Warriors; Shadows of the Forest

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Emberkit leapt for the small pine branch, her feet landing loudly and unneatly underneath her. She had easily misjudged the distance and was still at least a tail-length away from it.

"Your prey would definitely know you were there." Sparrowpaw meowed.

Emberkit's ears drooped.

"Hey, I didn't get it right the first time either. Try again, using the crouch I taught you."

Emberkit looked up at Sparrowpaw, sitting near the bramble thicket den that was the apprentice's den. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Backing up, she bunched her legs beneath her, putting less weight on her haunches. Then, she concentrated, her eyes wide, her back moving to reposition her legs under her, and leapt.

This time, one paw hit the pine branch, the other farther in the air. In a split second, that leg crumpled beneath her, and she hit the ground with a small thump. "Oof!"

The scent of mint caught Emberkit's nose. She glanced up.

Ravenpaw was watching, with a clump of mint clamped in her jaws. "You're doing okay, for such a young cat."

Emberkit said nothing, only climbed to her paws.

Sparrowpaw moved over to her. "Okay, now, I'll-"

"Sparrowpaw."

A broad but fluffy black tom padded over; Sparrowpaw's mentor, Adderstrike. He laid his ears back. "Darkstar wants us to go to the RiverClan border."

Sparrowpaw nodded. "Okay." He meowed. "See you later, Emberkit."

The two cats joined Goldenshade and another warrior, named Nightpool. They disappeared through the thorn tunnel, into the pine forests that Emberkit had never seen.

She tried to follow them, but Ravenpaw immediately stopped her. "What are you thinking, Emberkit?" She thrust the she-cat back with a forceful paw.

"I just want to see the forest." She mewed, flicking her ear. "Please? I'll be careful!"

"No way. It's not a safe environment for a kit."

"I'm not a kit!" Emberkit tried to sound powerful, but it came out as a squeak.

"Last time I checked, you were. I have to go tend to the elders." Ravenpaw sighed, looking over at the group. There was a black and white tom called Molefoot, a cream colored she-cat called Oakleaf, a broad gray tom named Lightwater, and a small white tom with a gray muzzle, Duststorm.

"Fine." Emberkit hissed. She watched as Ravenpaw walked over to the elders, who were only lying in the shadows of their den, and turned away. Maybe she could get an apprentice to play with her. There were a lot of apprentices in ShadowClan. The oldest were very close to their assessments, Cherrypaw and Maplepaw. The others were all in between.

Emberkit found Stormpaw, a blue-gray she-cat, eating prey by herself. She padded over and mewed, "Wanna play mossball?"

Stormpaw only shook her head, and Emberkit sighed. If she didn't want to, then why would any of the other apprentices want to play with her?

Emberkit went to the nursery. Her brothers were still sleeping, and Mintfoot was eating a frog, paying no mind to either. Emberkit ran over and prodded both of them.

Shadekit raised his head. "What?" He mewed drowsily.

"I have a good idea. You just have to come with me." She whispered.

Shadekit nodded, standing up and stretching. Blackkit curled up tighter and whispered, "No thanks."

Mintfoot turned her head. "What are you up to?" She mewed.

"Just going to play mossball." Emberkit said casually.

Mintfoot turned her head and continued eating.

Shadekit and Emberkit crept out of the den, and Emberkit led him into the thorn bush to talk.

"Okay, so I've devised a plan to get out of this boring camp." She meowed. "First, we make sure nobody is looking. Darkstar might've posted some guards at the entrance, so we're going to sneak behind them and silently run away."

"Okay." Shadekit responded.

"Then, we can just explore."

The two kits hurried to the thorn tunnel. They sat beside it, casually, for a few moments, and then bolted out of the clearing.

At the top, Emberkit could make out sloped ground through pine forests. "Woah." She breathed, barely more than a whisper.

On both sides of the entrance, there were warriors guarding it. Emberkit snuck behind one, her paws light on the pine needles.

Shadekit followed her, less quiet. He slid on the surface of the pine and fell down with a sharp, "Oof!"

The guard turned his head. "Get back into camp." He growled, his eyes narrowed.

Emberkit gulped and mewed, "Run!"

The two kits bolted up the slope, running through the trees. The tom easily kept pace. Emberkit panicked and fled one way, immediately crashing downward a few feet into a thorn bush.

Thorns poked at her skin, and she yelped in pain. Wriggling away from a tendril, thorns embedded in her fur and the tendril snapped back. She flattened herself to the ground and crawled out from under the bush.

"Half-clan cats never learn." The tom hissed, leaping down beside her. "Let's go."

"Half- clan?" Emberkit mewed. "What's that?"

"It means, your mother was from one clan, or in this case, she was half-clan, and your father is also half-clan. So, now you have abilities, and ancestry, from all the clans." The broad tom hissed in disgust.

Emberkit stared at him in terror. "What does that mean?"

"It means you don't belong here."