Warriors: Shadows Of The Night

Chapter 18

Ravenpaw woke up to a paw prodding her flank. She opened her eyes to see Sandpaw standing over her with an oddly smug expression on her face.

"What do you want?" Ravenpaw asked with an irritated twitch of her tail. Something about the pale she-cat's demeanor just rubbed her the wrong way.

Sandpaw licked a front paw and drew it over her ears. "Thornwhisker told me to wake you up. He said that you had to clean the elder's den today."

So that's what that smug look is all about, Ravenpaw thought. "Okay. I guess I'll go do that then." She let out a quiet yawn and stretched her front paws out of her nest.

"I'm going hunting with Blacktail and Shadepelt," Sandpaw meowed, "I'm going to catch the biggest squirrel the Clan has ever seen!" Before Ravenpaw had a chance to respond, Sandpaw turned and hurried out of the den.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Ravenpaw muttered as soon as Sandpaw was gone. Slowly, she stood up and stretched. Then she drowsily padded out of the den, feeling surprisingly tired. She really did feel as though she'd trained all night with Nightshadow.

"Good morning, Ravenpaw," Thornwhisker purred as soon as Ravenpaw emerged. The brown tabby was sitting near the apprentice's den with his tail wrapped neatly around his paws. Mouseclaw was crouched nearby.

"Good morning," Ravenpaw meowed, giving Thornwhisker a friendly nod, "Sandpaw said that you wanted me to clean the elder's den.'

"Yes," Thornwhisker replied, nodding, "It won't take you long. After all, we only have one elder in WoodClan." He glanced at the elder's den.

"It's waking Longfur up that will be the problem," Ravenpaw sighed, "I'm sure he won't want to be woken from his sleep." The gray tom was never really grumpy, but Ravenpaw could always tell that he preferred not to be woken from his slumbers.

"He'll be more comfortable once the den's clean," Thornwhisker said.

"I guess you're right," Ravenpaw said with a shrug. "Do you want me to change his bedding?"

"Yes please," Thornwhisker meowed, "I think there's fresh moss in Silverflight's den. She's in there right now. You can go ask her for some moss."

"Okay," Ravenpaw meowed, "Thanks." She turned and padded over to the medicine den. As she did so, she passed Thistlefang and Iceclaw, her were crouched side by side. Iceclaw's blue eyes narrowed as Ravenpaw passed them, and she felt uneasy. She wasn't sure what she had done to get those looks from the white warrior, but they sure creeped her out. It was just...strange.

She stopped at the entrance of the medicine den. "Hello? Are you awake, Silverflight? May I come in?"

"Of course, Ravenpaw," Silverflight's gentle voice meowed from inside the den. Ravenpaw poked her head inside the den curiously. The den smelled like fresh herbs, and she could also smell the earthy scent of the roots that the den was built between. As her eyes adjusted, she could see that Silverflight was sitting in her nest with her tail curled neatly around her paws.

Suddenly, nervously, Ravenpaw remembered the last time she had spoken to the silver medicine cat, and the odd feelings she had felt. Almost as though the medicine cat had thought there was something wrong with her.

But there's not, and I'm fine now. If I wasn't I'm sure she'd have mentioned something. Ravenpaw thought dismissively. But she still couldn't shake the uneasiness that she had felt last night when she had talked to the Clan's medicine cat.

"Hello, Ravenpaw," Silverflight meowed, "Do you need something?" Once again, there was that odd look in the medicine cat's blue eyes. Despite all her best efforts, Ravenpaw couldn't think of any reason for the silver tabby to be looking at her like that.