Bloodflower

Chapter 8

Rosepaw's eyes fluttered open. With her muzzle still tucked under her tail, she looked around the den. Moonlight shone through the entrance, lighting up the sleeping shape of Minnowpaw. Further back, Rosepaw could just make out Nightpaw and Shadowpaw curled up beside each other.

I must've slept through the whole afternoon, and then some!

As quietly as she could, Rosepaw stumbled to her paws and slipped out of the den. She stretched luxuriously in the faint moonlight, feeling much better after her nap.

She glanced up at the sky and realized how low the moon was. Dawn wasn't far off.

I don't think anyone would mind if I went for a walk in the forest, she decided. She knew that apprentices were not allowed out of camp by themselves without permission, but didn't that just make sneaking out all the more exciting?

I won't be doing anything that wrong, anyway. I'll just slip out, do some hunting, and be back before the dawn patrol leaves. Nobody will even know I was gone!

But as Rosepaw padded toward the fern tunnel, a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. "Where are you going?"

She whipped around to see Nightpaw's glowing blue eyes watching her from the shadows of the apprentice den. Fox dung! she thought guiltily. He was just pretending to be asleep.

"Er, I was just going to make dirt," she lied feebly.

Nightpaw blinked at her and emerged from the den. His eyes gleamed mischievously. "If you're sneaking out of camp, I won't tell anyone," he whispered, twitching his whiskers.

Rosepaw let out the breath she'd been holding. "Thanks," she murmured. Thank StarClan for that!

"No problem." Nightpaw shrugged nonchalantly. "But if you plan on not being seen, I wouldn't leave through the fern tunnel. Hazelfrost is on guard duty."

Rosepaw winced at the thought of what the no-nonsense Hazelfrost would do if she caught her sneaking out of the camp.

"How should I slip out, then?" she asked.

"Follow me, and keep silent," Nightpaw mewed. His fur bristled with excitement, and Rosepaw felt a flash of amusement.

She followed him toward the elders' den, not daring to speak for fear of any of the elders hearing them. Nightpaw headed past it until they reached the camp wall, and began sniffing at the base of the wall.

"It should be around here somewhere..." he muttered. "But where? Oh, here it is!" He beckoned Rosepaw with his tail. "Come look at this."

Rosepaw crept forward to see what her friend had found. She stifled a gasp. There was a small hole—just big enough to fit a cat—that led right under the camp wall.

"It leads out into the forest," Nightpaw meowed quietly. "That's your way out."

"How did you know this was here?" Rosepaw asked. The better question is, how did I not know this was here? I used to look for hiding spots all over the camp as a kit!

"The same day I taught you the hunting crouch, I saw Minnowpaw sneaking out of camp instead of doing the elders' ticks like Thumpstep asked her to," Nightpaw explained. "She used this tunnel."

"Wow. Thanks, Nightpaw!" Rosepaw briefly touched her nose to her friend's ear in gratitude. Then, not thinking twice, she plunged into the little tunnel and squeezed through it. She clambered out through the other side, and found herself right outside the camp in the moonlit forest.

Scrambling paw steps sounded behind her, and she turned to see Nightpaw following her out of the tunnel.

"What are you doing?"