Dark Shadows Chapter 2

Prey
Edited By: Cerise

Ivytail woke up to the dazzling sunlight. It was almost sunhigh. She quickly scrambled out from her new nest in the Warriors' Den and headed out into the clearing. The sand was lush and warm beneath her pads as she made her way towards Skybreeze, who was sorting out the sunhigh patrols.

"Can I join?" She asked Porpoiseshell leading a hunting patrol. "Sure," the tom meowed and gestured for her to fall in line. Ivytail spotted Moonpaw and stepped next to her. "So, how was the vigil?" Moonpaw teased. Ivytail grimaced at the thought of her embarrassing mistake. "Not to bad," she told Moonpaw and quickly fell silent as Skybreeze assigned locations." Head over to Greenrocks," the deputy decided, "It's shaded so more prey would come out as compared to other spots."

The patrol exited the Fern Entrance and into the shady forest, which was almost cooling after experiencing the blistering heat out on the beach. "Hey! Wait for me!" Abruptly, a yowl sounded from behind them. Ivytail spun around and saw Darkstream padding rapidly towards them. Great, she groaned inwardly, What's he doing here? Trying not to feel annoyed, Ivytail stormed on forward.

The sunlight filtered down on the heavy rock boulders, the light tinted green from the canopy of leaves, thus earning the boulders the name of Greenrocks. "Let's split up," Porpoiseshell stopped and meowed, "It would be more effective that way. Shadowscar and Gullpaw, take the left boulders. Ivytail and Darkstream take the right. Moonpaw and I'll skirt around the edges." Ivytail sighed; guess she could not get rid of Darkstream once and for all. Besides, she though, even though I'm a Warrior, I still have a lot to learn.

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Ivytail crouched down, gaze intent on the squirrel on the thick root of the tree. She moved forward silently, her paws gliding on the forest ground. She stopped, one mouse-length from her prey and sprang. The squirrel did not even know what hit it. It was dead the second it came in contact with Ivytail. "Nice catch." Ivytail whipped around and saw Darkstream carrying a mouse in his jaws. "Right," she mumbled and dug out a hole in the ground, dropping the two fresh-kill inside. "Let's go look for more," Ivytail bounded away. She leapt upon one of the great boulders and scented the air. The smell of a finch greeted her nose and Ivytail trailed the scent to the very base of a boulder. Something was wrong...there was no bird in sight.

"Ivytail?" Ivytail unsheathed her claws, hackles rising in alarm. "Ugh!" she growled, "You got to stop keep scaring me like that!" Darkstream twitched his whiskers in amusment, "Sorry!"

"What are you looking at anyway?" he asked. Ivytail frowned and turned her attention back to the base of the rock. "There's something-" she broke off and pushed the thick grass aside. She gasped. Lying there was the remains of a finch, half-eaten . Thee first thought that flashed across her mind was that the warrior code had been broken.

How could a DawnClan cat have been so selfish to eat before feeding the elders and queens? And how could they have wasted the fresh-kill too? But if it hadn't been a DawnClan cat, then some cat must have trespassed into our Clan!

Ivytail's head was swirling with confusion. She turned to Darkstream, hoping for guidance, and saw that his face was frozen solid with horror. Ivytail was surprised; why was Darkstream looking so frightened? She wondered whether Darkstream's shock came from the thought of Clan cat breaking two rules of the Warrior code. Or maybe he was worried about trespassers? It didn't seem likely. Darkstream was a loyal cat but he was pretty loose on the code himself, sometimes. He was too, courageous, braver than most Warriors, with excellent fighting skills, so a rogue or loner was nothing he could not handle. And the look on his face suggested more than just shock.

Darkstream shook his head, as if trying to clear his mind from the horror and snapped back into action. "We got to report this to Dawnstar," he meowed in a strained voice. Ivytail nodded. "Go," Darkstream ordered her, "I'll tell the others where you've gone."

Ivytail complied; it was the first time she followed Darkstream's orders without objection. If this trespasser could cause the bravest Warrior in DawnClan this much fear, it was something Dawnstar better know about, at once.