Falling Moon- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction

Chapter 30

At least, it felt like dozens of cats were staring at Palepaw, because she was at the head of the patrol, Sorrelspots next to her.

She quickly shuffled to the side to let the ShadowClan medicine cat and apprentice through, then flattened back against her mentor.

The ShadowClan camp was quite spacious, perhaps even larger than ThunderClan's, and was certainly flatter. The camp floor, like the rest of their territory, was coated in pine needles, soft and springy and very uncomfortable underpaw. However, despite the unsettling feeling prickling up her spine much like the needles beneath her, she couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to explore the place. The dens were all dark, but didn't that just mean that there were plenty of secrets hidden in there? If that were the case, maybe she could have a peek in. Perhaps nobody would notice if she--

"Echopaw? What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

The stray paw that had been lifting off of the ground ever so slightly slammed back down with a muffled thud as a tom padded over. His light grey fur was flecked with white, like snow, and his eyes, a pale amber, were as icy as his pelt. Though he had spoken in a hushed whisper, the anger in his voice was obvious. "Why have you brought these... ThunderClan cats here?" He said the name of the other Clan with such venom that it wasn't just Palepaw who was startled at his hostility; she saw Sorrelspots flinch, and even Wolfwhisker's tail lashed.

The ShadowClan apprentice, however, seemed unbothered. She quickly put the bundle of catmint in her mouth onto her back so she could speak more clearly. "Blizzardnose! This is Palepaw! She's my best friend and she's given us catmint! I mean, it wasn't specifically her, it was her patrol in general, but they gave us lots! I had so much fun! We went onto--"

"Echopaw, Tansyfrost, drop those herbs." It was another voice, one much colder than the first.

Palepaw's head whipped to the side, just in time to catch a flash of black lashing out towards her chatty friend's pelt. Echopaw flinched back, but there was no need; with expert precision, claws hooked around the catmint on her back and dragged it to the prickly forest floor.

Recognition flashed in her mind almost immediately. Ratstone! The deputy! She glanced quickly to her side, and she eyed Sorrelspots nervously; the last time her mentor had seen the ShadowClan deputy, she had seemed very shaken up. As she had expected, her mentor had that haunted look in her eyes, as if the "blow" had been aimed at her. Wolfwhisker also looked quite stunned. Even the white-flecked tom from before - Blizzardnose - was silenced by the arrival of the large tom, stepping back instantly. Great StarClan! Is this tom evil or something? Everyone seems afraid of him! Or maybe that's just his position in the Clan. But nobody acts like that around Shrewfoot... What is up with ShadowClan?

"You just can't trust ThunderClan. How do we know that they haven't poisoned these herbs?"

"Who do you think we are, a bunch of foxes? Why would you think something like that? We'd never!" Palepaw lashed her tail in anger.

Ratstone sneered at her, the coldness in his dark eyes rooting her to the spot. "Actually, apprentice, that is exactly something that I would expect ThunderClan to do."

Tansyfrost gently nudged Palepaw behind her as she replied, the cheeriness in her voice painfully forced. "We were right there. They did nothing to the plants - or us - as we picked them. Besides, it would surely be foolish to pass up on a chance to lower ThunderClan's herb stock." At this, Palepaw looked at the she-cat incredulously. She hadn't seemed like those were her intentions when they had been gathering the herbs.

"She's lying for us," Sorrelspots breathed in her apprentice's ear. "She is possibly the only cat in ShadowClan who can see clearly past her own nose."

The black tom seemed to consider what the medicine cat had said. After a long moment where it seemed that even the birds held their breaths, he turned his head away from the group and towards a den.

"Leader's den. Flashstar will decide what happens to this ThunderClan..." He paused as if pondering the right word to use.

" 'Cats' is fine, Ratstone," Wolfwhisker replied coldly. Was his pelt prickling?

"... filth," finished the dark tom, blatantly ignoring both what the tom had said previously and how Sorrelspots' claws were unsheathed.

With a powerful air of arrogance that only StarClan deserved to own, Ratstone began striding across the clearing to the den, surprisingly silent despite his large size and the springy needles beneath him.

Palepaw suddenly found herself aware of all the gazes on their pelts. When they'd entered, the hostile eyes had been on them, but only half of the Clan had been there. Now, there were almost double that amount of cats, most of which were glaring at them.

"Do we follow?" Palepaw heard her mentor murmur - half to Wolfwhisker, half to herself. "It could be a trap."

The tom shook his head. "It won't be a trap. Even ShadowClan wouldn't stoop that low. Flashstar will surely be reasonable. Come on." With that, he turned and followed the black deputy. From behind, Palepaw could see that he was fighting to keep his cool; his tail twitched every now and then, his ears were half-flattened and he was making evident attempts to keep his pelt smooth. It reminded Palepaw that Wolfwhisker, while level-headed and wise, was younger than her own father by six moons, and only older than her by twelve.

She couldn't help but think that he didn't sound very confident in what he'd said.

Palepaw barely remembered to breathe. She had been so absorbed in the scene unfolding before her that she hadn't realised that her paws were trembling, she'd been holding her breath, and her claws were unsheathed. Upon noticing this, she took a deep breath, sheathed her claws and tensed her legs, forcing herself to stay still as she turned to her mentor. "We'll be alright, right?"

But Sorrelspots didn't seem to have an answer. She swallowed, shook herself, then began briskly following Wolfwhisker. Not wanting to be left behind with ShadowClan, Palepaw rushed forward as well, hardly leaving her mentor's side.

Tansyfrost and Echopaw followed, too, but Palepaw had all but forgotten them as they reached the black tom.

The den seemed relatively small compared to Bumblestar's, but warmer; thin fir branches had been woven across the sides, blocking any gaps and most likely leaving a draft-free den. However, it was dark and by no means cosy, especially with the snarl that echoed out of the entrance, followed swiftly by a quiet whimper, then more snarling. Due to the thick walls and small entrance, Palepaw couldn't grasp anything that was said inside the den, but from the sounds alone she could tell that it wasn't good.

They stood a few fox-lengths away from the den, a few mouse-lengths away from Ratstone, whose gaze was on the entrance to camp, where a ginger and white she-cat and blue-grey tom stood, eyeing them warily.

"I have a patrol waiting for me." He spoke coldly to the cats, not bothering to acknowledge their presence with more than a sideways glance. "Don't think about running, or I will find you."

Palepaw didn't doubt that.

The black tom left them quickly, leaving the group of ThunderClan cats - and Tansyfrost and Echopaw - to face Flashstar's den and its sinister owner.