Dragonpaw staggered home after a long day of training. Blossomfall darted ahead of him and went straight to the medicine den to visit her sister. Dragonpaw lowered his eyes and trudged on to the apprentice's den. "Dragonpaw, wait up!" called Foreststar.
"What mom?" he yelled.
"Please don't take Gracepaw's death to hard."
"You act like she wasn't even your kit." Dragonpaw spat
Foreststar was taken aback. How dare you say that! I miss her so much! I have other cats to worry about!"
"You didn't worry about her!"
"It wasn't my fault! I couldn't do anything!"
"Yes you could! You didn't try!"
Dragonpaw stomped into the den and buried himself in his nest. His sister, Gracepaw, was killed in battle by a Shadowclan warrior. Foreststar had chosen to lead the cats into battle. And she chose to send her daughter to her death.
Blazepelt and Lizardleap walked by the apprentice's den arguing loudly about who was going to fall asleep first on their vigil. Dragonpaw got up and followed them out of the camp. "I'm going to do some late night hunting." He said to Lizardleap.
Dragonpaw slipped through the dark night and to the lake. He walked around the edge of the lake, not noticing anything but the moon's reflection in the water. "Stop!" shouted a voice
Dragonpaw turned and saw a patrol of Riverclan cats walking towards him. "I-I-I got lost. I am sorry." Whimpered Dragonpaw.
"Well, well, well. What are we going to do with you?" hissed a light brown tom.
"Cool it, Grasspelt. He's lost." Snapped a dark grey she-cat.
Dragonpaw realized this was his chance at a better life. "I'm not lost. I am a loner. My name is Dragonheart. I tried living with those Thunderclan snobs but they were too dumb to take care of me. I was too powerful for them. They didn't know what to do with a skilled fighter like me. I was hoping Riverclan would be a much better home." I said.
Grasspelt blinked in surprise. "Uh, come with us to see Mistystar." The dark grey she-cat mewed.
Dragonheart chuckled and padded after the cats. Inside the camp several cats hissed and spat at him. They were taken aback when he spat back. A young cat came up to him. "Why do you smell funny?" she asked.
"I came from Thunderclan. I was too good to be in Thunderclan." Dragonheart mewed proudly.
"The other cats are scared of you."
"Are you?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Petalfur! Get away from him." Squealed a cat.
Petalfur walked away, but she cast a glance back at Dragonheart over her shoulder. "Well, Dragonheart. I guess you can stay." A voice mewed.
Dragonheart turned to see Mistystar standing in front of him. He dipped his head. "Thank you."
"We will provide a bed for you."
Dragonheart pointed his tail at a tree stump with roots that curved upward. "I want a den under those roots." He said.
A few apprentices darted off to gather bedding. Dragonheart walked out of the camp and to the lake. He decided to see how good he was at swimming. The water lapped at his paws. He shivered with fear but waded into the dark water anyway.
Dragonheart paddled furiously to keep his head above water. How did those stupid cats do this? He thought to himself. "Need some help?" someone called.
Dragonheart fought back to land to where Petalfur was standing. "Uh, I'm not familiar with swimming." Dragonheart confessed.
Petalfur laughed. "Here, I'll show you." She stood in the water. "When you can just barely hold onto the racks, let go and run like you were on land."
Dragonheart stood beside Petalfur and waited for her to swim off. When she did, she looked like a sleek log floating through the water. Except she moved much quicker.
Dragonheart sighed and let go of the ground. He moved his legs like he was running through the water. "Hey! Petalfur, I'm swimming!" Dragonheart shouted excitedly.
Petalfur laughed and swam back to shore. "Want a lesson on how to catch fish?" She asked.
Dragonheart scrabbled after her. "Not now, I'll call if I do." He smiled at the she-cat.
Petalfur trotted off. Dragonheart looked at her sleek pelt then at his own. His fur was dripping and stuck out in all directions. Dragonheart narrowed his eyes and proceeded to lick himself dry. He lay on a warm, sunny rock until he was dry and padded back to the lake.
"It can't be that hard to catch a fish." Dragonheart muttered.
He spotted one of the silver creatures and flashed a paw into the lake. He hooked the fish and threw it on shore. It flopped around and got nearer to the lake. Dragonheart pounced on it and bit at where its neck should have been. The fish kept trying to escape. "How do I kill it!" Dragonheart hissed.
He picked up the fish and carried it away from all water and waited for it to stop moving. Petalfur walked up to the fish and wacked it with the side of her paw. "There. You caught a fish." Petalfur winked.
Dragonheart picked up the fish and carried it back to camp. Mistystar saw him. "Well, a fish on your first day." She mewed.
Dragonheart smiled. "It's for you, Mistystar." He said and dipped his head.
Mistystar picked up the fish and dipped her head. Dragonheart walked over to the stump where his den was. He settled in the moss and fell asleep.