Warriors: Water's Edge

Chapter Four

     "It sure is crowded in the apprentice's den..."  Nightpaw groaned in his nest. Goldenpaw and Ashpaw muttered agreement under their breaths as they moved their nests to make room for the four new nests. Even though Crowpaw was a medicine cat apprentice, he had insisted on staying in the apprentice den with his littermates.

     Sedgestorm and Ryebrook were supposed to be taking Nightpaw and Goldenpaw on the dusk patrol, so the young black tom hurriedly left his own den. Goldenpaw padded after him, her sleek golden pelt reflecting the light of the sun. She purred affectionately at the grumpy tom, "Cheer up grumpy Nightpaw, it's not their fault "

     Nightpaw snorted, "If you say so."

     Goldenpaw headed towards the flat rock where FireClan stored their prey and gently scooped up a vole with her claws. She had a sly smile on her face, and with a childish gleam in her eye, tossed the furry animal at Nightpaw. It him him in the flank, sending the large tom jumping in surprise. 

     "Hey!" The black tom reeled back bristling, but relaxed when Goldenpaw replied by laughing. Nightpaw fetched the vole and gave his sister a friendly lick on the ear. They settled beside the apprentice's den so they were in ear shot of the Warriors corner outside the Elder's den. He could see Mothstar and Frostfang sharing tongues near the fallen tree. Sedgestorm and Ryebrook were chatting with Pebblestripe listening from farther behind. Nightpaw kept an eye on them as he shared a meal with Goldenpaw. The gray tabby looked worried, but Sedgestorm's expression was unreadable.

     Nightpaw licked his muzzle before trotting over to them. Upon noticing the apprentice, Pebblestripe bowed his head and stalked off in the opposite direction.

     "What was that about?" Nightpaw mewed, looking after the tom. Sedgestorm shook her head, stifling a laugh.

    The four cats led the way out of camp, followed by Reedwing and her newly appointed apprentice Crabpaw. They made their way north towards the Moonpool. Sedgestorm marked the border and they continued on westward towards the SnowClan border. The trees thinned out here, giving way to moorland. Their only cover was the occasional shrub. Jagged rocks marked the end of their territory and Nightpaw marked the bottom of the small mounds. From here, he could hear the rushing water of the waterfall at water rocks. This was a dangerous place for new apprentices, so Nightpaw hung back next to Crabpaw to assure he didn't slip. Goldenpaw and Ryebrook scouted on ahead, leaving Sedgestorm and Reedwing with their apprentices. 

     Nightpaw opened his jaws to smell his surroundings. "Patrol!" He gasped.

     He turned his attention to the source of the smell. At the top of on of the jagged rocks stood a thin brown tabby, followed by a black tom and a gray she-cat. 

     "Hello Sedgestorm. Reedwing." He nodded to each of them respectfully. Crabpaw was standing silently behind Reedwing until now. "And I'm Crabpaw." He says. "Nice to meet'cha."

     Nightpaw felt obligated to introduce himself now, "And I'm uh Nightpaw."

     The black apprentice faced towards his mentor, looking for a queue on what to do next. Before he could move though, Goldenpaw and Ryebrook returned. Goldenpaw looked sideways at the three cats, eyeing them suspiciously. 

     "Come on!" Ryebrook declared, leaving the three SnowClan cats on their own territory. The path down to the water rocks was rocky and wet. Ryebrook and Goldenpaw went first, followed by Nightpaw, Crabpaw and Sedgestorm. Reedwing went last, tasting the air before she leaped  from the top of the waterfall down to the rocky path. This was the only way to Waterrocks, which was shared by FireClan, RockClan and SnowClan. 

     Here, there was nothing between the patrol and the rushing of water loud in their ears. You'd think the loud crashing of rapids would scare prey away, but these waters flowed from the same cave as the moonpool and seemed to not affect hunting. As an added bonus, the rocks themselves seemed to remain as warm as if it were the height of greenleaf in the dead of leafbare. It was an unexplained paradise.

     Nightpaw had heard the story about how the three eastern clans came to share this hallowed ground. A long time ago, A SnowClan she-cat named Pinefrost discovered the water rocks. The clans were new to the territory and of course, RockClan, SnowClan and FireClan all wanted the lush hunting ground. There was a battle, with many casualties resulting in the leaders all calling a truce to stop the bloodshed. Ivyflight had told the story many times.

     The smell of vole hit Nightpaw like a paw to the side of the head.

     "Can we hunt?" Nightpaw turned to Sedgestorm, pleading.

     "Well, the clan always needs freshkill..." She flicked her tail in agreement and Nightpaw instantly crouched down, trying to pinpoint the furry animal. Finally, he pinpointed the creature between two stones, scrabbling for seeds. Keeping light on his paws, the black tom crept forward until there was barely a fox length between him and his prey. Then, he leaped forward and grabbed at the mouse with paws outstretched. It let out a screech of surprise before Nightpaw dispatched it with a swift claw swipe.

     Goldenpaw had caught two mice by the time they set off towards camp. Nightpaw dragged his mouse by the tail, careful to keep it out of the dirt.

     "Are we there yet?" mewed the newly appointed apprentice Crabpaw. He groaned outwardly to further dramatize his question. Reedwing, his mentor cuffed him on the ear, rolling her eyes at the grumpy tom.

     When they reached the top of the hollow where the FireClan camp, a commotion was rising up from the clan below. Nightpaw gasped as he saw his brother Ashpaw hissing at the clan leader. Sandface stood rigid next to him, teeth bared at Mothstar. What did I miss?