The Moon's Shadow (Warriors fan universe)

Chapter Three

Jaypaw walked into camp, shaking the water from his fur. A spotted white she-cat had been waiting for him near the edge of the clearing.

"You saw the whole thing, didn't you?" He meowed flatly.

"Yup." Cloverpaw flicked her tail. "I still don't know why you went up there."
"I told you, it was to see the entire camp!" His tail lashed in frustration. He felt stupid. "It was a bad idea."

"No kidding. You would've died if it weren't for that random LightClan cat."

Jaypaw stiffened at the mention of the LightClan apprentice.

"What? You know them?" Cloverpaw tilted her head, her pale eyes gleaming.

"No. It's just... I don't know how she did it. I could feel the strength in her jaw. And she can't be much older than me." Jaypaw settled down, exhausted, neatly tucking his paws under him. They were both silent for a few heartbeats.

"You didn't come to save me." He muttered. A guilty look crossed Cloverpaw's face, and the light died from her green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jaypaw. I didn't think you needed me to."

"Well, yeah, but still..." His gaze observed the clearing, watching all of his Clanmates just go about their day. His chest tightened. "None of them would've saved me. They don't care." Jaypaw would've growled, but he was too tired to be angry. He just rested his head on his paws.

"Hey, that's not true! They just didn't hear you." She said softly, as she lay beside him. He didn't respond. He just sighed into her warmth.

All of his life, he felt out of place. Like he didn't belong. Even as a kit, he never felt like his mother truly loved him. The only one who seemed to care was Cloverpaw. He understood that even though she teased, she cared about him.

Jaypaw closed his eyes, letting his tail intertwine with hers.

Silverpaw shuffled nervously as she sat outside of Mudstar's den. Tawnyfeather had brought her right back to camp, and had vanished into the leader's den. She glanced at Minnowpaw, who hadn't moved from her side the whole walk home. He was uncharacteristically quiet. They made eye contact, and she gave him a small smile.

"I'm glad you went to get Tawnyfeather." She meowed softly, brushing his leg with her tail, and he returned her smile.

"I'm sorry I had to snitch on you, though. I just really didn't want you to get hurt."

Silverpaw noticed that he was closer to her than he'd ever been, and her heart fluttered. She drank in his dark, soft scent. She heard pawsteps, and she drew back. Mudstar had left his den, Tawnyfeather right beside him, and was approaching her. She rose to her feet, and Mudstar beckoned her to come into his den. Anxiety rumbled in her stomach, and she obediently dipped her head, and followed him. To her surprise, Tawnyfeather did not follow. Instead, she made her way over to the prey pile, where Leaftail's patrol stocked it up. Silverpaw felt a pang of guilt. I was supposed to be doing that.

Mudstar settled in his mossy bed, while Silverpaw sat a tail-length away. It was silent, just for a few heartbeats. Silverpaw could hear herself breathing loudly.

"Tawnyfeather told me everything." Mudstar began. He sounded calm, but not calm enough to keep Silverpaw's tail from curling nervously. "You did an amazing thing today." Mudstar's green eyes shone with unexpected pride. Silverpaw could hear him purring softly.

"Huh?"

"You saved a life today. I couldn't be more proud of you." His black tipped tail touched Silverpaw's shoulder, as if he sensed how anxious he was.