Blood and Snow

Secrets

   Early twilight came, and the cats of WindClan were still bustling about and getting ready for night to arrive. Snowclaw was eating a hare with Heathercloud and Silvershine, who kept eyeing her. She had not talked to the silver she-cat in a while, nor did she want to even if she felt like something was going on between them that she just couldn't put her claw on. The group was silent. Usually, Heathercloud would be the one talking, but of course, her attention was focused elsewhere. Snowclaw cuffed Heathercloud's ear to refocus her.

"Hey! What was that for?" Heathercloud protested. Snowclaw rolled her eyes.

"You know what," she replied with a growl. Silvershine narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about? she asked. Heathercloud glared at Snowclaw.

"Nothing. I've just been um really nervous about being a warrior now, that's all!" Heathercloud fumbled.

"I'm not stupid Heathecloud, but if you want to keep it a secret so bad, I won't pressure you." Silvershine meowed, though annoyance lined her voice making Snowclaw smirk. She is probably angry that she told me and not her. Besides, why would she tell Silvershine? She would probably end up telling Grassstar and getting Heathercloud and Fernpaw in trouble. She gritted her teeth just thinking about it.

"Oh okay." was all Heathercloud managed to muster, though Snowclaw saw traces of guilt on her face. Silvershine watched her for a moment longer and sighed.

"I'm going to tuck in early tonight," she told them, voice heavy with melancholy. As she walked away, she could hear the whispers of the two she-cats. Snowclaw didn't have time to wonder what they were talking about, she needed to plan.

She curled up in her nest. No one else was in the warrior's den yet. Usually during the warmer moons, most of the WindClan cats would sleep out under the stars. Snowclaw had tried it once as an apprentice and hated it, so she always slept in a den. Snowclaw closed her eyes, but her restlessness made it impossible to sleep. She had so much to do in just one night. As night fell on the camp, cats began to come in and curl themselves in their nests. Including Silvershine and Heathercloud.

Once it was about midnight, Snowclaw rose from her nest. She needed to sneak out without the cat guarding the camp seeing her. It would be suspicious after all if she kept going on her so-called walks. The cold made her shiver once she stepped out. Luckily unlike the WindClan cats, she had inherited a thick pelt from her RiverClan origins. She narrowed her eyes and saw that Barksong was on duty. He was a bit older, so his hearing may not be as great as it used to be. Snowclaw looked at the steep wall of earth. The camp was in a small scoop of earth, so the only way out was to climb or go through the entrance. Snowclaw was left with one option.

As quietly as she could, she threw herself at the wall and hooked her claws into the earth. The dirt was frozen solid, so it was hard for her to sink her claws into it, but at least it was hard enough for it to sustain her weight. Grimacing, she unhooked one foot and began to escalate the wall. Her legs shook with effort, and it made her think SkyClan cats were insane for wanting to climb anything- let alone trees.

Once she had a paw on the grass, she heaved herself up. Her back legs dangled over the edge as she tried to find somewhere to grip. She began to slip and Snowclaw felt a bolt of panic rush through her. She clawed wildly at the grass in front of her until she stopped slipping. Relieved, she carefully hooked her back legs on the cold earth and used her front legs to claw herself forward until she eventually dragged herself out.

Breathing heavily, she lay there for a moment catching her breath until she felt too vulnerable and stood up, limbs shaking. I should work on climbing my next training section. After all, I might have to be working in SkyClan one day. There was hardly any wind Snowclaw realized. It would benefit her, but at the same time disadvantage her. If she was on the right side of the breeze, she could have smelled anything in front of her. At the same time, if she was on the wrong side...