Tales Of ForestClan, Chocolatemeerkat (Echopath) . [phonics reading books .TXT] 📗

his whiskers. "We can sleep now." He went over to his nest, but Featherpaw stayed. She looked a bit frightened of falling asleep. Swiftpaw stared at her. "Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I'm frightened that Tigerpelt will tell me off again." Featherpaw admitted. "Can I talk to you for a bit?" Swiftpaw nodded. "Sure." The she-cat sat down beside him and gazed up at the stars. "Do you think my parents are in StarClan?"
Swiftpaw sighed. Roseheart was their mother and also Echopath's sister. She had been taken by wild dogs a few moons after she gave birth, and Chickenpaw and Featherpaw grieved for her. Their father had been killed before they were born. Swiftpaw sighed again and looked up. "I suspect so. They were good cats who didn't deserve to die."
"How are Poppyfoot's kits?" She asked, changing the subject. Swiftpaw nodded. "They're growing fast. Especially that Morningkit. I think they'll be apprentices in a moon or so."
"I'm quite fond of Toadkit. He's very playful." Featherpaw meowed, drawing a paw over her ear. "I'd love to mentor one, but I'm only halfway through my training." Swiftpaw nodded. "I've almost finshed mine, Sandtail said I need to do my hunting assesment with Leappaw first." He boasted. Featherpaw yawned. "I'm going to sleep now." She muttered, falling sleep beside Swiftpaw
"Night." Swiftpaw mummered, curling up beside her.
As the apprentices tried to sleep, a paw nudged Swiftpaw's side. Swiftpaw mumbled something rude and opened his eyes. It was Sandtail. She looked tired but very concerned. "Eagletalon and Echopath have gone missing. You're on patrol with me, Dawnsong, Lionclaw and Runningbreeze." She meowed. "Come on."
"Okay, I'm coming." Swiftpaw yawned, rising up to his paws. He followed Sandtail out into camp and towards the other three warriors. Sandtail flicked her tail towards the misty forest. "Let's go."

They were close to the training hollow when the patrol picked up a strange scent. Swiftpaw stuck out his tongue. "It smells like fox dung!" He muttered grumpily. He was walking beside Lionclaw and Sandtail. Dawnsong and Runningbreeze had rushed on ahead, desperate to find their missing clanmates.
The mist was very thick now, and Swiftpaw could only just see the warriors walking beside him. Their ears were pricked, ready to pick up any sounds close by.
Suddenly, Swiftpaw heard a loud rustling in the bushes. He growled quietly, but the rustling went futher up, towards where Runningbreeze and Dawnsong had gone. Sandtail shivered. "That rustling came from the ReedClan boarder." She gulped.
As Sandtail finshed, there was a ear-splitting cry. The three ForestClan cats stopped and listened. A tall ginger tabby rushed back to them, with a wound on his shoulder.
"Runningbreeze!" Lionclaw yowled. "What happened?"
"It's ReedClan!" The young warrior meowed worriedly. "They're attacking us!" Sandtail's fur bristled with fury. "Right. Have they threatened to attack camp?" She asked. "And where's Dawnsong?"
"Here." The she-cat came running down towards her friends. "I think they retreated." Swiftpaw looked at the warrior. "How many were there?"
"The whole clan, apart from a few warriors." Runningbreeze replied. "And the queens, elders and kits obviously." Sandtail pointed her muzzle back. "I think we should return, just in case they are targetting camp."
Lionclaw led the patrol back to camp anxiously. Swiftpaw was frightened, in case ReedClan were trying to drive ForestClan out of the forest. He listened silently. Nothing stirred.
I hope everyone's alright.

He thought.
As the patrol reached the entrance, the camp was silent. Swiftpaw almost passed out in relief, but then he stopped being happy when he saw a pair of green eyes in the bushes. More eyes then appeared, and then cats started to appear from the bushes. Their fur was soaked with water, but their eyes showed determaination.
"That's Fishstar!" Swiftpaw realised in horror. "ReedClan are attacking our camp!"

*8*

Dawnsong gasped in horror as she saw the ReedClan cats climbing out of their hiding spot. This was completely unexpected, especially at night. She wasn't frightened by ReedClan, but she often worried if CourageClan would go against them too. Then Noblesprit would fight us too.

She thought sadly.
"We have to stop them!" Swiftpaw muttered. Dawnsong knew he was a determained apprentice, which was good in battles. Sandtail flicked her tail up. "Wait. No one move. I want to listen to this."
"Fishstar," Dawnsong reconised Ripplingwater's voice. "shall we take some prey first?" The leader nodded. "Yes. Take half of the pile." He growled.
"Please can we attack now? We can't let them take our prey!" Swiftpaw hissed. Sandtail nodded. "Alert the rest of the clan with yowling." The patrol ran down the ditch, yowling. Fishstar whipped his round and hissed. "You again!"
Dawnsong flung herself at Applewhisker, the ReedClan deputy. He yelped in suprise and tried to kick her off, but Dawnsong had her teeth fastened onto the tom's back leg. She then raked her claws down the side of his face, making it bleed.
"ForestClan, attack!" Bramblestar cried. The other warriors and apprentices raced into battle again, hissing and snarling. Dawnsong saw Leappaw and Otterswim rushing towards her, and they pounced onto Applewhisker too. The four cats wrestled for a while, but then the deputy raked his claws down Leappaw's flank. The little apprentice yowled and let out a loud gurgling cry. He was dying.
Quickly, Dawnsong grabbed the weak apprentice by the scuff and rushed into the medicine den. Oakpelt and Flowerpaw were prepared for this luckily, since Fishstar mentioned the missing fish. They took Leappaw from Dawnsong and sent her away.
StarClan help us! We're losing!

Dawnsong thought. She then saw Puffinfeather, one of the senior warriors, pinning Bramblestar to the ground. Dawnsong charged at the black she-cat and knocked her off. The leader got up carefully. "Can you do me a favour and find some CourageClan warriors to help us?"
"Alright." The grey warrior rushed into the forest, following the strong scent of CourageClan. They didn't live very far away from ForestClan, luckily.
Dawnsong slowly approached the boarder, but she was then stopped by Clawedear and his boarder patrol. "What do you want?"
"ReedClan have attacked our camp. Will you help us?" Dawnsong meowed. Noblesprit muttered something to the deputy, but Clawedear didn't listen. "We don't take sides in this arguement. ForestClan can fight alone." He hissed, padding away. The other cats followed, apart from Noblesprit. He quickly crossed the boarder. "I will help you."
"Bramblestar will get suspicious." Dawnsong sighed. "And I'll be crowfood if I return with no helpers." Noblesprit's eyes then lit up. "Why don't you stay here and pretend a dog took you? Then I'll keep you safe here until the heat dies down." He suggested.
"Oh Noblesprit, that's a fantastic idea!" Dawnsong purred. "But won't your clan be suspicious?" The warrior shook his head. "No, they think I returned with the patrol. I'll stay here with you, and we'll go to the forest in my territory. But we'll go around and avoid camp."
Dawnsong smiled as Noblesprit led her around the boarder and into the forest. A few animals stirred, but not much noise was caused. Noblesprit padded over to a tall tree with lots of branches. "This is where the apprentices learn to climb trees, like your clan. But we don't jump from tree to tree. We use this to catch prey like squirrels and birds in a nest. Your clan use trees in combat." He meowed, climbing up the branches. "We can rest up here."
"Okay." Dawnsong mewed, jumping from branch to branch. She was now ahead of Noblesprit, and she found a thick branch midway up the tree where they could both rest. She called to her mate, and he joined her up on the branch. They laid there, tails dangling down.
Noblesprit then rasped his tongue over Dawnsong's ear, and the young she-cat purred. She let him rest his head on her neck and then she listened. Noblesprit's regular breathing told her that he was asleep.
I hope no one finds out about this. Bramblestar will never forgive me for skipping the battle to be with Noblesprit.

She thought anxiously before falling asleep herself.

^9^

Eagletalon's paws ached all over as he ran through the forest. The only thing that kept him going was Echopath out in this cold weather. I will never forgive myself if she dies.

He thought.
His ears pricked up when he heard the sound of sobbing close by. Eagletalon reconised the sound of it, and he rushed in the direction of it. The cries got louder and louder as he approached a small rabbit hole in the ground. Eagletalon was a bit big to fit through the gap, so he started to dig out more dirt.
After a few minutes, the white and gold warrior could fit inside. Slowly, he crawled in and sniffed. Echopath was defintely here, but she was giving off a fear scent.
"Echopath?" Eagletalon mewed.
Suddenly, he felt claws rake down his face. The tom yowled in pain and flexed his claws out. Blood trickled down his cheek, but it didn't matter. He quickly retreated out into the misty forest, and the thing that attacked him wasn't far behind.
Warriors don't retreat!

Eagletalon realised angrily. They fight, no matter what. After all, warriors all promise that they will fight to their death.

He crouched down and hissed, lashing his tail. The thing then crawled out with no problem at all. Eagletalon then realised that Echopath had attacked him, not a badger or a fox. In confussion, he stood up, but kept his claws sheathed. "Why did you attack me?"
"Because you're a horrid mouse-brain!" Echopath hissed. "If Willowstream had never been born then we would have been happy!" She lunged at him again, but Eagletalon was a skillful warrior. So he dodged her and crouched down again. "But we were just friends! You never showed me that you liked me!" He protested.
"I did!" Echopath argued, charging at him again. She leapt and dragged her claws down his neck. Eagletalon yelped and bit her hind leg. The she-cat hissed and kicked out her leg, throwing the warrior off and into the thistles.
Eagletalon now laid in the bushes, thorns digging into his pelt and more blood pouring out. He felt weak and numb. But what he couldn't believe was that one of his closest friends had turned against him, and was now trying to kill him.
As he struggled to get up, Echopath's face appeared above him. Her eyes were still blazing with anger, and her claws were still sheathed and covered in blood. "Serves you right."
"Where is the sweet and loyal Echopath I knew?" Eagletalon croaked. "Look at yourself. You've become a savage monster who has a obsession to kill." Echopath's