Thundering Darkness

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A small grey she-cat was padding silently through the undergrowth that screened the camp wall. It was nighttime, with gloomy shadows of massive trees on the forest floor. Her jaws opened slightly, as she tasted the air for the intruder. Her blue eyes flashed in the gloom of night as she stalked forward silently. There. An enemy was lurking in the shadows. A danger that she needed to attack for the safety of Riverclan. The trees swayed and an owl hooted, but the intruder didn't seem in any way disturbed. Her paws crackled on loose twigs and reddish orange leaves that had fallen from the towering trees. Still the intruder, her prey didn't seem alarmed. The she-cat raced forward preparing for an epic pounce, when suddenly teeth hooked her scruff, and she winced with pain.

The she-cat rounded on the new attacker, trying to see who they were. An enemy? A shrill of horror raced through her body and she raised her forepaw, ready to lash out at the muzzle of the cat that held her captive, when suddenly the voice spoke, and she recognized Riverclan scent.

"Pebblekit! What are you doing sneaking out of camp at this hour, and trying to sneak up on moths nonetheless, honestly I expect better of you."

The teeth clamped her scruff harder, as the cat carried Pebblekit back, unceremoniously into camp. "Ok I only walked three steps outside of camp, though," Pebblekit muttered huffily, staring up at the irritable face of her mother. She half expected Spikewillow to walk her all the way to the leader's den to complain to Troutstar about her misbehaving, but Spikewillow's eyes were tired, and her tail tip lashed back and forth as she set Pebblekit down in front of the nursery den.

Gorsefern, a warrior who was living in the nursery with his kits blinked up at Spikewillow, as he peeked his head out of the nursery. His eyes were fearful and nervous, until they landed on Pebblekit, and his entire composure visibly relaxed. He padded out of the nursery to give Pebblekit an affectionately lick on her head. Spikewillow, apparently satisfied, turned away from the nursery den, and Gorsefern and Pebblekit.

"Don't do that again," Pebblekit's mother muttered irritably, "now I am going to be tired and unproductive on the dawn patrol." Her tail lashed once more as she padded into the gloom towards the den where most of the warriors slept. "Oh, and Gorsefern, do me a favour and wake up some other warrior on the Pebblekit rescue mission next time." With that, Pebblekit's mother was gone.

"Productivity," Gorsefern sighed, "that's all she cares about nowadays." He jerked his head down as though suddenly remembering that Pebblekit was laying forlornly at his paws. Pebblekit sighed, she would never understand what Spikewillow thought about her, or how she was her mother, and yet spent little to no time with her.

"Cold out, isn't it," Gorsefern mewed brightly to Pebblekit, although Pebblekit saw right through his act. He's trying to cheer me up because I don't have a mother that cares about me or something. Gorsefern nudged Pebblekit out of the large clearing that was Riverclan camp, and into the warm, cozy nursing den. Pebblekit instantly bolted over to her nest, which was at the far side of the den, scuttling over the tails of the other kits and warriors in the den. The nursing den was safe, but also boring.

As Pebblekit shut her eyes and curled up for the second time that night, she heard Gorsefern whispering softly to his mate, Moonlightheart, "she was up again tonight..." Pebblekit strained her ears to hear more, "...It would help if Spikewillow was more invested in her... not a good influence."

Pebblekit shut out all the whirring thoughts in her head, and let sleep claim her at last.

Pebblekit was dreaming of the event that had happened two days before her midnight moth hunting adventure. She was sitting at the edge of the camp, watching Nightkit and Minnowkit play moss ball against Darkkit and Batkit, while Thornkit was looking at herbs with Frostbark. In her dream, Pebblekit thought proudly of how she was sitting up like a strong, mature apprentice, and not falling into kit tendencies of playing and jumping around. Spikewillow always talked about productivity, and diligence, and Pebblekit thought she would be pleased. Suddenly, there was a clamour outside the camp barrier, and a bloodied red-grey she-cat burst into the camp, her eyes flashing wildly.

"Thunderclan attacked us inside of our own border," she gasped, "more than half a dozen warriors..." Troutstar raced forward to meet the she-cat.

He spoke calmly, but his eyes were flashing wildly, "where are the others? You were part of the dusk patrol, correct Shimmerclaw?"

Shimmerclaw nodded numbly, her flanks heaving. "They're coming...Treeleap..." she gasped, her eyes widening, and then collapsed to the leaf-littered floor."

Troutstar looked at all the warriors, stepping between them and the unconscious she-cat. Frostbark walked forward and touched Shimmerclaw. He gave Troutstar a nod. Pebblekit pushed her way to the center of the crowd, "let me fight! Let me fight!" She begged Troustar, but he didn't even look at her.

"Midnightstorm, Brightclaw, Mousefang, Iceleap, go find the rest of the patrol. You too Frostbark, those cats will need a medicine cat to help them," Troutstar's voice was loud and commanding, but then he turned around and his jaw dropped.

"The patrol!"

"They're here!"

"Uh... is that Treeleap?"

Voices rang around the clearing as cats rushed forward to meet their injured clanmates. Pebblekit looked back at Troutstar, who was looking at Shimmerclaw, his eyes disturbed, "let me fight Thunderclan! I'll rip their pelts off," she squealed.

Troutstar's eyes flashed as though he was about to give the three moon old she-cat a harsh chastising for her disrespect, but then he turned away and raced towards the cluster of cats around where the patrol had fallen at the entrance to the camp. Pebblekit was about to race over, when suddenly she heard words that chilled her to the bone.

"Treeleap is dead. Lost to us, and worst of all Thunderclan sent a message that they were taking that massive chunk of prey rich territory they've been eyeing these past few moons."

Dead? Her father. Dead. Pebblekit keeled over in shock and disbelief, and threw up. He had never talked much to her, and bickered so much with their mother, but she couldn't believe he was just gone. Did that mean he was weak? That she was weak? The world was spinning around her as yowls rose up around the clearing and the reek of blood surrounded her. Territory lost... her father dead... Pebblekit looked up, took one look at Treeleap's flanks plastered with blood, and then the world went dark.