Warriors: A Twisted Path

Chapter 14

  Gingerpaw walked beside Leapfrost, the rest of the hunting patrol behind them. It was drizzling out, but to make things worse, Bluefeather was on the patrol with her.
  How am I supposed to trust her? Gingerpaw thought angrily. We don't know anything about her!
  Before she knew it, she was at the back of the patrol, lost in her thoughts.
  Bluefeather suddenly looked back, and slowed her pace so she was walking beside her.
  Gingerpaw didn't even look her way. What did this she-cat want with her now?
  Bluefeather cleared her throat, obviously feeling the awkward tension between them. "Look, I know we got off on a bad start, but I really would like to get to know you better. You probably don't trust me, but I want you to be able to trust me."
  Gingerpaw narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But first you have to tell me where you came from, then we can start talking."
  Bluefeather sighed, looking forward. "I came from a tribe in the mountains. Let's just say I was lucky to escape that place."
  "But why do you have a clan name?" Gingerpaw asked.
  Bluefeather shrugged. "I just thought that if I had a clan name, the clans would be more accepting."
  Gingerpaw was glad that she was beginning to know more about Bluefeather, but what if she's just a spy?
  Don't be silly Gingerpaw. If Wolfrunner trusts her, so should I. She thought.
  "I really don't mean to tear apart your friendship with Wolfrunner." Bluefeather mewed. She looked at Gingerpaw with a smile. "You're really lucky to have such good friends you know."
  "Yeah." Gingerpaw knew she was right. Maybe she could trust Bluefeather after all.
  Leapfrost's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Let's split up. I'll go with Gingerpaw and Bluefeather..."
  Gingerpaw didn't bother to listen to the rest. She waited until Leapfrost finished speaking, then followed him as he led her and Bluefeather towards the river.
  Leapfrost stopped then turned back to them. "Meet back here with as much prey as you can catch." He looked at Gingerpaw. "I'll be watching how you hunt, to see where your training is at."
  Gingerpaw nodded and walked away as she was dismissed, disappearing into the forest.
  A few moments later, she heard rustling in the leaves and dropped into a hunting crouch. She slowly and silently stalked towards the little mouse, stopping only to get ready to pounce.
  She sprung forward and killed the mouse instantly, without it making even a squeak.
  Thank you StarClan for this prey. Gingerpaw thought with a smile. And it's good this little thing didn't alert any other prey in the forest.
  Gingerpaw covered the prey up with leaves, then moved on, keeping her ears pricked.
  She trotted on to the edge of the territory, and sniffed the air. It wasn't prey she could smell... it was a cat.
  Gingerpaw tilted her head and called out. "Wolfrunner?"
  A few moments later, the gray tom came out from behind a tree.
  "What are you going so close to the border?" Gingerpaw asked.
  "The question is, what are you doing?" Wolfrunner retorted. "I'm a warrior, remember? You're just an apprentice."
  Gingerpaw sighed. "Look, Wolfrunner. I know you're still upset with me, but would it make things better if I said I'm trying to learn to trust Bluefeather?"
  Wolfrunner narrowed his eyes, thinking for a few moments. He soon let out a sigh. "I suppose. But I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did earlier. You're right, we do know pretty much nothing about Bluefeather. As a warrior, I shouldn't just immediately trust her."
  Gingerpaw smirked. "So an apprentice has better judgement than a warrior?"
  Wolfrunner smiled and shook his head. "Don't push it."
  Gingerpaw let out a quiet purr. "Just don't worry about it. Besides, Bluefeather's pretty nice once you get to know her."
  "Anyways, I wanted to wait for Lightpaw, Darkpaw, and Fuzzypaw, but I'll just show you before them." Wolfrunner said. He signaled his head towards a tunnel in the distance, but it was outside the border with rocks surrounding the outside, so Gingerpaw didn't know if she wanted to go. "Follow me."
  "What's in there?" Gingerpaw asked.
  "It's the entrance." Wolfrunner called over his shoulder as he ran to the tunnel, and his tail tip soon disappeared.
  Gingerpaw followed him through the cave tunnel. She could see light at the end, not too far away.
  Wolfrunner exited the tunnel, Gingerpaw behind him. She widened her eyes in amazement as she looked at what she was seeing.
  It was a huge hollow, rock walls with little caves everywhere. Gingerpaw padded towards a huge boulder straight ahead, and at the top it seemed to have enough room to fit two cats on it. On the bottom were two caves on either side.
  Gingerpaw pricked her ears, hearing running water. She looked to the side and saw a small waterfall, creating a puddle of water below it. Beside that was another den.
  "Amazing, right?" Wolfrunner meowed.
  "Yeah." Gingerpaw breathed. "This place is big enough for two clans to live here!"
  Wolfrunner nodded. "Wouldn't it be great if there was another clan in the forest?"
  Gingerpaw narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"
  Wolfrunner shook his head. "Never mind. Look, you can't tell anyone about this place, okay?"
  Gingerpaw nodded. "Okay."
  Wolfrunner looked up at the sky. "Now let's go hunt before it gets too late."