Darkstorm's Code✔️

Chapter Three

Darkpaw sighed at the news. She had no interest in going to a gathering with Shadepaw if they were both unhappy. Only she, Shadepaw, Tallmeadow, Fernstar and Barkpool had been allowed to go.  She sighed again; why couldn't Fernstar just let them be? The ShadowClan leader had pushed her to be the perfect apprentice, dishing out prey and battling fiercely, but she hadn't let Darkpaw just live for one moment. She frowned. She had been Darkpaw for a moon, but she hadn't been happy for one second. Wasn't being an apprentice supposed to be great, even with the responsibilities such as collecting moss? Or was she just mistaken? "Look," she murmured to Shadepaw.

"It's the island," he mewed. "I wish I could be there as a medicine cat apprentice." Darkpaw paused, not knowing what to say, when a question popped up into her mind.

"Er... We have to get to the island..." 

"There's a tree," Barkpool mewed. "We walk across it. Remember to dig your claws in deep; sometimes it's slippery."

"Okay," Darkpaw responded. Shadepaw also nodded, unsheathing her claws. When Darkpaw caught sight of the tree, she gasped. "How many other cats are there?" she asked.

"A lot, I'm guessing," Shadepaw snorted. Darkpaw ran onto the fallen tree and dug her claws in, slowly making her way across it. Shadepaw followed, right behind her. He suddenly slipped and Darkpaw instinctively grabbed him by the scruff, heaving to pull him up. As he collapsed on the log, she began to drag him behind her.

"It's alright. Thanks, though," Shadepaw muttered. They reached the island soon after that, following the rest of their Clan.  They froze as they spotted all the other cats, bundled together, chatting. "I'm going to talk to the medicine cat apprentices," Shadepaw decided. "I can gather knowledge and impress Fernstar. And then she might let me be one of them." He trodded off towards Tallmeadow, and Darkpaw went towards a group of apprentices.

"Hi," she mewed. "I'm Darkpaw."

"Hi! I'm Bushpaw! We're from ThunderClan! This is Slatepaw, Stonepaw and Spotpaw! Where are you fr-"

"ShadowClan?" Slatepaw guessed. "Sneaks. Hmmph." Darkpaw's jaw dropped. 

"What?!" She snarled and bunched her shoulders, walking towards another apprentice. "Hello," she mewed. This apprentice was a handsome silver-grey colour, and had dark blue eyes just like her littermate.

"Hi. I'm Arrowpaw," the apprentice muttered. "RiverClan. You?"

"ShadowClan. I'm Darkpaw," 

"Nice name," Arrowpaw commented. "Mine's as good as kittypet food. First time?" It took Darkpaw a second to realize what he was talking about.

"To a gathering? Yeah. Is it yours?" He's pretty confident-looking, she mused slowly. It's probably not. She flicked her ears in interest.

"Nah. I've been here twice. This is my second time. I've been an apprentice for two moons; Coralstar must like me to let me here twice in a row. There aren't a lot of ShadowClan cats," he muttered, observing her Clan.

"Yeah. Our last elder died from greencough a moon ago, and Fernstar definitely doesn't want any medicine cats around." She rolled her eyes. "Tallmeadow literally said that my littermate had a future as a medicine cat, and she ignored her! And now our crazy leader is my mentor. Who's yours?" The RiverClan tom paused, as if wondering if he should announce the name of his mentor or not. Seriously, I'm not trying to attack any Clan! Darkpaw thought, annoyed.

"Mosstail." The black she-cat paused.

"You're not very talkative, are you?" she asked him. He snorted. 

"Well, if we knew each other, I would be."

"Why were you named Arrowpaw?" Darkpaw tipped her head, aiming for a conversation with this seemingly nice tom. He flicked his ears down, showing them both ripped and looking like arrowheads. "Oh."

"They're speaking," Arrowpaw mewed. Darkpaw angled her ears to get a better hearing of the leaders.

"All is well in SkyClan," Rainstar yowled, shooting Fernstar a smug look and puffing out his chest in arrogance. Darkpaw held herself back from snapping something at him. "WindClan?"

"There's lots of prey despite leaf-bare. We are strong." Quickstar declared loudly, smirking slightly. "Unlike ShadowClan, it looks like." Darkpaw ignored this comment.

"We have lots of fish and our bellies are full. We are prepared to defend our territory, and we will let everyone know that they should not try to steal it." Arrowpaw puffed out his chest proudly and an orange cat began to speak.

"ThunderClan is powerful!" Strikestar mewed. "We have a new apprentice, Bushpaw." 

"Bushpaw! Bushpaw!" the cats cried in unison. All heads turned to Fernstar.

"We have two new apprentices, Shadepaw and Darkpaw. Yowltail is returning to her warrior duties." 

"Shadepaw! Darkpaw! Yowltail!" 

"However, there have been issues." Darkpaw tensed herself. "Tallmeadow thinks that Shadepaw should be a medicine cat, our elder is dead, prey is scarce, and monsters have been disturbing the prey." Darkpaw scowled. After the other Clans boasting, Fernstar was practically inviting them to attack. What was with her leader? Her fur bristled as she caught SkyClan's hostile gazes. If they attack us, they'll see that we'll beat them, no matter how weak we are! "That is all. ShadowClan, we will leave now." Darkpaw turned to Arrowpaw.

"See ya," she said. He nodded and they both padded off, going in their separate directions. 

She stumbled over a root, nearly at camp. "Fox dung!" An owl hooted overhead, and she scampered off. Why had she tripped? Usually she would never miss a loose rock or root; she always looked where she was heading! The forest seemed more ominous than usual as she ran through it. The wind in her fur made her fall once again. Ugh! Her ears pricked, knowing the gathering patrol was someone nearby. She hissed softly, seeing Fernstar through the dense green pines. Did everyone see me fall? Twice? She rolled her eyes. It was a simple mistake; she was overreacting. But as she joined the other cats, a question entered her mind.

I wonder why I was so distracted?

I think that this was a pretty successful chapter... It was the hardest so far. What about you guys? What do you think about Arrowpaw and Slatepaw all the others? Please comment.

-Shadowstorm