Dark Skies- Book #2 in Sunrise

                                                                          Chapter 18
Jadeheart yawned and stretched her back. "Wow, I had no idea apprentices could keep a cat so busy!" Cloudwhisker nodded agreement. "I know. Great StarClan, Beechpaw is one of the best hunters in the Clan!" Jadeheart flicked her tail. "Yes, Dewpaw is very eager to fight, and she's good at it, too!

"I'm just glad that she understands that the duties of a warrior are more than just combat skills. Warriors-" "Can we go hunting now?" Dewpaw bounced on her paw pads. Jadeheart sat up and shook out her fur. "Yes, sure." Jadeheart pushed wearily through the bramble entrance.

Dewpaw perked her ears. "Did you hear that?" She meowed quietly. Jadeheart perked her ears towards where Dewpaw was listening. A distant scratching sound drifted from several fox-lengths away. "Yes...." Jadeheart peeked her head around a tree to spot a ferret scratching on the trunk of a tree.

"Can I catch it?" Dewpaw asked eagerly. Jadeheart nodded. "Sure. I'll be right here." Dewpaw waited silently behind a tree trunk while Jadeheart crouched behind a low-lying bush. Dewpaw bunched her muscles and pounced onto the ferret. It squealed and rolled back onto its back.

The ferret clawed at Dewpaw's soft belly desperately. "Claw its stomach or bite its neck!" Dewpaw obeyed and raked her claws across the ferret's stomach. The ferret lay limp, and Dewpaw picked it up awkwardly in her jaws. "Can we eat it?" She asked. "It's edible, I'm sure Sunray would love it!" Sunray and Bristlefur had recently moved to the elders den- Jadeheart hadn't realized how old they were.

Sunray's pelt was still glossy and sleek, though if Jadeheart looked closely at him, his muzzle was turning gray. Dewpaw puffed out her chest proudly as she hauled the ferret back into camp. "Wow, Dewpaw, you caught that?" Frostfang asked, impressed. Dewpaw nodded, absorbing the praise.

"Well, is that for me?" Fireclaw bustled towards Dewpaw excitedly. "Well, it can be, if you can share with Sunray." "Did I hear my name?" Sunray meowed gruffly. Dewpaw nodded, shivering in the freezing wind. "Let's get inside your den," Jadeheart meowed, herding the elders back into their den.

Jadeheart felt warm instantly when she entered the den. Yellowstone sat up. "Hey, Jadeheart." "Hi." "Look what Dewpaw caught." "Dewpaw?" Riverrush sat up, squinting. "I thought Dewpaw was-oh, nevermind." Yellowstone shook her head. "Wrong Dewpaw, stupid furball," she teased, slapping him over the head with her tail.

"Dewstorm was nice." Fireclaw sat down. "I remember when she tried to catch a ferret." Fireclaw let out a chuckle. "I was so mad at her.....but it was a real good catch." Sunray looked up with a mouthful of ferret. "Just like this. Good job, Dewpaw!" Dewpaw beamed.

Jadeheart left Dewpaw with the elders and padded into the middle of camp, her limbs heavy. It felt like it had been moons since she had received a good nights' sleep. In the warriors den, Sparrowflight would snore, and Scatfur would murmur inaudible things in his sleep.

The other night, Drizzlespot had been stretching in his sleep, and his claws had dug into Jadeheart's back. Jadeheart took a short glance at the sky before deciding it was about time to see Moonrise. "Hey, Jadeheart. It's about time you've came. Here, sit down." With a sweep of her tail, Moonrise brushed all of the wilted herbs aside and patted the now-empty space with her paw.

Gratefully, Jadeheart plopped down, turning around so Moonrise could view the scratch. "I know, I know. It's annoying. The second you leave the medicine den, you have to come back again. You know enough about our healing methods to become a medicine cat, yourself!"

Jadeheart sat up, sending Moonrise's poultice splattering onto the ground. "There's no way in StarClan I would ever want to become a medicine cat!" She shrieked. Moonrise was seething over the ultimate waste of precious herbs during Leaf-Bare. "Jadeheart! I would never ask you to become a medicine cat! And, oh, look what you've done!"