Bloodshed

Chapter Twenty Two

Shadepaw followed Jaytail and the others into the training cave. There, the group settled down so Sunflower could explain the rules.

"You have until sunhigh." Sunflower said. "Catch as much prey as possible. And instead of burying it, you must bring it all back here when you catch it. That way, your speed will be tested as well as your hunting skills."

"Whoever brings back the most prey gets first pick from the fresh-kill pile. If you both bring back a good amount, you will become warriors today." Jaytail added. All of Shadepaw's sleepiness disappeared. He was going to be made a warrior. This was the day!

He spun in a circle excitedly as Sunflower counted down from three. "Three.. Two.. One.. Go!"

The two apprentices raced off. Shadepaw headed in the opposite direction of Snowpaw; towards the mooncave. He passed his sister, Echopaw, whom Brownfur was still struggling to free from the rocks.

"Shadepaw! Stop, Shadepaw!" A voice came from a cave nearby. Shadepaw skidded to a halt.

Spark was padding towards him. "Gosh, I was hoping I'd see you today. I was watching you fight Featherfur last night." She paused, as if she was hesitant to go on. "You looked really nice."

"Thanks, but I'm doing my warrior assessment! I can't talk now!" Shadepaw turned to leave, but Spark stopped him.

"That can wait." She said.

"No it can't, I-"

"Shadepaw, listen!" She flattened her ears. "I realised something today Shadepaw. I feel... Um, good feelings for you. Really good feelings."

"Thanks! But time is really a factor and-"

"Shadepaw, don't go!" She looked angry. "Don't you feel the same way?"

"Sure!" Shadepaw was bouncing up and down now. "But I reeeeaaallly gotta go!"

"Please stay." She hissed, "This is important!"

"It can wait! Goodbye, Spark!" Shadepaw raced off without looking back. He ignored the way that his heart sank when he heard Spark cry after him. He was going to be a warrior, and nothing was going to stop him.

*

"I'm disappointed, Shadepaw." Jaytail and Sunflower were counting the prey that Snowpaw and Shadepaw had caught. "You caught about half of what Snowpaw did. I thought we needed to work on your hunting.."

Shadepaw stared down at the prey that he had caught. He had been distracted by Spark, and his tiredness from his training in the dark forest had caught up to him. He'd caught a couple voles, a rabbit, and a fish. Snowpaw had caught an entire eagle, three fish, and two rabbits.

"I'm not going to be a warrior, am I?" Shadepaw felt dull.

"No, you should train for a few more moons." Jaytail shook his head sadly.

"Moons? You can't be serious!" Shadepaw cried.

"I'll plan for your warrior ceremony to be at the same time as Flamepaw or Owlpaw's. Go back to camp now and get some sleep. You look exhausted."

*

The next morning Shadepaw woke up feeling well slept. For once, he hadn't been dragged into Dark Forest dreams. He left camp on patrol with Rainpaw and Spottedfeather, but ended up wandering off by himself. He found himself approaching Spark's cave.

"Shadepaw! StarClan, you're here! Why were you so rude yesterday?" Spark demanded, trotting towards Shadepaw.

"I was busy. We can talk now." Shadepaw sat down. "What's going on?"

"Shadepaw.." She curled her tail around her paws. "I feel like.. Like I like you more than any other cat I've ever met."

"Really?" Shadepaw asked.

"I think I love you." She blurted. "I mean.. Yeah."

"Oh." Shadepaw's heart raced. "I guess I love you too."

Her tongue rasped over Shadepaw's ear. "You're awkward."

"Yeah.." Shadepaw blinked. "I love you too."