『Dark Dreams ~ Chapter 6』 BLOOD WARNING (on the cover) "You're good at fishing," Coyotepaw said. "You're a RiverClan cat at heart." Dreampaw grew warm. "Thanks," she mumbled around her fish. "Impressive catch!" agreed Gingerpaw. "You're good." Dreampaw smiled at her friend. "Let's put it on the prey pile now." Gingerpaw giggled. "Good idea!" she agreed. "Race you there!" She took off, with Dreampaw and Coyotepaw right behind her. Dreampaw slipped in a puddle and fell flat on her face. "Oh…" she groaned. "Are you okay?" Coyotepaw halted to check on her. "Yeah. But my fish got all muddy," she moaned. "What will I do now?" "I'm sorry…" Coyotepaw sympathized. "You can take my fish. I'll catch another for myself." "Thanks, but that's not fair," Dreampaw sighed. "I'll catch another fish." She went back to the river. "Wait," said Coyotepaw. She instinctively stopped. "What if you just turn it in as it is? The truth is good-" "I'm not catching to show off. I'm catching for the Clan to eat," Dreampaw snapped. "They won't eat a dirty fish." She set off toward the river, angry at Coyotepaw. How could the cat she had loved betray her and not understand her loyalty to RiverClan? Maybe she had been wrong about him. Maybe he was a traitor as gross as the muddy fish had been. She crouched upon the stone, keeping her shadow off the water. She spotted a shiny fish. She paused. Then she lunged at the fish. She missed. She flexed her claws. It felt scratchy on the stone, but she didn't care. That Coyotepaw! It was his fault! No, it was Gingerpaw's! She had challenged her to race in the first place. She stormed back so angrily she thought they could see a tornado over her head. "What's wrong?" asked Coyotepaw. "Lost your fish?" "Foxheart!" shouted Dreampaw, claws extended. She swiped Coyotepaw's face. "I dropped my fish in the mud and you thought I couldn't catch it!" Coyotepaw gasped, wiping blood from his face. "What?" Dreampaw flew at him, knocking him backward. "Disloyal traitor!" she spat. "I can't believe you'd betray RiverClan like this!" "What's going on?" gasped Gingerpaw. She had spotted the wound crossing Coyotepaw's angry face. "This foxheart," snapped Coyotepaw, glaring at Dreampaw, who looked just as furious, "tried to murder me because she ccouldn't catch a fish-" "I did catch a fish!" argued Dreampaw. "He was right there! I dropped it in a muddy puddle and now he's sneering at me because I'm too loyal to feed RiverClan a muddy fish." "I hope you get kicked out of RiverClan," growled Coyotepaw. The two apprentices stared at each other, tension crackling in the air. Finally, Dreampaw said, "Fine. I will leave. If that's how O GREAT COYOTEPAW likes it." Coyotepaw growled and Dreampaw left. She leaped into the stream. "Dreampaw?" called Lunarmoon. "Where are you going?" "Nobody wants me," sobbed Dreampaw, tears falling into the river. "That's not true," Lunarmoon said gently. "What makes you think that?" "Brightstar only mentors me to keep an eye on me. Coyotepaw told me to leave. And…" Dreampaw didn't finish. "StarClan only wants me because I'm part of a prophecy. Otherwise they wouldn't mind if I died, right now, right here!" Lunarmoon's eyes softened. "Maybe Coyotepaw's not the right cat for you. Brightstar's right to be wary of an ex-ThunderClan cat." "Maybe," added Dreampaw, "Coyotepaw's a traitor." Next: Previous: First:
