Brambles || Warriors Fanfic

Chapter 7

Dawn's light crept into the warriors dens, waking up most of the cats who were attempting to sleep. Sagebreeze shivered in her nest, feeling cold and isolated. Well, now that she's offered, you can't really turn her down, can you? Sagebreeze pondered over this all night, her fear trying to keep her from it, but staying alive was her top priority and surely reasoning with Dogstar and visiting her would be best, right?

Eggpaw and Foxpaw were a problem, but surely someone else could take over their training for a day. Sagebreeze just needed to accept Dogstar's invite, otherwise she feared what could happen in future if she didn't do it. She imagined her own body, limp and unmoving, at the bottom of the wall, her limbs twisted and a puddle of blood surrounding her. All her clanmates... they would be dead too. She couldn't imagine a bright future for her clan.

"Alright, wake up," Antleap growled. Sagebreeze lifted her head off her nest and scratched her ears, Whitefoot, Finchsong, Quailcall and Longwhisker getting up behind her.

"...Mudstripe, get up you worthless shrew," Antleap threatened, passing Sagebreeze and making his way to the back of the den, where Mudstripe lay curled up. Antleap raked a claw against Mudstripe's back, which sent him lifting up his head in pain. Antleap smirked and hopped back over to the entrance.

"Sagebreeze, what would you like to do today?" He asked, casting a genuine smile in her direction.

"I think Dogstar would like to go on a walk with me. She personally invited me yesterday."

Antleap nodded. "Understood. Finchsong, You and Quailsong will go on a hunting patrol with Foxpaw. Whitefoot and Longwhisker, You'll go on a border patrol. I'll be battle training Eggpaw with Mudstripe, who Eggpaw can practise moves on."

All the cats started to silently get into their groups and exit the den. Sagebreeze silently made her way over to Dogstar's den. "Hello?" She called out, entering the den. "I'd like to take the offer you gave me yesterday."

Sagebreeze repressed a shiver of fear as she noticed the leader rise from her nest, her long legs showing. She smiled at Sagebreeze, "Hello, my pretty. Follow me, I'll bring us to the best tree in the territory."

--

The walk was quicker than expected and Sagebreeze soon found herself back under a massive oak tree, Dogstar at her side. Oh Starclan. How am I meant to climb THIS?  She looked over at Dogstar for some sort of guidance, but Dogstar was too focused on the tree. Sagebreeze shrunk back as Dogstar suddenly leapt onto the tree, claws extended.

With ease, Dogstar latched onto the tree and was scaling it easily. Sagebreeze felt her fur grow hot. Thanks for the help. Now it's my turn, I'm guessing. Sagebreeze lowered herself into a crouching position, as if she were stalking a mouse. She then launched herself off the ground and onto the tree, barely hanging on.

"Poor technique," Dogstar jeered, high above Sagebreeze. "Hollyspot seemed to have failed you with that."

Can you shut your jaw already? Sagebreeze pushed the words away. She couldn't really say that when she was on a tree, alone AND with Dogstar. She kept her claws hooked onto the tree as she started to climb up, becoming more fearful as she got higher and higher up. Come on. Just a little longer. Dogstar stopped just there.

She stumbled onto the same branch as Dogstar, struggling to sit down. Great Starclan we're high!  Sagebreeze gulped, looking at the swaying grass, branches and branches bellow. This was a terrible idea! Dogstar's just going to push me off all these branches and then I'll fall and fall and-

To Sagebreeze's surprise, Dogstar seemed to be more focused on the sky then murdering Sagebreeze. "Lot's of birds, eh?" Dogstar smirked. "My first catch was a bird. Would you like to hear my story?"

Sagebreeze nodded. I can't really say no, can I? Otherwise she'll change her mind about this friendship 'thing'.

"I was a young apprentice, out with my mentor," Dogstar explained, staring at a crow flying away into the sky, licking her lips. "Me and Thistlepaw were just recently apprenticed, our mentors... I can't remember. Their both long dead anyway, so that doesn't matter. We were being taught how to catch mice and Thistlepaw, that disgusting rat, was bragging that she would catch more mice than me and her mentor would be more proud of her and my mentor would never love me.

Of course, I wanted to prove that arrogant flea wrong. She'd done nothing but belittle me my whole life and I'd had enough. My mentor tried to get me to hunt mice, but I ran off in search of the hardest prey to catch that my little apprentice mind could thing of. Birds. I didn't care what bird, just a bird.

I'd spent hours hunting, so long my mentor gave up on trying to find me. In the dead of the night I'd found a crow. I stalked it, just like how you would've stalked a mouse and to my luck, I'd actually caught it! I found my way back to camp the next morning, yet none of those pieces of crowfood accepted my brilliant catch and Thistlepaw still belittled me. Good thing she's under my control now, eh?"

Sagebreeze was listening intently, though the whole story made her uncomfortable. I thought sh really liked Thistlepool, but I guess I was wrong. A prick of unease shot up her spine at a new thought. What if she hates me, the same way she hates Thistlepool?

"That sounds amazing," Sagebreeze lied, attempting to play it safe. Again, it would be a bad idea to say anything remotely rude when she was this high up. "Never listen to cats who hate you, like Thistlepool."

"Thank you, Sagebreeze. You really are the prettiest, smartest she-cat in the clan," A wide, twisted smile stretched across Dogstar's face, colder than ice. "If an accident was to ever befall Antleap..." There was a long pause, the birds calls louder than ever. "Maybe you could be deputy."

Sagebreeze gave a smile back, but it wasn't a true smile. An accident befalls Antleap? She's gonna murder him so I can be deputy! She wanted to jump off the tree herself to get away from this horrific situation, but she stopped herself. would that really help anyone? She gazed back down at the ground, her fur on end.

"Come on, scaredy-paws. Let's get back to camp."

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Word count: 1072 ((New record woah))