Blood Moon

Chapter Six

Sunpaw ran through the forest, her ears pulled back by the wind. Even when she was running, the icy leaf-bare chill still penetrated her thick tabby pelt, and she fought to keep upright against the biting cold.

Sunpaw's head swam and she stopped for a rest. All she could think about was her fight with Moonpaw.

Sunpaw couldn't think what had caused the drastic change in Moonpaw's personality. When they were kits, Moonpaw would always cover for her, and Sunpaw would do the same. She never imagined that Moonpaw would lie to get her into trouble. She knew that her sister didn't want to get punished by Ivystar, but Moonpaw knew the consequences Sunpaw would have to face.

'Sunpaw!' Thrushpaw had caught up with her. She stopped and turned to face him.

'I told you not to follow me,' she replied, softly. All her anger had left her, and she didn't have the energy to argue with him.

'Can I join you?' he mewed. Sunpaw could tell he was deliberately changing the subject, and decided not to comment on it. She and Thrushpaw sat for a while, watching as the night grew darker.

'Do you really think that Moonpaw would lie like that?' Thrushpaw wondered.

Sunpaw was ready to force out a bitter, 'Yes,' but as she thought, she knew there must have been a reason why Moonpaw did what she did.

'No.' answered Sunpaw, eventually. 'She would never do that without a reason.'

Sunpaw remembered Moonpaw's stricken expression, and immediately felt guilty. She remembered how they listened to the elders telling stories about the legendary cats of the old forest for hours on end, and how they played moss ball together as kits. All these memories came flooding back, and her belly dropped unpleasantly. Why did I have to lash out like that?

Thrushpaw sensed her mood, and responded quickly; 'Come on, let's go back to camp.'

Sunpaw dragged herself off the tree stump, silently berating herself. She and Thrushpaw walked together, none of them needing to say anything.

They reached the ThunderClan camp much later, and Sunpaw rushed inside. She threw herself down on her nest, and trained her eyes on the stone ceiling of the medicine cat den.

Sunpaw wriggled in her nest, but somehow couldn't drift off. She was about to turn over to the other side of the den, but heard voices outside. Sunpaw ran to the entrance, and saw a faint outline treading softly among the bushes. Instinctively, she followed.

The cat slipped silently through the entrance, and Sunpaw crouched in the gap between the entrance and the snow-covered ground of the camp. She walked behind them for what seemed like forever, until her paws ached, and her springy pelt drooped as though she had been caught in the rain. The cat stopped at a patch of pine trees near the ShadowClan border, and turned to face her. Sunpaw sped away, then stopped when she realised the cat couldn't see her following them.

She slowly turned around, then her jaws dropped open in shock when she discovered the cat was Shadeclaw. He stared right past her, and Sunpaw wondered how he couldn't see her. He turned right, towards Twolegplace, and Sunpaw ran after him, wondering why he was heading there.

Sunpaw's nostrils flared at the bitter stench of the many Thunderpaths crossing Twolegplace, like a cobweb in the corner of the medicine cat den. Shadeclaw checked around him for any sign of monsters, and crossed the Thunderpath, heading further into the maze of Twoleg nests.

Sunpaw could tell he'd made this journey before. He walked along the fences, ignoring the kittypets' threats, and made his way to a dilapidated Twoleg den. The windows were boarded up, and cats were yowling inside. Even from where she was standing, she could tell they were rogues. She was about to cry out, but the scene faded before her eyes.