"Come on, Forestpaw," I heard. "You can't be expected to be able to hunt if you can't even-"
Bluepaw yowled as I swiped my paw across his face. "Shut up," I growled.
He flattened his ears. "Okay, okay, be gentle! It's not MY fault that you're such a big loser-"
"Young ones!" Thunderstrike sighed. "Can we cooperate please and not bicker?"
Bluepaw dipped his head immediately and followed our mentor without another word, but I stayed back, my paws rooted in the ground, my eyes blazing.
He would pay.
"That's the second time you've missed, Lamepaw," Bluepaw commented with a smirk.
I gritted my teeth, trying to resist the urge to slap him. "Will you just disappear? I wish Starclan would."
Thunderstrike frowned. "Now, is that any way to speak to your fellow clanmates, Forestpaw?"
My face was turning as red as deathberries. "No," I muttered, whiskers twitching.
"Then apologize."
Bluepaw was sneering at me, but I held my ground. "I'm sorry, Bluepaw."
Thunderstrike nodded, and with a flick of her tail she began turning around to head back to camp.
"Hey, Bluepaw," I said as normally as possible.
He snickered. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
"I found something that you might want to see."
His ears immediately perked right up. "Excuse me? Where?"
I peeked over the bushes: nope, Thunderstrike was already long gone. "Quick! Before out mentor sees us. Come with me."
"Where are we going?" Bluepaw questioned, but I didn't answer and instead began turning towards the woods.
We began walking. Twice I looked back to make sure no one was following us, but the coast was clear. Good... I needed us to be alone for this. The wind brushed against my pelt, the grass stinging, as if telling me to go back, but I stubbornly marched forward.
"I think we're near the edge of the territory now," Bluepaw meowed. "What are we looking for?"
"Something," I answered. Sensing his loss of interest, I added, "are you scared?"
He gave out a low growl and began padding faster alongside me, and that was when I knew he was in the game again.
"I feel like we've been walking forever."
I gave him a quaint smile. "No, look. Here we are."
We stood, at the edge of what appeared to be a long tunnel, trees blocking either side of it and thick undergrowth clinging to the few spaces left in the clearing. "I promise there's something good at the end, otherwise I would not have come this far," I added.
Bluepaw didn't argue, just sighed and followed me into the darkness.
It was a small space in there, barely enough to fit both of us. My tail flicked along the ground, and my muscles tensed as we neared the tenth corner. "We're almost there!"
We turned the corner.
There was a few straggly scraps of moss, some vines clinging desperately to the sides, and rock was everywhere. I could feel Bluepaw's scent fear, coming off in waves. I smiled. "Just yesterday I saw a strange sight: a five-legged, ginger and orange badger. I repeat, ginger and orange. It must live in this nest."
Bluepaw gasped. "Really?"
"Yes, really. But it's further inside. You see, this boulder is hanging up there by only a whisker's length, and it will be a catastrophe if it falls on us, so please be careful." I stepped aside, leaving a clear path. "You go first."
Bluepaw didn't need to be told twice, squeezing in almost immediately. "When will that strange creature that you talked about appear?"
I didn't answer, just climbed over to the giant boulder and heaved with all my might.
Dust crumbled, and just before it fell, blocking the only entrance, I could hear someone screaming, Bluepaw's screaming, and that somehow filled me with joy.
For a few heartbeats, that is.
"I have avenged myself!" I shouted.
There was a whimper. "Is this a joke? It's not funny! I'll tell Thunderstrike and you'll never be a warrior!"
"Yes, yes," I answered mildly. "For the faith of Starclan."
There was no reply, and I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. "Hello?"
Still no reply. The graveness of the situation finally sank in.
I had murdered someone.
"Tell me you're okay, Bluepaw," I whispered.
But no one answered, just the whispering of wind in the hollows and the loneliness.
The loneliness.
With a cry only I could hear, I threw myself to the foot of the boulder with a sob.
