A Warrior Cats Tail

Chapter 7

Rainpaw raced through the forest, scattering the leaves where she ran as she leaped upon a fallen tree. She paused, pressing herself to the tree and pricking her ears. She recognised the scent of mouse as she started stalking forwards on silent paws. Then she saw it, a small brown body, scavenging through the bracken for food. She raised her haunches and swayed them back and forth as she unsheathed her claws, but just as she was about to pounce it disappeared into thin air leaving no trace of it behind.

She stood up and leaped to the spot the mouse had once been and sniffed the air. There was no scent, no prints, no bile, nothing. She looked around frantically and dug at the soft dirt beneath her when it suddenly became hard and dense. She stopped digging and looked at the ground that was now black and striped with white lines. The air around her had a wretched smell that made it hard to breathe as she tried to make her way off the strangely familiar ground.

Suddenly a bright light flashed her vision and she scrunched her eyes shut. A loud roar sounded from the direction of the black path that seemed to get closer by the second. It got louder and louder until it seemed to be in front of her and then a yowl of pain split her ears and the roar disappeared. She didn't process that it was her own yelp until she looked down at her legs and saw the bloodied mess around them. Another pained sound emitted from her mouth as she tried to heave herself to her paws. She tried to call out for help but nothing came out. She slammed her eyes shut as she let her front half drop to the ground, trying to cry out again and again.

Sticky liquid surrounded her body and clung to her matted fur. She suddenly became acutely aware of everything. The pain in her legs, the stench of the air, the ragged sound of her breathing and the oncoming roar from the far end of the path. Her heartbeat seemed to slow and her breath with it as she relaxed her eyelids, but still did not open them. She let the roar and the light consume her being as she waited for her inevitable fate when a mew sounded in her ear.

"Get up, come on!"

The ground around her seemed to stir.

"This isn't the time for this!"

A pull at her scruff made her open her eyes. Light flooded them, not the blinding light from before, but from the peaceful morning sun. She immediately jumped to her paws at the change in environment as she shook out her fur and looked to her paws. They were straight and clean, with the rainbow color seeming to glow in the sun.

A dream  She thought to herself as a chill ran down her spine. She didn't even get the chance to think another thought as warm, golden fur tugged her out of the den.

"You were mewing in your sleep!" Said Brightpaw as she began to groom her fur.

But Rainpaw barely heard her as her mind raced. What kind of a dream was that? Where was I? Was that the weird path I had seen from the twoleg places? What did Ashpaw call it? Thunderpath? Did my dream have a meani-

"Hello? Rainpaw, you look as if you've just seen Starclan!" Brightpaw meowed with a confused tone.

"Hm? O-oh yeah, sorry." She responded, shaking the dream away. "What's happening?"

"Nightfur is taking us hunting, remember?" She said as she bounced excitedly on her paws.

"Oh, yeah!" She looked around "Where is Ashpaw?"

"Already waiting at the entrance, so let's go!" She bounded away without another word.

She hurried after Brightpaw to where Ashpaw and Nightfur were waiting.

"Finally" Nightfur growled impatiently "I don't want you being late again"

"Sorry Nightfur" She apologized as she dipped her head into a respectful bow.

Her mentor's gaze softened and she gave her paw a small flick with her tail "It's ok, just try to be on time. Today is important!" She turned back towards the entrance and quickly instructed them to follow her before she ran out of the camp.

The gold and gray cats instantly darted after her, leaving Rainpaw, who was still processing the command, standing at the entrance. When she finally realized what just happened, she ran as fast as she could to catch up with the others. She followed the scents of the camp into the forest when suddenly it split in five different directions. She stopped and tried to recall the scents of each individual cat. Now remembering, she compared it to that of the different paths. One path had the correct smell mingled with others, so she followed that path.

She continued to follow the scent-path until she saw the flickering tail of Brightpaw. Picking up the pace, she ran after her friend until she was next to her.

"There you are! I thought someone was gonna have to go get you!" Her eyes gleamed with amusement.

She gave a good-natured nip to the others shoulder before running ahead. It didn't take her long to see Ashpaw's tail and she sped up. When she caught up to Ashpaw, the gray furred cat blinked in surprise, but said nothing. She kept pace with Ashpaw for the rest of the time until they stopped.

"I assume you all know the correct ways to hunt different animals." Said Nightfur when they had all stopped panting.

They all responded with a 'yes' and Nightfur continued. "Good, because I don't want to reteach you."

They all paused in an awkward silence, waiting for their mentor to say something.

"Uh, just- go hunt something?" She paused for a moment, unsure of what to say "Meet back here when you've caught five things."

At those words, the four cats all ran off in different directions.

Word count: 1,000

A/N: Thank you all so much who read my stories and I apologize for the late updates! I will try to get this next chapter done as soon as possible. Also, if you enjoy this, maybe consider rating and saving this story to let more people enjoy? Either way, thanks!