Shadow Warriors

Chapter Seventeen

Sagepaw padded carefully through the forest. It wasn't that she was worried about scaring prey. This land was dead, the soil light and trees only shades of their former selves. Darkness clung to every branch, every crumpled leaf, webbing over everything in her path. The area itself was silent, with no indication of life beside herself.

No, Sagepaw was moving silently because she was curious. Her paws itched to explore the forest in its entirety. Did it reflect actual territories? Was there a ShadowClan Dark Forest, a ThunderClan Dark Forest? Did these skies somehow connect to StarClan?

Was Viperfang keeping her to one area of the forest for a reason?

Sagepaw understood that battle training didn't involve exploring the territory. Obviously. You sat in an area and practiced battle moves. But every time she appeared, she seemed to be in the same clearing, and what little exploring that she did previously was quickly stopped by Viperfang.

Well today they were not supposed to meet. He had given her a night to rest so that tomorrow they could move on to more complicated techniques. So she was going to use this time to explore.

The white she-cat padded between the trees, wandering in a random direction. Most of the forest looked exactly the same, and it was hard to navigate without markers like rivers present, but she tried.

What felt like an age later, Sagepaw slumped against a tree to give her paws a rest. The dry ground burned on the soles of her feet, which were used to a wetter, swampier environment.

"What are you doing here?"

Sagepaw jumped so violently that she slammed her head on the tree behind her. Whirling around, her eyes were met with a light gray tom who looked around the same age as Viperfang. His blue eyes pierced through her as he waited for an answer.

"Oh! I was, ah, looking for Viperfang. I decided that I wanted a training session today after all." Sagepaw improvised. Her tail wrapped tightly around her paws, and she forced herself to relax her stance.

"You must be Sagepaw," the tom acknowledged, head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "I've heard a lot about your potential."

Her fur puffed, unbidden, at the sudden praise. She sized him up, noting his large frame and broad shoulders. There was a jagged scar running down his right shoulder, a  striking mark outlined by his short fur.

"What Clan are you from?" she questioned. He smirked at her.

"...ShadowClan." He offered nothing else. The silence stretched between them, leaving Sagepaw feeling awkward. She was just about to fill the silence with any nonsensical chatter when he padded closer to her.

"You are very determined," he noted. "Not many who come here have the ability to use possession, especially at a young age."

"Have there been many others beside me?" Sagepaw was not stupid. Larkshine had questioned her multiple times about the Dark Forest because cats were always falling to its sway. Maybe there were others who had been recruited and failed. Maybe they were more self confident than her, and refused the training to learn by themselves.

"A few," he confirmed. "Not many stayed."

"Why?" the russet she-cat held her breath. Perhaps now she would get some answers.

Suddenly the world swayed. The tom tilted his head, considering her even as Sagepaw began to panic. What was going on?

"You're being woken up," he explained. "We can speak another time." he flicked his tail and turned to walk away.

"What's your name?" she asked desperately. He only flicked his ears, disappearing into the darkness.

"Sagepaw! Come on, open your eyes you lazy mousebrain."

"Don't call me a mousebrain," she grumbled, blinking at her brother, who had been incessantly nudging her. She peered past him at the night sky, noting the large amount of cats milling out of their dens and whispering frantically to each other. "Whats wrong?"

"Cloudyfoot sent me to wake you. There is a RiverClan patrol on our territory."

Sagepaw's ears pricked. "So we're going to battle?" Quailpaw flicked his tail at her.

"The battle will already be over by the time you wake up!" She hissed playfully at him and he laughed as he dodged her halfhearted swipe at his face.

"Tell Cloudyfoot that I'm coming," she told him. As he left the den, she felt a headache creep up on her. She pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the jelly-like feeling in her limbs from the sudden waking.

Sagepaw padded into the clearing just in time for everyone in the center of camp to break up in different groups.

"Sagepaw! We're going to battle! Be ready." Cloudyfoot ordered her. She gulped, stumbling along after him. She perked up suddenly as she realized something. She could use this to practice her possession in a real battle!

Her feet picked up the pace, following her group into the forest and away from the camp. Her body was burning, ready for the taste of blood.