Chapter 15: Blood, Rain, and the Impossible Quest
Dark clouds began to gather in the greenleaf sky. An ominous wind blew across the coast, moist with the coming rain but still warm in the humid climate. The land grew darker every moment as the bright blue sky was slowly dissapearing behind the layers of thick, gray cloud.
Razorpaw could feel the moisture in the air. It made his whiskers twitch, and the longer he found himself sat still, waiting, the more irriatated he was becoming.
Moonpaw and Cinderpaw were demonstrating a new battle technique, while Wolfstreak and Snowpelt mewed encouragement to their apprentices. Skyhawk and Flamepaw had gone off somewhere after the feisty ginger tom had been defeated in his battle. Razorpaw had taken his place next to Nightraven, and the pair were observing the two she-cat's as they tussled on the ground.
If the rain comes before I can meet up with Chaospaw, we'll never find that blood trail! Razorpaw moaned inside his own head, gritting his teeth hard. His claws scraped the ground, sinking into the lush green grass of the training hollow. He had to make it in time. He could never forgive himself if he missed this vital clue. Chaospaw had told him there was something strange about his father's death, and he could never doubt his best friend. Part of him wished he was still a kit; although Clan rules stated he musn't leave camp, he could've snuck out if he really wanted to. Now he was an apprentice, he didn't have such freedom.
"It's going to rain..." Nightraven noted, making Razorpaw's chest tighten.
Wolfstreak looked up from the battling apprentices, "It'll be the first time it's rained this greenleaf" He meowed brightly, "It should get the herbs growing"
"We'll need them" Snowpelt added darkly, and even though she didn't finish, all the cats knew what she was talking about.
Razorpaw felt his tail-tip twitching. He was only half listening to what the warriors were saying, rather pleading to himself in his head. Please dont rain yet! Please dont rain yet! Pl-
"You dont have to stay for the rest of the lesson, Razorpaw"
-ease dont ra... Wait, what?
Razorpaw whipped around to his mentor, who was sat staring at him. The silver apprentice wasn't sure if the black warrior was being serious or not, so he just stared back, blinking.
"I'm serious" Nightraven purred, "You've done well today" He glanced over at the two she-cats who were still rolling around on the ground, and added in a lower voice, "I know something's bothering you. If you dont want to stay, that's fine"
Razorpaw's jaw hung open in disbeleif, "S-So...I can go...?"
"Sure" Came the short reply.
The silver tom was still for a moment, contemplating what to do. He should've been pelting back to camp right now, but it was stil taking time for his mentor's words to register.
Right, I need to get back to camp as fast as I can and find Chaospaw, then make our way up to the river...
Something hit Razorpaw's muzzle. Something cold and wet, snapping him suddenly out of his thoughts. It was what he'd been dreading all along, the thing he'd been hoping to avoid most of all.
Fox-dung! It's raining!
----
His pelt was damp by the time the camp entrance was in sight. Thankfully it wasn't raining too hard, but Razorpaw found his heart was still thumping in panic. He had run back as fast as he could, and it seemed to take him no time at all to make it from the training hollow to the camp. Despite all that, he still had that sinking feeling. He still throught deep inside that it was too late.
He ducked carefully through the entrance log, stepping out the other side to see cats gathered in the middle of camp with Cheetahstar adressing them from the FallRock.
"Why is this happening? Have StarClan left us!?" Was the first thing he heard. His breath caught in his throat; had something happened while he was away?
"StarClan would never abandon a Clan!" He heard Whitefoot call out from the crowd.
Razorpaw coughed out his breath, scathing his throat, and tried to spot Chaospaw in the group of gathered cats. He eventually found the black tom sat near Thunderclaw and Shimmerpool just outside of the Medicine cat's den, listening carefully to what the other cats were talking about.
He quickly made his way over to his friend, eager to know what happened.
"Chaospaw!" He skidded to a stop beside where his best friend sat, "What's going on?"
For a moment Chaospaw seemed surprised to see Razorpaw, but after a heartbeat his eyes went dark, "There was a dog on our territory"
"...A dog?"
"That's what I said"
Razorpaw blinked the water from his eyes, "But I thought dogs hardly ever came onto the coast?"
"They dont" Chaospaw agreed, "Apparently there hasn't been a dog on JungleClan territory since Amberleaf and Tawnypelt were apprentices"
"Where did it come from?" Razorpaw asked, almost absent-mindedly.
"How should I know?" Chaospaw grumbled, "It's not like I had a conversation with it. Mouse-brained mutt attacked our patrol"
Razorpaw gasped in sudden surprise, "What!? Was anyone hurt?"
Chaospaw sighed ruefully, "No, but Silentpaw's in shock. Stingpaw's okay, personally I think the shock has helped him get over Wildstripe" The black tom shook his head slightly, "Lionfrost and Sparrowflight drove it off. Stingpaw helped too"
"Really?" All of a sudden Razorpaw wanted to find his littermates to check up on them, make sure they were alright and give them comfort, but there was a more urgent matter and that could be done later. "Chaospaw! We need to go up to the river and-"
"We wont make it in time" The tom stated bluntly, glancing at his won rain-soaked fur, "I doubt the trail's still there. Even if it is, it wont be by the time we get there"
Razorpaw could've sworn he felt his heart stop. What they had uncovered so far could've all been varified if only that trail of blood had been found. The mystery surronding his father's strange death could've been cleared up that tiny bit more - which to Razorpaw, meant more than anything. And now to be told that the last peice was missing, he felt as if he was being crushed.
He gazed at Chaospaw hoping that the smarter tom would have an answer.
"There's nothing we can do" Chaospaw muttered, "For now, just listen to what Cheetahstar has to say. We need to talk later"
With that, Chaospaw turned away from Razorpaw and continued to listen to the gathered cats. Razorpaw watched him for a heartbeat more, before sitting beside him, his head aching with a dull sense of numb, but still he tried his best to listen.
"The dog will be dealt with" Cheetahstar mewed, "That's all we have to worry about" She dismissed the crowd's mutterings with a flick of her tail, "Darkheart, Lionfrost, Honeyfur and Lizardfang. I want you to check other parts of the territory for a scent of the dog" The four warriors nodded and she continued, "No apprentice is to leave the camp without being accompanied by a warrior" She galnced around at the apprentices in camp, and when she was satisfied, she ended the meeting by telling everyone to keep their spirits up. The crowd below the FallRock dispearsed, breaking away into groups of mumbling cats.
"We cant leave camp..." Razorpaw repeated his leader's words, dismay laced in his voice, "But..."
"What do you think?" Chaospaw asked suddenly, making Razorpaw jump, "Some are saying StarClan has left us. What do you think?" Chaospaw repeated, eyes narrowed. Razorpaw didn't know what to say; Chaospaw was almost always serious, but now it was slightly scary.
"S-StarClan would never leave us" Razorpaw muttered eventually, "At least....I dont think they would"
Chaospaw let out a small sigh, "Remember what you said, when we saw the rogues on that riverbank? Something about living and dying the same, to join the stars... But lately I've been wondering. How much control does StarClan really have?"
Razorpaw didn't understand, which he found himself doing quite alot around Chaospaw. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it this way" Chaospaw started, "StarClan send us omens and warnings when we're in trouble, right? But they cant stop events and they cant change them. So what is it that causes those events to happen? Is there something higher than StarClan?"
Razorpaw still had an obvious look of confusion on his face, so Chaospaw tried to rephrase it.
"Think about those rogues. They wont beleive in StarClan, because they havent seen them or heard about them. But we know StarClan exist, because we know cats who have talked with StarClan, and cat who have gone to StarClan. But what's to say there isn't something else out there? Just because we havent seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist"
The silver tom shook his head roughly, trying to take in all this information, "What's with you, Chaospaw? I know you're smart and all, but isn't searching beyond the stars a bit out of our paws?"
The black tom didn't answer. His gaze rested on Razorpaw for a moment, and then he leaned in closer, eyes now narrowed all the way to slits.
"I think there's something else. But I need to be sure" Chaospaw hissed quietly. He glanced behind to Shimmperpool and Thunderclaw, who were talking to eachother, paying no attention to the two apprentices.
"There's no way to contact StarClan from the coast. I want go to the MoonFalls and ask them myself"
Iceclaw 
Silverstream 
Congratulate them 
