The Coming Storm ❖ A Warriors Fanfic

[MTT-Brand Cute Juice]

Whoa! This is amazing. I'm guessing Asterpaw is the main character?

Could we do a collab fanfic?

[Spirited.]

Thanks so much! There's actually six main characters and the viewpoints will switch every chapter (like the actual Warriors books) - Asterpaw, Emberpaw, Kestrelkit, Martenfur, Pebblepaw, and Starlingpaw.

Not sure if I'd be interested in doing a collab fanfic, but we could definitely do a 1x1 roleplay? PM me if you have ideas for either

[Spirited.]

❖ C H A P T E R -T W O ❖

- - - -"Catch me if you can!" Her mentor's voice bounced off of the canyon walls as Runningheart raced past her, his ginger fur almost blending in with the rock around him. Shaking her head, Emberpaw picked up the pace, deciding to humour him. She was used to her mentor's competitive nature and joined in to his competitions, if only to get out of cleaning dens for the night. Her tortoiseshell body moved over the canyon floor in pursuit of the red tabby, wondering what the stakes would be this time around. Behind her, she could hear Sparrowstar laughing at her brother's antics and the cheering of Martenfur as he egged the two on.

- - - -"Last one to Big Rock is fetching the other prey tomorrow morning!" Runningheart yelled over his shoulder and Emberpaw rolled her eyes at this, but spurred herself on all the same. Despite her tendency to be harsh, resulting in her denial of his challenges when she was in a bad mood, the wild side of her had taken over today and she found herself enjoying their little chase. Her paws pounded against the rocky ground in a steady rhythm and the apprentice found herself gaining on her mentor. A small giggle erupted from her as the wind rushed past her, tickling her whiskers.

- - - -Runningheart reached Big Rock first, but the tortoiseshell apprentice was not too disappointed. The stakes had not been very high and she had been in the race more for the enjoyment of it, not the win. Her mentor, on the other hand, was always in it to win it, and he crowed over his victory now. Rolling her eyes once more, Emberpaw accepted defeat, knowing there was no way to get away from his competitiveness; she had already tried. Sometimes, she really wondered what had driven Sparrowstar to pair her with the ginger tom since, oftentimes, he acted more kit-like than she did. It was almost as if the roles were reversed. Then again, the leader was Runningheart's sister, which might have driven her to make the decision in the hopes that a despondent apprentice would serve to dull his competitiveness.

- - - -Sparrowstar, who had walked up behind them, did not at all seem bothered by the fact that her plan, if it had been so, had not worked. In fact, she seemed in high spirits and her green eyes were alight with laughter. Flicking her tail across Runningheart's ear, she chided him playfully for fooling around when he should be patrolling. Emberpaw watched their exchange, wondering if the two had always been like this. The young tortoiseshell herself had two brothers and all they ever did was fight - not playfully, like the two warriors before her, but as siblings often did.

- - - -"Nice try, Emberpaw. Perhaps you should race me sometime, I'd make sure you won." Martenfur's voice was suddenly in her ear and the tortoiseshell flicked her tail in annoyance. The red-brown tabby was known for flirting with all the she-cats in the Clan, regardless of whether they had mates or not. The single she-cats were often subjected to more crude flattery than those with mates, but even they were not safe from small compliments and soft flattery when it came to Martenfur.

- - - -"And I'd make sure to leave you in the dust," was her sharp-tongued reply. Refusing to even so much as give Martenfur a fake smile, Emberpaw waited patiently for her mentor or leader to give her further instructions. The sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon and she assumed they would be heading back to the camp soon. Sparrowstar was currently marking the border, which confirmed the apprentice's suspicions.

- - - -At Sparrowstar's nod, the patrol was moving back in the direction of the Clan's camp. They were silent as they moved, their only accompaniment the soft swishing of the wind, which provided a reprieve from the last of the sun's hot rays. With any luck, the wind would cause the canyon to cool overnight, making sleep more comfortable. Emberpaw could not remember the last night she hadn't woken up sweating since RockClan had arrived in the canyon. It seemed that greenleaf was much harder in the canyon than it was in the forest because of the heat; heatstroke seemed almost more commonplace now than greencough was in leaf-bare. It was because of this that the Clan made sure to have an early start to their day, dawn patrols going out before the sun had a chance to rise and evening patrols going out just as the sun was setting. During the hottest parts of the day, the Clan spent their time in the coolness of their dens, going out only once the heat was not so deadly.

- - - -The patrol was accompanied by only their shadows as they moved through the cooling air, their black partners stretching out across the length of the canyon and up the red walls. Emberpaw shot her mentor a unamused look when he pointed out that his shadow was bigger than hers and, as a result, she had lost to him once more.

- - - -Suddenly, Sparrowstar stopped and the patrol with her. Emberpaw watched as the tortoiseshell sniffed at the air, her ears flicking this way and that as she tried to pick up something the apprentice could not hear. Straining her own senses to figure out just what her leader had sensed, Emberpaw did the same.

- - - -After a moment, Sparrowstar relaxed, mewing that she must have overreacted to the sound of the wind. Runningheart flicked his tail over her flank playfully and Martenfur shrugged, turning to Emberpaw to make a comment of some sort.

- - - -The apprentice, however, was not paying attention. While the rest of the patrol had given up their search for any scent or sound of an intruder, Emberpaw was still searching. 'Everything will be alright,' was the thought that flitted through her head, followed by, 'just an overreaction, of course,' but the thoughts weren't her own. Shaking her head, she turned back to the warriors she was following.

- - - -That was when she saw the glint of fangs out of the corner of her eye and, fur bristling, she turned in the direction of the predator, a fierce snarl on her face. The tortoiseshell found herself staring at a long, skinny body covered with brown and red scales that blended into the canyon floor almost perfectly. Every time the creature moved, Emberpaw heard the faintest rattling sound, like the sound bones made when they scraped across each other.

- - - -"Watch out!" she cried as the rattlesnake moved towards Sparrowstar, Runningheart and Martenfur, but by that point it was too late. In horror, she watched as the snake pulled its head back, then lunged forward once more, burying its long sharp fangs in the shoulder of the tortoiseshell leader.

- - - -In that moment, it felt as if Emberpaw's head might explode, not from the shriek that Sparrowstar gave off as the fangs slipped under her skin, but from the scream she heard in her own head. It was as if she were hearing Sparrowstar's thoughts as the poison entered her, the pain resounding through Emberpaw's head, causing black spots to appear before her amber eyes.

- - - -And then, just as suddenly as they had come, the sounds were gone, and the only thing running through Emberpaw's head was, "I'm dying". Eyes stretched wide, the tortoiseshell turned to the rest of the patrol, taking in the tragic sight. Sparrowstar was twitching on the ground of the rock canyon, Runningheart standing over her with a stricken look on his face. Martenfur stood nearby, the rattlesnake who was the perpetrator of the crime hanging from his jaw.

- - - -No one spoke, their eyes on Sparrowstar as she took in shuddering breaths. All three of them knew it was too late to do anything - the camp was too far away and, by the time they got there, the tortoiseshell leader would be dead. It was painful to watch her die, but Emberpaw kept her eyes trained on her leader, unable to look away as death fell upon her.

- - - -"Bury me on the cliff," Sparrowstar rasped, her green eyes closing as it became harder and harder to breath. "So I can... I can watch over... my Clan." The she-cat took in one last breath before her body became still.

- - - -Emberpaw heard her mentor let out a sob as he stood over his sister, pushing his nose into the fur of her scruff, where the warmth of life was still present. She felt Martenfur brush past her, dropping the rattlesnake in front of her, before approaching the grieving warrior.

- - - -"We should get her back to camp," the young warrior whispered to Runningheart and the ginger tom just nodded, likely finding it hard to say anything. Emberpaw watched as they lifted Sparrowstar's body between them and, with slow steps, began to carry her back in the direction of camp.

- - - -The tortoiseshell apprentice was left sitting in the last light of the setting sun, watching the figures of the warriors becoming smaller and smaller as they walked away. It felt as if she could not move, her muscles frozen in place with the shock of what had just happened.

- - - -It was only when she heard Martenfur call for her that she lifted herself to her paws and, with one last look at the rattlesnake that had killed Sparrowstar, turned to follow the diminished patrol.