Chapter 10: Secret
"Hey, Sandpaw! Wait up!"
Sandpaw wheeled around and waited for Firepaw. In her eagerness to begin their first hunt together since he was injured, she had bounded out of the camp full speed, forgetting Firepaw's still healing leg. Though he could walk and run, Yellowfang said his leg would never recover enough to be able to sprint as fast as Sandpaw. Sandpaw didn't mind, though. She would slow her pace to match his, even if it was as slow as a snail's.
Firepaw emerged from the gorse tunnel a second later. He had a slight limp, but there was no other evidence of his injuries besides a small scar along his side where there was no fur.
"I thought you'd left me behind!" Firepaw meowed, faking a hurt expression.
Sandpaw purred and went over to rub herself against him. "No way," she said. "I would never leave you behind."
Firepaw licked her cheek. "I know."
They started off into the forest in a random direction. Soon, they scented a sparrow at the same time. Sandpaw nodded for Firepaw to go ahead. He slowly stalked forward, silent as ever. He disappeared behind a bush, and, a second later, a bird's screech rang through the forest, but was quickly cut off. Firepaw reappeared with the sparrow in his jaws.
"Great job!" Sandpaw exclaimed, exuberant. She had not expected him to do so well so soon.
"Thanks," Firepaw said, setting the sparrow down. "I didn't even notice my leg when I crouched down and stalked it."
"Well, that's good. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to hunt anymore. I thought you might scare all the animals away!" Sandpaw teased.
Firepaw laughed. "We'll come and get this later," he said, scraping some dirt over his catch. "I want to show you something."
"What is it?" Sandpaw asked. She had no idea what it could be.
"You'll see." Firepaw led the way at a brisk pace. After a while, it seemed to Sandpaw like they'd been walking forever.
"How much farther is it?" she asked impatiently.
"Not far now," Firepaw said without looking at her.
They had started their hunt late and, by this time, the sun was starting to set. Sandpaw worried that they wouldn't be back to camp by nightfall. But just as she was about to say that they had better head back, Firepaw stopped. She looked around, but didn't see anything unusual. He went over to a normal-looking rock and examined it.
"What are you doing?" Sandpaw asked, perplexed.
Firepaw looked back at her, amusement in his liquid green eyes. "I'm just checking to see if this is the right rock."
"The right rock?" Sandpaw repeated, still just as confused. Firepaw beckoned for her to come over there with his tail. She padded over, looking at the rock curiously.
"See the indentations? There are four in a row," Firepaw mewed, pointing to the small dips in the rock with his paw.
Sandpaw looked at him, incredulous. "This is what you wanted to show me?"
Firepaw laughed loudly. "No. This is what I wanted to show you," he said, shoving aside a large clump of ferns next to the rock.
A small meadow was on the other side, invisible behind the ferns. As Sandpaw walked into the clearing, with Firepaw following, she thought it was just about the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
Colorful wildflowers and plants grew all around, taking advantage of the last rays of the setting sun. In the center was a little pool of water. Sandpaw went and sat next to it, and Firepaw sat beside her. The sunlight shone off the water, shimmering and sparkling.
"It's so beautiful," she murmured, mesmerized.
"Yes," Firepaw agreed, scooting closer to her. "I discovered this place on a solitary hunting trip. It's completely surrounded be tall ferns, totally hidden from view. But I'm still surprised nobody has found it yet."
"Maybe someone has, but they just didn't tell anyone," Sandpaw meowed, not taking her eyes away from the pool. She could understand why someone would want to keep this place a secret.
"Maybe," Firepaw replied. "But I think we should consider this our secret place."
Sandpaw purred, pressing her muzzle to his and licking his ear.
They sat there for a while, just glad for each other's company. A sudden wave of drowsiness caused Sandpaw to look at the sky. She realized with a start that the moon had taken the place of the sun. The sunlight in the water had been replaced with moonlight and a few glittering stars. She hadn't even noticed!
"Firepaw!" she yelled, jumping up and breaking the long silence. "The clan is going to be worried sick!"
Firepaw didn't seem alarmed, though. "It's okay, Sandpaw. I told Bluestar we wouldn't be back until after sunrise."
"And she didn't mind?" she said, still unnerved.
"Not at all," he assured her.
"Oh," Sandpaw said, curling up against him.
Firepaw licked the top of her head. "I love you," he purred.
"I love you, too," Sandpaw said, thoroughly content. Pretty soon they both fell asleep.
And they stayed there in their secret clearing until the sun began to rise, and the sunlight replaced the moonlight and the stars, and the birds started to sing. And then Sandpaw and Firepaw headed back to camp, tails entwined, where curious faces met them, asking them where they had been all night. But they would never tell.
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!
Oh my goodness. I can't believe how long it has been since I updated. I am so sorry. I went to a camp, then on vacation, then to another camp. I had absolutely no time to do anything. Okay, enough of that. Good news: I finally updated. Yay! Bad news: This is it. This is the last chapter "Love for a Kittypet." I truly hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed. I really appreciate your support. And I definitely did not expect this much feedback for my third story. Please recommend this to your friends. And I am taking a writing class in school, so keep a lookout for more stories from me on Fanfiction and Fictionpress. I have the same pen name on Fictionpress. So, thanks again, and adios!