Skylight (Warrior Cats)

Chapter 5

Skypaw and Rainpaw immediately bolted towards the hole Hazelflower had fallen into. Hazelflower had landed with a sickening thud, and Skypaw's heart was beating out of her chest when she didn't hear her mentor make another sound.

"What in StarClan?!" Petalheart yowled, completely shocked.  Skypaw and her littermate approached the hole carefully, unsure about how stable the edge was. Hazelflower had fallen out of no where, there was no telling what ground was safe around here!

"Hazelflower?!" Skypaw hollered into the hole, peering inside of it. The ditch that had eaten her mentor was quite deeper than Skypaw had expected. She had thought her mentor would be able to climb out with some help, but this was definitely not the case.

"Holy StarClan!" A dazed Hazelflower called out, shaking her head to clear it. 

"Skypaw, go get a rescue party from camp, now!" Petalheart ordered, not taking her eyes off of Hazelflower. "Are you okay?" She called down into the trench.

"I think so," The black she-cat replied. Skypaw nodded before taking off, for she had waited to hear her mentor's response.

Her hind paws caused snow to fly up behind her as she left the scene of the accident. Fear for Hazelflower overtook her emotions. What if she won't be okay?

Skypaw thought of the young warrior not only as her mentor, but as her friend. She had thought this for a long time, but the worry she felt for her came from a relationship other than mentor and apprentice. This was a worry for her close friend.

Approaching camp quickly, her paws skidding and sliding on the icy paths, she yowled a warning call. She wanted to make her presence known as soon as possible, she wanted to grab the Clan's attention so the party could begin to assemble.

Bursting through the gorse tunnel, she saw that her call had worked. All the cats in the clearing had stopped whatever they had been doing and stared at her with round, fearful eyes. Featherfur had hoarded her kits into the nursery and had her head sticking out of the den entrance. Flowermoon was visible behind her, waiting to hear what was going on.

Appleleaf had ducked his head out of the elders' den. Warriors were spilling out of their den and Shadepaw clumsily emerged from her nest. Sunstar was on his way down the rocks that led to his den. Willowleaf still had herbs in her mouth from sorting. 

"It's Hazelflower!" Skypaw meowed frantically. "She's fallen into a ditch!"

Willowleaf nodded and immediately ducked into her den to grab some herbs. Voices from the Clan spoke hectically, but Skypaw couldn't make out any of it. "We need a rescue party, she's stuck!"

"Russetsky, take care of this." Sunstar meowed flatly before turning around and heading back up to his den. Unbelievable! Skypaw thought. A warrior is in trouble and you don't even care enough to organize a rescue patrol!

Surprised murmurs rippled through the clearing. Appleleaf scowled at the exiting leader, and Bramblefrost looked like he was about to protest, but Russetsky's orders silenced the Clan.

"I want Bumblefoot, Blizzardfur, Duskwave, Bramblefrost and Shadepaw to come with me!" The shadowy warrior ordered. "We need all the help we can get. Plus, we will need to patch up the hole after we've rescued Hazelflower. Also, Willowleaf, please join us as quickly as possible."

The tortoiseshell she-cat emerged from her den, her mouth full of bundles of herbs. She muffled something inaudible and joined the patrol at the camp entrance.

"Alright, let's go!" Russetsky led the cats through the gorse tunnel before stopping abruptly. "Skypaw, can you show us the way?"

Skypaw nodded, weaving through the group of cats to where her mother was. Flicking her tail, she led the rescue patrol at a brisk pace, careful to avoid any ice patches that could cause more injuries. 

The group of cats were discussing rescue tactics together quickly, trying to problem solve as quickly as possible. Hazelflower had said she thought she was alright, but Willowleaf had made it clear on the way that she wanted the black warrior in her den as soon as possible.

Arriving at the scene, Rainpaw and Petalheart's eyes shone with relief as they saw help had arrived. 

Scenting the patrol, Hazelflower called, "Woah! Skypaw, did you bring the whole Clan with you?"

At least she still has her sense of humor, Skypaw thought. If it were me in that hole, I would be a mess!

Russetsky let out a meow of surprise when she looked at the depth of the hole. Hazelflower's hazel eyes blinked up at her expectantly, waiting to hear how she would be freed. Blizzardfur and Bumblefoot slowly crept to the edge, carefully peering down inside.

"Hazelflower," Willowleaf meowed, pushing in between the two warriors. She had set her herbs down under a bush to shelter them from the group's paws. "Where are you hurt?"

Hazelflower hesitated. She stared at the floor of the ditch. Skypaw knew her mentor was debating on whether or not to admit to any injuries, but it was no use. You simply couldn't hide from Willowleaf.

Picking up on Hazelflower's thoughts as well, Willowleaf meowed, "I'll find out no matter what you say. A few days in the medicine den is better than getting an infected wound!"

The ThunderClan warrior sighed. "My shoulder hurts," She admitted. "But it's not that bad! I can still train Skypaw!"

"I'll be the judge of that," The tortoiseshell replied. Stepping back, she approached her deputy. "She's fine for now, no critical injuries," Willowleaf gave a stern glance to the rescue patrol, who were all watching her. "Be careful when transporting her so you don't make her shoulder worse. She'll be off her paws for a few days, but it could be longer if she's moved the wrong way."

Russetsky nodded, relief in her eyes. "Thank you, Willowleaf," She ducked her head to the medicine cat. Willowleaf flicked her tail in acknowledgement. "I think our best option here is to find a stick long and sturdy enough to support Hazelflower. That way we can pull her out of the hole while she uses her remaining legs to climb up the wall of the ditch."

Bramblefrost nodded. "She shouldn't need to use her bad shoulder at all," He added. "Bumblefoot and I can support her back to camp."

"Very well, then," The ThunderClan deputy nodded at her patrol. "Everyone, split up. We need to find a good branch as quickly as possible."

Skypaw immediately turned around and headed out into the snowy forest. She used her paw to shuffle through some dead branches that had fallen out of a tree above, testing their strength. Deciding they weren't stable enough, she continued on.

Deciding there would be strong branches near the Sky Oak, she made her way to the gigantic tree. She was reminded about her stay in Willowleaf's den after she had fallen from the massive oak, and she felt a pang of sympathy for her mentor. Being in Willowleaf's care wasn't exactly enjoyable. 

Padding on, her paws chilled from the snow beneath them. She was just about to resume her search for branches when her eyes made contact with chilling amber ones. 

Darkface!

Sorry! This isn't the best chapter ever, but I'm really trying to start picking up the story. I hope you guys aren't bored, things will get better soon! I promise!

As said, here's Chapter 5 today. Thank you so much for your guys' support. It still blows my mind when I publish a chapter and then immediately hit refresh, and see that 5 people have already voted for it when it's only been up for a second. It's amazing!

I'll probably get Chapter 6 out tomorrow. I'm going to be updating pretty regularly from now on, so please stay tuned. 

Thanks for reading!