Crowstar's challenge

Chapter 4

"Foxtail! Wolfclaw!" The clan cried.
The two new warriors stood in the middle of the clearing, chests puffed out. Crowpaw brushed his head against Foxtail's.
"Congrats.. Foxkit." He teased.
Foxtail ruffled Crowpaw's head fur with a forepaw.
"You're just jealous!" He mewed.
"Foxtail, its time to sit vigil," Wolfclaw's voice came from behind Crowpaw.
Foxtail bounded over to his brother, turning to nod goodbye to Crowpaw.

That night the apprentice's den felt empty. Crowpaw was used to sleeping beside Foxtail and soaking in his warmth.
"Crowpaw stop moving so much," Shadowpaw yawned.
"I'm cold," Crowpaw replied.
Shadowpaw let out a sigh.
"Come sleep with us then," he murmured, resting his head on Darkpaw.
Crowpaw got to his paws and dragged his moss nest over to his siblings. He flopped down onto his side, burying his head into Shadowpaw's thick fur.

"Crowpaw wake up!" Darkpaw whispered into Crowpaw's ear.
Was it morning already? He sat up, brushing a small clump of Shadowpaw's fur from his head. He left the den, stretching as the sun's warmth washed over him. He blinked open his eyes to see Lionpelt gazing at him from the camp exit. Crowpaw shook himself before trotting over to his mentor.
"Good morning Crowpaw. We're on the first hunting patrol," Lionpelt informed.
Rosethorn and Darkpaw padded towards them.
"Are we ready to go?" Lionpelt asked.
The patrol nodded and they set off.

Crowpaw crouched down and slowly approached a mouse nibbling at a seed. It was easy prey. He bunched his muscles and pounced onto it. The mouse fell limp as his dug his teeth into its neck.
"Nice catch," Lionpelt's voice came from behind.
A pigeon dangled from his jaws.
"The others are waiting at the tree stump, let's go," he said through feathers.

"Wow that's a big mouse Crowpaw! Almost as big as you!" Shadowpaw gasped.
"It's not like it's hard to be bigger than Crowpaw!" Darkpaw teased.
Crowpaw ignored his sister and placed his catch on the fresh-kill pile. There was a thundering of paws at the camp exit as the border patrol raced into camp. Blackstar emerged from his den, the deputy Snakefang close behind.
"What's all this commotion?" The leader questioned.
"Reedclan has been stealing prey," Flamepelt, who was leading the patrol, announced.
"Are you sure?" Snakefang asked.
"Their scent was everywhere," Raintail replied.
"Don't they have enough prey in their own territory?" Blackstar growled, "they have an ocean full of fish!"
"You know it gets cold out there at this time," Silverstripe mewed, appearing from the warrior's den.
"That gives them no right to steal our prey!" Blackstar hissed, "they've survived seasons with their own prey and they can do it now."
The leader turned from the patrol and murmured something into Snakefang's ear. The deputy began to gather up a group of cats.
"Is this a battle group?" Darkpaw asked, crawling over to the deputy, excitement in her eyes.
"Yes.. it is," Snakefang replied grimly.
Darkpaw flew up so that she was standing perfectly straight.
"Can we come? Please please Snakefang!" She pleaded.
Snakefang turned to Blackstar, who was observing the deputy and the crowd of cats as if they were prey. The leader nodded before fixing his glare once again.
"All apprentices will come to the fight," Snakefang announced, turning back to the horde of cats.
Darkpaw began bouncing around her brothers.
"Our first fight!" She squealed, "I can't wait!"
Crowpaw wasn't so sure about fighting. He was still as small as a 4 moon kit. Could he really fight Reedclan?

The Snowclan cats lined the border between Snowclan and Reedclan. Crowpaw's heart was beating so loud he thought it could probably be heard from Reedclan's camp. Beside him, Darkpaw shuffled her paws. It was clear that she was struggling to keep still. Crowpaw turned back to the beach. Salty air curled around him and fluffed up his fur. Blackstar suddenly flicked his tail. A patrol of 4 cats had appeared. The Snowclan cats raced down the slope into Reedclan territory. The patrol froze as the cats came hurtling at them. Crowpaw noticed one of the cats run off, seemingly to warn his clan. He watched as the grey tom became no more than a speck before turning back to the battle. The Reedclan cats spat and hissed as they were slashed at. Snakefang leaped onto the back of a pale yellow tabby and slashed his ear. The yellow tom let out a defening screech before rolling over, crushing Snakefang. Claws reached into the tom, but they couldn't seem to penetrate his fur. A flash of black knocked the tom off. Blackstar stood above him, teeth bared. Snakefang shakily got to his paws. Blackstar slashed at the yellow tom's belly. There was a sudden swarm of yowls. Reedclan cats flooded the area. Blackstar got off of the yellow tom, who got up with blood dripping from his stomach. The tom began to hobble away. A surrender already! Claws raked across Crowpaw's face. He had gotten too distracted! A dark ginger she-cat stood above him as he tumbled to the ground.
"You would attack an apprentice? Pathetic." Crowpaw spat.
"You're just easy pickings," the she-cat hissed.
She reached up a paw and slashed it across Crowpaw's face, barely missing his eyes. He flew back, landing on his paws. A small amount of blood dripped into his eyes, but he could still see the she-cat. He began to charge at her, when he heard a screech. Darkpaw flew herself onto the she-cat. She grabbed onto the she-cat's ears and bit down on one. The she-cat shook her head vigorously, causing Darkpaw to go flying into the sand. Forgetting about Crowpaw, the she-cat leaped onto Darkpaw and held her down. Crowpaw could hear her muffled screams. He managed to grab onto the she-cat's tail, but was quickly thrown off. Crowpaw tumbled into the sand. He shakily stood up and shook it off. Darkpaw was now still. The she-cat retreated from the body into the mass of fighting cats. Crowpaw raced to his sister's body.
"Darkpaw get up!" He cried, "Darkpaw!"
His sister wasn't even breathing. She lay still in the sand.
"No no no.." Crowpaw whispered, "no you can't be dead Darkpaw.."
He buried his head into her black fur. He lifted his head and screeched. Multiple of the fighting cats stopped what they were doing, including Crowpaw's mother. She ran from the battle, pushing the cat she was fighting to the ground. As soon as she saw Darkpaw's body she froze.

It seemed that moons passed as Crowpaw and his mother stared at each other.
"Is.." Silverstripe couldn't even get the words out.
Crowpaw nodded in reply.
"A stupid Reedclan cat killed her!" He wailed, "it killed her on purpose!"
Silverstripe looked down at her dead daughter and collapsed. Crowpaw noticed Shadowpaw crawling out of the battle. When he saw both his mother and sister on the floor, fear flashed in his eyes.
"What happened?" He questioned, running towards them.
"Dark.. Darkpaw's dead."
Shadowpaw froze at Crowpaw's words.
"No she can't be.. she can't!" Shadowpaw cried in denial.
Crowpaw's silence seemed to make his brother realise that it was the truth. Shadowpaw silently sat next to Crowpaw and rested his head on his sister.

Time seemed to slow as Crowpaw and his brother sat with Darkpaw, but the battle began to end. Reedclan cats ran from the battle until only Snowclan cats remained. Blackstar seemed to notice his kits sat on their own and approached.
"What happened?" He questioned.
Crowpaw couldn't get out the words.
"Darkpaw's dead," Shadowpaw answered for him.
Blackstar's eyes widened.
"Oh." He whispered.
His expression soon turned from shock and sadness to anger.
"I'm going to kill those Reedclan cats if it's the last thing I do!" He announced.