The Moon's Shadow (Warriors fan universe)

Chapter Eight

Silverpaw stared at the shrew that lay at her paws. Her stomach gurgled, and she shrank back at the smell of it's blood. She nudged it away, and rested her head on her paws.

"Not hungry?" Two black paws appeared in front of her muzzle, and she looked up to find Minnowpaw's golden eyes staring down. Silverpaw shook her head.

"No, you can have it." She sat up, and turned away to lick at the base of her tail. She could feel her friend's eyes drilling into her, and her fur prickled. She sat up straight, still avoiding his gaze as he settled down next to her. The shrew remained untouched.

"Are you alright?" Minnowpaw's voice drew her back. Guilt clawed at Silverpaw's chest. He's just looking out for me... I'm so rude.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She meowed simply. Minnowpaw blinked, unconvinced.

"Are you sure?" He pressed. "You haven't been eating well ever since-"

"No!" She cut him off before he could say it. "Just shut up!" Silverpaw immediately regretted it as Minnowpaw's eyes darkened, and he looked away. "I said I'm fine." She finished quietly with a sigh. She waited for Minnowpaw to speak again, to tell her to move on. To tell her that what happened is just what happened, and she needed to accept it. But nothing came. So Silverpaw stood, and walked away.

Silverpaw passed the apprentices' den on the way out of camp. Goldenpaw was wrestling with Leopardpaw, their tawny pelts matching. Silverpaw often got them confused, even though they had many differences. Leopardpaw had short, matted fur with dark brown spots stretching out from his stripes, which Silverpaw thought was odd. Goldenpaw had longer fur, her splotchy stripes a darker shade of amber. She cast one last glance back at Minnowpaw, who had picked up the shrew and was carrying it to the elder's den. He looked the most different from his littermates. His striped pelt matched Juniperflight's, who was his father. But the littermates all had one thing in common; their mother's pale, yellow eyes.

Silverpaw looked over at Crystalpaw, who was dozing in the heather patch near the nursery. Her heart throbbed as she remembered that both of her sisters played with her in that patch when they were kits. She turned away, and squeezed through the gorse tunnel.

She walked out onto the moor, a light drizzle blowing in the breeze. She broke into a run, her paws thrumming on the ground rhythmically. The rain poured down, soaking her pelt, but she didn't care. Being in camp was suffocating. Being next to Minnowpaw with his annoying questions was suffocating. Out here, the wind flowed freely through her fur. Before she could realize it, her paws were carrying her towards the beach.

Halfway down the hill, she spotted a dark smudge moving across the beach. Jaypaw! Silverpaw sprinted the rest of the way down. She burst out of the long grasses, startling the OceanClan apprentice. She opened her jaws to greet him when she noticed that his bright blue eyes were blazing with anger.

Has he changed his mind about me? She took a step back. Suddenly, Jaypaw's enraged expression shifted, and he moved towards her, his tail dragging in the wet sand.

"What are you doing out here?" Jaypaw asked, more curious than accusing. Silverpaw could barely hear him over the rain.

"I just needed to get away." Silverpaw had to shout. The rain was coming down like rocks on her back. Cold, sharp rocks. She shivered.

"Come on, let's get out of the rain." Jaypaw turned, and signaled to her with his tail for her to follow. He led her to the cliffs, and leaped over the thorn bush. Silverpaw purred in amusement as she remembered showing off the first time she'd visited. Once past the bush, he took a turn, and Silverpaw noticed a crack in the rock that made up the cliff, just big enough for a small cat to squeeze through. She paused, watching the stone scrape at Jaypaw's pelt as he entered. As if sensing her hesitation, he glanced over his shoulder.