AN: Not much to be said, but it's about to go down.
Chapter 20 | Dusk
It was a rather dark day in leaf-fall. Clouds cluttered the sky, and Nightpaw felt it in her fur that it would rain sometime. She got up, taking a toad that she caught the evening before. Stormpaw was speaking to Lightningpaw about her speech that she was going to give no doubt and Ripplepaw was sleeping in. She stretched, yawning widely.
This would be the day that the blood moon would rise, no doubt about it. Everything felt like it was in order, the wind, the sky, even StarClan itself was prepared for this day. She dug into her toad, filling her belly for the day.
"Make sure you sleep before the gathering tonight but also practice some fighting with Ripplepaw if anything goes wrong." Stormpaw reminded her. Nightpaw nodded, looking around. She got up, observing the ominous air weighing everyone down.
"Hey, before we go...I don't think we should mention that we are the only descendants of pure blood. I think a lot of cat's lives would be ruined."
It was a rather dark day in leaf-fall. Clouds cluttered the sky, and Nightpaw felt it in her fur that it would rain sometime. She got up, taking a toad that she caught the evening before. Stormpaw was speaking to Lightningpaw about her speech that she was going to give no doubt and Ripplepaw was sleeping in. She stretched, yawning widely.
This would be the day that the blood moon would rise, no doubt about it. Everything felt like it was in order, the wind, the sky, even StarClan itself was prepared for this day. She dug into her toad, filling her belly for the day.
"Make sure you sleep before the gathering tonight but also practice some fighting with Ripplepaw if anything goes wrong." Stormpaw reminded her. Nightpaw nodded, looking around. She got up, observing the ominous air weighing everyone down. It was odd feeling to say the least. They knew what time and place it would be where they could possibly die and yet they were preparing for battle rather than running. It made her proud of her little group and yet that much more terrified.
She met Ripplepaw in their little training area, an open area where a circle of trees surrounded them. She got into her battle position, ready to fight. She would fight all three of her friends today to make sure of their skills. First she struck out and down, slapping Ripplepaw's muzzle and stunning her. She doged Ripplepaw's wobbly attempt to strike the side of her head with ease. She tackled Ripplepaw while she recovered and she tried to pinned her but was blindsided by her strength on the ground.
Nightpaw as then quickly pinned and Ripplepaw's sheathed paws raked her belly. She tried to free herself but the she-cat's grip was too strong. She then kicked her back legs, throwing Ripplepaw off unexpectedly. Ripplepaw quickly got off the ground while it took Nightpaw a little longer, which it was all it took for Ripplepaw to go and push her back on the ground. Ripplepaw kept applying weight to Nightpaw's ribs, sqeezing the air out and hurting Nightpaw. Nightpaw had endured worst of course but this ranked pretty high on the list.
"Fine! I-I give up." Nightpaw rasped, her ribs aching in pain. The pain would subside, of course but it would hurt for the time being, a reminder of what Ripplepaw could do. A slightly out of breath Nightpaw spoke once sitting.
"Hey, before we go...I don't think we should mention that we are the only descendants of pure blood. I think a lot of cat's lives would be ruined."
"Technically only lives of the ones around our age. I do see your point, but how do we convince them that we were special rather than all being the leader's child or something?" Ripplepaw mewed. Nightpaw nodded, understanding what Ripplepaw was trying to prove.
"Well, I think the fact that we are all random apprentices who teamed up together might be enough. Bringing up our "purity" might make things even more tense, so that seems to be our only other option in my opinion." Nightpaw stated, glad to speak so civilly before possible entering battle.
"Yeah, I guess. Don't worry, I'll make sure that Lightningpaw know before she gets up there." Ripplepaw responded, hopefully calming the she-cat's mind, but not really. Nightpaw was nervous, her father would defineatly be there, and what if something happened to him?
"Listen, we're all going to make it through this, trust me." Ripplepaw said, strangely trying to comfort the nervous she-cat. Nightpaw grimaced in thanks and started to gather the others, making sure everyone was ready for what could be their last night. Nightpaw led them in the dark of night, while clouds gathered in the sky. StarClan would not be there to save them that night.