Warriors: Black Rain

Chapter 14

      Before the two she-cats had even neared the lake's edge, Scarpaw had picked up on Woodpaw's scent trail. It veered them off their original course, sending them bounding through the more wooded growth of RainClan territory, near the river and the Black Tree. Scarpaw hoped that was where they'd find him; hunting or possibly going over his training alone, but her hope faltered as his scent led them past the Black Tree, nearing MapleClan's borders. Here the grass was lighter and large trees replaced the majority of bramble and mangroves Scarpaw was used to; she felt strange padding along the crinkly dark leaves, and she could tell Leopardpaw felt the same.

      "What would Woodpaw be doing over here?" Leopardpaw hissed, worry making her aggressive. "I don't like being this close to the edge of our borders, especially near MapleClan. If we run into a patrol, were crow-food." Scarpaw nodded grimly, becoming more aware of her surroundings.

      "Speaking of crow-food, do you smell that?" She scrunched her nose in disgust, stopping to try and get a better scent of the air. Leopardpaw did the same.

     "Great StarClan, that reeks! It doesn't quite smell like crow-food, though; something different." Scarpaw silently agreed, trying to search her brain for what the wretched smell could be when she gasped, flattening her ears.

      "I've smelled this before, on a patrol with Stormspirit. That's badger." Leopardpaw's pelt prickled, nodding.

      "You're right; but it smells odd, as if theres something else..." Scarpaw followed the scent, stopping to point with her muzzle at what she saw ahead of her, hidden between thick bushes.

      "Leopardpaw, look." Ahead of the two she-cats was an old badger set, long abandoned. It was crushed and flattened, as if something had rolled around in it. Smelling the set carefully, Scarpaw faintly picked up on Woodpaw's scent mixed in, but it disappeared after that, completely overwhelmed by the wretched badger set's.

      "He tried to hide his scent," Leopardpaw mumbled, "but why? And from what?" Unable to answer, Scarpaw stood, lost in thought. Anxiety made her neck fur stand on end as she considered the possibilities. They had no way to track him now, and wandering aimlessly so close to MapleClan's borders was too dangerous. The moon was already hidden below the clouds, and Scarpaw guessed it wouldn't be long before the early dawn patrol prepared to leave camp. A gasp from Leopardpaw interrupted her thoughts, and Scarpaw hurried over to her friend as Leopardpaw crouched, hiding herself between thick bramble.

      "What? What is it?" Scarpaw whispered, unnerved by her friends behavior. Leopardpaw pulled her lip back in a snarl.

      "Look; there he is!" Following Leopardpaw's eyes, Scarpaw saw the small shape of Woodpaw padding quickly along a large ravine, which dropped dangerously deep into a ditch filled with jagged rocks that made Scarpaw nervous. Any cat to fall in the ravine here would surely be impaled. To cross into MapleClan territory, a cat would have to walk along the ravine until it thinned out enough to safely cross the expanse of jagged rocks below.

      The ravine lined the border of MapleClan, and Scarpaw could see the thick forest of their territory on the other side. Woodpaw kept glancing behind him anxiously, and he seemed to be padding back and forth, almost like he was waiting for someone. Before she could say anything, Leopardpaw stalked out of her hiding space, her eyes two tiny slits. "Woodpaw!", she growled, "There you are!" The small brown apprentice jumped, his fur on end, seeming completely taken by surprise. Scarpaw bolted out of their hiding place after her, frustrated by her friends sudden outburst but flooded with relief that Woodpaw was here, unharmed.

      "We've been searching for you all night! What in the name of StarClan do you think you're doing, so far from camp?" Leopardpaw lashed her tail around as she spoke, but Scarpaw didn't interrupt. She too wanted to hear the apprentice's explanation. He blinked, almost as if he couldn't believe the two were actually here, flattening himself to the grass.

      "V-Venomsight sent me," he mewed with concern, "I was slacking off during training, so he sent me to gather herbs for Webear as punishment. He said Burdock root only grew this far from camp." His eyes flickered as he spoke, not meeting either apprentice's questioning gaze.

      Scarpaw stepped forward. "You've been out all day and night, have you been searching this entire time?"

      He nodded, "Yes, but I haven't found any." Leopardpaw's fur lay flat again, but she still spoke with an edge in her voice.

      "Great StarClan, why did you roll all over that badger set? You smell awful!" Woodpaw twitched his tail, still not meeting her eyes.

      "A MapleClan patrol came by on the other side of the ravine; I didn't want them to notice me, so I disguised my scent." Scarpaw thought she saw a flicker of movement from MapleClan's side of the ravine, but Woodpaw walked forward, blocking her line of sight.

      "Anyway, I'm sorry for worrying you. I know I shouldn't have stayed out so late, but I also knew Venomsight would have my hide if I didn't find that Burdock root." Leopardpaw let out a snort, sitting to lick a paw and run it over her ears.

      "The only one worried was Scarpaw. She insisted we snuck out to find you; I just came along to help her." Woodpaw's eyes brightened at the mention of Scarpaw's plan, and she shuffled her paws in discomfort.

      "Well, we should help you find some of that Burdock root," Scarpaw announced, changing the subject, "You could get in a lot of trouble, coming back to camp without any after so long." Woodpaw bowed his head in appreciation, and the three cats searched the edge of the ravine quickly. It didn't take them long to stumble across the large bush containing a fair amount of the herb, and Scarpaw couldn't help but wonder how Woodpaw had missed it.

      There's no way, she thought, he has to be hiding something.

      All three apprentices gathered a mouthful of the root, and sprinted back into camp, away from the dangers of the ravine and safe inside RainClan territory. As they made their way towards Webear's den, Scarpaw let out a sigh of relief to see that no cats were out of their dens yet. Scarpaw silently thanked StarClan for their luck.

      "Thank you both for everything. I'll take the root to Webear, you should get some rest before training starts," Woodpaw mewed.

      "Sounds like a plan to me," Leopardpaw murmured with her mouth still full. She dropped the root at his paws and padded off. Scarpaw watched until her spotted tail disappeared into the apprentice den before dropping her own herbs, giving Woodpaw a steady stare.

      "Woodpaw, are you sure everything is alright? You've seemed a little shaken ever since the gathering," she whispered. He looked at his paws, ears back.

      "I'm fine, Scarpaw. Please don't worry about me; Just go get some rest. And please, don't tell anyone else about this, okay? Our secret." She felt taken aback by his response, but he bounded off to Webear's den before she could reply. Discomfort heavy on her mind, Scarpaw slowly made her way back inside the den, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her own mossy nest. Sparkpaw lay asleep close by, and she shut her eyes, taking in his sweet scent.

      Oh, StarClan, send me strength, she thought, as she let herself drown in the lulling sounds of the other apprentice's steady breathing.