Venom Within - WARRIOR CATS

Interlude - Flamepaw

Interlude

Flamepaw never intended to have his entire life thrown upside down.

Nor did he ever dream of standing above a motionless body, venom coursing through his veins.

The chaos had first engulfed him when Rustkit, now Pythonpaw, was brought into DuneClan camp. Rather, her motionless body, strewn across a red-brown Scout named Dingofoot.

"What happened?"

DuneClan was in silence at the sight of the motionless apprentice. Dingofoot said nothing, but shifted slightly so that Rustkit's left forepaw could be viewed for all of the cats. Flamekit tried to poke his head between the warriors as a gasp rippled throughout the crowd

"Stay back," Darkember growled, thrusting a paw into Flamekit's chest that sent him sprawling back into the wall.

They never respect me, Flamekit thought as he struggled to his paws. Not Foxshadow. Not the warriors. Sometimes even Burrowpaw.

His brother always spent more time with Rustkit than him. The two of them would laugh and play silly games, while he stood seriously off in the corner. His keen ears had taught him of his SnakeClan ancestry long before his littermate.

"There was a sandstorm," Dingofoot responded. "I found her like this. She was going out with Burrowpaw."

"You didn't stop them?" a sandy warrior asked.

"She needs a medicine cat!" Dingofoot yowled. "Let me through."

Flamekit watched, wide-eyed as Dingofoot shoved himself out of the way of the cats. Foxshadow stood rigid beside him. He saw flashes of Rustkit's brown fur as the warriors formed a solid wall separating them.

Eventually, the noise of Dingofoot's pawsteps faded into the distance. Adderlight let out a commanding yowl, and gathered two patrols of warriors that would move out after the sandstorm had eased.

Gradually, all the warriors began to move off, fur prickling along their spines. Flamekit watched from behind Foxshadow's legs as Pricklestar, Darkember and Adderlight all strode off.

"We must discuss what this means," the clan leader said. "Darkember, gather the Senior Warriors."

Then, they too departed, Darkember's long black whip-like tail disappearing out of sight. Foxshadow let out a gusty sigh, and turned to him.

"I'm going to the medicine den."

"I'll come too," Flamekit said, a little nervously.

"No," the queen flatly responded. "Go to your nest. I'll be there soon, once I get Nightsight to give me some of those nasty-tasting herbs that will knock the both of us out for a few days."

"What about-"

"Rustkit isn't about to wake up, nor is Burrowpaw about to be found" Foxshadow said tiredly.

I wasn't talking about her! Flamekit clenched his teeth together as his mother went on.

"It's better if we give it a few days than to pace so much our paws fall off."

The first mistake Flamekit made that day was spitting the herbs out the moment Foxshadow had curled into her nest.

The second was his trip to find Burrowpaw.

Flamekit struggled to walk as the light of the tunnel grew dimmer. He had never explored outside of the den before. Every twist and turn he went seemed the same. Now, staring off into a passage that split three separate ways, it would be a miracle just to make it out.