AHAHAHA!
You didn't think I'd forget my BIRTHDAY, did you?
I wrote a story last year, and of COURSE I'm writing a story this year! Even if I came up with the plot a day late...and the story is a little late...and I should be cleaning my room for my birthday party in a few days.
Of course I'm going to write it!
DISCLAIMER: WARRIORS BELONGS TO ERIN HUNTER OMG YES IT DOES STOP LYING TO ME. (I'm a little hyper...blame chocolate milk) BUT BROWNPAW AND NIGHTPAW BELONG TO ME!
"Nightkit! Come on, Nightkit, wake up!"
Nightkit groaned as she woke up. She stood up, yawning, and glared at Brownkit, her sister. "Brownkit, why'd you have to wake me up? I was having the greatest dream."
Brownkit was so excited she couldn't stay still. She ran in circles around Nightkit, making her dizzy. "It's almost time! It's almost time!"
"Almost time for what?" Nightkit asked.
"Almost time for us to become apprentices, silly! Did you run into a rock and forget everything in that great dream of yours?"
Nightkit sighed. "I just woke up. You can't expect me to remember everything."
Brownkit stopped running and looked with concern at her sister with her brown eyes. Her pale gray fur was ruffled from running so fast. "Are you sure you're okay? This is the greatest moment of our lives! It's hard to just forget that."
"It doesn't seem that great to me," Nightkit muttered. Shock entered Brownkit's gaze, so Nightkit quickly corrected herself. "Come on, an apprentice ceremony? What's this compared to when we become warriors? Or if one of us becomes deputy? Or possibly even leader of all of ThunderClan?"
"You're right!" Brownkit agreed, which relieved Nightkit. "And if I ever become leader, you'll be my deputy, won't you?"
Well...the problem was, Nightkit didn't want to be a leader. Or a deputy. Or even a warrior. Sure, she wanted to hunt...but battle? Why did she have to destroy with her paws?
Thankfully, one of Nightkit's hunger pains took over. Nightkit felt an unbelievable pain in her belly, even though she'd just eaten the night before. This was the only time Nightkit was ever grateful for her hunger pains.
"Are you okay?" Brownkit asked as Nightkit squeezed her eyes shut.
"Y-yeah," Nightkit replied. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."
"Nightkit, from this moment forward you shall be known as Nightpaw."
Nightpaw stared at Firestar. She didn't really want to be a warrior, but she was still anxious to hear who her mentor would be.
"Leafpool, you shall be mentor to Nightpaw."
Nightpaw could feel the shock ruffling through the Clan as Leafpool stepped forward. Nightpaw knew that Leafpool used to be a medicine cat, but she was a warrior now. What was wrong with her training an apprentice to be a warrior?
She missed what Firestar was saying about Leafpool, but broke out of her thoughts to touch noses with Leafpool and step back for Brownpaw.
"Brownpaw, your mentor shall be Cloudtail."
Cloudtail stepped forward. Nightpaw knew her sister would be glad to have Cloudtail as a mentor, and she was happy for Brownpaw. Cloudtail was a great warrior, and an excellent tracker. Brownpaw would be trained well in exactly what she wanted to do.
Nightpaw sighed. What did she want to do?
"And this is the Ancient Oak."
Nightpaw and Brownpaw stared up at the large oak in awe. It was a huge tree, and looked easy to climb.
"Can we climb it?" Brownpaw asked eagerly. Without waiting for an answer, she began to rush forward to climb the tree.
Nightpaw stopped her sister with her black tail. Black, like the rest of her fur, except for a little bit at the very tip of her tail, which was white. "What's the point of asking when you won't wait for an answer?"
Brownpaw looked back at Nightpaw, and Nightpaw knew she could see the amusement dancing in her blue eyes. "I just wanted to climb it, that's all."
"That's all?" Cloudtail asked. "What if you climbed up too high and fell down? You'll be climbing trees soon enough."
Brownpaw bowed her head. "Yes, Cloudtail."
Leafpool flicked her tail. "Come on, it's time for you two to see the lake."
Brownpaw and Nightpaw shared an excited look. The lake!
Leafpool and Cloudtail started to go to the lake. Brownpaw followed, running with the never-ending energy she had. Nightpaw followed with a walk, startled to feel tears stinging her eyes.
Tears?
As they continued, Nightpaw felt herself fall farther and farther behind. Her pace began slowing down, and she began tripping on the undergrowth beneath her paws. She wanted to catch up, but she couldn't go any faster.
Then she stopped, unable to keep going. Her stomach growled, reminding her of the stories of the Twoleg monsters she had heard. Many tears were falling from her eyes now. The black apprentice fell down with a moan. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days, when in reality she had just eaten a little while ago.
"What's happening to me?" Nightpaw whispered to herself.
"This is the lake."
Brownpaw stared at the lake, amazed. "It's huge! Can you believe it, Nightpaw?" Brownpaw looked to her side, but Nightpaw wasn't there. "Nightpaw?" She looked to her other side, but her sister wasn't there, either. "Nightpaw?" Brownpaw looked all around her, but the black apprentice was nowhere to be seen.
Cloudtail sniffed the air. "She's this way." He ran in the direction he could smell Nightpaw from, Leafpool and Brownpaw following.
Nightpaw? Where did you go? Brownpaw asked herself.
Nightpaw couldn't move.
She didn't feel hungry at all, but her stomach hurt like crazy. She had no energy left.
"Nightpaw!"
Nightpaw saw her sister and their mentors running back for her. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would come out. The forest began to spin around her.
"Nightpaw!" Brownpaw was now beside her. "Nightpaw, are you okay?"
Nightpaw wished she could respond, but she couldn't move or speak at all. The forest began to spin more, until suddenly, the forest was gone.
"Will she be okay?" a voice asked.
"I don't know," another voice replied. "I've never seen anything like this. I have no idea what's wrong with her."
Brownpaw? Jayfeather?
Nightpaw opened her eyes. Somehow, she was now inside Jayfeather's den. "B-Brownpaw?"
"Nightpaw!" Brownpaw rushed over to her. "Are you okay?"
Nightpaw got up shakily. At least Brownpaw had her endless energy, as always. "I'll be alright."
"Really?" Jayfeather asked her. "You fainted in the middle of the forest. Somehow, I doubt you're alright."
Nightpaw sat down again, sighing. "What happened?"
"You wouldn't move, or say anything," Brownpaw told her. "We were so worried! Then you closed your eyes, and you wouldn't wake up, so we brought you here."
Nightpaw closed her eyes with a sigh. She was about to say something, but her stomach interrupted her with a large growl.
"I'll get you something to eat," Brownpaw mewed. She ran out of the den.
Nightpaw laid down again. Why was her stomach growling? She didn't feel hungry at all. All she wanted to do right now was sleep.
"That must have been frightening for you," Jayfeather commented. Nightpaw looked over to where he was and saw he was sorting herbs. "As scary as that may have been, I have something to tell you that is even worse."
"What?" Nightpaw asked weakly.
"I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with you."
Nightpaw stared at him in shock.
"Hopefully, some sleep and some food will get you back to normal."
Nightpaw nodded. Well, maybe not food, but some sleep would-
Brownpaw rushed back in with a huge mouse. "Here. Eat this."
Nightpaw shook her head. "I don't wanna eat."
"Eat it! You have eaten since yesterday!" Brownpaw insisted. "You must be starving."
Nightpaw sighed and ate, if only to make her sister happy. Every time she showed signs of slowing down, Brownpaw insisted she kept eating. Eventually, Nightpaw ate the whole mouse.
"There. Feeling better?" Brownpaw asked.
"A lot better, actually." Nightpaw was surprised. She felt like she had all the energy in the world now. She stood up. "Thanks."
"Like I said, a little sleep and a little food, and you're back to normal," Jayfeather said.
"Come on!" Brownpaw told Nightpaw. "Cloudtail and Leafpool are going to teach us how to hunt!"
Nightpaw entered the apprentices den with a sigh. She'd enjoyed the day's training session a lot. She enjoyed hunting, or at least her pathetic attempts at it.
But what about when she had to learn to fight?
Nightpaw didn't want to think about that. She curled up in her nest and closed her eyes. She felt like she would never be able to sleep, but surprisingly, sleep came easily to her.
Nightpaw ran. She ran as if a pack of foxes were behind her, but no creature was chasing her. She was surprised that unlike how she usually was in the forest, always tripping over the undergrowth and anything on the forest floor, she now maneuvered in the forest with ease, knowing exactly where to place her paws so that she wouldn't trip.
What's going on? She asked herself, but had no reply.
Nightpaw felt exhilarated. The moon shown brightly on her black fur, the night hid her pelt, and the many smells of the forest soothed her and gave her energy.
Is this how Brownpaw feels all the time? Like she can keep going and never rest?
A rabbit crossed Nightpaw's path. How unfortunate for the rabbit. Nightpaw stopped and circled the rabbit a little so that she was downwind. She went into the hunter's crouch, stalking forward, stalking forward, stalking forward...
She pounced.
But the rabbit wasn't a rabbit anymore.
It was the gaze of her Clanmates, glaring at her with disapproval.
"There's something wrong with that one. She'll never be of any use." The voices said in her head.
"No!" Nightpaw growled. "I'll show you! I'll show you all!"
Before she could say anything more, however, a new voice spoke in her head.
"Before the dawn comes, the night will be destroyed by hunger, and the night will destroy the code."
Nightpaw woke up with a fright. Such a dark dream...where did it come from?
Surely it didn't come from her own fears. She knew her Clanmates would say such things about her. After all, if they felt that way about her, they would have felt the same about Briarlight, but instead, they encouraged her endlessly.
Nightpaw shook her head. The dream was just a dream, nothing more. It was dawn. Time to put her nighttime fears aside and get something to eat before training.
Two moons had now passed since Nightpaw and Brownpaw became apprentices. Brownpaw was definitely a gifted apprentice. Battle skills came to her with ease. Nightpaw wasn't so gifted. She was lucky she was decent at hunting. She didn't want to talk about her battle skills.
"Nightpaw!" Leafpool called the apprentice from outside the apprentices den. "We're going on the dawn patrol!"
Nightpaw yawned as she stood and stretched quickly before joining her mentor outside.
She joined her mentor, who was waiting with Lionblaze and Toadstep.
"We're patrolling the ShadowClan border," Lionblaze announced. "Is everyone ready?"*
Nightpaw, Toadstep, and Leafpool nodded, and the patrol set off.
Lionblaze and Toadstep were at the front of the patrol, talking about something to do with battling. Nightpaw didn't really care to listen to their conversation or join in. She kept towards the back with her mentor. Neither Leafpool nor Nightpaw said anything for awhile until Nightpaw's stomach growled loudly.
Leafpool gave her a sympathetic glance. "You haven't had a chance to eat yet, have you?"
Nightpaw shrugged. "I'll be fine."
"If you're sure."
They kept walking. Nightpaw's stomach continued growling, but if Leafpool said anything, she dismissed it with a shrug. She didn't really want to be fussed over just because she was a little hungry.
Then the tears came again.
What's with these tears when I'm just a little hungry? Nightpaw thought.
Leafpool gave her a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Nightpaw assured her. Leafpool didn't look convinced. "I'll get something to eat as soon as we get back to camp."
"If you're sure..." Leafpool still looked uncertain.
Nightpaw opened her mouth to assure her mentor that all was well, but no sound came out. Oh, StarClan, not again! She closed her mouth, and just stared at Leafpool.
Leafpool's eyes widened. "What's wrong, Nightpaw?"
Nightpaw couldn't say anything.
Jayfeather walked towards the ShadowClan border. Well, there wasn't anything actually ON the ShadowClan border he needed, but somewhere around there, there were some herbs. And he was starting to run low on herbs. So Jayfeather walked towards the ShadowClan border in search of herbs.
It was a lovely day, the sun was shining, the forest was green, the lake sparkled in the sunlight, Nightpaw was having some sort of problem again, it was nice and warm...
Wait. Nightpaw was having some sort of problem again?
Jayfeather hurried to where Nightpaw was, then quickly started to slow down as he approached Nightpaw and her mentor.
He could feel Leapool's mind start to panic as she looked at him with an expression he couldn't see.
"She won't say anything," she told him.
Of course she wouldn't. She couldn't. Jayfeather looked into her mind. It was full of fear, and...was that hunger? It was more hunger than he'd ever felt before, the hunger of a cat who hadn't eaten in days, the hunger of a cat that needed to eat. Now.
What was wrong with her?
He remembered two moons ago when she was in her den, almost completely devoid of any energy...what had brought her back to normal?
Oh, of course. Duh. Food.
Sometimes, Jayfeather was such a mouse-brain.
"Get her something to eat," Jayfeather ordered Leafpool.
Leafpool went off to get something to eat.
Jayfeather brushed his tail against Nightpaw's flank in attempt to calm her down. "Leafpool will be right back, Nightpaw. She's going to catch something for you to eat."
Nightpaw didn't respond.
After a little while passed, Leafpool came back with a mouse. "This was all I could find."
You mean, this is all you could manage to catch, Jayfeather scorned her in his mind, but said nothing as Nightpaw ate the mouse.
"Better?" Leafpool asked as she finished.
"Much!" Nightpaw replied. "Thanks, Leafpool. Thanks, Jayfeather."
Jayfeather didn't respond as Leafpool and Nightpaw caught up with the dawn patrol.
Something was going on with Nightpaw. And it was more than this problem she seemed to be having.
That night, something woke Jayfeather up from his sleep. Some sort of disturbance in the air that he couldn't quite place. Some cat was leaving camp at night. That wasn't uncommon- warriors tended to go hunting during the night if they couldn't sleep. But this seemed difference.
Then, everything clicked into place for Jayfeather. Of course! That disturbance...it was Nightpaw's anger. But why was she angry, and where was she going?
Jayfeather stood up and walked into the camp to follow her. She'd taken the dirtplace tunnel out, but Jayfeather knew that she hadn't gone just to make dirt. He began to walk out the entrance of the camp.
"Jayfeather!" Rosepetal nodded. "Where are you going?"
"I couldn't sleep," Jayfeather told her. That much was true. "I thought I might take a walk, see if I could find some herbs for my supply."
Rosepetal must have nodded, because she didn't say anything. Jayfeather walked past her and looked around with his unseeing gaze.
Alright, Nightpaw, where have you gone to?
Jayfeather found her location and followed her. Her path seemed straight, and didn't swerve at all. Everytime Jayfeather guessed she might turn and start in a different direction, she kept going. It's like she was going...she was going...
It was like she was going to leave ThunderClan territory and pass into no Clan's territory.
Jayfeather finally caught up to her just as she crossed the border. "Nightpaw!"
Nightpaw stopped and turned around to face him. She was still past the border. He stayed in ThunderClan's territory.
"What do you want?" She asked him. She seemed angry that he had followed her. The last time he saw her, she'd seemed so cheerful.
"What are you doing here?" Jayfeather demanded. "You've crossed the border."
"Of course I crossed the border," she hissed. "I'm not a mouse-brain. I know a border mark when I smell it."
"Why did you cross the border?" he demanded.
"I'm going home," she told him.
"Home? You left camp. Camp's back there." He flicked his tail behind him.
"I'm no fool," she growled. "I know exactly what I said. That's not my home. Not anymore."
"Why are you leaving the Clan?" he asked.
"I never wanted to be a warrior. Sure, I could hunt, but battle? I never wanted to hurt anyone. I still don't."
"In that case, you could have been a medicine cat apprentice. Give me your real reason."
"If I stayed the warrior code would have destroyed me."
The warrior code?
None of this made sense to Jayfeather. But before he could ask, another voice interrupted him.
"Nightpaw!" It was Brownpaw. She raced up to them until she was next to Jayfeather. "What's going on? Why do you look like you're leaving the Clan?"
Nightpaw felt sorrowful, but turned away from her sister. "Before the dawn comes, the night will be destroyed by hunger, and the night will destroy the code. " She began to walk away. "The prophecy must come true."
And then Nightpaw vanished. Never to be seen by her sister again.
*Hurray for Lionblaze's lack of personality!
Completely random long story! W00t! W00t! Brownpaw reminds me of Cinderpelt when she was an apprentice and before she had her accident. You know, how she had all that energy? Yeah. Ah, well.
Nightpaw could have been a medicine cat apprentice, but meh, she was never Jayfeather's biggest fan. That cat always seemed to know more than he should, in her opinion.
Between the last two scenes, Nightpaw realized that the code would have destroyed her because it ordered her to feed her Clanmates before herself. If she couldn't hunt for herself when she had to, she could have ended up dead. She was destroyed by hunger, and she destroyed the code.
W00T! RANDOM STORY!