Kittypet Clanborn - Tales Unleashed

The Enemy That Seems to Sleep

Read on to get a closer look into some of the disturbing dreams that haunted a certain young white she-cat, one that was for some reason very wise beyond her years...

Snowpaw's POV

Chapter 1

The sun was now gone, vanishing beneath the forest floor as I carefully padded across the ThunderClan camp, my blue eyes only just beginning to adjust to the darkness.

Nighttime had only just arrived, but with my stomach full of thrush after sharing a meal with Poppyfrost, and after a busy training day, I figured that a good night's rest was more than deserved.

I had just yowled a farewell greeting to my tortoiseshell foster mother, and was just fox-lengths away from the apprentices den when I suddenly came to an abrupt stop, pain shooting through my right side. And even if I did stay up much later, this stupid wound wouldn't allow for that...

I let out a sigh, sitting down in the very place that I stopped and rubbing my tail lightly across the large gash that was on my flank. The one that Swiftpaw, my fellow apprentice had given me just a few days ago. 

I then let my head drop to the ground, another pain shooting through me, but not from my wound this time. Well... unfortunately "fellow" is a bit questionable now...

Up until that point, I had seen Swiftpaw as my best friend in the entire world. Sure, he could be short-tempered and emotionally elusive, but we'd shared so many fun times together since we'd both been days old.

So, this training session, where he'd dug his unsheathed claws into my flank, when we were only supposed to be practicing, had been haunting me almost consistently since it had happened.

"Whenever you're ready."

Dustystorm's words - the words telling me that it was my call to allow Swiftpaw to go - had for some reason made me feel as scared as if he were sending a LionClan warrior on me. 

For some reason, looking back at this dark gray tom that I had known since I'd first been brought to ThunderClan, made me scared. I didn't feel safe fighting Swiftpaw, and that I might as well be fighting that LionClan warrior.

At that point, there wasn't much at all he had done to give me any valid reason to think this way. Yet... I had told myself as I attempted to keep myself together, trying to ignore Swiftpaw's impatient gray-blue gaze burning into my skull. The dreams I've been having lately say completely otherwise...

I then lightly shook my head, pushing these thoughts away. Hush, Snowpaw. They're just dreams, I insisted. 

I then took a deep breath, straightening myself up. They're just dreams, I repeated to myself. And all Swiftpaw is doing is trying the Turn Belly Rake on you. Buck up.

Although fear and apprehension still rippled through each and every one of my fur hairs, I finally gave Swiftpaw a nod, my words to him coming in a hoarse whisper. "Just go."

I then knew that there was turning back as Swiftpaw had then leapt right at me, very briskly making his way under me. 

Well... and I'm one of those cats that tries to use the logic that the worst case scenario that you conjure up likely isn't going to happen, so I don't go into situations ever thinking that the worst case scenario is actually going to happen.

But this was one of those horrible times when you expect and fear for the worst thing to happen, and when I felt a horrible, sharp shooting pain pulse through my flank, I knew that it indeed had happened.