Warrior Cats: Briarstar's Story

Chapter 2

A dim light filtered through the walls of the apprentice's den and the cold, crisp dawn air nipped at Briarpaw's toes. He blinked and crawled out of his nest, quietly making his way to the entrance of the den. The dawn patrol had already left, but other than that no cat seemed to be awake. He turned his gaze over to the medicine cat's den, which was a hollow between two berry bushes. The apprentice shook his head, remembering Streamfur's prophecy. It was like a scary dream that he couldn't forget, no matter how hard he tried.

"Goodmorning, Briarpaw," It was Cinderfall who said this, his voice interrupting the apprentice's thoughts. His yellow eyes were fixed on the rising sun. Briarpaw nodded at Cinderfall and sat up straight, curling his tail around his paws.

"We will be hunting with Cloudstar today," The deputy meowed, turning his gaze to Briarpaw. "We will leave as soon as the dawn patrol gets back. Eat something, you'll need your strength."

Hunting with Cloudstar already? Briarpaw had only been an apprentice for a few days, he hardly knew how to do a hunter's crouch!

At this point, cats began to stir and prepare for the day's activities. Hollystem, a black she-cat, padded out of the warrior's den and made her way over to Cinderfall. Her belly seemed to sway as she walked; it seemed almost... Swollen.

Hollystem purred and nuzzled Cinderfall's cheek. "Any hunting patrols I could join this morning?" She asked, giving her pelt a quick wash.

"No," The deputy mewed sternly to his mate. "I think it's time you moved into the nursery." The black she-cat sighed, disappointed. "I knew you were going to say that," she meowed, glancing at her belly.

Briarpaw glanced over at the gorse tunnel, where Redclaw, Oakfur, Rosepaw, and Shadefoot returned from the dawn patrol.

"Cinderfall," Redclaw huffed, out of breath. "We scented ShadowClan cats on ThunderClan territory."

The deputy growled and beckoned to Briarpaw with his tail. "Come on," Cinderfall hissed to his apprentice.

They pelted out of the camp entrance and headed straight for the piney woods where ShadowClan and ThunderClan territory met. "Redclaw! Lead the way!" Cinderfall yowled.

Briarpaw struggled to keep up. His lungs were searing and his paws already ached, but he kept running. They ran through the dense undergrowth, past the meadow where the apprentices train, leaping over a few fallen trees along the way. To the left of them was the river, and just beyond that was RiverClan territory.

Suddenly the patrol skidded to a halt. Three ShadowClan warriors and an apprentice were stalking prey on ThunderClan's side of the forest. Cinderfall hissed and crept forward slowly. "Follow me," he meowed quietly.

One of the ShadowClan cats, Bearclaw, was teaching his apprentice how to stalk birds.

"Why are you trespassing on ThunderClan territory?" Cinderfall snarled, his fur bristling.

The ShadowClan warrior looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, we're on ThunderClan territory? I couldn't tell," Bearclaw hissed, hackles raised.

"You're outnumbered! Do you really think this is smart, Bearclaw?" The ThunderClan deputy retorted, beckoning to the rest of the patrol to with his tail. "Leave now in peace, no blood has to be shed today."

Bearclaw scoffed and bared his teeth. "ShadowClan never backs down from a fight!"

Briarpaw glared at the cats and hissed. He may have been an apprentice for only a few days, but he was strong and knew how to outsmart any cat.

Bearclaw lunged at Cinderfall, who dipped to the side and raked his claws down the ShadowClan cat's flank. Briarpaw pelted forward and ran into the small ShadowClan apprentice, knocking her off of her feet. Seeing his opportunity, he pounced on the she-cat and pummeled her belly with his claws. She let out a yowl of pain and rolled to the side, avoiding Briarpaw's next blow.

Oakfur and Rosepaw fought side by side, teamed up against Eagleswoop, a brown and white tom. Shadefoot and Redclaw already managed to drive off a warrior named Cloudybreeze, and were now advancing on Bearclaw and Eagleswoop.

"It's much like ThunderClan warriors to pick on smaller cats!" The apprentice hissed at Briarpaw, flinging herself onto his back. He threw her off and grasped her in his claws.

"I-I'm a-an a-a-apprentice!" He stammered, trying his best to make his mew sound hostile. The ShadowClan cat laughed and rolled away from his grip. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She snarled, aiming a blow at his muzzle. He quickly moved to the side, easily dodging her claws.

He noticed that now two of the cats had already fled, leaving only Bearclaw and his apprentice. The ThunderClan patrol advanced on the two cats, who had no choice but to flee.

"ShadowClan! Retreat!" Bearclaw yowled, and the remaining two ShadowClan cats limped away, spitting furiously.

"Any serious injuries?" Cinderfall asked, examining his patrol.

"Just a few scratches and bites." Replied Oakfur, who was licking a wound on his shoulder.

"Let's get back to camp then," He meowed, shaking out his gray pelt. "And, Briarpaw," Cinderfall meowed, padding over to the tabby apprentice. "You fought very well for a new apprentice."

"Th-th-thanks!" Briarpaw meowed, holding his head high.

"Just remember to keep your mouth shut next time. That stutter of yours is not intimidating!" Shadefoot hissed before padding away from the rest of the patrol. Rosepaw flashed Briarpaw a sympathetic glance and followed after the rest of the cats.

When they returned to camp, Streamfur was already checking wounds, applying poultices on scratches, and pressing cobwebs onto bleeding cuts. Redclaw had a nasty bite on his shoulder, and Rosepaw had a few scratches across her flank.

Sweetpetal ran up to Briarpaw, nuzzling him and fretting over his tiny wounds.

"Are you okay my little one? Oh, my sweet kit!" She cried, and began to lick him all over.

"I-I-I'm fine!" Briarpaw meowed, turning away from his mother. Otterpaw bounded towards him, clearly jealous that he missed out on a fight.

"How was it? Did you win? Were the ShadowClan cats huge and scary?" He asked, running in circles around Briarpaw.

"Th-they l-look just l-l-like us. Except, s-s-scrawny," he meowed, recalling how the ShadowClan cat's ribs were visible through their fur.

Cloudstar padded over to the cats, her amber eyes calm. "I expect you handled the situation well?" She asked her deputy.

"We managed to drive those foxhearts off, and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget," Cinderfall hissed, while Streamfur pressed a cobweb down onto his bleeding paw. "Be still!" The medicine cat scolded. "Yes, Streamfur," he meowed, sitting up.

Cloudstar approached Briarpaw and sat down next to him. "We won't be able to hunt today. Go get something to eat, you fought very well today from what I've heard." She meowed, her voice very gentle and calming. "You're also excused from your apprentice duties for this evening, as is Rosepaw. Otterpaw and Dawnpaw can hunt for the elders."

"Th-thank you, C-Cloudstar." The tabby apprentice meowed gratefully.

Briarpaw didn't even look at the fresh kill pile, he just padded straight to the apprentice's den and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's activities.