This piece first started out as a contest on dA (I got second place!) and I decided to post it here. The theme was 'First Patrol', so I used Honeywhisker (Honeypaw) and her siblings on their first patrol as apprentices.
Hope you enjoy it!
"Hurry up, Meadowpaw, hurry up!" a pale cream-colored tabby she-cat demanded as she gently shoved her sister out of her nest. Her brilliant green eyes were sparkling with happiness and her fur prickled with excitement.
"Ugh, go away, Honeypaw!" a pale gray she-cat with paler spots growled and shoved her annoying sister away. Her blue eyes beamed with anger and annoyance as she looked over her ruined nest. "Aww, now look what you've done! My nest is ruined! It took me forever to make that!"
"Sorry, but we have to go!" Honeypaw pointed out and bounced a little on her paws. "Indigofog's expecting us, remember?"
Meadowpaw shot straight up. "Well why didn't you say so? Come on! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" The tiny apprentice shot straight out of the apprentices' den with her sister not far behind her. Outside, the apprentices' mentors were waiting for them by the camp entrance.
"About time you two showed up," a dark brown tabby tom complained. "We thought you two had forgotten!"
Honeypaw let out a snort. "Like we would forget this! This is our first day as apprentices, Leafpaw, and we get to patrol!"
"Are you three ready to go?" a black tom with a brown underbelly and amber eyes, Bramblebelly, asked.
"Yes!" Meadowpaw purred and bounced lightly on her paws.
A pale brown tabby tom with wide amber eyes let out a purr. "It sounds like they're ready," Bircheyes told Bramblebelly.
"Then let's go," Indigofog, a pale blue-gray tom with blue eyes, meowed. With a wave of his tail, all three mentors and apprentices headed out of the bracken tunnel.
Honeypaw felt excitement tingle her paw-tips. She couldn't believe that they were going to explore their territory right now. The pale cream-colored tabby could barely keep her excitement as they escaped the bracken tunnel. She stared in awe at the tall elm trees that towered over her and the gently breeze that swayed the branches. The sun gleamed through the breaches in the branches and shone like dapples on the cool, earthy ground. Robins and cardinals sang their morning song that echoed throughout the forest.
"This is amazing!" Honeypaw chirped and waved his tail happily in the air.
"I never knew how beautiful our territory is!" Meadowpaw purred. "Just look at all the trees!"
"They're just trees, Meadowpaw," Leafpaw snorted.
"Yeah, but aren't they pretty?" Meadowpaw meowed dreamily. "I just love new-leaf."
Leafpaw let out a sigh and rolled his amber eyes
"Come on, you three," Bircheyes meowed. "We have a patrol to do at the PineClan border."
"Do you think we'll get to meet some PineClan cats?" Meadowpaw asked her mentor, Indigofog, as the patrol continued on their way.
Before the Clan deputy could respond, Leafpaw interrupted him.
"If we do, then we can shred them!" Leafpaw boasted. He leapt into the air and pretended to slash a foe.
Indigofog gave the young tom a hard look with his narrow blue eyes. "No one will be shredding anyone. If we meet a PineClan patrol, then we will treat them nicely and with respect."
"Aww!" Leafpaw moaned and his tail slightly dragged on the forest floor.
"Besides, you don't know any battle moves in the first place!" Honeypaw teased her brother.
"I do, too!" Leafpaw protested. He crouched down on the ground and bunched his hind legs. "Do you want to see them?"
Before Honeypaw could attack her brother, Indigofog placed his tail on her shoulder.
"We're doing a patrol, remember?" he scolded.
"Uh….yes, Indigofog, I…uh…remember," Honeypaw stammered and sat up. Leafpaw did the same and quickly wrapped his dark brown tabby tail around his paws.
Indigofog glared at the two apprentices before returning to the patrol.
"You have a fierce mentor," Honeypaw whispered to Meadowpaw.
Her sister only shrugged. "But our mother said that he's one of the fiercest, loyalist, and bravest warriors ever. That's probably why he's deputy."
The six CreekClan cats gingerly leapt on the slippery rocks that dotted the prattling creek. Honeypaw stopped on one sleek rock to gaze down in the clear creek. Tiny minnows flickered in the stream and Honeypaw resisted the temptation to tap the water with her paw.
"Hurry up, Honeypaw!" her mentor, Bramblebelly, called from ahead. Honeypaw quickly quickened her pace so she caught up with her mentor at the back of the patrol.
"Eww, what's that stench?" Leafpaw spat and drew his ears back.
"That's PineClan you smell," Bircheyes told his apprentice. "We're by the PineClan border now."
A stretch of dark evergreens laid in front of the CreekClan cats as the PineClan scent washed over them. The pines almost seemed shadowy to Honeypaw, and she wondered how it would be like to live there.
"Now it's time to mark the border," Indigofog meowed. After he marked it, fresh PineClan scent washed over Honeypaw's nose. Several PineClan cats were on their side of the border, and each cat had their fur raised and teeth bore.
"CreekClan!" a dark ginger tom with white chest, paws and tail-tip growled. "Have you've been stealing our prey?"
"That's minnow-brained!" Bircheyes snapped, his shoulder fur slowly rising. "Why would we steal prey?"
"Maybe because your Clan is so large that it needs more prey to feed itself," a light brown tabby she-cat with white tail-tip snarled. A young black tom with a white throat flashed his tail in agreement.
He must be an apprentice… Honeypaw thought.
"So what if our Clan is so large?" Bramblebelly growled. "That means our Clan is strong enough to keep trespassers out!"
A gray and white she-cat growled and let her claws sink into the moist ground.
"CreekClan, enough!" Indigofog growled. He turned to a brown tabby tom on the other side of the border. "Sedgeowl, tell your cats to keep their fur on!"
The brown tabby tom merely sniffed. "We were just here to make sure you marked the border on your side." The PineClan deputy walked forward and gave the border a good sniff. "Hmm…it smells fine…for now." He gave a snort and stepped back.
"Satisfied?" Bramblebelly sneered.
"For now," the dark ginger and white tom growled.
"Be quiet, Embersnow!" Sedgeowl snapped. He turned to Indigofog. "Just make sure that CreekClan keeps on their side of the border."
"We'll do that," Indigofog meowed. Sedgeowl let out a sniff before leading his cats deeper into their territory.
Once the PineClan cats disappeared, Leafpaw spoke. "They were nice, weren't they?"
"They sure were," Meadowpaw meowed. "Are they always this prickly?"
"Not always," Indigofog assured his apprentice. "But they just keep looking for something to accuse us with, that's all."
Leafpaw let out a snort. "I'm glad we share borders with them," he joked.
"Come on," Indigofog meowed. "We better finish this patrol so we can report back to Lunastar."
"Hurry up, Eclipsepaw!" Sedgeowl snapped.
The young black tom with a white throat winced and quickened his pace. "S-Sorry, Sedgeowl!" he meowed. His mentor, Secrettail, flicked her white tail-tipped tail over Eclipsepaw's shoulder.
"Ignore his attitude," Secrettail whispered. "My brother is always hard on the new apprentices."
Eclipsepaw flashed his mentor a grateful glance as the patrol continued. Ahead of him, Embersnow and Wolfberry padded behind Sedgeowl, who was flicking his tail fiercely.
"Just you wait," Sedgeowl meowed. "We will catch those sneaky CreekClan cats one day. They cannot be trusted with anything."
"Yeah, and then we'll show them who's the strongest Clan in the forest!" Embersnow purred and waved his tail happily. Wolfberry purred in agreement.
Suddenly, a yowl was heard in the direction of the CreekClan border. The patrol froze in their tracks and pricked their ears for danger. All they could hear was the sound of cats yowling and hissing. After a few heartbeats, a sudden stench blew toward the PineClan cats.
"Badger!"
Honeypaw whimpered and pressed closer to the ground. In front of her bracken hiding place, Indigofog, Bramblebelly, and Bircheyes were busy attacking a large, male badger. The beast had come out of nowhere when the six cats were continuing their patrol and attacked the Clan cats. Indigofog had ordered Leafpaw to get back-up, while Honeypaw and Meadowpaw were ordered to hide.
Honeypaw quickly peered out of her hiding place and saw Meadowpaw cowering in fear in her fern hiding place a fox-length away from her. Her blue eyes grew wide with worry and fear scent began to wash off her like heavy waves. When they were told to hide, Honeypaw wanted to suggest to her sister that they'd hide in the bracken, but by then Meadowpaw had hidden somewhere else.
The cream-colored tabby apprentice turned her attention back to the three warriors. They were trying their best to fight the badger, but they weren't doing too well. Bramblebelly had a claw wound on his brown belly and a torn claw, while Bircheyes' muzzle was seriously clawed and his tail looked like it was bitten badly. Meanwhile, Indigofog let out a screech and attacked the badger's back. The badger merely shook the CreekClan deputy off and Indigofog landed on the group with a thud.
"PineClan, attack!" a cat yowled and five familiar cats leapt into battle. Sedgeowl attacked the badger's throat while Wolfberry and Embersnow nipped the badger's hind legs. Secrettail screeched and clawed the badger's muzzle.
"PineClan's here!" Bramblebelly panted as he leapt on the badger.
Honeypaw's tail swished with excitement. PineClan was going to help them! A rustle of bracken was heard and Honeypaw turned her head to face a black and white apprentice.
"Who are you?" Honeypaw whispered and drew her ears back.
"I'm Eclipsepaw," the tom whispered. "We are here to help! My patrol heard yowling and the reek of badger and came to investigate!"
"Well…we are grateful for your help," Honeypaw whispered and turned her attention back to the battle. By now, the CreekClan and PineClan warriors were slowly gaining on the wounded badger. The badger looked almost defeated…but it had not lost its will to fight. The beast gave one more fruitless attack as it stood on his hind paws and let out a fearsome roar. With a yowl, Indigofog and Sedgeowl leapt on the badger's belly and pushed off. The black and white monster lost its balance and stumbled backwards…and was heading straight for Meadowpaw's hiding spot.
"Meadowpaw, run!" Honeypaw cried. Her spotted pale blue-gray sister only stared in horror as the badger toppled toward her.
"No!" Honeypaw wailed.
Honeypaw let out a feeble wail as she pressed her muzzle deeper into her sister's cold pelt. Besides her, Leafpaw, Lunastar, Heavysecret and Indigofog were holding her vigil. The badger had managed to escape into the forest and Lunastar sent patrols to chase it. The PineClan warriors paid their respects to the dead apprentice before leaving. Eclipsepaw had even given the mourning Honeypaw a quick lick on the ear before leaving.
The young apprentice moaned and closed her green eyes tighter. "I'm so sorry, Meadowpaw. I should've persuaded you to hide with me."
Her first day as an apprentice had gone horribly wrong.