I made a detour towards the lake to where the stream veered out of ShadowClan territory to mark the border with ThunderClan.
I sure couldn't go back looking like this.
Slowly, the green of the forest started to enter my vision, beating out the redness. It was calming being on my own territory. The ferns rustled gently as I wove through them, my trail invisible.
I wondered what I would tell the patrol when I got back. I could surely say I found the body and fled, remembering Raintalon. No one would ever suspect me. I was only an apprentice.
I could also say I hit my head coming down and had a hard time finding my way back.
But that would probably land me in the medicine cat den with only Featherheart for company. I shivered, revolted by the thought.
Featherheart may have been handsome once, but now…
I thought he really needed a thorough washing.
Or two.
It didn't take long before I was standing in the shallows—on ThunderClan's bank of course—watching the ribbons of red leak from my paws to be swept downstream. I felt a chill run up my legs and a cold breeze flattened my fur on my left side.
I turned my head to see the piercing blue eyes I had seen my first day out. His dark tabby paws stood next to mine, the water flowing through them as if he wasn't actually there.
Which if he was a StarClan warrior, he wasn't. I stared at his paws, the water passing straight through him keeping me enthralled. Suddenly, his paws started leaking red, crimson seeping through his claws, turning the whole river red with blood.
He was just like me.
I let my eyes drift back up to his sharp muzzle. His eyes shone with pride, as if I were his prize apprentice who had just turned a warrior. "You are going to be my apprentice, Mosspaw." I flinched in shock that he had been able to tell my exact thoughts. "Our training starts tonight, young one."
I realized I thought of him the perfect mentor, the prime fighter that could teach me everything I ever wanted. The one who could help me defeat WindClan and get my revenge on my early-fallen mentor. I smiled.
Everything was perfect now.
"I'll be there," I promised. He just stared at me and nodded before evaporating in a gust of chilling wind, leaving me standing in the river for the ThunderClan patrol to find me.
