Loudpaw's Aching Pain: A Warriors Fan Fiction

Chapter 3

  Applestripe scared away a sparrow, making Loudpaw jump a bit. She thought she heard Dimlight make a sharp comment, but she couldn't hear it clearly because of the roaring wind. Burninggaze's fur was starting to blow into her mouth. 

The huge brown tom leaped over the small branch fence and looked back. Cougarspirit slipped under cooly, while Dimlight just stepped over it. Applestripe leaped over it and Loudpaw jumped high over it. "Show off." Cougarspirit smirked at the aggressive apprentice. She smiled and they continued following Burninggaze towards the smell of a thunderpath. He came to an edge of grass as a monster zoomed past.

Loudpaw shivered in fear as she remembered some Rippleclan members dying trying to cross a thunderpath. Cougarspirit rested his tail on her spine and pressed against her, trembling a little as well. Dimlight rolled his eyes even if his pelt was bristling. Applestripe was jumpy. 

"I've crossed... many in my days." Burninggaze gulped nervously. "Hopefully not many monsters are here now because of the wind. He breathed in and out deeply. "We should take turns."Cougarspirit suggested. Burninggaze nodded and looked at Applestripe and Loudpaw. "Both of you-", he stepped aside and sweeped his tail ahead, "-go first." Loudpaw steadied herself and pressed closely next to the ginger she-cat.

 Dimlight looked both ways of the thunderpath and nudged Loudpaw hard onto the stinking path. "Go! Now!" He yowled. Applestripe bounced along the rancid path, shrieking a bit. Loudpaw ran and breathed thorugh her mouth to avoid the smell of the thunderpath. She heard a monster on her left side and got to the other side before the monster hit her flank. Her heart was still pounding.

This time the toms crossed the thunderpath one by one, careful and making sure twice there were no incoming monsters. The startled and now more-alert cats continued. Loudpaw's backpaws still ached from running away from a small snake in the fields. Her tongue felt a bit dry and her black pelt was grimy of twoleg debris. 

 Cougarspirit went in a seperate direction when the group were cowering in a bush from a sheep. "i found a nice area to explore!" He half shouted, half whispered. Applestripe, Loudpaw, and Burninggaze came running over swiftly, and Dimlight followed slowly behind. Cougarspirit stepped out  onto the dry grass that was buffeted by the winds. "Great Starclan, this leaf-fall is giving us a hard time." Dimlight growled, narrowing his eyes as the winds made him stumble.

Burninggaze sniffed once and meowed, "Let's go our seperate ways around here. I mean- let's explore this alone and meet by the heart of that fallen tree." He pointed to the rotten tree with his tail, and immediately the cats went in different directions. Loudpaw went forward towards the small shore of the pond. The water was a little brown and dirty, and the shore was muddy. Loudpaw shook some mud off her white paws and stared at the water.

 She looked up and noticed a small hole in the tree. There was a strange scent coming from it. She looked down at her dirty paws and let them guide her on top of the tree. Carefully, Loudpaw put one paw in front of the other and moved along the soaked tree and onto the pond. She thought she heard the tree creek, but just kept still.

 A brown hare shot out from beneath the heart of it on land and ran swiftly across towards the bushes. Dimlight yowled and pounced on the hare, sinking his teeth in the neck. He looked up at Loudpaw and nodded briskly. Loudpaw nodded, surprised there was even a hare near a pond. She felt the tree shook again and supposed it was just another hare. A small animal that looked like a ferret came from the hole and shot up at Loudpaw.

 Loudpaw leaped back and growled a warning at the ugly beast. It was smaller than her, but it's teeth were much sharper than hers. She stared at it's beady eyes and small head and felt herself shiver. It's the type of stoat she spotted near the waterfall of Rippleclan.