Brightpaw was excited.

It was his first patrol as an apprentice of FlareClan, and Tremblingstar himself had assigned him to it. Along with his brother Cliffpaw and his mentor Charredfoot, six other warriors and two other apprentices joined them for the patrol along the HaloClan border, a small creek that winded through the rocky territory. While AuroraClan and EclipseClan territories were in the Wildlands, a lush forest territory with abundant prey, HaloClan and FlareClan existed in the Barrenlands, where prey was less plentiful and often dangerous. FlareClan and HaloClan were at near constant odds with one another in order to have enough prey to get them through the dry season.

Brightpaw wasn't sure about HaloClan's camp, but he knew his clan, FlareClan, was on a rocky plateau, and the cliffs nearby the camp held spectacular views of forest and mountains in the distance. Their prey was mostly shrews and mice, but occasionally the hunting patrol would bring back a rabbit, which the entire clan feasted on.

From what he saw when Charredfoot showed him around the territory the day before, HaloClan had more sand and grass than they did, though FlareClan did have their own area of parched land below the camp.

His thoughts wandered back to Tremblingstar. He thought it was a bit strange that the queens never talked about him. They would choose their words carefully, always looking over their shoulders, but Brightpaw had always dismissed it.

The queens had been quite helpful to the kit, always giving him plenty of advice. The grey and white tom recalled everything the queens in the nursery had said about patrols. According to them, the patrol would travel the border of FlareClan and HaloClan, remarking their territory on and even a little further onto HaloClan's land. If they came across a patrol from the other clan there would be a stand-off, but the smart thing for both clans to do would be to keep going. The queens would especially tell the kits this last bit over and over again, that the other clans weren't out for blood, that they will only attack if you attack first.

But Brightpaw also knew that it was rare to come across the other clans in a regular patrol, even along the HaloClan border where both clans consistently contribute to the markings along the craggily stream separating the two. It disappointed him a little that he probably wouldn't get to see another clan just yet, but he was still determined to do his best.

A large pointed rock jutted out of the ground, the pawstep-wide creek having carved a small archway underneath it long ago. The warriors in the front of the patrol began to mark on and around the bear-sized rock, and with a quick nod from his mentor, Brightpaw bounded ahead to join them.

-{}-

Charredfoot was conflicted.

Tremblingstar had planned this 'border patrol' entirely for Brightpaw, notifying Charredfoot just moments before the kit was apprenticed. The leader had laughed, laughed at Charredfoot's concern that the kit wasn't trained in the slightest, and there was no way to prepare him for a fight in the off-chance that one occurred.

'On the off-chance?' the spotted leader repeated mockingly. 'Do I need to knock some sense into your head, Charredfoot? Don't tell me you've never noticed the patrol patterns.'

Charredfoot tilted his head slightly in confusion, and Tremblingstar's blue and green eyes narrowed. The leader sighed. 'I'm disappointed in you, Charredfoot. I thought you of all cats would see. No matter. Perhaps someday you'll understand.'

'I-' Charredfoot was genuinely confused. The elders had always mentioned that there was something off about Tremblingstar, but Charredfoot had never been witness to his ramblings himself. The gold-and-ginger tom attempted to compose himself. 'I-I just feel that Brightpaw isn't ready for a large patrol like this. I don't think any apprentice wou-'

The leader snarled, and- Charredfoot winced at the memory, glancing down at the day-old claw marks in his shoulder.

He sighed. Thinking back to what the deputy Yewfall had told him afterwards, this wouldn't be any ordinary patrol. Tremblingstar made sure that each apprentice, the sunrise after they became one, was subject to a mock patrol, one that purposefully seeked out HaloClan border patrols and attacked them to show FlareClan's strength. The apprentice, along with most of the warriors, would be unaware of this; only the head of the patrol would know their goal. Tremblingstar claimed it was a test of will and loyalty. Yewfall said it was more like a culling of the weak.

Charredfoot gave a growl. How could he have been so blind? Of course this-this "culling" occurred. Every cat apprenticed under Tremblingstar's reign bore scars from other clans, physically, or...mentally. That certainly wasn't a coincidence.

He felt something touch his shoulder, and he jumped, breaking free of his thoughts.
The she-cat who had brushed against his shoulder with hers gave him a weird look, then a laugh. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah...sorry Greymoth," he sighed in relief.

The grey-brown tabby twitched her whiskers. "You were deep in your thoughts there."

"Yeah," he agreed, his amber eyes darting away, trying to think of a subject change.

The she-cat tilted her head against his, her muted brown eyes looking at him innocently. "What were you thinking about?"

Charredfoot shifted his weight uncomfortably. He was never good at casual conversation, and the she-cat wasn't helping his attempts at changing the subject. Well... there was no harm in the truth, right? "My apprentice... he's a little young for a patrol."

"I suppose so," the she-cat said, shifting away from Charredfoot. "But don't all apprentices go on a patrol after they're apprenticed?"

"Well, yeah, but... another clan could attack, or a bear or something. It's dangerous!"

Greymoth gave a light giggle, to Charredfoot's surprise. "Being a warrior is dangerous, too, Charredfoot," she chided playfully.

He- he hadn't thought of that. Maybe it was better to have an apprentice exposed to troubles early... but still, it was dangerous. "Brightpaw hasn't been trained, at all."

"Not everyone's prepared for a disaster when it happens. It happens without warning."

Wait...disaster? Did she know what was going to happen? He glanced at the grey-brown she-cat. "Disaster?"

The patrol began to move again, pawpads striking against the rocky ground. Charredfoot stood and began to follow the cats ahead.

Greymoth chuckled, moving at the same pace as the tom. "Yeah, disaster. Like a bear or something," she mimicked playfully.

Charredfoot sighed in relief, then gave a small smile. He wondered if he should tell her that the patrol was going to invade enemy territory, to prepare her for the inevitable battle. He would be in big trouble if she told anybody, but she was the mentor of Brightpaw's brother, after all, so she had a right to know if she didn't already.

Plus...she was cute.

Before he had the chance to respond, the patrol halted. The patrol leader Badgerstrike held his tail high and stiff. The other cats quieted, watching as the grizzled senior warrior swiveled his rounded ears. There were a few moments of silence. Then Badgerstrike's apprentice, Pinepaw, spoke in a whisper. "What is it?"

Charredfoot moved past Greymoth to stand over Brightpaw.

Finally the gruff warrior looked to his apprentice, and then back to the rest of the warriors.

"HaloClan warriors."

-{}-

Cliffpaw was jealous.

He knew by all means he shouldn't be, but he was. Brightpaw was three moons younger than him. He was sweet and caring and innocent, and naive and impulsive and too curious for his own good. You couldn't help but love him. And Cliffpaw would protect his little brother at all costs.

But when Tremblingstar gave Brightkit his 'paw name, and organized a patrol just for him, Cliffpaw couldn't help but feel the sting of a million bees. His own apprentice ceremony was just as grand, held the same promise of a patrol in his honor, but unlike Cliffpaw, Brightpaw had an experienced warrior as a mentor. Charredfoot wasn't quite the warrior like Tremblingstar, or the most experienced, that was Badgerstrike; but Charredfoot would make a much better mentor than Greymoth.

A mentor who knew the difference between a honey-filled bee's nest and an infectious, allergy-inducing, patrol-stealing hornet nest. Imagine that.

Grievances with his own mentor aside, the nine-moon-old tom supposed that this was his patrol as well. After all, spending two moons in a medicine cat den recovering from stings that were maltreated by the panicking, clearly-not-a-medicine-cat Greymoth and the subsequent double infections that resulted don't exactly allow a lot of time for warrior training. By now he should have been at the same skill level as Pinepaw, who was the same age as him, but he only had had a moon of training. At least he could train with his brother now.

Badgerstrike's assessment of the HaloClan patrol snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. Instinctively he moved closer to Brightpaw, and with a smile discovered that his little brother's mentor had also taken a protective stance around the smaller cat.

Badgerstrike gave a flick of his tail and the whole patrol crouched, except for Brightpaw, and Cliffpaw realized with a pang that Brightpaw hadn't been trained yet. He flicked his own tail towards the tom to get his attention, and after a moment of blankly staring at his older brother, Brightpaw crouched with a whispered, "Oh!"

Badgerstrike flicked the tip of his tail and the patrol crept slowly forward. The black and brown tom gave the signal to stop, motioned for Pinepaw to follow him, and crept off into the bushes. Cliffpaw overheard Charredfoot whispering to Brightpaw that Badgerstrike was going to find the patrol, then send Pinepaw back to them while Badgerstrike watches the HaloClan warriors to make sure he doesn't lose them. Cliffpaw began to worry. What if a fight broke out?

What would Brightpaw do?

The FlareClan patrol sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Cliffpaw, anxious that Pinepaw might come back telling them to attack, didn't mind the silence so much. At least, he didn't mind until Greymoth crept up next to him. He gave a strained sigh between his teeth, but tried to pass it off as a rather loud exhale.

"Why are we seeking out HaloClan?" Greymoth whispered. "It's like we're trying to antagonize them."

She had a point. Even Cliffpaw had to admit that. But he couldn't help himself being annoyed at the fact that she was asking a nine-moon-old apprentice.

The bushes rustled, and the clan tensed, expecting the light brown, black and white speckled pelt of Pinepaw to emerge and tell them that they were ready to move forward, but instead a black and brown striped tom with a grizzled white face and scars weaved into his mottled pelt emerged, honey-yellow eyes wide.

Badgerstrike?

Where was Pinepaw?

There was a collective gasp as the bushes behind Badgerstrike were rustled, foliage splitting to reveal a massive cat. Badgerstrike was big, but the tom behind him was enormous. Muscles rippled under his brilliant pure white fur, and his ice blue eyes were ringed with the lightest shades of pink. His fur was short except for the very tips of his long ears, where near-translucent tufts sprouted. His face seemed calm and stoic and Cliffpaw wasn't able to discern anything about him from his expression alone.

The towering white male's tail lashed as he surveyed the paralyzed patrol. Bringing his icy eyes to the back of the dark tom in front of him, his tail froze. Badgerstrike turned to face him, staring into his pink-ringed eyes, and at nearly the same time their tails shot up and flicked towards the other.

Attack!

—

1978 words
part 1 of 3

fin august 30 2021