Curlykit's Adventures

Chapter 11

Curlypaw padded back into the MoonShadow camp two sunrises later. Nightpaw was sitting in the middle of the clearing, talking to Skypaw, her back to him. Curlypaw eyed Skypaw and winked at her. She cleared her throat and continued talking to Nightpaw. Curlypaw was just out of earshot, but as he crept towards them in a crouch, he could hear them more clearly. Pounce! He pounced on Nightpaw, who let out a screech in surprise. Skypaw's eyes glittered in amusement as she backed away from the brawling cats. Kicking Curlypaw off of her, Nightpaw scrambled to her paws and lunged at Curlypaw.
     "Hey! It's me!" Curlypaw yelped as she barely missed his side with a claw. "Curlypaw?" Nightpaw meowed, jaws gaped in shock. "Back so soon?" Curlypaw's eyes filled with love and affection for his mate as he meowed, "I just returned. I stayed the night there and traveled back after I spoke to Breezestar." Nightpaw purred loudly, and rubbed her muzzle on Curlypaw's cheek. Skypaw rose to her paws. "You guys might want to go somewhere more private to talk," she mewed, swishing her tail as she padded away.
     "Come with me," Nightpaw meowed, trailing her tail down Curlypaw's flank as she passed him. Curlypaw turned and bounded after Nightpaw. He stopped, remembering he should tell Dreamstar he returned. He'd have to do it afterwards. Looking back at Nightpaw, Curlypaw realized she had disappeared through the brush. He raced towards the brush, hoping she wasn't too far. Exploding through the other side, he spotted her sitting peacefully underneath a tree, looking at him. Curlypaw padded up to her, sitting down and wrapping his tail neatly around his paws.

     When Curlypaw woke up, he saw that it was almost sunhigh. He must have slept from the long journey the day before. Stretching his back into an arch, he yawned. He padded out of the den and was instantly greeted by Nightpaw and Skypaw. Happiness glinted in Nightpaw's gaze. "Since we haven't been tested to become caretakers, hunters, or warriors yet," Skypaw began, "Dreamstar wants us to go hunting. We're taking our assessments soon so we can find out what we will become and where our strengths are the most." "Fair enough," Curlypaw meowed.
     As they were padding out of the camp, Nightpaw meowed, "I hope I become a hunter! I'd love to catch prey to feed my Clan." "Warriors are important too," Skypaw meowed. "That's what I'm shooting for." "I don't know what I'm going to be yet," Curlypaw confessed, "I haven't thought about it." "What were you before you came here?" Skypaw tipped her head to the side. "I was training to be a warrior, but now I'm not sure if I want to be a hunter or not." Curlypaw meowed, and Skypaw straightened her head. "Well if you're used to being a warrior, surely you should be good enough to be one here too?" Nightpaw asked, puzzled. All Curlypaw did was shrug.
     Nightpaw's ear flicked and she shushed them. She dropped to a crouch and padded forward slowly. Curlypaw looked in the direction she was heading, and saw a mouse scuttling in the grass a few tail lengths away from Nightpaw. Nightpaw crept forward a tail length more before pouncing. She bit down on the mouse's neck and it writhed once before it became a limp body. "Good catch," Curlypaw murmured as she buried her prey. "Thanks," she mewed. They continued hunting until they had a good amount of prey to head back to the camp. Two mice, a vole, and two birds.

     Dreamstar approached Curlypaw while him, Nightpaw, and Skypaw returned to the camp with a decent amount of prey. "Back I see?" Dreamstar meowed accusingly as Curlypaw dropped his prey in the pile. He narrowed his eyes at Dreamstar when he looked up at her. Returning her stare, he meowed, "yes, I wouldn't abandon Nightpaw." "I'm surprised," Dreamstar sneered. "I believed you wouldn't actually come back since I gave you the chance to leave." Curlypaw stood his ground, his gaze still locked with Dreamstar's. "Like I said, I wouldn't abandon Nightpaw. Over these past few moons, I've realized how much she means to me." Dreamstar narrowed her eyes and dropped her gaze as she stalked off.
     "Seems like she really didn't want you to come back," Nightpaw meowed. Curlypaw turned to her. "I guess so." "Don't worry, she's not mad, just surprised," Skypaw meowed, her tail sweeping the ground causing dead leaves to fly across the floor. Nightpaw nuzzled Curlypaw's muzzle and turned to walk away. "I'll see you later," she mewed over her shoulder, "I've got things to do." As she walked away, Skypaw looked at Curlypaw, who was watching her so contently.
     "Hey." She tapped his shoulder with her tail. Curlypaw whipped his head towards Skypaw, clearly just out of a daze. "Sorry, what?" Curlypaw meowed. "I can tell you really love her," Skypaw continued, "she's a great cat. I don't blame you. You're really lucky to have her, and she's lucky to have you. She's so grateful you came back." "I'd never abandon her," Curlypaw muttered. He lost count on how many times he had said that today.
     Bramblesnare padded up to them, and dismissed Skypaw with his tail. She dipped her head and walked away, in the direction Nightpaw left. "Yes?" Curlypaw stared at Bramblesnare, waiting for him to talk. "Now that you have proven your loyalty," his meow was a low growl, "you will be recruited to MoonShadow."
     Me? Recruited to MoonShadow? Curlypaw couldn't imagine becoming a MoonShadow cat, and even though he was no longer a TimberPeak cat, it felt odd. He didn't know how to feel about it. Bramblesnare doesn't seem too happy about recruiting me, he thought. This is a great opportunity, he could finally live the life he dreamed of with Nightpaw. "Okay, what do I need to do?" The words escaped his mouth before he could even agree with what he said. Dumb mistake.
     Bramblesnare looked confused. "I'm recruiting you now," he meowed, leaping onto the rock that reached high over the clearing. "Cats of MoonShadow," he yowled, "gather around for a meeting!" Cats from all of the dens emerged from the dens into the clearing. Dreamstar looked, wide-eyed, at Bramblesnare. She nodded and sat down with the group of cats. "It is time for a cat to become a full member of MoonShadow," Bramblesnare meowed once all the cats had settled down. Curlypaw spotted Nightpaw in the audience, sitting next to Skypaw. Their heads were close together and they murmured something he couldn't hear.
     "Curlypaw, will you please come up here?" Bramblesnare meowed, signaling Curlypaw to jump up beside him with his tail. As Curlypaw hopped onto the rock, he heard cats meowing from the gathered Clan. Curlypaw sat down next to Bramblesnare. "Since he's going to be ranked up in a moon or two, it's better to get him settled in before then." Bramblesnare watched the cats as they agreed or yowled their protests. "Why should a rogue join our group?" A cat meowed, and got a death glare from Nightpaw, her neck fur rising. Bramblesnare silenced the cats with a whip of his tail. "Silence!" Bramblesnare growled.
     Dreamstar stared at Bramblesnare who jumped to the ground. Dreamstar took his place on the rock beside Curlypaw. "I understand your concerns," Dreamstar meowed to the cats in the clearing, "but I believe we should give Curlypaw a chance. He has proved his loyalty by returning after given the chance to leave. He has passed the test." Meows of approval and surprise rose from the gathered cats. Curlypaw dipped his head to Dreamstar. "Thank you," he mewed. Dreamstar nodded. "Welcome to MoonShadow, Curlypaw."

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AN:
I know this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, and I'm sorry. I felt like him joining MoonShadow would be a good ending and I realized I hadn't wrote a lot before I decided to do that. But hey, at least it's a good ending and not much of a cliff hanger. Next chapter will be out soon!