Warrior Cats Fanfiction: Whispers of the Shadows Book 1 Rivers Descending

Chapter Eighteen

 Dawnpaw looked back again to make sure that the cowardly ShadowClan apprentices weren't following them. Her teeth had stopped hurting long ago, and now they were numb, weighted down by Silverpaw's weight. Dawnpaw was dragging her sister back to camp, hoping that the gash on her forehead would heal quickly so she and her sister could go back to battle.

Once Dawnpaw passed the wall of reeds, she barged into camp, dropping Silverpaw accidentally. The silver cat's head thumped against the dirt, which made her bleeding head wound caked in dust.

"Whoops," Dawnpaw murmured. She pricked her ears and called to the empty camp," Aspencloud? Emberstar?"

The reddish brown tom emerged from his den of brambles, ears flat and fur bristling.

"Get out of our camp, you piece of frog dirt," he snarled, then recognized the two apprentices. "Dawnpaw? What are you doing here?"

"Get Aspencloud," she meowed. "Silverpaw's hurt!"

But the orange and white medicine cat was already nosing her way out of her den, a bundle of leaves with a sharp scent in her mouth.

"Move, Dawnpaw," she snapped, her mew muffled by herbs. She crunched by the injured apprentice and rolled Silverpaw onto her back. The wound had finally stopped bleeding, and was caked with dust. Dim red blood showed through the debris.

Aspencloud dropped the herbs onto the ground, and began licking the grit out of Silverpaw's wound. Dawnpaw bounced from paw to paw, anxious to see her sister's green eyes open again. Emberstar tilted his head to look at the orange and white apprentice curiously.

"What's happening in the battle?" he said nonchalantly, but Dawnpaw could hear the yearning in his mew.

Dawnpaw sighed. "The ShadowClan cats are a lot stronger than us, it seems. They've pushed our battle line back considerably, and Silverpaw and I were chased by the ShadowClan apprentices all the way to the far river."

Emberstar's ears pricked. "They've reached that far?"

"Only two apprentices," Dawnpaw said," and they were too afraid of the water to follow Silverpaw and I past it."

Emberstar's tail lashed, and he murmured," I should be out there, risking my life along with my clanmates."

"Well, you can't," Aspencloud snapped. Dawnpaw looked over and saw that Silverpaw was restlessly fidgeting in her sleep, and her wound was covered with a yellowish paste and thick swaths of cobwebs. The medicine cat crossed over to her leader and leaned towards him.

"You cannot risk your life like this anymore," she hissed bad-temperly. "You only have one life left, and a dead leader would do no good in the middle of the battle."

Dawnpaw gaped. This is why he can't fight in the battle!

Emberstar snorted. Aspencloud, feeling as if she had won the argument turned tail on him and went back to her patient.

"You must keep fighting," Emberstar meowed. "Go now, Dawnpaw, and may the power of StarClan be in your paws."

Dawnpaw looked over to her shoulder. "Can't I stay until Silverpaw wakes up?"

"No!" Hissed Aspencloud. "You will see her after the battle is over." As Dawnpaw opened her mouth again, she glared at the apprentice. "You will come back, Dawnpaw. StarClan knows that you have a destiny to fulfill, and they will not let you die in something as small as a battle."

"Go now," Emberstar meowed. He padded forward. "You are a warrior Dawnpaw, go and prove it now."

Dawnpaw turned tail and ran out of camp, the older cat's words ringing in her ears.

"You are a warrior."

I am, she thought. And a warrior protects her Clanmates. Dawnpaw snarled, and ran faster as trees and bushes and rivers blurred her vision. Watch out, ShadowClan.

Tanglebrook steadied his apprentice, and the two of them watched the sun, dipping below the hills of WindClan. The battle cries still rang in the air, and Dawnpaw flattened her ears against them. Her white patches were splattered with blood, and although she had not suffered any serious injuries her pelt still stung like fury.

"Will we keep fighting until dawn?" she asked.

Her mentor glanced over. "As long as needed," he growled, and looked up as a rumble of paws sounded. They were behind a tree that looked down on the marshy land near the ShadowClan border. They could see small patches of black on the grass, showing where their Clanmates battled.

"ShadowClan patrol," Tanglebrook whispered. "Three warriors." He looked at his apprentice. "Are you ready?"

Dawnpaw flexed her claws and bunched her muscles, ready to spring on the next warrior that ascended the slope.

"Ready," she hissed.

May StarClan be with me.