Warriors: Shadows of Blood (COMPLETE)

Chapter 15

Bloodfur padded into the camp carrying a thrush, his head held high. Two of his clanmates, Copperstripe and Ashcloud, flanked him. He had been a warrior for two moons now, and he had not lost the feeling of pride that seized him whenever he returned with prey for his clan. He remembered the excitement he'd felt when Cobratail had first assigned him to a patrol. He was finally a warrior. He could leave the camp whenever he wanted to hunt and patrol the borders.

He deposited his thrush onto the fresh kill pile, then paused, noticing Mistypaw and Coldpaw near the apprentices den practicing battle moves. He felt a pang of guilt. Why did I tell them I didn't have time for them? I was so stupid!

After a moment of hesitation, he called out to them. "Mistypaw, Coldpaw!" The two apprentices looked at him, showing no sign of friendliness. "Would you like this thrush?"

They exchanged a glance before Mistypaw spoke. "No thanks, Bloodfur." He saw her murmur something to Coldpaw, who shot Bloodfur a glare before they padded away toward Revengeheart and Swiftstalker.

Bloodfur's heart sunk. Will they ever forgive me? He had to give the thrush to some cat. He was going to go crazy if he didn't make someone happy today. He picked up the thrush and headed to the mouth of the medicine den. He saw Dewstorm organizing some leaves into piles with his new apprentice, Creampaw.

The clan was relieved that Dewstorm had recovered from the violent attack he'd suffered at highstones. As he recovered, he explained to the clan what had happened. He and Starfaith had been speaking together when they were attacked by three rogues. Depthstar pressed for information on their appearances, but Dewstorm said it was too dark and everything had happened too fast for him to tell. He said he'd been trying to defend Starfaith when he was attacked by more rogues that arrived. Dewstorm hadn't seemed surprised when Depthstar explained that Starfaith had told him to go to highstones. Since that night, Dewstorm continued to claim that Starfaith was the reason he hadn't died there.

Half a moon ago, Brownstripe and Rosebreeze's kits had been apprenticed. While Dewstorm's wounds were healing, Creamkit had constantly been at the medicine cat's side, helping him with minor injuries and asking about herbs and remedies. A blind mouse could see that the kit wanted to be a medicine cat, and when it was time for her and her littermates to be apprenticed, Depthstar made sure her wish came true. Tinypaw had been apprenticed to Crowmask, and Honeypaw to Bloodfur's father, Flameheart.

"Now, what's this?" Dewstorm prompted, pushing a pile of blue flowers toward her.

Creampaw narrowed her eyes as she thought. "Borage?"

"Yes!" The gray spotted tom nodded approvingly. "And what's it used for?"

"Ummm I saw you give some to Bloomfire," She responded. "So it must do something for queens."

Dewstorm purred. "That's right, it helps them produce more milk for their kits." He paused, noticing Bloodfur standing outside of the den. "Bloodfur, how can I help you?"

He stepped into the den and dipped his head, dropping the thrush. "I thought you two could use some food."

Creampaw turned to him, her ears perking up. "Thank StarClan, I'm starving!" She exclaimed, crouching over the thrush and sinking her teeth into it. "Thanks, Bloodfur!"

"Yes, thank you," Dewstorm added. "You've done a lot for us lately." Since the attack at highstones, Depthstar had suggested that each leader send a warrior with their medicine cat at the half moon meeting until they were sure the medicine cats would be safe traveling alone. Bloodfur had volunteered and went to highstones twice to escort Dewstorm.

"Anytime," Bloodfur purred, glad that he had managed to make some cat happy today. He turned away, deciding to go visit Bloomfire's kits. He couldn't believe how much they'd grown in just two moons. It felt like yesterday they were the size of mice. He ducked into the nursery and was met by the swarm of kits almost immediately.