Chapter nine
Shade blinked her eyes open, and realised her wounds still hurt from the training. She saw that no other cats had woken yet. Carefully She exited the den, and slowly pawed out of camp. The forest was doused in red light from the sunrise, but to Shade it looked like it was covered in blood, a unhelpful reference to her dream. She sighed. After cleaning her wounds, Shade decided to go back to camp. Cats might be missing me. She laughed at her own thought. No one except Savannahstorm will miss me. She got up and trotted back to camp. Maybe if I fight for the clan, they'll trust me. At the entrance, she saw a cat was guarding, Lightningtail. "Where were you? And why are you bleeding?" he demanded, getting up onto his paws. "I, uh, went out for a stroll and walked into some brambles" Shade stuttered. Lightningtail nodded and went to the side so she could enter, but shot a warning glance at Shade. Carefully she padded towards the den. Savannahstorm was still asleep, snoozing peacefully. She nudged him. He didn't budge. Shade pushed harder, and finally woke up. "What? I was asleep!" He growled. "Oh, hey Shade" He went red under his fur. "S- should we go hunting?" She mewed. "Sure" He got up. Shade noticed a bit of moss was still stuck behind his ear but found it to cute to tell him. She wondered if she should open up about her dream. "Savannahstorm... tonight I had a dream" She mewed. "And I saw… one-eye" Savannahstorm stopped with a devastated expression. "No no, don't worry. I think he's good now, and he's been training me to be a good warrior!" She tried to cheer him up. "Hmm… if you say so…" He murmured, a suspicious undertone in his voice. Suddenly he stopped, and Shade bumped into him. "Why did you stop? Is something wrong?" She asked, worried. "N- no… look…" He pointed to a something lying on the path in front of them. As Shade looked closer, she saw it was a cat. A dead cat… "Swiftwind?" Shade's eyes widened. It can't be… Savannahstorm slowly padded closer, inspecting the body. "It's her… how…?" He whispered. "First the patrol, now her…" The both stared for a while, unsure of what to do. "Don't you clan cats have burial things? We should carry her back" Shade said. Savannahstorm nodded slowly, still in shock. Shade carefully moved towards the body. There was dried blood everywhere, and her chest looked like it had been ripped open. Gingerly Shade picked Swiftwind's body up by the scruff, and she and Savannahstorm carried the corpse back to camp, one slow step at a time.
In the camp, cats were busy eating and chatting. Shade could hear kits playing and cats laughing, but from the medicine cat den she could hear hushed voices. What if they think I killed her? Shade worried. I just have to hope for the best. She padded towards the centre of camp, and anxiously laid down the body. At this point, most of the chatter had stopped, and all eyes were focusing on Shade, Savannahstorm and Swiftwind's body. "W- we found her while we were walking this morning. She was already dead…" Savannahstorm Mewed. His words echoed over the stillness of camp. Shade saw Thunderstar get up and say: "Swiftwind was a good warrior. We will hold guard for her tonight, together with Milkweed. She died earlier this morning from her wounds" the few cats that had been mumbling to each other stopped talking, and a shocked silence spread over the camp. "Milkweed was like a mother to many cats here. She was one of the cats who followed Thunderstar, or Thunder, as he was called back then, away from SkyClan and to here" Savannahstorm breathed into Shade's ear. Nearly every cat in camp walked to the body, and Cloud spots exited the medicine cat den carrying the body of a black-and-red she-cat. He saw the commotion, and shot a wondering view at Thunderstar, before he saw the Swiftwind's corpse in the middle of camp. He sighed, then laid down Milkweed. "There has to be a reason to these attacks…" She heard him mumble, before he went back into his den, probably to take care of clover and thistle. Shade sat down at the edge of the group, not wanting to disrupt. "You can go if you want to. I'm fine" She said to Savannahstorm, who had sat down next to her. "Please, I just… need a moment" Shade flicked her tail. Savannahstorm nodded, and then left to grieve. Shade sighed. They probably all blame me. I've brought nothing but bad luck. She shook her head, padding back and forth. I'll just sit here and wait. It felt respectless, but it was the only thing that felt… right to do now.
Later that day, Thunderstar climbed onto the highrock. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey shall gather underneath the highrock for a clan meeting!" his voice thundered around camp. "He must be announcing who's going to the gathering!" Savannahstorm nudged Shade. They walked closer to the highrock, and sat down. "As Shade is new to this clan, she will be going to the gathering, alongside with Savannahstorm, Lightningtail, Cloud spots, Flare, Streambounce, Leaf, blue whisker, and of course, me" Thunderstar thundered. Shade purred happily.
That evening all the cats that had been selected to go the gathering met at the camp exit. "Now, remember: You can talk to cats of other clans, and make friends, but nothing more, and your clan always comes first. If there would be a battle between, say, SkyClan and ThunderClan, and some cat" By these words, Lightningtail pointedly glared at Shade "Were to have befriended a SkyClan cat and refuse to fight them, would be a traitor to the clan. Understood?" Lightningtail said in a commanding voice. "Good. Now let's go" All the cats followed him and Thunderstar. Out of camp, walking towards the big clump of trees, close to RiverClan territory. On the way, Thunderstar Stopped to talk with a grey tabby tom with thick fur. "Hello, Riverstar. How is your clan doing?" He mewed, with a bow of his head. "very well, thank you for asking, Thunderstar. Shall we go to the gathering?" Riverstar said, flicking his tail. "Of course" Shade noticed Riverstar shoot her a glance, although she couldn't distinguish his expression. Both clans kept walking. Shade noticed the RiverClan cats had thick, sleek fur and seemed well-fed. "Why do they look so… different?" She whispered to Savannahstorm. "It's because they're RiverClan. They always have fish because the river hardly ever freezes over, and they need thick fur to swim" He breathed. "Oh" They kept walking, until they came to four huge oak trees. In the middle Shade saw a gigantic rock, big enough for ten cats. "This is fourtrees!" Savannahstorm mewed excitedly. In awe, Shade watched as cats began to pool into the clearing. She saw wiry, thin cats and others with muscular legs. ThunderClan trotted into the clearing, followed shortly by RiverClan. "Uh… what do we do now?" Shade murmured. "We chat!" Savannahstorm padded over to a group of some cats. Shade recognised one of the RiverClan cats they'd walked here with. Savannahstorm sat down next to them, and they welcomed him with smiles. "This is my new friend, Shade" He smiled and flicked his tail at her. She smiled, trying to act welcoming. "Erm, hi. I'm Shade" She mewed. "I'm Specklewish" A cream she-cat with brown freckles mewed. "Ashswirl…" A grey-black tom mumbled. "Hi, my name's breezebounce!" A young, pale orange-grey tom mewed. "Stream" a grey tabby answered. They sat down. "so, uh… how are your clans?" She mewed, awkwardly. "Well, in SkyClan-" Specklewish started, but was stopped by Riverstar stepping on to the large rock. "The gathering is opened!" He stepped back, making place for a pale-grey tom. Shade noticed how he pushed his way past Riverstar as he didn't step back fast enough. He seemed to calculate every cat with his icy stare, before opening his mouth. "Prey is running well in SkyClan. One of my kits, little twig, has been found dead in the river. It's obvious he was murdered, and every piece of information about his death is to be immediately reported to me" Shade thought she imagined it, but saw him bite back tears. Maybe he's more on the inside. She thought. "Thank you, clear sky. I will have my urn now" Thunderstar said with a stiff bow of his head. "Clear sky is his dad, but they don't get along well" Breezebounce whispered into her ear. "oh" Shade mewed quietly. "Prey is also running well in ThunderClan, and we have a new addition. She used to be a rogue, but we all know they can change" Before she knew what was happening, Shade was pushed forwards by Savannahstorm. "he's talk about you!" Startled, Shade stood up. "Shade, the newest warrior of ThunderClan!" Thunderstar announced, and several cats began cheering her name. Shade had a feeling of pride, proud to be part of something so big and beautiful. She smiled and even blushed a little. After the cheering had subsided, she sat back down. "Except that, there has been a prophecy. I believe your medicine cats have also received it;
Shadows will drain the light
Shadows will rise to might
Unless a cat braver and more cunning than all,
is trusted enough to control them all
but beware the forest of darkness,
for In it hide the stalkers of dreams
and the cat to save the clans
could fall victim to their deadly plans
and bring the shadows to the light
Does anyone have information on this?" The other leaders shook their heads. Shade let out a small prideful smile. My prophecy. The one I was born for. oh, but is it? A spine-chilling voice whispered in her head. None of these cats trust you. I'm the only one who can see how you truly are. Might. Cunning. You could rule the world, if you want to. Who are you? She thought, but the voice went silent. Hello? She shook her head. It was probably nothing. The rest of the gathering flew along her, until Savannahstorm said: "Come, it's time to go back" She got up, stumbling over her paws. "You alright?" Savannahstorm asked, seeing her struggle. "Yeah, I'm fine"
Back in camp, they were crowded by cats who wanted to know about the gathering. She managed to sneak out, dragging Savannahstorm with her. "C'mon, I wanna sleep" She lied. Her nest felt like it was repelling her, sticking out at awkward angles. She finally fell asleep, drifting back into the darkness of sleep. Until she was pulled out by Slasher.