Warriors: Empire's End ~Book 5 Series 3~

Chapter 3

Shadeheart's POV:

The morning following his unnecessary punishment, Shadeheart was placed on training duty. For once he actually looked forward to going outside; he got to spend some alone time with the apprentices. He could use this time to make sure their delicate minds hadn't been too corrupted by the Dark Forest's mindset. The Clans needed new cats on their side, and what was better than some young, battle-ready apprentices?

The black furred tom met the three apprentices by the camp exit, and let them out of the main clearing along the worn-down pathway marked by countless pawsteps. Spiderpaw stuck close to him, her excitement clear in the air. Flamepaw trailed further behind, a scowl on her face. Her sister Snowpaw followed beside the flame coloured she cat in silence. 

Shadeheart decided to take the young she cats to the beach. No cat went there- it was useless for hunting and no cat could trespass from the sea. It was the perfect place to spend some valuable time catching up with the three apprentices. 

It was a while before the four cats made it to the empty stretch of sand. The roar of the waves crashing onto the dry land made Shadeheart's fur bristle slightly. The sounds were so... Loud, unnatural. The distant call of seagulls made his ears prick. His senses came alive as he stopped in the middle of the beach, slowly taking in the new environment. It was breath-taking, but also quite scary at the same time. 

"What is this place?" Spiderpaw whispered in awe, standing obediently at Shadeheart's side. 

"The beach." He glanced at the endless stretch of water ahead of them. "That's the sea over there." 

"Can we swim in it?" Flamepaw asked, bounding ahead of Shadeheart, straight to the roaring waves. 

"No! Get away from the water!" Shadeheart gasped, leaping to stop the she cat. "Haven't you heard the stories? The sea will eat you!"

The flame coloured she cat scoffed, but her step faltered. "I doubt that. It looks pretty harmless." 

"You will drown if you try to swim in that." Shadeheart promised the young she cat, not truly knowing if that was true or not. No one really bothered to find out more about the beach, it was simply left alone. An unknown and unexplored part of their territory. 

"What's that over there?" Snowpaw asked softly as she arrived at Flamepaw's side. Her amber gaze was glued to the misty forest in the far distance, way past The Cliff.

"I believe that is EchoClan's old territory." Shadeheart murmured, feeling unsure. The Dark Forest hadn't conquered that part of the forest, it had been left empty after the Takeover. He had never cared to ask why.

"Can we go there?" Flamepaw asked, peering over at the mist-shrouded forest.

"No. Of course not." Shadeheart answered immediately, his head shaking. "Our territory doesn't stretch that far."

Flamepaw scoffed. "The Dark Forest is weird."

"It is." Shadeheart sighed to himself before turning away from EchoClan's territory and meowing. "Let's start training."

"What are we doing? Hunting or battle training?" Spiderpaw asked, kicking up sand with some excited bounds towards Shadeheart.

Shadeheart shrugged, not actually sure himself. "Battle training?" He suggested to the three apprentices. They all nodded eagerly in response, so he started thinking up a training plan. It didn't take him too long to think of a simple exercise for them to practise. "Let's try an easy move, the front paw swipe."

There was a snort from Flamepaw. "We already learned that ages ago."

Shadeheart found himself growling at the young she cat's tone. "Well I'm not your mentor, how would I know?" His black fur bristled slightly, but he forced himself to calm down. It's not her fault. I just assumed wrong.