Shadowstripe's Treachery

Chapter 10

((Cat above is Larkflight))

The heat from the sun was almost too much to bare for the clan cats, and everyone tried to stay in their dens. It had been the hottest newleaf that anyone could remember. In the miserable conditions, not much hunting had been accomplished and the heat had brought out the tempers of many cats.

The tension was very high for everyone, and Shadowstripe tried to keep out of the other cats' way, especially the senior warriors. Even Snowfall had shown signs of aggression towards him. The only cat that seemed to be happy in this weather was Larkflight, who had chosen her nest next to Cinderstorm in the warriors den.

Shadowstripe made himself get up from the shade of an oak tree to go hunt. He could see that Stoneswirl was choosing cats now for a hunting patrol. He quickly walked up to him, "I'll go!" He volunteered enthusiastically.

Stoneswirl sighed and nodded, "Sure, come along."

The cats in the patrol were Ravenfeather, Sungaze, his father, and the deputy. They were all pretty tolerable cats, and Shadowstripe took in a breath of fresh air. He enjoyed the freedom of being a warrior.

They padded out into the woods and began to hunt. When no prey was found in what seemed like moons of searching, Stoneswirl cleared his throat, "Let's go check by the lake." He suggested.

Everyone was too out of breath to answer, and so they just nodded. They walked together in silence until they reached the normally large expanse of water, but when they got there, they were taken by surprise. The water level of the lake had dropped severely.

"It's all dried up!" Exclaimed Stoneswirl, his eyes widened.

You don't say? Shadowstripe rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe it! I've never seen the lake this dry." Duskheart stated worriedly.

"You don't suppose there's a drought coming?" Asked Sungaze, "StarClan hasn't given us any warnings, so it mustn't be so!"

Shadowstripe held back a snort. Ha! StarClan doesn't care about us anyways, so why should they warn us about a drought?

Stoneswirl sighed, "I'm afraid it must. The lake territory hasn't been this hot in ages! A draught could definitely come with this heat."

"Does that mean less prey? Will this effect the clans?" Ravenfeather gasped, "We should report this to Birchstar and Russetleaf right away!"

"I'm sure it isn't anything to bother them about," Shadowstripe spoke up for the first time. "I mean it's not like all of the prey is going to dissappear just because the lake is a little dry. Everything will be fine."

"I'm not so sure," his father argued, "I think this is a pretty grave matter that we have on our paws."

Stoneswirl nodded, "I agree. We will report this to Birchstar as soon as possible. Let's go."

Shadowstripe lashed his tail as he watched the group leave. He followed behind crossly, angry that they didn't even listen to his take on the matter. "I bet they would've listened to Larkflight." He grumbled.

Once they reached camp, Shadowstripe didn't even stay with the patrol to see what Birchstar had to say about it. He just walked straight to his den. Snowfall was inside grooming her shiny white fur, and when he came in she looked up. "Hey Shadowstripe!" She greeted him happily, an enormous smile on her face.

"Hey." He mewed, not returning the enthusiasm.

"Did you hear the news?" She whispered, her smile growing bigger.