Shadowed Dawn - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Aspenpaw sighed as she arched her back, and took a long, deliberate yawn. Behind her, Brackenflight and Fang were returning from a brief hunting excursion. Between them, they carried a fairly large sized rabbit.

"Prey runs well here," Aspenpaw commented.

Fang nodded, dropping the fresh catch. Eagerly, the three of them sat down and tucked into the freshkill. Aspenpaw was surprised by how quickly she had lost track of the warrior code; warriors were meant to thank StarClan for every catch.

The flavour of the rabbit along with the feeling of finally filling her belly since the journey began, made Aspenpaw tingle with excitement. They had only just crossed out of ValleyClan territory, and into no-clan's land.

The mountains still loomed tall and imposing, but Aspenpaw was merely thankful for a bit of rest on their journey. Brackenflight still looked grim and worried, but she had noticed a certain upbeatness in Fang's step since they had started off this morning that hadn't been there since losing Nightshade.

"You look better today," Aspenpaw commented. She instantly cringed. Is that insulting?

Fang winced slightly, before nodding. "I suppose," he meowed slowly. "It's just been really nice journeying with you all... and finally seeing the sun."

Aspenpaw glanced up at the glowing golden circle which illuminated the sky. She understood at once; by leaving clan territory, they had left behind whatever weird curse had been placed on there since the destructive gathering that had obliterated the Midnights. Then, she remembered with a sudden pang that Fang had never been under the sun before; it was his curse, wasn't it?

"I severed my relationship with Thistleheart," Fang said grimly. "She was the one that was causing it, I reckon."

"So you're... completely free of your mother?"

Fang looked away. Aspenpaw shook her pelt out self-consciously, trying to remind herself not to ask mousebrained questions. She took a final bite of the vole idly, while Brackenflight stared off into the distance, a perturbed expression on her brown tabby face.

They had been journeying for a day and a night so far, and now their second day was nearing its end. Thornshade had told them that so long as they kept this pace up, they ought to be able to make it to the peak of the mountains within a quarter moon.

"Really?" Aspenpaw had scoffed. "Don't you fly here and back in a day or something?"

"No," Thornshade drawled. "It takes a couple days there and back. But I had wings, and that made the ascent easier. For you three, it'll be dangerous. There are threats up there that you've never even dreamed of."

Irritated by how the tom had taken charge of their group, Aspenpaw had turned her back on him, and stuck out her tongue behind his back. I'll show him, she thought. I may be an apprentice, but I've proven my worth many times over.

Aspenpaw glanced around at the craggy outcropping where she was sheltered. Speaking of Thornshade, the winged tom was nowhere in sight. That instantly set Aspenpaw on edge, and she turned to ask whether the other cats had seen him.

Then, she saw him slinking quietly along the underbrush in a forest to her left. Her belly squirmed as though it were full of maggots as he watched his hawk-like motions, and his obvious desire not to be seen. Thornshade's ears flicked to and fro in agitation, as though he were looking for something. Eventually, with a small growl that Aspenpaw could barely hear, he whirled about, and padded towards her.

"What were you doing?" Aspenpaw growled softly. "We're supposed to be sticking together."

The accusation lay thickly in the air as Thornshade surveyed her. She didn't know a single thing about the tom. If she had guessed, he was a little younger than her parents, but Thornshade claimed to be hardly a year old. There were so many parts of him that she didn't understand. She found himself irked as he ruffled his feathers, and continued to stare at her, blinking slowly.