•:･ﾟ:✧･ﾟJourney of the Night Chapter 4･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ:•

Instructions

Chapter 4: The Whispers of the Deep The moon was a thin, silver sliver (gosh that's hard to say XD)—a cat’s claw hanging over the Ancient Grove. To any other apprentice, the forest at night would have been a terrifying wall of blackness, but to Nightpaw, the world was alive with a violet, electric hum.(spookyyy >:3) Duskwatcher led the way, his charcoal fur merging with the shadows until only the rhythmic thump-thump of his heart, (thump thumpy) mirrored by the pulsing star on Nightpaw’s shoulder, told her where he was. They weren't hunting; they were patrolling the border of the Great Ravine, (THE GREAT RAVINE!!)the jagged scar in the earth that separated StarlingClan from the tunnel-dwellers of HollowClan. "Watch your paws," Duskwatcher rumbled, his voice a low vibration. "The shale is loose here. If you fall, the river at the bottom doesn't care if you have stars on your skin." Nightpaw nodded, her silver eyes scanning the darkness. Suddenly, a sharp, cold prickle erupted on her tail. It wasn't the steady hum of Duskwatcher or the soft glow of a nearby sleeping squirrel. This was jagged. It felt like a thorn being dragged across her skin. She froze. On the tip of her tail, a new white dot had appeared, but it wasn't silver—it was a sickly, pale yellow. "Duskwatcher," she whispered, her fur bristling. "Someone is watching us. Not from our side. From the Deep." Duskwatcher dropped into a crouch, his amber eyes narrowing as he peered over the edge of the ravine into the abyss. "I don't smell anything but wet stone and old moss." "I don't smell them either," Nightpaw said, her voice trembling. "I feel them. On my tail. It's... it’s cold. Like a dead leaf." She followed the pull of the yellow spark. Her gaze locked onto a cluster of jagged rocks fifty paces down the ravine wall. At first, there was nothing. Then, a pair of pale, slit-pupil eyes blinked back at her. A cat stepped out from a crevice. He was spindly and long-limbed, his fur a patchy, soot-colored brown that looked like it had been rubbed in cave dust. He moved with a strange, jerky grace, his claws clicking against the stone.. "So, the rumors are true," the stranger hissed. His voice sounded like gravel sliding down a slope. "StarlingClan has found a piece of the sky and forced it into a kit's skin." "Spiderpaw," Duskwatcher growled, stepping in front of Nightpaw. "You are far from your tunnels. This ledge belongs to the trees, not the rocks." The apprentice from HollowClan, Spiderpaw, didn't look at Duskwatcher. He stared intently at Nightpaw, his gaze raking over her purple fur and the glowing dots that illuminated the moss around her. "Does it hurt?" Spiderpaw asked, a cruel smile curling his lip. "To carry the lives of others? I can see my father’s star on your neck, little ghost. It flickers every time he coughs in the dark. How does it feel to hold his breath in your fur?" Nightpaw flinched. She looked at the dot on her neck—the one that had always felt heavy and damp. She realized with a jolt of horror that it was linked to the HollowClan leader. "I don't want it," she whispered. "I didn't ask for this." "Ask or not, you are a thief," Spiderpaw spat, his tail lashing. "My Clan believes you are stealing our luck. That every time a star appears on you, one of our warriors grows weaker. My father says you are a parasite, Nightpaw. A purple tick feeding on the souls of the forest." "Enough!" Duskwatcher’s bark echoed through the ravine. He unsheathed a single, curved claw. "Go back to your holes, Spiderpaw. Tell your father that Nightpaw is a warrior of StarlingClan, and if he wants to 'reclaim' his stars, he’ll have to go through me first." Spiderpaw let out a dry, wheezing laugh. He began to back away into the shadows of the crevice, but his eyes never left Nightpaw’s. "The moon will fade, Ghost-Cat," he hissed. "And when the Great Darkness comes, we will see if your stars can save you from the hunger of the Deep. I’m going to enjoy watching your coat go black." As he vanished, the yellow spark on Nightpaw’s tail didn't disappear. It settled into a cold, permanent ache. Nightpaw sat down, her legs shaking. The violet glow of her fur seemed dimmer, shadowed by the weight of Spiderpaw’s words. "Duskwatcher... am I a thief? Am I hurting them?" Duskwatcher turned to her, his expression uncharacteristically soft. He reached out and touched his nose to the pulsing star on her shoulder—the one that represented his own life. "Look at this spark, Nightpaw," he said firmly. "Does it feel stolen? Does it feel like I am weaker because you carry it?" Nightpaw closed her eyes, focusing on the warmth of the dot. It felt strong. It felt loyal. It felt like the sun on a winter morning. "No," she breathed. "It feels like... a promise." "Then believe the promise, not the spider," Duskwatcher said, turning back toward the camp. "He fears you because you see the truth. And in the dark, the truth is the only thing more dangerous than a claw." end of chapter 4