Warriors Night Sky

Chapter 25

Crookedtooth woke up to an awful noise. She was in the small den. Shrewleap wasn't there. She realized there was a storm. It was hailing. The hail was huge.

She peeked outside. She wondered where Shrewleap was. I wonder where he is... would he abandon me here?

Crookedtooth saw a flash of white and gray. "Shrewleap!" she called. No reply.

She tried to see through all the fog. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't tell if he was under all the hail. It was only so early in the morning earlier than dawn. The sky was pitch black.

She would risk it. He saved her, and now she owes him. Crookedtooth went out. Hail fell and hit her pelt. It hurt like Tinykit clinging on with his tiny claws.

She started to dig in the hail with her paws. It was probably hailing for hours.

Then she found some gray. She dug hard. Crookedtooth found his body and she dragged it into the small cave. She had to keep him warm until he felt warmer than he was now. And he was freezing!

She pressed her pelt onto his. Shrewleap moved his head and groaned. He opened his eyes. "W-what happened?" he asked.

Crookedtooth told him everything. "You went out and got pummeled by huge amounts of hail." she said.

Shrewleap let himself lay limp. He rolled his head. "Its so cold."

Crookedtooth put her nose into Shrewleap's pelt. He closed his eyes. Crookedtooth felt drowsy. She lay down on the cold, hard ground and closed her eyes to let darkness claim her until sunrise.

***

"Crookedtooth!" Shrewleap said. Crookedtooth opened her eyes to see Shrewleap on his feet and ready to leave the cavern. "I'm getting up."

Shrewleap shot straight out of the cave and darted forward. The wind strode through his pelt. The warm morning sun bathed Crookedtooth as she ran after Shrewleap. She glided over rocks and stones her paws barely touching the ground. Shrewleap laughed.

"You will never be as fast as me! PineClan are fast cats!"

"At least we are swift swimmers! You can't swim at all!" Crookedtooth retorted.

Shrewleap skidded to a halt. Crookedtooth kept running. "Scaredy cat!" she hollered.

She quickly stumbled upon a mountain lion. She flattened her ears and shrunk down. She smiled and started running. The mountain lion roared and gave chase.

"Shrewleap help me!" she howled loudly. Shrewleap was standing very still wary if the mountain lion would see him.

"Shrewleap please, help!"

Shrewleap closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. He heard the cries of Crookedtooth drown. He opened them and she was cornered.

Shrewleap ran toward the mountain lion and gave a mighty leap and landed on its back. The mountain lion screeched.

Shrewleap unsheathed a claw and sliced its throat open. He jumped off as the big cat struggled and staggered.

"All right lets go." he said. Crookedtooth nodded and followed him up the steep cliff up ahead.

Shrewleap pushed his paws hard against the ground pushing gravel down the cliff. He reached the top and searched for the next mountain to climb.

"See, look over there. You can see The Tribe of Rushing Water is that way."

"How can you see that far?" asked Crookedtooth.

"PineClan cats have a very keen eye." he mewed.

"PineClan are fast too? And climb trees?"

"Yup, trees have many uses. We also use them to train the apprentices. They attack the trunk."

Shrewleap started trotting down and Crookedtooth followed.

***

Shrewleap and Crookedtooth reached the bottom of the mountain and started to climb the next.

"This is torture my legs are killing me." Crookedtooth complained laying still on the ground.

"Oh shut up, stop whining you wanted to go on this journey. Its sunhigh and your acting like a kit."

Crookedtooth grumbled and heaved herself up. "Alright, lets keep going."

Shrewleap padded forward, and he got into a sprint gliding down the gravel path. "We need to through a twolegplace later." he said.

"How do you know?"

"My mother told me stories when she was just a kit going with Bramblestar to make more clans everywhere. Going through the twolegplace was the worst bit."

"How is it so 'terrible'."

"Rouges and twolegs are everywhere and if you don't keep an eye out, twolegs will take you away. Some cats were taken away to be nothing but a no good kittypet. Her good friend Sparrow was taken from her."

"Deep," Crookedtooth said.

Shrewleap nodded. "I'm going faster so you better keep up, slowpoke!"

Crookedtooth narrowed her eyes. "Oh its on!"