Paired Up



 P a i r e d U P

Episode One, Season Three, of Beauty.

Enjoy <3

Paired Up
“Remember Scarlet?” I watch my friends’ expressions carefully. “Well because she helped us last mission, I promised her she could join our squad whenever she had time.”

“Why would Redstar be okay with that?” Snowflare narrows her eyes at the scarred she-cat.

Finchwing frowns. “I agree with Snowflare. Scarlet is a spy for both ends so to speak. Is Redstar only agreeing because she wants Scarlet to spy on us?”

Scarlet shifts on her paws and seems to falter. “I’ll admit, Redstar has her suspicions of this squad but I won’t say anything negative. I could help push you out of the Beauty’s grasp.” Her blue eyes sweep over the squad.

None of my friends nod, but I cut in briskly. “That’s settled then. Brownhare, Scarlet, and Appleleaf have to come with me. Redstar has assigned us to pair up with a squad to… I’m not sure what.”

“Well that’s great,” Appleleaf grumbles and she exchanges looks with Finchwing. I notice how close they seem to be getting. I guess when all your friends are paired up (spare Brownhare and me), it’s hard not to become best friends.

“What will the rest of us do?” Hawkpelt frowns.

I shrug, “You get some time off until the four of us return. Promise me you won’t get into any trouble.”

“Promise,” Lionclaw says cheekily.

I roll my eyes affectionately at him before leading the way out. Brownhare falls in step next to me and I feel a rush of pleasure at this, though I don’t say anything.

“So, where are we headed?” Appleleaf cuts in from my left, while Scarlet trails behind us. “You didn’t shed any details in the den.”

“I don’t know much myself,” I admit, “Redstar only told me we were joining Stonefall’s squad.”

“Stonefall?” Scarlet cuts in, “Isn’t he--” She suddenly snaps her mouth shut.

“Isn’t he what?” I blink in confusion.

“Nothing,” Scarlet mumbles, “Just a story I remember someone told me once from their experience in the Academy.”

“The Academy,” Brownhare narrows his eyes, “You mean like the tales? There was one about Stonepaw.” His eyes light up, “Could that be it?”

I frown and try to remember Stonepaw’s story. “Wasn’t he the one who turned Creampaw in after she confessed to him that she loved him? It was after she killed Goldpaw too.”

Appleleaf gave a brisk nod. “If he’s really the same Stonepaw, we have to be careful.” She glances meaningfully at Brownhare and I flush.

We reach the designated area and I spot a muscular gray-furred tom. I suck in my breath. If he is the same Stonepaw, I can see why Creampaw had fallen in love with this tom. His blue eyes are dark but they still shine in the harsh sunlight. His stance shows that he is high up in the system and his dark eyes follow my every move. The sharp features of his face make him handsome.

“Are you Amberfrost, Scarletflame, Brownhare, and Appleleaf?” His voice is deep and resounding. I’m not used to Scarlet’s warrior name and I remind myself to use it around Stonefall.

“You’re Stonefall I presume?” I tilt my head.

“The one and only,” he gives me a cold smile, “I’m sure you all know how my famous story bumped up my reputation.”

I swallow. So Stonefall is the tom the instructors had told us about to warn us about the consequences of breaking a rule.

“Thank StarClan Snowflare and Lionclaw aren’t here,” Appleleaf hisses under her breath. I let out a sigh of agreement. It would be a disaster if the flirtatious couple were here for Stonefall to discover.

“Goldenrose will show you your dens and tomorrow morning we will head for the first rebel camp.” Stonefall smiles again and he stalks away.

The pretty golden she-cat leads the way into Stonefall’s section of the barracks and shows us a rather tiny den. “This is all we have right now,” she apologizes, “but it’s only one night.”

When the she-cat is gone, Brownhare snorts. “As if we can’t notice the empty dens just next to us. Stonefall must be on our tails.”

I shake my head grimly. “This is just another test we have to pass.”

~

“A free day!” Lionclaw cheered, “What should we do first?” He grins at the others.

“Let’s visit Rainstorm,” Hawkpelt suggested. “She’ll be thrilled by our visit.”

Finchwing smiled. “Especially after an extreme raid, she’ll be worried about how we’re doing,” she paused, “Do any of you know which rebel station they went to?”

Lionclaw frowned. “Brownhare’s parents told me they’d head for Shadowfang’s place first but after that they’ll probably try to find somewhere outside of Main camp to avoid the fighting.”

“So Rainstorm won’t be with them?” Snowflare cut in.

The golden tom shook his head. “There’s a chance we won’t be seeing Duskheart and Silverfrost anytime soon.” He took a deep breath, “I wonder how Brownhare is taking that.”

“He knows the meaning of sacrifice,” Finchwing murmured gently, “he’ll be fine.”

Snowflare looked a little lost. “Knowing sacrifice and dealing with it are two different things,” she glanced at Lionclaw, “Just because you understand the concept doesn’t mean you don’t feel the loss.”

Lionclaw wrapped his tail around her reassuringly. “Let’s go see where Rainstorm is,” Finchwing decided, “We have nothing else to do.”

Hawkpelt’s eyes lit up and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

But even as they headed off, none of them would realize how terrible the situation would be.

~

“Remember,” Stonefall snaps, “Surround the camp and try to aim for the warriors. But don’t let anyone escape. This is a rebel camp and all of them could be valuable prisoners.”

I can see why Redstar chose to pair us up with Stonefall. I exchange helpless glances with my friends. I turn to the other three members of my squad. “If you can, try to help the queens and kits. But make sure you don’t get caught.”

They return grim nods and I turn to Stonefall instead. “We’re ready. We’ll take the back while your squad leads the charge.”

Stonefall eyes me with his dark blue eyes. “Alright. Go take your positions. On my battle cry, you’ll start herding the prisoners.”

“Do you know the numbers?” I ask.

The gray warrior shakes his head. “We don’t know anything about these camps except that they’re rebel territory.”

What a relief, I think. “Thanks,” I mutter before scooting back to my friends.

“We have the backside, so we can evacuate anyone if necessary,” I take a deep breath, “Just be careful, but don’t let Stonefall, no Redstar, win.”

My words are met with more grim nods and we spread out. Stonefall’s squad station themselves around the entrance of the camp and my squad splits up to head for the back.

Brownhare is breathing a little hard. “Hey,” I murmur, “we’ll be okay.”

He flashes me a small smile, and I fell a tiny sense of happiness. “I know you’ll lead us to victory. I’m just worried about these camps we’re being forced to attack. What if some kit loses their parents because we couldn’t save them?”

I don’t know how to respond at first, but I manage to find something. “Knowing us, we’ll find a way in the end.”

“Yeah,” Brownhare gives a short purr.

Stonefall’s battle cry comes faster than I expected. I thrust my way forward through the wall of ferns and brambles until I burst my way into a den.

Of course, I land myself in the warriors’ den. Someone tackles me and I struggle. “Wait!” I shout, “I’m not here to attack!”

“That’s a pile of dung,” one of the warriors sneer, “your friends are outside fighting us.”

“They aren’t our friends,” Brownhare has stepped into the den. I feel a feeling of warmth at the thought of Brownhare coming to save my pelt. “Our friends – the real ones – are saving your queens and elders.”

The distrust is still hanging in the air but the cat pinning me down warily allows me to stand.

I shake out my pelt and stand next to Brownhare. “We don’t want you guys to get hurt. We’re spies for the rebels.”

“Fire deployed you guys?” One of them laughs.

Another rebel nudges the one who had spoken up. I exchange confused glances with Brownhare. “Fire?” I repeat, “No, Shadowfang--”

The tom who had spoken up first rolls his eyes, “As if Shadowfang is in real control. His pride is making him think he can do anything.”

Before I can say anything, a rebel darts into the den. “They’re overcoming us outside!” He’s ripped out of the den before even finishing his sentence.

The other rebels rush out. Brownhare tugs me back outside of the camp. “We have to find the nursery,” he reminds me, “We’ve delayed for too long.”

I nod and we try again a few spaces over. We keep trying until we reach a den full of shivering kits. “The mother are outside,” Brownhare reckons. “I’ll head out the other entrance we made and make Stonefall think we’re fighting.” I give a nod of agreement and the brown tom slips back out.

When one of the queens steps back inside, I try not to startle her. “My name is Amberfrost and I want to help you escape this camp.”

~

“Which camp did Shadowfang say Rainstorm and Brownhare’s parents are in?” Lionclaw checked with Finchwing again.

“Thunder’s Den,” she snapped, “how many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Probably a hundred more times,” Snowflare teased, her tail curled defiantly around the golden tom. Despite being in the outer parts of the Main camp, Finchwing couldn’t help but worry the two would get in trouble for their open display of love.

Hawkpelt led the way, looking more impatient than he had been a few minutes ago. “Which way?” he flicked his tail, “Surely it shouldn’t take this long.”

“Well, Rainstorm is just escorting Duskheart and Silverfrost to the camp. She’ll return to FireClan’s camp in a few days after Brownhare’s parents settle down.” Finchwing cut in, “They want to stay away from the action as much as they can.”

“That’s smart,” Snowflare commented, “After what has happened, I don’t blame them.”

“Which reminds me,” Finchwing frowned, “What was with Whiteflicker and her hatred towards Duskheart and Silverfrost?”

The others remain silent and Finchwing sighed. “Guess we all don’t know.”

They walked in silence until they reached the designated camp. Rainstorm greeted them jubilantly, her blue eyes lighting up with joy. “What are you going doing?” She purred, “I didn’t expect to see you guys so soon, especially here.”

Finchwing explained the situation to the gray she-cat. “Oh,” Rainstorm looked crestfallen and worried. “I hope the others are doing fine.”

She purred as Hawkpelt pressed against her reassuringly. Before any of the rest of them could reply, a scout burst into the camp. “A Beauty squad just attacked Snow Falls! They either killed or took the others as prisoners.” He then corrected himself, “Well except a few scrawny survivors.”

A few queens and kits stumbled into the camp. “They said this camp would be the next targets.” The scout concluded.

Finchwing felt her blood run cold and she exchanged horrified glances with the others.

~

We technically failed. Standing here, I can only watch as some of Stonefall’s side squads escort the prisoners back towards the main camp.

But, at least we helped a few of the queens and kits escape.

“We’re heading for Thunder’s Den next,” Stonefall flicks his tail, “We’ll just rest here until tomorrow morning.”

Tomorrow, I think, feeling sick, How many camps will we attack before we’re released?

I could only hope this will end soon.

The End.