Warriors: The Hidden Dangers: Dark Shadows

Chapter 3

          Brightkit slowly crept through the dark forest. She had been in a twoleg nest for about six moons now, but she finally escaped. She knew the territory she was on know was RiverClan, because it smelled like fish almost everywhere. Somewhere nearby, bushes rustled. She stared at the unmoving bush. She smelled and noticed she was upwind of the creature. She stalked to the other side of the Bush and smelled a fishy cat smell.
          When she realized it was a RiverClan cat, she decided to talk. "Hello?" She meowed? Her meow echoed through the silent forest, causing a bird to call an alarm. Then a muscular mud-brown Tom cat sprung out of the bushes and bowled Brightkit over, knocking the air out of her. He yowled and was about to lunge for her throat when he stopped, frozen. "Brightkit?! Is it really you!?" The cat said.
          "Puddlefur!?" Brightkit said. The cat nodded. A dark grey cat with a white stripe between his eyes leaped out the bushes. "Yellowclaw! It's Brightkit!" Puddlefur purred. Yellowclaw? Who's Yellowclaw..? Oh! It's Yellowpaw! He became a warrior. Yellowclaw walked up to them. She got up and shook scraps of grass from her fur, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Puddlefur, don't you mean Brightpaw? Yellowclaw meowed.
          Puddlefur cleared his throat. "Uh... yes. Brightpaw. Your apprentice ceremony was supposed to be yesterday. Come on. Ripplestar will make you an apprentice soon." Brightkit bubbled with excitement. She would become and apprentice! Then she thought of something. Ripplestar. That's what Puddlefur said. Who was the deputy? Did Sootstar know about the There's danger coming to the forest, and one cat will put an end to that danger prophecy? Was it a prophecy? And did Ripplestar currently know about it?
          As she jumped over the stepping-stones, she felt curious glares gazing at her. Puddlefur led her to the leaders den. "Ripplestar?" He meowed. A tortoiseshell head popped out the hole in the big stone. "Yes Puddle- Brightkit- I mean Brightpaw! You're back!" He purred, getting out his den. The milky dawn light made his freshly groomed fur shine.
          He sniffed the air, and then he leaped onto HighRock. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath HighRock for a Clan meeting!" All cats started gathering. Brightkit sat at the base of the rock. "Today we have a new apprentice that was supposed to be named yesterday. Brightkit, step forward." His voice echoed through the clearing.
          Brightkit leaped up onto the rock, then whispered to Ripplestar. He nodded. "I understand. Brightkit, from now on until you get your warrior name you will be known as Brightpaw and train as a medicine cat apprentice. Shrewpelt, Brightpaw will be your apprentice." He said. Then he put his nose on Brightpaws shoulder, and she did the same. She leaped down as the cats cheered. Shrewpelt walked over, a light smile on her face. She put her nose on Brightpaws shoulder, and she did the same again.
          "Are we going to explore the territory?" She said eagerly. Shrewpelt nodded. "It's only dawn. I can take you on the Dawn patrol! They're just now leaving." The medicine cat turned around and ran toward the stepping-stones. Brightpaw followed.
          The other cats on the patrol was Puddlefur, Darkclaw, Flamefur, Yellowclaw, and Greenpaw. They walked through the forest and to the RiverClan border where it touches ThunderClans border. "Greenpaw, mark the border." Yellowclaw demanded. When Greenpaw finished, they walked further to a tree with claw marks on it. "Now Brightpaw," Shrewpelt said, walking next to the tree. "This is how you mark the border." Once she demonstrated, she said to mark the tree where the claw marks were. Once she finished marking it, the cats separated to mark the border some more and to see if there were any trespassing ThunderClan cats.
          Brightpaw had been walking for a while when a voice startled her. "Brightpaw." She turned her head and looked behind her and saw Greenpaw. "Hi, Greenpaw." She said, starting to purr. Then she buried her muzzle in the dirt and waited until she stopped purring. "What are you doing?" He said, walking up next to her. She took her muzzle out. "Oh, I'm fine!" She laughed as dirt fell from her muzzle. She sneezed and dirt came out her nose. Greenpaw laughed.
          "Come on, let's go to the crooked tree; I want to show you something". Brightpaw followed Greenpaw to a twisted tree with lots if branches. He leaped onto one branch, then another, then another. "Wow! How do you do that!?" Brightpaw said. Greenpaw shrugged. "Easy. You unsheath your claws and grip into the bark and push off hard."
          "Can you... uh.... teach me?" She hesitated.
          "Sure! I'm already teaching Twistedpaw and Streampaw! One more cat won't hurt." He purred.
          Brightpaw purred too. Then she heard something over the branches creaking. "Greenpaw! Be quiet!" She hissed. He stood still on a branch. "Do you hear that?" She mewed. He shook his head. Ever so quietly he jumped of the tree a few fox-lengths off the ground and landed perfectly on all fours.
          She crawled across the forest floor, trying not to be all the way on her stomach and keeping her tail low. She tried to keep as quiet as possible. She peeked out from a bush and put her back paw on Greenpaws face so he could stop. She sniffed the air and realized no one was here. She signaled with her tail for them to go forward.
          "What in StarClan....?" She quietly leaped over the bush and landed on all paws, making dust go everywhere. Greenpaw sneezed. "Sorry," He said. She looked at the claw marks drawn in the dust. She examined them closely. There were cats drawn into the sand. First there were cats in a pit. Two cats were at the top and one of them was dead. Then it showed other drawings with other dead cats and pits. The last one showed a lot of cats and a really big one on the rock.
          Greenpaw said, "Wow." Brightpaw rolled her eyes. "Who do you think did this? And why?" Greenpaw shrugged. Then they heard a noise. "Run!"