Warriors: The Darkest Shadow [Book 1]

Chapter 12

     Shadepaw stood horror struck, her jaw gaped wide open. "You know what Swiftstar, I'm out of here! None of my cats helped kill Harefoot! I know she was your mate ok! But we did not kill her!" Smallstar screeched.

     Her leader jumped from the tree, landing gracefully on his paws. "Lets go ThunderClan, we have better places to be." Smallstar hissed as Silverstar leaped down to, "Us as well RiverClan, a gathering is no gathering without all the clans." The RiverClan leader meowed to her clan, Shadepaw saw Cloudpaw walking away reluctantly from a familiar calico she-cat.

     Spottedpaw. Thought Shadepaw bitterly, her brother paid more attention to a medicine cat apprentice, then he did her. I wish he never would have fought with us. She thought, her brother walked by a SkyClan she-cat, "Hey Cloudpaw! I missed you!" She exclaimed, her green eyes had something else written on them, love.

     "Hey Baypaw." Cloudpaw sighed, "W-What's wrong Cloudpaw?" The apprentice asked with concern, "Well- Never mind, it's none of your concern." Cloudpaw hissed at her, Baypaw stared looking hurt, Cloudpaw padded away with his head down.

     Shadepaw entered camp with relief, she began towards the apprentice den, only to be stopped by Dustwing, "Smallstar?" She said to the leader behind her, "Yes, Dustwing?" Her leader replied with an exhausted tone, "I heard Gingerleaf is expecting kits very soon, could I train one? You know since, Ashpaw is gone." Dustwing asked.

     Gingerleaf had told Smallstar on the way back she was expecting any day soon. "Very well Dustwing, you will mentor one of Gingerleaf's kits, and because I am a fair leader, I will let you choose who." Smallstar said, then turned to his den.

    Shadepaw turned back to the apprentice den, just to run into Cloudpaw, "Hey Cloudpaw! What's wrong?" She asked with concern, Cloudpaw padded inside the den, and curled up in his nest, Shadepaw followed him and layed in her nest, piling up all the dirty moss beside her.

     "So, what's wrong Cloudpaw?"  Shadepaw asked with curiosity, "It's Spottedpaw, she said, we can't see each other anymore, that we, don't belong together." Her brother cried, he turned towards Shadepaw and she froze, his good eye was flooded with water, but his blind eye showed no emotion.

     "Am I really that ugly?" Her brother muttered blankly. "No! Cloudpaw! Your not ugly! It's just, Spottedpaw is a medicine cat, and a RiverClan cat, you guys could never be together." Shadepaw whispered to him. Cloudpaw turned his back to her, but Shadepaw could still here him sniffling, "Cloudpaw?" She whispered, but her brother's breath had already slowed, indicating he had fallen asleep.

    Shadepaw turned her back to Cloudpaw, water started filling her eyes, her head burned so much she couldn't even feel her leg, Larkpaw's nest was beside hers, she prodded his side with her paw, but he didn't respond. Shadepaw curled up and rested her tail on her muzzle. I truly am alone. She thought as sleep overwhelmed her.

     Shadepaw placed her fresh kill on the pile, it had been a quarter moon since the last gathering, Shadepaw had passed the days catching fresh kill and going on patrols, "Hey Shadepaw-" Larkpaw started padding up to her, when suddenly an ear splitting shriek sounded from the nursery, Shadepaw exchanged a glance with Larkpaw, then they raced to the cry.

     Gingerleaf laid in her nest breathing heavily one scrap of crimson fur already laid beside her, and another was already half out. Bluefeather sat trying to get the kit out, while Birdpaw was encouraging her, "Someone clean this kit!" Birdpaw ordered.

      Shadepaw instantly padded up to the kit, and grabbed it by the scruff, it mewled with protest as she carried it to a corner.

       Shadepaw cleaned the kit with care, it was a small brown she-kit with green-blue eyes. Shadepaw stared into the kits eyes, then suddenly everything around them went black and silent.

     Starry cats started to appear around them, one by one, until they were surrounded by these starry figures, a black she-cat appeared in front of them, Shadepaw recognized the blue eyes.

     "Nightpool!" She exclaimed as she ran to greet her,  but the further she ran, the further Nightpool got from her, "Nightpool!" She screamed again, suddenly the kit started mewing in fear, Shadepaw hesitated between the two, then turned around and bolted back to the kit, curling up around her.

     Nightpool glared at Shadepaw, her piercing blue eyes betraying nothing, then she opened her mouth, "The prophecy is fake Shadepaw, the real prophecy, is in the eye of the robin, when you figure out my riddle, I will bring you back here, to tell you and this kit the real prophecy."

     "But why her? She's just a kit, what's so important about her?" Shadepaw asked, but before Nightpool could answer, all the cats around her began blurring, and the only thing clear on Nightpool, were her piercing blue eyes.

     The dead medicine cat disappeared, leaving the same noises as when she had first appeared, the she-kit mewed playfully, as if nothing had ever happened. Her teal eyes were beautiful, Shadepaw couldn't help but staring into them as the kit leapt onto her tail.

      Larkpaw chuckled from beside her, making Shadepaw jump, her friend had a tom-kit, that looked exactly like Gingerleaf, but Shadepaw didn't want to talk, she had stuff to look for.

      Shadepaw snatched up the kit and dropped her gently beside Gingerleaf, then she burst outside.

     In the eye of the robin? The only place robin's are is in ShadowClan! Shadepaw thought in anger, then she remembered something, Shadepaw ran to the fresh kill pile, and picked through it, to find the feather of a robin, No! Where is the robin I caught today! Her thoughts hissed,  then a scent drifted through her nose.

     The scent belonged to Blazepaw, he had taken the robin to the apprentice den. Shadepaw bolted to him, not stopping for anything.

     "Blazepaw! I need that robin!" She hissed to him, it looked as if he had just sat down. "But, I'm hungry, I've been on the hunting patrol all morning," The apprentice meowed to the her. "I will give it back!" She snapped as she snatched the bird from him.

     Shadepaw sat down under the willow tree at the edge of camp and stared into the birds dead, beady eyes. Then a big light flashed, and suddenly Shadepaw was transported to the Gathering Island.