Lost Stars/Chapter 3

==Chapter description==
:Bristlepaw is on a patrol with her mentor, Rosepetal, and Stemleaf. As Bristlepaw walks, she admires the ginger-and-white warrior's fur and his alert ears, and wonders if he'll ever notice her. A yowl from the direction of the lake distracts Bristlepaw from her thoughts and causes Stemleaf to miss his catch. Rosepetal exclaims that something's wrong and tells the patrol to come as she races toward the lake. Eaglewing protests that they're heading into SkyClan territory, but Rosepetal retorts that they help cats in trouble, no matter what Clan they're from. The patrol bursts out of the trees, and Bristlepaw sees two SkyClan cats running along the edge of the lake, yowling to a third cat trapped in the freezing water. 
:Bristlepaw instinctively bounds ahead of her Clanmates to the edge of the lake. She calls to the third cat to hold on, and ignores Rosepetal's voice telling her to come back. The ThunderClan apprentice ventures out onto the ice with her legs splayed out to spread her weight. She inches forward along the ice until she reaches the struggling cat and is able to pull him out by his scruff. She pulls the cat with her as she edges backward, and by the time the ice gives way, the water is shallow enough for her to stand. Bristlepaw lets go of the cat's scruff and helps him stagger to the bank before collapsing beside him on the pebbles. As she shivers, she thinks that she's lucky she didn't drown too.
:Rosepetal comes to stand by her apprentice and initially scolds her before her voice grows gentler and she compliments Bristlepaw on her bravery. Bristlepaw explains that she had to or he would have died. She turns to the young tom she saved and irritatedly asks him what he was doing on the ice. The tom, who is barely older than a kit, apologizes and says it was an accident. The two other SkyClan cats, who Bristlepaw recognizes as Kitepaw and Turtlepaw, say it was partially their fault. Rosepetal snaps at them, then turns and asks the third cat's name. He says that his name is Rootkit before correcting himself and saying Rootpaw. Rosepetal realizes that he's Violetshine's kit, and says that they should bring him back to the ThunderClan camp for treatment. Rootpaw protests, but Rosepetal insists and he soon relents. Kitepaw mews that he'll come with them while Turtlepaw tells SkyClan what happened. 
:Bristlepaw and Kitepaw steady an embarrassed Rootpaw as Rosepetal leads them to the ThunderClan camp. Stemleaf compliments Bristlepaw for saving Rootpaw, and Bristlepaw thanks him before thinking that she'll have nightmares about the experience for moons. Not wanting to seem weak, she adds that it was nothing. She thinks that Stemleaf's praise warmed her and was more meaningful to her than even her mentor's praise.
:Eaglewing had run ahead of the patrol to warn ThunderClan, so by the time they arrive, Alderheart is waiting for them and instantly bustles Rootpaw into the medicine den. Bristlepaw follows them and pokes her head into the den to see Alderheart and Jayfeather already hard at work treating Rootpaw. After leaving the den, she tells her littermates, Thriftpaw and Flippaw, about what happened. Flippaw says that they should make her a warrior right away, and a voice beside Bristlepaw says not yet. Bristlepaw turns to see Bramblestar, the ThunderClan leader. He compliments Bristlepaw for what she did and she respectfully thanks him. Bramblestar tells her that if she's not too tired, she can go with a patrol to SkyClan to inform Leafstar of Rootpaw's condition. Bristlepaw turns to see the patrol, which includes Rosepetal and Stemleaf. At the sight of her crush, all her tiredness falls away, and she happily replies that she would be glad to go. 
:The patrol sets out for SkyClan, but the wind is blowing stronger than ever. Rosepetal says that they should find shelter, and although Bristlepaw wants to keep going, she follows her mentor into the a holly bush. With Stemleaf crouching beside her watching the dead leaves whirl past, Bristlepaw can't remember feeling this happy. She asks Stemleaf if it will be very cold this leaf-bare, and Stemleaf replies that this is the coldest leaf-bare some of the elders can remember. Rosepetal says that the wind is dying down and they should get going. 
:Bristlepaw and Stemleaf follow Rosepetal out of the bush, and Bristlepaw soon spots a wagtail fluttering on the ground between two trees. After getting the approval of Rosepetal, Bristlepaw creeps slowly towards the wagtail. She notices Stemleaf working his way around to approach the prey from the other side and realizes that he is positioning himself to drive the prey toward her. Bristlepaw halts and prepares to pounce, but something alerts the wagtail, causing it to flutter upward. At the same moment, Stemleaf drives the prey toward Bristlepaw, who manages to catch it and delivers the killing bite. Rosepetal praises Bristlepaw, who shyly says that Stemleaf helped. Stemleaf tells Bristlepaw that she'll make a fine warrior one day, and delight fills her as she replies that she wants to be one of the best warriors in ThunderClan. Stemleaf purrs that he's sure she will be, and Bristlepaw imagines them padding through the forest together as mates.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
Category:Lost Stars
Category:The Broken Code arc
Category:Chapter subpages