Shadowed Dawn - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fang crouched in the undergrowth, stalking towards his quarry. The dense pine forest cast nearly the entire forest covering into shadow as the dark grey tom silently slid forward. He narrowed his eyes, and unsheathed his claws.

Then, he leapt.

The little brown creature hardly had time to let out a cry of terror before Fang had closed his jaws over its neck. The salty tang of blood flowed through Fang's senses as the creature jerked once, before going limp.

"Caught it?"

A black tom with white speckles on his back glared at Fang from the shadows of the dense underbrush. Fang dropped his prey to respond, dipping his head to the Midnight.

"Yes, Nightshade, I did."

Fang bent down to pick up his prey once more. He felt a small inkling of gratitude for the creature who would feed his family. Then, he grasped the prey in his jaws, and silently stalked home.

It was night out, though the dense overhand of pine trees blocked Fang's view of the stars or moon. As the dark grey tom slid around snaking vines and twisting roots, he sensed the movement of other cats also hunting or practicing their battle moves.

It was quiet and dark, just as Fang liked it. He continued his journey towards camp, thinking about his coming assessment.

When all cats in the Midnights reached eight moons, they were given a special task; take something away from the clans. The strongest cats would kill, others would simply steal a piece of prey, but what they achieved in their task would forever decide their ranking in the group's hierarchy.

Fang was being trained to kill. He didn't like to think about it. It was simply a task he had to do for the sake of his group; like catching this mouse.

Crunch.

Fang went rigid when he heard the noise ahead of him. Instinctively he dropped to a crouch, bunching his muscles, and swiveling his ears towards the sound. A heartbeat later, he launched himself forward, claws unsheathed, teeth bared.

"Arrahhhh!"

Fang landed against something solid and white. Instinctively, he fastened his claws into the creature's fur. A heartbeat later, he sheathed them and fell back. It was only his campmate, Claw.

"Fang!" Claw exclaimed cheerfully as he sat up, evidently not at all dazed by his attack. In fact, her long, dirty white fur had ensured the scratches didn't go deep.

"Hi Claw," Fang said, quickly getting to his paws.

The white she-cat still loomed above him. Fang was unnaturally short, being about the height of a five moon old kit. His claws and teeth were sharp, though, and Robin had claimed his short stature was a strength rather than a hindrance.

"It's great to see you! You've got a mouse, I see," Claw yammered on before Fang could get a word in, yellow eyes gleaming. "I got a shrew... but I lost it... that's fine, though! D'you want to come back to camp with me?"

"Yeah, alright."

Fang always felt faintly amused whenever he talked to Claw. She always had so much to say. He preferred to listen, think and observe rather than chirp like a sparrow. But Claw had always been there for him.

She was always there, even when the nightmares and voices came.

Fang was different, and he knew it. He called what he experienced his curse. Whenever the blazing sun struck him, Fang always felt this intense burning sensation, and waves of senseless anger flow through him. He'd always stuck to the shadows because of it.