Bloodshed

Chapter Eight

"Duck!" Jaytail commanded. Shadepaw ducked, but he was too late, and a forepaw crashed into the side of his head. He tumbled, rolling onto his back. Paws battered at his underbelly, claws sheathed. He kicked out with his back paws, feeling them meet with his opponent's face.

Blurrypaw fell back, panting. "You kicked my jaw!" He hissed, "That hurt."

"Do you need to see Brownfur?" Eagletail, Blurrypaw's mentor, asked. Blurrypaw shook his head, raising a gray paw to wash behind his ears.

"I only need to rest." He shrugged.

"How about some hunting?" Jaytail suggested. "First apprentice to catch three pieces of prey and bring them back here wins the contest and first pick from the fresh-kill pile. The loser has to clean the ticks from Tigerstripe's pelt!"

Shadepaw shuddered. He would not lose that competition. Three days had passed since the gathering, and he was finally having a proper training session. "Hope you enjoy the taste of ticks!" He laughed to Blurrypaw.

The other apprentice narrowed his eyes, "Bring it on!"

And with that they were off, dashing out of the training cave. Shadepaw saw Blurrypaw head for the river to catch fish, so he went to the next best spot; the tallrocks. There, he found some sort of bird feasting on a rotten fish.

He dropped into a hunting crouch. He'd have to jump to the tallrocks and catch the bird in one move, unless he wanted to scare it away. He prowled forward, careful not to be seen but also preparing to jump.

He leaped, jaws parted. The bird took flight, but too late. He clamped his jaws shut and killed the bird instantly. His claws scrabbled at the weight of the bird for a moment, dragging him down into the soaring waves of the ocean. But he managed to pull himself up, checked quickly for any other prey, then jumped back to the island upon seeing none.

"That was an impressive catch." A female voice took Shadepaw by surprise. Then he saw Spottedfeather sitting with her tail wrapped neatly around her forepaws. Rainpaw sat beside her, eyes wide.

"That was so cool!" He gasped. Shadepaw purred with delight, but turned away from them. He had to return this to Jaytail and Eagletail as soon as he could.

He raced through the mountains, feeling the wind whipping his ears. Soon he was standing, panting, in front of Jaytail. He presented his bird to his mentor, turning away to find more prey.

"Great. Go on!" Jaytail praised him as he raced off yet again.

Mud splattered Shadepaw's sides as he raced along the riverbank. Blurrypaw had gone to bring his fish back to the mentors, so he was alone. He came to a stop, staring into the rushing water of the river. The scent of GreenClan was strong on the other side; they had been here for water just a few moments ago.

He concentrated harder, but scents seemed to be filling his nose. All around, he could smell the individual scent of cats; Coldstream and Skywing of GreenClan, Blurrypaw and Rainpaw and Spottedfeather. He thought he could even scent Frozenstar.

Suddenly, a new scent filled his nose. This was a cat, but not GreenClan or MudClan. It seemed to reek of monsters, but at the same time, it smelled warm and welcoming. Shadepaw knew what it was at once. A kittypet!