Warriors AU: Skyclan's Destiny

Chapter 7

"We won!" Tinycloud waved his tail as the cats poured back down the gorge toward the camp. "Snookpaw, you crept up to the tree like a shadow!"

The apprentice blinked in embarrassment and let out a pleased purr.

"We'll go hunting tomorrow," Leafdapple promised her. "And you can try out that crouch on real prey."

"It was just bad luck that we lost," Fallowfern meowed; Poppystar was relieved to see that none of his teammates was looking angry that Tinycloud's group had beaten them in both exercises.

"Yes, you just wait till next time," Nettlepaw murmured, her eyes gleaming.

"Did you see me trip up Sparrowpelt?" Bouncefire boasted. "She never saw me coming!"

"I got in some good blows over your ears, though," her sister retorted, giving her a flick on the shoulder with her tail. "You're lucky my claws were sheathed!"

"Frecklepaw, you did well, too." Cobaltclaw brushed his tail against his apprentice's shoulder. "You were a strong part of our group."

'It was fun," Frecklepaw replied, his eyes shining. "Can we do it again some time?" he asked Cherrytail shyly.

The deputy nodded. "Of course. It's the best way of keeping our skills sharp."

To Poppystar's surprise, Cherrytail sounded quite friendly as he spoke to the apprentice, as if he'd forgotten for now that he was a daylight warrior. Training like this brings us closer together.

Even the visiting cats seemed more at ease among the warriors now. "You could try racing up the cliff," Haze suggested, pausing to scan the rock face stretching above him. "We could give you some tips there; we're used to climbing walls in our Twolegplace."

"I'll think about it," Poppystar promised, though privately she wasn't sure it was a good idea. The memory of Birdpaw's fall was too vivid in her mind.

Or does that mean we ought to do more climbing practice? she wondered. I'll have to discuss it with Cherrytail.

"Or we could show you different ways of dealing with dogs." Cory scraped the ground with his front claws. "You must see plenty of them, with a Twolegplace so near."

Cherrytail gave him a long look. "Thanks. That could be very useful."

"And what to do about monsters," Stumpy put in. "Or young Twolegs." She sighed. "Sometimes I think we spend our whole lives dodging something."

"You wouldn't have to if you were in a Clan," Sparrowpelt meowed, her tail proudly raised. "Clan cats look out for one another."

"There's one thing that puzzles me," Haze went on, as if Sparrowpelt hadn't spoken. "In our Twolegplace, we hunt at night, and sleep in the day."

"But you're awake all day," Cory mewed. "Somehow it doesn't seem right for cats."

"Sandstar said this is how the other Clans live," Poppystar answered. "It's easier to hunt and patrol our borders in daylight."

"And fight, if we have to," Cherrytail added; there was the hint of a challenge in his voice. "We could hunt by night if we wanted to, but we prefer it this way."

Poppystar spotted Cory rolling his eyes at Stumpy, and heard him mutter, "Weird, or what?"

She didn't bother to argue with them. Skyclan hunted by day and slept by night because that was the way Sandstar and Fireheart had taught them. She couldn't see that it mattered. As Cherrytail had said, there was no reason why they couldn't hunt at night, and sometimes two or three warriors would go out on patrol after dark, especially if the night was fine and the moon shone brightly.