FrostClan | Camp

Erminepaw bristled at the leader's words. Why was Crisppaw allowed to go out but she wasn't? She glared at the other apprentice.

Fennelclaw padded to Poolstar, blinking rapidly to keep himself from closing his eyes. "So, are we going?" he yawned.

Aurapaw shifted on her paws. "Lupinfrost, can I go on a patrol with Echowing if she goes? I'm technically an older apprentice..." She trailed off, ducking her head. "If not, that's okay!"

Poolstar rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yes, we are. Come on, you four." She waved her tail to beckon the other cats closer, then trotted out of camp.

Wolfwatcher smiled sympathetically at Erminepaw. Even if Crisppaw was going, he cared too much about his apprentice to let her come along. "Don't worry, as soon as we do some hunting and check things out, we'll be right back. I'll bring you out for training later, okay?" He whispered to her, eyes glistening. He looked up towards Mottledsting, Glowingstride, and Coldcall. "Let's get going, the prey is probably already running away," he joked, but fear gripped his stomach. He really couldn't hear any birds chirping in the early morning. The Lower Forest always had some sort of prey running around though, so he managed to squash down his fear as he padded out of camp.

Crisppaw followed Poolstar, her tail high. She was eager to see the damage, and ways to adjust to any changes.

Coldcall limped behind Wolfwatcher. He felt the warrior's anxiety. The birds had been silent today... He hoped for the best.

Hailfeather scrambled after the patrol, hastily licking his spiked pelt down in an attempt to look slightly more awake.

Lupinfrost nodded. "I think we're okay for patrols now, but there are a few things we need to do around camp if you would be able to lend your paws."
Echowing purred. "Finally fixing that leaking patch above your nest?" she teased, and the deputy growled teasingly at her.

Erminepaw scrambled behind Lupinfrost, ears perked. "I can help patch a leak," she mewed sweetly, "I'll be good practice for me."

Briarstem padded behind Poolstar, following the patrol out of camp. Although she was eager to assist, a slight anxiousness bubbled within her. She had no idea how much prey there would be after last night's occurrences, if any.

Lupinfrost nodded. "Fetch Lichenpaw too," he mewed to his daughter.

Ashthorn stretched in his nest, keenly aware of the cold biting through the camp already so early in the season, but thinking not much of it as he got up and padded out.

Erminepaw nodded and darted to Lichenpaw. "Da-Lupinfrost wants us," she mewed declaratively.

Icepaw had been watching her clanmates usher about, grooming her white fur as she pondered on what to do. She flicked her tail a couple of times and then bounded over to her mentor. “Lupinfrost, is there a patrol i can go on?” She asked him, waiting patiently.

Lichenpaw looked up from her mouse. "What? Why?"

Lupinfrost nodded. "Later we can go hunting, when these first patrols return. We're just making sure the territory is safe, but for now you can help us pad the dens a little thicker until the snows come."

Erminepaw suppressed an annoyed sigh. "We're on den duty it looks like," she mewed, her voice tight.

Lichenpaw shrugged, finishing the rest of her breakfast. "That's not so bad. At least your mentor talked to you before they left," she grumbled.

"He talked to me like I was a kit," Erminepaw sighed. The flakes fluttering from the air had begun to create a thin layer of snow on the ground.

Lichenpaw shrugged. "I'm sure we'll get listened to when we're warriors," she comforted Erminepaw, offering her a bite of mouse.

Erminepaw nodded a thanks and took a bite of the mouse. "I wish we didn't have to wait so long for then," she sighed.

Aurapaw had nodded in response to Lupinfrost, snorting at the slight teasing her mentor did. "Where should I start?" She mewed, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. 

Frostflower stretched out and yawned, moving her tail to look lovingly down at her kits. A soft purr left her, and she rested her head on her paws.

Icepaw nodded to her mentor and bounded off to start on fixing the dens. She wanted to help out as much as possible so she could go on a patrol.

Lupinfrost watched his apprentice go, then looked back at Aurapaw and his daughters. "We should gather some strong sticks from just outside the camp. This snow will help but we need wood too."

Erminepaw nodded viciously and strutted to the edge of camp, where the conifers had shed their branches during the late night quake.

Aurapaw trailed after Erminepaw, tail swaying happily. She peered at the fallen branches, leaning down to grasp one in her jaws. With a good deal of effort, she began to drag it further into camp.

Lichenpaw watched the other apprentices for a second, before starting to gather old leaf litter and layering it against the wall of the nursery.

Lupinfrost padded over and helped Aurapaw lift the large branch.

Erminepaw lifted a thin branch and began towards the nursery. She saw Lichenpaw and gained a mischievous look in her eye. She darted towards her sister, thin branch swinging in her jaws, and smacked her with it.

Lichenpaw squeaked, jumping and dropping her leaves. "Hey!"

Erminepaw purred and darted into the nursery, placing the stick to help cover one of the damaged patches.

Mapleglow looked suspiciously at Erminepaw.

Icepaw had spotted some sticks on her way to the nursery, grabbing a few and hauling them inside. She began her work on stabilizing the den, having to go outside a few more times for some bigger sticks. She did for a bit, not entirely exhausted from the work.

Aurapaw offered a grateful purr to Lupinfrost, and braced the branch against the side of the nursery before releasing it. "Should we get mud and leaves? There might be holes," she mewed to the deputy, peering up at him.

Frostflower shifted slightly away from Erminepaw, sharing Mapleglow's suspicion regarding the apprentice. She hid her kits with her fluffy tail and yawned.

Feeling his mate's suspicion, Flickerlight rested his foreleg around her flank. What is she doing? It wasn't a good time for an apprentice to be mischevious, with new kits in the nursery.

Erminepaw shot an apologetic look at the queens then slipped out of the nursery. She slunk back to the edge of camp to grab another branch.

Mapleglow huffed and flicked her tail. "Apprentices," she grumbled.

Lichenpaw huffed. "Not all of us," she mumbled, weaving a twig into a gap in the wall.

"They aren't all bad," Frostflower objected, shaking her head. The queen took a deep breath and leaned into her mate, resting her head on her paws after.

"They've got a lot of growing up to do," Mapleglow huffed, "I'm not looking forward to my kits getting to that age."

"I can still hear you," Lichenpaw didn't look up from her work, feeling her fur being buffeted from the strong, cold winds.

Silverwind huffed a little, puffing out her chest. "Apprentices are perfectly fine," she defended, narrowing her blue orbs. "Erminepaw and Lichenpaw have turned out great." The diluted calico began to groom her fur, tail-tip twitching.

Lupinfrost fluffed out his fur a little, tracking a path through the snow between the dens while Echowing finished up patching the elders den. "I think we're pretty much done," she called to the deputy, coughing as she accidentally inhaled a snowflake.

Opalfrost padded up to Echowing, gazing at the snow before smiling back up at her mother. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"You have to admit they're a pawful," Mapleglow chided the queen.

Erminepaw sniffed at a large branch, preparing to grab it and drag it towards the nursery, when a large bundle of snow plummeted from the branches onto her head. She gave an annoyed snort and began dragging the branch into camp, still covered in snow.

Erminepaw yelped as the ground beneath her paws began to shake, hunkering down to avoid falling over.

Mapleglow looked around, panicked. "Another quake?"

Frostflower's immediate reaction was to curl tighter round her kits, tail shielding them. 

Silverwind gasped and rushed out to Lichenpaw and Erminepaw, crouching beside them. 

Aurapaw darted to her brother, curling against Glasspaw. 

Azurestep froze briefly in his panic, then shrunk down and dug his claws into the floor. 

Risingscorch went first to the nursery, stumbling on the way and ending up curled up against the wall of it instead.

"Risingscorch?" Mapleglow called, trying to get to her paws and falling as the quake rocked her.

Erminepaw's face heated with embarrassment as her foster mother ran to her. I'm not a kit!

Flickerlight woke from his daze, awakened from the jolt. "Wha...?" he mumbled. After realizing the situation, he tensed and held Frostflower and their kits close. "No, not again!"

Stormlotus fell to the ground, caught mid-groom. He scrambled to his paws and held onto the shaking earth.

Quartzshine, on his way to the medicine den, staggered to keep his balance. Finding it, he crouched low to the ground and scanned the camp, eyes wide.

The rumbling of rocks followed the quaking, and Azurestep whirled to spot the incoming avalanche. "Everyone get to the sides!" He called, working to make his way over to the side of the camp. When he spotted Lichenpaw, frozen in her place, he groaned and darted toward her, shoving her aside. "Go, Lichenpaw!" He snapped, only to then be caught in the avalanche, a larger rock landing heavily against his side. He felt something break as he was shoved with the fall, hitting his head against the ground, which ended it all. 

Silverwind had watched in horror as the tom was swept up and killed by the avalanche, having taken over pulling her adopted daughter to the side. She shook as she sat curled against the side of the camp, blue eyes wide. 

Risingscorch only just managed to dart into the nursery, pressing to Mapleglow's side. He watched as Aurapaw cowered against the opposite wall of camp, her fur fluffed up.

Erminepaw shrieked as the tom got crushed and curled around Lichenpaw and Silverwind, abandoning all pretenses of stoicism. 

"I love you," Mapleglow sobbed, pressing her face into Risingscorch's side, "I love you so much."

Risingscorch trembled and curled protectively around his mate, burying his face into her fur. "I love you too," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut to try and rid himself of the sight of the avalanche. 

Silverwind was stuck staring at the spot where the body of the tom was further crushed by the rocks, before finally being dragged away with a larger one, leaving a heavy spot of crimson in the snow.

"We should get inside," Erminepaw mewed to her foster mother, panic lining her voice.

Silverwind nodded and slowly stood, ushering the two apprentices carefully into the nursery. It might have ended up a tight fit, but was better than losing either of them to the avalanche. She stepped in after, still trembling.

Erminepaw shuffled awkwardly into the nursery, tucking herself against the wall. 
Mapleglow watched as a mount of sludge drifted past the nursery.

Lichenpaw's eyes were wide, not sure what had happened.

Lupinfrost had darted to the other side of the camp, shoving cats towards the medicine den to keep them safe. "Is anyone hurt?" he mewed, shaking the snow off his pelt as the stuff outside the den slowed.

Mapleglow flinched. "Why is he being so loud?" she whispered to Risingscorch, "He could trigger another avalanche!"

Erminepaw pressed herself against Lichenpaw, trying to steady her sister.