Warriors: Shadestar's Agony

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

                “This is a technique that only ThunderClan possesses,” Leafstorm, Shadepaw’s mentor, meowed.

                Shadepaw gritted his teeth as he tightened his grip, sinking his claws deeper into the bark of the tree. “This is one of the times when I really miss ShadowClan. ShadowClan didn’t do stuff to make you plummet to your death.”

                A soft chuckle came from the golden tom with a few patches of orange fur. “Well, ThunderClan doesn’t make you do nighttime training. Would you rather blunder around aimlessly, crashing into pine trees because it’s so dark that you can’t even see your own paws?”

                In spite of himself, Shadepaw’s whiskers twitched. Leafstorm was a good-natured warrior with an excellent sense of humor. Poppystar couldn’t have given him a better mentor in ThunderClan. But could Maplestar have found a better cat in ShadowClan?

                Shadepaw crept forward on a thin branch, fur bristling. Suddenly, the branch lurched beneath his paws and he slipped off with a terrified yowl. Teeth quickly met his scruff and Leafstorm pulled him back onto a sturdier branch.

                On the ground, Honeypaw rolled out of the way, excepting Shadepaw to come falling from the sky. She realized shortly after that he was still up above, heart racing and panting heavily.

                The point of the exercise was to land on Honeypaw’s back. The golden she-cat stood directly beneath the tree and was only supposed to move if she suspected Shadepaw had leapt from the oak.

                Leafstorm gave him a reassuring nod. “Try again, Shadepaw! Honeypaw, return to your position!”

                Shadepaw eased himself back onto the branch, moving at a much slower pace. He cautiously slid forward until he could hopefully drop from the sky onto Honeypaw’s back without killing himself.

                As she’d been instructed to do, Honeypaw was staring at the ground but was listening carefully. Silently, Shadepaw stepped off of the branch. A sickening sensation spread throughout his body as he fell, the forest floor rushing up to meet him. He crashed into Honeypaw, who tumbled to the ground. She let out a startled yowl as he triumphantly planted a forepaw on her chest.

                Leafstorm slithered down from the Sky Oak, eyes gleaming with pride. “Good job, Shadepaw! Now it’s your turn Honeypaw!”

                Shadepaw allowed her to rise to her paws and she hurriedly began to climb the tree, eager not to be outdone by him. As Leafstorm prepared to follow, he glanced over his shoulder. “You’re a true ThunderClan cat now,” the young warrior declared.

                Once, Shadepaw would’ve bristled at such a remark. Now, he wondered if it was true, doubts about his plan to leave ThunderClan rising up inside.

                Leafstorm had taken him to ShadowClan border when he showed Shadepaw the territories yesterday, on his first day as an apprentice. To the black-furred tom’s surprise, the scent of ShadowClan had smelt pungent and cold. The shadowy pine forest had appeared dark, hostile, and unwelcoming. I’ve been with ThunderClan for so long now. Am I no longer a ShadowClan cat at heart?

                Shadepaw was so distracted by his troubled thoughts that he almost missed the faint rustling of leaves above him. He leapt backwards and Honeypaw landed on her side with a thud. “Aw!” the golden apprentice whined. “No fair! Why did he hear me when I couldn’t hear him?”

                Leafstorm gave Shadepaw a look of approval before turning to Honeypaw. “If you’d stepped off the branch like he did instead of jumping, the branch wouldn’t have swayed and he wouldn’t have heard you.”

                Honeypaw sighed dejectedly. “Yes, Leafstorm. I’ll try to get it right next time.”

                “It’s fine,” Leafstorm comforted her. “It was quite good for your first try, both of you! Let’s go back to camp and you can grab some fresh-kill when we arrive!”

                Shadepaw trotted after Leafstorm as they began the journey back to camp.

A/N: Shadepaw is now an apprentice...and he's not certain if returning to ShadowClan is the right decision anymore :)

I've posted the first few chapters of a new series that picks up after Crazystar's Greatest Challenge. Book 1, which is the only one published so far is called Warriors: The River's End Book #1: Escaping Danger! If you want to, I'd love for you to check it out, I'm planning on making it better and longer than the two Crazystar books :D Anyhow, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and please comment!