Author's Note:
Hello once again, loyal readers! Today we are back with another chapter.
Gingy, I already said that Echopaw wouldn't be back unless I got five reviews on a chapter, but that hasn't happened yet. I've gotten four and three reviews on every chapter.
I never really had ideas for a main plot in Cat and Mouse, so the story is basically in limbo. As of now, I want to focus on this. If a chapter gets five reviews, I'll begin to update Echo of a Clan at least once or twice a month.
This chapter will feature another appearance from Shade and the Claws.
Anyways, back to ShadowClan!
Chapter Eleven:
Night sighed, looking up at the slowly rising sun. What had he gotten himself into. He was stuck in a den with an old tom and an easily agitated she-cat, in an unfamiliar camp, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be allowed to leave once he was healed.
He did have one thing he wanted to at least try to do. He'd grown tired of all the constant scolding and glaring from Mintpaw, and he knew there was only one way to fix it. He was reluctant to do it, but it had to be done.
Taking a deep breath, he padded towards Mintpaw, who was piling some herbs up in a corner. "Hey Mintpaw," he mewed, focusing on the ground, "Can I tell you something?"
Mintpaw glanced up, "Are you here to slander my brother? Or me? Or any ShadowClan member? If so, get away from me. If not, get away from me, I'm busy."
Night shuffled his paws, "Come on Mintpaw, don't be like that. I just want to say something, okay? Give me a second or two."
Mintpaw sighed and turned towards him, "Fine. Get it out quickly, or I'll claw myself and say you did it."
Night stared at her for a moment, alarmed, but composed himself and mewed, "Okay, Mintpaw. I know this, well, it may not help anything, but I'm sorry for attacking and insulting your brother." A breath later, he reluctantly added, "I'm also sorry for...for disrespecting you and your...high position in this Clan."
Mintpaw smiled, "I don't know whether you mean any of that, but I'll accept it. Maybe we can be something close to friends now. Or not." She shrugged.
"What do you mean or not?" Night asked. He was really confused by Mintpaw's seemingly bipolar personality.
She laughed, "You are a mouse-brain, Night. It depends on whether or not you can respect she-cats such as I, though you may find that hard."
Night blinked, "Respect she-cats? When have I ever disrespected a she-cat before?"
Mintpaw laughed, "For StarClan's sake, you are clueless! You've disrespected me ever since you've been in ShadowClan! Oh, I forgot something. Rowanstar told Littlecloud and I that he wanted to see you. You should go now."
Night shook his head, "Alright then. I guess I'll see you later." He stood up, the ache in his head barely there anymore.
In the leader's den...
"Is there something you need, Rowanstar?" Night mewed as he sat down in front of the leader. This leader's den was certainly much smaller than...his former father's den.
"Yes. Yes there is," the leader mewed. Looking him over, he said, "How would you feel about joining us? We can offer you protection, and more food than you would probably get on your own."
Maybe it would be worth it to join them, Night thought to himself. He would be protected from the Claws. "Deal," he mewed.
Rowanstar nodded, "Of course, we can't just let you in. We'll give you a moon to prove that you can be loyal, and if you are, then you'll be welcomed as a full member of ShadowClan. Okay?" When Night nodded, he added, "I'll announce it to the Clan soon. For now, get some rest, and we'll begin evaluating your skills tomorrow."
Night nodded, and began his trek back to his nest in Mintpaw and Littlecloud's den. Hopefully he'd have a peaceful sleep, and he could show these warriors what he was made of.
Shade's POV:
Shade grinned as the group moved through their former territory. He still couldn't believe he'd taken control so easily, and he had an ability to control minds! He could rule anything if he wanted to.
Suddenly, he had an idea. "Stop!" He called, and felt a rush of satisfaction as everyone immediately paused in what they were doing and stared at him.
Shade began to pace, and began speaking, "I have a feeling that some of you don't have a true sense of loyalty to me yet. So, may the ones who believe in me, the ones who are truly loyal, step forward." Without objection, around a quarter of the group shuffled forward.
"Good," he mewed, "You cats who stayed back are the fourth tier, while those that have stepped forward are the third tier."
Stepping up to the cats, noticing most were young cats who'd just finished their time as protégés. "May the cats in the third tier who would kill me if given the opportunity step back." Unsurprisingly, only a few remained. Shade smiled, "You cats are the second tier, while I am tier one. Tier two, you are my personal guards, and my advisors. You will also make sure everyone in the third tier stays loyal. Third tier, you are the supervisors, you watch over the fourth tier, and if needed, you can injure the uncooperative ones."
"Ember!" Night called. Where was the coward hiding? Of course, he was back in the fourth tier.
"Y-yes?" Ember mewed, slinking forward, as cowardly as ever.
Shade sighed, "Groveling won't gain you anything Ember. Since I know no other replacement, you shall continue to be our healer, but if you don't find a protégé soon, you might have a little talk with the second tier. Got it?" Nodding, Ember gulped and scrambled back into the crowd.
Shade rolled his eyes, then continued, "Fourth tier, you have a simple job. Serve. You will do whatever a higher rank tells you, and you shall do it without question. If not, we'll leave you to the mercy of the supervisors.
Glancing at the slowly setting sun, Shade mewed, "Let's get moving again."
Night's POV:
"Come on you lump of fur, get up!" A voice came, breaking his dreamless sleep. A moment later, he felt the cat push him.
Scrambling up, Night opened her eyes to see Mintpaw waiting impatiently. He back up from her and mewed, "I'm awake! I'm awake!"
Smiling, Mintpaw mewed, "Good. You have your first training session with Smokepaw and Tigerheart. Just a warning, Smokepaw is very annoying, and he loves getting to cats. Ignore him."
Nodding, Night licked down some stray furs and rushed out. He found Tigerheart and Smokepaw near the entrance. Tigerheart seemed calm, but the apprentice seemed like he was going to die if they didn't leave that second.
As he got close, Smokepaw sighed and said, "Thank StarClan you showed up. Are rogues really so slow to get up? Or are you just lazy?" Tigerheart sent the apprentice a warning glance, and the apprentice shot back an innocent look.
Night suppressed a growl. Mintpaw was right, this tom'd be hard to handle.
At the training area...
"Attack me," Tigerheart mewed. He was standing in a defensive stance in front of Night. Smokepaw was watching from the side, smirking.
"You're going to let the rogue kit attack you?" Smokepaw mewed, mock amazement written in his expression. Grinning, he added, "He'll probably pounce and miss you completely, then he'll whine."
When Night began growling, Tigerheart glanced at him and mewed, "Calm down." Turning to Smokepaw, he scolded, "If you say one more thing, you'll be in the elder's den until the next Gathering!"
When Smokepaw nodded innocently, Tigerheart turned back to Night and repeated, "Attack me."
Ready, Night swiftly pounced towards Tigerheart, but instead of going straight for him, he went over him, and landed behind. Tigerheart quickly flipped over, his front paws facing Night. Night attempted to sweep his paws from under him, but as he tried, Tigerheart surged forward, knocking him onto the ground panting. Before he could move, Tigerheart pinned his shoulders down, effectively ending the sparring.
Smokepaw laughed, "Who taught you those moves, rogue? Your kittypet mother?" At the mention of his mother, Night slipped away from Tigerheart and moved towards him until they face-to-face.
"What did you say about my mother?" Night growled, glaring daggers straight into Smokepaw's eyes.
"Did I stutter?" He replied, "I said your mother is a weak cat who lives with Twolegs and depends on them for everything. Your father and your mother's Twolegs probably abandoned you because they didn't want you. Your mother was glad to see you go, I bet."
A familiar red haze filled Night's vision. "You. Know. Nothing!" He hissed. Unsheathing his claws, Night grabbed the surprised apprentice and threw him on the ground. He pounced on Smokepaw, tearing cuts deep in his belly. Voices in his head were telling him to kill the insolent apprentice, but before he could, claws pierced his back and tore him off of Smokepaw.
"What is wrong with you?" Tigerheart growled at him. He looked at his apprentice, "Can you get up?" He mewed.
Smokepaw struggled, but he somehow hobbled onto his paws. Tigerheart glared at Night, "Rowanstar is going to kill you. Come with us." Night sighed. He had gotten out of control. Time to be judged by the very cat that told him Night had to show loyalty the day before. Great.
At camp...
The moment they reached camp, Night rushed into the medicine cat's den and rushed over to Mintpaw. "I couldn't handle it," he mewed.
Mintpaw tilted her head, "Couldn't handle what?" Suddenly, Tigerheart and Smokepaw stepped in. "Oh StarClan," she muttered, "I'm sorry that you'll have to leave Night, and I understand why you did it." Looking to make sure Tigerheart wasn't looking, she whispered, "Join ThunderClan. They'll take you in. Then we can meet up every once in a while. In fact, go now, before Rowanstar gets ahold of you."
Nodding nervously, Night rushed out, ignoring the angry call of Tigerheart as he burst into the forest. Thank goodness Mintpaw had told her where each Clan was. Now, he only needed to convince their leader to let him join, or else he would have to return to the life of a rogue.
And secretly, he couldn't bear being alone again.
A/N:
Awwwww...Poor Night. Stupid red haze. No one likes you. Go home, you're drunk red haze.
I really want to kill Littlecloud off. He's too old for my taste, but not yet.
Will ThunderClan accept Night? Who knows? Ok, maybe me, but you guys should just R&R!