Black Sky

Chapter 6

Blackpaw yawned. The sunlight shone over only the fifth day of his apprenticeship. With all that's happened, it felt like moons. Mangoleaf called him out of his den, and Blackpaw was able to briskly pad out.

"Okay, today, we're hunting." Mangoleaf meowed, in his usual calm but strict voice. "Now, show me how that hunting crouch is coming along."

Blackpaw dropped to his paws, his belly almost brushing the ground, his tail hovering and his posture tense. He slid forward, trying as hard as he could.

"Watch where you're putting your paws." Mangoleaf murmured when Blackpaw stepped on a leaf. "Make sure nothing's in your way. Keep that advice for battles, too, actually. If anything's in the way in a battle, you're not going to win."

Blackpaw knew battles weren't all about winning, but he kept his mouth shut.

Focusing on the hunting practice, he spotted a large stick and pretended it was a mouse. Slithering forward like a snake, he imagined what Mangoleaf would say if he failed to catch something-

Crack!

Blackpaw stopped and stared in dismay at the twig he stepped on. That imaginary mouse was floating away like a leaf in the wind and taunting him like a battle he couldn't fight. Mangoleaf sighed.

"Look." Mangoleaf began. "Just follow my advice, okay? Think about what your prey would do. Become your prey. Know its every move. Know its instincts. Move with your prey. Then, you can hunt without fail."

Blackpaw thought he sounded a little sage-like, but he didn't really care. He fit the character.

Keeping quiet, he called back the imaginary mouse, which was the stick in reality. He checked his crouch, then began slithering towards it. He watched its every move. He knew its instincts. He moved with it. He could hunt without fail.

"Gotcha!" Blackpaw meowed as he pounced on the stick, making a startling cracking sound.

Mangoleaf mrrowed in approvel, and Blackpaw felt his heart dance in happiness. But now it was time for the real thing. Mangoleaf nodded as if he could read his mind, and Blackpaw opened his mouth to taste the air.

Mangoleaf, trees, CaveClan scent markers... Mouse!

He traced the scent, getting quieter as it got stronger. He stopped suddenly.

There.

The mouse was beneath a tree, nibbling on a nut it had found. Dropping into a crouch, he became one with his prey. It was as if he wasn't even there, just the mouse in an empty world. Now!

"Excellent!" Mangoleaf's happy meow rang through the trees.

Blackpaw winced. When he'd 'become his prey', it felt like he was killing himself when he'd pounced. He guessed that's what it was like moments before death.

"You were amazing!" Mangoleaf purred.

Blackpaw felt like Mangoleaf was trying too hard. He'd only caught a mouse! He dug a hole to bury his mouse, feeling proud. His mind drifted to... What? The image was gone from his head now. He tried to call it back, but whatever he'd seen in that moment was gone. A mirage.

*

Carrying his two mice by their tails, Mangoleaf having caught a lizard to sum it up, Blackpaw felt proud as he walked back through the forest to the cave. Maybe he could make a last-minute-catch. The Clan would be amazed, then! He sniffed, then stopped in his tracks.

DustClan.

Mangoleaf looked back. "What's wrong Blackpaw?"

"DustClan!" Blackpaw hissed, a little scared. Mangoleaf sniffed the air, then bristled.

Blackpaw heard Mangoleaf mutter, "They don't know when to stop, do they?" and he shivered. What did Mangoleaf mean?

"Give us that prey, CaveClan flea-pelts!" the voice of Volestar hissed.

Blackpaw turned, widening his eyes.

The dark brown tabby tom looked scary in his prime. Volestar was twice Blackpaw's size, with piercing amber eyes and a scar over his left eye. He must've been closing his eyes when he got it, as his eyes were two balls of fire, not one. Blackpaw hadn't seen that scar at the gathering.

"What do you think you're doing on CaveClan territory?!" Mangoleaf hissed, his hackles raised. "Haven't you killed enough warriors already? Redpaw's grieving for her mentor."

Blackpaw stared at Mangoleaf. Why was he giving away information that would make them look weak?

"We see nothing important about Brightmoon." Volestar scoffed. "Why would we kill her? It's probably SandClan."

Mangoleaf was backing away slowly, fur bristling, claws unsheathed and teeth bared, ready to strike if necessary. Blackpaw copied him, hoping he looked bigger with his fur bushed out. Volestar smirked.

"You're no use, a puny apprentice with an old warrior." Volestar cackled. "You're not worth it. The prey is, though. Honeypaw, grab it."

The young apprentice strode out, her golden tabby fur beautiful in the setting sun. Her eyes met Blackpaw's, and he looked away.

"I don't think so." Honeypaw murmured, much to Blackpaw's surprise. "Oh! I mean, they haven't got much. It won't do us any good. They might as well keep it."

Volestar narrowed his eyes, shifting his deadly gaze from Honeypaw to Blackpaw. "What is going on here?"

"I..." Honeypaw trailed off. Good. Blackpaw wasn't the only one afraid of Volestar.

Volestar hissed. "If you don't get those mice and that lizard, I'll rip your little friend to pieces, bit by bit. With you being the deadest cat here."

"You wouldn't." Honeypaw gasped. "He didn't do anything wrong. Really, they don't have much."

Volestar growled. Honeypaw gulped.

"I-"

"GET THE FRESH-KILL NOW OR YOU'RE HAVING CAVECLAN BONES AT YOUR NEST TONIGHT!"

Honeypaw nodded, and, shooting an apolegetic glance at Blackpaw, grabbed the fresh-kill that he'd caught with Mangoleaf. He couldn't blame her. He wouldn't like sleeping next to the remains of a dead cat either.

As the enemy cats padded away with smug looks on their faces, Blackpaw felt the world sway. What... Just... Happened...? He had so many questions, about both the words that left cats' mouths and the actions the cats decided. But one cat was stuck in mind.

Honeypaw.