When Midnight Strikes
Hey guys! :D Thank you, Silver wolf rain and Echoflame of FireClan for reviewing! Now, unto the story! (I don't own Warriors; if I did, [spoilers for Power of Three through Omen of the Stars] Hollyleaf would've had a power instead of Dovewing.)
Chapter 6
She finally figured out what a 'kestrel' was.
Too bad they don't come out in leaf-bare.
Midnightpaw stepped out of the apprentices den, her black fur shining softly in the dim sunlight. The frost-covered ground felt rough on her pads and she fluffed her fur up at the sharp winds. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted Yellowgaze. She was padding towards her, her yellow-cream fur bristling in the cold. Midnightpaw braced herself for a volley of ungracious comments from her mentor, but none came. The yellow warrior stopped in front of her, her amber eyes eyeing her warily. After a few moments, she sat down and licked a paw, drawing it over her ear. "Training is cancelled for today," Yellowgaze meowed. "Kestrelstar doesn't want any of the apprentices getting sick."
"Training's cancelled?" A small brown head poked out of the Nursery. "Great! Maybe Snowpaw can show me some battle moves."
"Owlkit!" Appleleaf scolded, padding out of the Nursery. "It's too cold for you to be out here! Snowpaw will show you a battle move later."
Turning her attention away from the queen and her kit, Midnightpaw looked at her mentor. "What am I supposed to do, then?"
Yellowgaze paused in her washing and stared at her apprentice with hard eyes. "I don't know. Talk to the other apprentices or something. Just don't bother me."
Growling under her breath, Midnightpaw padded back to the apprentices den, settling down in her moss bed. She stared outside of the camp, watching warriors grab pieces of prey from the fresh-kill pile and some swarmed out of camp, probably to try to bring more prey. As she watched the day fold on, a speck of white landed on the ground. Midnightpaw blinked in surprise. I must be hallucinating. Stuff doesn't fall from the sky! But the white flurries kept coming, until it looked like a storm was arising.
"That's snow," a voice meowed beside her. Midnightpaw jumped, whirling around to see Snowpaw, her blue eyes narrowed. "That's what I'm named for, remember? Or had you forgotten, seeing how mouse-brained you are?"
"I knew it was snow!" the black she-cat growled, fluffing her fur up in indignation. Although a flash of guilt coursed through her, she wouldn't back down from a challenge. "I was just seeing if you'd help me!"
"Yeah right," her sister snorted, lifting her nose to the air. "Well, I don't want dumbness to infect me, so I might as well get on my way. See you around, Dumbpaw."
Anger sparked underneath her pelt, but Midnightpaw restrained herself from hurting Snowpaw. She knew Yellowgaze had thought she was lying when she eventually told her that her sister hurt her, so of course she wouldn't believe her now. Snowpaw fluffed up her fur and padded outside of the den, her long tail dragging behind her.
Left alone in her thoughts, she wondered where Graypaw was. Midnightpaw hadn't seen him since she woke up earlier. Curiosity getting the best of her, she walked out of the apprentices den, flinching as another gust of wind blew through her pelt. She swung her head around, looking for the gray pelt of her denmate, but not spotting it anywhere. Worry coursed through her and she kneaded her paws on the frost-covered ground absentmindedly. Where is he?
Midnightpaw glanced around again, thinking she was just not looking in the right places. But truth be told, Graypaw was nowhere to be seen. Swallowing back a yowl of fear, she padded towards Stormheart, who was sharing a plump squirrel with Heatherstorm. "Do you know where Graypaw is?" Midnightpaw asked, her tail swishing anxiously behind her.
"He's right there." The blue-gray-furred deputy angled his ears towards Kestrelstar's den. Lionrush, a golden tabby tom, was leading Graypaw out, a scowl on his face.
The black apprentice nodded in thanks and raced towards him. Lionrush's tail twitched in irritation, and he growled, "This loner won't shut up! When Kestrelstar said that training was cancelled for today, he wouldn't stop bugging him about it."
With a snort, the golden tabby padded away. Midnightpaw suppressed a growl, and turned to look at Graypaw. He looked apologetic, his eyes wide and his ears pinned to his head. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she flicked her tail towards the apprentices den. They started off towards the den.
"I'm sorry," Graypaw murmured once they reached their nests. "I wanted to go outside, that's all."
"I accept your apology," Midnightpaw meowed, licking a slush of snow from her shoulder. She wasn't really all that mad—you can't really be mad at a friend, after all. That's all he is? a voice teased in her mind, but she shook her head in annoyance to clear it.
"That's good." The gray-furred apprentice stared outside the den and watched the snowflakes fall. "I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship."
"Yeah," the black she-cat agreed, turning her gold eyes to the snow. For the rest of the morning, they sat together, watching the snowstorm rage outside of the apprentice's den.
A white cat shouldered through the trees of ThunderClan territory, her eyes gleaming in hatred. As another snow flurry dropped on her, she growled in annoyance, licking her shoulder to get it off. She only had one purpose—and that was to get rid of midnight.
The ShadowClan border loomed closer. The shadows seem to pull her in, welcoming her to the dark side of the forest. She breathed in the scent of pine needles, knowing the prophecy would be fulfilled now. Once midnight was gone, she'd be the savior of the forest, and everyone would look to her for guidance.
She couldn't believe Kestrelstar had thought that midnight would save the Clans. It's her, not that lousy excuse of an apprentice, that will save them. She stopped by the border, waiting for a ShadowClan patrol to arrive. If they want to be saved, all of them would have to listen to her. She needed to join forces with the Clans so she made sure that midnight was dead.
The bushes on the other side of the border rustled, and a tabby tom padded out, followed by a blue-gray she-cat and a golden-furred apprentice. Immediately, the tabby tom bristled. "What are you doing here, apprentice?" he hissed, his tail swishing behind him.
The white she-cat smiled. This would be too easy. "Our medicine cat received a prophecy," she started, trying to keep her tone friendly. "She claimed that midnight would destroy the Clans, but StarClan prophesized that I would save you all."
"So why are you here?" the apprentice growled, her amber eyes narrowed. "Why should we believe you?"
The white she-cat took a threatening step forward, and the ShadowClan apprentice shrank back. Her dark blue eyes narrowed and she threw a look at the tabby warrior. "I wish to join forces with you so we can kill midnight."
"We won't allow it," the blue-gray she-cat meowed calmly. "Why are you telling us such lies?"
"I'm not lying," she insisted, looking at the warriors with narrowed eyes. This was getting annoying fast. "You can even ask Kestrelstar. But of course, I wouldn't want your Clan to look bad…" She swished her tail threateningly. "I will take you to camp with me if you can't reach an agreement."
The tabby warrior and the blue-gray she-cat exchanged glances. For a minute, their fur stayed fluffed up in outrage until the tabby cat meowed, "Fine. We'll tell Sootstar that we're joining ThunderClan in stopping midnight."
"Thank you," the she-cat meowed, curling her muzzle in delight. This was too easy! "When the time is right, we'll kill midnight."
The ShadowClan warriors and apprentice nodded, and flicked their tails to bid her farewell. As the white she-cat padded back to her side of the territory, a voice cracked through the frozen air. "Wait!"
She looked back, and saw that it was the apprentice who had spoken. She shrank back a bit at her gaze, her tail swishing up broken leaves behind her.
"What's your name?" she squeaked, her amber eyes narrowed through the sharp wind. "Featherflower said we can't agree unless we know your name."
"My name?" the white she-cat asked, a little alarmed. But if she could gain ShadowClan's help, then she could at least spare them her name. "My name… is Snowpaw."
Well, that's the end of Chapter 6! There was a little surprise twist at the end for you guys. This was about 1,400 words. I think I'll make the chapters that long normally if I can. Anyways, what did you guys think? Tell me in a review!
~Orangeflight of ShadowClan