(A/N - Sorry for not updating! I was real busy. The lack of reviews disturbs me so. -sigh-)
Chapter Five
"Duck!" Sparkpaw hissed sharply.
All four she-cats crouched low and dashed into some heavy-scented bushes. Moonpaw marveled at how they all trusted each other slightly. Such as responding to Sparkpaw's warning. She was sure that, just a moonrise or two ago, they wouldn't have given a care in the world for Sparkpaw's warning. She hoped the bushes would mask their scent. The scent of EarthClan clogged the air, but she could detect traces of a near-by patrol.
It had been two moonrises since Moonpaw had been smuggled out of camp. While Moonpaw's sign from StarClan had seemed like a short dash through EarthClan territory, Sparkpaw's relatively more reliable sign had proved otherwise. Sparkpaw had been bringing them through the twists and turns of EarthClan territory in one piece. So far. She assured them that they'd be out within a moonrise. They had gotten lost once or twice, but Hollypaw helped them get back on track. But now, all the cats except for Sparkpaw, were confused about exactly where they were headed.
"Why can't we take a shortcut?" Splashedpaw grumbled as she usually did in a low voice.
"Because you know as well as I do that if we did, we'll never find the right spot to cross NightClan… and beyond," Hollypaw added mysteriously.
Splashedpaw grumbled on about something else before Sparkpaw glared at her. The NightClan she-cat understood the message that it relayed, rolling her eyes and shutting up.
But now they had this new, possible, danger ahead of them. If they got caught by EarthClan… well, it was best they didn't get to that.
"I scent NightClan!" One of the cats in the patrol reported. Moonpaw felt Splashedpaw tense beside her.
"Probably from that NightClan attack yesterday," Another said dismissively.
Moonpaw's eyes flew wide open in shock. NightClan attack?! Sparkpaw was giving Splashedpaw uneasy glances, as if she thought the NightClan apprentice would attack them any second. Splashedpaw looked just as shocked as Moonpaw felt, but at Sparkpaw's dubious glances, she hissed softly in defiance.
"Let's move on," The first voice said decisively. "There's no disturbance over here."
The apprentices could hear the patrol leaving as the crunching of dried leaves that blanketed the forest faded away.
"NightClan attack?" Sparkpaw was the first to break the uneasy silence.
"I knew nothing about it! And it couldn't have been NightClan," Splashedpaw immediately hissed in defiance. "Bloodfur would surely know. And I hear and know everything that goes on. I could sneak to EarthClan camp and stay there for a quarter-moon and they still wouldn't discover me."
Sparkpaw merely narrowed her eyes, but didn't speak. Moonpaw's and Hollypaw's glares at her silenced her for sure. Moonpaw tentatively laid her tail in a comforting, friendly, gesture on Splashedpaw's back. The NightClan she-cat looked infuriated at first, as if she were about to give Moonpaw a piece of her mind, but she relaxed and Moonpaw was surprised as Splashedpaw even offered a slight smile.
"Let's get going now," Splashedpaw hissed impatiently. "I want to get out of here as soon as possible!"
The NightClan apprentice was clearly uneasy in EarthClan territory and would obviously be much more comfortable once they reached NightClan territory. Hollypaw, on the other hand, looked wistfully at everything around her, clearly dreading when they had to leave the territory. Moonpaw, on the other hand, didn't care. She just wanted to get going as soon as possible, although she dreaded it as well.
The prophecy said that they were destined to meet 'badger.' Four apprentices against a full-grown badger? The odds were against them.
Without a word, Sparkpaw led them out of the bushes and back onto the way out of EarthClan territory. This time, Splashedpaw no longer walked by herself, instead, she walked alongside Moonpaw, but silently. They couldn't risk being found.
-
"Finally!" Splashedpaw was the first to speak as they stood on the cliff at the edge of EarthClan territory. Night had fallen upon the territories as they looked down over the wasted fields that made up NightClan territory.
Moonpaw could see the tenseness of Splashedpaw's muscles. The she-cat must've been excited to go back to her Clan's territory. Hollypaw slipped into the lead and through a silent signal, they proceeded down the steep, rocky, slope into NightClan territory.
The minute Moonpaw took her first step onto NightClan territory, she could feel the sharp, prickly stubs of wasted wheat on the field. Drab and gray, it radiated despair and hopelessness, making her shiver. Splashedpaw looked right at home, the pads of her paws probably toughened and adapted to the rough terrain of her Clan's territory.
Moonpaw felt vulnerable out in the open fields. She couldn't understand how NightClan could feel comfortable in a place like this, or find any prey at all. And she didn't know where they would stay for the night. The night was chilly and even a few cold flakes of snow were falling from the skies. Moonpaw shivered, before following Hollypaw on.
"Can't we stop for the night?" Sparkpaw grumbled, saying exactly what was on Moonpaw's mind.
"But the next place to rest that StarClan showed me is just up ahead!" Hollypaw mewed insistently.
Moonpaw glanced around her, but all she could see were the same gray, barren, wasted fields. There was nothing that looked like it could be shelter or a suitable place to stay for the rest of the night.
"Yes," Splashedpaw supported Hollypaw. "There's a place up ahead, I've been there before."
Moonpaw saw Sparkpaw roll her eyes, but continued anyway. The white she-cat kept her eyes open for any sign of a shelter, she didn't recognize their resting place until both Hollypaw and Splashedpaw pointed it out at the same time.
"A foxhole?!" Sparkpaw shrieked indignantly. "I'm not sleeping in a foxhole!"
"It's not a foxhole!" Splashedpaw snapped. "We dug it to hide out and sometimes prey gets caught in there!"
"Are you sure it'll be safe?" Moonpaw asked cautiously. "What if a patrol comes and finds us?"
"They won't," Hollypaw said firmly. Although she was the smallest and youngest in the group, she was the most mature. "StarClan showed me, and if we can't trust them, we can't trust anyone."
This hushed them all up and the four she-cats slipped in. Inside, it was dark. Only a few holes above them allowed some moonlight to creep in.
"Okay, we have to have one cat keeping lookout at all times," Hollypaw said, immediately taking the position as the leader. "Splashedpaw, you can do the first time, and then I'll go. Then Moonpaw, and Sparkpaw will do it last."
Splashedpaw nodded in acceptance. None of the other cats questioned Hollypaw. Moonpaw was half-surprised Sparkpaw didn't speak up. The SunClan cat was probably too tired.
Moonpaw looked up through the entrance to the hole at the moon and Silverpelt. She could see the silhouette of Splashedpaw against the night sky, looking out. It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off into sleep.
"Moonpaw! Wake up, you have to keep watch now," A voice hissed in her ear.
Moonpaw grumbled as she was shaken awake by a paw. Opening her eyes, she saw Hollypaw. The sky was still dark, Silverpelt twinkling above. Immediately, she remembered where they were and what they were doing. She leaped up, with a nod to Hollypaw, and sat at the entrance of the hole.
She yawned. Of course, this was boring work. Unless something wrong happened. But they had put their trust in StarClan and StarClan had shown them this place. Surely it would be safe.
Her eyelids were about to close out of boredom when she spotted something moving. Eyes narrowed, she looked closer, and spotted a few cats. Probably sneaking out. Either way, they were heading this direction.