Moon Of Warning - Warrior Cat Fanfiction

Chapter Six

 After the bodies were laid to rest, every cat went on with their duties in silence. No one wanted to break the quiet- except for the kits. They were the only cheerful factor in the whole camp. Moonpaw stood in the clearing, facing Sharppaw. Since his mentor was dead, Slightshadow would be directing his training from now on. Right now, they were sparring. Starlingmist was to her right, sitting beside Shadepaw and Litchenpaw, who would be going after them. Herontail was also sitting down, he was beside Tulipheart. "Begin!" Slightshadow meowed, and Moonpaw was startled. She had not been paying attention because she was staring at the cats around camp. They seem so... distant. She thought crouching down for a pounce. Sharppaw did the same. Moonpaw studied him, trying to see his weak points. After looking for a few moments she spotted it. There! His left side was higher than his right. She lunged for his right, and as he braced himself for a swipe, he left his other side unguarded. At the last moment, Moonpaw turned for his open left side, and- claws sheathed- pushed her paw against his front legs. He staggered, and fell. As he lay winded, Moonpaw grabbed his scruff in her jaws, and tried to shake him. She had learned this tactic a few days earlier with Starlingmist, and she said it was most effective against rats, which are small enough to throw. Moonpaw shook with all her might, as her opponent tried to break free. Moonpaw felt the fur start to tear between her teeth, and she let go, afraid of causing injury. The only thanks she got from him was a grateful blink, and he turned back to the battle. Sharppaw leaped at her, exposing his belly. Instead of trying a belly rake, Moonpaw simply jumped out of the way. Since she was smaller than most cats, Starlingmist had taught her the Leap-and-hold, which was an ideal move for her. Even though Moonpaw's legs were much shorter, her jumping abilities were not diminished by the slightest. Sharppaw landed, and crouched for another leap. Moonpaw, reciting the lesson in her head, jumped on his back, only slightly digging her claws in. This was a practice session after all. His strength was greater than hers- she found out soon enough. He bucked beneath her, and threw her off. She landed with a whoof as the air was squeezed out her lungs. Seeing she was winded, Sharppaw reared up on his back legs and tried to bring his full weight down on Moonpaw. She rolled, and Sharppaw turned with her. He still landed square upon her chest, vanquishing the little air she had left in her body. He pushed hard, and Moonpaw's vision started getting fuzzy. She didn't want to give up, but she had no choice. Letting her tense body go limp, she admitted to her opponent that she was beaten. He lightly stepped off of her, and pushed his nose beneath her side to try and help her up. She nodded gratefully. Staggering over to her mentor's side, she plopped herself beside Starlingmist. "Good job." She praised, licking Moonpaw once upon her head. The crescent moon on her head was ruffled, and Moonpaw licked her paw and pushed it around until it was perfect again. Shadepaw licked her head as well, undoing the moon once more. She grumbled good-naturedly. Moonpaw fixed the moon again, and watched the progression of her brother's fight. He easily won, flipping Litchenpaw on her back and pretending to sink his teeth in her neck. He stepped off of her, and Litchenpaw complained, "That wasn't fair!" Tulipheart replied back, "It was fair. He won with a few basic maneuvers, and that is why, starting now, we will do separate training like Moonpaw. At least she didn't lose in the first minute!" Litchenpaw's tail drooped at her mentor's disappointment. She followed Tulipheart through the thorn tunnel leading out of camp. Moonpaw stood up and stretched luxuriantly, and padded over to where Sharppaw was cleaning the dirt out of his pelt. He looked up as she approached. "Yes?" He asked. "Nothing. Just sitting in the sunshine." She replied hastily. He must not have noticed, because he went back to his washing. For a moment, she stared at him, watching the sun glimmer off his calico fur. She glanced quickly away, realizing the rudeness of what she was doing. An idea suddenly popped in Moopaw's head. Maybe... She strode over to where the fresh-kill pile stood, and picked a juicy little shrew from it. She padded back to Sharppaw. She gently placed the prey beside him, and asked, " Do you want to share?" He paused, and looked at Moonpaw. What she didn't know was that her face had assumed a hopeful expression. He smiled, too faint for her to notice. "Sure." He said, pushing the shrew to Moonpaw, telling her to take the first bite. She obliged, taking a small mouthful. Chewing it, she pushed it back to him. They continued the process of sharing prey until it was all gone. Moonpaw looked back at Sharppaw. He had missed a spot on his shoulder. She unconsciously reached over and licked it clean. He looked at her in surprise. "Sorry... You kinda... Missed a spot." She muttered, dipping her head and feeling her ears get hot with embarrassment. She did not see his shrug. He pushed the remains of the prey away with his paw, and he drew her closer to him. Moonpaw felt her entire face heat up, and she looked up. She was so close, she could feel the heat off his pelt, and she could see right into his eyes. They were newleaf green, just like her own. Sharppaw bent over, and pulled her the rest of the way to his side. Moonpaw tensed. She had never been this close to another cat; other than her family. Slowly, she let her body relax, not sure about her fellow apprentice's intentions. The newleaf sun warmed Moonpaw's grey-black fur, making her drowsy. She snuggled into Sharppaw, and felt his tongue rasp over her head. I just fixed that... She thought, sliding deeper into sleep. As she finally closed her eyes, Sharppaw looked around. The grief scent that had hung to every cat had lifted somewhat. Most of the cats were staring at the two young cats curled together. Laurelstar and Starlingmist were at Highledge talking about the strange scent, and every now and again they would look down and brighten a little. Shadepaw was practicing his combat moves with his mentor. Sharppaw hissed, trying to draw the training cats' attention, and trying not to wake the now-sleeping Moonpaw. It worked, Shadepaw's ear flicked a few times as he heard the sound. He turned, and saw Sharppaw curled protectively around his sister. He faltered, and fell, nearly scoring his face against a rock in the grass. Getting back up, he nodded to show Sharppaw his approval. Moonpaw murmured, her tail-tip brushing Sharp Paws ear. He looked back down at her sleeping face, purring softly. He laid his head on her side, closing his eyes as well. The last thought Sharppaw had before he fell asleep was; Great Starclan! Am I in... love?

***

A little while later, Starlingmist woke Moonpaw up and pushed a fuzzy mouse towards her. "But I've already eaten!" Her mentor nodded. "It's good of you to stick to the warrior code, but this is a special occasion." Moonpaw tilted her head. "What kind of special occasion?" Starlingmist purred. "The Gathering of the five Clans. You, Shadepaw, Litchenpaw, Sharppaw and a few others are coming." Moonpaw leapt to her paws, her eyes gleaming. "We're going to the Gathering?" She cried incredulously. Her mentor nodded her elegant head again. "That's why you need to eat." Moonpaw ducked down and started to gulp at the mouse. The forest flavors sang on her tongue. When she had finished, Moonpaw bounded to her brother's side. "Shadepaw! Shadepaw! Shadepaw!" She called, bouncing around the grey-black tom. "What is it? You rarely get this excited for anything." He asked. "We're going to the Gathering!" He purred and twined his tail with hers. "That's great news! Oh, and I have good news too! Treeclaw's going to be alright!" Good, Moonpaw thought. He can tell us what killed everyone in the patrol. Moonpaw nuzzled her littermate fondly. She padded towards the medicine den, intent on seeing Treeclaw before the Gathering. She pushed through the ferns, and saw the yellow tom splayed out in his nest. For a moment, Moonpaw stopped. Was Shadepaw wrong? Is he... dead? Treeclaw's tail-tip twitched. Moonpaw breathed a sigh of relief, and went to his side. "Treeclaw?" She whispered. His ears twitched- that showed he was listening, because the golden tom rarely spoke- and he opened his eyes. "What... What attacked your patrol?" Treeclaw shifted into a better position. "Big horse. Had weird horns. Kind of like those deer in kit tales. Bigger. Brown. Red eyes. Bigger muzzle. Your father died first. Hooves crushed him. Then Gladewing. Hooves for her too. Horns for Swiftclaws. Horns for the apprentice. Back legs for me." He turned, probably not wanting to say anything more. Moonpaw dipped her head, and murmured, "Thanks for the information." And she left. Moonpaw looked above her, seeing the sun start to set. She stopped, and twisted to groom her tail. I wonder what that creature was...