Shalepaw ran through the ferns, frantic to get away from whatever was chasing her. She felt its breath on her heels as it snapped it mighty jaws. She sped up and crashed into what she thought was the entrance to clan camp. She scented everyone's scents lingered in the air, as she burst through the overhang she smelled her clanmates but saw hideous creatures in their place. They advanced on her and she backed herself into a wall. One of them was beginning to open its jaws, ready to snap.
"SHALEPAW!" cried Salmonpaw. "Wake up!" she shrieked, poking her with her paw, kneading her fur.
"Ah!" Shalepaw yelled, waking up, sweat surrounding her. "I-I--"
"You were screaming in your sleep…it was awful!" she said, fear filling her eyes.
"I just had a bad dream, that's all." Shalepaw reassured her, tucking tail around her front paws.
"Well…good," Salmonpaw said, shifting uneasily. Shalepaw nodded and trotted out to the center of camp.
"Good morning Shalepaw!" Almondpaw smiled, greeting his sister warmly.
"Morning Almondpaw," she said, butting her head against his. He purred affectionately and licked her cheek. She grinned at him one more time before she continued to the Fresh Kill pile for some breakfast. The aromatic smells of fresh prey wafted into her small nostrils. Her sky blue eyes sparkled with delight. Shalepaw's feet were ahead of her brain and she bumped into someone's chest.
"Ow," she mewed, rubbing her head painfully.
"Sorry," the voice cooed. Shalepaw jerked her head up and came face to face with Featherstar. Her pelt got hot as she mumbled an apology, looking down at the soft ground. "Don't worry about it," she smiled before licking her head and walking away. Shalepaw kneaded the ground with her paws and sighed embarrassedly as small footsteps approached her.
"Good job kid," a gruff voice said, his face smug. Shalepaw narrowed her eyes at Volcanopaw as he prodded her with his tail.
"Shut it, mouse brain," she snapped, flicking him with her poofy tail.
"Sorry!" he laughed and Shalepaw pounced on him. Her claws were sheathed but she got a good blow at his stomach. He groaned and she got off. Glaring at her he stalked away towards the den.
"Shalepaw," the same voice cooed. Shalepaw hung her head, again being caught by the leader.
"Today, is not my day," she muttered as Featherstar approached her.
"Good work," she whispered almost silently in her ear. Shalepaw's eyes widened and she blushed again. She looked up and Featherstar smiled down at her. "Just try and use it on other clans," she explained. "We'd win a lot more battles if you did," she smirked at her and walked off. Shalepaw licked her chest and padded over to the nursery to visit her brother and mother.
Echosong was relaxing on a soft moss bed when Shalepaw came in to check on Shirekit. His chestnut fur was in tufts along the side of his back and she could see that he hadn't been groomed yet.
"Shalepaw!" he squeaked happily, rushing to her side. He batted at her stomach with his small paws and she took him by the scruff of the neck.
"I don't think so, buddy," she smiled. He tried to wriggle free and she dropped him on the ground. Turning on his heel he jumped at her and landed on her back. "Oh no! I've been hit!" she gasped, falling to the ground. Shirekit squealed as she was falling close to him. He unlatched himself from her thick pelt and ran behind his mother.
"You two!" she meowed tiredly. "Please take it outside," she whined. Shirekit stuck his tongue out at his mother and rushed out of the entrance.
"Shirekit! Wait!" she called after him, giggling. She thrust out of the entrance and looked around frantically, searching for her brother.
"Boo!" he squeaked, jumping in front of her.
"Ah!" she cried as Shirekit launched himself at her face. She moved her head just in time and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck again in mid air. She dropped him in front of her and he growled. Well, it was supposed to be a growl, it sounded more like a tiny squawk. Shalepaw burst out laughing as Featherstar approached.
"Hello Shirekit, Shalepaw," she nodded. Shalepaw nodded back and Featherstar continued. "As you have probably heard, there is going to be a gathering tonight and Shalepaw, I wanted you to come. Brushkick thinks you're ready," she smiled. Shalepaw's face lit up she bounced up and down.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" she yelped happily, still bouncing.
"Don't thank me, thank you're mentor. We leave at sunset," she finished. Shalepaw turned eagerly to Shirekit, his face was dumbstruck.
"You get to go to The Gathering! No fair!" he mewed unhappily.
"You only a kit, mouse brain," she cooed, batting him on the side of the head with her paw. Shirekit stalked back into the nursery as Volcanopaw came up to her.
"So, you're going to The Gathering too?" he asked, narrowing his eyes defensively.
"Yes, Volcanopaw," she sighed. He nodded suspiciously and walked off. "What is with him?" she asked no one in particular.
"Who knows," Powerclaw meowed.
"Daddy," she whined, turning to face him. He licked the top of her head and looked at her innocently. "It's not right to eaves-drop on the personal conversations that I have with myself," she explained.
"Alright, I'll be more careful next time," he laughed, walking off. Shalepaw growled at him and trotted at an easy pace to the Apprentice's den, trying to get some sleep before her big night.
The moon hung silently in the sky, suspended by the stars surrounding it. In the center of camp, a crowd was gathering, getting ready to take off. Shalepaw walked briskly towards them, searching for her mentor.
"Hello," whispered a voice. She looked up to see Brushkick.
"Just the cat I was looking for," she grinned in the dark. He laughed and licked her head.
"We're about to leave so get ready," he told her, staying close to her side. Brushkick wasn't much older than her, he had trained only one other cat besides her but he was young. About 18 moons, only 9 older than she. She knew she would become a warrior soon and she couldn't wait. "Let's go," he whispered, brushing her side with his tail. She nodded and Featherstar gave the signal to start. The cats bounded down the slope that lead out of camp. She sprinted at Brushkicks heels and he looked back every so often to make sure she was there. She would just smile at him and he would turn back. There was something about the way he looked at her that was unusual. She couldn't put her paw on it, but it was something weird.
They finally arrived at Moon Tree, a small area surrounded by many bushes with an enormous tree in the center. The tree seemed to catch the moonlight and change the direction of where it went. There were five holes in the tree where the leaders sat. Though there were only four clans, Iceclan made their clan different from everyone else's and no matter how much Sunclan, Mudclan, and Flareclan told them that Starclan would frown upon their system, they kept using it. Shalepaw made her way to where the apprentices sat and veered away from Brushkick.
There were six other apprentices already sitting there when her and Volcanopaw sat down. There were two from Sunclan, a tom and a she-cat. The she-cat sat delicately and the moonlight bounced off of her gleaming white pelt. Her dark blue eyes matched the sky and she looked around without a care, taking in the setting. The tom had a sandy brown pelt that seemed a little bland but his eyes were hypnotizing. They were green, or were they yellow, or amber? They seemed to change color wherever he looked. His gaze was kind and fixed on Shalepaw. He was muscular and they both looked about Shalepaw's age. The two from Flareclan looked a little jumpy and fierce. Once again, a tom and a she-cat. The tom had jet black fur that gleamed in the moonlight. His eyes were green but they looked unreal. He was small and lithe, his appearance gave the idea that he was quick. The she-cat looked like she had just been apprenticed. She had a kit-like nature that seemed to make her gray pelt illuminate. Her eyes were amber and they were extremely bright. The apprentices from Iceclan seemed wary of their surroundings. They sat with the other apprentice's but the way they sat seemed to keep them isolated from the rest. The she-cat had a deep red pelt and green eyes to match. She looked exotic, almost like she didn't belong here. She was sitting so that she was leaning against the tom, her eyes set with fear. The tom seemed over protective and shifted his weight cautiously as Shalepaw and Volcanopaw approached. He was a tortoiseshell and his eyes were yellow and piercing. His limbs looked powerful and they were long and muscular.
Shalepaw settled beside Volcanopaw and he stiffened. The brown tom from Sunclan spoke first.
"I'm Woodpaw," he explained with a smile. "That's Downpaw, we're from Sunclan," he meowed, gesturing towards the white cat. She mustered a small nod and returned her gaze to the tree.
"I'm Wing, and this is Pain," the Iceclan tom said. His voice was harsh and cold. Pain winced and her green eyes shifted downwards in embarrassment. Shalepaw nodded and the she-cat from Flareclan spoke up.
"This is Beetlepaw and I'm Silverpaw," she said excitedly. "You two must be from Mudclan!" she grinned, as if figuring out the last piece of the puzzle.
"We are," said Volcanopaw, not offering his friendship. Shalepaw poked him hard with her paw.
"Don't mind him, he's just like that," she said, trying to cover for her clan. Woodpaw nodded, his eyes not leaving hers. A yowl was sounded and the leaders began.
There were four others besides Featherstar. The Flareclan, Aurastar leader stood tall, her white pelt was shining and her yellow eyes invoked fear. She store down at her clan, as if willing them to be strong and to help her. Ashstar looked much more laid back. As if Sunclan had nothing to worry about or fear, it was the same easygoing spirit that surrounded Woodpaw. Shalepaw wondered if he was Woodpaw's father. The last two leaders were both from Iceclan. They weren't called leaders though, they called themselves the Alphas. Iceclan had an Alpha male and female, a Beta male and female, a Gamma male and female, and a healer. Everything else was arranged the same way as the other clans. The tom was Danger and the she-cat was Serenity. They stood close together, their pelts mixing in the light. Serenity was cream colored and her blue eyes seemed forgiving. Danger was black and his eyes were dark, they didn't have a specific color, they just were. Their names seemed to fit perfectly.
All of the Medicine Cats sat together and all of the warriors sat together. Their crowd was bigger than anybody else's since they made up the clan. Shalepaw turned to search for Brushkick and he was found sitting with the other deputies, he was chatting with Iceclan's Beta female Sky. Shalepaw felt some emotion run through her that she wasn't familiar with yet. Her chest ached with mystery and she winced. Brushkick looked over with a smile and Shalepaw turned away. Her blue eyes now turned towards the green grass. She loved how it brushed gently over her paws and kept them warm. She felt Woodpaw's eyes on her and she looked up the leaders, giving their reports. It took a while and Shalepaw's eyes began to droop unwillingly, before she knew it everyone got up and began to leave. She felt someone's tail on her shoulder, coaxing her off the ground.
"Somebody's tired," he teased, draping his tail over her small back. "Think you can make it back to camp without falling in the river," Shalepaw glared up and Brushkick and stuck her nose in the air.
"I think I can manage," she told him, shaking his tail off her back. She was sorry she had right after. Why should she be angry that he had been socializing? More importantly, why did she care? Just because he was her mentor, it didn't mean that she was the only she-cat he could pay attention to, right?
"So, how'd you like it?" he asked awkwardly.
"It was fine," she replied. "I met some apprentices from other clans," He nodded uneasily and walked ahead, leaving her with Volcanopaw.
"I thought those Sunclan cats were way too stuck up," Volcanopaw said, his face smug again.
"They were pretty nice," Shalepaw countered, trying to defend her new friends. Volcanopaw grunted and left her in the back where she tried desperately to keep up with her clan.. Her eyelids kept folding over her eyes and she had trouble trying to keep herself awake. She had no idea how she was going to manage sitting vigil when she became a warrior.
Brushkick fell back and tried to help his apprentice back through the woods. Shalepaw felt his tail on her back again but this time did nothing to stop him from putting it there. She ran alongside him until they got back to camp. She said goodnight to Brushkick and stumbled off towards her den. Shalepaw collapsed into her nest and fell asleep immediately, trying to think through everything that had happened.