A/N: Just an experiment I'm working on. It's a sequel to Firestar's Quest, written by Erin Hunter. Enjoy!!
The sound of the flowing river awakened Tinypaw from her long, dreamless sleep. She had decided to sleep near the entrance of the apprentices' cave that night since her brothers Rockpaw and Bouncepaw were too tired last night to keep guard. Tinypaw usually slept near the back of the cave while Bouncepaw kept watch, but he was too exhausted to remember.
Wearily, Tinypaw stood in her mossy nest. She had only recently been made an apprentice by her new leader, Leafstar, before Firestar and Sandstorm left. Firestar lived in a forest far away from the gorge in ThunderClan as their leader. Sandstorm was his mate.
The two ThunderClan warriors had come all the way from their forest because of a prophecy sent to the leader by a SkyClan ancestor, Cloudstar. He was destined to come to the gorge and rebuild the lost fifth Clan of the forest, SkyClan, which was banished from the forest when Twolegs took over. Then he returned home to the ThunderClan camp. The other three Clans of the forest were ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan.
Tinypaw wasn't quite sure that she had SkyClan blood in her, but her mentor Sparrowpelt did. The ancient SkyClan cats had the ability to leap high into trees to catch prey and navigate up the gorge walls. Tinypaw had only climbed up the gorge once in her apprenticeship and wanted desperately to be like the other SkyClan cats.
As the sun floated higher above the gorge edges, Tinypaw began to feel her stomach growl in hunger. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at her sleeping brothers and headed out of the cave on the side of the gorge wall. Leafstar and SkyClan's deputy, Sharpclaw were already crouched beside the heap of fresh-kill, deciding the day's patrols and such.
"Ah, you're bright and early this morning," Sharpclaw meowed, sounding unusually chipper. The flame-coloured deputy was crouched over a half-eaten sparrow.
Leafstar nodded. She had only received her nine lives of a leader just before Firestar and Sandstorm left. SkyClan's medicine cat, Echosong received a message from StarClan saying that Leafstar was meant to be Clan leader. Before then, she had been known as Leafdapple.
Tinypaw nodded back to her leader in acknowledgement before picking out a piece of fresh-kill for herself. At that same moment, her mentor Sparrowpelt and his sister, Cherrytail hopped nimbly down from the warriors' cave. Patchfoot was right behind them.
"Good morning," Cherrytail mewed cheerily. "How were your dreams?"
Sharpclaw snickered. "I dreamed I was stalking a juicy-looking vole," he answered.
"I didn't dream," Leafstar meowed, and Tinypaw caught a faint hint of unease in her voice.
"Sparrowpelt, after you train Tinypaw here, lead a patrol down to the Whispering Cave," Sharpclaw meowed, finishing off his sparrow. The Whispering Cave was where Echosong when every half-moon to speak to her warrior ancestors in StarClan. It was a wet cave by the river that homed shining, celestial moss.
Sparrowpelt nodded. "Sure," he murmured. "Cherrytail, will you and Rockpaw come with me?"
The tortoiseshell warrior nodded.
Tinypaw couldn't suppress the purr that exploded from her chest. When Firestar left a while ago, she had been sure that the ThunderClan leader was worried about how SkyClan would manage. Not long before, a pack…no, more like a swarm of rats threatened the SkyClan cats' existence. Firestar bravely led them to battle against the rats and destroyed their giant, cat-tongued leader. The SkyClan cats had been unharmed ever since.
"Come on, Tinypaw," Sparrowpelt mewed from beside the thoughtful apprentice. "I'm going to teach you how to chase off other kittypets and rogues like Oscar and Tangle."
Oscar was a kittypet living with his Twolegs beside the gorge in the Twolegplace. He had sneered at the ways of a Clan cat ever since Firestar had tried to rebuild SkyClan, while Tangle simply preferred the life he was living currently.
Tinypaw nodded and got to her paws, swallowing the last bite of her fresh-kill. She knew that Oscar would come and go as he pleased and wanted to show him what a SkyClan warrior apprentice could do.
As the two stalked down the side of the gorge away from the trickling river to the training hollow, Tinypaw heard a soft voice calling from behind her. She turned around in curiosity to see Clovertail, her mother, bounding toward her.
"If you don't mind, Sparrowpelt," the brown-and-white she-cat panted, clearly out of breath from running, "I'd like to train with you. Firestar and Sandstorm left just after my kits were made apprentices, and I still have a lot to learn."
Sparrowpelt nodded. "Of course. For now, as Firestar said, we're all learning the ways of the warrior code."
As the cats trekked on, Tinypaw couldn't help wondering if the two ThunderClan cats really told SkyClan everything about the warrior code. She knew that there was still a lot to learn, but what if Leafstar or Echosong didn't know what to do in times of need? Tinypaw made a mental promise to ask Leafstar later.
Once the SkyClan cats neared the training hollow, Sparrowpelt stopped and turned to mother and daughter.
"Okay, you two," the brown tabby meowed. "The intruders we may encounter might not be so keen to attack us if they are kittypets, like Oscar. If you do see the cat at any time, here's how you attack him. Clovertail, will you be my assistant?"
Clovertail nodded and stepped forward, crouching low in preparation for an attack from the warrior. Sparrowpelt sprang at her, barring his teeth with effort. Clovertail dodged his attack smoothly and leaped onto his shoulders, pinning him down.
Sparrowpelt shook the warrior off and shook his pelt from dust. "Very good," he coughed. "But, like I said, the kittypets might not want to attack. I'll act like a wandering kittypet, and you attack me, okay?"
Clovertail nodded and crouched once more, waiting for Sparrowpelt to make his move.
Sparrowpelt padded a few rabbit hops away and began walking toward the two cats again, gazing around in wonder.
Suddenly, with a brisk shake of her haunches, Clovertail sprang at the unknowing warrior with a loud snarl. Sparrowpelt, completely surprised by the attack, swivelled around on the ground underneath Clovertail's weight.
"Good job, Clovertail!" Sparrowpelt praised as the she-cat stepped away, giving her chest fur a few quick licks. "Tinypaw, why don't you give it a try?"
Tinypaw nodded and got to her paws. She shook her pelt in concentration before glaring at her mentor stalking toward her absent-mindedly. She bunched up her muscles and pounced at the tabby warrior, tackling him to the ground. Sparrowpelt hissed in alarm and clawed at Tinypaw's white fur. Tinypaw moved nimbly out of the way and hurled another attack at her mentor. The two went tussling in the sand before Tinypaw had Sparrowpelt pinned.
"Very good!" Sparrowpelt meowed, pride gleaming in his eyes. "I'm proud of your progress, Tinypaw."
Tinypaw stepped away from her mentor and looked down in modesty. "Thank you, Sparrowpelt."
With a sigh, the tabby warrior meowed, "I know it was short, but I think that's enough for today. Sharpclaw wants me back for a patrol with Cherrytail soon."
Clovertail nodded and started down the trail toward the SkyClan camp, followed by Sparrowpelt and Tinypaw.
As the cats walked on, Tinypaw's mind began to wander. She wasn't yet accustomed to the ways of an apprentice, yet she knew she and her brothers had it easy. Sandstorm had told her when she was a kit that apprentices had the task to care for the Clan's elders and bring fresh-kill to the nursing queens and elders before eating themselves. Nowadays, SkyClan had no elders to care for, and Petalnose, the only nursing queen, refused to be served. But Tinypaw also knew that Petalnose's kits, Mintkit and Sagekit, were bound to have more duties than the apprentices now.
As the cats made it back to the Rockpile in the middle of SkyClan territory, Leafstar and Sharpclaw were perched atop the mound of fallen rocks.
"You're just in time," Leafstar meowed. "I've called a Clan meeting."
Sparrowpelt nodded, and Tinypaw padded after him to sit down with the others beneath the Rockpile.
"Leaf-bare will be coming soon, and Firestar warned me of the troubles to come," Leafstar announced. "Therefore, I will increase the amount of hunting patrol to get ready for the harsh weather."
Sharpclaw stepped up to stand beside his leader. "I've already told Sparrowpelt to patrol down to the Whispering Cave, but I will instead assign him a hunting patrol. While you're down there, renew the scent markings anyway. Patchfoot, lead another hunting patrol and regular patrol down to the training hollow. I'll come with you."
Patchfoot nodded to his deputy before Leafstar leaped down from the Rockpile and the SkyClan cats scattered. Tinypaw got to her paws to find her brother, Rockpaw. He was Cherrytail's apprentice and was coming with her on the patrol.
"Tinypaw!" The white apprentice turned around to see Rockpaw bounding toward her. "Let's go. Sparrowpelt and Cherrytail are waiting."
Tinypaw nodded and leaped after her black brother to where her mentor and his sister were waiting.
Without another word, Sparrowpelt stalked off down the invisible trail to the Whispering Cave. Tinypaw loved padding down the ledge and into the cave. Of course, the fear of slipping into the rushing torrent of the river frightened her, but she still loved the thrill of being so close to her warrior ancestors.
But, unfortunately, the patrol wasn't heading along the ledge. Sparrowpelt turned abruptly as he leapt on top of the fallen tree that marked SkyClan's old territory boundary. The following cats trotted after him, using their tails to keep balance on the slippery, moss-covered trunk.
Tinypaw hopped down from the log and gazed around her. The copses of trees and bushes were noisy with scrabbling prey, and her paws itched with the anticipation of the hunt ahead of her. Sparrowpelt had taught her enough hunting skills to catch a couple mice and wanted to show off her skills to Rockpaw.
But, a sudden flicker of movement caught her attention and she witnessed the black apprentice burying a small squirrel.
"What?" Tinypaw hissed incredulously. "I didn't even see you kill that squirrel!"
Rockpaw shrugged. "I guess I'm light on my feet."
Tinypaw rolled her eyes before spotting a shrew scrambling along the riverbed. She dropped into a hunter's crouch and stalked up to the helpless creature, keeping light on her haunches. Rocking her haunches from side to side, she sprang at the shrew. Before she knew it, the creature was dead in her paws.
Excitement flooded Tinypaw's small body. She had never caught a shrew before, and couldn't wait to show off her catch to the rest of the Clan.
Suddenly, a fierce yowl filled the silent air.
"Mouse dung!" Rockpaw exclaimed. "There goes all the prey."
But Tinypaw wasn't paying attention to her brother. She crept forward, anxious to figure out where the yowl came from. It sounded like a cat, and the sudden scent of fear mingled with SkyClan scent.
"Oscar!" she heard Cherrytail hiss defiantly. Rolling her eyes impatiently, Tinypaw padded up to where the tortoiseshell had spotted the kittypet.
"What do you want, Cherry?" Oscar growled, crouching low, a snarl playing about his lips.
"For the last time, it's Cherrytail!" Cherrytail snarled. "And I want to know why you're on SkyClan territory."
Oscar snorted. "I don't go by territory, Cherrytail," he scoffed. "The whole world is my territory."
Tinypaw sighed. Even though she hated to admit it, the fearsome kittypet would've made an excellent SkyClan warrior. He had given Firestar a hard time when he was telling the cats about SkyClan.
"You may go by different rules, but in the gorge, you are not welcome," Cherrytail hissed. "Now leave before I make you."
Oscar chuckled. "Bite me."
With that, the tortoiseshell she-cat lunged at the black-and-white tom. All Tinypaw could see or hear was a tussling of tortoiseshell and black fur and yowls from both cats. Claws and teeth glinted sharply in the grey sunlight as the cats tussled.
"Cherrytail!" Tinypaw hurled around to see Sparrowpelt bounding over to the fighting cats. "What in StarClan's name is going on here?"
"Oscar," Tinypaw mewed simply.
Sparrowpelt, not needing further explanation, leaped at Cherrytail and yanked his sister off of the writhing kittypet.
"Fox dung!" Oscar snarled, giving his ruffled shoulder fur a few quick licks. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Cherrytail chuckled in triumph. Tinypaw could tell she was content with what she was hearing from the cowering kittypet. "I learned to fight well in SkyClan, mouse-brain."
Oscar's eyes seemed to widen for a moment before he snorted again. "I told you once before, and you'd better believe that I do not need a Clan to survive. I'm perfectly happy with my housefolk."
"I wasn't offering the position," Cherrytail meowed icily.
Without another word, just a glance of fury, Oscar disappeared up the gorge and out of sight.
"Well done, Cherrytail," Sparrowpelt meowed with a slight sigh of concern for his sister.
"You're not my mentor; I don't need praise from you," Cherrytail purred playfully. "Come on, we've got prey to catch."
Tinypaw followed Rockpaw further into the trees, her mind still on the tussle between Cherrytail and Oscar. Maybe, if Oscar ventured down in SkyClan territory enough, he'd feel compelled to join and become a warrior.
But Tinypaw quickly dismissed such mouse-brained thoughts. Oscar was a very proud cat and she knew that he would never want to join such a silly idea like SkyClan.
Shaking her head with frustration and amusement at the same time, Tinypaw smelled a rabbit hopping near, and instantly dropped down into a crouch, eager to taste the wonderful fresh-kill in her mouth.