The Battle of the Grove Part one
by Audrey Smith
A dark brown cat was slowly closing the gap between her and her prey; a plump water vole. Her muscles rippled under her sleek fur, and her ivy green eyes were slanted in concentration. "Hey, Robinpad!" A voice shattered the scene. Robinpad awoke with a start. "Shadesparrow!" Robinpad exclaimed crossly. "I was having the most wonderful dream." "Sorry," Shadesparrow's cheerful face didn't look at all sorry. "I thought you might want to go hunting with me and Ravenstripe." "Alright," it had been a long time since she had gone hunting with her sister and brother. "As long as were not hunting by the creek." "Humph," Shadesparrow fought to keep her face neutral, but her eyes had already flooded with embarrassment. Last time they had hunted by the creek, Shadesparrow had leaped after a pigeon-right over the creek. Rabbitleaf, the deputy, had to leap in after her to pull her out. "Are you two just going to sit there gossiping all day?" Ravenstripe's teasing mew sounded right behind Shadesparrow, and she jumped in shock. Robinpad burst out laughing, but Shadesparrow was not amused. "Don't do that," she hissed at him. "Alright, I won't," Ravenstripe's eyes glittered in laughter. "It"s too easy!" "Come on, let's go," Robinpad swerved around her bickering siblings, and raced to the bramble tunnel. "Hey, wait!" Nightkit and Lark-kit tumbled out of the nursery to stumble over to Robinpad. "Where are you going?" "I'm going hunting," she told them. this was the first time she had spoken to the kits-they had only been born a quarter moon ago. "Nightkit! Lark-kit! What are you doing out of the nursery?" Whisper-ray, their mother, was padding over to them. "We are going h-hunting with R-robinpad," Lark-kit answered her mother, stumbling over the big words. Whisper-ray glanced at Robinpad. Robinpad shook her head. She didn't know where the kits had gotten that idea. "Why don't you pretend that you are warriors of LionClan or TigerClan?" Robinpad asked them. That had been her favorite game when she was a kit. "Okay!" Nightkkit pounced on Lark-kit, announcing, "Grrr! I'm the leader of LionClan! "Oh yeah? I'm the leader of TigerClan!" Lark-kit retorted, pummeling Nightkit's belly with her hind legs. Robinpad watched, amused, until Shadesparrow and Ravenstripe walked up to her. "Hey, I have an idea!" Announced Ravenstripe. "Why don't we have a hunting competition? Whoever catches the most prey wins!" "Okay," agreed Robinpad. "But you're going to wish you hadn't. I gonna crush you like bugs!" "No way!" Countered Shadesparrow. "I'll win!" "We'll see," purred Ravenstripe. They exited camp, still arguing about their contest, when Robinpad collapsed, her legs sprawling all over. "Oh... Where am I?" Robinpad opened her eyes to find herself in a mossy clearing. A silver tom stood over her. "Don't worry," he told her. "You're safe here... but no where else." (To be continued in The Battle of the Grove Part Two) Audrey |