Death at Dawn
The scent of the mouse eluded Seedpaw. She finally caught it again and snuck along the forest path. It was early morning, birds sang in the trees, still she stalked her prey. the trees grew silent, the mouse was in sight. She took care, placing one paw in front of the other. Her prey scampered away. A cat's corpse was in front of her, bloody and mangled. A foul stench permeated the air, and a black shape came out of the bushes, slamming its paws into her side…
Seedpaw awoke. Her fur was damp with sweat, and her breath loud and panting. That had just been a dream? Woodpaw stood back from her, his eyes filled with concern.
"Are you okay Seedpaw?" He whispered.
She sat up, licking small scraps of moss from her fur.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream." Her nest looked like it had been slept in by a hurricane. Moss was kicked everywhere, and heather had been flung across the den.
"You were talking in your sleep." Woodpaw straightened, a mischievous look on his face. "Lets go."
The two apprentices snuck across the sleeping camp, as the first rays of dawn escaped from the horizons shadowy hold. The sentries were asleep. A lone song thrush started up it's early morning song, breaking the eerie silence of a pre-dawn forest. Their shared mentor, Shadowquill, had no reason to be up this early. The dawn patrol hadn't even gone. Birds joined the thrush, their chirps, warbles, whistles and caws adding to the dawn chorus. Seedpaw tasted the air, drinking in the sweet new-leaf smells. The Birds were all up in the trees, no use for hunting, but new life rustled in the undergrowth. Her hunting instincts guided her nose. A mouse had been here recently, and a family of voles, and a squirrel and. Something else had been here. Something foul and dark, and deadly. It was gone in an instant, the luscious green scents of the forest replacing it. One trail was fresh. The mouse couldn't be more than a few fox lengths away
The scent of the mouse eluded Seedpaw. She finally caught it again and snuck along the forest path. The trees grew silent, her mouse was in sight. She took care, placing one paw in front of the other. It was a fat brown creature, with a white spot on one ear. Seedpaw halted, she had done this before. The foul scent trickled through the bushes, this time stronger. Seedpaw found herself running, Woodpaw pelted along behind her.
Whatever it was burst out of the bushes, and Seedpaw increased her speed. Woodpaw tripped over a root, falling badly, and the dog ran up the path. It was a big black beast, with drool coming from It's mouth, and yellow sharp fangs. Seed paw ran up a tree, acting on instinct, and huddled in one of the high branches. The dog took Woodpaw by the scruff and shook her like a rat before throwing her into a tree with a sickening crunch. Seedpaw winced and closed her eyes, feeling pain for her poor friend. She opened her eyes. The dog was sniffing the air, and for one terrible moment, she could see the burning lust in its eyes, the urge to kill. It ran over to her tree, baying and yapping. Seedpaw fell on the other side of the tree and for one amazing moment she had escaped. Then the jet black paws crashed into her.