chapter three : her

It had been four days since Ambertuft's accident, and she was treated like prey among the rest of the Brambles (excluding her friends). The black cat was constantly teased by Splitwillow and Heronfall.

   It was a gloomy day out, clouds covered the sky, rain sprinkled the land.

   Ambertuft padded out, following the over-excited Poppysnap and her forever silent brother.

   "I saw Nettlesprout come out here earlier today." Poppysnap said, trying to start a conversation while they patrolled.

   "That's nice." Ambertuft muttered, watching a nearby squirrel climb up a tree.

   Poppysnap frowned, "But she wasn't on patrol or anything, it was just her."

   "Mmhm."

   Poppysnap gave up and they continued walking.

   "H-hey," Smokecloud stuttered out, "I-I heard some-something b-back there."

   Poppysnap perked her ears up and tasted the air, "Ooooo! I scent Nettlesprout! Let's go look for her!"

   Before any cat could object, the tortoiseshell started following Nettlesprout's scent.

   They arrived at the Misty River. Ambertuft heard voices and strained her ears to listen.

   "The full moon after the one tomorrow?" A tom's voice said, Ambertuft not recognizing the cat.

   "Yes." Another voice said, it sounded like Nettlesprout's.

   "I'll inform the leader." The tom responded.

   There was a rustling sound as Ambertuft and Smokecloud exchanged looks.

   "Interesting!" Poppysnap squealed, a little too loud.

   "What are three Brambles like you doing here?" A sharp and clearly angry voice hissed, causing Ambertuft to jump.

"Sp-"

"Patrolling!" Ambertuft interrupted, "Right Poppysnap?"

Poppysnap seemed to understand, "Yup! Patrolling, what we're supposed to do.....heh."

Nettlesprout sighed, "Right."

"If you tell any cat, I mean any cat about this, I will kill you."

The three cats nodded, and the Air walked off.

"Holy fox that was close." Ambertuft breathed, once she was gone.

   Smokecloud nodded and nipped Poppysnap's ear.

   "OW!" Poppysnap yelped, "What the heck was that for?"

   "F-for al-almost b-blowing our co-cover!" Smokecloud hissed.

   "Oh. Right. Sorry."

   Ambertuft sighed, "How about we go back to camp?"

   "I-"

   "Great idea Ambertuft!" The she-cat cut Poppysnap off, "Let's go!"

// annndddd another short chapter.
Smokecloud spoke! He has a stutter.
I have a lot planned for the next few chapters.
Just....prepare for feels.

Fact of the Day: Smokecloud is really short, like he's about a 10 moon old cat's height. He's often called 'Lil' Smokey' by Poppysnap