The Moon's Shadow (Warriors fan universe)

Chapter One

Silverpaw was sprinting through the field, fast as the wind. She felt as if she could run forever. She relished in the feeling of the wind in her fur. The moon glowed brightly in the night sky, surrounded by the twinkling stars of Silverpelt. The pale light made her gray fur glow white. Her big, forest-green eyes stared up, wide in wonderment. Suddenly, something rammed into her side, knocking her into the long grass.

Her eyes flew open. She was in the apprentices' den. She figured that what had woken her was her sister; the white she-cat's leg twitching in her sleep. Early dawn light filtered through the branches. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to go back to her dream.

"Silverpaw, get your sisters! You three are on dawn patrol with Tawnyfeather and Houndclaw." The Clan deputy, Patchshadow, called into the den, and trotted off to attend to other needs. Silverpaw grumbled, and reluctantly woke her littermates.

LightClan was starting their day. Patchshadow stood with Mudstar near his den, discussing patrols and training times. The medicine cat, Icedrift, was warming up outside her den, her apprentice Berrybranch right behind her. Silverpaw saw warriors waking, peeking their heads out of the tall oaks that stood at the camp's entrance.

"Well, are you coming?" Tawnyfeather called to her. Silverpaw trotted over to her mentor, her sisters at her sides.

Another uneventful patrol. Silverpaw sighed, as she walked along the OceanClan borders. It's been peaceful between the Clans; the last battle had to have been seasons ago. Silverpaw began to wonder why they even had to patrol the borders if the other Clans had no interest in trespassing.

"I know it's boring, but it's our job." Tawnyfeather whispered in her ear, as if she had heard her thoughts. Silverpaw's ear twitched, and she avoided her mentor's hard stare.

"Yeah, I know." She kicked a pebble away. "It's just, there aren't even any threats! I could be doing so much more for the Clan! Like hunting." She watched a rabbit scamper a few fox-lengths away. Silverpaw heard her mentor sigh, followed by a quiet chuckle.

"An apprentice for a half-moon and already so eager! At that age, I still wanted to sleep in the nursery." The golden warrior purred. Silverpaw couldn't see her independent, outspoken mentor laying awake at night, wishing she were curled up next to her mother. At just four moons, Silverpaw had been more than ready to leave the stuffy den.

The cats finished the patrol, meeting back up with the others near the camp entrance. Silverpaw's littermates, Breezepaw and Crystalpaw, had patrolled the DarkClan border with Houndclaw. They found that it was much quicker that way.

"Did you see anything?" Crystalpaw bounced over, her deep green eyes sparkled as always. Like Silverpaw, Crystalpaw had their mother's thick coat and wide set face. But she had their father's long legs; she had always been taller than Silverpaw, even as little kittens.

"Did you see any OceanClan warriors? Those sneaky fish-bellies are always trying to expand their territory!" The white she-cat hissed.

Silverpaw shook her head. "Nope. Nothin'." They began to make their way back into camp, to eat and rest before training later.

"We didn't see anything at the DarkClan border either." Breezepaw mewed. Breezepaw looked nothing like her sisters. She looked just like Mudstar, with her short tabby pelt, and thin muzzle. But she had Snowcloud's big amber eyes, like two pools of honey. "Not even a scent, except for the marker."

"They're too scared to mess with us!" Crystalpaw said, batting softly at Silverpaw's ear. The two broke into a scuffle, rolling past Mudstar, who approached to speak to Tawnyfeather.