A Warrior's Heart | Omen Of Darkness | Bk. 1

Chapter 32

TansyPaw yawned. It was dawn and she saw IvyFern, sleeping next to her. Immediately, she remembered IvyFern's accident and checked her best friend all over. Finding IvyFern's wounds were just scars, relief washed over TansyPaw's red and thrush-coloured pelt. Her pelt was damp, making her wince when she stepped on the soft, mushy wet ground. TansyPaw peered through the trees, suddenly feeling her hear jump."Breeze!" She gasped in terror. TansyPaw couldn't help but notice Breeze was starving. Her ribs stuck out like sticks from her skinny body. Her old friend,-now enemy,-glared at her through thick hatred. Gulping, TansyPaw rammed after the exiled apprentice, but Breeze looked nothing like an apprentice. She was muscular, tall, and oddly confident, but, at her skinny, starving state, a glint in her eyes was nervous. TansyPaw raced at Breeze, attempting to knock the rogue off her paws but instead, Breeze dodged out of range and scored TansyPaw's legs, leaving the ThunderClan apprentice on the ground, winded. TansyPaw red-tipped tail-tip twitched as she rised to her paws. Her green gaze glazed with fury. Her thrush-coloured pelt stood out, her red-orange spots glowing with anger, and her white ear-tips and patterns glowing."Shoo, worthless furball!" She snarled, throwing herself at Breeze. Breeze gasped as she failed to scramble out of the way, and TansyPaw pinned her, soon after, lunging for her throat."Seela!" Breeze yowled, voice echoing through the forest. TansyPaw heard rustling from an elder bush. A white she-cat with dark beige stripes, muzzle, paws, and forehead, darted at TansyPaw, pinning her and raked TansyPaw's muzzle. TansyPaw realized this was Seela."See-la?" TansyPaw rose to her paws, scrambling backwards, but not frightened. Seela hissed,"Yes, fox-heart, now learn to leave my kit alone." TansyPaw chuckled, thinking it was a misunderstanding,"Er, no. CrowDawn's Breeze's mother,"She meowed. Seela snorted,"She's the one who, kitted her. It's not like CrowDawn cared about her. She didn't raise this lovely cat, I am. To CrowDawn, all  Breeze is, is a burden." TansyPaw felt the fur on her neck rise. She didn't bite back the sharp retort,"And you, care about her? Pfft! By her state on being hungry I rate you a zero in mothering! CrowDawn always cared about her, even though she couldn't care for her! You don't  even feed her, you greedy mouse dung!" TansyPaw's eyes flared with challenge. Seela scowled angrily, but couldn't reply back to TansyPaw. Instead, Seela grabbed Breeze's scruff roughly, making Breeze wince in pain as she limped after her, "mother." Fur bristling and head spinning, TansyPaw staggered to camp. IvyFern was grooming her fur and eating a large mouse. DawnHeart scolded her kits as they ran around the lake, teasing their mother of falling in. SilverStrike was preparing a patrol to repair the nursery. TansyPaw darted over to SilverStrike, now light on her paws."I'll join!" She offered eagerly, but then noticed her bloody muzzle and shoulder."What happened to you?" RobinStar demanded, rushing over. TansyPaw explained her encounter with Breeze, but told her mother briskly that it was just a scratch. StormCloud put marigold and cobwebs on her wounds, making it sting and making TansyPaw spit."Now you can come,"SilverStrike mewed, seeming half amused at the way TansyPaw reacted at the stinging. TansyPaw nodded and lined up behind RippleTail and IceSplash. She was lucky IceSplash taught her some good battle moves or she would have been crow-food when Breeze attacked! IceSplash turned to her apprentice,"You'll listen tomyorders,"She hissed angrily,"Not like yesterday when you didn't move when the fallen log hit." TansyPaw bit back a sharp reply. She padded quietly with IceSplash by her side. Her mentor's gentle fur tickled her on purpose. IceSplash gazed lovingly at TansyPaw. TansyPaw turned teasingly on her, cuffing her mentors ear softly with her paw. SilverStrike's tail flicked, his silver fur shining in the bright sun, barely giving anything away that it was becoming leafbare. Cold breezes ruffled ThunderClan, and distaster waited around each corner. TansyPaw knew it would be a tough leafbare to come, and that the prophecy had something to do with it.

TansyPaw picked up the fresh leaves perfect for the nursery roof. She bounded down a small hill, bothered by something. Really, she'd been bothered by it for two sunrises! RobinStar woke exhausted from each nap she took. Why? Suspicion pricked TansyPaw's pelt, and she was uncertain if she could trust her mother anymore. But guilt washed over her when she thought of that. She loved her mother, and couldn't lose her to the dreams she lived in. TansyPaw felt certain RobinStar had a second life.

A dream life.

"Put that on the roof of the nursery!" IceSplash inturrupted TansyPaw's thoughts. TansyPaw glanced at her mentor, who looked dissapointed, and irratated."Sorry!" TansyPaw mewed. She stretched up onto her hindlegs, placing the leaves gently onto the roof and patted them down so they wouldn't fall off. SilverStrike pointed out,"We got done in good time. We should do the warriors den so DawnHeart, DoeKit and BumbleKit can move in." TansyPaw agreed. She dashed out of camp and down to the little moss pile she made. She grabbed some fresh moss and ferns for the broken warriors den. The walls stood, roof broken and  the entrance, crumbled."Here!" She called to SilverStrike, who cleaned the warriors den out. SilverStrike caught the ferns and moss as she threw it. TansyPaw looked at the fresh-kill pile. It was fine but no prey lay in its grasp. She yawned and continued her work.

But she was distracted, part of her knew,

the prophecy was coming to an end.