Warriors: Shadows Of The Night

Chapter 9

Ravenpaw didn't sleep well that night. She had napped most of the day, although she had left the den once to eat and make dirt, stopping to talk to Thornwhisker as well. But when Graypaw and Sandpaw had returned, the two cats went on nonstop about the territory. Then they had talked to each other without pause for a long time, until they finally settled down to sleep. Ravenpaw had tried to ignore them, but found Sandpaw's voice too annoying.

The two apprentices were sharing Shadepelt's old nest that night. Blacktail had promised to show them how to make nests the next day.

Ravenpaw sighed and looked at the den roof. She missed sharing the den with Shadepelt; missed having him close to her. The two of them had done everything together- well as much as they could, anyway. It felt strange to be apart from him for so long.

I'll talk to him in the morning, Ravenpaw decided drowsily, closing her eyes.

Ravenpaw opened her eyes, blinking away sleep. The den was completely dark. It wasn't morning yet.

A sharp pain in Ravenpaw's stomach warned her that it was time to make dirt. She sighed and got to her paws, wincing at the soreness of her shoulder, as well as the other healing cuts along her flank. Slowly she crept past the sleeping apprentices and headed to the dirtplace.

She paused halfway there to glance up at the sky. Silverpelt shone above, and Ravenpaw wondered how many StarClan warriors there were up there.

There must be a lot, Ravenpaw thought as she gazed up at the star-filled sky. The star's are endless!

She breathed in some fresh greenleaf air and sighed. The air carried the scents of forest, and Ravenpaw had always thought that night carried a different scent than day. She looked at the moon and realized that it was a half moon, which meant that Silverflight must've gone to visit the Moontree with medicine cats from the other Clans, as was done every half moon. It was where they shared tongues with their ancestors in StarClan.

Maybe that's one of the reasons she said I could go to my own nest, Ravenpaw thought, It's not like she could have keep an eye on me tonight anyway.

Ravenpaw glanced at the entrance of the camp. Birdflight was sitting guard, his ears pricked toward the forest beyond the camp. Ravenpaw realized suddenly that Shadepelt had guarded the camp himself the day before as his vigil after the ceremony. And Ravenpaw hadn't been able to be with him...

No, Ravenpaw scolded herself, Don't think about that now! She quickly limped over to the dirtplace to make dirt.

Once Ravenpaw was finished burying the dirt she had made, she let out a sigh and gazed into the trees beyond the camp. The forest was dark and quiet, almost silent except for the occasional chirping of crickets. It looked peaceful, and Ravenpaw realized with a pang that she missed patrolling out in the territory.

I better heal soon! Ravenpaw thought, giving her injured shoulder a lick.

When she lifted her head again she suddenly felt uneasy. She gazed into the forest warily, though she couldn't place a paw on what made her feel off.

Movement from deep in the woods suddenly caught Ravenpaw's eye, and she glanced in the direction of it. She narrowed her eyes to see a pair of glowing green eyes. At first she felt a pang of fear that this eyes belonged to a fox. She'd fought one once before on a patrol to drive it off the territory, and she knew how deadly foxes could be. Then she realized that the eyes unmistakably belonged to a cat.

She stood still, rooted to the spot, too frightened to move or yowl an alarm. Instead, she stared at the pair of glowing eyes. When she finally blinked, the eyes were gone. She gave herself a quick shake and limped quickly back to the den, unsure if what she had seen was even real.

When Ravenpaw woke up, she saw that Graypaw and Sandpaw had already left the den. She stood up and stretched before heading out of the den, deciding she was hungry.

Sunlight blazed in the sky, its rays warming the camp. Longfur was dozing off by himself in the sunlight outside the elder's den. Palefoot was talking to Thornwhisker and Silverflight in the shade at the edge of the camp near the leader's den. Shallowstar and Mouseclaw were sharing tongues beside the Leader's Rock. Ravenpaw realized that the rest of the cats weren't in camp.

"Good morning, Ravenpaw!" Thornwhisker called, spotting her from his spot by Palefoot and Silverflight.

"Good morning!" Ravenpaw purred cheerfully, trotting over to her mentor.

"How's your shoulder?" Silverflight asked. Ravenpaw twisted around to give her own shoulder a quick sniff.

"It's pretty good," Ravenpaw replied. It was a little sore still, but it wasn't infected or nearly as bad as when she'd first gotten the injury.

"That's good," Palefoot meowed, gazing sympathetically at Ravenpaw.

"You still have to stay in the camp for a few more days," Silverflight meowed, checking Ravenpaw's shoulder, "Just to be sure."

"Okay," Ravenpaw meowed, stifling a sigh. She wished with all her heart that she could be out hunting. That she could have her warrior naming ceremony.

"Don't worry," Thornwhisker said gently, touching the tip of his tail to Ravenpaw's flank. "You'll be back to hunting in no time!"

Ravenpaw blinked greatfully at her mentor. It seemed as though the brown tabby always knew what to say to cheer Ravenpaw up.

"Where's Shadepelt?" Ravenpaw asked, suddenly wanting to talk to her brother.

"He's out on a hunting patrol with Thornwhisker," Palefoot replied, "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"You should eat something," Thornwhisker meowed to Ravenpaw, "There's still a little bit of prey leftover in the fresh-kill pile." He motioned toward the pile with his tail. Ravenpaw nodded and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. The only things left were a scrawny mouse and a small shrew. Ravenpaw picked up the shrew and brought it back to where Thornwhisker was sitting with the others. As she ate, she listened to the older cats talk about Clan life.

"Berryflower is really happy to be back in the warrior's den now that her kits are apprentices," Thornwhisker commented.

"Yes," Palefoot agreed, "She really missed hunting. Birdflight is quite happy to hunt with her again. I'm pretty sure the two of them are hunting alone right now."

As Ravenpaw ate the shrew and listened to the older cats, she felt a tug of longing. She felt the urge to run in the forest and hunt prey. Sighing, she chewed slowly on her food. She glanced up as she saw movement at the camp entrance and saw her brother padding into the camp with a vole in his jaws.

"Hello, Shadepelt!" She called, bounding over to her brother. Thistlefang was padding in after them. Thistlefang had another vole in his jaws.

"Hello, Ravenpaw!" Shadepelt purred, dropping his vole in the fresh-kill pile. "Are you hungry? I caught a vole."

"No, I just ate," Ravenpaw told him.

"Oh," Shadepelt said, "I see." He gave her shoulder a sniff. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Ravenpaw purred, glad to be talking to her brother. She hadn't spent much time with him since the battle, and she was happy to talk.

"That's great!" Shadepelt purred, giving her a friendly nudge. "You'll be a warrior in no time!"

Thistlefang, who had drppped his catch in the fresh-kill pile while they were talking, flicked his tail. "You should get some rest, Shadepelt. You'll be wanted on the dusk border patrol. We need to make sure those DarkClan fools don't mess with us!"

"Alright," Shadepelt agreed. He glanced at Ravenpaw. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Okay," Ravenpaw sighed, watching as her brother padded over to the warrior's den.