A New Horizon Book 5: Darkest Dawn {COMPLETE}

Chapter 6

Falconheart dropped his impressive catch onto the fresh-kill pile. While out hunting he had managed to catch three plump squirrels and two mice, the rest of his patrol had just as much luck, Icepetal had caught three squirrels, Adderstrike had caught two very large sparrows and Goldenleaf had caught four mice. "The Clan will eat wonderfully tonight." Goldenleaf purred upon seeing what the rest of her patrol had caught.

"I'm glad we've been able to have such wonderful hunting despite the rain." Icepetal pointed out. "StarClan has been kind to us." Falconheart looked up towards the sky, it was sunhigh but near impossible to tell as thick, rain filled clouds blocked out the sun. Falconheart missed the sun, he hoped that they would at least get some sunny days before greenleaf ended. What's SunClan to do without the sun?

"We should get this back before we all get drenched." Adderstrike suggested, his ears twitching at the distant sound of rolling thunder. A storm wasn't far off and Falconheart really did not want to be caught in it. Falconheart and the rest patrol hurried back to camp, reaching their home just as the rain began to fall slowly overhead. They secured their prey in the dry fresh-kill store near Dawnstar's den and then they went their separate ways.

Icepetal and Adderstrike padded to the warriors den, tails intertwined and pelts brushing as they vanished into the den. Goldenleaf found Redclaw who had already begun eating prey with Hollypaw and Burnpaw. Falconheart wondered what he should do, he scanned the camp and saw Dawnstar and Lionclaw talking beside the SunStone, they didn't have any prey so Falconheart wondered if they had eaten yet.

He picked up two squirrels and padded over to his parents, they greeted him with curious eyes once he neared them. "Care to share some prey?" He mewed, setting down the squirrels.

"I would love that." Dawnstar purred. "But we should get Honeyfrost as well, we can share prey as a family." Falconheart's chest warmed at the idea, and while Dawnstar went to get Honeyfrost from the medicine cat den Falconheart sat down with his father.

"Cinderflame told me how well you lead your patrol the other day," Lionclaw began. "And Applespots explained how professionally and kindly you handled the situation with Shadowstar." Lionclaw rested his large tail across Falconheart's shoulders. "You're truly shaping up to be a remarkable warrior."

Falconheart's pelt burned slightly, he knew he was a good warrior but there was something about the burning pride in Lionclaw's amber eyes and the love behind his words that made Falconheart incredibly happy. My father is proud of me. He held his head high at the thought, Lionclaw's approval meant more to Falconheart than anything else in the forest. Even more than Falconclaw. Falconheart shuddered slightly at the thought of his shadowy mentor, he hadn't shared dreams in the Dark Forest since he and Falconclaw argued over the death of Ashblaze.

Once again, the former AshClan deputy's burning amber eyes flashed in Falconheart's mind. He had found his peace with killing Ashblaze during the battle, but every so often it found a way to crawl back under his pelt.

Falconheart heard pawsteps behind him as Dawnstar and Honeyfrost approached, Honeyfrost sat down beside Falconheart and Dawnstar returned to her spot beside Lionclaw. "It feels like it's been forever since we've all been able to spend time together like this." Dawnstar purred, clearly happy to be spending time with her family.

"It's nice." Honeyfrost mewed with a gentle tone. "It's hard because I'm constantly busy with medicine cat duties, and you're a leader and you two are always hunting or patrolling."

The four cats agreed and began eating their prey, stopping their conversations until Dawnstar spoke up. "So how goes the battle training, Honeyfrost?" She questioned curiously.