Minnowtail's Choice

Chapter 3

After Rosepaw and Pineclaw fight the tabby rogue...

The only sound in the nighttime forest was the tentative crunch of countless leaves beneath one set of paws. That, and Minnowtail's heart, which beat quicker than normal with anxiety. All she could think about was where she was placing her paws in the darkness—it didn't matter that she was alone, falling on her face would still be embarrassing—and whether Dominic would even be happy to see her tonight. Whether he would even show up.

Earlier, when the sun was still up, Pineclaw and Rosepaw had returned from a training session injured, because a rogue had shown up in the forest. Their wounds had been minor, but Minnowtail could see from the shaken look in Rosepaw's eyes that it could have been much more serious.

Pineclaw had assured the Clan that the rogue—who'd been present at the battle, too—didn't leave without wounds of his own, much worse. That was partly what made worry gnaw at Minnowtail's insides; she really hoped the rogue had survived, and would recover well.

But mostly what ate at her was how Dom would feel. She'd only known him for about two moons—and their clandestine meetings were sparse at that—and already she feared losing him as her friend. He was the only cat that understood her, made her feel comfortable and happy. Not Shadowpool, not Duskheart or Shinefur, not Thumpstep, no one in SunClan. Only Dominic.

Minnowtail prayed that these constant incidents wouldn't make him hate her. She wished her Clanmates would just stop and think for a moment, ask why the Twolegplace cats were hunting in the forest, instead of blindly following that stupid warrior code and chasing them out like the cruel, selfish little—

"Minnowtail!"

Before her sudden burst of fury could overcome her, Minnowtail heard a wonderfully familiar voice call her name. Emerging from behind a tree was Dominic, his dark fur nearly invisible, but golden eyes glowing as always.

"We haven't met since you asked me if I'd seen those missing SunClan kits," Dom mewed. "It's good to see you." His voice was soft, as if he didn't want to disturb the peaceful night, and he sounded his usual friendly self. Minnowtail's relief rendered her speechless for a moment.

"Min? Are you okay?" Dom watched her with slight concern.

For some reason the nickname was what broke Minnowtail out of her trancelike state. Min. Dom had resolved to call her that more often when she told him her new warrior name. A pointless mouthful, he'd called it—and she'd laughed in agreement. She liked Min much better, though she was also glad her Clanmates never called her that. It was a private name, like an inside joke that only she and Dom understood. A symbol of the intimacy Minnowtail shared with him that she had with no one else.

"Y-yeah. I'm good." Minnowtail blinked. "I'm really happy to see you. I snuck out of camp to find you, and...here you are."

"Funny. I was sort of looking for you too. While trying to find some prey."

"You catch anything yet?" Minnowtail asked.

Dom shook his head. "But I haven't been looking for long, either."

"I can help you hunt," Minnowtail offered.

"Maybe later. Right now I just want to catch up." Dom turned and scrambled up the tree he stood beside. His climbing was less graceful than that of SunClan cats, but it did the job; he pulled himself onto a low branch and looked down at Minnowtail. "Come on," he beckoned, waving his tail.

As Minnowtail joined him in the tree, she meowed curiously, "Do the Twolegplace cats hunt better at night?"

"It's about the same," Dom answered. "Well, minus all the SunClan cats trying to kill us."