ᴍᴀʀʀᴏᴡ ʀᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ [warrior cat fanfiction]

V

Oh how don't you drown in a rainstorm?

——————————————————————

Cedarpaw bolted forward, hooking his claws into a squirrel's shaggy coat. They tumbled over each other down the slope until they stopped, landing with Cedarpaw firmly rooted atop his quarry. Orchidwind, Brackenstep, and Shadowblink caught up to him fairly quickly.

"Nice catch, Cedarpaw!" Brackenstep purred.

"Yeah, we don't get too many squirrels around here either," Orchidwind agreed.

Cedarpaw was so busy taking in the squirrel's reddish fur, not unlike his own pelt, that he couldn't respond. He dug his claws in deeper. The bright, crimson blood warmed his paws even in spite of the stickiness.

"Now don't shred it!" Orchidwind chided, gently nosing him away. She made short work of lightly burying his catch.

"If we're quite done here, we still have a patrol to finish," Shadowblink reminded them.

"Oh, keep your fur on," Brackenstep teased lightly. "We've got plenty of time. And besides, when has ThicketClan ever wanted to bother us?"

Shadowblink shrugged amiably in reply, seemingly more at ease. Cedarpaw followed as they headed back up the slope to pad along the ThicketClan border. He hadn't cleaned his paws, though in the back of his mind he knew he would probably regret that later. Focusing on Shadowblink instead was a welcome distraction.

Useless cat. What's the point of having authority if you aren't going to use it?

He quickly shook the thought off, guilt pricking at his insides. Breezepaw didn't need more reasons to be angry with him right now. Besides, Shadowblink hadn't actually done anything to warrant any ill will. The RiftClan heir was most likely trying to avoid creating unnecessary tension between the group of patrolling cats.

"RiftClan, state your business," a sharp voice called out.

Cedarpaw cursed himself briefly for losing himself in another daydream, then padded closer to his father's side. Featherpaw was standing between a blue-grey tabby tom and a cream and white molly on the ThicketClan edge of their shared border. He avoided meeting Featherpaw's gaze, uncomfortable with the friendliness he knew he'd find in it.

For reasons he couldn't explain, ThicketClanners as a collective were just... like that. Thicketmoon might've been the least emotive of the Clan leaders, eyes almost permanently glazed with disinterest, but the cats under his command certainly hadn't gotten the memo. They tended to be the most relaxed at gatherings, the first to initiate conversations across the border, and if any druids were running low on herbs it would be Chasewhisker who pointed out that there was plenty to go around in his den.

"Streamstone, Meadowtear," Shadowblink greeted them both politely, dipping his head. "Good to see you. We are simply performing a border patrol. Is the prey running well in ThicketClan?"

"Very well, thank you," Meadowtear replied, any previous caginess quickly vanishing for now. "Featherpaw here is even keeping the martens on their toes! If you ask me she's due for an assessment soon."

"I'm really fast," Featherpaw added proudly. "Streamstone says Erminepaw and I get that from our mom."

"That's because Nettlestalk happens to be the most fantastic cat in the Clan," Streamstone purred, butting her shoulder playfully. He twitched his whiskers curiously. "How about you? Have you noticed anything strange in your part of the forest?"

"No, not a thing," Orchidwind admitted with a light shrug. "Perhaps Maplemoon was getting worked up over a one-time incident."

We aren't going to tell them about Hollypaw's vision?