Venom Rising- Ch.III A Warrior's Faith
It was a quarter moon after Icestorm's vigil, and Lavenderpaw still found that he couldn't shake the thoughts of Starclan from his head. This is stupid, it's just a nursery tale. Maybe it was just his curiosity getting the better of him, but regardless, he decided to ask Fogface about it; the elder was ancient, yet still the only elder in the clan, which isn't surprising, since cats don't usually last long in this territory. The old tom was nowhere to be seen in the Cavern, and his scent was faint in the elders' den, so Lavenderpaw padded out into the clearing surrounding the entrance to the underground camp. Hawkleap and Koistep were sharing tongues in the shelter of some ferns, and he spotted Fogface sunning himself on the opposite side of the clearing. "Well hello there, Lavenderpaw! Come to get rid of my fleas, have you?" Fogface greeted him charismatically. Glancing back, he saw Hawkleap eyeing him like a piece of fresh kill from across the clearing and responded, "Well, I will, but I actually wanted to ask you something." "Ask away." He invited, moving into a more comfortable position while Lavenderpaw began running his claws through the elder's long, cloudy fur. "Do you know anything about Starclan?" "Starclan..." Fogface echoed, his mood suddenly changing. "What do you need to know about a nursery story for?" Was that a challenge in his voice? Lavenderpaw had just barely detected it, a small point in his tone. "I- I was just curious." For a time that felt like seasons, they sat in silence as the black furred apprentice continued checking the elder for fleas. It was strange to see the talkative, cheerful elder so serious. This isn't getting anywhere. He decided to just confess himself. "It's actually been bugging me a lot recently. So much so that I can't focus." Realizing how silly he must sound, he quickly began to defend himself, "But it's just distracting me, so I thought I could just-" But he broke off as Fogface's tail whisked across his mouth. "Now listen to me, young cat, there's something that I've been needing to say for quite some time, and I'm only going to be saying this to you, understand?" Lavenderpaw nodded, his expression puzzled as the elder went on, "There was a time, when I myself was just an apprentice, that the entire clan believed in Starclan." His voice was lowered to where only Lavenderpaw could hear. "Starclan spoke to me, saying that one would come to me with the ability to revive the clan's faith soon." Lavenderpaw narrowed his eyes, his bewilderment blatant. "What are you talking about?" Lavenderpaw couldn't believe his ears. One of the most respected cats in the clan believed in Starclan? "I don't expect you to believe me here and now, but to convince you, and to begin the cycle, Starclan will summon me to their hunting grounds themselves." "What do you mean, summon you? Why are you talking like this?" Lavenderpaw accused, not believing a word the elder told him. "I will die." Fogface explained simply. "What!? How could you be so mouse brained? You're not going to die." "I will, but Starclan have granted me one last wish for keeping their memories alive for so long. Yes, remember this, Starclan are not cruel, that is the misunderstanding that destroyed the clan's faith the first time, when the poison came." Fogface was getting worked up, his amber eyes blazing. Why am I still listening to this? I'm not a kit, and Hawkleap already thinks I'll be an apprentice forever. "Then what is your wish?" Lavenderpaw challenged hotly. Fogface closed his eyes. "I will see my son's apprentice made warrior. And I will not wake up the next day." Lavenderpaw was taken aback. "Huh?" Does he mean me? His eyes full of warmth, Fogface explained, "Hawkleap was always trying to prove himself. His siblings, Stormdapple and Koistep, both had their own distinguishing characteristics; Stormdapple, her determination, and Koistep, his intelligence. Didn't you notice how hard Hawkleap worked to try to persuade Graystar to give you to him as an apprentice rather than Koistep or Stormdapple? "My bloodline was destroyed when I took a rogue as a mate, Mintfur was her name. Those three surviving cats will be the end of it. I just wish she could have survived too, but the two of us were the center of the hatred." Lavenderpaw relaxed his tense muscles as the conversation began to steer away from the topic of Starclan. "But wait, Frostclaw was taken in as a rogue apprentice, and Petalkit was a stray kit we took in, too, but the clan hasn't even had a sniff of any rogues for moons." Fogface seemed to be returning to his normal self as he replied, "Of course. The territory wasn't always like this, plagued with rats and spiders and Darkberry bushes everywhere you look. It used to be rich and enviting, in need of protection from passing rogues and loners who may have been tempted to steal prey, but now, even they stay away. This entire place gives off a dark aura." "Lavenderpaw!" Lavenderpaw was relieved to hear his sister's voice calling for him. He turned to see her standing in the entrance to the cavern and recalled that he had promised to take her hunting earlier. He nodded his farewell to Fogface, but as he padded over to join Cricketpaw, he felt the elder's gaze burning into his back meaningfully and shivered. That's ridiculous. A cat can't know when they're going to die.
Lavenderpaw threw himself down into his nest with a loud moan. Shinepaw stirred in her nest to one side of him. "Lavenderpaw, what's wrong?" He didn't hesitate to complain, "I'll tell you what's wrong, taking last night's guard, border patrol at dawn, and then a hunting patrol with Hawkleap. That's what's wrong!" He had literally been on his paws all day until now, just after sunhigh. Thanks to him, the fresh kill pile was as full as he had ever seen it. Lavenderpaw stiffened at the mischief in her tone as she mewed, "Well, you know what that means! You've got the rest of the day off!" He felt her prodding him in the back with one paw playfully. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for a play fight right now?" He growled, his voice muffled by the moss in his nest. Shinepaw sounded hurt, "Well, sheesh, sorry." And Lavenderpaw instantly felt guilty. He hadn't meant to snap at her, but he was just really tired and needed to sleep, and at least that made Shinepaw shut her jaws for a bit. She could be so annoying sometimes. He was just feeling sleep come over him when he heard paws approaching from down the tunnel leading to the apprentices' den and smelled Windpaw's scent mixed with that of mouse. Then the rustling of moss as she settled herself in her own nest on the other side of him. "Hey Lavenderpaw, you were great on that patrol." The light gray she cat began. Ugh, not these two together. He groaned inwardly, hoping that the fresh killed mouse would help keep her quiet. She wasn't annoying, and he usually enjoyed her company, but recently whenever she and Shinepaw were together they would start fighting. She went on softly, "You were so tired, I'll bet you didn't even hear Hawkleap say that was your assessment." She purred lightly in amusement, but Lavenderpaw jolted upright in his nest, his light blue eyes wide open. "What?" He demanded, but Shinepaw had started talking, "...Yeah, I'll bet you were amazing, I mean, you had to make a second trip to carry back all that prey you caught-" Windpaw cut off the golden she cat, boasting, "Yeah, but I was actually there. I got to see him make each catch." Lavenderpaw tried to ask, "Wait, did you hear if I passed? What did Redclaw say?" But Shinepaw spoke over him, "Well, I think that every catch Lavenderpaw makes is great." They're just ignoring me! The black furred tom sighed in resignation, sinking back down into his nest as the two she cats went on bickering over top of him. I can't imagine I did badly, with all of that fresh kill I caught. He tried to tune them out, placing his paws over his ears, but it did little to block their voices. Windpaw had taken a bite of the mouse. "Oh this is so good, It's so nice to have a break from eating birds and fish all the time. Lavenderpaw, you must have tried so hard to catch this." Shinepaw was quick to rebuke her, "How rude of you! There you go, eating fresh kill in front of him after he worked his paws off all morning to catch that for you. Do you want me to get you something to eat, Lavenderpaw?" His voice was muffled by the moss of his nest as he tried to shove his face down into it. "No thanks. I don't like taking fresh kill from the pile. I'll eat later." After I finally get some sleep. "But you're so skinny!" Windpaw argued. Shinepaw snapped at her, "Why don't you back off? He said he would eat later, so why don't you just stop obsessing and leave him alone?" "You're the one obsessing!" She shot back. Lavenderpaw had had enough of this. "Why don't you both back off!? I think you're both obsessing! I'd might as well sleep at the waterfall!" They both went silent, Windpaw held one forepaw in the air as if she'd stepped on a thorn, and Shinepaw had her ears back. He sighed as he shifted in his nest, trying to get more comfortable. Why does it seem like I always make things worse when I try to resolve an issue?