Warrior Cats Fanfiction- Ripples of Fear

Chapter 9

Shadedpaw cast a sideways glance at Rosepaw as they trotted toward the hunting grounds. She veered closer to her sister. "What did they do with the other kits?" She whispered, curiosity brightening her tone of voice.

Rosepaw shrugged. "I guess they were buried. It is tragic they never even had a chance to live."

Shadedpaw nodded solemnly. "Yeah." She muttered.

"Rosepaw, Shadedpaw, enough of that." Sharpfang hissed.

"Oh, don't be so harsh, Sharpfang." Darksong mewed, her voice gentle and sweet as honey. "They're just curious."

"Curiosity is what gets you into the Dark Forest, Darksong!" Sharpfang spat, walking a few paces ahead of the black she-cat.

Darksong shook her head. "Oh, don't mind him. He's a bit shaken up, but he'll be fine." She gave the two apprentices a consoling smile. "So, how is the territory?" She asked, changing the subject.

Shadedpaw lifted her violet gaze and glanced about her. The trees were nearly barren, a few frail leaves clinging to the thin brown branches. The ground was scattered with brown leaves,and ever here and there an auburn one that burst like a giddy flame in the dull crowd around it. There was a thin layer of white from the previous night's snow, but that wasn't even melting in the weak sun which was peeking over the dull, leafless branches of the trees. Shadedpaw gave her mentor a smile. The world about her was rather dull, but with her mesmerizing violet eyes she must have seen a whole new reality, an unfathomable beauty no cat could ever explain or comprehend. "It is truly beautiful!" She chirped.

Darksong smiled at her adoringly. "It is, isn't it? Sometimes Leaf-bare possesses that unique beauty only cats like you and me-" she winked cheerfully- "can understand."

Rosepaw glanced about her, but all she saw was dead trees and withered leaves. She sighed. Of course, Shadedpaw was special, of course, she herself would never be able to compare to her sister. "So what's Silverpaw doing?" Rosepaw asked, her jealousy fading from her mind as she thought of her striped sister.

  "She and Mossysplash are going to help out around the camp. Mossysplash promised Silverpaw she would show her even more of the territory than we saw." She gave an amused snort. "But is that really worth cleaning up after Loudflame?" Her eyes gleamed playfully.

Shadedpaw and Rosepaw giggled as they padded on, forgetting all about the prior night's tragedy.

"Well, here's the Ancient Willow." Darksong flicked her white-tipped tail at a huge weeping willow tree that loomed overt he river that ran around ReedClan territory, separating it from CreviceClan and FireClan. Sharpfang was already there, eyes narrowed as he peered into CreviceClan territory. "Sharpfang, we're moving on now!" Darksong called to the striped tom as she padded away with the two apprentices. Sharpfang blinked, not moving his cold blue gaze, then shook out his pelt and padded after the three she-cats, walking beside his apprentice.

Darksong looked down at the two young she-cats. "Look, see how the river disappears in mist in the distance?" She mewed quietly.

Rosepaw strained her neck as she peered at the gently winding river, but the end of it was unseen, disappearing in mist.

"Well, there's a waterfall at the end of it, but Tornshadow's mentor's mentor's mentor, Cleareye, said she had a prophecy from StarClan saying that the cat who wandered past the misty border between the known and the mysterious, would be cursed, bringing death and suffering mercilessly into all the Clans. No cat has ever gone there. No cat dares."

Shadedpaw gave a gasp of horror. Rosepaw tilted her head, clearly not believing Darksong.

"A curse?" Rosepaw mewed disbelievingly.

"Oh, yes." Darksong said, wrenching her gaze from the unknown world before her to the small apprentice. "Don't you go there, Rosepaw." Suddenly, her eyes lost their mysterious solemnity and brightened again. "Moving on." She mewed. "There's a cliff, obviously. It comes around the other side of ReedClan territory, we can go there now." The black she cat trotted through the he forest, followed by the other three cats. Eventually she stopped. There was a small strip of plain land that stopped abruptly to cascade down to the unseen area below the jagged cliff. "Well, that's all for today. Now we should split up and do some hunting practice." She said with a glance at Sharpfang, who was gazing down the cliff.

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  "Okay, Shadedpaw, do what I do." Darksong instructed the dark gray and black she-cat. Darksong dropped into a hunters' crouch, holding her tail barely above the snowy, leaf-strewn ground. She pulled forward, her paws sinking into the powdery snow noiselessly as she slowly stalked forward. After a few moments, she pulled back quietly then pounced on a twig, which was meant to signify a price of prey. "It's not likely there'll be much prey out for a while," Darksong told her apprentice, "but we can practice your hunting crouch."

    Shadedpaw gave her mentor a nod, then dropped into a hunter's crouch almost perfectly. She stalked forward with an everlasting grace, then paused to sniff the air. She drew back and leapt right into a snowy bush.

"Shadedpaw?" Darksong sounded confused. "The twig is still over here."

Shadedpaw burst out of the bush, shaking snow from her pelt, a sparrow in her jaws. She dropped it, eyes shining. "I caught a bird!" She sang, the thrilled joy sparkling in her violet eyes.

Darksong looked puzzled, shocked, and happy as she gazed at her apprentice. "Your first catch!" She gasped. "And the first time you ever hunted!"

Shadedpaw's eyes shone.

"Tomorrow, we'll see if your as good at fishing and swimming." Darksong's eyes glittered in amusement. "Hopefully you'll be better than you were as a kit." She purred in amusement.

Shadedpaw giggled, picking up the plump sparrow in her jaws and plodding contentedly after Darksong as her mentor headed back to the camp.

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  "Like this?" Rosepaw looked up at her mentor, then narrowed her eyes in concentration as she fixed her orange gaze on the leaf ahead of her. She dropped into a hunter's crouch and slowly stalked forward, before leaping and landing only whiskers away from the leaf, skidding in the snow. Her eyes shone as she gazed up at Sharpfang, waiting for his reply.

  Sharpfang sighed. "Pull your front legs closer together, be more careful with your tail, and try to make the pounce more clean." He mewed, eyes distant.

  Rosepaw flattened her ears. Nothing she could do would ever impress Sharpfang. She sighed, then shook the snow from her pelt, and tried the move again.