Chapter Seven
Night led Featherpelt to a large hole in the base of a tree. "This shall do for the night," he said. The two cats quickly made a make-shift nest of leaves, pine needles, and twigs since they did not know where any good locations for moss were. Featherpelt could not get comfortable as she settled in her nest. The pine needles pricked her fur, and the leaves were not as soft as moss was. It did not help that the wind blew into the hollow, chilling her pelt. Not for the first time that day did she wish she was back in Thunderclan, in a warm nest in the warriors' den.
"Comfortable?" Night asked. He sounded nervous.
"Comfortable as I'll ever be in a nest of leaves and pine needles," Featherpelt remarked, though her heart wasn't into the sarcasm. Her excitement erased thoughts of her uncomfortable arrangement.
Night inhaled then exhaled loudly. "Do you remember when you made me promise not to judge you until you finished your story?" he implored. Featherpelt nodded. "Well, I beg you to do the same. There are parts of my tale, you may not like."
Featherpelt yawned. "I'm listening."
"Okay," Night said. His tail twitched, anxiously.
"Before I begin, I have something to admit." He paused. Featherpelt had a feeling on what he was about to admit. "I was part of the clans once –"
"I knew it!" Featherpelt blurted.
Night continued as if he had never been interrupted. "-though I was not from Thunderclan. I was from Shadow clan. My name was known as Nightfall."
The hairs along Featherpelt's spine stood up. Nightfall was a notorious murderer among the clans. Night must have known what Featherpelt was thinking, for he reminded her of her promise. "I know you think I am a cold-blooded killer, but you must understand. I had to kill those cats. Otherwise, they would have exposed my secret." Night dropped his mew. Featherpelt inched forward in her nest, so she could hear him as he whispered, "I had to protect my family in another clan."
"Wait, you had a family in another clan?" Featherpelt asked, incredulously. She never thought that the scariest cat in the forest had a mate, much less one outside his clan.
He nodded. "I did. I knew it was against the warrior code, but I could not help myself. I believe I was too arrogant in my youth. I was deemed the best warrior in the forest, and I knew it. I thought I could get away with anything, for I was 'invincible.'" He gestured to the scars all over his body with his tail. "I picked fights with some of the strongest cats in my clan and occasionally with other cats in different clans."
He chuckled, relishing a happy memory. "My best friend Shatteredface, who was always the peacemaker, would tell me I didn't need to fight cats to show I was a great warrior. I did not listen to him. I thought, 'He's just a medicine cat. He's just soft.'
"Did you know he used to be a warrior?" Night asked, getting off topic. Featherpelt shook her head. "When we were little, we aspired to be the greatest warriors in the forest. I had a lot to live up to since my father was the deputy while Shatteredface wanted to prove that a disfigured cat can be a great warrior-"
"So those weren't spots on his face?" Featherpelt inquired.
Night shook his head. "No, those were places where fur never grew. He was very self-conscious about it, but rightfully so. The other cats, even his own mother, would pick on him for it. I would often stand up for him, which got me into a lot of fights. It was worth it, though. I learned all my battle moves from fighting seasoned warriors and novice apprentices. I think it made me into a better warrior.
"Not long after we became warriors, Shatteredface took a mate." He laughed. "I will never know what he saw in her, for the she-cat was not very smart or pretty, but if he was happy, I was happy. Unfortunately, one day, they were on a hunting patrol in the marsh, and she fell into a sink hole. Shatteredface did everything he could to pull her out, but she just sank into the mud."
Featherpelt gasped. "That's horrible!"
Night nodded. "The poor tom was devastated. A couple of moons after his mate's death, Shatteredface became a medicine cat. He told me he was not fit to be a warrior anymore and wanted to save lives, not destroy them, like he destroyed his mate's. I reminded him his mate's death wasn't his fault, but I guess when your heart breaks, your mind is never the same.
"I was upset. My best friend was as good as gone. Though we shared meals together and talked occasionally, we no longer went on patrols together. There were no more mock fights in forest, and no more reminders to control myself.
"For a while, I was numb. I got into more and more fights. Most of them I even started. Cats began to fear me, even in my own clan." Night laughed without mirth. "I visited Shatteredface so frequently, that he taught me a basic knowledge of herbs, and how to use them to treat my wounds.
"The fighting got so bad, my leader Darkstar had to ban me from going to Gatherings for a season. He also suspended my warrior status for getting into unnecessary battles. I was on apprentice duties for three moons and could not leave camp unsupervised for that long as well.
"After my sentence was lifted, I attended my first Gathering in moons. That was when I meet her." Night's voice softened. He had dreamy look in his eyes as he resumed speaking. "I was waiting for the Gathering to start when I heard a series of angry yowls. I turned around to see my clan mate Ravenclaw taunting a Thunderclan warrior. The Thunderclan warrior got angry and attacked Ravenclaw. I was about to go over there and break up their fight – and give Ravenclaw a good cuff on the ear for his stupidity – when a she-cat pried Ravenclaw off the other warrior. I assumed the other cat was her clan mate because she reprimanded him for almost breaking the truce. I was smitten. I had never met a she-cat brave enough to jump into a battle between two toms and manage to separate them. That was the beginning of my end."
"Then, what happened?" Featherpelt asked, leaning forward in her nest. Night's story was getting interesting.
"I wanted to get to know this peculiar she-cat. After the Gathering was over, I approached her and asked if she'd like to meet me at Four Trees the next night." He chuckled. "I was awkward. I had talked and flirted with countless she-cats and never had a problem, but with her, it was different. There was something special – and intimidating – about her."
"What did she say?" Featherpelt wondered.
"She turned me down at first," Night remarked. "She said that her mother's friend's mother had gotten involved with a cat in another clan, and their relationship only caused trouble for their clans. She did not want the same thing to happen. Then, she walked off. I yowled that the offer was still there if she changed her mind, but I thought she didn't hear me.
"The next night I went to Four Trees. I stayed until Moon High and was about to leave when I caught her scent. She came! I had asked what changed her mind. She replied she was curious what I had wanted.
"I told she had stolen my heart. I received a cuff me on the ear. She asked me if I had mud in my ears, or was I just plain mouse-brained? She said she wasn't getting entangled in a relationship with a cat from another clan. As she turned to walk off, we heard a tom yowling for her in the forest. She froze. She looked like prey that had been cornered by a predator. I shoved her into some undergrowth, and we waited until the cat left. After the tom was gone, she looked shaken. I had asked her what was wrong, but she didn't say anything. When she did speak, she said, 'I've got to go. I'll meet you here tomorrow night.'
"I don't remember walking back to my clan. I don't recall where the sun was in the sky, or if someone noticed me if I was gone or not. The only thing I do remember is that my feet felt as if they were walking on air, and I thought, 'Maybe I have a chance.'"
I know the feeling. Featherpelt thought sadly, as memories of Falconwing and her flitted through her mind.
Night's deep mew brought Featherpelt back to the present. "True to her word, she returned to our spot at Four Trees the next night. We sat in one of the oaks and just talked. She talked about how overprotective her best friend - that was the tom who had called for her the previous night - Eagletail was-" Night's next words got lost. Featherpelt's eyes bulged. Eagletail had been her leader's warrior name. His best friend, at least to her knowledge, was…No! It couldn't be her! She yelled in her head. It couldn't be.
"-and I said that would be great," Night droned on, oblivious to Featherpelt's inattention. "From that moon on, we met at each quarter moon, so we wouldn't arouse suspicion in our clans. I was happy. I got into less fights and kept my paws clean. My leader noticed improvement in behavior and promoted me to senior warrior status.
"A moon later, we became mates, so we increased our meetings. We thought, 'We haven't gotten caught yet, so why not?'"
Night sighed. "I guess the elders' saying, 'Pride goes after a fall' is very true. After five moons of seeing each other, my mate told me she was expecting kits. I was ecstatic. That was when Ravenclaw, who apparently had followed me to Four Trees, had caught me with my mate. I remembered he sneered at me before he ran off, probably to go tell Darkstar or my father about my illicit relationship.
"I chased after him until I caught him right before he entered our camp. I told him that I would kill him if he ever exposed my secret, but Ravenclaw was never the smartest cat. He laughed and said, 'Bring it, rebel.'
"The fight wasn't fair. Ravenclaw fought like a rogue. His attacks were choppy and misplaced, but he fought with an intensity that was hard to suppress. I almost lost the fight had I not flung him off me. I did not realize how much force was behind the throw when I heard a blood curdling scream. I remember looking up in horror and saw him at the base of a blood-streaked tree."
The hollow was silent as his words sunk in. Featherpelt had never heard of cat killing another in cold blood, except in elders' stories. She really wanted to leave the den. Forget her promise, she wanted out.
"I quickly cleaned out my claws," Night went on. He sounded as if he had just committed the murder and was not sure what to make of it. "I made sure Ravenclaw didn't have chunks of my fur lodged in his claws either. I knew it was a matter of time before one of the clan cats would respond to the scream. Shatteredface and a patrol found me by the border moments later. They asked me what happened to Ravenclaw. I lied and blamed it on a fox. We had the wounds to prove it. The clan believed it was a tragic accident, except Shatteredface. He confronted me afterwards and told me he knew I killed Ravenclaw. He said that he also knew about my meetings with my secret mate, and I only killed Ravenclaw to shut him up. I begged him not to tell Darkstar. Shatteredface shook his head and walked off.
"I got scared. My best friend, the only cat that I trusted, was going to betray my secret. I was desperate, so I attacked him. I-"
"You tried to kill your own friend?" Featherpelt squeaked.
"You don't understand. I had felt guilt for it later, but –"
"You're despicable!" Featherpelt roared. "You did that just to protect your secret? Many sires of half clan cats don't even get kicked out of their clans!"
"Remember your promise, Featherpelt," Night snapped. "You promised to not judge me until I was finished with my story."
"Deal is off!" Featherpelt snarled. "You deserved to be exiled, murderer." Then, she ran out of the hollow, into the freezing night.
"Are you really going to run from your own father?" he called after her.
Featherpelt almost stopped but kept running. Her eyes watered, blurring her vision. That dastardly tom behind her was not her father. "You're not my father!" She yelled over her shoulder. "Cherryheart would never fall in love with a criminal!" She vaguely heard him say, "Guess again," but she put on a burst of speed and continued running.
