Dappled Shadows

Chapter 12

Dapplepaw arrived back at camp just as the sun sank behind the trees. "Great StarClan Dapplepaw! Where have you been?" Blazeheart hissed running over to where his apprentice was sitting.
"I just got caught up in something," Dapplepaw muttered, looking down at her paws to avoid her mentor's hard gaze.

"Feel free to share." Blazeheart said dryly, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his ginger paws.  Suddenly he got up and sniffed Dapplepaw's pelt.  "That's not a ThunderClan scent," Blazeheart growled accusingly, looking straight into Dapplepaw's pale blue eyes.  

"I smelled a squirrel and I followed it out of the territory,"  Dapplepaw mewed, leaving out the part about meeting Flint and Shade.  Blazeheart sighed.  "How many times do I have to tell you not to leave the territory," he meowed exasperatedly.  

"Dapplepaw come here!" Flowerpaw's soft voice came from the other side of camp.  "I'm coming," Dapplepaw yowled back.  "I won't do it again." Dapplepaw lied to Blazeheart and bounded towards her sister.  The tortoiseshell she-cat was arguing with Ravenpaw about the importance of rocks.  The dark gray tom had been terrified of them since he had gotten a rather large one stuck in his paw.  "They can all just disappear and we can go on with out lives," Ravenpaw stated to a trembling Flowerpaw.  "The forest wouldn't be the same though," Flowerpaw insisted quietly.  Dapplepaw purred in amusement.  Her sister had always been shy and a little nervous which is why Dapplepaw and Shadowpaw always hung around to reassure the timid she-cat.  

Ravenpaw noticed Dapplepaw's arrival and quickly got up.  "Whatever," Ravenpaw hissed over his shoulder before stalking back to the apprentice's den. "Who made dirt in his fresh kill?" Dapplepaw questioned settling down next to her sister.  

"He's mad that you ran off during the patrol.  He really likes you you know." Flowerpaw purred, a twinkle in her light brown eyes.  "How do you know?" Dapplepaw mewed curiously perking her ears up.  "I just do." Flowerpaw meowed mischievously.  "I'm going to sleep. I have dawn patrol tomorrow." Flowerpaw meowed giving her sister a lick on the ear.  "See you in the morning," she called bounding over to the den.

* * * 

Dapplepaw woke up to a crash in the clearing.  Not wanting to wake the other apprentices, she slipped silently out of the den into the cool air of the camp.  "Hello?" Dapplepaw's voice echoed eerily through the empty camp.  

"Hey Dapplepaw," Leafsplash meowed approaching the  apprentice.  "What are you doing out here so late?" the pretty tabby questioned looking a bit confused.  "I thought I heard something.  I might go for a walk if that's alright though." Dapplepaw replied looking up at Leafsplash with pleading blue eyes. 

 "You're almost a warrior so I guess it's okay," she decided.  "Just be careful!  Tornstar warned us about ShadowClan," she reminded.  "Don't worry. I'll be careful." Dapplepaw reasurred before walking out of the camp into the chilly night.