Warriors: Shadows Of The Night

Chapter 2

Ravenpaw slowly stretched for legs out and opened her eyes with a refreshed sigh. She sat up in her nest and glanced around the den. Sunlight was streaming through the entrance of the den, as well as through the small gaps in the roof and walls.

Shadepaw had already left the den for the morning. His nest was empty. Ravenpaw stretched her paw out to touch his nest. It wasn't warm, so she assumed that he must've gone hunting or put training with Thistlefang.

I guess I still can't leave the camp, Ravenpaw thought with a sigh. She had spent the rest of the day before relaxing in the camp, but she assumed that Thornwhisker hadn't woke her up because he thought that she still needed rest. Ravenpaw and her brother were supposed to do their assessment to become a warrior any day now, and she was growing impatient. She just wanted to start practicing.

A head poked into the den, making Ravenpaw jump and turn around. It was Thornwhisker. Her fur lay flat, although she hoped her mentor hadn't seen her jump.

"Can we do some training today?" Ravenpaw asked, pricking her ears hopefully. Thornwhisker shook his head.

"No, Ravenpaw," he replied, "Silverflight says that you should rest today. But she thinks you'll be better tomorrow, so as long as you do what she says."

"Oh," Ravenpaw meowed, trying to hide her disappointment. "What's Shadepaw doing?"

"Thistlefang insisted on taking him hunting," Thornwhisker said with a twitch of an ear, "I asked him to let Shadepaw keep you company. But he refused again and said that he needed to train more."

"Ok," Ravenpaw mewed, but a sudden wave of anxiety swept over her. "What if he becomes a warrior before me because he has more training!"

"That won't happen," Thornwhisker promised, "You've both been training a long time. I'm sure Shallowstar will understand that you needed to rest."

Ravenpaw nodded, feeling a little better. She wanted to become a warrior at the same time as her brother.

"Why don't you come out and eat?" Thornwhisker suggested, "There's lots of food in the fresh kill pile."

Ravenpaw nodded and stood up. Thornwhisker moved out of the way so that she could exit the den. He gave her a friendly purr as she walked out.

Shallowstar was talking to Palefoot, who was the Clan deputy, and Iceclaw. Silverflight was sitting near the medicine den with her tail curled neatly around her paws, her eyes looking staring blankly off in one direction. It was obvious that she was lost in thought.

Mouseclaw sat outside of the elder's den with the Clan's only elder, Longfur. The two cats appeared to be having s light hearted conversation about prey. Ravenpaw felt a pang of sympathy for Longfur. He was often all by himself since he was the only elder and the warriors were often busy hunting and patrolling. It was nice of Mouseclaw to sit with him.

Mouseclaw's brother, Birdflight, was sitting beside his mate, Berryflower near the nursery. Their two kits, Graykit and Sandkit, were play fighting nearby.

"Where's Blacktail?" Ravenpaw asked, looking for her mother in the clearing.

"She's out watching your brother train," Thornwhisker replied. Ravenpaw instantly felt a wave of disappointment. Shadepaw and he never really got to spend time with Blacktail very much, since she was always busy doing warrior duties.

"Go eat," Thornwhisker said, giving Ravenpaw a gentle nudge with his head. "She'll be back soon."

"Alright," Ravenpaw sighed. She slowly padded over to the fresh kill pile, which was beside the Highstump where Shallowstar held Clan meetings.

I wish I could just be outside training! Ravenpaw thought with a lash of her tail as she reached the pile. She looked down at the pile. The only prey left were a small mouse and a scrawny blackbird. With another sigh, Ravenpaw picked the blackbird. She took it in her jaws and turned to look for a spot to eat.

Before Ravenpaw had even decided where she was going to settle down and eat, Graykit and Sandkit came bounding over. Their eyes were glowing with excitement and their tails stuck straight up.

"Guess what?" Graykit mewed, skidding to a halt beside Ravenpaw. Before Ravenpaw could even put her blackbird down to respond, Graykit answered for her; "Palefoot told us that we're going to be made apprentices once you and Shadepaw are warriors!"

"Yeah!" Sandkit meowed, puffing out her chest importantly. "So hurry up and heal so that you can be a warrior and I can be an apprentice!"

Ravenpaw set her blackbird down, trying not to roll her eyes. Sandkit often got on her nerves. She was an uppity young kit who Ravenpaw wished would get her ears clawed.

"That's great news," Ravenpaw purred, flicking her tail. She knew that Graykit would make a good warrior for sure. He was always eager to please, and very optimistic. Unfortunately, Sandkit was nothing like her brother.

"Teach us some battle moves!" Sandkit said bossily to Ravenpaw, flicking her tail from side to side.

"I can't," Ravenpaw mewed, "I have to rest. I'm sorry."

"She's right," Thornwhisker meowed, padding over. "She can't become a warrior if she doesn't heal, can she?"

At first, Ravenpaw felt a stab of anxiety. What if what her mentor said was true? Then she saw the mischievous glint in his green eyes.

Oh, she thought, Thornwhisker doesn't mean that. He knows these scratches will heal soon. He's just saying that to get the kits off my tail.

Sandkit glared at both cats for a moment. She looked as if she was about to argue, but thought better of it.

"Shadepaw will teach me some battle moves when I get back!" Sandkit snorted, "Come on, Graykit, let's wrestle!"

Ravenpaw rolled her eyes as she watched the bossy she-kit stalk off, Graykit scampering after her.

"Thanks," Ravenpaw said to her mentor. Thornwhisker gave her a friendly flick with the tip of his tail.

"Of course!" He purred, "How are you supposed to get better if you have a bunch of kits wrestling you?"

Ravenpaw purred in agreement and picked her blackbird up again. She took it over to the apprentice den, deciding she wanted to eat at the entrance to the den. As she turned around and settled down to eat her blackbird, she saw that Thornwhisker had gone and joined Mouseclaw and Longfur by the elder's den.

Ravenpaw ate quietly by herself. Her scratches weren't bothering her very much, so she was really hoping she'd get a chance to train again soon. Her claws flexed in and out impatiently as she ate.

When she was done her meal, she started to groom herself, giving herself some quick licks. She looked up as a sudden commotion happened at the entrance to the camp.

Her mother raced through the entrance and halted in the middle of the clearing, her fur fluffed out and her yellow eyes wide. All the Clan was staring at her in surprise, and it was completely quiet in the clearing now except for Blacktail's erratic breathing.

"Blacktail?" Shallowstar asked, blinking with surprise. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"It's DarkClan," Blacktail gasped out, still gasping for breath, "They're attacking!"