Chapter 15

Hey guys! A little cliffhanger at the end there, right? Haha! I love keeping you guys in suspense. Now, we will move from Eclipse into Long Shadows. This story will continue through Sunrise. I will do a sequel, from The Fourth Apprentice to Night Whispers, and the last part of the story through to The Last Hope.

I awoke from sleep to a blinding sunshine. I rose from my nest and stretched, my tail and legs quivering. I yawned and padded out of the warrior's den, careful not to disturb anyone. I looked over to the entrance of the thorn tunnel, seeing Lionblaze, Cinderheart, and Hollyleaf. They were stalwart; keeping guard over the camp without even a whisper.

I thought back to yesterday, to the look Hollyleaf and I shared. I knew what I saw in the depths of that green gaze, and I was almost positive that I felt it as well.

I shook the thought from my head. I moved over to the new warriors.

"Your vigil is over," I mewed. "You can speak." I watched as they stretched themselves slowly, and then Lionblaze perked up.

"I'm a warrior," he said, the awe still in his voice from the day before.

I stifled a purr. "Yes, I remember the day I became a warrior." Even though it had been just two months since I had awakened in the forest, I felt as though I had been a part of the Clan for years.

Hollyleaf began grooming her fur. "What should we do now?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, what would you like to do?"

Lionblaze looked up. "I feel like I could sleep for a moon," he murmured.

I laughed. "You'll have to ask a senior warrior about that," I said.

Cinderheart looked at me. "I could go on a patrol before I rest."

Hollyleaf stood. "I could, too."

I nodded. "Okay, maybe we can organize a hunting patrol, and gather prey for the-"

"Cinderheart!"

I turned to see where the voice was coming from. It was Berrynose. The cream-colored tom came padding up to our group.

"Sorry, Jaggedscar," he mewed, "but I'm afraid I need to steal Cinderheart from you for awhile."

I felt my fur grow hot at the joke. I didn't know why; I had never felt like this around anyone in the Clan.

"Uh... Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Berrynose gave me a joking smile as he led Cinderheart away. I didn't miss the laughter in his eyes as they walked away. Cheeky little thing, I thought to myself. I turned to Hollyleaf. She looked at me expectantly, and I realized she had said something.

"I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. "What did you say?"

Hollyleaf didn't seem offended. "I said, I guess it's just us now."

I felt something well up in me, but I pushed it down. "So it is," I said. We padded through the thorn tunnel together and stepped out into the forest.

I looked around. "So, where do you want to hunt?"

Hollyleaf thought for a moment, and then perked up. "How about the lake shore?"

I nodded. "Okay." We took off into the forest,sprinting down the well-worn path down towards the lake. I felt as though I could run forever, to the stars and back. I don't get it. Why do I feel so... good? I wanted to keep running, but we soon reached the lake shore. Instead of hunting for prey, however, we both sat down on the grass by the water.

I decided to start a conversation to break the silence. "So... nice weather we''re having, huh?" Wow, real original.

To my surprise, it seemed to work, because Hollyleaf replied. "Yes, very calm. Peaceful."

I knew what she was thinking about, because I was thinking about it too. The look. I turned to face her.

"Hollyleaf, yesterday, right after the ceremony..."

Hollyleaf turned. "Yes?" Her voice was quiet, and I thought I detected happiness in there somewhere.

I tried to talk again, but the words were stick in my throat. "Well... I saw the way you looked at me... and, well..."

Hollyleaf looked at me expectantly once more. "Yeah?"

I moved a little closer to her. As I did, I could swear that my pelt was about to catch on fire.

"Well... was it what I thought it was?"

Hollyleaf's eyes were brimming with emotion, and immediately I had my answer. "Yes. Yes it was."

I had never felt like this before, so carefree and so happy. "Good... because I felt it too."

We began leaning in closer and closer until...

"HEY GUYS!"

Immediately we separated and began smoothing down our fur as Cinderheart and Lionblaze came doing out of the forest.

"We were able to help Berrynose with hunting," Lionblaze said. "Then we came looking for you!"

I attempted to hide my giddiness. "Oh, great! We were just, um... uh... looking for some prey!" Although I tried to sound happy, I was pissed. They had completely ruined our moment! Hollyleaf was trying to stay calm; she was tearing at the grass under her paws.

Lionblaze tipped his head. "Something wrong, guys?"

I shook my head. "No, nothing's wrong. How could anything go wrong?"