Warriorcats: The First Shadow

Chapter 2

        "Who are you?" Nightrunner looked the she~cat. She had a thick grey pelt with white splotches on her chest and belly.
            "So I just get no thank you, for saving your life?" The she~cat turned away from Nightrunner. Glancing back she added "I'm Jane, by the way."

"Sorry,Jane."Nightrunner padded up to face her. "Thanks for saving me. My name is Nightrunner."

"This is one of the rouges I was telling you about!" Snowball meowed as she jumped down from the fence.

"So you were talking about me? All good things I suppose."

"Nightrunner was just curious about how to get out of the house folk place and back to the forest. I thought you would know."

"Let me take you back to Harvey and Wilber, you look hungry, we can fill you up." Jane mewed as she turned around and jumped up onto the fence. "Let's go!"

Nightrunner and Snowball followed Jane down the fence until they reached the alley where Jane and the others live.
The alley was full of twoleg junk left on the ground and strange black wraps around strange smelling twoleg objects.
Jane stopped at a large wood colored square, it looked like a twoleg den but in a size for cats. Jane stalked around it until she came to an opening on the other side. "Oh, Jane, come in. I see you brought visitors."

Nightrunner peered into the box to see a large ginger and white tom lying in the box sleepily. Then Nightrunner caught the stench of sickness. "Is he ok?" Nightrunner looked at Jane.

"I don't know" She mewed looking at her paws then to Nightrunner. "He has been sick for a 2 sunrises. I don't know what to do."

Catmint! Thought Nightrunner.
He remember how their Medicine cat, Jupinernose, had healed him from green cough when he was an apprentice. It was the same green cough that had killed Quillwisker.

"Catmint," Nightrunner finally said. "It will heal your friend."

"Really? I need to save Wilber, he is my brother, Harvey and I will miss him to much if he dies." Jane got a hopeful look on her face. "Where can I get this, catmint?"

"Well it usually grows around twoleg dens...." Nightrunner started but was interrupted by Snowball.

"I know where to get some!" She mewed in her usual perky tone. "My house folk grow some in my garden."

"Sounds great!" Jane meowed as she padded the direction to the fence. "Let's go, the sooner the better." Then she glanced over at Nightrunner "Will you stay and watch Wilber?"

Nightrunner nodded. Snowballs twoleg den was not to far away and he was to tired and hungry to care if he went or not, but he would prefer to stay.
      He watched as Snowball and Jane hopped onto the fence and padded toward Snowballs twoleg garden.
He then took place next to Wilber. The toms flank slowly went up and down. His chest wheezed with every breath.

         "Who are you?" A voice growled behind him "Get away from my father!"

Nightrunner turned to face the cat that stood behind him. He was a large dark tabby tom with broad shoulders and big forepaws. Nightrunner backed away from Wilber and stood up to be face to face with the large tom. "Look, I don't want any trouble."
The tom hissed at Nightrunner then pounced onto his back, digging his claws into Nightrunners shoulders.
Nightrunner collapsed then rolled, getting the tom off his back. Then swiped at the toms muzzle.
The tom yowled in pain as Nightrunner slid his claws across his attackers back.
Then the tom swiped at Nightrunners leg.

"Stop!" A horrified yowl startled both of them. They then stopped fighting and turned to face Jane and Snowball. Both carried catmint in their jaws. "What are you doing?" Jane was the one to speak.

"I found this stranger in the box with Wilber." He shot Nightrunner a hateful glance "I was ripping his pelt off before you came."

Jane stared at the tom for a second then looked at Nightrunner. "You know Harvey that not every cat is bad. This is Nightrunner. We are going to help him."

"Why should we help him what has he done for us?" Harvey gave Nightrunner a challenging look.

"He told us what to use to heal Wilber." Jane passed Harvey some of the green herb. "Catmint."

Harvey gave the catmint a sniff the glanced at Nightrunner. "Could work, I guess."

"Wilber?" Jane prodded him with one paw. Then he stirred awake. "We brought you something."

"Catmint?" Wilber croaked. "Why did you bring me catmint?"

"It will help you get better." Mewed Snowball "Just try some."

Wilber licked up some of the catmint that Snowball had set in front of him. His eyes brightened as he chewed the herb. "Mmmm!" He purred "It's been a while since I've had some catmint." Wilber stopped and let out a spasm of coughing "Could I have some more?"

"Sorry Wilber, but the rest is for later. It's for healing, not for fun." Nightrunner meowed "You should get some more sleep now, the rest of us should hunt. We all need to have some fresh kill."

"Who put you in charge Bossy Tail?" Harvey hissed at Nightrunner.

"Nightrunners right, Harvey, we all should hunt." Jane glanced at Snowball "She should be getting home to."

"Could I possibly stay? Maybe just for the night?" Snowball padded over to Wilber "I can keep an eye on him while you hunt."

"I suppose it wouldn't be a problem. You should just get home in the morning, your house folk will miss you."

"Thank you!" Snowball purred back to Jane "I can't hunt, but I'll be a great helper!"

"So we're going to let a house kitty stay to?" Harvey spat at Jane "You must be mouse~brained to let 2 total strangers stay with us."

"They're not total strangers, and besides, we owe them for helping us out with Wilber." Jane flicked her ears to where Wilber was lying asleep, and still wheezing.

"How do we know it will even work?" Harvey snorted "How about we just listen to all house kitties considering their so smart!"

"Im no kittypet or house kitty. But trust me." Nightrunner mewed "He will feel a lot better in the morning." Nightrunner looked up at the sky. It was turning from the blue of day to a darker blue. "It's getting late we should get to hunting now instead of arguing."

With a flick of a tail Harvey turned around and stalked away.