Dark Prophecies: Wolftuft's Shadow

Chapter Four

          The sun was covered with dark and heavy clouds. The entire DustClan was mourning Spikytooth. All expect for Wolfpaw. She remained quiet, it had to take a lot of effort not to smirk. Willowpaw padded up and sat beside her. 

"It must be hard on you, he was your mentor." He sets a paw on hers. Wolfpaw shifts away. She looks at him, her eye scar seemed to be unnoticed by the clan. Willowpaw winces, remembering what he did to her. "Look, I'm sorry that happened to you." He murmurs. "You're so brave Wolfpaw, I'm glad you're my Clanmate." He purrs softly. Wolfpaw purrs with him, yet, the dark shadow that loomed above her wouldn't seem to fade. 

"Who do you think will be my mentor now?" She asks, gazing at Tawnystar. Willowpaw opened his mouth to speak, but a yowl of surprise interrupted him.

 "Crowtalon, what are you and your apprentice doing here?" Chillynose hisses. Wolfpaw gazes at her sister.

 "Hazelpaw!" She plunges towards her. Hazelpaw purrs, but soon her gaze darkens.

 "We found Spikytooth in our river," Crowtalon explains. He turns and starts dragging Spikytooth's dead body to the center of the camp. "We assumed you would like to give him a proper burial." He murmurs. "Come on Hazelpaw, let's get back to camp." Hazelpaw nods sadly and pads out of the camp with Crowtalon. Wolfpaw watches her leave, a sharp pang of regret pierced her heart. It quickly faded when she gazed at Spikytooth. Foxheart and Sunflame lifted the heavy tom onto their backs and headed off to bury him. Tawnystar leaped onto the High Stump and called the cats over. 

"I know we are all mourning the loss of our fallen Clanmate, but we will carry on our lives without him." She takes a breath. "Wolfpaw, I know how hard he was on you, he wanted nothing more but to make you the strongest you could be. Skyclaw," She turns her head to the fluffy tom. "I hope you can pass on your knowledge to this apprentice." Skyclaw dips his head. 

"I will, I promise." He pads over to Wolfpaw. They touch noses. 

"This meeting is dismissed." Tawnystar jumps down. 

"Can I learn how to hunt and collect moss now? Spikytooth only made me battle train." Wolfpaw explained.
           "Yes, just like that." Skyclaw nods as Wolfpaw does her hunting crouch. "Now, what do you scent?" He asks. Wolfpaw sniffs the air. 

"Frog." She purrs.

 "Frogs can be tricky, remember, they hop quickly," Skyclaw explains. Wolfpaw nods and spots the frog. She lowers herself onto the ground and starts to stalk it. She takes a deep breath and leaps up into the air. She pounces onto the frog, which was trying to escape her. She swiftly nips its neck and looks up at Skyclaw. He purrs approvingly. "Great job, Spikytooth would be proud." Wolfpaw narrows her eyes and picks up the frog. 

"Should we take this back to camp?" She asks. Skyclaw nods, and heads back to camp, Wolfpaw trailing behind him. Willowpaw pads up to Wolfpaw and purrs.

 "Great catch!" He eyes the frog. "If you want to, do you wanna share it?" He asks shyly. Wolfpaw glances at the Fresh Kill Pile, which was fairly large. She dips her head and sits down next to Willowpaw. Wolfpaw and him share the frog while chatting. Soon, the sun was setting. Wolfpaw let out a yawn and headed into the Apprentice den, Willowpaw followed her. She curled up in her nest and closed her eyes. Willowpaw curled up in the nest next to hers. He gazed at her, affection flooded his eyes. He rests his head on his paws and falls asleep, Wolfpaw doing the same soon after.

      When Wolfpaw opened her eyes, she was in a blood-drenched clearing. All she could hear was the yowls of cats, some she did not recognize. The fur on her back stood on end. Then, she saw kits. They all looked petrified and weak. She stepped backward and fell down a steep hill. She slammed onto the more bloodstained ground. She stared wide-eyed as a shadowy figure. 

"Do you want this to happen?" It says its voice was low and raspy. Wolfpaw frantically shakes her head.

 "No!" The figure chuckles.

 "Then listen to me, and we will rule over these pathetic clans." It stands up and fades away. Wolfpaw quickly gets up. 

"Wait! Don't leave me here!" She looks around, the darkness slowly consuming her.