Warrior Cats #1: The Battle of Thorns

Chapter Nine

Sky looked around the dark den anxiously. Dim moonlight shone into the entrance, lighting it with a dark shade of grey. Beside her, Birdclaw and Silvershadow were sleeping peacefully in their nests. This is it. She thought determinedly. With her eyes focused on the entrance, she rose to her paws. Birdclaw flinched in his sleep, letting out a soft meow of distress before settling back down. Sky gasped and stepped backwards, almost stumbling on her mother's tail. With a quick flick of her paw, she leapt to the side, placing her them carefully on the ground. Finally, she made it to the soft grass outside. The moon had lifted higher and shone brighter as she gazed up at it.

She cocked her ears for any sound of movement and headed her way, dodging around trees and leaping over bushes. She knew it would take more than just one night to find her brother, but she had to start somewhere.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lionpaw yawned as he woke, frowning as he spotted the moon from the crack in the roof. He was wide awake with nothing to do but listen to the other apprentices snore. Silently, he stood and stretched his muscles, looking around the den to see if anyone was awake. Sure enough, he saw nothing but the dark stripes on the pelts of the sleeping cats. Slowly, he crept forward, keeping his tail close so that it brushed the ground softly. As soon as he was outside, he noticed Hawkpelt and Stonestar seated on one of the limbs of the High Tree. They were speaking in hushed tones with their tails swaying anxiously from side to side. Lionpaw was about to pad over, but stopped himself quickly. This was none of his business.

Suddenly, two green eyes appeared from the camp entrance. Lionpaw began to growl. "What do you think you're doing?" He whispered , padding over to the cat's spot behind the nursery. Leafpaw almost yelped with surprise, but caught herself. "Only the same as you." She retorted shortly. Lionpaw looked at her meaningfully. "What were you doing?" He asked quizzically. Leafpaw shrugged. "I was going to surprise attack camp." She replied playfully, batting his ear. Lionpaw grinned and sat down beside her, looking up at the stars above.

"Want to go for a walk?" He asked, flicking his tail towards the camp entrance. Leafpaw considered it, but unfortunately rejected the idea. "Lionpaw, it's late, and you need rest. Hawkpelt's not going to train you if you're tired." She pointed out, then added meaningfully, "Plus, you don't want to get on Stonestar's bad side. You have to remember that you're not officially a Streamclan apprentice." Lionpaw flattened his ears distastefully. "But the stars are shining brighter tonight than ever before." He exclaimed hysterically. "It's an omen." Leafpaw growled. "No, it's not!" She insisted, and quickly padded off to the apprentice's den.

Lionpaw stood wistfully and watched as the she-cat stormed off. What just happened? He wondered. Dismissing the thought, he waited a few moments before entering the den. He glanced around and spotted her in the corner, and was tempted to go speak with her, but slowly turned away. After choosing a nice nest close to the entrance, he sank down to the ground thankfully.