Crowstar's Mission {COMPLETE}

Chapter 40

Crowsky sank his teeth into the rabbit's spine, killing it instantly. The rabbit's warm blood touched his tongue and made his stomach growl, but he didn't dare take this prey for himself. Crowsky set his rabbit down and looked around, Frostfire would be around here somewhere, hopefully she was able to catch something as well. He looked at his rabbit, it was plump, it would be able to feed the entire elder's den. Thank you StarClan for this catch. He mewed silently and buried his rabbit, moving on to try and find more prey.

Crowsky had been deputy for half a moon and in that half-moon leafbare had come in full force. Being deputy was strange, but he was starting to get used to it. He found it odd that cats were coming to him for duties and what to do with their paws for the day. Even Shadowpelt had been listening to his orders.

Crowsky caught Frostfire's scent and followed it until he spotted her across the moor. She was creeping after a rabbit so Crowsky ducked behind some heather to watch her hunt, the last thing he wanted to do was get in her way. Frostfire quickly broke into a sprint after the rabbit, it started to run away from her but Frostfire was too quick, she gave a mighty leap and her paws landed squarely on the rabbit's back, she killed it and held her head high.

"Great catch." Crowsky called, trotting up to his mate. He pressed his muzzle to hers, welcoming her warmth.

"Thanks, have you caught anything?" Frostfire questioned.

Crowsky nodded. "I've got a pretty nice rabbit back there, I'm going to give it to the elders."

"Sounds good, I might give this one to Cloudstar." Frostfire nudged it. "It's not big, but she could share it."

"We should head back, then." Crowsky looked around. "I bet the elder's are getting hungry."

"We're all hungry." Frostfire replied.

"Then let's get home, hopefully Cinderfur and Lightningwing caught some prey as well." Frostfire and Crowsky gathered the prey they had caught and met up with their huntingmates. Cinderfur and Lightningwing both caught two small rabbits, they returned to camp and the sense of grief overcame him.

Sickness had come in swiftly, several cats were already starting to get sick. Certain cats he knew were sick were Longwhisker, Squirrelpelt, Skyclaw and Riverlight. Crowsky had rejected his mother as she had rejected him, but there was a part of him that didn't want Riverlight to die, he didn't want any of his Clanmates to die.

Crowsky carried his rabbit across camp to where the elders were resting. Skyclaw and Riverlight were in the medicine cat den, but several elders still remained. "Is that for us?" Thorntalon questioned, lifting his head and sniffing the air.

Crowsky set the rabbit down in front of their nests. "Yes, I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you Crowsky." Ivystone purred, she was still recovering from her broken leg but she stayed in the elder's den while she was healing. "You've been a great deputy to this Clan."

"I've been trying my best." Crowsky replied, his pelt burning slightly. "I just want to keep my Clanmates fed."

"That's all you can do during this time." Ivystone purred. He left the elders to enjoy their meal and turned out of the den. He gazed up at the sky, finding it hard to believe that last leaf-bare he had lost Ivy and he had returned to his Clan. So much had changed, and so much would continue to change.

Crowsky oversaw that the entire Clan had fed before finally helping himself to what remaind on the fresh-kill pile. He grabbed a small trout and moved over to the warrior's den to eat his prey. It wasn't fresh and was very cold, but it helped to quell the hunger in his stomach. This is going to be a long season, but we'll make it, we always do.