Chapter 1
"Mouse dung!" Stormpaw spat flattening his ears as the vole he was about to catch scurried into a bramble bush and disappeared. He jumped as his mentor appeared. "Better luck next time!" Foxtail called. He cursed under his breath. He hadn't caught anything, not like his sister, who had caught loads of fresh-kill. "Come on! Lets try the stream by the thunderpath!" Foxtail suggested. "Fine." He sighed. He caught the scent a heartbeat before it happened. Then a heavy weight landed on top of him. "Did I surprise you?" a she-cat voice reached his ears. "Yes Silverpaw, you surprised me." He answered rolling his eyes. "Have you seen Honeypaw?" he asked, referring to his sister. "Yes, she went on a Border patrol." Silverpaw answered.
"Ok, thanks." He grumbled. She was supposed to help him take care of the elders when they got back to camp. As he followed his mentor through the undergrowth he thought that it wasn't fair that just because he was younger than his sister just barely, he couldn't do anything right.
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Heading back to camp with his jaws full of a very hairy squirrel, He dropped it on the fresh-kill pile before he started spitting out amber hairs. His friend, Wheatpaw, flashed by as a whirl of silver tabby fur. "Watch it!" Stormpaw hissed. "Oh come on! Do you have to be so serious all the time?" Wheatpaw asked. "Yes! Maybe you should to! We are training to be warriors! Not rabbits!" He whipped around to pluck a mouse from the fresh-kill pile before heading over to the tree stump to eat. As he was about to sink his teeth into the mouse, a big gray paw flashed and swiped the mouse away, replacing it with a plumper wood pigeon. Stormpaw looked up into Loudfoot's eyes, "Foxtail told me how you caught that squirrel" as he looked back into Stormpaw's puzzled eyes. "Guess I can take you out to be assessed with your sister..." Stormpaw purred with joy. "When will it happen?" he asked. "Tomorrow at sunhigh. If all goes well Briarstar will hold your Warrior ceremony's at moonrise."
Giving a jump of joy at his warrior ceremony's mention, He was startled when Paintedpelt shot into the clearing. "Shadowclan! They are attacking! Quick! Bring up the forces!" she yowled in terror.
"Okay everybody!" Loudfoot's voice rang around camp, "Queens and Elders! Go in the nursery! Apprentinces! Go and guard the nursery!" Turning his huge head to Paintedpelt he asked where the rest of her patrol was. "They are trying to hold them back! But we weren't doing so good! We are way outnumbered! They are coming right now! I thi-" Paintedpelt sentence was cut off as the leader of Shadowclan, Fogstar, barreled into the clearing, her warriors streaming out behind her. "ATTACK!" She yowled jumping on to Loudfoot. Stormpaw was caught by surprise as a tabby apprentice whipped by him and snagged the side of his head with one claw. Yowling in fury, Stormpaw whipped around to rake his claws down her nose. "Get out of our camp!" he caterwauled. "Never!" she gasped as blood sprayed out from Stormpaw's claws. Jumping onto his back she sank her teeth into his ear. Choking back a cry of pain, he reared back and fell over, squashing her under his body weight. "Take that!" She slithered out and spitting, dashed to the thorn barrier where she tore a hole through it to get out. Jumping up he scanned around the clearing. He saw to Shadowclan warriors trying to get into the nursery.
Without thinking Stormpaw bashed into one of them sending him and the warrior flying. Quickly Paintedpelt pounced on the Shadowclan warrior
"Go and take care of the other one! I got him!" She said a she bit down on his tail. Turning around, he saw the other one had gone. Scanning the clearing he saw no more Shadowclan cats.
But what he did see made let out a gasp of horror. Foxtail's red body was lying limp in the middle of the clearing.
"Well Done!" Honeypaw's mentor, Jinglewhisker, congratulated her as she sprang up from a clump of ferns with the limp body of a shrew between her teeth. "Thanks!" she mumbled around the piece of fresh-kill. "Bury it and let's get on!" Jinglewhisker mewed. Nodding she dropped the shrew and started scraping earth over it. She yowled in surprise as Jinglewhisker suddenly took off through the trees. She raced after him, enjoying the wind in her fur. Jinglewhisker looked over his shoulder and called, "Can't catch me!" "You wish!" Honeypaw panted. Suddenly Jinglewhisker veered off into a bramble bush out of sight. Without think Honeypaw ran into the bramble bush and crashed into him. "Up for Battle training?" Jinglewhisker asked her. "Sure." She shrugged her shoulders. Than he raced off again in the direction of the training hollow.
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"You've done enough, let's go back to camp." Jinglewhisker told her. They had been training since sunhigh, and Honeypaw was panting with exhaustion. "Fine with me!" She mewed in reply.
As they trotted along the trail to camp, Jinglewhisker talked with her. "Me and Briarstar think it's time to make you and your brother," He paused, and she saw a ocean of pride in his eyes.
"Warriors!"
He ended on a high note.
"Yes! Finally! Yes!" She rolled onto her belly and batted at him with her paws just like a kit. All of the sudden he gasped. "A Shadowclan warrior! And lots of scent! The camp has been attacked!"
She broke into a run. With fear for her brother and mother, she raced after him, she skid into camp in time to see her brother leaning over Foxtail, his mentor. "He's gone." He said a blank stare of grief on his face. "He's gone."
As Foxtails body was laid in the middle of the clearing, Silverfoot padded up to Stormpaw. "I'm so sorry," she mewed "very sorry." By Foxtail's body, Petalnose bowed her head in grief. Cloudheart led her and Petalnose's kits back to the nursery. "What happened to Father?" Thistlekit asked. "He is with Starclan now." Cloudheart answered with a look of grief. "You mean he is dead." One of Cloudheart's kits pointed out. "Shhh! They're still very young!" One of Petalnose's kits started wailing. No, this cant be happening! Stormpaw thought to himself Not so soon! I'm to young! At that point Honeypaw ran up to him. "What happened? Are you okay?" she gasped. "Im fine," he said pulling away, "But Foxtail is…" he couldn't bring himself to say it. Honeypaw started licking him briskly, trying to calm him, this time he let her. How could Starclan let this happen? He suddenly felt angry toward his warrior ancestors. If Starclan were real, they wouldn't let this happen to me! What did I ever do to them?
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"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!"
Briarstars voice echoed off the rocks. As the cats creeped out of the caves, Stormpaw noticed that some of the wounds weren't so bad as they looked. "We have gathered here today to give to apprentices their warriors names." He glanced down at Stormpaw and Honeypaw. "Jinglewhisker, do you approve of Honeypaw becoming a warrior?" He asked Jinglewhisker, who was sitting next to Honeypaw. "I do." He answered with no hesitation, Pride glimmering in his eyes. "And I think Foxtail agrees with me about Stormpaw." A star in Silverpelt shone brighter than the others for a heartbeat. "Honeypaw come forward." His deep voice rumbled into the night sky. Honeypaw came forward, shivering with awe. " I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these two apprentices. They have learned the ways of your noble code, and commend them as warriors in their turn." He took a deep breath, "Honeypaw, do promise to with hold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan even at the cost of your life?" he asked, "I do" Then Honeypaw from now on you will be known as Honeyclaw!" He then turned to Stormpaw. "Stormpaw, do promise to with hold the warrior code and protect and defend this clan even at the cost of your life?" he asked, "I do" Then Stormpaw from now on you will be known as Stormfur!" "Honeyclaw! Stormfur! Honeyclaw! Stormfur!" the clan chanted. For once today, something good happened. He told himself. For once.