Warrior Cats: In the Shadows

Chapter 17

   Shadepaw sat on the forest floor, comforted by the ground of dead leaves, fresh twigs, and the sharp tang of prey. The thought of prey made Shadepaw realize how long it'd been since he'd eaten. His belly rumbled as he stood up and arched his back. He walked over to a tree to spot a plump starling building a nest on the lowest branch. The tom lodged his claws in the bark, and slowly and quietly inched his way up.

   He was at the point where he could leap, and catch the starling. And so he did. His claws caught onto the branch as he nipped up and grabbed the bird by its neck. He bit down harder as he let himself fall to the ground safely. Now that his prey was dead, Shadepaw would eat until Branch came.

---

   Sunhigh was creeping away as Shadepaw was curled up, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his back. Branch was supposed to be here right now, but that was the least of his worries. He enjoyed the smell of the leaves and trees around him, instead of the sharp tang of the large body of water. Lost in his thoughts, Shadepaw almost didn't hear a tom speak.

   "Back from your travels?"

   Shadepaw looked up and saw Branch perched upon a well... branch. (how ironic). Branch's eyes showed pride, and he smirked as he leaped down.

   The young brown tabby tom stood up in salute of his mentor, waiting for his next orders.

   "You can be welcomed into our group now, Shadepaw," Branch gleamed.

   Shadepaw's gaze dropped, "But you said I'd have to train for 12 moons."

   The old tom's eyes looked shocked, "Did I? Oh, that was a mistake. You only had to train till leaf-bare," His tail twitched as snow started to fall.

   Surprised, Shadepaw looked up to see the once clear sky. It was clouded, and his vision blurred with snow.

   "I guess that's nice," He murmured.

   "Well then, come on back to the meadow," Branch turned tail and started prodding towards where the sun would usually set.

---

   The meadow was filled with delighted cats as they saw Shadepaw and Branch return. Raven ran up to Shadepaw.

   "How did you do? Did Branch give you your grade yet?" He jumped up and down, the herbs in his mouth dropping to the ground.

   "Grade?" Shadepaw asked, confused.

   "Ya! He gives you a grade after you train! He rates you 1 out of 100! I got a 7... So I'll never have much importance in this meadow, but I'm sure you did better!" He gleamed.

   Shadepaw smirked, "I'm sure I did better too."

   The two jumped up onto a boulder as Branch addressed the group for a meeting.

   "Shadepaw has returned safely from his travels!"

   All the cats cheered, and Raven was jumping in the air and yowling gleefully.

   Shadepaw smiled as Branch spoke again, "You have now finished your training, Shadepaw. So it is the time that we give you your proper name which shall signify your acceptance into our group!"

   The brown tabby tom's face lit up like the sun, he would finally be a proud member of this group.

   "From now on, you shall be known as Lurking Shadow, but you shall go by Shadow," Branch announced.

   All the cats cheered on, "Lurking Shadow! Lurking Shadow!"

   The way they chanted his name brought back memories. It was a foggy day, and he was sitting on something.. like a rock. He was sitting next to, three other cats? They all looked familiar, but the fog blurred his vision and the memory faded away.

   Shadow shook his head, it's okay now. It's all going swell.

(I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I have this other account that I was working on. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter!) ~The Tiger That Writes