Warriors: Rising Storm #1: Robin's Call

Chapter 13

Shadepaw wished the three apprentices good luck before they left for their final assessment. Emberpaw had given her a hard stare while the two toms had thanked her. Thistlejaw was sending out hunting patrols and border patrols.

"Tinypuddle, Froststrike, Owlflight, and Duskwhisper, you will be hunting near the river, not the creek. If you can't find much, catch some fish." On rare occasions, MountainClan caught fish if the ice was thin and the prey was poor. He continued with the patrols, and when Shadepaw didn't hear her name or Clovergaze's, she sighed. She was probably going to search Hazelflash for ticks. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched squeal. She saw Snakekit diving under her paws for a ball of moss. She reared up with mock surprise. Snakekit stopped playing with the mossball and charged at Shadepaw. When he jumped on her, she purposely fell. "Oh, no! Spare my life this one time, I won't cross your path again!" 

Snakekit's stubby tail was raised high as he growled, "Do you promise to return to your filthy twolegs?"

"I promise!" Shadepaw cried.

The little kit got off of her and scampered after the mossball.

Shadepaw tilted her head. Was the kit really trying to make her leave? She pushed her thoughts aside, and just as she was turning to find Clovergaze, Snakekit hissed, "Leave, you murderer," he spat. Shock pulsed through Shadepaw, but before she could say anything, Flowersting ran up to the little kit.

"Snakekit," she hissed. "How dare you say that to a clanmate?" Her pelt was bristling with a mixture of embarrassment and fury.

The kit flattened his ears to his head and growled, "Robinheart told me she murdered Eaglestar."

Flowersting's eyes widened with shock. "It's all a misunderstanding, it wasn't just-"

"You know very well that it was Shadepaw," an unfriendly voice interrupted. Shadepaw didn't need to look over her shoulder to see who had spoken. It was her mother. "Shadepaw delivered the final blow."

Flowersting looked uncertain for a heartbeat. "Shadepaw did what she thought was right."

Shadepaw dug her claws into the ground. She hated being reminded of the time she killed her leader. Narrowing her eyes to slits, she spun around, darting out of camp. The sour taste of Eaglestar's blood returned to her mouth as the memories of that dreadful night returned. She shook her head. Maybe a hunt would lift her spirit. She quietly lifted her nose, trying to catch a whiff of prey, but all she could scent was freshly fallen snow. She hissed in frustration. She felt her paws leading her to unexplored territory. Ahead of her was a wide open moor which no clan lived on. Cautiously, she placed a paw on the moor, outside of MountainClan territory. She slowly began to go completely out of the boundaries. It was like going into a completely different world, and she sprinted onward, leaving her clan. The snow made the usually green land white. Shadepaw nearly tripped on a rabbit hole, but strong jaws grasped her scruff. She let out a squeal as she was hauled back.

"Must be your first time on the moor," a voice chuckled, "cats who are born here never fall in rabbit holes."

Shadepaw turned around to see a solid ginger tom with a white muzzle and paws. His light green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Who are you?" she asked cautiously, taking a small step back.

"My name is Socks." He cocked his head and stared at me. "And you are...?"

Shadepaw was uncertain, but she replied, "Shadepaw."

Socks's gaze widened. "You're a clan cat?" Something changed in his voice, and it wasn't a good change. "I know some cats that might want to see you."