Aspenwhisper's War

Part 11

       Two moons had passed since Pinepaw had attempted to drown his brother, and while Aspenpaw had physically recovered, the effects it had on his mind were irreversible. When he'd first started recovering, the pale ginger tom couldn't even go near water of any kind, unless it was wet moss for him to drink from. After two moons, his fear of water was less intense, but he now refused to go outside when it was raining, and couldn't go in the marshes alone. 

       On his brother's end, however, things were less favorable. Cloudstar had let loose almost every bit of anger he had on Pinepaw and had even threatened to exile him from the Clan. But, after a few days of thought, with Pinepaw being kept under guard every second, Cloudstar had decided to banish Pinepaw to live alone in the territory for six moons, under constant supervision by a rotating cycle of a few choice warriors.

       Another condition Cloudstar had set was that Pinepaw was to have no direct contact with Aspenpaw during this time, to which both apprentices had readily agreed. However, Aspenpaw had noticed that despite his brother's claimed indifference and apparent lack of emotion toward both the entire situation and regarding his punishment, every time Pinepaw had looked in his direction, the brown tom had held heartbreaking guilt and pain in his gaze; this sudden spike in emotion alerting Aspenpaw to the exact level of grief his brother was holding in, and it pained him.

       ~~~~~~~~~~

       The morning dawned clear and pleasant, without a cloud in the sky, yet Aspenpaw's heart still felt heavy, as it was the morning after Pinepaw had been escorted out of camp, and Brackenpaw had become distant from the moment their brother's black tail had disappeared beyond the gorse wall surrounding ShadowClan's home. 

       The ginger cat hauled himself out of his nest, surprised to find Lightpaw's nest empty, and still hurt to see Graypaw's empty as well. Graypaw and her pale-furred littermate had always had a rocky relationship, mostly built on jealousy and teasing from Lightpaw; though they did have their moments where you could see their love for each other.

       A few days before Pinepaw had been escorted from camp to serve his punishment, Graypaw and Lightpaw had gotten into a spat, and Lightpaw had attacked her smaller sister, clawing her badly and leaving her with a serious bite to the back of the neck. Aspenpaw had been the one to pull Lightpaw off of the small gray cat, and calm her down while Finleap rushed the injured she to the medicine den.

       Upon exiting the medicine den, Aspenpaw noticed that Lightpaw was outside the elders' den, grooming Poppywhisper's pelt for ticks while the elder was telling her a story. Lightpaw's mentor, Ghostclaw - who was a former kittypet, but was now one of the most formidable warriors in the Clan - sat a fair distance away, keeping an eye on the apprentice with the fondness of a father, which brought a pang of grief to Aspenpaw's heart.

       Since Chestnutpaw and Birchpaw became warriors - Chestnutstem and Birchfang - almost a moon before, Aspenpaw no longer had anyone to train him, as Cloudstar hadn't assigned him a new mentor yet, claiming to be "allowing the young cat to grieve first", but it was soon becoming a nuisance, as Brackenpaw was on the verge of being ready for his final assessment, and therefore closer to becoming a warrior, even though the two brothers were the same age. 

       Exiting camp, the young tom took a deep breath of the warm air of late greenleaf, allowing the scents to clear his mind. He decided that he'd hunt today, and maybe renew some of the markers at the border.

       Trekking through the territory, Aspenpaw steering clear of the section of the territory where Pinepaw was kept, soon finding himself where the borders with WindClan and ThunderClan met, immediately scenting a rabbit. After catching and killing it quickly, Aspenpaw stopped, noticing a familiar scent that made the fur on the back of his neck prickle; Rosestar.

       Using bushes for cover, Aspenpaw crept closer, glad he was downwind, moving toward the scent until the pinkish-gray she-cat came into view. Ears flat, the apprentice noticed that the leader had an apprentice of her own: a well-muscled she-cat who looked similar to the leader, with only her honey-colored eyes and tabby pelt marking her as different. With a jolt, Aspenpaw realized they were kin.

       His mind swimming with what he had just seen, Aspenpaw grabbed his rabbit and turned away from the scene, beginning his journey home, all focus on hunting lost.

       When he was about a tree-length away from camp, Brackenpaw came rushing up to him, panting heavily, his eyes wild with urgency.

        "Whoa, Brackenpaw, calm down," Aspenpaw said gently, setting down the rabbit, trying to keep his fur from prickling. "What's going on?"

       Brackenpaw took a few moments, still breathing heavily as he tried to form the words. When he finally calmed down enough, he spoke, his voice shaky. "I came to find you. An apprentice showed up from ThunderClan, and she's really upset. She says she knows about the plot Rosestar had involving Cloverstar, and about our dad."

A/N: Sorry for not updating in so long! I just started my final year of high school at a new school, and I was busy trying to adjust to the new building and get used to the classes.