Cougarstripe's Shock (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 8

"Agh!"

Cougarpaw leaped to his paws, panting. His fur was ruffled and blood was splattered on the side of his fur. Silverpaw was staring at him, eyes concerned. That blood... Did I carry it through my dream? He quickly looked over at Shadowwhisk- Shadowpaw, who was fidgeting, clawing at the air. He must be fighting Whisperpaw.

"Cougarpaw... That blood appeared on your fur. Your face, it's clawed up. And so is Shadowpaw's," Silverpaw meowed. The other apprentices were asleep - thankfully.

"Silverpaw, I have to tell you something," Cougarpaw murmured. He couldn't hold anything in anymore. "Silverpaw, I-" Suddenly, Shadowpaw leaped up, panting. He stared at Cougarpaw and yowled, crashing into him.

"You!" Shadowpaw snarled. Silverpaw wasn't even helping!

Shadowpaw raked his claws down his face, biting into his neck and throwing him across the den. Cougarpaw hit the wall and the wind was knocked out of him. He hit the ground, and blood trickled out of his jaws.

"N-No!" Cougarpaw stuttered, watching the black cat pad up to him. He smirked, fangs dripping with blood. He lifted his unsheathed paw before Cougarpaw yowled, leaping up. He was back in the apprentices' den, in his nest. Silverpaw, Darkpaw, Lightpaw, and Ashpaw woke up, looking around fearfully. Tigerpaw looked at Cougarpaw. "What is it? Are there cats out there?" He glanced outside of the den, worried. Shadowpaw awoke and said nothing, wiping the blood off of his muzzle and pelt.

"Cougarpaw, what's up?" Silverpaw meowed, cocking her head at him. His mind trailed back to everything that happened. Cypressfog! No! She's dead...

"Yeah, and... Why is there blood on you?" Tigerpaw inquired, pointing at his pelt.

"I... I don't know," Cougarpaw lied, quickly lapping up the salty blood off of his pelt. He cringed at the taste. Dear StarClan, did I really just experience that?

"Hey, Tigerpaw," Cougarpaw piped up to the older apprentice, "Have you seen a cat named Whisperpaw in RiverClan?"

"No, I haven't. Why?" Tigerpaw replied. Cougarpaw narrowed his eyes. Whisperpaw had looked older than him. "Well, I don't even know the other Clan leader's names. What are they?"

"Oh! WindClan is Larchstar," Lightpaw replied, and Cougarpaw huffed at the tom. I didn't ask you.

"ShadowClan is Sharkstar," Shadowpaw spoke, flicking his tail and staring at Cougarpaw.

"And RiverClan is Crocodilestar," Tigerpaw replied, finally. "Who is this 'Whisperpaw'? I haven't ever seen her at a gathering."

"I haven't either, and I've been to almost all gatherings!" Ashpaw boasted. Cougarpaw rolled his eyes but chuckled a little. He looked out of the den and noticed the moon was pretty low in the sky, and a dapple of colors spread over the sky.

"It's almost dawn," Shadowpaw meowed as he sat beside Cougarpaw. He saw a flash of something in Shadowpaw's eyes... Regret? Sympathy? He didn't really care. Any cat that murdered deserved to go to the Dark Forest!

"Yeah, I see that," Cougarpaw replied cockily, returning to his grumpy self. He exited the den and flicked his tail. Claw marks scorched his fur and he winced as he took a step. Clawflank spotted him and padded over. "You're up early." He noticed his limp and scratches. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," Cougarpaw stammered. Clawflank sighed. "Maybe you should stay out of training today."

"No!" Cougarpaw exclaimed, then he lowered his voice. "No... I want to do something."

"Only if you tell me what's going on. Then we can go hunting," Clawflank replied, flicking an ear. Cougarpaw looked down and nodded, following his mentor out of camp. They entered a clearing and Clawflank sat down, staring at his apprentice. "So?"