The light of the moon cast a silver glow on the cats as they made their way through the undergrowth of ThunderClan territory. Nightpaw felt his brother pad up beside him.
"Do you think we're ready for a real battle?" Rowanpaw asked.
The pitch-black cat gave a hmph! then turned his eyes back in front of him.
With every step that Nightpaw took, his claws gripped the dirt harder. The only reason he was eager for this battle was to get his revenge on the orange tabby, Falconpaw. It wasn't long before the patrol stopped under a bush, eyeing a golden tabby tom sitting guard.
Silverpoppy quickly locked her jaws around the guard throat, but not before he could let out a yowl of shock. Nightpaw heard the hissing of the ThunderClan warriors slowly rising.
"Longwing!" a brown tabby cried.
Time to fight, Nightpaw thought.
Shrewflight gave a battle cry and charged the camp, most of the raiding party following. Nightpaw burst through the entrance tunnel, Weaselfoot and Minnowstep rushing past him as the ThunderClan warriors threw themselves into battle, their pelts still ruffled with sleep. Nightpaw ducked under the paw swipe of a light orange apprentice.
Volepaw hissed as Nightpaw bit his back leg. The two toms were locked in battle a heartbeat later, fur flying. Nightpaw thrust himself forward, his claws digging into Volepaw's back. A calico tom dragged the black apprentice off, Volepaw scrambling away. Nightpaw whipped his head around.
Patchpaw growled, his ears pushed back. Nightpaw took a breath of the chill air and let out a roar as he threw himself at Patchpaw, yowling filling the air around them.
"You fox-heart!" the calico tom spat after he was pinned to the ground. The ShadowClan apprentice raised his claw, ready to end the cat, when he caught sight of a she-cat standing inside the medicine cat den.
Her white, orange, and black pelt stood up a little as she watched the fight. Nightpaw stared at her, his mouth hanging open and a warm feeling inside his chest. This wasn't the same feeling he felt for Snakepaw. This feeling felt... real.
Suddenly Nightpaw felt claws slash his face! Tumbling away, he could feel a sting on his left eye. Struggling to his paws, the black tom pressed a paw to his eye and took it off. A streak of blood in the form of the claw-moon was on his pad. A scar! Nightpaw thought.
Looking up, an orange tabby with blue eyes could be seen in the light of the moon. Falconpaw.
Rage filling him, Nightpaw tackled Falconpaw, the two apprentices ripping each other's pelts. Weaselfoot and Longwing crashed into the fighting cats, breaking them apart.
Nightpaw huffed, his tail lashing, and ran at his attacker. Falconpaw hit his shoulders, Nightpaw being rattled, then took his scruff and half flung, half pushed, the black tom a little ways away. Nightpaw landed in front of the medicine den, the calico she-cat looking at him with amber eyes.
Glancing around, the she-cat bit Nightpaw's scruff and dragged him inside the den. Eyes flying open, he glanced at the medicine cat apprentice.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Nightpaw's mouth hung open a bit. She saved him?
"Y-yes..." he breathed. The calico turned and grabbed some cobwebs with her teeth then raced back to the wounded cat.
"Stay still," she mumbled, placing the web over his left eye. Nightpaw found himself looking at her pelt, orange and black blotches on white.
"What's your name?" he asked. He couldn't help himself.
"My name is Sharppaw," the she-cat answered. The yowling of cats filled his ears and Sharppaw's and he ran to the entrance of the medicine cat den to see the ShadowClan cats bolting toward the camp entrance. Nightpaw and Sharppaw shared a long look before the tom ran to catch up with his Clan.
Looking back, he caught sight of a white she-cat and a red tom standing at the entrance of the camp. Icestrike and Foxlight.
"Is he going to be okay?" Minnowstep asked the ShadowClan medicine cat, Cloudfur.
The white tom purred. "Yes, he will be fine. Just needs to rest for a few sunrises." Nightpaw rolled his copper eyes, then winced, shutting them.
A sunrise had passed since the battle, and the calico she-cat kept plaguing His dreams. And Falconpaw! Thinking of his name, Nightpaw slid out his white claws and retracted them, making long lines in the dirt.
"Okay," Cloudfur let out. "Specklepaw, get me some dandelion leaves." A dark brown dappled she-cat gave a nod of her head, spinning around to find the yellow flowers. After Specklepaw gave the leaves to her mentor, Cloudfur slid the leaves to the black tom. "Chew on these."
Nightpaw flicked his white-tip tail, then took the leaves in his jaws and crunched on them. After, he spit them out on a large leaf, Cloudfur sliding the leaf to the side. "Get some sleep," the medicine cat ordered, and Minnowstep left the den. Nightpaw laid his head on his front paws. All he wanted to do was sleep. His eyes fluttering closed, the apprentice let it take him.