ThunderClan
Leader: Hazelstar - lithe pale brown tabby she-cat with a white chest
Deputy: Cinderflame - pale gray and white tom
Apprentice, Featherpaw
Medicine Cat: Swiftshade - black and grey tabby tom
Warriors: Volewhisker - dark gray tabby tom
Hareleap - ginger and brown tabby tom
Apprentice, Flamepaw
Birdwing - lithe pale brown she-cat
Owlclaw - dark brown and white tom
Stormshade - black and gray tom
Willowshade - gray and white she-cat with silver markings
Apprentice, Rosepaw
Nightstorm - black tom with green eyes
Mintshade - pale golden tabby she-cat
Sandstep - cream and yellowish she-cat
Apprentice, Cherrypaw
Poppynose - pale brown and golden tabby she-cat
Apprentice, Crowpaw
Sparrowclaw - dark brown and gray tabby tom
Apprentice, Splashpaw
Sageflight - cream she-cat with a white belly and chest
Pebblestripe - pale gray tom with darker markings
Apprentices: Cherrypaw - russet and white she-cat
Flamepaw - ginger tabby tom
Crowpaw - lithe black and with tom
Spalshpaw - stormy grey she-cat with darker markings
Featherpaw - silver tabby she-cat
Rosepaw - golden tabby she-cat with green eyes and white paws
Queens: Honeyblossom - golden tabby she-cat mother of Rowenkit (russet tabby tom), Shrewkit (golden and brown tom) and Fernkit (pale grey she-kit)
Elders: Silverheart - silver and white tabby she-cat with bright yellow eyes
"You're not good enough! Go cry in a corner, fleabag!" Flamekit snarled sticking his head into her face. "You're just a Dirt-pelt! You're worthless! No one likes you!" Rosekit shuddered at his words and pulled back, pressing herself against the curled stems of the bramble bushes. She curled herself into a tiny ball, her tiny spine pushed up wings instead the thorny branches. "That's what I thought." The ginger and white kit sneered.
"Dirt-pelt! Dirt-pelt! Stinky, stinky, dirt-pelt." Flamekit's little band of kits jeered. Rosekit wrapped her tail around her ears, trying to block out the other kit's insults. She felt tears form in the corners of her eyes.
"Oh, are you going to cry, dung-breath?" Flamekit smirked. "Well, we all know what we do to cry-kitties." Unseating his little claws Flamekit raked them down Rosekit's nose. Pain shot through her as she could see blood welling in the scratch on her nose. The other kits gathered around their ringleader, making a half circle around Flamekit and Rosekit.
"You're mother is a traitor who had kits with an outsider and that makes you the most worthless dirt-pelt of the all!" Flamekit went on. "You shouldn't be here. No one wants you here. You are just a burden to the clan!" The little tom snarled.
"Leave me alone!" Rosekit cried, pushing herself to her paws as tears streamed slowly down her face and fell gently on the soft grass underneath her golden paws.
"Oh, so the little kitty's got a temper?" Flamekit jeered as smudge smile on his finger face and his band of kits all laughed hysterically.
"I said, leave me alone!" Rosekit spat. Pushing past the ring of kits, she fled to the camp.
"You can run, but you can't hide!" Flamekit's voice drifted after her. "We will find you, you worthless piece of dung!" Tear and blood falling from her face, Rosekit dashed as fast as her little legs could carry her across the camp. She burst into the Elder's den and collapsed in a sobbing heap at the feet of her grandmother, Silverheart.
"Dear, what's wrong?" The old silver tabby she-cat asked worriedly, gently helping her grandkit to her feet. "Was it Flamekit and his band of bullies again?"
"Y-yes," Rosekit managed to stutter as Silverheart licked the tears from her eyes.
"Did he scratch you?" Silverheart asked, gazing at the scratch on Rosekit's nose. Rosekit nodded seriously.
"He needs to stop bullying you. I will talk to Birdwing about it and I will claw the little fiend myself if he doesn't stop." Silverheart said, her yellow eyes flashing with anger. Drawing Rosekit closer to her chest she asked, "I'll do that later, would you like a story?" Rosekit nodded again.
"Many moons ago," Silverheart began. "Lived the great leader, Firestar. He was known for many deeds but most of all because he had joined the clan as a kittypet and grew to become their leader. He was a great leader…"
. . .
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" Hazelstar's voice rang throughout the stone hollow as the cats of ThunderClan gathered below the Highledge. Nervousness swelled in Rosekit's chest as she stepped forward. Scars from Flamekit, now Flamepaw, crisscrossed her golden tabby pelt. Glancing behind her, her green eyes met Silverheart's bright yellow ones.
"You'll do great," Silverheart whispered encouragingly. Rosekit flashed her grandmother a grateful smile. The golden tabby she-cat turned and padded forward.
Hazelstar leaned down from the Highledge, her amber gaze on Rosekit. "Rosekit," The pale brown leader began. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rosepaw. Your mentor will be Willowshade, will pass down all she knows on to you." Hazelstar paused and with a flick of her tail, beckoned the gray tabby she-cat forward.
"Willowshade, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Grassleap, and you have shown yourself to be brave and thoughtful. You will be the mentor of Rosepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Hazelstar finished and Rosepaw turned to touch noses with her new mentor.
Willowshade's gaze was guarded as she touched noses with her apprentice. Rosepaw couldn't tell if she was pleased or disappointed at having a new apprentice. "I'll do my best," Rosepaw promised. Willowshade gave her a curt nod in reply and turned back to face the Highledge.
"Rosepaw! Rosepaw!" The golden she-cat turned in a circle, feeling disappointment sweep through her. Only a few cats in the entire clan we're cheering for her. She glanced at Silverheart and she could see that her grandmother also was disappointed.
Lifting her muzzle Silverheart yowled, "Rosepaw! Rosepaw!" Her voice seemed to pierce the fluffy white clouds that drifted by overhead. Rosepaw felt pride flood through her. I'm finally an apprentice! She gazed around at the cats around her. Most of the warriors and apprentices were cheering now along with Honeyblossom, the only queen now and her three moon-old kits, Rowenkit, Shrewkit, and Fernkit.
Flamepaw and his followers all new apprentices, Splashpaw, Crowpaw, Featherpaw, and Cherrypaw stood at the edge of the clearing, staring silently at the cheering cats. Dread filled Rosepaw as she realized that she would have to share a den with the five older apprentices again. When Flamepaw and Cherrypaw became apprentices, Crowpaw and Featherpaw had become nicer to Rosepaw because they were no longer hanging out with Flamepaw, who had duties to perform. Although, their sister, Splashpaw remained cold and haughty toward the younger she-cat. Now that they were back under the influence of Flamepaw, the siblings were just as mean as ever. Turning back to her cheering Clan, she allowed herself to be swallowed up by the crowd.
. . .
"Better!" Willowshade called. "Try again!" For the hundredth time that day, Rosepaw reared up onto her hind legs. Balancing unsteadily, she swiped one of her forepaws at an imaginary opponent's face. The impact of the swing through the golden tabby apprentice off balance and she dropped back down onto her four legs again, huffing frustratedly.
"Rosepaw, what have I taught you?" Willowshade asked, sounding exasperated.
That makes two of us, Rosepaw thought. Instead, she replied, "Make sure my weight is evenly distributed and don't put all of my power into my swing." She stated.
"And what were you doing wrong?" Willowshade asked pointedly.
Rosepaw sighed. "I leaned too far forward and put too much power into my swing."
Willowshade nodded grudgingly. "Good," she grunted. "At least some of my two moons of training you haven't been wasted. Try it again." Rosepaw sighed. The sun, just overhead, shone warmly on her back and her muscles ached painfully from practicing. With a deep breath, Rosepaw reared up again. Making sure her feet were wide enough apart, she sat back on her paws distributing her weight. Then she flashed out a forepaw across the air, pretending to slash at an opponent's ears. The swing was too powerful, though, losing her balance once again the young apprentice tumble to the ground.
"Is the little kitty having trouble?" Flamepaw's sneering voice cut through her ears as she heaved herself to her paws and shook the dust from her pelt. The ginger tom was padding across the clearing, his dusty brown tabby mentor, Hareleap close behind. "Maybe you should go back to camp and let the real warriors do the fighting." He smirked.
Rosepaw was about to retort when Willowshade cut in. "That's enough to Flamepaw!" She hissed. "I will not have you tease my apprentice like that! If you continue to keep it up you will find that you will be responsible for cleaning the elder's den and bringing them food." Rosepaw stared at her mentor is disbelief. Willowshade was normally wrapped up in her own life and had never stood up for anyone, let alone Rosepaw. Turning her gaze back to Flamepaw she was glad to see a shocked and hurt expression on his ginger face.
"Hareleap," Willowshade was saying. "You need to keep your apprentice under control."
The senior warrior looked appalled at Willowshade's order but had enough sense to only say, "Of course. I will from now on."
Willowshade turned to Rosepaw and beckoned to her with a flick of her tail, "Come on. You've practiced enough. Let's go back to camp." The mentor and apprentice headed slowly back to the ThunderClan camp.
. . .
"RiverClan is attacking!" a frightened voice cut across Rosepaw's consciousness. Her eyes snapped open and she was immediately awake. The golden she-cat leaped to her paws and she dashed out into the camp. Dark shapes of cats fought furiously in the camp. The other apprentices were already out of their nests. Rosepaw spotted Cherrypaw fighting side by side with Featherpaw and her mentor, Sandstep.
Rosepaw plunged into battle. Using the battle technics Willowshade had taught her she swiped at a ginger tom's ear. The tom wheeled around his ginger and white fur flashing in the moonlight and lunged at the smaller apprentice. Duck and twist! Willowshade's voice echoed in her ears. The golden apprentice twisted around, rolling onto her back and tumbled out of the way.
The ginger tom let out of a growl of frustration and bounded after her. Rosepaw sprang to her paws and they clashed, locked in battle. The tom flashed a paw at her shoulder and her skin stung as he made contact. Hissing with pain, the Rosepaw snarled and swung at her opponent's ear. The ginger tom dodged her blow by ducking his head and twisting away. Front paw strike! Willowshade's voice echoed in her ears again. The golden she-cat brought her front forepaw down on the enemy warrior's head. The tom howled in pain at her blow.
Glancing around her she got a view of the battle around her. RiverClan warriors were streaming into the ThunderClan camp. The ThunderClan cats struggle in the battle. Hazelstar fought a large gray longhaired RiverClan tom. Two ThunderClan warriors, Mintshade, and Owlclaw were fighting two RiverClan toms and a pretty brown apprentice. As she watched, Willowshade dashed through the battle and began to fight beside her fellow ThunderClan warriors side. Cinderflame struggled outside of the Nursery and Pebblestripe fell outside of the Warrior's den. Sageflight and Volewhisker of ThunderClan were defending the Elder's den against a wave of RiverClan warriors. As she watched, Silverheart slipped out of the den to help the warriors.
A clawing from the ginger and white tom snatched her attention back to her fight. She dodged another blow from her opponent and flashed out another paw. Blood welled on the tom's ear as she made contact. The ginger and white sprang at her, catching the golden and white she-cat by surprise. The RiverClan tom overpowered her and forced the ThunderClan apprentice to the ground pinning her. Rosepaw squirmed and struggled, but her attacker kept her firmly pinned there. Glancing around her she saw Silverheart struggling with a huge RiverClan cat. She needs help! I have to get over there.
Play dead! Her gray mentor's words shot through her mind. Rosepaw stopped struggling, pretending to give up. The RiverClan warrior relaxed his grip, which was exactly what Rosepaw was waiting for. With a powerful heave, she through her opponent off and dashed into the battle.
The battle around her seemed to slow as Rosepaw sprinted through the fighting cats. She caught a glimpse of Silverheart pinned beneath the enemy warrior's paws. The tom drew his lips back, baring yellow teeth. Then fast a snake leaned and sunk them into her grandmother's though. Silverheart struggled for a moment then lay still, her eyes closing. Rosepaw knew she was dead. "No!" cried the golden tabby she-cat. The apprentice pushed her way through the battling cats and buried her face in Silverheart's limp fur.
. . .
Rosepaw woke with a start, breathing heavily. Golden rays of the sun streamed into the Apprentice's den. It was passed dawn. She had a just dream, like every night for a moon now, about her grandmother's death. How she rushed across the camp and was unable to save her, no matter how hard she tried. It had been a moon since Silverheart's death, the only cat who cared about her and every night, Rosepaw watched her die over and over again.
She didn't remember much of the night, only soft voice and the soft touch of the cats who had to lead her away. She remembered lying the in the nursery, Honeyblossom grooming her gently and telling her that Silverheart was gone, and was in StarClan. Honeyblossom's three kits staring at her sadly and full of interest, like three little owls, for they only half understood what had happened. She remembered dashing out of the den again and seeing her clanmates preparing her grandmother for burial. Silverheart looked so peaceful like she had been merely sleeping. She had buried her face in Silverheart's fur and cried, cried, and cried. Why had her grandmother been taken away from her? The only cat who had taken care of Rosepaw believed in her and loved her.
Glancing around the she saw that the other apprentices were already awake, only Cherrypaw and Spalshpaw still remained in their nests, talking softly. The other apprentices had never tasted her since, giving her a respectful distance to grieve.
"Rosepaw?" Her mentor's kind voice came from the entrance. Willowshade had become much nicer to Rosepaw over the past moon, in fact, the entire clan had. Rosepaw hated it, she didn't need or want their pity.
With a long sigh, Rosepaw replied, "Coming." and padded out into the clearing. Willowshade was sitting just outside the den, her fluffy tail wrapped around gray paws.
"Good, you're up. Let's go, battle training today in the sandy hollow." Willowshade said quickly and turned around heading out of the stone hollow. "Okay," Willowshade turned around, once they had reached the training area. "You will be battling against Flamepaw and Featherpaw today. You have been improving a lot and do you best. But remember that they are older than you and have been training for longer than you. Good luck." The she-cats padded into the clearing, where Flamepaw, Featherpaw, Hareleap and Featherpaw's mentor, Cinderflame who was also the ThunderClan deputy.
"Okay," Cinderflame started. "Flamepaw will and Rosepaw will go first. Rosepaw and Flamepaw padded out into the center of the clearing.
"Begin!" Cinderflame called. Flamepaw grinned at Rosepaw and leaped. Eyes wide with surprise, Rosepaw clumsily dodged. One of his ginger paws caught her ear and sent her off balance. The ginger tom let out of a growl of frustration and bounded after her. Rosepaw sprang to her paws and they clashed, locked in battle. The tom flashed a paw at her shoulder and her skin stung as he made contact. Memories from the battle a moon ago flooded over Rosepaw.
Hissing with pain, the Rosepaw snarled and swung at her opponent's ear. The ginger tom dodged her blow by ducking his head and twisting away. The golden she-cat brought her front forepaw down on the enemy warrior's head. The tom howled in pain at her blow. Flamepaw leaped at Rosepaw again, catching her by surprise. She pulled her paws in front of her face in self-defence. Flamepaw landed a blow on her muzzle, leaving it stinging.
The RiverClan tom overpowered her and forced the ThunderClan apprentice to the ground pinning her. Rosepaw squirmed and struggled, but her attacker kept her firmly pinned there. Glancing around her she saw Silverheart struggling with a huge RiverClan cat. Flamepaw pounced at her again, whipping out a paw and tripping her fellow apprentice. Rosepaw yelped, trying to regain her balance.
The RiverClan tom overpowered her and forced the ThunderClan apprentice to the ground pinning her. Rosepaw squirmed and struggled, but her attacker kept her firmly pinned there. Glancing around her she saw Silverheart struggling with a huge RiverClan cat. The tom drew his lips back, baring yellow teeth. Then fast a snake leaned and sunk them into her grandmother's though. Silverheart struggled for a moment then lay still, her eyes closing. Flamepaw swung around, rearing up on his hind legs, he came crashing down on Rosepaw. Pushing on her back, he forced her to the ground and pinned her there.
"Break!" Willowshade called. Flamepaw backed off of Rosepaw, a pleased smug expression on his face.
Rosepaw got to her paws, shaking leaves and dust from her pelt. "Rosepaw!" Willowshade called crisply. "Come with me."
Rosepaw padded after her mentor out of the sandy hollow. When they were far enough away, Willowshade rounded on her apprentice. "Rosepaw, what is wrong with you?" The gray warrior asked, her blue eyes flashing angrily. "You used to be a great fighter, now you are hardly trying! I expect more out of you."
"I'm sorry." The golden tabby she-cat mumbled.
"I know it's hard that you lost your grandmother, but I need you to get past your grief and try to be the best warrior you can be for the sake of the clan." Willowshade said sympathetically. "Please try, will you." Rosepaw nodded mutely. "Thank you, let's get back to training."
. . .
Hazelstar stood and began the ancient words as Rosepaw padded forward into the clearing. She glanced at Willowshade, who nodded encouragingly, "I, Hazelstar, leader of ThunderClan," The pale brown she-cat began. "Call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Rosepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Rosepaw glanced at the new warriors, Flamepaw, now Flamestrike, Cherryfoot, Feathermist, Crowshade, and Splashwing. Feathermist and Crowshade smiled at her. Rosepaw smiled back at her new friends. Recently, Crowshade and Feathermist had lost their ties with Flamestrike and Had become much nicer to Rosepaw. Turning her head back to the Highledge, she meowed, "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan," Hazelstar went on. "I give you your warrior name. Rosepaw, from this moment you will be known as Roseheart. StarClan honors your courage and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
"Roseheart! Roseheart!" The clan cheered. Roseheart lifted her chin, a smile on her face. She was now a full warrior of ThunderClan. Gazing up at the stars in the dark sky, she thought. Silverheart, I did it. I wish you were here, but I know you are watching me. I will see you again soon.
Hi everyone, here is my book of one-shot, The Brightest Shadows. I will be writing all of my stand-alone adventures here and will hopefully be adding stories frequently. Enjoy!
Maplebreeze of MountainClan
