Dark Skies- Book #2 in Sunrise

Chapter 13
Ravenstar most surely wasn't better. Jadepaw observed this silently from outside the medicine cat den. Ravenstar had been injured for a few sunrises now, but his rapid downhill spiral from injured to hopelessly broken made it seem longer. "Hello, Jadepaw!" Lightningstrike called to her.

Jadepaw jumped away from the den. "Oh, hi! What do you want?" Lightningstrike flicked her orange tail. "I don't want anything. Me and Sparkpaw were just going to do some battle training. Would you like to come?" Jadepaw nodded, glad Lightningstrike either didn't notice her peeking into the den or she didn't care.

Jadepaw didn't notice Sparkpaw, who was waiting impatiently behind Lightningstrike. Jadepaw hadn't been battle training in several sunrises, and she was eager to get up and stretch her muscles. The sun had already rose high up into the sky, and its warmth warded off any lurking cold.

Jadepaw's fur had long since grown thick, and her pelt burned. She had grown envious of Lightningstrike's weirdly-thin fur, though she knew that during Leaf-Bare Lightningstrike would be freezing her pelt off, and cats like Jadepaw would be slightly less freezing.

Jadepaw watched Sparkpaw and Lightningstrike, who were now discussing different terms and battle moves. She didn't feel like she belonged beside them, and she hung about three tail-lengths behind them. Jadepaw wished that she and Ravenstar could get along this well, but there was absolutely no hope of that after Jadepaw practically pushed him out of a tree.

Ravenstar probably hated her more than ever now, and, unless his head got a bump on it, he wasn't going to act any nicer. Ravenstar had one life left, and if she killed the Clan leader on his last life, not even Drizzlepaw would speak to her. She would be an outcast, only good for being sent on hunting patrols.

Jadepaw may even be exiled if Flipstar, the new leader felt like it. If he had the chance to, he probably would exile her. Jadepaw knew that she could be annoying and rude, and she wasn't the best hunter in ThunderClan. If they couldn't use her, and with the crime that Jadepaw had commented, she'd be a loner.

Even the unseen and unheard groups only heard in the elder's tales, like BloodClan, won't turn her away. Nobody wants a cat who turns on her friends. Even though, technically, Ravenstar wasn't a friend. Jadepaw mentally cuffed herself over her ear. Now she was thinking illy of the injured. Worse, her leader!

If she could find a band of rouges that hadn't heard of her horrible crime, they'd soon send her away when they realized that Jadepaw didn't have the skills to provide for them. Well, she'd just be Jade. Jade was pretty, sort of. Jadepaw would have to live far away from the Clans, and maybe find herself a kind twoleg...

Jadepaw was pulled from her self-pity thoughts when they finally arrived at the training grounds. Lightningstrike gave them a small amount of time to prepare. "Hey, Jadepaw, show me what you've got!" Sparkpaw challenged. "Um...okay." Sparkpaw hesitated to start the fight, as if afraid that she would damage Jadepaw's brittle bones.

Sparkpaw, unlike Jadepaw, had a naturally large frame and seemed to be more muscular than Jadepaw. Jadepaw was actually highly skilled at fighting, but she had never trained with Sparkpaw before. Jadepaw sprang at Sparkpaw, landing on her back. Sparkpaw's legs buckled, like she hadn't expected Jadepaw to come on with such force.

Jadepaw clambered off of Sparkpaw, who was still face planted into the ground. Jadepaw stuck her neck out cautiously. Did I just kill another Clanmate? She thought with horror. Sparkpaw bolted up, sliding swiftly underneath Jadepaw's belly fur. With sheathed claws, Sparkpaw pummeled Jadepaw's stomach.