Aspenwhisper's War

Part 13

       Half a moon had passed since the fight at the border and since Bramblepaw had joined ShadowClan, and the Clan seemed to be adjusting to the changes better than expected. 

       Aspenpaw, however, hadn't been able to stop thinking about the tender exchange between him and Bramblepaw in the medicine den; it invaded his thoughts at the worst possible times. Another reason he couldn't stop thinking about it was also that the she-cat had been acting like it never happened or was anything more than a thank-you for saving her life. 

       When he confronted her about it, the other apprentice confirmed his suspicions, and he dropped the matter completely. Since then, they'd developed an unspoken understanding of each other that made their once rocky and odd friendship stronger. 

       Now, any outsider who saw how they worked would question a lot of things, but the two cats made it work; they trained with each other, as neither had a mentor still, they hunted together almost all the time, they were always each other's confidant. It was a type of unspoken bond one would be hard-pressed to break. 

       Aspenpaw woke early, unsurprised to see Bramblepaw's nest empty. It wasn't unusual for the she-cat to vacate her nest before dawn, and bring Aspenpaw some prey before they began their daily routines of training together. 

       The young tom got to his paws and stretched, padding out of the den, blinking as the early morning light washed over his pelt, sitting down and beginning to wash. Leaf-fall was just beginning to show itself to the forest in the form of dew on the grass and leaves in the morning, a slight chill before the sun came up, and an amber tint on some of the leaves in the forest. To Aspenpaw, it was the most beautiful season that the forest experienced, even though he'd never seen it before due to the fact he and his littermates were born near the end of leaf-bare. 

       He looked up from washing his paws when Bramblepaw approached with two mice in her jaws. She dropped them before settling beside her friend. "I need to go visit ThunderClan." She said in a hushed voice, not even bothering with any greetings.

       Aspenpaw sharply whipped his head around to look at the other apprentice, his tail twitching when he saw the seriousness in her gaze. "Are you crazy?!" He responded, his voice equally hushed. "You were almost killed just for leaving, you lost your eye, and now you're telling me you want to go back?!"

       "I need to talk to my sisters," Bramblepaw said defiantly, hurt flashing in her eye at the supposed lack of support from her partner. "And I'm not planning on marching right into the camp; that would be suicide. I just need to lure them to a secluded spot so I can get information."

       Aspenpaw placed a paw on her side urgently, his own eyes flashing with fear. "I can't let you go. Not by yourself. There's no way in StarClan I'll let that happen."

       "Why else do you think I'm telling you, mouse-brain?" Bramblepaw asked, amusement in her voice as she shook off his paw and stood up. "I want you to come with me, for... protection." 

       And moral support. The unspoken words seemed to hang in the air between the two cats when they locked eyes, then, almost as if something invisible pulled them, they both turned and padded side by side out of camp.

~~~~~~~~~~

       They reached the border fairly quickly, taking numerous shortcuts and detours to avoid running into any cats who may disapprove of what they were doing; which was pretty much every cat, and that was putting it nicely. If they were caught, both apprentices would be in unimaginable amounts of trouble, and neither of them wanted that.