Lurking Shadows - Specklepaw/ Pigeonfeather POV

Chapter 21

Specklefur yawned, stretching her stiff legs after a long night's sleep. Suddenly, she heard worried murmuring from outside the den and pushed herself out.
"What's going on?" She asked, her ears pricking with interest.
"It's Falconsoar. She keeps coughing and just collapsed in the clearing," Jaguarfur replied, worry edging his mew. Specklefur remembered, with a prickle of irritation, that it was probably a long time until the two cats would properly be mates as Blazewhisker interrupted Jaguarfur as he was proposing his love. But there was no time to think about that now.

Specklefur dodged past the cats that had formed a circle around the brown tortoiseshell deputy. Thistledawn was pressing her ear to her chest, listening closely.
"Wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, feverish, sneezing. All symptoms of greencough," the white and ginger medicine cat meowed, her eyes glistening with worry.

Sparrowflight sweeped her tail around her remaining kit, guiding him towards the nursery. Lakekit's paws dragged along the ground with his tail, barely seeming to realise that the deputy had a deadly cough that could kill her. Poor Lakekit, Specklefur thought, He was such good friends with Tabbykit.

She was took back to that fateful night when the nervous, silver kit died. Pigeonfeather had stumbled into camp, followed by Thistledawn, who was gently guiding him. He held a small body in his jaws, reeking of one scent - ShadowClan. The whole clan was devastated. Even ShadowClan couldn't stoop as low as to murder a defenceless kit, surely?

Specklefur was carefully grooming the moss out of her fur, lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, a sharp mew broke through them.
"Stripedflower, Bluefeather and Magpiewing, go and do a border patrol along the ShadowClan border. Once you have finished, catch some prey before coming back to camp. Me, Specklefur and Jaguarfur will go and hunt near the Mossy Glade and Rabbitear, Ivystep and Poppytail, you can mark the ThunderClan border. Finally, Duskpelt and Pigeonfeather, you can do repairs around camp," Blazewhisker finished, puffing his chest out with pride. Halfstar turned back to look at his son, looking pleased. However, Specklefur's fur pricked with irritation. Look at him, trying to boss all the older cats around! He was an apprentice less than a quarter moon ago!

"Come on!" Blazewhisker flicked his tail and Specklefur begrudgingly bounded after him with her brother beside her. The trees were silent, the only sound they made were the breaking of dead branches in the wind. The cold sun looked forebodingly down at the three young warriors, the trees barely hiding it's glare.

Specklefur and Jaguarfur suddenly jerked their heads up, tasting the air. A mouse! Specklefur thought, paws pricking in anticipation. Blazewhisker opened his jaws open to speak but, to Specklefur's relief, clamped them shut and tasted the air. Specklefur flicked her tail for the mouse-brain to catch it, Jaguarfur doing the same. As Blazewhisker crept towards it, a sudden rustle in the bushes nearby made Specklefur's ears prick up. Signalling to Jaguarfur with her ears, Specklefur crept towards the skinny rabbit, hoping her littermate had the initiative to crouch the other side of it. Letting out an ear-splitting screech, she leaped towards the prey and sent it right into Jaguarfur's unsheathed claws.
"Perfect!" She purred, lifting her tail up happily as they went back to the Mossy Glade.

They could hear the sounds of water trickling in the Rockpools nearby, masking the sound of Blazewhisker's arrival.
"Hi!" She meowed, lifting her tail up in greeting. As annoying as this furball is, he is fine to hang out with. I'll never forget Mapleleaf, but it's time to get over her death and try to not find everything Blazewhisker does annoying, she decided.
"Hi!" Blazewhisker lifted his tail up in return.
"Not much of a catch, but you can't really expect anything better in Leafbare," Specklefur said, prodding the rabbit with a claw. Blazewhisker's eyes flitted from tree to tree, not completely focused on what Specklefur was saying. What's the matter with him? Why is he so nervous?

After a few awkward seconds, Blazewhisker eventually began, hesitantly,
"Both of you, I have something to tell you."
Specklefur's ears pricked up with interest. Jaguarfur's tail lifted in suprise beside her, gently tickling her back.
"Mapleleaf's last words were actually a prophecy. 'Beware of the shadows and save the storm,' Blazewhisker paused, grief clouding his eyes momentarily.
"I recognise that prophecy, but I just thought it was a meaningless, boring dream!" Jaguarfur meowed, his ears shooting up excitedly.

Specklefur was took back to the Thunderpath again. Mapleleaf, then Maplepaw, was dying, her blood staining the hard surface beneath her. She choked something out to Blazewhisker before lying still. Dead. That must have been the prophecy she told Blazewhisker! Specklefur thought, recalling the memory. Then, she remembered about her dream.

ShadowClan warriors were chasing Mapleleaf. Specklefur yowled and yowled for her to stop, but she didn't. Specklefur was stuck on the safe side of the Thunderpath, an invisible barrier seemingly stopping her to help her friend. All she could do was watch in horror as the red monster killed her. The ShadowClan warriors, evil grins on their faces, had leapt at Specklefur. Yet time had froze, and an unknown voice boomed the words of the prophecy Blazewhisker had recited.

After this, she had repeatedly had the same dream over and over again. Once, however, she had a different dream. Specklefur had been hunting by the Thunderpath. She had caught a huge mouse. Suddenly, Mapleleaf came running across the Thunderpath and... survived? Specklefur remembered the hope and suprise that fluttered in her chest as she recalled the dream. However, these positive feelings did not last. As quick as a flash, battle raged around her and a ShadowClan cat swiftly killed Mapleleaf. Yet it wasn't Mapleleaf's body that lay there, it was a grey cat that was too blurry for Specklefur to make out. Grief welling up inside her, Specklefur had fled the scene, still holding the huge mouse in her jaws.

After the three young warriors decided to tell Thistledawn as soon as they could about the prophecy, Specklefur had managed to add a vole to their disappointing catch. She highly doubted they would even get a chance to go into the medicine den to speak with Thistledawn with greencough around. Despite some things being cleared up by their discussion, questions were still flying around in Specklefur's head. Why have we been chosen? We are just inexperienced young warriors. Who was that cat that died at the claws of the ShadowClan warrior instead of Mapleleaf? They have to be important somehow, but how?

Author's note: Thank you for reading so far. I hope you enjoy the book and I will update another chapter tomorrow. Sorry I haven't been properly updating for a bit but I needed a bit of a break.  Enjoy! :)