Alright. . . so this story is about the time I had to save a young rouge kit from death. He was only a moon old—a tiny scrap of fur named Samuel." The name sent a chill through Pebblescar's body. Samuel. . . that's who I killed in the other reality! "Anyways, he had wandered out of his den like any troublesome kit would. I watched him leave, but at first I really didn't care. Back in the town—er, Twolegplace as y'all call it—we all fended for ourselves. But, I was close with Samuel's mother, so I decided that after he had been missing for quite some time, I needed to find him."

"I went out to search, and he had wandered right up the river! Samuel saw me, and he thought he was playing some sort of kit game. He ran straight into the water! I dived in after him, and lucky for both of us, the water was shallow, so I managed to push him onto shore. But before I could save myself, the current swept me away. I was nearly drowning by the time that one of you Clan cats ran over and saved me."

Blueshimmer interrupted. "Wasn't the cat who saved you Ravenfur?" Gem nodded and rested her head on the edge of her nest.

Pebblescar's mind was spinning. "Thanks for the story," he meowed, backing out of the den.

A/N: This was Rio again! Like Blaze said, I hope this is all starting to make more sense, and if not, I can always provide clarification. <3 Love you all, and see you with the next chapter! ‑Rio