Warriors: Storm Coming - Rising Dawn

Chapter 12

Leafpaw padded into the forest with Silverclaw. "What should I catch?" Leafpaw asked.

"Maybe a squirrel," Silverclaw suggested, swiping her tongue across her muzzle. "We haven't caught many squirrels lately, mainly just thrushes and voles," she meowed. "And mice, of course," she added.

Leafpaw sniffed the air, hoping to scent a squirrel. Instead, she scented a mouse. It's still a piece of fresh-kill I'll add to the pile, Leafpaw thought as she became disappointed.

She began to stalk forward, her paws slowly making their way across the grass. Grass tickled her belly as she crouched down, stalking the mouse. She was ready to pounce; to put all her weight on her back paws and leap up, pouncing onto the mouse. She spotted the mouse. Creeping forward a bit more, she reared up on her back legs. She leaped up, flying off the ground. She landed down on the mouse, trapping it between her front paws. Bending down, she bit the mouse's neck, killing it swiftly. She dug up the grass and buried the mouse, reminding herself to dig it back up later.

"Great catch," Silverclaw praised.

Leafpaw dipped her head and continued to silently sniff the air. She finally scented a squirrel. Instantly, she dropped down low onto all four paws. Her belly brushed the grass as she crept forward, silent as a mouse. She kept padding forward, her paws silently moving forward. She saw the squirrel, focused on an acorn. Leafpaw took the opportunity to get the squirrel and instantly leaped up, pouncing onto the squirrel. She missed by an inch, the squirrel fled and ran up the trunk of a tree. Leafpaw raised up on her hackles and easily swiped the squirrel off the trunk with her forepaw. She bit the squirrel's neck.

"Let's go back to camp," Silverclaw meowed, padding back over to her, holding a small vole in her jaws.

Digging up her mouse, Leafpaw picked up both her catches and proudly headed down the deep ravine into camp. Upon entering, she spotted Ivypaw sprawled out on the ground, tired after hunting. Thistlebreeze lay a few feet away, grooming his pelt with gentle, rhythmic rasps of his tongue.

Leafpaw padded up to the fresh-kill hole and dropped both her catches into the hole. Settling down, she began to work on her own pelt. She spotted a few leaves and pieces of grass in her pelt. She started to lick her pelt clean with gentle licks of her tongue.

After she was pleased with how her pelt looked, she began to get up, stretching. A dark gray she-cat kit with green eyes suddenly crashed into her paws, followed by a black tom kit with amber eyes who skidded to a halt as he saw Leafpaw. A white she-cat kit with pale blue eyes came running out from behind.

"Whose that?" the white she-cat kit meowed as she spotted Leafpaw.

"Is she the new member of the clan?" the black tom kit meowed.

A silver she-cat with dark blue eyes appeared behind the kits. "Now, now, let's not bother her with questions—"

The dark gray she-cat kit began to crawl up Leafpaw's tail, stalking it as if it was prey.

"Applekit! Get down!" the silver she-cat meowed.

Startled, the dark gray she-cat kit leaped down with her head hung. She padded up to the silver she-cat.

"I'm so sorry about my kits," the silver she-cat meowd to Leafpaw, sweeping her tail around the three kits and drawing them close.

"No, it's fine," Leafpaw meowed. "They are adorable. What are their names?"

"Applekit," the silver she-cat meowed, flicking her tail to the dark gray she-cat kit. "This is Snowkit," she meowed, looking down at the white she-cat kit. "And Blackkit," she meowed, looking at the black tom kit.

"Lovely names," Leafpaw purred. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Mistyfur," the silver she-cat meowed.

"Mistyfur," Leafpaw repeated. "I'm Leafpaw. One day, I hope to have beautiful kits like yours."

"You're still young, little one," Mistyfur meowed, running her tail down Leafpaw's back; Leafpaw felt comforted by the motherly gesture from Mistyfur.

. . .

Right before settling down in the apprentices' sleeping hollow, she padded up to Sparrowstar. "I have a question," she meowed.

Sparrowstar looked down at her. "Yes, Leafpaw?"

"Can I help take care of the queens? Like hunt for them and their kits, feed them, change their moss?" she meowed; after her meeting with Mistyfur, she wanted to be around her more.

"Of course," Sparrowstar dipped his head. "I'm glad to have an apprentice enthusiastic about apprentice duties,"

Leafpaw dipped her head finally before padding off to crawl into her new nest of moss and feathers in the apprentices' hollow. She lay beside Ivypaw, wrapping her tail over her nose.

She closed her eyes. She opened her eyes to find herself in the beautiful mountains she had been in before she met up with the other cats at the Starlake.

"Darkness is rising, darkness is rising.." a voice whispered.

Images flashed through Leafpaw's head; blood splattered, dark blood red water, the dark night sky, cats dying, cats fighting to the death, a blood-covered forest.. "Blood will spill, blood will spill..."

"No!" Leafpaw wanted to yowl, but no sound would come out. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak; no words coming out.

More images flashed through her mind; Leafpaw felt pure terror. She suddenly found herself in a dark forest, the ground was covered in blood. The sky was a mixture dark red and black. Her clanmates, lying dead, laid around the blood-covered ground. "No!" Leafpaw choked.

Tansypaw stood, staring at her with a hungry gaze. His fangs dripped with blood. His pelt was full of blood, but not his. He made his way over to Leafpaw. He looked horrible; his fur was spiky and matted with blood, his eyes glinted with evil, his pelt was completely filthy and his face was the most horrible sight Leafpaw had seen.

Leafpaw tried to turn around, ready to flee but something stopped her. She was frozen in place. "No!" she yowled. "StarClan, please!" she begged.

"StarClan can't save you now," Tansypaw meowed, revealing his blood-stained teeth. Tansypaw leaped at her. As he landed on her, she was pinned down completely.

Hot, sticky blood covered her pelt. "No!" she yowled, struggling under his weight. She thrashed around, desperate to free herself.

Tansypaw leaned down to bite her neck.

Leafpaw opened her eyes, instantly sitting up with wide eyes. She shook with fear as she remembered his blood-thirsty eyes, blood-covered teeth and disgusting, horrible face.

"Are you okay?" Ivypaw meowed, sitting up.

"Yes," Leafpaw meowed shakily.

Ivypaw pressed against her flank. "You were twitching and trembling all night,"

"Was I?" Leafpaw meowed, glancing around.