Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The sun was high in the sky when Emberpaw crawled from her nest. Her pelt ruffled with sleep, she made her way to the fresh kill pile and grabbed a plump squirrel. She dragged it across the clearing, toward where Birdpaw was sitting with Leafpaw. The two had been happily reunited in Stonepaw’s loss, even though they weren’t very close before.

“Wanna share?” She offered.

Birdpaw nodded eagerly, and Leafpaw shook her head. “No thanks,” she mewed politely. She slunk off toward Blackfeather, just returning from a hunting patrol.

Emberpaw sighed. What, did he tell Leafpaw that I’m evil too?

It had been nearly a moon since Leafpaw had returned, and she was looking more fit and healthy each day. Emberpaw was extremely excited for that day; she would be receiving her warrior name and maybe earn her Clanmates’ trust for good.

“Wanna battle train later?” Birdpaw offered. Emberpaw shrugged; she was dismayed that Birdpaw seemed to be growing up and would rather fight than play mossball. But what can I do about it? she thought.

She allowed Birdpaw to take the first few bites before she finished it off. She was relieved to see that she wasn’t as short as she used to be and topped Birdpaw’s height by a mouse-length as opposed to how much taller she had  been before. With a nod to Birdpaw, she crossed over to Darkstar and Adderstrike. Shadepaw looked more nervous than Emberpaw had assumed he would be.

“Don’t worry, Shadepaw,” she encouraged half-heartedly. He glared at her, and she winced. She had kept quiet about his plot for as long as she could manage. To her surprise, he hadn’t done anything yet, and she suspected that he would do it at the Gathering in a few night's time.

“What are you mad at me for?” She muttered to him as their mentors led the way into the pines. “I haven’t told a soul but for Sparrowstripe, and obviously he hasn’t told anyone either.”

“Not now,” Shadepaw hissed. Adderstrike cast a glance over his shoulder at them and Emberpaw sucked in a breath as he turned back around.

“Here’s how this will work,” Darkstar said as they reached a small clearing in the trees. His sleek black pelt gleamed in the sunlight. It was relatively warm that morning, and Emberpaw suspected that Newleaf had begun.

“You two will prove your hunting skills in the marsh and then the trees. You each must have a frog and some type of bird.”

Shadepaw gave a groan. “I can’t hunt birds,” he protested.

“A good warrior will at least try,” Adderstrike mewed. His hazel eyes gleamed as Shadepaw gave a nod, and Emberpaw remembered how close Shadepaw had been to Longclaw, his former mentor. Now, she figured, Shadepaw could be close to anyone, which made him all the more dangerous.

“We will watch you as you do this, and then you’ll come to the training hollow. You two will have to show us what you’ve learned… against each other.”

Emberpaw swallowed as Shadepaw cast a glance over at her, a little too excited to fight. Emberpaw felt a growl rumbling in her throat, but she kept it in and padded off toward the marsh.

When she got there, it was dead silent. She stared into the water, but her gaze moved over to the grass nearby. There are a lot of snakes around here, she thought anxiously. After her brother’s encounter with a quite large one that left Nightpool dead, she felt worried that she might reach the same fate.

If you know your opponent’s next move, you won’t need to worry, she told herself. Just stay focused.

Her heart pounding, she wondered briefly if Darkstar was watching her. A flicker of movement startled her, and she turned as a frog disappeared into the muddy water with a simple splash. Along the bank, she saw a fat toad sitting completely still. It was a bit darker than the stones there, and it didn’t camouflage well, so she crouched down and stalked it. One heavy paw step and it would leave, and she could risk failing her assessment.