Chapter 3: The Visit
My brother accidentally deleted the last chapter, most of this chapter, and the beginning of the next chapter, so this is going to be different than the original chapter. -_-" But I forgave him. :) I don't have a limit of 490 times to forgive! Say it in the review if you recognize that number! Hehe. "For hundred an' ninedy!" At least it let me do some editing/condensing. Enjoy. Hehe... "We are the grapes of wrath, we never take a bath!" Oh, just read! :)
Mothdapple sat outside the camp, feeling the cold night air sink into her skin. Her pelt hadn't grown thick enough to keep out the leaf-fall breezes, at least during the night.
Guard the camp, Brackentail had told her. If you hear any noises, don't hesitate to call, "Who's there?" It might be some cat coming back from the dirtplace, or it might be a night animal of some sort. It's better to startle a skunk than to set yourself up for an ambush. Or not.
In response to this, Mothdapple had reminded him that skunks rarely ventured onto Clan territory, but she'd keep a lookout.
Mothdapple stifled a yawn. The final assessment had been tiring. Stay awake, she reminded herself. Mothdapple stood up and arched her back in a stretch, stifling another yawn.
She heard a rustle in the undergrowth. All of her senses woke up, and she sniffed the air. She smelled shrew, but she wanted to be sure.
"Who's there?" she called.
The rustling intensified with a startled squeak. She listened as the shrew retreated into the forest.
There, she thought in satisfaction. My first intruder scared off. She let out a soft mrrow of laughter.
She stiffened as she heard a twig snap. That's one persistent shrew. "Who's there?" she called, rolling her eyes at herself. I'm yelling at a shrew at moonhigh.
There was no reply, not even a squeal. Mothdapple tasted the air and immediately became alert as she smelled cat. Her heart sped up. A real intruder. Not any of the Clans around here. A loner, perhaps?
"Friend or foe?" she meowed. Now, how do I know that phrase?
"Friend," a soft mew called back. Mothdapple's neck hair rose.
"Come where I can see you!" the young warrior ordered.
A cat emerged from a bush with surprising noiselessness. It was a very pale gray she-cat with blue eyes. But her most striking feature was her fur. She was glowing! Not a lot, but enough to be noticed.
"Who are you?" Mothdapple growled.
"I am a friend."
Mothdapple snorted. "We already established that fact. Now, who are you?"
The she-cat blinked. "You're a new ThunderClan warrior. You tell me who I am."
Mothdapple tasted the she-cat's scent, then her frustration spilled over. "You don't smell like any Clan! You smell like the pines, but you don't have any ShadowClan reek."
"That is correct. I am ShadowClan."
Mothdapple's fur fluffed up and her claws slid out. "Why are you so calm in the middle of ThunderClan territory, then?"
"I used to be ShadowClan," the she-cat explained. "I am now ShadowClan as well as—"
"StarClan," Mothdapple finished in a whisper.
"Precisely."
Mothdapple sheathed her claws. "Who are you?"
"If you must know, I am Featherflight. I have something important to tell you."
Mothdapple snorted. "Is is some amazing prophecy about me?" Oops, that might have been rude. "Sorry, but..."
The she-cat blinked in offense. "Meet me at the Twoleg nest at sunhigh tomorrow."
She padded into the forest and disappeared into the darkness.
Line break
The next day, Mothdapple slept in—slept in?—and awoke to sunlight shining into her eyes through a gap in the top of the den. Ugh. That's bright.
She shook the moss out of her fur and padded out of the den. Poppylight was lying in a patch of sunlight on the stone. The pale brown she-cat's gray dapples were quite obvious in the light.
"Morning," Mothdapple meowed cheerfully to the elder.
"Good morning," Poppylight greeted the new warrior, her blue eyes twinkling. "It's almost sunhigh. I'm just waiting for the hunting patrol to come back with some fresh-kill for this old she-cat. How did guard duty go last night?"
Mothdapple shrugged, hiding her alarm. "Pretty well. I scared off a shrew that was invading our territory." Almost sunhigh? Oh dear.
Poppylight purred a laugh that ended in a fit of coughing. "That's good to hear," she rasped. She gave a spluttering clear of her throat.
The strong scent of fresh-kill hit Mothdapple's nose. Saliva pooled in her jaws as Molepaw, Dappleheart, Bushfall, and Twigclaw padded into the camp loaded with fresh-kill. She wrinkled her nose at the faintly bitter scent of...! She pinpointed the smell to the large bird that Molepaw was dragging by a wing. It had smooth striped feathers, a hooked beak, and vicious-looking talons.
Smokefang emerged from the elder's den. The dark gray tabby was even older than Poppylight. His dark yellow eyes widened, and he padded stiffly over to Molepaw, who was depositing the bird on the fresh-kill pile.
"Did you catch that, Mousepaw?" the elder rasped.
"I'm Molepaw. Yes, I caught this! It was trying to get at the stash of prey underneath a bush, and I killed it."
Smokefang gave a rusty purr. "That's good to hear. It's great to see young cats with skill." He gave the bird a sniff. "This is a healthy young hawk. It may taste a little bitter, but it's edible." He sank his teeth into it and dragged it over to Poppylight, who refused with a shake of her head and fetched a vole to eat with her denmate.
Mothdapple pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered and snatched up a fat squirrel. She took it to a clear spot to eat it. It was fat from eating in preparation for leaf-bare. Mothdapple attempted to gulp it down, but she found herself eating slowly, enjoying every bite. This is a very good squirrel. It was juicy and fat.
As she was giving herself a thorough grooming after her meal, Nightpaw approached her. "Would you like to go for a walk with me?" he asked shyly.
Mothdapple shrugged. "Okay, I guess." He seems kind of desperate.
The smoky gray tom's amber eyes lit up. "Great!"
As Nightpaw and Mothdapple padded through the bramble tunnel and into the forest, Nightpaw edged closer to her. By the time that they were near the lakeshore, his fur was brushing hers.
Nightpaw sat down. "Let's sit for a bit."
"Tired already?" Mothdapple meowed teasingly.
"No. I just wanted to...enjoy the view. And your company."
"What?" Mothdapple asked.
Nightpaw got a faraway look in his eyes. "Do you remember when you first arrived at ThunderClan?"
Mothdapple shook her head. "Not really."
"It was a leaf-fall night. You seemed to just drop out of the sky outside of the camp. You said you couldn't remember anything about how you got there. You were six moons old, and I was five moons. We were made apprentices at the same time. Now you're a warrior."
Mothdapple felt like scooting away. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Nightpaw shook his head. "No, not at all. I...I've always admired you, Mothdapple. You're beautiful and smart and skilled..."
Mothdapple gave a quick and slight dip of her head. "Do you have a point?"
"I say I admire you, but it's a bit more than that..."
Mothdapple's heart quickened. "What are you saying?"
Nightpaw whispered his next words so quietly that Mothdapple had to lean in to hear. "I think I love you, Mothdapple."
Mothdapple flinched. Nightpaw attempted to twine his tail around hers, but Mothdapple leapt away. This doesn't feel right at all!
"What?" Nightpaw asked, puzzled.
"T-this doesn't feel right, Nightpaw. You're an apprentice, and I'm a warrior..." I don't know what it is, but something's majorly wrong here! I'm a ThunderClan warrior—I can have a mate—but what is this feeling? I don't think I'm too young...but I am, somehow.
Nightpaw's meow was scathing. "Is that it? Just our ages? You're only a moon older than me. What's wrong with us being mates? After I become a warrior, of course."
"Nightpaw!"
An angry snarl made Nightpaw jump. He looked around wildly. "T-that might be Tawnytuft," he stammered. He scurried away.
A pale gray she-cat emerged from a bush. "You got distracted," she told the warrior, shaking her head.
Mothdapple's pelt burned. "I guess so," she muttered. I've been scolded like that before...but not recently at all.
Featherflight sat down in a patch of grass and motioned for Mothdapple to sit next to her.
"Thanks for helping me out back there," Mothdapple meowed, dipping her head to the she-cat in a show of respect. This cat deserves authority.
Featherflight blinked at Mothdapple's gesture with surprised pleasure. The warrior settled down, and Featherflight began to speak.
"Do you know why I wanted to see you?"
"To tell me something?" Mothdapple guessed.
"What kind of something?"
Mothdapple gave a small sigh. "I won't know unless you tell me."
Featherflight pawed at a sharp piece of bracken that was digging into her paw. "You heard what Nightpaw said about how you came to ThunderClan. You might not even be Clanborn. Or cat-born, for that matter."
Mothdapple's heart sped up. "W-what do you mean?"
Featherflight's blue eyes gazed directly into Mothdapple's amber-yellow ones. "Remember, Mothdapple. Have you thought something or said something that you don't know how you know? What is school? What is the phrase 'friend or foe'?"
Mothdapple swallowed hard. "Y-yes..."
"Do you want to know how you know these things?"
Mothdapple blinked rapidly several times. "Yes..." She trailed off and nodded.
"You are not a cat, Mothdapple. You are a human."