Cavernclan's one rule; Never leave The Cave;. But you can't always trust the shadows, particularly when ancient secrets threaten to turn the Clan's stone shelter into a tomb.
Hey. I took a bit of a break from doing Warrior Cat Fanfictions, so this is my first in at least a few months. Anyways, If you like it, maybe leave a review, and if some have any feedback, that would also be appreciated! I know this is the same characters and start as my last fanfic, The Dark Outside which I deleted, but that's just because I wanted to change the plotline.
Allegiances at the bottom
Sleekpaw's POV
"Hey, Sleekpaw!"
Sleekpaw was woken up by a sharp paw jabbing into her side, which she didn't even need to open her eyes to recognise. Mumbling loud enough for the perpetrator to hear, she muttered.
"Whaddya,.. what do you want?, Rowanpaw." Her eyes opened by a fraction, quickly adjusting to the dim grey light of the apprentice cave, until they were wide enough to stare at the bright amber eyes of her brother. He tipped his head mischievously, unresponsive to her gazE. Instead, he shot back, his mew edged with fake annoyance
"Well, if you're going to be like that..." A sassy smile transformed his face, his tone changed to it's usual teasing. "If you must know, the kit's have gone missing. Squirreltail is organizing a search party.
Sleekpaw's voice was more... exasperated than worried as she rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before replying, "again?" She paused for a moment, thinking, before adding, "how many of them?" Rowanpaw snorted, rolling lazily unto his back paws.
"All of them." He paused before adding, unnecessarily, "Waspkit, Foxkit and Mothkit, that is.-"
"What?" Sleekpaw's dark green eye's widened, disbelief bubbling under the surface. "Mothkit usually has some sense" Her cream paws scuffed at the pebbles on the cave floor.
"Well.. Foxkit can be very persuasive..?" A new voice joined in, from the third nest in the den. Small, yet wiry, it was already obvious that Starkpaw would be the spitting image of his father, Dustcloud. His short brown coat shone in the cracks of suin spilling from the roof. He hauled himself to his feet, watching the two siblings argue with bright amber eyes.
"More trouble for us, I guess." Rowanpaw yawned loudly."Anyways, I can't go, Frostblaze wants more battle training for the Tournament... She told me to tell you two."
"I'll go along." Starkpaw was shaking moss from his pelt as he spoke. "It's not like Sunstorm has anything else planned today." He scowled resentfully, muttering under his breath, "Or this moon."
"I'll come!" Sleekpaw added. "I'll just need Darkwhisker's permission. You want me to get Sunstorm's while I'm at it?"
Starkpaw snorted derivatively. "I wouldn't stress about it. I doubt he'd notice."
Sleeekpaw shrugged before rising to her own feet. There was a nasty scratch visible of her shoulder, the results of a collision in the tunnels, but Rosethorn had treated it last sunrise so it wasn't troubling her. With that, running a soft paw through her fur to flatten it, she padded out into the main cavern.
Even after seeing it every day, it was still awe-inspiring. Large enough to fit a clan three times the size of Cavernclan, at least, and the ceiling provided illumination in the form of cracks and holes that allowed shafts of sunlight to shine through. Indents in the wall, lined with moss and thistles, made up the dens. On one side, near the warrior den, a single opening marked the entrance to The Labyrinth, a maze of tunnels that even experienced warriors had trouble navigating.
Also, a favourite place for kits to explore and get lost in.
Near there, a collection of warriors were gathering, the search party for the kits being assembled. Although the situation sounded alarming, kits trapped in a maze of stone, most of the warriors there treated it as an inconvenience at worse, at best an opportunity to practice their skills. It happened too often, with most litters trying at least once, for cats to worry.
"Hey, Darkwhisker! Can I join the patrol?" Sleekpaw called over to a dark brown tabby nearby, taking bites from a small mouse with the rest of the younger warriors. Taking a pause fro his meal, Darkwhisker nodded.
"Sure. Knock yourself out." Sleekpaw smiled in triumph before adding.
"And can you ask Sunstorm if Starkpaw can come too, please?" She begged, unconvinced that Sunstorm wouldn't notice like Starkpaw had said. The mentor and apprentice weren't exactly fond of each other. Her mentor turned to another of the toms, Sunstorm, a bright yellow warrior with a streamlined white tail groomed to perfection. She didn't hear their conversation, but a few moments later Darkwhisker turned back and nodded, confirming the end result.
"Permission granted."
"Cool, Thanks." She padded over to the collection of warriors, recognising the shapes of Robinthroat, Dustcloud, Sleekpaw's mother, Vixenfrost, and Squirreltail, the patrol leader. She could also see the clan deputy, Nettlewing, overseeing the formation, her blue eyes observing from a distance.
"Hey, Sleekpaw and Starkpaw! You're joining?" Squirreltail dipped her head to Sleekpaw, with Starkpaw quickly appearing from behind her. Sleekpaw nodded.
"It's good practice for being a warrior, why wouldn't I?" She glanced hopefully up at the ginger she-cat, who's amber eyes reflected nothing on what she was thinking at the time.
"Perhaps," Squirreltail shrugged noncommittedly. Without waiting for a response she swung round toward the rest of the warriors, her voice echoing out among the broad walls of the cavern. "Move out, Dustcloud, Vixenfrost, take the left side of The Labyrinth, Robinthroat and me will take the right and the apprentices.
Nodding their heads in unison, Starkpaw and Sleekpaw followed the warriors as they plunged into the darkness of The Labyrinth.
. Rowanpaw's POV
Rowanpaw watched the two apprentices longingly as they disappeared out of sight. Any other day he would have gone, but Frostbreeze was busy preparing for the season tournament
The Season Tournament was a day off for the clan, with races and competitions for both warriors and apprentices. Frostblaze was determined that her apprentice win the apprentice fights, and Rowanpaw was being trained ruthlessly to meet that goal. As he was reminded daily, he wasn't as strong as Sleekpaw, nor faster than Starkpaw, who's laid-back mentors he almost envied.
Well, not Starkpaw's mentor, Sunstorm. The arrogant golden tom spent more time showing off and trying to prove he'd make a good deputy after Nettlewing than actually being a half-decent warrior.
Rowanpaw was so focused on his thoughts as he padded over to the fresh-kill pile that he barely noticed Twistedpaw until he crashed into her.
His eyes widened in surprise as the smoky grey she-cat darted back in shock, looking up from the mouse clamped in her jaws. His gaze was immediately drawn to her front paw, bent backwards and held awkwardly in the air. The cause of her name, Twistedpaw, it meant that she would never be a warrior, destined since birth to be apprenticed to Rosethorn as a medicine cat.
"Sorry for that." He meowed lazily, hoping that the concern that flashed in his eyes wasn't as visible as he felt. That, however, came crashing down as soon as she spoke.
"Really, Rowanpaw?" Her amber eyes seemed to see right through his ploy. "Stop acting as though I'm going to suddenly collapse. I'm fine, just a little surprised.
"I never said you weren't " the ginger tom quipped back, challenging. All he got in return for his efforts was an eye roll by the medicine cat apprentice, before muttering loud enough for him to hear.
"Mouse-brain." She bounded of in the direction of the medicine cat den, still holding the mouse. Before he could come up with a response, he heard a voice calling from the other side of the Cavern.
"Rowanpaw!" Frostblaze shouted from her spot near the training cave, gesturing for him to come over. He sighed, his hunger pangs louder than ever as he forced himself away from the fresh-kill. The silvery white she-cat scowled as he paused before moving, fixing him with a pointed glare. He moved.
The training cave in question was larger than most dens, with moss lining the floor to prevent injuries. Frostblaze slid inside the moment Rowanpaw arrived at the entrance, waiting for her apprentice to join her. As Rowanpaw trailed behind he could see her pausing, carefully checking that no other cat was listening on, before she began.
"Right, Rowanpaw. The Season Tournament is in two sunrises and I've already spent most of your time teaching you to fight Sleekpaw, however, I was watching Starkpaw last sunrise and I appear to have underestimated his skills." She meowed, carefully watching him to check he was listening.
"He's nowhere near as strong as you or Sleekpaw, but he's faster than the both of you combined. Agile, too. The method I was teaching you to fight Sleekpaw won't work on him. Therefore, I'm going to need to give you some pointers last minute on fighting a weak but fast opponent like him. Kay?"
"Yes, Frostblaze"
"Over here, please." She tipped her head towards the centre of the cave.
"You've trained to be fast too, so you know where to expect him to go after an attack. What we're going to practise is holding the opponent down so they can't slip away.
"Yes, Frostbla-"
Before he could respond the she-cat leapt towards him, claws sheathed and mouth open in a scowl. He shot to the side, pausing for breath before spinning round and lashing her paws out in her direction. Raking through empty air, he could sense movement a tail-length away and leapt away only moments before a white tail swept over the ground where his front paws had been. Glancing up he was met with a pair of icy-blue eyes
"Pathetic!" The she-cat snarled, "You'll never make a warrior worthy of Cavernclan."
Anger pulsed through his red pelt as he dived downwards, arching his back out to knock her off her feet. She twisted round moments later before he had time to react and struck out a paw, jabbing at his back paws, causing him to lose his balance.
The second he fell she padded forwards calmly and grabbed his back paws with her front, holding them down in the moss. As Rowanpaw struggled to free himself Frostblaze spoke casually, as though she was greeting him after a patrol
"Number one, don't let your anger consume you. Although Cavernclan has no real enemies who would meaningfully insult you, any cat could use it as a distraction. Two, see how I'm holding you now. You can't reach me when I'm standing behind you and you can't easily get up when I'm holding your back paws down." She let him go, allowing him to get up and face her again.
"Now, you try."
Unknown's POV
"We're.. -we're safe now, brother, you can wake up now." The young she-cat choked out, her muzzle damp with a mix of tears and blood. Her voice, though quiet, echoed in the suffocating darkness that stilled the air. After a few seconds, with no response other than the shallow, uneven breathing of her littermate, she broke down again, burying her face in his grey fur.
"Anything?" She turned her head away briefly, to acknowledge the arrival of another tom, his white fur shining in the pale moonlight. He gave a weak smile before shaking his head.
"No. I got nothing."
"We shouldn't have come here." Her eyes glistened with sudden anger. "Maybe, If we hadn't, he-" She jerked her head towards the lump of matted fur besides her. "He could have survived. Now, we're going to die here, alone, lost."
"There's still hope." The young tom laid his tail on her shoulder. "There's still food, shelter. We just need to keep going."
"Until what?" A pair of clear grey eyes shot up, wet with tears, but defiant. "Until we all end up like our brother?."
"We would know by now if we were..." The white tom hesitated.
"Like him.?" The she-cat finished, lowering her head in grief.
Hey! Just a notice, the next chapter will be mostly filler, but also the start of the story should appear than.
okiebye
ALSO - There's some polls on my page for voting for Rowanpaw and Starkpaw's warriors names! I'd REALLY appreciate you checking that.
reallyokiebyeimagosleepnow
Allegiances -
CAVERNCLAN
Leader - Fennelstar - Cream tom with darker tips to his ears, tail and paws, green eyes
Deputy - Nettlewing - Black she-cat cat with white paws and blue eyes
Medicine cat - Rosethorn - Ginger she-cat with black spots across her muzzle, green eyes
Med cat appr - Twistedpaw - Smoky grey she-cat with a backwards paw, amber eyes
Warriors -
Dustcloud - Dusky brown tom with amber eyes
Smalltuft - small Black and white tom with yellow eyes
Vixenfrost - Dark ginger she-cat with amber eyes
Robinthroat - Brown tom with a ginger underbelly and throat, green eyes
Sunstorm - Yellow tom with amber eyes, white tail.
Apprentice - Starkpaw
Frostblaze - White she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice - Rowanpaw
Fallenfrost - Pale grey tabby tom with dark amber eyes
Skyflame - White tom with blue eyes
Smokestorm- Dark grey she-cat with green eyes
Darkwhisker - Dark brown tabby with grey eyes
Apprentice - Sleekpaw
Stormwing - Dark blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes
Squirreltail - Ginger she-cat with amber eyes
Featherpelt - Pale grey she-cat with silver eyes
Apprentices -
Sleekpaw - Cream she-cat with green eyes and a white tail
Rowanpaw - Dark ginger tom with green eyes
Starkpaw - Pale brown tom with dark brown muzzle and paws
Queens -
Goldenleaf - Yellow she-cat with yellow eyes, kits - Waspkit, Mothkit (owned by Serpentfeather)
Mapleshine - Ginger she-cat with black tipped ears, blue eyes, kit - Foxkit (owned by some anonymous person who reviewed)
Kits -
Elders-
Shatterpelt - White tom with blind blue eyes
Ravenfur - Scrawny black she-cat with blue eyes