Wow, it's been a while. Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter. :D
Rainpaw stood back at the camp, unsure of what to do. If the fresh kill was black, and Ravenkit was black, then it could be her. But what if it wasn't? She needed to know more, but how could she possibly find information on that? Shaking her head in confusion, she decided to lay off for now and padded over to the fresh kill pile.
She picked out a frog, noticing that the pile was a little small, and settled down to eat. She bit off its head and was chewing contently when Heathersplash came out of her den, sulking and talking loudly about something.
Rainpaw cocked her head, staring as Heathersplash made her way into Honeystar's den. She was sure she shouldn't interfere, so she stayed put and continued to eat. Soon Heathersplash came back out with Honeystar, who padded over to the deputy and started discussing something with her while Heathersplash trailed behind her, looking both furious and worried at the same time. Rainpaw finished her frog and started to groom herself, keeping one eye on the commotion.
Soon, the deputy padded into the warriors' den and came out with the three warriors: Berryfrost, Sparrow-wing, and Songshadow. With a nod to Honeystar they quickly headed out of the camp.
Rainpaw stopped grooming, staring at the camp entrance. Curiosity gripped her, pleading her to go, to find out what was going on. She put one paw forward for a few heartbeats and then put it back and licked it furiously. Don't get in trouble, she told herself, but she couldn't help it. She looked around to check if anyone was looking, and when no one was, she slipped out of camp.
She followed the scent of the patrol, paws thudding quietly, yet hurriedly against the ground. She kept low, her whiskers brushing the blades of grass as she passed. She felt horrible, but although part of her wanted to turn back, curiosity wasn't letting go. She stepped on a twig and it snapped, startling her with the sudden noise. Hoping no one had heard her, she continued on.
Suddenly she realized that she could no long smell the patrol. Worried that she was lost, she scurried around, checking for any signs of them, and ended up even more lost. She huddled in the grass, scared and unsure of what to do. Never leave camp alone ever again! She scolded herself, when suddenly she heard the sound of bushes rustling nearby and jumped. She heard the sound of something moving swiftly nearby and a gray squirrel ran by.
It's only a squirrel, she told herself, watching as the squirrel dashed up a tree only a few tail lengths away. She decided to start moving again and went slowly and silently at first, but as her desperation to get home increased, she became less and less careful until she was running nearly at full speed. Soon she was bounding blindly thoroughly through the forest, branches smacking against her as she raced by.
Suddenly she collided with something and cried out. She stumbled to her feet and became face to face with a cat bearing a fishy scent. This cat was white with a brown muzzle, ears, tail, and socks with white at the bottom. Her deep blue eyes twinkled as she stared at Rainpaw in confusion.
RiverClan? Rainpaw wondered dimly. But before she could say anything, the cat mewed, "Hello, I'm Snowpaw, who are you?"
"I'm Rainpaw," she responded. She glanced around, but she couldn't recognize the place. She did notice, however, that she could smell both the scent of ShadowClan and that fishy scent, which she still guessed was RiverClan. "Uh…where are we?"
Snowpaw smiled and then pranced around at bit, checking things out and raising her noise to the air. "We're on the border between ShadowClan and RiverClan!" she announced when she came back, sounding proud of herself.
"Oh!" cried Rainpaw. She quickly jumped back towards the ShadowClan side in caution. Snowpaw just laughed. She started leaping around, and then, to Rainpaw's surprise, she jumped right next to the border on her side. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats, each on their own side of the border, until Snowpaw put her paw right on the border line and
blinked at Rainpaw. Rainpaw hesitated, and then put her paw right on top of Snowpaw's. Snowpaw looked down, and then smiled.
Then she slowly raised her other paw and, claws sheathed, she smacked her right across the face. In retaliation, Rainpaw hit her back and was then knocked over when Snowpaw pounced on her.
At first Rainpaw enjoyed the play fighting, but then her Clan instincts took over. What am I doing? Play fighting with a RiverClan cat? I have to stop! Rainpaw thought and pushed away, rolling into a nearby pond. She cried out as the icy water gripped her pelt, pulling her down. Her long, thick fur soon became soaked and weighed her down even more.
"H-help!" she pleaded. She heard a loud splash beside her, and Snowpaw appeared, swimming skillfully through the water towards her. A wave created from Snowpaw's splash went over her, causing her head to become submerged. She panicked, her paws slapping the water uselessly. Suddenly she felt teeth grip the scruff of her neck and she felt herself being pulled. Grateful, Rainpaw went limp, allowing herself to be rescued.
Soon she was dragged onto the shore, where she got to her feet and coughed up water. She then shook herself and gazed at Snowpaw.
"Thank you. You saved my life," Rainpaw meowed. Snowpaw just stared worriedly at her, appearing to be deep in thought. "Well…I'd better get going, maybe we'll meet again?"
Snowpaw nodded and then with one last glance at her, she turned around and headed home, while Rainpaw did the same, hoping she was going the right way.