A Stranger In the Forest
Graypaw crouched downwind from the clump of ferns that waved wildly in the windless night. He silently crept up to it, scenting the air as his paws moved. He recognized his prey's scent – vole – and the fresh rain's smell, but there was another scent that he couldn't identify. When he was a mouselength away from the vole's hiding place, he pounced on the ferns. The vole struggled to get away, but Graypaw killed it quickly with a snap of his sharp teeth. Then he buried his prey and sniffed the air again. The falling rain had made all the scents stronger and sharper. Graypaw still smelled the strange scent, but now he realized that it was cat scent, unfamiliar and very strong. He knew that the cat wasn't from ThunderClan – all the cats from his clan were back at the ThunderClan camp, or away on a battle mission to drive the intruding RiverClan cats away from the Sunningrocks, part of ThunderClan's hunting grounds.
Thinking of the battle that was sure to follow ThunderClan's confrontation of the rival Clan made Graypaw think guiltily of his conversation with his mentor, Lionheart. The golden tabby's words still echoed in Graypaw's head, "Graypaw, you must stay here in the camp! If RiverClan attacks us, we shall need every warrior, apprentice, elder, and queen here ready to fight!"
But Graypaw hadn't listened – instead, he'd snuck out of camp to go hunting, and even after catching his Clan some prey, he still felt guilt about sneaking out of camp weigh his shoulders down with every step he took.
The sound of crackling leaves jolted Graypaw back to the present. He pushed back a tremor of fear – this was his first night out of camp as an apprentice, and he didn't want it to be his last – he swallowed quickly. Graypaw wanted to go back to camp and get backup before attacking any warriors from any other clans, but his punishment for sneaking out of camp would be less if he drove off an enemy warrior, and he imagined the mocking glances his clanmates would give him if they found out that Graypaw had run from a fight.
Graypaw felt a wave of determination from this thought, and he let the feeling devour his fear. He would confront the other cat, be it from RiverClan, ShadowClan, or WindClan!
Graypaw sniffed the air again and established that he was downwind from the other cat. He crept closer to the cat. When Graypaw saw the other cat – a ginger tom – it was stalking a piece of prey. Graypaw stifled a snarl – the trespasser was hunting on ThunderClan's territory when the Clan needed every small scrap of prey they could find!
The strange ginger tom bunched his muscles and prepared to jump at his prey. Then he flinched and the bell on his collar jangled. Graypaw sneered. The cat was a kittypet, no match for even the youngest Clan kit!
The kittypet looked around, scenting the air. Graypaw knew that the other cat couldn't smell him, but he ducked into a clump of ferns. Then the kittypet began prowling forward, ears focused ahead and tail twitching slightly.
Graypaw began creeping forward towards the ginger kittypet. When Graypaw's tail brushed a pile of bracken on the ground, the tom swiveled his ears backward, but kept moving forward.
Graypaw swallowed and took off, racing towards the ginger cat. He slammed into the stranger and held on tightly, teeth sunk into the kittypet's scruff and claws raking the cat's sides. The ginger tom writhed beneath him, squalling, then quickly flipped over, squashing Graypaw beneath him and the ground. Graypaw's breath was knocked out of him and his grip loosened. The other cat struggled to his paws and streaked across the forest floor, heading for Twolegplace. Graypaw got up and ran after him, feeling victorious. He was driving out an intruder!
Suddenly, the other cat stopped and spun around to face Graypaw. Graypaw realized that the kittypet was about his age before he crashed into the ginger kitten.
Both cats stumbled from the impact. The ginger kitten recovered first and arched his back, puffing out his orange fur bravely. Graypaw then decided that it wasn't worth attacking the little kittypet. He sat up and licked his paw, trying to appear friendly.
"Hi there, kittypet!" Graypaw meowed. "You put up quite a fight for a tame kitty!"
The ginger tom remained on tiptoe and Graypaw wondered if the kittypet would attack him anyway, but the kitten dropped down flat on his feet and growled, "And I'll fight you again if I have to."
"I'm Graypaw, by the way. I'm training to be a ThunderClan warrior," Graypaw went on.
The kittypet stayed silent, then leaned down to groom the fur on his shoulder.
"What's a kittypet like you doing out in the woods? Don't you know it's dangerous?" asked Graypaw.
"If you're the most dangerous thing the woods have to offer, then I think I can handle it," the kittypet meowed.
Graypaw narrowed his eyes at the confident kitten. "Oh, I'm far from the most dangerous. If I were even half a warrior, I'd have given an intruder like you some real wounds to think about. Anyway, I didn't think it was worth hurting you. You're obviously not from one of the other Clans."
The ginger tom looked confused. "Other Clans?"
"You must have heard of the four warrior Clans that hunt around here!" Graypaw hissed impatiently. "I belong to ThunderClan. The other Clans are always trying to steal prey from our territory, especially ShadowClan. They're so fierce they would have ripped you to shreds, no questions asked. They come to take prey that is rightfully ours. It's the job of the ThunderClan warriors to keep them out of our territory. When I've finished my training, I'll be so dangerous, I'll have the other Clans shaking in their flea-bitten skins. They won't dare come near us then!"
The kittypet narrowed his eyes, "So you're not a warrior yet?"
"Why? Did you think I was?" Graypaw purred. "I won't be a real warrior for ages. I have to go through training first. Kits have to be six moons old before they even begin training. Tonight is my first night out as an apprentice."
"Why don't you find yourself an owner with a nice, cozy house instead? Your life would be much easier. There are plenty of housefolk who'd take in a kitten like you. All you have to do is sit where they can see you and look hungry for a couple of days–"
"And they'd feed me pellets that look like rabbit droppings and soft slop! No way! I can't think of anything worse than being a kittypet! They're nothing but Twoleg toys! Eating stuff that doesn't look like food, making dirt in a box of gravel, sticking their noses outside only when the Twolegs allow them? That's no life! Out here it's wild and it's free. We come and go as we please. Until you've tasted fresh-killed mouse, you haven't lived. Have you ever tasted mouse?"
"No. Not yet," the ginger cat admitted.
"I guess you'll never understand. You weren't born wild. It makes a big difference. You need to be born with warrior blood in your veins, or feel the wind in your whiskers. Kitties born in Twoleg nests could never feel the same way." Graypaw meowed.
"That's not true!" the kittypet replied.
Graypaw sniffed the air, then hissed, "I smell cats from my Clan! You should go. They won't be pleased to find you hunting in our territory!"
The ginger tom stiffened and looked around, but he was too late. A familiar voice meowed, "What's going on here?"
Graypaw's eyes widened. Please don't let it be… he begged StarClan.
A blue-gray she-cat prowled out of the undergrowth. She didn't look angry, but she hid her emotions so well that you could never tell what she was feeling.
"Bluestar!" Graypaw crouched down to the ground; then a golden tabby tom followed her.
"You shouldn't be so near Twolegplace, Graypaw," the golden tabby growled, eyes narrowed angrily.
"I know, Lionheart. I'm sorry," Graypaw knew he was in trouble for sneaking out of camp. He felt the kittypet crouch down beside him.
"Who is this?" asked Bluestar. The kittypet flinched.
"He's no threat," Graypaw's words tumbled out quickly. "He's not another Clan warrior, just a Twoleg pet from beyond our territories."
The kittypet flattened his ears angrily, then looked away from Bluestar's piercing blue eyes.
"This is Bluestar; she's leader of my clan!" Graypaw hissed quietly to the ginger tom. "And Lionheart. He's my mentor, which means he's training me to be a warrior."
"Thank you for the introduction, Graypaw," Lionheart meowed.
Bluestar was still staring at the ginger kittypet. "You fight well for a Twoleg pet," she meowed.
The kittypet glanced at Graypaw, confused, but Graypaw didn't know how Bluestar had known this.
"We have been watching you both. We wondered how you would deal with an intruder, Graypaw. You attacked him bravely," Bluestar went on.
Graypaw's spirits rose at Bluestar's praise.
"Sit up now, both of you. You too, kittypet." The ginger tom sat up immediately. "You reacted well to the attack, kittypet. Graypaw is stronger than you, but you used your wits to defend yourself. And you turned to face him when he chased you. I've not seen a kittypet do that before."
The ginger tom nodded, looking overwhelmed.
"I had been wondering how you would perform out here, beyond the Twolegplace. We patrol this border frequently, so I have often seen you sitting on your boundary, staring out into the forest. And now, at last, you have dared to place your paws here." Bluestar looked thoughtful. "You do seem to have a natural hunting ability. Sharp eyes. You would have caught that mouse if you had not hesitated so long."
The kittypet stammered, "R-really?"
Lionheart spoke, "Bluestar, this is a kittypet. He should not be hunting in ThunderClan's territory. Send him home to his Twolegs!"
"Send me home?" the kittypet meowed. "But I've only come here to hunt for a mouse or two. I'm sure there's enough to go around."
Graypaw felt a pang of dread as Bluestar whipped her head around to glare at the kittypet. "There's never enough to go around! If you didn't live such a soft, overfed life, you would know that!"
The kittypet now looked terrified. Lionheart was looming over him at Bluestar's side, and the only thing Graypaw could do was watch helplessly as his Clanmates growled threateningly at the ginger tom.