Warriors: Rise of the Weather [1] : The Journey Begins (OLD/DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Nineteen

Edited ✔️
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Snowdrift padded quickly along, snow crunching beneath his paws. Yellowtuft was instructing his new apprentice on where they were in the territory, and the direction they were going in order to reach the WindClan border. Ravenheart and Marigoldpaw were walking silently forward, Ravenheart in the lead while her apprentice padded in sync with Snowdrift, however taking longer strides in order to keep up with the warrior. The trees began to clear out a little more as they neared the border, before opening up into a plains. Beetlepaw squealed in excitement, forgetting entirely about the pain in his paw as he bolted forward.

"Beetlepaw! Wait!" Yellowtuft yowled. He ran forward after the apprentice. Snowdrift tipped his head curiously before realization sprang into his mind. The river! Snowdrift launched himself forward, pelting after the apprentice as his heart leaped in his chest. Great StarClan, he's going to fall! The white tom realized, his eyes growing round. Quickly, Snowdrift dove beneath a bush instead of going around it, brambles snagging in his fur. He ignored the sting of pain inflicted from the thorns as he rushed to stop Beetlepaw, who eagerly raced to see the moor.

"Beetlepaw!" Snowdrift screeched as he saw the apprentice pull to a sudden, skidding stop, his paws scrabbling for a hold in the slippery snow with his claws unsheathed. Splotches of blood from his paw smeared against the cold material as he fought for balance, and Snowdrift flung himself towards Beetlepaw in attempt to grab the apprentice. Yellowtuft made it before him, clasping his jaws around the young cat's scruff before he could slip any further. He hauled the kit away from the ledge, firmly holding him by the scruff as he scrambled back and away from the rushing water. He placed Beetlepaw down on the ground a safe distance away, smoothing down his chest fur with a quick lick.

Snowdrift darted forward to make sure everything was okay, his fur on end. Yellowtuft's eyes were round in shock as immediately he began sniffing along Beetlepaw's fur. He swayed on his paws in relief as he let out a sharp breath from between gritted teeth.

Suddenly, Yellowtuft straightened, his eyes narrowing sharply as he locked his gaze firmly on the young cat. "Beetlepaw." He growled sternly, his yellow tail flicking furiously back and forth. "Do not run off like that again. Do you understand?"

Beetlepaw didn't respond, trembling from ear to tail tip.

Yellowtuft cuffed the apprentice over the ear. "I said, do you understand?" He snapped furiously, clearly outraged from fear and frustration.

Beetlepaw gave a shaky nod, looking up at Yellowtuft as he let out a small whimper. "I-I understand." He stammered, puffing out his chest in an attempt to seem brave, however his wide amber eyes and trembling form clearly showed his fear.

Yellowtuft's shoulders sagged, and he puffed out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Beetlepaw." He murmured, briefly touching his nose to Beetlepaw's brown tipped ear. "Just...don't do anything like that again. I don't want anything to happen to you. You're too young." Yellowtuft blinked down at the apprentice who gave a short nod.

"Yes Yellowtuft." He meowed, his voice nearly inaudible. Ravenheart padded forward, given her fur a quick shake. The black she-cat placed a paw forward, clearing her throat abruptly.

"I know that was a shocking moment, but we have to finish this patrol. What would Pebblestar think?" Beetlepaw ducked his head, staring silently at the ground. Snowdrift noticed the slightest twitching back and forth of the small apprentice's tail, and sympathy welled up in his chest. Beetlepaw would obviously be holding a grudge against Pebblestar. The leader had harmed he and his brother.

Yellowtuft's ears flicked up, however one of them was angled slightly to the side. "You're right." He meowed. "Let's continue."

Ravenheart gave a dip of her head, and proceeded in leading the patrol. Beetlepaw trailed along, his eyes focused on the snowy ground. Snowdrift quickly marked a tree, brushing his pelt against the bark and spreading his scent onto it. Yellowtuft gently instructed Beetlepaw on how to properly mark the boundary. Either by 'spraying', a more unused tactic, or rubbing against an object.

At around midway between sunhigh and Sunset, Snowdrift and the others had finished the patrol. Marigoldpaw had managed to catch a water vole, and kept it for the clan.

"Lets start heading back." Yellowtuft suggested, his whiskers quivering as Beetlepaw skipped ahead a few paces, stopping to cast a glance warily over his shoulders. Marigoldpaw blinked at the tom, the vole she had caught dangling from her jaws bouncing a little bit in her grasp.

Ravenspring murmured her agreement to Yellowtuft, and the patrol began their way back to camp. Snowdrift suddenly stopped, his paws splayed as an unnerving scent caught in his scent glands. WindClan. He looked back, but saw nothing. He quickly rushed forward to meet his clanmate's pace as they padded back to camp, nobody seeming to have noticed the opposing clan's scent.

Back at camp, Marigoldpaw dropped her vole into the freshkill pile, and the patrol dispersed. Yellowtuft obviously went to the medicine to check on his littermates, while the others did their own thing. Snowdrift spotted Streamflower discussing an unknown topic with Mosspounce, her eyes glowing as she conversed with her brother from beside the highledge. He padded over to see what was going on, and Streamflower's eyes lit up at the sight of him.

"Snowdrift!" She exclaimed, standing up as Snowdrift went over to greet them. "Me and Mosspounce were just discussing who would be going to the gathering tonight. You and I are on the list!" The gray she-cat beamed joyfully, standing on her toes as she lightly touched her nose to Snowdrift's. She lowered her voice to a whisper, unable to contain her bubbling excitement. "He almost didn't let you go — but I convinced him!" She giggled. She rubbed her forehead against Snowdrift's muzzle, a purr rising in her throat.

Snowdrift pulled away from her, an awkward smile sprawled across his face. "That's great." He mewed, shuffling his paws. He'd forgotten entirely that tonight was the gathering, but he didn't exactly want to tell Streamflower that.

"So, Streamflower, would you like to eat with me?" He asked, lifting his blue gaze to look into her yellow eyes.

Streamflower bobbed her head up and down in a nod. "Of course!" She replied, her bushy tail lifting into the air. She glanced over at her brother. "I hope it's fine with you that I'm going to eat with Snowdrift. I promise I'll talk to you later."

Mosspounce grumbled an okay, and watched through narrowed eyes as Snowdrift and Streamflower chose a piece of prey from the freshkill pile, walking over to the side of the clearing to share. Snowdrift caught the gray and white tom's eyes, but quickly tore his gaze away from him, feeling a bit unsettled at the cold hatred burning in the depths of the tom's green gaze.