Leafpool's Choice

Chapter 4

Leafpool crouched down low, sniffing the air for prey. The faintest trace of fox, the stale scent of rabbit, and the fresh aroma of mouse.

Leafpool slid through the grass, following the mouse's trail. The grasses ahead of her twitched, and she leaped, trapping the mouse between her paws. She reached down to give it a killing bite.

She stood up, the mouse secured between her teeth, and realized how far she had come. 

Standing in front of her was a hollow, with a dirt floor. Inside stood a huge oak tree, with large, moss-covered roots. Beside the tree was a pool of water that looked deep enough to fish in, but not deep enough to be dangerous. The rest of the hollow was empty space, waiting to be used.

I have to tell Crowfeather! He will want to know. Leafpool buried her mouse in the hollow and set off to find Crowfeather.

When Leafpool arrived at camp, she found Crowfeather sitting in his nest, licking himself clean.

Crowfeather's ear-tip twitched. "You're back." 

"Yes," Leafpool meowed.

"No prey?"

"I caught a mouse and a bird. Now get up. We are moving."

"Very short-notice."

"I found a decent camp."

"Okay."

"Get up already!" Leafpool swatted at Crowfeather's face.

Crowfeather stood up and stretched, then fell into step behind Leafpool.

Somewhere about halfway between the old camp and the hollow, Leafpool stopped to uncover her bird.

"So you aren't a bad hunter after all," Crowfeather commented.

"That was completely unnecessary," Leafpool mumbled around her bird.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, Leafpool arrived at the camp. Crowfeather glanced around, his gaze reaching every corner of the camp. 

"So?" Leafpool asked. "What do you think?"

"It's great!" Crowfeather meowed, his pelt brushing Leafpool's. 

"I know, isn't it perfect? It just needs a lot of work, if we are going to turn this place into a camp. We need a thorn barrier, and we could build a warriors den around the tree, using branches from bramble bushes. The freshkill pile should be near the pool, but not too close that heavy rain flooding the pool could destroy it. The leader could make announcements from-"

"Leafpool." Crowfeather cut her off. "This isn't a clan. It's just us." 

"But it could be, right?" Leafpool asked.

Crowfeather looked down at his paws. "It's not likely. Where would we find cats who would be willing to join us? The other clans wouldn't ever accept us. We would be known as traitors forever."

"Rogues needing protection and adventurous kittypets would make up most of the clan, along with our kits. The other clans wouldn't need to know we existed." Leafpool explained it all so well that Crowfeather looked tempted to give in to the idea. 

"I don't know," Crowfeather meowed. 

"Crowfeather, I'm sorry," Leafpool murmured. "I keep forgetting that it's just us now. It's just so different."

Crowfeather gave Leafpool an affectionate lick. "I know. It's okay. I miss my clanmates too, and it'll take some time to get used to it, but what matters is that we have each other, okay?"

"Okay."

***

Night was falling. A newleaf breeze rustled the tree branches. Squirrelflight shivered a bit. The days were growing warmer, but nights were still cold. 

The shadows weren't the best for hiding her ginger pelt, but they did well enough. Squirrelflight kept to the shadows, attempting to stay out of Thornclaw's view. (He was guarding the camp entrance.) 

Squirrelflight slipped through the dirtplace exit, then broke into a run. She just wanted to escape everything that had happened in the forest over the past few days, and leave it all behind her. 

Squirrelflight knew that no matter what, she had to find Leafpool.