Ignorance is Bliss
word limit - 500
points earned - 8

[ please take note that this chapter is incredibly short compared to other entries, and does not reflect my writing skills due to the word limit ]

Ignorance is bliss...

It was a phrase Koipaw never truly understood. First told to her by the late Leader's mother, Carminestream, the words left her in question. Who would want to be ignorant? Wouldn't everyone want to know the wonders of life; the beauty of the word? The dappled apprentice had never known the true meaning of the phrase.

A melancholy cry awoke the she-cat from her pointless thoughts. "Sablefur, take Brushnose, Grizzyfang, Koipaw and Lynxpaw. Go to Redwood Forest." Heaving a sigh, the calico apprentice stood up. She harbored a resentment to the current deputy, Scrubshade. A paranoid and untrusting cat, she would constantly put every can in her clan in excess amounts of patrols, especially Koipaw. Muttering an incoherent curse, the apprentice joined her clanmates on the patrol.

"Are y'all ready to leave?" mewed Sablefur. Koipaw cringed at his foreign twang in his voice. It was no secret that the warrior was from a different land. "Where are we patrolling?" chirped a sandy coloured apprentice next to her. The calico apprentice bit down a sigh at him. She was no fan of her fellow apprentice, Lynxpaw, who made the elders seem competent. "Redwood Forest, ratbrain." Grizzyfang, Koipaw's mentor, snorted at the apprentice. Koipaw saw Sablefur suffering his paws, and turned to leave, the patrol soon following on his heels.

~

The loud pitter-patter of the rain was deafening in the great forest. Fat, could droplets soaked through the fur of the patrol. The flame-coloured wood had turned deep mahogany in the harsh storm. Five pairs of paws trudged through the thick layer of wet mud. Every so often, a loud rumble of thunder cracked through the sky. Needs to say, the cats were wet, hungry and cold.

"Can't we go back? Lynxpaw complained to Brushnose "I'm cold and tired, and-"

Koipaw snarled, cutting the sandy apprentice off. "Do you think the enemy clans will stop in this weather?! We need to finish our patrol."

A sharp crack of lightning suddenly startled the group. The rain became even heavier, the thunder sounding louder than ever. "I think we should start heading back. No one should be out in this weather." Sablenose declared with a small shiver. The party leader's short fur let him be more prone to the cold than the rest of the cats. Nodding unanimously in agreement, the group turned to go back to camp when-

crack

A large bolt of lightning hit a tree five foxlegths from Lynxpaw, sparking a blaze in the tree. "Run!" cried Grizzlyfang as the tree's flames grew. Redwood trees were prone to flame, and Koipaw knew that if they were stuck in a fire, they'd surely die. Taking off with a sprint, the patrol, led by Sablefur, ran away from the growing blaze. The calico she-cat had trouble keeping up with the patrol. She knew that her stubby little legs would let her down.

As if on cue, the flames caught up with the cats, and surrounded them. The flames were not deterred by the heavy rain and seemed to burn even fiercer now that they had captured their prey. "Quick, up the tree!" Lynxpaw shouted as he started combing furiously up an untouched birch. Grizzlyfang climbed up in a hurry, followed by Brushnose. They promptly jumped off the tree, over the flames, and started running away. Koipaw let out a yelp as the flames tickled her bushy tail. She swiftly scaled the tree with Sablefur right behind her. Right as both cats were on the branch, ready to jump off, a loud yowl rang in her ears. It was Lynxpaw.

Started, Sablefur fell off the branch and into the the fire's grasp. Koipaw tried to grab his paw, but it was useless. The flames had covered the warrior's fur, his unearthly wails filled the air. The apprentice wanted to jump away, to stop watching, but she couldn't. His face slowly charred, along with his body and tail. He gave Koipaw one final, desperate moan and then disappeared into the flames.

And as Koipaw escaped the flames and being the horrifying story to her gossip-hungry clan, she realized try what Carminestream meant. The scars of that night would stay with her until her inevitable death. The guilt would gnaw at her belly for seasons to come.

Ignorance is truly a bliss...