|| The Prophecies Begin || Book 1 Of 6 || Warriors fanfic

~~Chapter 19~~

By the time I returned from training, the camp was starting to look a little better. Parties of cats had clearly been patching and repairing continuously throughout the day. Frostfur and Goldenflower were still busy fortifying the nursery walls, but the outer wall looked solid and secure once more.

I trotted across the clearing to the fresh-kill pile. I passed Sandpaw and Dustpaw, who were preparing to leave in the next patrol.

"Sorry," mewed Sandpaw, as I sniffed hopefully around the eating area. "We ate the last two mice."

I shrugged and not a moment later, Firepaw trotted through the gorse entrance with some fresh-kill. He droppedoff his load of prey and headed to the apprentices' den, where Graypaw was sitting with his back resting against the tree stump, licking a forepaw.

"Where's Ravenpaw?" Firepaw asked as he sat down.

"Not back from his task yet," replied Graypaw. "Look at that!" He held out his paw for Firepaw and I to inspect. The pad was torn and bleeding. "Tigerclaw sent me fishing and I stepped on a sharp stone in the stream."

"That looks pretty deep. You should get Spottedleaf to take a look at it," I advised. "Where did Tigerclaw send Ravenpaw, by the way?"

"Dunno, I was up to my belly in cold water," muttered Graypaw. He stood up and limped away toward Spottedleaf's den.

Firepaw and I settled down, my eyes fixed on the entrance to the camp, and waited for Ravenpaw. After overhearing the warriors' conversation last night, I couldn't shake the feeling that something dreadful was going to happen to my friend. My heart lurched as I saw Tigerclaw enter the camp alone.

I waited longer. The moon was high in the sky. Surely Ravenpaw should be back by now? I found myself wishing I'd spoken to Bluestar when I'd had the chance. I could see Darkstripe and Longtail guarding her den now, and I certainly didn't want them to overhear my concerns.

Tigerclaw had brought back fresh-kill, which he was sharing with Whitestorm outside the warriors' den. I realized I was actually very hungry. Perhaps I should go and hunt—I might come across Ravenpaw outside the camp. As I wondered what to do, I saw Ravenpaw trotting through the entrance of the camp. A thrill of relief raced through me, and not just because Ravenpaw was holding fresh-kill between his teeth.

The apprentice came straight over to Firepaw and I and dropped the mouthful of food on the ground. "Enough for all four of us!" he mewed proudly. "And it should taste extra good—it's from ShadowClan territory."

I gasped. "You hunted in ShadowClan territory?"

"That was my task," Ravenpaw explained.

"Tigerclaw sent you into enemy territory to hunt!" Firepaw could hardly believe it. "We must tell Bluestar. That was too dangerous!"

At the mention of Bluestar's name, Ravenpaw shook his head. His eyes looked hunted and shadowed with fear. "Look, just keep quiet, okay?" he hissed. "I survived. I even caught some prey. That's all there is to it."

"You survived this time!" I spat.

"Shhh! Tigerclaw's looking. Just eat your share and keep quiet!" snapped Ravenpaw. Firepaw shrugged and took a piece of the fresh-kill. Ravenpaw ate quickly, avoiding my eye. "Shall we save some for Graypaw?" he asked after a while.

"He went to see Spottedleaf," Firepaw mumbled through a mouthful. "He cut his paw. I don't know when he'll be back."

"Well, save him whatever you want," replied Ravenpaw, suddenly sounding worn out. "I'm tired; I need to sleep." He stood up and pushed his way into the den.