Brambles || Warriors Fanfic

Chapter 5

"Haha! I stepped on a beetle!"

Foxpaw was, to say the least, extremely excited for a hunting patrol. He could probably bounce into Starclan at that moment. Sagebreeze faintly smiled at the young toms enthusiasm, remembering when she was younger and could prance about with Quailcall and Finchsong. Finchsong followed her quietly, her gaze fixed onto the ground.

Sagebreeze hardly noticed until now, but Finchsong seemed different today. She wouldn't look her in the eyes and her tail dragged on the ground, her ears low. She wasn't the most confident cat, that was Longwhisker, but she was certainly able to make eye contact with other cats, especially her close friends.

"Are you alright?" Sagebreeze inquired, her voice laced with concern. "You're acting different."

Finchsong didn't carry her gaze of the ground. "Finchsong?"

"Oh- sorry," Finchsong mumbled, coming back to reality. "I just got a lot on my mind."

Sagebreeze tilted one of her ears to the side, her walking slowed down. "What is it? You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Finchsong's gaze travelled to Sagebreeze, though her head still lay close to the ground. Sagebreeze felt a prick of unease at the silence. Does she still trust me? Maybe I ruined our friendship? Sagebreeze's thoughts were cloudy and nervous.

"Have you ever been in love? But you're scared about so many things?" Finchsong asked, lifting her head and staring out into the forest. 

Sagebreeze stayed silent for a brief moment, considering how to reply. "Who is it?" Sagebreeze whispered, low enough that Foxpaw wouldn't hear.

"...Whitefoot," Finchsong said. She was obviously lying, as if her real crush was something she couldn't even share with her best friends. "He's just... so handsome and has a really pretty pelt."

That's not it, isn't it? Sagebreeze didn't dare speak out, afraid to upset Finchsong. It's someone who could get you in trouble and therefore you don't think you can even tell me or Quailcall in fear we'll report you to Antleap and Dogstar.

Finchsong shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just... go hunt. Just forget it." She picked up the pace and ran alongside Foxpaw. Sagebreeze reluctantly followed, her heart feeling weighed down with worry for her friend.

-[x]-

"We're back!" Foxpaw announced, a sparrow and shrew dangling from his jaw.

Antleap padded over to examine the prey they had brought back. "A fine feast, thank you Sagebreeze," He praised Sagebreeze. I didn't do this! What about Finchsong and Foxpaw? Sagebreeze kept her jaw shut and had to stop herself from smacking a paw into Antleap's smug face. 

"Did I do a good job, Antleap?" Foxpaw demanded an answer, his eyes were burning like fire.

Antleap glared over at Foxpaw and didn't reply, then turned back to Sagebreeze. "Sagebreeze, would you like to join me in the nursery?" He offered. "I have a rabbit waiting for us."

Foxpaw's face drooped with disappointment, the apprentice just wanted two words but Antleap didn't care about him and just thought he was a nuisance. 

"Sure, Antleap," Sagebreeze agreed. She wished she could decline, but she didn't want Antleap to hate her, so it was the best bet for her to keep her fur. Antleap smiled and the two cats headed towards the nursery.

Sagebreeze ducked into the nursery after Antleap and sat down next to the gigantic rabbit they had.

"Hey, Sagebreeze, You came in to tell us big news?" Fernpatch asked as Aspen-nose snickered in the corner. What news? Sagebreeze didn't understand what they were saying.

"Oh, shut up you two!" Brackenlight playfully hit Fernpatch with a paw. "You pull that on every she-cat who comes in here."

"But it's funny to see their faces! They look so horrified when we tell them the next part."

"Calm down, mollies," Antleap glowered at the three queens. "I never want you to make a mousebrained joke like that again."

Fernpatch smiled, her tongue sticking out, but dipped her head. Sagebreeze would've asked what the joke was, but she wouldn't like to go against Antleap's orders. She could ask again later, right? She leaned down to the rabbit and took a big bite out of it.

"That's a really big rabbit!" Brackenlight beamed in awe down at the prey. "Who caught it?"

"When Longwhisker was out with me on a border," Antleap explained," he noticed this rabbit running across the path to the border. He chased it and killed it. He was rewarded and I wanted to eat this with Sagebreeze, since she's my favourite cat of the clan, other than Dogstar."

Oh great. Another reason for Longwhisker to gloat. Sagebreeze rolled her eyes. Ever since the day he was born, Longwhisker liked to brag. 'Oh, my whiskers are longer than anyone else could dream of having!' or 'I bet you didn't catch that much prey on your first day hunting!'

There was two loud gasps over by Aspen-nose and Eggkit and Milk-kit stumbled out of their mother's grasps.

"That's so cool!" Milk-kit grinned.

Oh no.

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Word count: 802