Chapter 5: Without a Shadowclan of a doubt
Two moons later after his apprenticing, Ravenpaw had learned a little about hunting and the territory boundaries. It was hard to learn since Tigerclaw yelled at him often. Everything he did was wrong according to Tigerclaw. Pantherpaw and Longtail would often join them in hunting patrols and in fighting practice. Ravenpaw though wasn't too thrilled about any of them. Pantherpaw cheated one way or another.
Ravenpaw walked back to camp alone one night out hunting with Pantherpaw, "She ditched me! What a pile of fox-dung!" Ravenpaw growled to himself.
The forest was quiet and dark; night had fallen on the quiet trees. One of Ravenpaw's ears twitched as a rustling in the distance was heard. Ravenpaw turned around, his ears flattened, and he dropped the mouse he had caught while on the hunt. For twenty tail lengths behind him was an army of dark warriors.
Ravenpaw could barely believe his own eyes, they were following him straight to camp! The breeze swept other him, Shadowclan! He could make out the shape of Brokentail leading the attack.
He turned to run but the army had circled around him, trapping him. He yelped into the air hoping the camp would hear him, "Shadowclan attack!"
Brokentail growled, "We must move quickly," Brokentail turned to a pair of green eyes. "You stay here and take care of this apprentice."
"Yes, master," a she-cat's voice hissed. Out of the darkness emerged a beautiful black she-cat, ivy green eyes. Her eyes where filled with regretful thoughts, "I am your servant, Brokenstar, I will kill the apprentice."
"Good," hissed Brokenstar taking the other warriors away. Ravenpaw tried to turn and run back to camp to warn the clan, but the she-cat leaped in front of him.
"I'm sorry," she murmured under her breath and leapt at him, pinning him to the ground. With one furious hiss, Ravenpaw squirmed out of the she-cat's grip.
Ravenpaw ran up a tree as the she-cat followed right behind. Hissing and spitting the two leapt branch to branch climbing the great tree. Their claws unsheathed, their teeth bared, they met on the highest branch.
"You don't have to do this," argued Ravenpaw, his voice was kind and soft.
"I must," she growled her hardened voiced turned into a snarl, "you will die, apprentice!"
"My name is Ravenpaw, not apprentice," he hissed but tried not to seem aggressive, "Your name?"
"What is it to you?" she growled lowly, letting her guard down.
"We don't have to fight," Ravenpaw said, "You don't want to, and neither do I."
Her growl halted, either of them could take a strike at the other, having them drop the 50 feet to the ground. Ravenpaw stood still staring straight into the ebony she-cat's eyes. At first they were filled with hate but the hate seemed to have dissolved.
Suddenly a crack was heard, Ravenpaw glanced down. It was the tree branch, it was breaking! Ravenpaw grabbed the ebony apprentice's scruff and leapt onto a near by branch, his claw scraping against the bark as he tried to maintain balance.
"Y-You saved me!" exclaimed the she-cat, her ivy eyes wide.
Ravenpaw leapt down branch by branch to the bottom, and then let her go.
"Thanks, I'm Nightpaw," she said her eyes fluttering. She pressed her muzzle against his, purring, before dashing off into the darkness.
Ravenpaw stood and stared as Nightpaw galloped away, as if in a trance. He sighed longingly as he thought about the ebony, Shadowclan cat.
Suddenly a horrified wail carried though the forest. Ravenpaw snapped back into the present and ran back to camp.