SHADECLOUD
“Wake up, Shadecloud!” Cavefrost’s voice said. “Groundsquirrel is leading a patrol to patrol the WindClan border and he wants you to join them.”
Shadecloud trudged out of the warriors den to find Groundsquirrel, Lionblaze, and Brackenfur waiting impatiently for her. “Finally, she awakens,” Brackenfur grumbled.
Shadecloud noticed that his muzzle was slowly turning gray. It wouldn’t be long before Brackenfur moved to the elders den. “If you didn’t want me to sleep so long, you should have woken me up!” she said.
Brackenfur snorted and rolled his eyes. “Back when I was an apprentice, young cats didn’t sleep all day,” he said, and Shadecloud realized how much he sounded like Graystripe. “We actually worked hard for our prey and…”
Groundsquirrel cleared his throat, interrupting the senior warrior. “Let’s get moving, shall we?” he said.
The border patrol trudged out of the camp in silence. Finally, Lionblaze spoke. “WindClan hasn’t caused any trouble since we killed Ashstar,” the golden warrior said. “Hopefully, Harestar is a better leader than Ashstar was. But I want you to be prepared, just in case.
Shadecloud could almost hear his unspoken thoughts. She imagined he was thinking something like, I don’t think WindClan will be happy to see me, since I am the one who killed Ashstar.
The sun crept higher into the sky as they continued towards the WindClan border. Once, Shadecloud saw a small bush of juniper berries and stopped to get them but Groundsquirrel said gently yet firmly, “Shadecloud, you’re not a medicine cat anymore.”
Shadecloud wanted to argue, But Jayfeather doesn’t even know this bush exists! What if he needs more juniper berries and the bush that he usually collects them from doesn’t have any?
But she held her tongue and the patrol continued to walk towards the border.
Finally, the pungent scent of WindClan filled her nostrils, nearly overwhelming her. Lionblaze took a step forward and sniffed the markers. “Fresh,” he commented.
Slowly, the ThunderClan patrol began to remark their side of the border. WindClan had marked their border tree for tree, perhaps as a sign of strength and slight hostility. Groundsquirrel ordered them to do the same. Finally, they had finished. They were about to leave when Lionblaze suddenly stiffened. “Wait!” he hissed.
The bushes to Shadecloud’s left trembled. Four cats stumbled out, their pelts cut by the thick brambles. “Great StarClan!” an unfamiliar black she-cat hissed. “Stupid brambles!”
Then, the black she-cat looked up and noticed the ThunderClan patrol. Shadecloud looked up at Groundsquirrel and waited for his orders. “Attack!” Groundsquirrel finally yowled.
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Warriors: The Unknown Threat Series Book #5: Mysterious Newcomers
Teen FictionThunderClan's medicine cat apprentice, Shadecloud, is now a warrior. She is on a border patrol one day when four strange cats appear on the WindClan border, claiming to be from SkyClan. When asked why they have come, they said they were sent by Sta...
