The Shadow Glare

Chapter 8

Shadowpaw was hunting. It was her first assessment, and she sniffed the air.
She caught the scent of shrew a little to her right and perked her ears up. It was scrabbling around a tree, taking small seeds and nuts into its den.
Shadowpaw got into a hunters crouch and began to move forward, placing one paw carefully in front of the other.
Soon she had reached the shrew. She waggled her rump and pounced, snapping its tiny spine easily beneath her paws.
Shadowpaw's eyes glittered as she buried the shrew with the rest of her catches.
So far she had caught two mice and the shrew.

A happy warbler was singing its morning song as it sat high in a tree.
Ok, this will be a bit harder. I'll need to climb the tree and sneak up on it without it flying away- I have to be fast.
As Shadowpaw hurried up the tree, the bird didn't seem to notice anything.
It's back was turned and its soft feathers ruffling as it preened.
But as she put her paw on the branch, the warbler startled, spreading its wings out. Shadowpaw was too fast for the bird. She captured its wings under her paws as she sprang and snapped its spine.

Shadowpaw missed the branch on her way down and started to fall.
"Nooooo!" She yowled. Suddenly Pebblestar, her mentor, burst out of a bush and ordered. "Try and catch the other branches in the way down!"

As hard as she tried, she couldn't grab a branch and landed on the ground with a crunch.
Pebblestar gasped. "Are you ok? We should get you back to the camp. Come on."

"No I'm fine," Shadowpaw insisted, though as she put her weight on the injured leg, she shot it straight back into the air. "Ok, maybe I'm not, but can we at least get my prey?"

Pebblestar nodded and bounded off to get her other prey. When she returned carrying the two mice and shrew, Shadowpaw leaned on her shoulder and they began to limp back to the camp.
When they arrived, Pebblestar mewed. "You should go to the medicine den to see Blackwave. You'll need to get that shoulder back into place.
Shadowpaw limped into the medicine den, where she was greeted by Riverpaw.

"Oh, my what happened Shadowpaw?" Her sister asked, worry glittering in her blue eyes.

Shadowpaw didn't answer, just shook her head.
"Oh come on, Shadowpaw, I can't help you unless I know!"

"Fine," Shadowpaw gave in. "I fell out of a tree catching a stupid bird."

At that moment Blackwave burst into the den. "I heard Shadowpaw was hurt so I-" she broke off as she realised that Shadowpaw was already in the den.
Blackwave stepped forward and sniffed at her shoulder. Then she put her paw on it and rolled it around.
Shadowpaw yelped in pain. "What are you doing?"

"I'll need to wrench it back into place. Keep still. It will hurt, so be prepared. Riverpaw, you can start making the poultice to put on afterward."
Blackwave put her paw on Shadowpaw's shoulder again and braced her other paw against her side.
Just as Shadowpaw was about to ask what was taking so long, she felt a ripping pain in her shoulder as it was pushed back into place.
"You'll have to stay here for a few days," Blackwave ordered. "We don't want you to get hurt again.

As Blackwave left, Riverpaw came back, with slimy yellow stuff wrapped in a leaf.
"It's comfrey and marigold," She explained. "It should help with the pain."

"Thanks." Shadowpaw mewed before drifting off to sleep.