Chapter 5 

Lightningpaw 

“Wake up, you sleepy furball!” Lightningpaw opened her eyes to see Moonpaw prodding her in the ribs. “Ugh, stop it, im coming!” She yawned. She looked around the den, seeing nobody but them. She got up and trotted into the center of the camp. She saw Goldenfur waiting for her with Flowershine and Blossompaw. She sat down beside Goldenfur and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Rosepaw, who rushed over to them. “Wait, can i come? You're going to the empty farm, right? We're low on catmint, and there’s something growing there. I didn’t want to go alone, and asked Novastar, she said you were going!” she said enthusiastically. Lightningpaw could feel she wanted her to go with them, but she didn’t dare to speak, because of the argument she had with her mentor the night before. Luckily, Flowershine said: “okay, i guess you can come. We certainly can’t risk any cat getting sick, and it’ll probably not hurt to sharpen your fighting and tracking skills” Lightningpaw exchanged a happy glance with Rosepaw, before letting out a mew of delight. They then went toward the empty farm, trotting happily through the forest. When they arrived at the farm, Lightningpaw noticed Blossompaw looking a bit uneasy. Blossompaw opened her mouth to taste the air and flinched. Lightningpaw scented the air too, and she let out a gasp of disbelief when she noticed it. It was the scent of dogs. “G- Goldenfur!? I.... think there’s dogs here...” Lightningpaw gulped. “You’re right!” Flowershine hissed. “Quick, get up in a tree, it must be nearby!” Right as she said this, they all heard barking coming from a short distance away. Lightningpaw and Blossompaw rushed up in the nearest tree, with their mentors hard on their paws. As soon as Lightningpaw was up in the tree and had turned around, she saw the dog, crashing loudly though the ferns. A few seconds later, it reached them, and jumped upwards, clenching its jaws around Goldenfur’s tail. She yowled in agony, and the dog ripped her down from the tree. Suddenly, Flowershine jumped down after them, and jumped onto the dog’s back. The dog tried desperately to shake her off, and let go of Goldenfur, twisted its head around, and snapped its jaws at Flowershine. Flowershine dodged, jumped off, and sprinted away. “Goldenfur, no!” Lightningpaw yowled, but it was too late. The dog quickly grabbed Goldenfur’s limp body, and ran off. Lightningpaw just stared, feeling as if her body was burning from the inside. “She- she’s dead...” Lightningpaw heard rosepaw’s muffled mew from beneath them. She hadnt been able to climb up the tree, so she had hidden inside a hollow tree trunk. Lightningpaw didnt want to acknowledge the loss of her mentor, she was traumatized. Flowershine also just sat there, gazing into nothing, her eyes filled with grief. “Let’s go back.” She said, her expression impossible to read.