Frosty Shadows



“Tigerkit, stop attacking Cedarclaw’s tail this instant!” Birdfall meowed sharply at her kit. Tigerkit, who was pretending his father’s tail was a vicious snake trying to eat him, looked up at Birdfall’s stern face and then reluctantly let go of the tail and mewed an apology to Cedarclaw. Cedarclaw flicked his ears good-naturedly and purred, “Kits will be kits and neither us nor StarClan can change that.” Birdfall growled something incomprehensible and then, in a louder voice, meowed, “Well, we missed the leader’s report and now we don’t know what we’re going to do about ShadowClan’s recent invasion.” Cedarclaw replied, “Streamstar told Ravenflight, the deputy, to keep a sharp lookout and to make sure no cat goes to the ShadowClan border alone,” Tigerkit got a steely look in his ice-blue eyes and mewed loudly, “When I’m a warrior, I’ll make sure that no ShadowClan cat comes to our border without losing some fur!”

Streamstar, on the Highrock, suddenly broke off and jumped off his perch and stepped toward Tigerkit until he was directly in front of the almost-5-moon kit and let out such a loud mroww of amusement that most of the elders jumped. “You have spirit, Tigerkit. Maybe, when your apprenticeship comes, I’ll give you to a strong warrior who will handle that spirit and concentrate it into achieving that goal,” Then, in a louder voice, Streamstar said, “Let this kit be an example to all of my warriors to not lose faith in the emerging battle against ShadowClan.” Cedarclaw looked down at his kit, eyes shining with pride at the bravery and ambition of Tigerkit. Birdfall, on the other hand, looked worried. Tigerkit noticed his mother’s face and tried to block it out of his memory. Why would Birdfall be anxious about his boast?

 Just then, a wall of fur tackled Tigerkit from behind. Tigerkit turned; hackles raised and fur bristling, at his attacker, then relaxed as he realized that it was only his friend, Pinepaw. Pinepaw, just made an apprentice two sunrises ago, feigned terror at Tigerkit’s pose then mrowwed in amusement as Tigerkit bristled even further. “Hey, take it easy, I’m only joking!” Pinepaw mewed then ducked as Tigerkit’s paw batted at Pinepaw’s head. Tigerkit leaped onto Pinepaw’s back and then began scratching with burr-sharp claws until Pinepaw rolled onto his back, dislodging Tigerkit. Tigerkit stood, panting and growled in a fake-menacing voice, “If I were a real warrior, you’d get far worse injuries than those, ShadowClan scum!” then Pinepaw pounced and the two cats began rolling all over the clearing as warriors, queens, apprentices, and elders alike jumped out of the way of the rolling, screeching mass.

Finally, Tigerkit jumped up and forced down Pinepaw to his belly and caterwauled, “I am the victor! ThunderClan owns this side of the border!” Loud mews rumbled out of the mouths of the watching warriors, except for Pinepaw’s mentor, Forestheart. Forestheart looked down at her apprentice, whose fur was sticking up in tufts and covered in dust. Seeing Pinepaw’s funny-looking appearance made Forestheart’s mouth twitch, then she mrowwed loudly and everyone joined in, including Pinepaw. Tigerkit looked proudly at his friend and felt a twinge of excitement. Soon, I will be an apprentice too, and then we both can train together, thought Tigerkit. He couldn’t wait!