Warriors: Fear and Hope

Dashfang woke up net to Applefur. She was up staring into the sky. Dashfang ran over to her friend. “Applefur,” she yowled to her friend.

Applefur jumped at her yowl.

“You alright?” asked the blue cat.

Applefur wiped her eyes to get her tears off her face. “I’m fine,” she said as she sat up looking at the sky.

Dashfang frowned, and walked over to her kind friend. “It looks cold,” she said and she looked outside.

Applefur began to lick the fur on her chest and spoke between breaths. “It sure is.” She mewed. Her hat was sitting next to her nest. She looked, and grabbed the hat to put it on her head.

Dashfang shook the frost off her cold fur. She then licked her paw and looked at her friend. “What are you going to do with Redpaw today?” asked Dashfang, still licking her paw carefully.

“Just showin’ him the forest,” she mewed, and she looked at the apprentice den.

“I’m doing the same with Browniepaw. Maybe we could travel together?” Dashfang mewed, she looked at Browniepaw jumping out of his den, and he chased a butterfly.

Pinkiefur quickly chased to her son and she pounced on him playfully.

“I think it would be better if we traveled alone.” Applefur mewed and she looked at Redpaw soon jumping on his mom. He may have been calm, but he could be playful.

Dashfang felt a pang of hurt. They had been the forest as apprentices. Why did her friend want to go alone? “A-alright,” she mewed. “See ya’ later when we can share a mouse and compare apprentices!” she mewed and she flew to her apprentice.

Browniepaw ran over to Dashfang and he was more excited than Pinkiefur was when she met Dashfang. “What are we gonna do today?” he yowled, a twinkle in his eye.

“We’re gonna look around the forest.” Said Dashfang, and she sniffed the air to check if there was going to be any bad weather. “C’mon.” she ran into the woods.

Browniepaw ran quickly after her, and he looked at his mentor in the eyes. “Are we going to look at Spiderrocks, or are we going to the Fourtrees? Are we going to Sunshine rocks? Oh, oh, are we. . .” Dashfang’s laugh stopped him. “What?” he asked as he stopped.

Dashfang shook her head and laughed again. “Why don’t you try to catch up?” she asked, spreading her wings.

Browniepaw smiled and he was about to run off, when Dashfang ran right in front of him. She flew as she could and she turned her head to see if Browniepaw was catching up. Surprisingly, he was. He ran with his small paws in front of him. Dashfang was surprised, but she then remembered that he was Pinkiefur’s son. She then started flying faster than she never flew before. Browniepaw caught up quickly, and Dashfang picked him up and she flew into the blue sky. Browniepaw looked at the ground and he smiled.

“You’ve never flown before?” asked Dashfang.

Browniepaw shook his head. “Well duh, I haven’t had a chance! No wings,” he said looking at the ground from Dashfang’s back.

They soon got to the front of Castle Rock. Dashfang jumped to the top, and Browniepaw raced after her. Soon she was at the very top. “Look at the trees! They look like they’re made from Lunar Stone!” he yowled when he looked over the rocks.

Dashfang looked over with him, and she smiled. He really was right. They could see the sparkling trees with the most beautiful moon in the sky. Lunastar must have forgotten that she had to lower the moon.

She looked at her mentor and smiled. “You should keep your energy. It’s hard to run when you’re breathless.” She said and she unfolded her wings. She flew close to the ground, close enough for Browniepaw to see where she was going. “Where are we going now?” he asked kindly.

“We’re going where apprentices are trained!” she mewed down to the young apprentice. They finally got to where a place used to cut right through the middle. “This is where a river used to flow.” She mewed. “It’s where I caught my first prey.” She mewed proudly.

“Wow, what did you catch?” Browniepaw yowled.

“You may see it another time.” She mewed calmly, trying to slow the apprentice down.

He kept running though, and Dashfang ran after him. They soon stopped at a nice little dip that came down into the Lakeclan’s river. It flowed nicely, but the ice covered most of it. “You won’t catch much there, except fish.” Mewed Browniepaw and he rubbed his head against Dashfang.

When Dashfang remembered her first catch, it filled her with pride. She looked at Browniepaw who was peeking over the cliff to look at the river. Dashfang laughed. “If I were you I would leave fishing to Lakeclan.” She mewed happily. “They can stick with fishing, but I want dry paws.”

Browniepaw laughed at her, and she smiled. The apprentice circled around and asked, “What now?”

His excitement and Dashfang’s pride filled her with energy. She flew off close enough to the ground and yowled back, “To the Owl Tree!”

Before, they were both warned about the icy stepping-stones of the river that crossed through Lightningclan. They kept bounding through the forest until they got to the second tallest tree in the forest. “Does an owl really live here?” he asked clawing the tree.

“Yes, can you see its hole in the tree?” she asked the eager kit.

“How can you tell that’s an owl hole?” he asked.

Dashfang raised her apprentices head, and mewed calmly, “Smell.”

He took in a big sniff, and his eyes widened.

“Do you smell it?” she mewed.

He shook his head. “Nope, I lost the scent.” He put his paws to the ground, and looked at them.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it!” she mewed confidently. “Now look at the ground. What do you see?” she asked.

He looked around. “Leaves?” he mewed.

She laughed and moved the leaves around. “Look under the leaves.”

He dug under the leaves, and stuck his nose in. He sniffed, and he yowled, “Yuck! It smells like crow-food!”

Dashfang purred with amusement.

“You knew it was there, didn’t you?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, Sunstar played the same trick on me. You’ll never forget that smell.” She looked down at her. “Maybe you can do it when you get an apprentice,” she purred.

“What was it?” he asked her.

“An owl pod,” she mewed. “Owls do eat the same as us, but they cannot digest the bone and fur, so their bellies roll up the fur and bones and spit it out. If you see one of these that means you found an owl!” she purred as she remembered what Sunstar told her.

“Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would you want to find an owl?” he spat angrily.

Dashfang’s whiskers twitched when she looked into his dark, big eyes. “Owl’s get better views of the Everfree than we do. When it’s hard to find prey, you can see owls and follow them to prey.” She mewed.

Browniepaw smiled. “Where to next?” he asked.

“The Great Sycamore,” she mewed to her apprentice. They crossed through the woods, and through the Two-leg path. The sun rose into the blue sky when they got to a large tree.

“It’s gigantic!” he yowled.

“They say that when Sunstar was younger, she climbed to the tallest branch.” She mewed.

“No way!” he yowled.

“Mind you, when Sunstar was an apprentice this tree was most likely a sapling,” she joked.

They climbed to Spiderrocks. Widows! She thought to herself. She whipped around, seeing Browniepaw was gone. She jumped through the bushes, seeing Browniepaw standing on a rock. “C’mon; I’ll race you to the top!” he yowled and he was about to jump, when Dashfang flew and grabbed him. He was shaking when he saw Dashfang holding him.

“This place is called Spiderrocks,” she mewed still trembling.

Browniepaw got onto her haunches. “S-Spiderrocks?” asked the young apprentice, still shaking.

She nodded. “Widows live up there. With one bite, they would kill you.” She put her head down, and then she looked up at Browniepaw. “C’mon, let’s go have a look at Lightningpath.” She mewed.

Browniepaw stopped and shook his head. “ The Lightningpath?” he mewed.

Dashfang chuckled. “Yep, follow me.” She mewed and she ran off. She led her apprentice through the ferns, and finally they got to a place where Lightningpath cut through.

Dashfang looked back and forth at Browniepaw and Lightningpath. Browniepaw was about to take a sniff of Lightningpath, but Dashfang heard something. “Stay where you are!” she yowled. “There’s a monster comings!”

Browniepaw opened his mouth to gasp when the monster was about to run by. “Yuck!” he yowled, and he wiped his nose. “Is that a monster?” he asked annoyed.

Dashfang nodded.

Browniepaw unsheathed his claws, and dug into the ground. The monster ran by and she blew back real quickly. He luckily had his eyes closed. She kept them closed until the noise was gone.

Dashfang lifted his head, and said, “Smell the air, can you smell anything besides the Lightningpath stench?” she asked.

He sniffed the air and something filled his nostrils. “I remember that smell from when Bloodstar attacked.” He mewed. “And it was on the kits you had when they came home. It is Shadeclan!” he yowled. “Is that their territory across the Lightningpath?” he asked.

Dashfang nodded and she looked down at him. “Yes, and we better get out of here!” she mewed and she ran off with Browniepaw behind her.

She decided to take Browniepaw near the Two-legs and the tree-cutter.

As they walked past the two-leg place, the kit-hood of Dashfang filled her nostrils, which made her uneasy; even though she had not live that far from that place. “Stay alert.” She mewed, and she pricked her ears. “Sometimes, two-legs walk with their dogs around here.

The two cats went into the grass and walked low when they were close to the two-leg place. Some kind of warmth filled inside her. She had no idea why though.

The sound of Browniepaw’s squeaking voice alerted Dashfang. “Look!” he yowled to her, and she pointed to a cat walking across the forest floor. The light blue cat had a white mane and tail. Her eyes were rose like Dashfang’s, and her stomach was swollen with kits. Even her flank was barren of a kitty mark which meant she really was a kitty-pet.

“A kitty-pet!” yowled Browniepaw. “Let’s chase her out!” he got down.

Dashfang usually would agree with the apprentice, but this cat was awfully familiar. Before Browniepaw could jump over to the kitty-pet, Dashfang brushed against crunchy bracken.

The kitty-pet looked up and saw the two cats. Her eyes widened with alarm; she leaped away and she jumped over her fence.

“Rats!” Browniepaw yowled, annoyed. “I wanted to chase her out!” his ears flattened. “I bet my brother caught a hundred things today!” his eyes went from annoyed to sad.

“Yea, but she wasn’t worth it. Now c’mon I’m starving.” She mewed and she leaped off with Browniepaw crawling after her. They followed their paw prints home. Luckily the wind hadn’t blown them away. It was so quiet when they got back to camp. Like all the cats had left. There was only the breeze blowing the branches.

They ran over to their brother, and friend. “Here ya’ go, I got some fresh-kill.” Applefur mewed and she dipped her head into her mouse.

“Good day?” asked Dashfang, mouth filled with a crow.

“Well it was better than yesterday,” answered Applefur. Dashfang looked worried at her friend. “I enjoyed it though.” She meowed dipping her head into a sparrow. “Redpaw’s eager for learning.

“So is Browniepaw!” meowed Dashfang, smiling.

“Mind you,” mewed Applefur with her sparkle in her eyes. “I kept forgetting I was the mentor and not the apprentice!” she mewed smiling.

“Me too,” mewed Dashfang happily.

All the cats shared tongues until the moon rose into the blue sky. Dashfang jumped into her nest, and she tried to get to sleep. She finally got some sleep, but her dreams were filled with her kit-hood. She remembered sitting next to her mother’s warm, white stomach. She sat with her brother and sisters. She then remembered the kitty-pets smell.

Dashfang opened her eyes and looked at the ground. Of course! she thought. The cat she saw in the woods . . . was her sister.