SE Patrol 4: Safety In Numbers

Shatterpaw was slightly braver than when she was a kit, thanks to her training. She still hadn't interacted much with anyone in YacheClan other than her mentor, but when she was assigned her next patrol, Fluffpaw volunteered to go with her, and Emperorpaw, who was somewhat close to Fluffpaw, joined as well.

Shatterpaw stayed behind Fluffpaw and Emperorpaw as the three patrolled the Forest of Fairies. Emperorpaw began their usual complaining.

"How much longer do we have to patrol?" he whined. "This is taking forever."

"Just a little more, Emperorpaw. You can do it," Fluffpaw reassured them. "Are you okay back there, Shatterpaw?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Shatterpaw spoke softly.

"Are you sure you don't want to be in the front?"

"No. I'm too scared."

"Scared? Don't worry, you're with us."

"How are you so confident? Aren't you afraid a rogue will attack you?"

"Of course," Fluffpaw answered, and Emperorpaw nodded in agreement. "None of us ever want to encounter a rogue. Sometimes though, they're just unavoidable, and you have to deal with them. Preferably in a non-violent way."

"But sometimes violence is necessary too!" Emperorpaw exclaimed.

"What's a non-violent way to deal with them?" Shatterpaw asked Fluffpaw.

"Well..."

"HELP!" A loud scream interrupted the conversation, and Shatterpaw immediately got overwhelmed.

"WH- WHAT'S HAPPENING?! IS SOMETHING WRONG?!" she began to panic and tear up.

"Don't panic, we're gonna figure it out," Fluffpaw tried to reassure Shatterpaw. The three of them ran to where the source of the noise was coming from.

When they got closer, they figured out what was going on. A Togekiss was grabbing onto a slimy Ribombee, with the Ribombee struggling to get loose. An alien Aromatisse/Pom-Pom Oricorio fusion stood in front of them.

"Ha ha! Look at her! She's helpless!" The Togekiss laughed.

"The poor thing!" The fusion said mockingly.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" The Ribombee cried.

"Oh sure, we'll leave you alone, if you tell us where all your stuff's at," the Togekiss offered.

"Or else..." The fusion makes a blade of air and slashes the Ribombee, wounding her and making her yell.

"NO! I CAN'T! I NEED ALL OF THAT!"

"Shame. We'll have to do things the hard way then," the Togekiss responded. The fusion grinned.

"Oh hell no!" Emperorpaw exclaimed, disgusted at what he was witnessing. The Ribombee and two rogues turned towards the apprentices.

"HELP! PLEASE!" the Ribombee screamed again.

"Shoot..." the Togekiss said to the fusion, worried.

"Let her go," Fluffpaw commanded, now serious and with no softness in her tone.

The fusion didn't back down. "Oh yeah? Why should we listen to you? You can't fight us!"

"Ha, yeah, you can't-" the Togekiss said before Fluffpaw directly got into his face, showing off her claws.

"Let. her. go."

The Togekiss, quivering in fear even though he was almost twice Fluffpaw's size, looked at Emperorpaw and Shatterpaw. Emperorpaw looked angrily at him back, and Shatterpaw, not knowing what else to do, followed them.

"Okay! Here!" the Togekiss gave in, letting go of the Ribombee and flying away.

"Hexi?!" the fusion followed the Togekiss, knowing she can't fend off the apprentices alone. "Hexi! You coward! Get back here!" The apprentices watched them until they completely vanished.

"There's your non-violent method. Intimidation." Emperorpaw told Shatterpaw. Shatterpaw finally started to calm down.

The Ribombee, on the other hand, was in complete distress and broke into tears. Fluffpaw noticed this, eased her expression, and walked over to her.

"Hey. It's okay. They're gone now," Fluffpaw comforted her, returning to her soft tone of voice and sitting down so that she's more at her level. "You're safe."

"Will they come back?" the Ribombee tried to speak.

"Hopefully not. Do you know anyone here?"

"Yeah. I have friends."

"It's risky to be out here by yourself. Maybe you and your friends should stick together so you feel more safe."

"Okay."

Emperorpaw and Shatterpaw watched in the distance as Fluffpaw continued to comfort the Ribombee. "Thank Starclan Fluffpaw exists or else either of us would have had to comfort her, and I'm terrible at that. You get me?" Emperorpaw asked Shatterpaw, but Shatterpaw didn't really pay attention to him. She was more focused on Fluffpaw. How they easily defended that Ribombee. How sweet they were afterwards. How they seem like someone she would want to talk to more after this...

"Hello! Earth to Shatterpaw! I was talking to you!" Emperorpaw exclaimed, interrupting Shatterpaw's thoughts.

"Oh, s-sorry," Shatterpaw apologized. "I get you.'

Fluffpaw and the Ribombee went over to Emperorpaw and Shatterpaw. "Emperorpaw, don't be mean," Fluffpaw said, hearing Emperorpaw's outburst.

"Sorry," Emperorpaw muttered.

"Thank you all. Thank you so much," the Ribombee said to the apprentices. "I don't know how I could ever show my appreciation."

"You don't have to. You being okay is good enough already," Fluffpaw told her. "We have to go back to our clan now. It's been nice meeting you."

"Nice to meet you too. I just wish we met in a less threatening situation. Farewell!"

While Ribombee went to find her friends, the three apprentices started returning back to YacheClan.

"Are you two okay?" Fluffpaw checked in on the others, and they nodded. "Yeah! Another successful patrol!" she cheered, pulling Emperorpaw and Shatterpaw into a celebratory hug. "We'll become warriors in no time!"

Neither Emperorpaw nor Shatterpaw returned the hug. Emperorpaw because she never hugged back to begin with, and Shatterpaw because she didn't know how to react. Fluffpaw didn't mind, and a few seconds later, she let go.

"I can't wait to become a warrior. I NEED more freedom here!" Emperorpaw said to Fluffpaw.

"Well, until then, at least we have each other," Fluffpaw said back, smiling.

"Yeah..." Shatterpaw frowned.

"Hey, when I said each other, that includes you too, Shatterpaw," Fluffpaw elaborated.

"Oh! Really?"

"Of course! If you want to, I mean. We can continue patrolling together."

"We could use the extra help," Emperorpaw added.

"I would love to!" Shatterpaw was excited. Finally, she could have some friends in YacheClan.

"Then it looks like this duo just became a trio!" Fluffpaw announced. "Welcome to Team Fluffperor, Shatterpaw!"

"I never agreed for our friendship to be called that!" Emperorpaw argued.

Shatterpaw giggled. She knew this would be the start of something great. With Emperorpaw, she could see herself joking around with him a lot, and for Fluffpaw...

For Fluffpaw...

...

Oh dear. Shatterpaw's heart was fluttering.