Standing the Heat (Closed)

Nettlepaw walked alongside her three clanmates, happy to be out on another patrol. The last couple patrols she had been on carried a special weight, too, because she knew they would likely be her last couple patrols as an apprentice. Her brother had just had his ceremony, and she knew she would soon be ready for her own. She could picture the path ahead of her…she would go to the moonstone and seek wisdom from her ancestors, and then: the ceremony itself. Her brother and her mother there to support her, and her father there to give her her new name...she was beyond excited for that day, and beyond ready for it, too. And she wouldn’t let anything hold her back.  

Listening to the sounds of the forest around her and taking in its scents, she thought to herself how much she loved ThunderClan’s lands, and how miserable she would be without the ability to explore her home territory. There was so much out here to see...and so much to protect. With each pawstep she took, she was carrying out an important job for her clan. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

No, Nettlepaw would hate to be stuck in camp for too long. Even when she had kits of her own one day, she’d want to get back to her duties as soon as she could. As soon as her kits were apprentices-- no matter who their mentors were-- she would take them out to see the territory herself, go on a little family tour. She smiled at the thought, at the thought of having her own family one day to pass on all her skills and knowledge to. She would love them with all her heart. She just hoped she could be as good a role model and as good a parent as her parents were for her.

Nettlepaw’s ear twitched involuntarily as a thick drop of rain landed on it, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked upwards, her two bright green eyes facing a sky filled with graying clouds. She could make out a few other drops of rain, but it wasn’t quite a storm yet.

“I guess it’s starting to rain,” she remarked to her companions. “It’s pretty light so far...but let’s hope it doesn’t get any worse,”

Dawngaze padded at Nettlepaw's side, her mind much less occupied. There had been a lot to think about when she finally returned to ThunderClan, but for the last moon, the brooding she-cat had done everything in her power to redirect her mind to more immediate and less painful subjects of thought. For example, on this very patrol, Dawngaze considered Nettlepaw, Stormpaw, and Mistwalker and how she regretted not being present at their birth. Dustcloud and Oakstar had had kits before, but with Dawngaze the only remnant of their family from before the flood, she knew the three newest kits were the pride of their parents. But she had isolated herself ever since her return, and the stoic warrior decided to give the family space. Thinking too hard about them made her think about her fiend of a father, Lichenmask, and she didn't much care for those thoughts.

Lifting her muzzle to look at the sky like Nettlepaw, Dawngaze squinted her eyes against the dim light. The last thing she wanted was to get her thick fur drenched, but the patrol had to go on. Too much water made the older warriors nervous these days. "Suppose it's better than a drought." She meowed blandly.

“I suppose it is,” Nettlepaw said, looking over towards Dawngaze. “But still…it’s unpleasant,”  she added, shaking her pelt a little to get rid of some of the droplets.

But as they walked, it began to become apparent that the rain was going to be more than just a minor inconvenience. What had begun as merely spattered drizzling had become more focused and intense, as thick almost painful barrages of water began to descend. Nettlepaw had stopped trying to shake her pelt out. With the amount of rain that was coming down, there wasn’t much point trying to stay dry. To make matters worse, the wind had picked up as well, buffeting the cats with strong, rain-chilled breezes.

As a bright flash of light shot through the sky, followed almost immediately by the shattering roar of thunder, it was clear that the storm was only going to get worse, and that it would soon no longer be safe to be out and about in the forest.

“The storm’s gotten so much worse,” Nettlepaw said, trying her best to project her voice over the cacophony of the weather around them. “I hate to give something up in the middle of doing it...but I think we need to turn back,”

Grayleaf padded beside the group. "Turn back? You have to be kidding!" The she-cat enjoyed the rain. It was a calming sensation, and she tended to fail to see when it got dangerous. "There is so much prey out when it rains! And it feels so good!" She looked at the apprentice, realizing that she clearly wanted to go back. She looked around her. Maybe the storm was getting a little rough, even for her. A loud crack of thunder made her jump in her fur. "Actually, maybe you're right..."

Dawngaze hissed when the rain began pelting the group, although the sound was quickly drowned out by the rainfall. She couldn't believe there was a whole clan that got even wetter than this daily. The patrol dutifully attempted to keep going, but it was clear that the weather was only growing worse, punctuated by the sharp crackle of thunder across the bleak sky. Dawngaze strained her ears to listen to Nettlepaw, nodding in agreement. Grayleaf was the only one who dissented, but even she agreed after more lightning rumbled. "You're right. All of this wind and thunder is hazardous. Oakstar and Beartooth will understand." She meowed, almost yowling as she raised her voice to be heard. She gestured with her thick tail, now saturated with rainwater, and lead the way back to camp at a short distance ahead of the other two she-cats.

Nettlepaw had to strain her ears to hear her clanmates, but she was relived that they had agreed that turning back was the best idea. As they walked, she assumed the center position on the way back to camp, behind Dawngaze and in front of Grayleaf. The three she-cats went at quick pace...the less time they spent exposed to this storm the better. Every time the lightning flashed in the sky, the thunder seemed to be following it closer and closer, and each shaking rumble made Nettlepaw jump a little. She wasn't scared of it, exactly...or at least, she tried not to be.

Suddenly, one of those great steaks of light flashed down before them, making contact with the top of a tall tree right by Dawngaze. Nettlepaw blinked, the brightness of the lightning and the great cacophony that followed it having stunned her for a moment, but as soon as her vision cleared she saw it, the great flaming branch creaking downward, right above her clanmate's head.

"Dawngaze!" she screeched, her voice, even at its loudest, only barely rising above the din of the storm.

She didn't give it a second thought-- she didn't have the time to-- before launching herself forward with all her strength, straight into the other she-cat, knocking her out of the path of the falling, blazing tree limb.

Nettlepaw didn't have time to be relieved that the branch itself had just narrowly missed her; almost as soon as it made contact with the ground, she felt a pain like she'd never felt before coursing up her back. It was like a thousand wasps had suddenly swarmed all over her, stinging again and again.
Fire she thought, only barely registering what was actually going on through the pain. I'm on fire! Instinctively, she dropped, trying to douse the flames with the damp forest floor. That, along with the terrible rain, was enough to make quick work of the fire.

But not nearly quick enough.

Though the flames were out, the pain they had left was overwhelming, and Nettlepaw felt it crowding out her thoughts until, suddenly, it all went dark.