Watery shafts of moonlight streamed through the thick canopy of evergreens and rippled over Nightpaw's pelt. He crouched lower, at once his black coat vanishing in the shadows. He was following the prey trails, steering away when Ryepaw's scent tainted the ferns.
His ears swiveled. The tussocks of grass between the rocks were rustling with squeaks and the branches above were clashing and showering him with pine needles (he guessed a marten was chasing squirrels). But he concentrated ahead of him, where the smell of a rat wafted from the bushes at the base of a fir's trunk.
Paw by paw, Nightpaw crept furtively, whiskers drawn forward to feel the way. He gathered his paws underneath him, and tensed. He didn't need to see the vole, his nicked ears could pin-point the exact place where its heart was beating. In one well-calculated leap he landed on a soft, warm body, and delivered a killing bite before the rat could screech.
"Ouch!"
Nightpaw snapped his head in the direction of Dogpaw's voice. The mice in the tussocks scrabbled away, and Nightpaw was glad he'd already caught one there.
"I think I snagged my claw on a rock." Dogpaw groaned. "I can't see anything!"
"You need to learn to hunt at night." Ashcloud told his apprentice. "It's when most of our prey comes out."
The two cats almost walked right into Nightpaw before the black-pelted apprentice stood up. Ashcloud and Dogpaw jumped back.
"O-oh," Dogpaw stammered. "Sorry, we didn't see you."
Nightpaw's narrowed green eyes glittered like cold chips of flint. Dogpaw's ears and tail fell.
Nodding to Ashcloud, Nightpaw silently slid back into the shadows. He hadn't spoken to Dogpaw since their apprentice ceremony, and every time Dogpaw begged to talk, one of Nightpaw's withering glares would send him away. He wanted nothing to do with Quillheart or with him.
Digging out his previous catches, Nightpaw headed to where the patrol had agreed to meet and dropped his catch in the middle.
"Good job Nightpaw." Sunflame mewed, surveying Nightpaw's caught prey with ice-blue eyes. The ginger tabby was leading the patrol, her tail waving as Dogpaw and Ashcloud arrived.
"Yeah well catching rats isn't all there is to being a warrior." Olivenose pointed out sharply. "If he were half as good in battle training I wouldn't be so troubled."
"Oh poor you." Nightpaw felt his shoulders tense and his back arch. He had been trying his best to fit into warrior training, but nothing he did seemed to please his mentor. Not only was his greatest skill memorizing herbs and their uses, it was his greatest dream to become a medicine cat like Tangletail. Now that dream was gone, and no matter how well he memorized fighting moves, it was futile when even flutter-headed Dogpaw could take advantage of his bad sight to win a fight.
Why didn't you dodge? They'd always say, and Nightpaw would clench his teeth. The least thing he wanted was their pity. At least his intuitive reliance on senses other than sight was making of him an excellent night-hunter.
"Enough." Sunflame's firm mew made Olivenose's claws slide back in place, though Nightpaw was still glowering.
"You didn't hear her, Nightpaw?" There was lazy contempt in Ryepaw's gold eyes.
"Ryepaw," Sunflame seemed to sense the tension. "You, Ratfang and Maplefur take the prey back to camp. The rest of you are coming to mark the RiverClan border." With a flick of Sunflame's tail, the patrol divided.
They moved silently like shadows, speaking only in motions of the tail, and pounded down the slope toward the lake. Almost immediately Nightpaw could see it beyond the evenly-spaced pines; a rippling mirror of moonlight, foamy waves gently lapping at the pebbly shore.
The breeze roamed freely between the pines, and was wet at Nightpaw's muzzle, carrying glimmering droplets of sweet lake water. In the distance owls called softly to each other. He closed his eyes and let the air tug at his whiskers, feeling more relaxed than he had in days.
Eventually the soft, springy ground layered with dried pine needles gave way to boggy earth. Mud clogged Nightpaw's pads, and flies began buzzing around his ears.
They reached the Greenleaf twolegplace with the Halfbridge and began spreading out across the border to scent-mark. Nightpaw then saw a flash of fur and narrowed his eyes across the grassy clearing. Plump cats were hopping between mossy hammocks, their slick fur gleaming with white moonlight. Three cats were perched at the end of the Halfbridge, eyes glued to the water for fish.
"Fish-furs." Toadbelly hissed. "What are they doing here at night again?"
Hostility glowed equally in Nightpaw's eyes.
"Mudpaw swim back here! You're scaring the fish away."
Their splashing and chattering echoed into the forest, and Nightpaw could hear the prey skittering away in the undergrowth.
"Let alone fish, they'll chase off all our prey with that noise." Growled Olivenose.
"Hey!" Sunflame barked, pointing her tail low and sweeping it sideways. Immediately the patrol made a stealthy retreat into the shadows; only Sunflame remained in the open.
The three closest RiverClanners blinked lazily at Sunflame and when they saw her alone, strolled leisurely across the wooden clearing. One of them, a white she-cat with orange tabby patches, held minnows in her jaws.
"Yes, Sunflame?" A dark brown tom with jet black stripes and glittering blue eyes dipped his head mockingly.
"Careful, Barkfrost." Sunflame's voice was hard-edged. "You're too close to the border, and you shouldn't be here at night."
Barkfrost looked at the orange tabby with a mrrow of amusement. "Ripplestream, did you know ShadowClan had the right to say when other Clans could hunt in their own territory?"
Ripplestream flicked her ears nervously and set down her minnows. "The moon is almost full tonight," She pointed her tabby tail to the sky, where the moon swelled and thin clouds skittered across its face. "Fish scales flash in the dark; easier to catch."
"You can fish somewhere else." Sunflame narrowed her eyes.
"Well," Barkfrost huffed. "It looks like a good spot right here, I hope you won't mind. Come on Otterpelt!" He padded right to the edge of the ShadowClan border, plopping down among the reeds were the lake water washed against the shore. The other RiverClan warrior, a brown tom with matted fur, settled down next to him with a smug smile plastered on his face.
At Sunflame's tail signal, the rest of the patrol emerged from the dark and circled around the RiverClan warriors, eyes glowing with menace. Ripplestream shriveled in her own fur, and the two toms stood up in a heartbeat, heads low with unease as they headed back to the marsh.
"I wouldn't feel too safe fishing at night if I were you." Sunflame couldn't hide the triumph in her voice.
"Back to the nursery so soon, Wetkit?!" Frozeneye jeered.
"Mangy fish-breaths!" Ashcloud howled delightedly.
Other RiverClanners watched from the other end of the Clearing, shoulders bristling with fury.
"Did you see the look on their faces?" Toadbelly guffawed. "We scared their fur right off!"
Nightpaw was laughing along with the rest of the patrol, his chest warm with delight and satisfaction. Those RiverClanners would fear coming to the Halfbridge to fish again; ShadowClan warriors made no empty threats.
Once the patrol had finished marking the border and turned to head back, Nightpaw glanced over his shoulder to check if all the RiverClan warriors had left.
He noticed one was still standing there, staring intently. Nightpaw followed his gaze to Dogpaw, and felt puzzled. Why was he staring at Dogpaw? He took a closer look at the warrior, and felt his stomach drop to his paws.
Red tabby fur and gleaming amber eyes once haunted his dreams. Now they shared the waking world with him.
It was him.