Cloverpaw's Shadow

Chapter 22

Cloverpaw crouched in the undergrowth. She could hear the sound of a mouse nibbling on a seed. Soon that mouse would become part of her clan's lunch.

She crept closer, not making a sound. The mouse kept at the seed and sure that she would catch it, Cloverpaw leaped.

A low hanging pine branch caught in her fur and she landed in an awkward position with a thud. She hissed. The mouse was gone now.

"Are you okay?" Starlingpaw gasped as he rushed up to her. Cloverpaw struggled to her feet. "Yes," she said with a sigh. "I'll never pass my warrior assessment if I can't even catch a stupid mouse!"

Starlingpaw blinked sympathetically. "The whole clan knows how good of a hunter you are. Its okay if you miss one mouse."

Cloverpaw smiled at her friend. "Thanks."

***

They came back to camp loaded with prey. Cloverpaw had caught a crow and a frog to make up for her lost mouse. She could hear mews of congratulations as they dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile.

"Well done," Jaystar commented as he trotted up to them. "I think you two are ready to become warriors."

Cloverpaw shared an excited look with Starlingpaw. She was finally going to become a warrior!

Jaystar continued. "You two get something to eat and we will have your ceremony at sunhigh."

Starlingpaw nodded his thanks at Jaystar and Cloverpaw watched as he padded away. Something was wrong...

"Are you hungry?" Cloverpaw was startled out of her thoughts. Looking back at Starlingpaw, she gave him a small smile. "No, I'm good."

Starlingpaw studied her. "You're concerned about Jaystar, aren't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Cloverpaw nodded hesitantly.

"He's on his last life," Starlingpaw said quietly. "I heard Hawkblaze talking about it with him when I was cooped up in the medicine den."

Cloverpaw pricked her ears. That would explain why he looked so tired all the time.

"Well," Starlingpaw said. "I'm going to get some sleep. We have to do vigil later, remember?"

Cloverpaw smiled, a genuine smile this time. "You just want an excuse to be lazy," she teased.

Starlingpaw narrowed his eyes playfully. Before he could say anything though, they were both startled by a loud yowl coming from the entrance.

Cedarstripe and Heatherpelt sprinted in from the bramble barrier and skidded to a halt in the clearing. They were both out of breath and their fur was bristling.

"Cedarstripe? Heatherpelt? What's wrong?" Jaystar asked as he bounded toward them from his den.

"We were just patrolling the border!" Heatherpelt cried frantically. "Riverclan ambushed us and... and..." She broke down sobbing.

Cedarstripe stepped forward. "They- they killed Duskwater."

Yowls of dismay rose up from the gathered cats. Jaystar closed his eyes painfully.

After a moment of silence, Cedarstripe cleared his throat. "Jaystar? What do you want to do?"

Jaystar blinked open his eyes, coming back to the present. "Gather a patrol of our strongest warriors. We're going to talk to Emberstar."

Turning to Cloverpaw and Starlingpaw, he said, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to postpone your ceremony."

Starlingpaw looked like he was going to protest, but Cloverpaw spoke up. "Its alright, Jaystar, we understand."

He gave her a grim smile and padded away.

***

The patrol consisted of Jaystar, Featherclaw, Thistleshade, Gingertail, Cedarstripe, Starlingpaw, and Cloverpaw. Starlingpaw was ecstatic to be part of the patrol, but he feared for Jaystar. If an attack happened, he was too weak to fight.

They had approached Riverclan camp and a yowl of alarm sounded. Everywhere Starlingpaw looked, he could see bristling fur and wide eyes.

"Jaystar," Emberstar greeted. "What are you doing in our territory?"

Jaystar cleared his throat. "I'm here because some of your warriors attacked one of my patrols. Duskwater is dead and Heatherpelt has several injuries. I came to get an explanation."

Emberstar flicked her eyes to three cats in the shadows. "What did you do?" she hissed to them.

A brown tom took a step forward. "They were on our territory! What else were we supposed to do?"

Protests rose up from the Shadowclan patrol. "We were not!" Cedarstripe called from the back.

Emberstar's eyes blazed. "Are you calling my warriors liars?"

"No one is calling anyone anything, Emberstar." Jaystar spoke calmly.

Emberstar whirled toward him. "I'm sorry for your loss, but if you don't get off my territory, you'll have a lot more to worry about than a dead cat."

Jaystar held her gaze for a moment and then turned around. "Lets go."

Starlingpaw trailed after his leader, but glanced back once more at Emberstar. She had a look of sadness and despair on her face. Starlingpaw studied her expression. Something...

Shaking his head, he followed his clanmates out of Riverclan's camp and into the forest.