Crowstar's Mission {COMPLETE}

Chapter 12

 Crowpaw killed his mouse quickly and cleanly. He had become quite accustomed to hunting mice and squirrels, even though he missed the taste of rabbit and fish. The nearby river wasn't as full of fish as the river back in MoonClan, but he would catch one from time to time. It had been almost half a moon since Crowpaw left Silverpool at their makeshift den and he hadn't seen any sign of her since.

He prayed that she didn't come looking for him and instead went back to MoonClan where she was safer. Crowpaw hadn't moved on from his riverside den and was instead living there for the time being. He wasn't sure if he would stay there forever, he didn't think so but for now it was safe and he had plenty of prey.

He had gathered moss to make it more comfortable, and he was starting to get used to living on his own. Crowpaw missed Frostpaw, Icepaw and SIlverpool but knew this was a better place for him. For now, this was his new home.

He hadn't found any sign of other cats, and only the faint trace of fox. As far as he knew, he was alone in this forest. Some days the pangs of loneliness were almost too much to bare, but other days he felt free. He could hunt whenever he wanted and there were no borders surrounding him. He could go wherever he wanted and hunt anything he wanted. He figured he would move on one day, but now he felt safe in his small den.

Crowpaw ate his mouse quickly, burying the remains and going to the river for a drink. This river is what made the place almost feel like a home, he could fall asleep to the rushing water and drink fresh water whenever he needed. He could also swim, nothing relaxed him more than getting his fur wet.

Crowpaw rested on the bank of the river, letting the water splash onto him. The greenleaf sun was bearing down on him, making everything in the forest hot. Another reason he was so grateful for the river. With the season in full swing, he was afraid to leave the river for fear of not finding another one for a while. He would at least stay here for greenleaf.

It had been nearly a moon since Blacksky's death and Crowpaw still felt the pain of his loss. He wondered if Blacksky approved of what he was doing, or even if Blacksky could see him from here. Did StarClan walk the entire sky? Or just over the Clan's territories?

Crowpaw found that he had dozed off by the river, enjoying the cool river against the sun warming up his fur. When he woke up the sun was starting to fall and his belly rumbled. He decided for a quick hunt, then he would settle down in his nest. He may have not faced any dangers in this forest, but he didn't like sticking around at night to try and find any.

Crowpaw stalked through the forest, keeping his nose and eyes peeled for any sign of prey. He found that the hardest prey to catch in the forest were squirrels, so he tried to stick to mice most of the time. Sometimes he would come across the occasional bird but those were also difficult to catch.

Crowpaw spotted a mouse at the base of a tree, nibbling contently on beech seeds. Crowpaw dropped into a crouch, hiding in a patch of long grass and keeping his paw steps silent. He waited for the mouse to turn it's back on Crowpaw when he jumped in to kill it. He killed it with a swift bite to the next and picked it up, carrying it back to his den. The walk to this den was slightly dangerous, but he had mastered the path without fear. He settled down in his moss nest and ate his mouse quickly.

Crowpaw settled down in his nest, letting his mind wander. He wondered how MoonClan was doing. Was Silverpool okay without him? Would she get a new apprentice? How was Frostpaw and Icepaw's training going? Were they happy or did they miss him? Did Riverlight even notice he was gone? Did she miss him at all? Crowpaw couldn't imagine his mother caring about him in any way. He let out a sigh, feeling a dull gnawing of homesickness. He closed his eyes, forcing the thoughts away and slipped into a silent sleep.

Crowpaw woke up to splashing and squeals close to his den. He lifted his head, fur standing on edge. Who was so close to his den? He poked his head outside the stone den, spotting a group of twolegs playing near the river. His fur bristled and slipped back into his den. Why were twolegs here? Perhaps his forest wasn't as safe as he thought.

He peered outside once more, seeing four fully grown twolegs and three smaller twoleg kits. The older twolegs had weird sticks that they held out to the water, laughing and putting strange things up to their mouths. The kits played in the water, splashing each other and making headache-inducing noises.

They couldn't see him from where he was, but if Crowpaw left his den then he would be spotted for sure. He would stay in his den until they left, which would hopefully be soon. Crowpaw sat in his nest, listening to the loud twolegs. He wondered what possible use twolegs could have for a river, but it seemed like the kits enjoyed playing in the river just as much as he did. I guess they're not so weird then, they like swimming more than the other Clans.

Crowpaw waited, sitting silently in his den for a long while. He tensed whenever the sounds grew closer, but none of the twolegs came to his den. He wished for them to leave, his stomach ached for food and he wanted to get out and stretch his legs. He kept a close eye on the sky, watching the sun slowly fall and yet the twolegs remained. Soon the sounds of the kits playing in water stopped, but he could still hear them.

Crowpaw looked out the cave entrance once more, dusk was upon the forest and the twolegs were now sitting on strange things made from colorful pelts. Crowpaw's jaw dropped when he saw that they were around a small fire. Twolegs are so stupid! They're going to burn down the forest!

The twolegs didn't seem scared of the fire, however. They held out sticks with white things on the end of them, laughing and pointing at the fire whenever one of the white things would fall off. They would also eat the white things, Crowpaw felt himself nearly gag at the sight of them. They looked mushy and sticky, he had no idea what they could be and he had no intention of finding out.

Crowpaw slipped back into the den, seeing the faint glow of the fire and the water's surface. He laid down, listening to the twolegs and praying to StarClan that they wouldn't stay for much longer.

He was nearly asleep when he heard shuffling sounds and the twolegs talking louder. He lifted his head and looked outside. The twolegs were gathering up their strange nests and walking back towards the twolegplace. Crowpaw waited for a long while, waiting for them to come back but they never did.

Finally, he crept out of his den and across the river. The area reeked of twolegs and fire, he looked at where they had their small fire and made sure it wasn't still burning. He wrinkled his nose and moved deeper into the forest. He was a little nervous to be hunting at night, but he would stay on high alert.

He sniffed the air, finally far enough away from the river to smell something other twolegs and fire. He quickly caught the scent of mouse and tracked it down. The mouse was hiding in a patch of ferns, but visible enough for Crowpaw. He crouched down and quickly attacked, killing his prey with ease. As he killed it he heard a haunting sound above him, nearly causing him to jump out of his own fur.

He looked up, seeing glittering eyes in the tree above. He narrowed his eyes, able to make out the shape of an owl. His fur stood on edge for a second before he realized the owl wasn't that big, and wouldn't be able to do a thing to him. It would want the mouse that he just caught, however. He ate the prey quickly before the owl could react and started to make his way back to his den.

The rancid scent of fire was still heavy in the air near his, but he would have to deal with it for now. He stopped to take a quick drink from the river before going back to his den and laying down in his nest. Most of his days were like this, hunting and resting but he didn't have much else to do. At least he didn't spend most days trapped in his nest because twolegs decided to light fires and play in the river. He couldn't help but worry that they would keep coming back, and if that happened, he would have to find a new place to live. He couldn't risk one of them finding him or bringing a dog.

Crowpaw would wait and see what happened, seeing if any twolegs would return and then he would decide if he would stay or leave. For now, he just wanted peace, dozing off to the sound of the river outside of his den and dreaming of hunting with his father.