Nightpaw walked into the SnowClan camp with a small mouse in his mouth. He set it down in the fresh kill pile. The only other prey in the pile was a blackbird and a scrawny shrew. SnowClan was going through rough times at the moment. Prey was scarce and the clan didn't have many warriors, or cats, in general. There were only four apprentices and one kit in the nursery. Their last leader, Clawstar, died two moons ago. He was a popular leader, and his death left many cats upset and worried about the future of their clan. Nightpaw was fond of the old leader. He had lived a long life, and lead his clan with passion. His was strong, wise, and intimidating.
SnowClan's new leader, Owlstar, called for a clan meeting. Nightpaw jogged over to sit with his best friend, Mousepaw. "As most of you know, it has been very hard to find prey lately." Owlstar began. "With leaf-bare approaching, there will be even less prey running around." "Are we going to starve?" Waspstrike demanded. "I will never let my clan starve!" Owlstar responded. "So what's our plan?" Scorchfur demanded. "Do enlighten us, oh great leader." Darksky challenged.
Owlstar had only been leader for two moons, and he was still learning. Some of the warriors thought he was too young for the job, but Nightpaw felt like he was doing alright. The clan was suffering even before Owlstar's reign. "We will need to find better places to hunt. The Gathering is in a few days. At the Gathering I will attempt to make a deal with StoneClan for some of their territory." Owlstar announced. "Pfft. That won't work. StoneClan is full of stuck up cats." Nightpaw muttered. Apparently Spiderfang heard his remark and glared at him. Nightpaw didn't care. Spiderfang was the deputy of SnowClan. She was also young, but Nightpaw didn't like her. She was always bossing him around and wasn't polite or caring.
"That's a terrible plan!" Icestorm exclaimed. "Why do we need to ask? Why not steal prey?" Blackheart demanded. "No! SnowClan will not stoop that low. Any cat caught stealing prey will be punished." Owlstar snapped. Nightpaw understood why Owlstar wouldn't want conflict with the other clans, but at the same time, the others were right. Why not steal prey? He didn't see anything wrong with it. The other clans were doing alright, so why would they care about a few stolen prey?
"Owlstar, they have a point." Nightpaw called out. "Dude, don't say anything. You'll get in trouble!" Mousepaw whispered. Nightpaw didn't care. "The other clans would do the same. As a matter of fact, they have before. I don't see why SnowClan shouldn't." Nightpaw went on. Out of the corner of Nightpaw's eye, he saw the deputy growl.
"Enough!" Owlstar ordered. "SnowClan will not steal any prey from other clans. This meeting is over." Owlstar walked inside his den. The cats began to disperse.
Spiderfang padded over to Nightpaw and Mousepaw. "I'm not happy, Nightpaw." Spiderfang meowed. "You were very rude to Owlstar. "When are you ever in a good mood?" Nightpaw rolled his eyes. "Oh StarClan." Mousepaw muttered. "Do you dare challenge your deputy?" Spiderfang growled, her black fur bristling. "Yeah, I dare!" Nightpaw snapped. Spiderfang really could get on someone's nerves. "I am your deputy. You should respect me and your leader." Spiderfang told him. "Just because you have a title doesn't mean you get my respect. You have to earn it." Nightpaw replied. Spiderfang's clawed the ground. "If you carry on with this attitude, I'll make sure you never become a warrior." Spiderfang vowed. Hearing this, Nightpaw forced himself to keep back his comments.
Nightpaw and his brother, Thistlepaw, were the oldest apprentices in the clan. They were so close to becoming warriors. Spiderfang wasn't going to change that. "I will come up with a punishment for you later. Right now, go hunt for your clan. You too, Mousepaw." Spiderfang padded away. "Nice job, mouse brain." Mousepaw told his friend.
"I don't know how they expect us to find prey. There's nothing here." Mousepaw complained. The two had left to hunt a while ago and managed to find nothing. Nightpaw was tired of running around, but he knew he couldn't go back to camp empty handed. Spiderfang would claw his eyes out if he did. "I've got an idea." Nightpaw meowed. "What?" Mousepaw asked. "Follow me." Nightpaw set off. Soon, the two found themselves on the StoneClan border.
"We're stealing prey?" Mousepaw exclaimed. "Shut it! Why would you say it so loud?!" Nightpaw replied quickly. "Owlstar said we shouldn't steal prey!" Mousepaw said quietly. "We have to feed our clan! This is the only way to do it!" Nightpaw declared. "Now come on, let's do this as fast as we can." Mousepaw hesitated, but soon followed his friend across the border. Nightpaw's nose wrinkled. StoneClan's scent bothered him. There were more trees in StoneClan's territory. emAnd more prey/em. Nightpaw thought. Within minutes, the two had managed to catch two squirrels and a rabbit.
"See? We did good work." Nightpaw purred. "This isn't our prey though." Mousepaw said. "Doesn't matter. We're helping our clan. That's all that matters, okay?" Nightpaw meowed. "Alright, I guess you're right." Mousepaw admitted. They returned to camp and set their catches in the pile. Nightpaw was happy to see Spiderfang sitting close by, clearly unhappy that Nightpaw had done so well. emShe'll have a hard time convincing Owlstar that I'm not ready to be a warrior now/em. Nightpaw thought. "Well, I'm going to see if I can do some combat practice. See you later." Mousepaw ran off.
Nightpaw headed back out of the camp. He started towards the MarshClan border. emMaybe I can find prey around here./em Nightpaw thought. He felt a little guilty for stealing StoneClan's prey, but he shook the feeling away. emThey didn't need it./em Nightpaw told himself. Nightpaw scented the air for prey. He heard a bush rattle and decided to hide behind a tree.
Surprisingly, he saw Blackheart, Thistlepaw, and Darksky walk out with prey in their mouths. emThey stole it from MarshClan! /emNightpaw thought. "I thought you said there were no cats around!" Blackheart snapped at Darksky. "Now they're deputy knows what we did!" "I'm sorry. But it doesn't matter. They don't know who did it. Besides, we almost killed him. He might be dead now."
Nightpaw almost fell over. He and Mousepaw may have taken prey, but at least they had done it quickly and quietly! They probably killed MarshClan's deputy!
"Whatever. Let's get back to camp." Blackheart ordered. Nightpaw couldn't believe Thistlepaw would go with Blackheart and Darksky. What would their mother have said about this?
Blackheart's name suited him. He loved no one and no one loved him back. And Darksky wasn't great either. He hated Owlstar and almost everyone else. How could Thistlepaw think to hang out with them? Nightpaw had to spend time with Blackheart because he was his mentor. If he wasn't obligated to train with him, he would never go near the warrior. Nightpaw watched the three of them go. When he knew they were gone, he headed back for camp. It was late, and Nightpaw knew he wouldn't find anymore prey around.
Nightpaw walked into the apprentice's den. Only Thistlepaw was inside. Nightpaw sat down in his nest. "Hey." He meowed. "What's up?" Thistlepaw responded. Should Nightpaw ask Thistlepaw about today? He didn't want to, but he wanted to know more. "I saw you cross the MarshClan border with Blackheart and Darksky. Care to explain?" Nightpaw said. Thistlepaw sat up. "You know?" He demanded. "Yeah, I do. I also heard you fought the MarshClan deputy." Nightpaw said. "You can't tell anyone." Thistlepaw told his brother. "Why would you want to hang out with Blackheart?" Nightpaw asked. "He's not that bad. I like him." Thistlepaw shrugged. Nightpaw stared at his brother, knowing that there was more to the story.
"Alright, fine! Blackheart wanted to get to know me better. I don't know why. He said something about making me a better warrior." Thistlepaw admitted. "He's not even your mentor! He's my mentor!" Nightpaw exclaimed. "He called it extra training. I'm sure if I talked to him about it he'd let you join us." Thistlepaw suggested. "When do you do it?" Nightpaw asked curiously. "Well, if he lets you join us, then you'll know." Thistlepaw laid down and shut his eyes. "You won't tell me?" Nightpaw meowed. "Blackheart told me not to tell anyone about it. Sorry." Thistlepaw rolled over in his bed. His back was now facing Nightpaw. emWell I guess that means we're done talking/em. Nightpaw thought. The black tom yawned and crawled into his nest. He laid down, but he couldn't fall asleep. What was Blackheart up to? Nightpaw decided to think about it tomorrow. He shut his eyes and eventually fell asleep.
I hope you all enjoyed the third chapter! What do you think Blackheart is doing? Do you think SnowClan will survive? If you have suggestions, questions, or want me to explain something, send me a message. Reviews are greatly appreciated. They let me know what you guys think of the series and what I can approve on. Next chapter will be out soon! Hope you enjoyed!