Shimmerpaw laid in camp, having found a nice peaceful spot in the sun near the camp wall. She had already been out training this morning with Rippleheart, Bluestripe, and Fernpaw. Rippleheart was very pleased with Shimmerpaw's progress, and Fernpaw seemed to be learning quickly. The younger apprentice was still more vocal than she should be, speaking her opinion about things when it would be better if she kept silent, but Shimmerpaw was sure that would change as she got older.
Meanwhile, Scourgefang had settled into the Clan. Most cats were still cautious of him and for good reason. While in DarkClan, he was one of the more senior warriors, and even without the experience he had always been a strong and formidable warrior. Shimmerpaw did her best to stay away from him unless she was assigned to a patrol with him. She knew she should make an effort to be kinder to him, but every time he was near her, he seemed to study her. He showed too much interest in her, and it made her feel uncomfortable.
"Hey Shimmerpaw!" Shimmerpaw looked up as Fernpaw came over along with Graystep. The warrior carried a plump rabbit in his jaws. "We just got back from hunting. You want to share this with us?" Fernpaw asked.
"Sure. Thanks," Shimmerpaw dipped her head as they settled down beside her.
"Fernpaw caught this all by herself. Bluestripe was pretty impressed," Graystep meowed.
Fernpaw puffed out her chest, pride shining in her eyes. Shimmerpaw smiled. "Good job, Fernpaw. You're a pretty good hunter."
"Thanks!" Fernpaw bit into the rabbit, savoring the taste of her own catch. Shimmerpaw and Graystep exchanged an amused look before digging into the prey as well.
Once they were finished, they all sat up, content with their full bellies. "If you keep hunting like that, this Clan won't go hungry for a while," Graystep meowed, nudging Fernpaw playfully.
"Not while I'm here," Fernpaw agreed. "While I'm here, we'll never go hungry, nor will we be attacked! Any cat would be mouse-brained to attack us while I was here."
Shimmerpaw rolled her eyes. "Right. We'll just give DarkClan a fair warning at the next Gathering."
Graystep glanced up at the sun, which was just beginning to set. "Where's Ravenpaw?"
"He and Sageheart went out at dawn this morning. I haven't seen them since. They're probably collecting herbs," Fernpaw answered.
Shimmerpaw narrowed her eyes. "At dawn? They should've been back by now then."
"Do you think something happened?" Graystep asked, concern shining in his eyes.
Shimmerpaw remained silent for a moment before getting to her paws. "I've got a bad feeling about this. Come on." She ran out of camp with Graystep and Fernpaw following. She quickly picked up the medicine cat's scent trail and following it through the trees. The scent got stronger as they neared the border at the edge of the forest, but she also began to detect rogue scent as well.
"Be careful," Graystep warned, taking the lead. "Stay quiet. We don't want to jump into anything we can't handle."
Shimmerpaw crept forward beside him, and Fernpaw looked deadly focused for once, the only emotion traceable in her gaze being determination. They followed Graystep as he hid behind a bush, peering out towards the border. They spotted a white bundle of fur lying on the ground motionless. Sageheart! Ravenpaw stood in front of her, staring with wide eyes at three rogues facing him. One was a brown tom with malicious amber eyes. The second was a lithe gray she-cat with dark green eyes. The last was a tortoiseshell tom with purple eyes. All had their claws out and teeth bared as they stared at Ravenpaw. Shimmerpaw felt the chill of the dark side reach out towards her and she suppressed her shiver. They're Sith. But they don't smell like DarkClan. Who are these cats?
"We can take them," Fernpaw whispered, the hint of a growl in her voice. Shimmerpaw glanced at her, seeing something dark flash in her eyes. Does she know these cats?
"Go! Now!" Graystep leaped out of the bush, Shimmerpaw and Fernpaw right on his tail.
"Ravenpaw!" Shimmerpaw ran forward, finding herself facing the gray she-cat. The she-cat hissed and lunged forward. Shimmerpaw ducked and leaped up, crashing into the she-cat's stomach. The rogue gasped for breath as she hit the ground. Shimmerpaw leaped on top of her, raking her claws down the rogue's side. The rogue yowled and shoved her off before fleeing. Shimmerpaw glanced around to see the other two rogue leaving as well.
Shimmerpaw quickly turned back to Ravenpaw, seeing him sitting with his head bowed next to Sageheart's motionless body. StarClan no. She went over beside him, looking down and seeing the bloody wound in Sageheart's neck.
"Sageheart..." Graystep breathed as he and Fernpaw came over beside them, bowing their heads.
Shimmerpaw looked at Ravenpaw, seeing the tears falling from his eyes. She pressed up against him, trying her best to offer him some form of comfort. Ravenpaw glanced up and flashed her a grateful look before looking back at his dead mentor. "We need to take her back to camp," he rasped quietly.
They gently lifted Sageheart onto Graystep's back. Fernpaw and Ravenpaw stayed on either side of him while Shimmerpaw padded beside Ravenpaw, keeping a close eye on him as they headed back to camp.
When they reached the camp, the laid Sageheart in the center of camp. Their Clanmates began to gather around them, looking shocked. Many cats began murmuring among themselves, wondering what happened.
Shinestar and Rippleheart pushed their way to the center of the crowd. "What happened?" Shinestar asked, making the cats in the camp fall silent.
Ravenpaw looked up, opening his mouth to reply but nothing came out. His voice seemed to be failing him. Shimmerpaw padded over and pressed up against him. "It's ok. Take all the time you need," she soothed.
Ravenpaw nodded, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes and the camp remained silent for a moment before he opened his eyes and looked at Shinestar. "Sageheart and I were out collecting herbs. We had just reached the border and were about to head back when these rogues jumped out at us. Sageheart shoved me out of the way. She...never stood a chance." He paused, taking a staggering breath. "They probably would've killed me too, but Shimmerpaw, Fernpaw, and Graystep showed up and drove the rogues away."
Shinestar and Rippleheart exchanged grim looks before nodding to them. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Ravenpaw. Sageheart will be missed. But I'm sure she's in StarClan watching over you right now."
Ravenpaw looked down at his paws, not speaking. Shimmerpaw wished she could offer him some words of comfort but she wasn't sure that anything she said would get through to him.
"We must prepare for Sageheart's vigil," Shinestar went on, moving towards Sageheart's body with Rippleheart. The groomed Sageheart and made her look almost like she were sleeping. When they stepped back, many cats came forward to pay their respects.
Fernpaw came over to Shimmerpaw once she had said goodbye. Her eyes were shadowed over with sadness. "We should probably get some sleep. We've got training tomorrow," she meowed.
Shimmerpaw glanced at Ravenpaw, watching him as he went over and laid down beside Sageheart to spend her last night in the Clan with her. "You go ahead. I'm going to stay with Ravenpaw tonight," Shimmerpaw replied at last.
Fernpaw nodded in understanding. "Let me know if either of you need anything."
"Thank you, Fernpaw," Shimmerpaw dipped her head before padding over to Ravenpaw's side, laying down. He barely acknowledged her presence, his gaze seeming almost empty as he stared at his dead mentor. Shimmerpaw looked at Sageheart, feeling Ravenpaw's grief beside her. Thank you for everything you've done for this Clan, Sageheart. Thank you for keeping Ravenpaw safe. We will never forget you.
So I apologize for the long wait. I had a lot of stuff going on and found it hard to work up the motivation to do much of anything. Plus the first time I tried to write this chapter, I hit save and it failed to save so I lost what I had wrote.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. I know it was I sad chapter, but there will be better moments later. I promise! Please R&R :)