Lightning's Storm

New Clan-mates

As I padded away, the rogues slowly followed, even Crash, although he hesitated at first, and I thought he still looked mutinous about it. The rogues seemed tense and uncomfortable walking out in the open under the trees instead of creeping around in the shade of the undergrowth. Their ears twitched warily, and they kept casting nervous glances from side to side like they expected at any moment my clan-mates would leap out from behind a bush or a tree, claws out and teeth bared. Despite the pity I felt for the starving rogues, I couldn't stop my whiskers from twitching in a small flash of amusement at the thought of the fright it would give them.

Although tension radiated from the cats behind me, I felt completely at ease with the towering oak trees surrounding us, the swaying branches above me, and my paws safe and certain in the dirt of SkyClan territory, as I guided them through the path-less maze of ferns and undergrowth.

My gaze snapped to a flicker of movement. In front of me, a shadow detached itself from under a patch of bracken and rose to its paws, padding over to us. Wolfshade appeared from the shadows of the undergrowth, blinking as he stepped into the light.

I let out a loud purr of laughter at the sight of him. His pelt was completely plastered with mud, dirtying his handsome blends of greys and black with brown and clumping his fur into uncomfortable looking spikes.

"So, that's why I couldn't catch your scent earlier," I meowed through my purrs, trotting over to circle around him to take in the full effect.

I sniffed, the musty scent of mud rushing into my nose.

"That'll be a pain to take off," I added, my eyes still shining with amusement.

Wolfshade cast me a look, the tiniest bit of humor flashing across his face as his whiskers twitched.

The rogues were not nearly as amused at the sight of Wolfshade as I was.

"Is this an ambush?" Crash hissed, fur bristling.

Wolfshade's eyes flickered to them, and I saw the humor vanish from his face, his expression becoming stern.

"No," Wolfshade meowed, stepping forward towards the rogues. "You interrupted Lightningpaw's hunting assessment."

His eyes flickered back to mine.

"Which was going well, by the way. Great rabbit catch," Wolfshade added in a softer voice, giving me a small nod.

I raised my head, feeling my fur flush with heat and my stomach flutter at the praise.

So, he has been watching me the whole time!

"I'll be joining her in escorting you to our camp," Wolfshade meowed, turning his attention back to the rogues.

He turned around and padded over to the bracken patch were he picked up a squirrel, the same one that I caught earlier, and led the way back to camp. Whisper, Shiver, Tattered, and, after a moment of hesitation again, Crash too, began to follow. I dashed forward to catch up to Wolfshade, matching my pace with his as I walked by his side.

"Was I wrong to invite the rogues back to camp?" I whispered.

"No. I think you handled the interaction well," Wolfshade meowed back quietly, casting a glance over his shoulder at the mangy line of rogues behind us. "They're obviously not in good shape. I don't think they'll be a threat."

"What about my assessment? Will I have to do it again?" I meowed, a quiet note of worry creeping into my voice.

"Lightningpaw, I'm sure all of SkyClan knows how good of a hunter you are. You passed," Wolfshade purred softly, shooting me a look out of the corner of his eye.