Vol. 1/6 ✅️
"Your future - it is a path entwined with thorns. They try to grab you, to pull you into the deepest thicket - and they will succeed. You don't have the power to change your destiny completely, Larkpaw. The only thing you can do is not t...
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Larkpaw opened her eyes and immediately realised that it was still night because of the darkness.
Just as she was about to curl up again and go back to sleep, a movement in the other end of the den caught her attention.
Reedpaw had sat up in her nest and was now looking around among her sleeping denmates.
Strange that we both woke up at the same time. For a moment, Larkpaw toyed with the idea of speaking to her, but when Reedpaw stood up and headed for the exit, Larkpaw made sure to stay still.
As soon as the light brown tabby cat crept past her nest, Larkpaw hid her eyes behind her thick tail so that they wouldn't shine treacherously.
As soon as Reedpaw had disappeared, Larkpaw relaxed again. She surmised that she only wanted to go to the dirtplace and went back to closing her eyes.
But a feeling told her otherwise. If Reedpaw really had to go, she wouldn't behave so secretively.
Larkpaw could hardly lie still with curiosity and finally decided to follow Reedpaw. Perhaps she had been mistaken and her denmate was actually paying a visit to the dirtplace.
Outside the den, Larkpaw saw Reedpaw running towards the waterfall and scaling the small rock face with a quick leap before squeezing under the undergrowth.
At that moment, Larkpaw realised that Reedpaw had secretly left the camp. By wading through the stream, she was probably camouflaging her scent down below.
Larkpaw waited until she was sure that Reedpaw had gone far enough and left the camp the same way. She had to press herself quite low to the ground and lay her ears flat so that she didn't get caught in the branches.
The crawl ended sooner than expected and Larkpaw jumped out of the stream. Whew, that was cold! Her fur stuck to her body and made her feel disgusted.
It looked like Reedpaw was on her way to the upper part of the territory and she had already travelled a considerable distance. Larkpaw had to hurry if she wanted to catch up with her.
Ignoring her wet pelt, she ran off. She had to be careful not to make a sound. Reedpaw seemed a little too carefree, though, because she just kept walking and didn't look back once.
What does she want? Larkpaw wondered, shuddering. If they were caught, she didn't want to imagine the punishment that awaited them. It was already bad enough for apprentices to leave the camp at night, but in these times they would be dealt with even more severely.
The forest was silent. On the one paw, it calmed Larkpaw, but on the other, it made her heart beat so fast that she could feel it. Don't drive yourself crazy, she told herself. There hadn't been an attack for a long time. Maybe they've stopped now and we don't have to go into the forest in groups anymore.
