Forestpaw yawned tiredly as she entered the apprentices den. She had just got back from her second half moon meeting, ready for a long sleep. Violetpaw was already sleeping and Claypaw and Lilypaw were out training with their mentors. Amberpaw was awake and she eagerly settled into her nest next to his.
"I thought you'd be asleep already?" she said.
"I wanted to see you get back, and I wanted her to fall asleep first," her brother said, flicking his tail in Violetpaw's direction.
Forestpaw glanced at her and whispered, "Fair enough."
"So, what did you see at the Startree?" Amberpaw asked.
Forestpaw cuffed him gently over the ear. "You know I can't tell you." Medicine cats should only reveal their meeting with StarClan if it would be vital for the Clan's survival. Forestpaw didnt't think that her talk with Meadowstar would meet that.
"Be careful around Violetpaw," the starry leader had said. "She walks the path of shadows."
"The path of shadows?" Forestpaw hadn't understood. And Meadowstar had vanished before she could inquire.
Amberpaw looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please? I promise to find out who Lilypaw's crush is for you."
The gray apprentice had been hanging it over their heads for awhile that she had a secret crush, and Claypaw had been hanging it over her head that she would spill if her sister didn't get her the best piece of prey from the fresh-kill pile.
Forestpaw rolled her eyes. "I already know who it is," she said, knowing that would get his attention, and distract him from her meeting with StarClan.
Her brother's amber eyes widened. "Tell me!"
Forestpaw lowered her voice and said, "You know that BrookClan tom you fought at that tournament?"
"Tarantulapaw?"
"Yeah, she likes him," Forestpaw said with a grin. "But you didn't hear it from me."
Amberpaw nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, I didn't. Oh, I can't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow!"
Forestpaw let out a little laugh before curling up in her nest. "Good night, Amberpaw," she said.
"Good night," came his sleepy reply.
***
Forestpaw woke with a gasp, as if something had struck her. Her eyes focused on a dark figure above her, paw raised over her head, claws pointed, dripping with blood.
The cat slashed again, hitting Forestpaw's neck, but not deep enough to kill. She scrambled away from her attacker, and tripped over the sleeping lump that was her brother. He raised his head and, upon seeing the unfamiliar cat, immediately went into a battle stance with Forestpaw shielded behind him.
The cat smiled, and then disappeared into thin air.
Amberpaw relaxed a little and sniffed at the spot where the cat had been. Forestpaw joined him, her breath coming in rapid gasps.
"Who was that?" she whispered, pressing against her brother.
"I have no idea, and they didn't smell like any of the other Clans," he said.
"What should we do then?" she asked.
"I don't think we can do anything now," Amberpaw told her. "Let's just try and go to sleep again. Don't worry, if they come back again, I'll protect you."
Forestpaw didn't have it in her to laugh at her brother's protectiveness. All she knew was that at that very moment, she had been about to join her sister in StarClan.
Hit with a sudden thought, she glanced over at Violetpaw's nest and saw that the dark gray apprentice was fast asleep in her nest, completely oblivious to the proceedings.
Maybe it wasn't her, but something tells me she could be tied to that other cat.
She recalled Meadowstar's words, "Be careful around Violetpaw. She walks the path of shadows."
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Lost Hope: Book 4: The Darkest Shadow
काल्पनिकAn evil spirit born to your kin, is where the danger really begins. Forestpaw and her siblings are the kits of EchoClan's medicine cat and deputy, and together, they will have to face the most treacherous of dangers, a threat brewing within in the h...
