The Beginning Prophecy: Firestarter

Chapter Eight

Sunlight of the early morning streamed through the leaf-thick branches where Spottedleaf lurked and onto the forest floor below. The woods were swamped in greenleaf, and small creatures shuffled beneath the leaf mold carpet.

Firepaw roamed in search of prey, on his first solo task since he began training two moons ago. It was tradition for an apprentice to be unsupervised on a solo mission, but Firepaw, as an ex-kittypet, was a special case. Some cats still believed he would return to his twolegs.

The ginger tabby stopped to sniff at the earth, but continued to silently move through the trees, forming a lean and strong shape.

Spottedleaf hopped from one branch to the next as she watched Firepaw approach the stream she had shown him on his first walk through ThunderClan territory. The water ran downhill over the smooth, rounded pebbles, gurgling. Firepaw halted briefly and lapped at the clear water. He then left his head and opened his jaws to test the air.

Spottedleaf did the same and, despite her nose and mouth drenched with warm, green scents, she caught the stench of a fox. It was stale, so the tortoiseshell knew it was gone.

Firepaw's whiskers suddenly pricked.

From her perch above, Spottedleaf spotted a water vole as it darted back and forth to gather grass stalks along the bank.

Firepaw dropped into a crouch and began to stalk the tiny creature. His eyes never left the vole as he crept closer over the damp grass.

Good. Spottedleaf thought. She knew that even a heartbeat of distraction was enough time for potential prey to flee for cover.

A sudden loud rustling of ferns caused the animal's ears to twitch before it disappeared into a hole in the bank.

There was a noticeable change in Firepaw's demeanor. The fur along his spine rose and his sharp eyes glared at the shrubbery behind him.

Unable to see the source of the disturbance, Spottedleaf sniffed the air. She easily identified it as a cat—a ThunderClan cat. The scent was undoubtedly familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

The warrior heard a growl rise in Firepaw's throat while he started to double back in a wide circle. He pricked his ears and opened his eyes wide. Undergrowth rustled again, louder and off to one side. Firepaw stepped closer as the ferns moved, but the fronds continued to conceal the enemy from sight. Sharp cracking split the silence that had settled as a twig snapped. If the noise it was making was any indication, the other feline was large.

Firepaw swiftly climbed up the trunk of an ash tree and settled silently on an overhanging branch, below Spottedleaf still. The cat moved closer and closer, parting the ferns to reveal a large gray shape.

Spottedleaf immediately recognized the dark stripe that ran down the fluffy cat's back.

A battle cry rumbled in Firepaw's throat and he launched himself downward, unsheathed claws flashing in the sunlight. Spottedleaf was quicker and intercepted her apprentice, knocking him off course.

"Spottedleaf? Firepaw?"

Firepaw's wide eyes shifted from his mentor to the third cat as Spottedleaf let him up. "Graypaw? I thought you were an enemy with the way you were creeping up on me."