Chapter 23

When Shadepaw woke up the next morning, she was still thinking about Silverheart. She told herself that she had to focus on what she was doing. She need to concentrate. She stretched and wandered around, still unsure of what exactly she was looking for. Mosskit hadn't told her anything about the enemy, only that she would find it here in the mountains.

Shadepaw wasn't sure it was even a cat! She didn't think any cat could live here; too little prey, so many ways to die. There were eagles, and cracks in the rock where a cat would fall to the death, and the wind was so strong, it almost carried here over the mountains. It was way windier here than it had ever been in Windclan. There were no trees or streams, not that they provided life. No, it was just comfort they had. But now, Shadepaw had never felt so exposed in her life.

She looked around, her stomach rumbling, and her mood getting worse as time went on. She didn't see anything, and couldn't pick up a scent. Sighing, she carried on traveling, keeping her mouth parted, deciding it was about time she found the enemy. Then she could go home.

She kept going all day, for the next quarter moon but didn't find anything. She was beginning to think this was useless. For the first time in her life, she was doubting StarClan. They didn't share dreams with her since her encounter with Mosskit. Shadepaw despaired of ever finding them. She was a stubborn cat too; she wouldn't go home till she accomplished her goal. Would she be forced to stay here?

She was surprised at how easily she didn't get lost. After a moon and half, she navigated the mountains as easily as though she was born here. She had built her own little camp next to a tiny waterfall, which formed a little pool of water. Her "camp" was just a nest, but it was clear of anything that could block the sky, so she could feel closer to Starclan.

One day, she decided to climb up her waterfall today. She had never taken that path before, and she was curious to know about it. She felt as though something deep inside her was pushing her in that direction. The climb wasn't that difficult, and took her only a little while. When she reached the top, she gasped.

The beauty of the mountains finally reached her; the sun was just starting its climb across the sky, turning the usually barren rocks into all different shades of gold. There was another waterfall at the top of one of the bigger mountains, but this waterfall was definitely bigger than the one she lived nearby.

Following the same instinct that possessed her to climb up her waterfall, she started climbing toward the bigger one. She had a feeling something momentous was going to happen soon. She increased her pace; Shadepaw felt a need to hurry. Somehow she was convinced her enemy lived by the huge waterfall, and they were growing eviler as time pasted.

StarClan must be influencing her thoughts and actions. Shadepaw always knew she would have a special relationship with her ancestors, being a medicine cat's apprentice, but she didn't know just how much they were interwoven together. It was like her ancestors were part of her, and she a part of them. She thought she could hear Ferntail and Mosskit whispering to her, but she kept telling herself it was the wind.

Soon she realized it would take more than a day to climb up the mountain, perhaps a whole quarter moon or so. The way up was difficult; there were many paths to chose from and most of the time, she reached a dead end or a big hole in the stone, so she would have to back and try a new path.

So since night was setting in fast, she stopped and looked for a place to curl up. Alas there was nothing to make a nest out of, so she curled up and tried to sleep on the bare stone. It didn't work; she tossed and turned all night and even though she was fully grown, the darkness and being in a strange place scared her. When the sun began greeting the sky, she got to her feet warily.

She stood there for a few minutes, still as the rocks that surrounded her. Reluctantly she started her day. Shadepaw could feel herself growing used to the tough rocks grazing her paws; they were no longer scratched up and were adapting to the rocks. She could feel adaptations in her muscles too. All the climbing was leaving her in great shape.

Her climb was uneventful today, which only stopped once when she had to hunt. Somehow she was better at judging which paths would be dead ends and her jumps were getting longer, so she didn't have to turn back as often. Shadepaw felt the days slipping away into nothingness. She figured it must have been two, maybe two and a half moons since she set off on this quest. She sent a silent prayer to Starclan to keep her clan safe.

Evening was setting in, so she again looked for something to make a nest from. She was pleasantly surprised when she spotted some ferns growing on the edge of a cliff. The dark gray she-cat carefully climbed up, gathered the moss, and returned down. As she was setting it into a nest, a large bird with yellow eyes and hooked claws swopped down and snatched her.

She let out an earsplitting yowl and claw fiercely at the bird, trying to free herself. The bird refused to drop her. She twisted in its grip, ignoring the pain, and bit down on the claw. The eagle let out a cry but didn't drop her. Shadepaw bit harder and twisted it. Finally, the bird dropped her, admitting defeat.

She hit the ground with a sickening thud, yowling as pain seeped into her leg. She could tell that she had wrenched the muscles in her leg. Being a medicine cat, she knew she had gotten off easy. Shadepaw would just have to keep using her leg until it was back to full strength. Starclan had blessed her, keep her from any wounds that could be life threatening. It took her a second to realized just how blessed she was. Directly in front of her was the waterfall she had been climbing towards.

She limped forward which caused the water, which was already deafening her, to scream louder. She felt the cold spray of the water but, being Riverclan, this didn't stop her. Recalling that her enemy could very well live behind the water did stop her. She only hesitated for a few minutes before she continued. However her pace was slower, more cautious.

Shadepaw's ears strained for any sound of life, but the water blocked it out. If there was anyone living down there, she couldn't hear them. Her nose could only smell the water, which was different from the fragrance of the river. There was not as much plant scent and stone added to the scent. After passing through the waterfall, a series of rocks led the way down to a large cave. Hardly any light shone through the water, so the cave was dark.

Trying to ignore the feelings that wanted her to run as far away from here as possible, she started down the path. It was wet from the waterfall, causing her to slip a few times. By the time she had reached the end, she was soaked. All that falling had made her leg feel worse.

Away from the ear splitting waterfall, she could hear and scent better. But at that moment, she wished she were deaf, so she couldn't hear that menacing voice. It was only a few words, but that was enough. She knew she had found the enemy. But enemies would be a better word for it. Cause there seemed to be a whole clanful of cats lined up. She could only see them because there was a hole in the stone above her. The yowl was still ringing in her ears.

"Everyone had better come here! We have to talk strategy! In a battle, it will make all the difference!"