Warriors: Shadestar's Agony

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

                “What are you doing on ShadowClan territory, Firestar?”

                His sister lifted her head. “This land belongs to ThunderClan! Take your warriors and leave, Shadestar!”

                “Never!” the black-furred tom snarled fiercely. “You’re no match for ShadowClan! I know my deputy, Nightwhisker, agrees, right?”

                Nightkit, one of Snowcloud’s kits, lifted his head. “We’ll destroy you!”

                Firekit snorted. “Sure. That’s why my deputy, Darkflower, is a better fighter than you!”

                “That’s why Russetpelt, the cat you used to call your ‘best warrior’, is off mixing herbs in Rowanleaf’s boring den!” Shadekit countered.

                A hint of sadness entered Firekit’s eyes and she stopped pretending to be a hostile enemy of her brother. “I can’t believe she said last night that she’s planning on being a medicine cat! Their duties are so dumb compared to the noble responsibilities of a ShadowClan warrior!”

                Shadekit nodded in agreement. “It’s a frog-brained decision. Russetkit has a brain, I’m sure she’ll change her mind soon when she realizes she’ll be sorting herbs and doing apprentice duties all day.”

                At that moment, Russetkit emerged from the bramble thicket where Rowanleaf’s herbs were sheltered, eyes gleaming. “Guess what? Rowanleaf taught me how to prevent infection using goldenrod, marigold, and cobwebs!”

                Darkkit rolled her eyes. “That’s useless,” Snowcloud’s kit meowed scathingly. “None of us, except for maybe you, will ever need to know that! All you dumb medicine cats do is memorize lists of herbs!”

                Russetkit wasn’t deterred. “We also get to speak with StarClan at the Moonpool and receive prophecies!”

                Firekit stepped in. “That must be fun,” she acknowledged, speaking in a gentle voice. “But it’s only two times per moon and herb stuff will grow boring even for you! Are you sure you don’t want to be a warrior? You get to defend ShadowClan from the other Clans and you catch prey that keeps the Clan alive!”

                Russetkit narrowed her eyes scornfully. “All you warriors think about is fighting! How pointless it is!”

                Shadekit glared at her. “Go back and sort herbs, you useless furball!” he growled.

                Hurt flashed in Russetkit’s eyes but she didn’t back away. “Fine, I will! Have fun playing your dumb games!”

                As Russetkit disappeared into the medicine cat den, Nettlestorm tumbled into the camp, panting heavily. His ginger fur was stained with blood and his eyes were wild. “Maplestar! Maplestar!”

                The tortoiseshell she-cat hurried out of her den. “What happened?” the ShadowClan leader demanded.

                Nettlestorm tried to catch his breath. “ThunderClan! Trying to take back the Greenleaf Twolegplace and the Twoleg path land!”

                “That Clan is already too close to our camp! Poppystar should know better than to mess with us! Oh, I wish Adderstar was still their leader! He was much less ambitious!” Maplestar snarled. “Anyhow, all of the warriors and apprentices, except for Sorrelstorm and Thrushwing, come with me! Nettlestorm, lead the way but stay out of the battle once we arrive. You’ve already suffered enough wounds for one day.”

                The Clan raced out of the camp. Warriors and queens left behind were still wishing they could’ve been chosen for the patrol. None of them were watching the four kits very closely.

                Firekit turned to her friends, a dejected expression on her face. “They should’ve taken us with them! We’re good fighters and we’d shred ThunderClan, those frog-brains!”

                Shadekit nodded in agreement. “So let’s follow the patrol! I bet kits of ShadowClan can fight better than warriors of ThunderClan! We’re the greatest Clan in the forest, after all!”

                Excitement and anticipation flickered in the eyes of the four kits. “I’m in!” Nightkit declared.

                Darkkit bounced around cheerfully. “Me too!”

                Firekit unsheathed her claws and her eyes shone. “You couldn’t go without the great Firestar, could you?” she purred.

                Shadekit lifted his head and led the way out of camp. He heard the pawsteps of his friends, the crackling of the dead leaves that coated forest floor as the kits stepped on them. He carefully tasted the air and immediately detected the scents of his Clanmates. He followed the scent trail left behind by the patrol and could hardly restrain himself from letting out a cry of joy as saw his Clanmates.

                Shadekit was shocked by the screeches of fury, fear, and pain that came from the battle scene. Cats fought furiously, all eager to prove that they were skilled, loyal warriors.

                Shadekit took a deep breath and scanned the area. He saw Bramblethorn trapped beneath two ThunderClan warriors. He pointed with his tail towards the dark brown tabby. “We are ShadeClan and we will not be defeated!” he hissed. “Let’s show ThunderClan our talents!”

                The other three kits tensed their muscles and prepared to leap into action. They looked towards Shadekit, waiting for the order to be given. The black-furred tom lifted his muzzle to the sky and yowled, “ShadeClan, attack!”

A/N: I don't know if anyone noticed, but I've changed the way I write dialogue. I've been advised to use less dialogue tags so I did. Let me know what you think and which style you like more :) Anyhow, hope you enjoyed and please comment!