p style="text-align: center;" Chapter 1/p
p style="text-align: left;"Thunderpaw realized his mentor, Sootstem, was finally asleep in her moss bedding so that he could see Ivypaw. The she cat didn't seem very pretty to other cats, but to Thunderpaw, she was gorgeous. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The tortoiseshell tom was caught off guard as his sisters, both calico cats, crashed into him, and the 3 all fell onto the damp grass. Dirt was sprayed into the air. "Oh! We're so sorry. We were just going to our nests after picking daisies." Webpaw mewed after shaking her head. Mottlepaw shook herself before getting up and nodding in pity and sorrow./p
p style="text-align: left;"The 2 she cats quickly padded off, licking their fur every few seconds to clean the dirt off of their pelts and chest fur. Thunderpaw sighed of relief. He started to slowly pad out of camp, and then start to speed up until he began to sprint./p
p style="text-align: left;"Trees were swaying around in the breeze, a single green leaf landing on Thunderpaw's slightly scarred nose. He sneezed, and the leaf was thrown off, landing on the soft, lively grass. The tortoiseshell tom slowed down, his legs slightly aching. Thunderpaw sighed. emI can't stop now. Ivypaw will be waiting for me. /em/p
p style="text-align: left;"Picking up on speed, an outline of a large nest began to appear in the distance. Thunderpaw let out a squeak of happiness and relief. He was finally there. Ivypaw's scent, that smelled so very sweet to him began to flow into his nose. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The she cat was jumping up and down, and he heard her yowl something about coming closer. Thunderpaw leaped forward, and landed in front of the brown she cat. Ivypaw's fur was pulled slightly backwards into the mild wind./p
p style="text-align: left;"The 2 nodded to each other in welcome, and they padded into the barn. emI can't believe this is happening.. /emThunderpaw sat down on a stack of hay, and the straw poked his hind legs and tail. Ivypaw seemed to have the same problem, as she was shifting her weight many times. Ivypaw heaved, her breath blowing Thunderpaw's face./p
p style="text-align: left;""Did anything happen today?" Thunderpaw asked, hoping to spark a conversation. Ivypaw nodded. "Yes. Our deputy, Mallowdust, was attacked by an AshClan cat named Hatchheart attacked him while Mallowdust was helping one of our warriors, Ebonywater get out of a hole he accidentally fell in. The evil she cat!" The brown she cat's eyes clouded with undisguised frustration. /p
p style="text-align: left;"Thunderpaw chuckled. "Well, Lizardsong started to quarrel with another one of our warriors, Aspeneye, and every cat was fighting until one of our senior warriors, Shrewthroat, stepped in. Eventually her mate, Pikefin stopped the fight as well. Plus, Jaggedear accidentally whacked Goldenmist with a stick when he was running around with it! It was hilarious." Ivypaw let out a mrrow of amusement. /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everything was so peaceful after that. The lovely she cat's gaze burned into Thunderpaw's fur, and his ears twitched. The tortoiseshell tom noticed that the sun was starting to peek through the curved hills. "I'm so sorry, I need to go. I'll see you at the gathering!" Thunderpaw smiled at Ivypaw before he bolted off back into the woods, blush splattering his face like loose soil. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The camp came into view, and Thunderpaw hoped no cat saw him. Mallowdust nodded to him, and the tortoiseshell apprentice dipped his head. Luckily his clan didn't seem to notice his long disappearance. emI just hope that Ivypaw loved doing that as much as I did./em/p
p style="text-align: left;"Thunderpaw realized his mentor, Sootstem, was finally asleep in her moss bedding so that he could see Ivypaw. The she cat didn't seem very pretty to other cats, but to Thunderpaw, she was gorgeous. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The tortoiseshell tom was caught off guard as his sisters, both calico cats, crashed into him, and the 3 all fell onto the damp grass. Dirt was sprayed into the air. "Oh! We're so sorry. We were just going to our nests after picking daisies." Webpaw mewed after shaking her head. Mottlepaw shook herself before getting up and nodding in pity and sorrow./p
p style="text-align: left;"The 2 she cats quickly padded off, licking their fur every few seconds to clean the dirt off of their pelts and chest fur. Thunderpaw sighed of relief. He started to slowly pad out of camp, and then start to speed up until he began to sprint./p
p style="text-align: left;"Trees were swaying around in the breeze, a single green leaf landing on Thunderpaw's slightly scarred nose. He sneezed, and the leaf was thrown off, landing on the soft, lively grass. The tortoiseshell tom slowed down, his legs slightly aching. Thunderpaw sighed. emI can't stop now. Ivypaw will be waiting for me. /em/p
p style="text-align: left;"Picking up on speed, an outline of a large nest began to appear in the distance. Thunderpaw let out a squeak of happiness and relief. He was finally there. Ivypaw's scent, that smelled so very sweet to him began to flow into his nose. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The she cat was jumping up and down, and he heard her yowl something about coming closer. Thunderpaw leaped forward, and landed in front of the brown she cat. Ivypaw's fur was pulled slightly backwards into the mild wind./p
p style="text-align: left;"The 2 nodded to each other in welcome, and they padded into the barn. emI can't believe this is happening.. /emThunderpaw sat down on a stack of hay, and the straw poked his hind legs and tail. Ivypaw seemed to have the same problem, as she was shifting her weight many times. Ivypaw heaved, her breath blowing Thunderpaw's face./p
p style="text-align: left;""Did anything happen today?" Thunderpaw asked, hoping to spark a conversation. Ivypaw nodded. "Yes. Our deputy, Mallowdust, was attacked by an AshClan cat named Hatchheart attacked him while Mallowdust was helping one of our warriors, Ebonywater get out of a hole he accidentally fell in. The evil she cat!" The brown she cat's eyes clouded with undisguised frustration. /p
p style="text-align: left;"Thunderpaw chuckled. "Well, Lizardsong started to quarrel with another one of our warriors, Aspeneye, and every cat was fighting until one of our senior warriors, Shrewthroat, stepped in. Eventually her mate, Pikefin stopped the fight as well. Plus, Jaggedear accidentally whacked Goldenmist with a stick when he was running around with it! It was hilarious." Ivypaw let out a mrrow of amusement. /p
p style="text-align: left;"Everything was so peaceful after that. The lovely she cat's gaze burned into Thunderpaw's fur, and his ears twitched. The tortoiseshell tom noticed that the sun was starting to peek through the curved hills. "I'm so sorry, I need to go. I'll see you at the gathering!" Thunderpaw smiled at Ivypaw before he bolted off back into the woods, blush splattering his face like loose soil. /p
p style="text-align: left;"The camp came into view, and Thunderpaw hoped no cat saw him. Mallowdust nodded to him, and the tortoiseshell apprentice dipped his head. Luckily his clan didn't seem to notice his long disappearance. emI just hope that Ivypaw loved doing that as much as I did./em/p
