Lurking Evil

Chapter 12

"Whisperpaw!" called a voice.

Whisperpaw rolled over, hardly hearing it.

"Whisperpaw!" It called again. "We're leaving!"

Whisperpaw yawned, then got up and stretched. "Leaving where?" she asked groggily. She wobbled over to the den entrance and saw Gravelpelt staring at her, looking annoyed.

"We're on the dawn patrol. Hurry up. The sun rose a while ago." Gravelpelt rolled his eyes.

Whisperpaw yawned again, yearning to fall back onto her soft nest, but she knew she couldn't. She shook her head of her sleepiness, turned to quickly to wash her flank, then stepped from the apprentices' den. It had been several days since the last snow storm, when Aspenleaf's kits had been born, and the snow had mostly melted. Whipserpaw yawned, then followed her mentor across the frosty clearing to Meadowheart and Eaglefeather, who were probably the rest of the dawn patrol. Eaglefeather stood right beside Meadowheart, glancing at her every few heartbeats.

Once they'd all reached the bramble barrier, Whisperpaw asked, "What about a meal?" and heard her stomach growl loudly.

Eaglefeather replied in a superior tone, "We need to get going. You can eat when we get back. Right Meadowheart?" he asked the tortoiseshell and white warrior.

"Uh, right," replied Meadowheart, blinking awkwardly. They padded out of camp, Eaglefeather walking right next to her, and their pelts accidentally brushed. Meadowheart pulled away and pretended to be watching a small raven as it hopped along the branches of a pine tree.

Whisperpaw glanced at her mentor, amused. But Gravelpelt was padding onward, focused on the patrol. His yellow eyes stared ahead as they crossed the stream, carefully scanning the forest.

Meadowheart stopped and sniffed the air. "I know we're not on a hunting patrol, but I smell a vole, and the Clan needs to be fed."

"That's a great idea," Eaglefeather agreed immediately. "I can catch it, if you want."

"Uh, okay." Meadowheart glanced curiously at Eaglefeather.

Eaglefeather padded away towards the prey-scent and suddenly sprang through the frosted bracken, disappearing behind a patch of briar, and a small growl filled the air as his fur caught on the thorns. Meadowheart watched in concern. Then Eaglefeather appeared through the bracken again, carrying the dead vole in his jaws. "There," he meowed in a muffled voice. He quickly buried it in the frozen ground by the patch of ferns. When he finished, he turned back to the patrol and asked, "Shall we continue?"

Meadowheart flicked her ears and nodded, her amber eyes narrowed against the cold. Whisperpaw turned and followed her mentor and the rest of the patrol through the territory once more, Meadowheart in the lead and Eaglefeather close behind her.

Whisperpaw's mind wandered as she trudged through the frosted forest. Yesterday, on a hunting patrol, Echopaw had told Whisperpaw about a pair of big black eyes she'd seen, twice, and that Bronzepelt hadn't been able to see them. Whisperpaw had been shocked, and even more shocked that she hadn't seen anything like that or received a sign from StarClan lately. No matter how much Echopaw had told her she would probably get a sign too, Whisperpaw couldn't help but wonder: why had StarClan sent a sign to Echopaw and not Whisperpaw? It wasn't that Whisperpaw thought it was unfair, she just was curious why StarClan chose to show Echopaw and not Whisperpaw. Okay, maybe she was a bit jealous. But Whisperpaw didn't let this show; there were more important things to worry about than that.

"Oh great," Whisperpaw heard Gravelpelt mutter, dragging her mind back to the patrol. She followed her mentor's gaze across the half-frozen river to a DayClan patrol, but to Whisperpaw's relief, they were on the correct side of the border. Whisperpaw saw a pure white she-cat that she recognized as Frostwhisker; Aspenleaf had mentioned that she'd been on the patrol that had wounded her.