Shadowstripe's Path

Chapter 14

The sun was high up in the cloudless blue sky and it was beginning to grow very hot. When Ravenheart and Shadowpaw got to camp everyone was in the shade of the dens sharing tongues with one another and eating some fresh-kill. Except Sparrowpaw and Foxpaw who were practicing what their mentors had taught them with each other in the clearing. Shadowpaw looked at Ravenheart who had followed her gaze and he nodded, giving her permission to go and join them. After setting her mouse and small bird in the fresh-kill pile, she quickly went over to the two toms. "Hey Sparrowpaw I bet I can pin you down first!" Foxpaw growled playfully at the sleek black pelted tom. Sparrowpaw sighed, rolling his eyes. "Foxpaw I'm a moon older than you... I can beat you easily." The quiet apprentice looked over and saw that Shadowpaw was watching them. His amber eyes darted downwards so he wasn't staring straight at her face. "Hi Shadowpaw..." He mumbled shyly and Foxpaw glanced over at his sister. "Hey! Tell Sparrowpaw that I could pin him down before he could pin me." Right before she could answer Sparrowpaw had launched himself at her brother and quickly pinned him. "You were saying?" He grinned as Foxpaw struggled underneath him. "You just wait until I get bigger!" He mewed and batted at the older apprentices ear. Sparrowpaw got off of him and sat down again. "I think I could still beat you if you were bigger." He licked his paw and dragged it over his ear. The ginger tom got up and shook out his fur. "Sure you could." He stuck out his tongue playfully. Shadowpaw didn't think she was very welcomed by them so she looked around the camp for someone to talk to. Then she noticed her father coming out of his den underneath the high branch and she wondered if maybe she could talk to him. Right as she stood up Blueclaw and Grayear padded into the camp, but Blueclaw quickly padded over to the gray leader. Shadowpaw's ears flattened. "Ugh... Who am I supposed to talk to?" She asked herself quietly then remembered that her sister and Nightpaw were still in the medicine cats den. The dark apprentice ran towards the tunnel and went in as fast as she could, barely stopping herself from running over her sister, who was standing in the middle of the cave. "Moonpaw? Why aren't you in your nest?" She blinked confused at why her sibling wasn't resting. "Echosong said that I had to take it easy for today but I could go back to my training tomorrow... It's not fun being stuck in here when you know that the rest of your friends are having fun without you." Her sister mewed softly and leaned into her ear. "You know, Nightpaw has been waiting for you to get back ever since you left." Moonpaw smiled as if she knew something that Shadowpaw didn't. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Her cheeks were slightly red with embarrassment. Moonpaw giggled and shrugged. "I can't tell you... Bye Shadowpaw." Her sister carefully made her way out of the cave. Shadowpaw snorted. "Mouse-brain." Her ears flattened and she padded to Nightpaw's nest. He was rolling a small ball of moss from one front paw to the other until he noticed her come up to him. "Hi Shadowpaw. How did the patrol go?" He asked causally though she could tell he wanted to know everything. "It was fine, no one has crossed our borders yet. Oh and I caught my first mouse!" She left out the small bird she had caught, not wanting to brag about it. Nightpaw smiled brightly. "Nice job! I bet the elders will like it, did you give it to anyone?" He stared at her. "Uh... No I didn't give it to anyone." Her ears dropped, now feeling like she did something wrong. "It's okay someone will go get it sooner or later." He yawned and grabbed his moss ball, throwing it at her. It hit her nose and she sneezed. "Hey!" She growled and pawed his ear gently, keeping her claws sheathed. Nightpaw chuckled. "Sorry I had to." He seemed to be in a better mood than when she left him earlier. "I forgot to tell you something." Shadowpaw sat down. "You did? What is it?" His ears perked up, his full attention on her. "Before I got up from my nest I had put my tail in Fang's nest for what he did that made you mad." She smiled now remembering how the apprentice reacted to it. "He looked like he had just seen a dead cat from SpiritClan!" She giggled. "Thanks Shadowpaw." Nightpaw laughed while his whiskers twitched with amusement. Shadowpaw grinned. "Anytime." She heard a cat yawn and turned her head to see Echosong pad over to them with herbs in her jaws. Once the light brown tabby set them down she looked at both of them suspiciously. "You weren't messing around were you?" Her silver eyes were staring at them both. "Nope, I haven't moved from the nest." Nightpaw mewed. "Good... The more you rest the quicker you'll heal and get back to training." Echosong carefully took off the old cobwebs and herbs that were on him, putting them to the side. Then she chewed a bright orange flower into a pulp and plastered it over his wounds. He winced slightly and then flattened his ears. Echosong picked up the fresh cobwebs and put them on after the herb. "Don't take them off." She ordered. "I won't... When will I go back to apprentice duties?" Nightpaw stared at the older she-cat. "If you keep healing the way you are now, maybe in about two sunrises." Echosong picked up the old cobwebs and herbs, taking them out of the den. Just before Shadowpaw could say anything the leaders voice rung out from the clearing. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the high branch for a clan meeting!" She looked at Nightpaw who's ears had perked up. "I'll be right back." Shadowpaw ran out of the den and into the clearing, sitting down next to Moonpaw. "As you all know ShadeClan attacked us and killed Greenblossom. This means that we need to set up more patrols by their border for awhile, to show them that we are still strong even during the night. I am going to be setting up some moonhigh border patrols for the next moon until we attack them." Ashstar announced, watching his clan. "This meeting is dismissed." He jumped down from the high branch and started organizing the night patrols. Shadowpaw was going to go back to see Nightpaw until Echosong came up to her. "Leave Nightpaw to rest for awhile." The brown tabby she-cat meowed and went into her den. The dark apprentice frowned wondering what she was supposed to do now. "Hey Shadowpaw, can you help me clean out the old nests in the nursery?" Cinderpaw asked when she was at the dens entrance. Seeing as there was nothing else to do she nodded and went to help her.