Warriors: Blood and Hope: Book 2: Tempting Limits

Chapter 19

[Acornpaw's POV]

Tales had been spread about me across the camp. Each time I heard the retelling of how I stood up to my mother, they just got more exaggerated. I looked at my brother, along with Spokenpaw and Nightpaw, and gave a chuckle. I had somehow become the hero in a story when I wanted to stand up for a friend. 

"Acornpaw, want to go training? We can take Spokenpaw and Silentpaw along with us." Maplesnow called out to me, Witheredsoul standing close to him. I looked at my friends and gave a quick nod. I knew what this would be about, and it also let me out of the camp before my mother woke up. We could only imagine what kind of pain I would be in when she heard all the stories. 

Our group hurried out of the camp, Icehowl mixing in with our group. Whenever someone asked why he was coming with us, we came up with a different lie. Most of the time it was so that he could be a living test dummy, while other times it's just simply for him to stretch his legs. He had become a staple to our group somehow. 

Once we were at the clearing, we stopped. No one else was training at the time, and Witheredsoul had not scheduled anyone to be around here, so we were safe. I sat down next to my brother and put my head on his shoulder. 

"Well, that all happened last night. Acornpaw, that was reckless to stand up to her like that. You could have gotten yourself injured!" Maplesnow started to belittle me. I rolled my eyes and looked up at him. I knew he wouldn't belittle me the whole time. "But, you did the right thing. You showed her that she does not have absolute power, and I think you sparked some hope into everyone else. She has lost this now, because of you standing up." 

I flicked my tail. "You can thank me after we win this battle for real. I inspired the others, but this won't be won just because I inspired everyone." I spoke up then looked at Witheredsoul. "So? I know you want to ask the others something." 

The small tom gave a nod and looked at my brother. "After what you have seen, do you want to fight with your mother, or fight with us?" Witheredsoul asked. 

I thought that Silentpaw would take a moment to respond, but he proved me wrong. "I will fight alongside my sister, for what Tinystar almost did, I could never forgive her." I could see the same fire that burned in my eyes burn in his. 

Without missing a beat, Spokenpaw said something similar. It seemed like we would all be fighting together against the Dark Forest, and I would actually fight. I know that they did not want me to fight, but I would be there in the battle, and I knew I could count on my friends to defend me as well.