WARRIORS The Moons of the New Great Battles

Chapter 9

Morningpaw lashed out at the badger as terror sparked inside her. She had not trained to fight, but she would try her best. But then a hollow sensation struck her down. Two experienced warriors might not be even to kill a badger like this. How could she, an apprentice, escape? The badger grabbed Morningpaw's scruff and flung her halfway across the clearing. She ducked the next blow when she raked her claws down the badger's belly as the badger howled in pain. The badger swatted at her with one paw. Morningpaw's fear scent washed over her once again. She fled until she was a considerable distance away.

Morningpaw sniffed at her wounds. She had to stop the bleeding. She didn't know what to use, so she grabbed a few leaves and pressed them against her flank. Morningpaw remembered an herb that Butterflyshade had given her for shock. It was green and tall, looking like a small version of a pine tree. 

"Thyme!" Morningpaw gasped. She grabbed a few of the precious herbs and gulped some down. She felt better now.

Morningpaw didn't know how to hunt, but she was starving. She saw a mouse scuffling between the roots of a nearby oak at some seeds. She hesitated, but slowly walked back. Then she ran toward behind a rock. Crack! She had stepped on a twig. Morningpaw let out a yowl of frustration as the mouse scurried away. She chased it, swerving around bushes and oak trees. She landed face down in some grass, and just before the mouse ducked into a hole, Morningpaw bit it's spine. 

"I'm sure the warrior code tells us to thank StarClan for prey." Morningpaw looked up solemnly, "Thank you, StarClan for this prey!"

The mouse was scrawny and small, but there was no other prey. Morningpaw stopped at the end of the night. Silence gripped the night, and no other prey dared move a kitstep.

"I don't know how my clanmates hunt," Morningpaw thought, "But surely not like this!"

Morningpaw bit into the musky, warm mouse. She was famished, and finished it in a few bites. She found a bit of moss and a sheltered cave, which she decided would be her temporary camp. She set down the moss in the cave and curled up. Two last thoughts bubbled in her mind and made her tremble.

"What if I am stuck here forever? What if I never see my clanmates again?"