Love is Love
By Charlotte Barton
Inspired by Erin Hunter
CHAPTER 1
Maplepaw headed out of the Thorn Tunnel with her littermates Fernpaw and Sunpaw, her amber eyes glowing in excitement. It was their first adventure out of camp on their own, and their mentors Foxleap, Rosepetal and Whitewing had assigned them to go hunting. "Remember, don't go outside the Thunderclan borders," Rosepetal had warned them in a stern voice. "Of course," Sunpaw had assured them - he had always been the most outspoken out of the three of them. Maplepaw was the quiet one, Foxleap's apprentice, and Fernpaw was the sweet beautiful one, Rosepetal's apprentice. Maplepaw had always envied her sister because of her looks, and because she knew Shadowpaw, the strong and kind tom, liked her. Fernpaw of course liked him back, but so did Maplepaw. She shook her head. There was no time to think about that now. As her mind whirled back to the real world, she glimpsed the lake sparkling through the trees, and Sunpaw's dazzling golden fur in the light. Fernpaw's speckled brown fur shone next to his, and her deep green eyes looked into her's. "Come on, Maplepaw!" she yowled back to the spotted tortoiseshell. Maplepaw hurried back up to her littermates. "Sorry!"
Maplepaw scented a thrush digging in the leaf-fall bracken. Even when a leaf crackled under her paw and the thrush looked up, it went back to digging because Maplepaw's pelt blended so well with her surroundings. She crept closer and closer, then pounced and killed the thrush with a single swipe to it's neck. She silently gave thanks to Starclan, then padded back to her littermates. "Nice one!" Fernpaw mewed. "Thanks," Maplepaw managed to mumble with her jaws full of prey. She then dug some earth over it and carried on hunting. She spotted a squirrel scurrying towards a tree, and Maplepaw began to chase it. She came closer and closer to the new set of twoleg nests on the edge of Thunderclan territory, and when she finally managed to catch the prey she realised she was only a few tail lengths from a twoleg fence!
Weirdly, Maplepaw felt more curiosity filling her body than fear. She cautiously padded closer, then glanced behind her to make sure Sunpaw and Fernpaw weren't there. She skirted around the edge of the fence, keeping a close eye on what was around her. Finally, she came to a square of fence that was missing, the perfect size for a cat to go in and out. Creeping in, she had managed to find her way into a twoleg garden. Staring around, Maplepaw saw the perfectly cropped and shaped plants and flowers, in neat rows and not one weed. Sniffing around, she recognised catmint and yarrow, and made a mental note to tell Leafpool and Jayfeather. She quickly pulled off a few stalks of both plants, then crept back through the gap in the fence. What she didn't notice was a pair of giant eyes, clear as the lake water and as blue as a sapphire, staring after her.
Back in camp she dropped her squirrel and thrush on the fresh kill pile then padded over to the Medicine Den with the herbs. "Is anything wrong?" Leafpool asked, not looking up from the herbs she was sorting. "Oh, I found some Catmint and Yarrow so I thought I should bring you some," she replied setting the herbs in front of her. "Yes, we were needing some of that. Do you mind going back for some more Catmint tomorrow? We are getting ready for half moon so we don't have time to go out." Maplepaw nodded and left the den. She was curious to go back because the twoleg nest seemed interesting to her, everything neat and precise, so different from the forest. At sunset she went out to eat some fresh kill, and chose the plump thrush she caught earlier. Then she went to sit next to her parents Lionblaze and Cinderheart who were sharing tongues. She didn't talk much, she was just thinking about what else was at the twoleg nest. Was there a cat there? What were the twolegs like? With a full belly, Maplepaw fell into a deep sleep.
Opening her eyes, Maplepaw found herself in a lush green leaf forest. But it's leaf-fall! Then she realised this must be a dream. Even though every thing was a bright luscious green, when she looked up she saw a black sky filled with thousands of stars. She padded onward, sniffing each plant and tree, until she saw the silhouette of a starry cat standing before her. She ran towards it, and came face to face with a beautiful silver she-cat, with stars in her pelt. Maplepaw didn't recognise her scent, but somehow she had a natural sense of respect for her. "Hello, Maplepaw," she mewed, her voice as sweet as honey, "I am Feathertail, the one who went on the great journey with your distant kin Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw." Maplepaw stared at her in awe. She had heard many tales of the great journey, which 6 cats from all the clans went on to find their new home, the lake. Her great aunt Squirrelflight and her mate, Brambleclaw, represented Thunderclan. Feathertail and her brother Stormfur represented Riverclan, but Feathertail had died on the journey in the mountains, saving the ones she loved from the evil Mountain Lion Sharptooth. Stormfur had decided to stay and live in the mountains to respect his sister, and so he could stay with his mate Brook. "Why have you come to me?," Maplepaw asked, puzzled, "I am just an ordinary apprentice from a different clan." Feathertail shook her head, "I have connections with Thunderclan, and look over all of you. But, Maplepaw, I have come to you specially because you will have great troubles ahead. The one you love will be someone you least expect, but Love is Love, and you must carry on." Then she started to fade into the starry night. "Wait! You must tell me more!" But then Maplepaw opened her eyes and she was back in the Apprentices Den.
Still thinking about her dream the next morning, she started grooming herself, her fur ruffled with annoyance and confusion. Why wouldn't Starclan tell her anything? Surely her love would end up being one of the toms in this very den! Shadowpaw stood up and stretched, while her closest friend Oakpaw asked her what was getting under her fur. "Just a weird dream I had," Maplepaw replied. Foxleap and Thornclaw stuck their heads into the den. "Dappepaw! Maplepaw! Dawn patrol!" Daplepaw opened her eyes and slowly padded outside, and Maplepaw followed. She liked Dapplepaw. She wasn't as close to her as Oakpaw, but she was still a friend. Maplepaw also knew that Dapplepaw and Oakpaw liked eachother as mates, so she liked to get under their fur about that. There were seven apprentices at the moment, and the den was getting very full. But Maplepaw liked that, and when she heard about the story of Birchfall and Whitewing being the only apprentices, she was very glad it wasn't like that for her. She had Sunpaw, Fernpaw, Shadowpaw, Oakpaw, Dapplepaw, Creekpaw and herself. She, Fernpaw and Sunpaw were the kits of Lionblaze and Cinderpelt, Shadowpaw and Dapplepaw were the two kits of Poppyfrost and Berrynose, and Oakpaw and Creekpaw were the two sons of Dovewing and Bumblestripe.
I will be making the second chapter very soon! Thanks for reading and please review :)