Chapter 5

Freak

Orange, red, and blue mixed together as the sun began to fall. The lake surface sparkled as the remaining shafts of light penetrated the thick cluster of gray clouds in the sky. It would again rain tonight.

I remembered with some irritation the restrictions that came on the evening of my apprenticeship. For one, I couldn't speak from the moment the sun went down tonight until sunrise the next morning (it represented listening to the world around you/StarClan). For another, I couldn't sleep at camp (this rule was not so bad), I had to stay at the moonpool for the whole night (this represented being with StarClan).

A gregarious flock of barnacle geese flew in the shape of a forked branch above us. Various repercussions of countless bird types warbled and whistled their symphonious melodies back and forth across the lake and forest. Even a nightingale was pitching in its harmony.

Humidity made the air uncomfortably hot and heavy. Even the thinnest of pelts, including mine, were affected by the mugginess. I shook myself in a fruitless attempt to displace the stickiness that clumped my fur together.

Heavy rains had moistened the ground and made muddy spots all over the forest. It would've been easier to jump from tree to tree to our destination, but the bark was too slippery to climb.

Minkprowl's rich, mahogany coat was darkened as he was forced to wade through the squelching muck.

"Are you sure he went this way? I don't smell anything," Minkprowl questioned out of discomfort and uncertainty.

"Yeah," I replied, "the rain just washed away the scent is all."

Thankfully, an absorbent bed of pine needles formed beneath our paws as we approached the ShadowClan border.

"It was on a low branch on one of these pines," I told Minkprowl.

"Okay." He was already sniffing along the border looking for the black tuft of wolf fur.

I didn't know what Minkprowl wanted it for, but he said he'd show me when we got back to camp.

"Aha!" Minkprowl exclaimed. He pulled the black fur out of a bush and fluffed his chest in satisfaction. "Got it," his mew was muffled by his find. He flicked his tail towards camp and we turned around.

The sound of paw steps made us turn around.

An intimidating gray and black tom accompanied by a sparrow-brown she-cat gawked at us in surprise.

"You're not a patrol," the she-cat hissed. It was Hoppingwren from the Gathering. Her snobby energy and condescending gaze made me dislike her at once.

"Obviously," I kept my voice level, but I didn't hesitate to give her a warning glare.

The big tom was ShadowClan's deputy: Shrikehunt. "We need to speak to Dunestar." It wasn't so much a question as it was their way of challenging us to protest their presence on our territory. Both ShadowClan cats eyed me suspiciously and with particular repugnance.

I resisted the urge to bristle aggressively. If this was how cats were going to treat me from now on, then life was about to get a whole lot harder.

"Alright," Minkprowl agreed through a tuft of fur. He was very composed, but I could feel contempt rolling off his pelts, "We are going back to camp right now, you can walk with us."

The four of us walked briskly towards camp with Minkprowl and Shrikehunt in the lead. Shrikehunt didn't say anything, but his ears swiveled towards me frequently and he was not happy about having me walk behind him. Hoppingwren kept shooting fleeting glances at me like she expected me to pounce on her at any moment. They became more frequent as I got more and more put off by her disrespect. My anger only escalated the matter until her looks became as constant as the beats of a butterfly wing.

A snarl ripped from my throat, "WILL YOU STOP THAT?"

Hoppingwren gave me an icy-eyed stare in an attempt to hide her fear.

Freak, she thought.

My yowl tore through the tenseness, "I am not a FREAK!" Oh crap. I probably should've kept my mouth shut.

Our whole group stopped and Hoppingwren's jaw dropped in shock.

The scent of ThunderClan dominated as a patrol with Piedpelt, Fishdive, and Quickpounce, led by Puffytail, bounded to our side.

The white and brown-patched cat raised his hackles, "What's going on here?" His eyes narrowed at the ShadowClan cats.

Shrikehunt opened his mouth to answer, but Hoppingwren beat him to it. "He heard my thoughts!"

For some reason I am not sure of, I did not want my clan to find out like this. So, I came up with the best plan I could: I argued, "What? That's ridiculous!"

"I said nothing, but you knew what I was thinking!"

The shallow mirth it brought me to see her astounded face pushed my creativity further. "Why are you trying to get me in trouble? Look around! No one is impressed by your accusations."

She was dumbfounded by my contradictions and totally stuck. Shrikehunt tapped her shoulder with his tail tip to calm her down. His knitted brow told me that he was inwardly deciding whether to believe me or Hoppingwren. Lucky for me, Hoppingwren must have been a liar back in ShadowClan, too.

"What are you doing here?" Puffytail asked Shrikehunt directly this time.

"We need to speak to Dunestar."

"What is it you need to tell her?" Puffytail pressed. All the ThunderClan cats were taken aback by his nosiness.

"That is for Dunestar's ears," Shrikehunt stated simply.

Unfortunately, Puffytail was in the mood to exercise his power, "Need I remind you on whose territory you are?"

"Need I remind you of your status?" Shrikehunt curtly affirmed.

A faint, sickly purple haze appeared as Puffytail's claws unsheathed briefly before he licked his paw and feigned submission. I could feel that he refused to admit defeat. I hope we meet in battle someday, he hissed mentally.

"Very well." Puffytail broke into a canter and we all followed.

Eight cats leapt over boulders, dodged brambles, and hurried around trees. The ShadowClan cats were just as displeased with the mud puddles as we were. Especially when we had to go through a large brown puddle-there was no way around it-and massive splashes of mud from the patrol's broad strides got thrown into their faces.

Rustlepaw, Sandpiper, and Twigfeather were talking near camp, but they stopped as soon as they caught sight of us. We slowed to a walk and went single-file through ThunderClan's camp entrance.

"ShadowClan!" Martenleap announced.

Everyone charged out of their den and bristled at the two ShadowClan cats.

Unlike the rest of us, Minkprowl went to his den instead of staying to listen to what the ShadowClan cats had to say.

Tuggingbranch and Dunestar slipped out of the leader's den.

"Shrikehunt, Hoppingwren, what brings you here?" Dunestar asked.

Shrikehunt replied, "Swoopstar asks that we warn you about a recent appearance on our territory."

"Why does it concern us?" Dunestar meowed.

"The wolf is back."

A feeling of concern came over me as well as a strong craving to figure out the connection between the wolf and my dream.

"Really?" Dunestar said.

"Yes, and a dog, too."

"Is there more?"

"No," Shrikehunt confirmed.

Dunestar let this soak in for a moment, "Thank you Shrikehunt and Hoppingwren. Martenleap, Sparrowhawk, escort them to the border please."

The two ThunderClan warriors dipped their heads in unison.

"Tell Swoopstar he has my thanks as well," Dunestar mewed to the ShadowClan cats.

"Yes, Dunestar," Shrikehunt mewed.

I felt Hoppingwren's glare on me one last time before she turned and followed her deputy out the entrance.

Dunestar leapt onto the highledge and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a clan meeting!"

Everyone grouped close together and listened. Minkprowl slipped out of his den and took a seat next to me.

"As most of you now know, there is a wolf and a dog on our territory. As an extra precaution, no cat can leave camp alone, only in pairs or groups of three or more," she announced and leapt off the highledge.

Minkprowl—who had somehow came to my side without me knowing-pinned back his ears and sighed quietly, "Again? When is that damn mutt going to get out of our forest?"

I cocked my head in confusion. "What's a mutt?"

"A derogatory term for any canine," Minkprowl said matter-of-factly.

I noticed for the first time that he didn't have the black tuft of fur anymore. "Where's the wolf's fur?"

"In my den," Minkprowl replied.

"Already?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I don't care too much for ShadowClan's melodramatic reports."

"Melodramatic? There was a wolf and a dog!" I argued. Why was he so nonchalant about this?

Minkprowl chuckled, "When Hoppingwren is helping deliver the news, you know it's no big deal."

I couldn't help but laugh.

An inquisitive light shone in my mentor's pale yellow eyes. He leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Did you really hear her mind?"

He sat upright again and eagerly watched for my answer.

I nodded, "It happens sometimes."

"That's incredible!" He meowed in amazement.

"So," I said, trying to change the subject, "What did you want that fur for?"

His face brightened, "Come here, I'll show you."