Nightpaw made his way through the undergrowth, a lizard hanging limply in his jaws. The dark cat hooked his claws into the bark of a log and pulled himself over it. The song of crickets filled his ears and he let out a low purr. The muggy soil was just a little higher than his paws.
Entering the camp, some warriors purred while a cat ran its tongue down their pelt. "When is the next gathering?" Weaselfoot, a cream tom with brown ears and paws, asked. Nightpaw locked his copper eyes on the young cat. Weaselfoot had gotten his warrior name only a moon ago.
"It can't be long now," Weaselfoot's and Spiderclaw's mother, Kinkflight answered. Nightpaw walked to the fresh-kill pile, putting his catch with the others. A familiar light orange tabby pelt caught his eye and he looked over at Snakepaw sitting by the Highrock. "Snakepaw!" he called. Dread filled his heart as soon as the word escaped his mouth.
Mouse-dung! What did I do? he thought. Feeling warm in his chest again, he forced himself to purr as Snakepaw approached. "Hi, Snakepaw..." the black tom greeted.
"Hi," she snapped, "what do you want?" Nightpaw's ears went down.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go hunting," the apprentice replied. Snakepaw flicked her tail, lifting her chin.
"Okay." Without waiting for Nightpaw, the she-cat was already making her way to the camp entrance.
The two apprentices stalked through the boggy territory as the silver glow of the half-moon illuminated the path. Nightpaw's black pelt helped him blend into the shadows, his copper eyes shining. Looking to his right, he saw Snakepaw creeping up on a lizard. The sky above them glittered with white stars.
Turning back to his own task, Nightpaw straightened his ears. Hearing something scuffle up ahead, the tom twitched his tail with interest and slinked forward. Stopping, his eyes locked on another lizard. Ready to spring, Nightpaw felt his mouth water. He leaped!
Suddenly, a flash of orange fur, a cat, bolted out of a bush. The two crashed into each other and fell to the ground, the lizard scurrying away. The two toms hissed and spat, trying to untangle themselves.
"Hey!" Snakepaw ran to them. "What's going on over here?"
Nightpaw licked his black fur down, then looked up at the orange tabby.
"That was my lizard!" the newcomer growled.
Snakepaw tilted her head to one side. His? she thought.
Nightpaw straightened his back. "You're Falconpaw, right? What are you doing in ShadowClan territory?"
"I'm hunting, duh!" The ThunderClan apprentice lashed his tail. "Or I was until you decided to be a flying badger!"
Nightpaw flexed his claws, his ears pushed back.
Snakepaw held up a paw. "I think you should leave now," she ordered.
Falconpaw took a step back, his blue eyes fixed on Nightpaw's copper ones. "Fine!" The orange tabby turned tail and bolted, the ShadowClan apprentices following him until he raced across the Thunderpath. Nightpaw snorted, his eyes blazing like a fire was trapped inside them. The she-cat ran her tail down her friend's back.
"Come on," Nightpaw turned, fur bristling. "We need to report this to Beetlestar."
Nightpaw and Snakepaw made their way through the thorn tunnel that led into the camp. Some warriors moving out of their way as they ran past, Nightpaw and Snakepaw approached the oak tree and called, "Beetlestar?"
A rustle sounded before a black tom with amber eyes strolled out from under the roots of the tree, the moonlight turning his fur silver.
"What do you want?" the leader asked.
Nightpaw glanced over his shoulder, seeing his brothers looking at him.
Snakepaw opened her mouth. "A ThunderClan apprentice, Falconpaw, crossed our borders and was hunting in our territory," the she-cat meowed.
Beetlestar's fur stood up, his tail lashing and his claws unsheathing. "What!?" he boomed. Nightpaw grunted as he and his friend got bumped into by Beetlestar when he rushed by. The black leader leaped on a smooth rock, then took a breath and let out a yowl that rang through the camp.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Cats turned their attention to the black tom on the rock, and Nightpaw turned his attention to his leader.
"Snakepaw and Nightpaw encountered a ThunderClan apprentice in our territory while they were out hunting," Beetlestar continued. "This will not go unpunished! Shrewflight, tomorrow you will take a raiding party to ThunderClan's camp. The cats going on the raid will be Silverpoppy, Duskpaw, Thornpelt, Rowanpaw, Weaselfoot, Minnowstep, and Nightpaw."
As Beetlestar called the meeting to an end, Nightpaw averted his eyes to the ground, his white-tip tail curling around his front paws. The words of Falconpaw bounced around inside his head. 'Until you decided to be a flying badger!' Nightpaw narrowed his eyes, his claws sliding out. However this raid was going to end, he was going to make Falconpaw pay.