Alliances
SkyClan
Leader—Sharpstar-Dark Ginger tom
Deputy— Tendriltail—Tabby tom
Medicine Cat—Frecklewish—mottled brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs light
Warriors (Toms, and she-cats without kits)
Patchfoot—black and white tom
Petalnose—pale grey she-cat
Quailfeather—Dark reddish tabby tom with black paws, apprentice, Vinepaw
Mistleg—Silver she-cat (with darker flecks around the legs) apprentice, Hollypaw
Ratbite—Longhaired tabby tom with many nips from rats on tail (former loner)
Rabbitleap—Longhaired ginger tom, apprentice, Mallardpaw
Cherrytail—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
Squirrelhop—Light brown she-cat with
Whiskerflight—White-and-grey she-cat
Shrewtooth—Skinny black tom
Boncefire—Ginger tom
Tinycloud—small white she-cat
Gorgedust—Ginger she-cat with black paws and tail
Waspwhisker—Grey and white tom, apprentice, Bramblepaw
Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)
Shallowpaw—Grey-blue tom with sandy brown paws (Gorgedust's son)
Hollypaw—long limbed black-and-silver she-cat with dark blue eyes (Gorgedust's daughter)
Mallardpaw—Black tom with silver tail
(Gorgedust's son)
Vinepaw—Tabby tom with green eyes
Bramblepaw—Reddish she-cat with dark brown muzzle
Queens (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)
Clovertail—light brown she-cat with white belly and legs
Applepine—Dark brown she-cat (Expecting Ratbite's kits)
Elders (former warriors and queens, now retired)
Tangle—Ragged tabby tom loner
Chapter 1
"Hollypaw, Hollypaw!" The clan called out the apprentice's name. Hollypaw padded over to her brothers, Shallowpaw and Mallardpaw. She licked both her brothers' left ear and mewed, "I can't wait to train!"
"Forget training, I want to be a warrior right now!" Mallardpaw ducked and lashed his tail. "We've already seen everything!"
"We've only seen the apprentices train!" Shallowpaw batted over Mallardpaw's ears.
"Hollypaw!" Hollypaw's mentor, Mistleg motioned to her. She bounded over to her and sat down. "We're going to look through the territory, with your brothers and their mentors." She stopped and licked her paw then continued: "But don't get used to it. You—for sure—are going to the gathering tomorrow Moonhigh, but maybe not your littermates." Hollypaw nodded. She knew her littermates would have arguments with each other, and would not be able to fight together most of their lives. "Now come." Shallowpaw, Mallardpaw and the others waited patiently by the path out of the gorge while Mistleg and Hollypaw padded over to meet them.
Grass instead of the stone ground of the gorge felt smooth and soft on Hollypaw's hard pads. Not only did Hollypaw hear the soft rustle of prey, but as they padded by, Hollypaw noticed the older apprentices, Bramblepaw and Vinepaw, training in the shallow dip of the training hollow. Mistleg was chatting with Squirrelhop, Shallowpaw's mentor.
"Mistleg!" She scrambled up to her mentor. "When are we going to learn how to fight?"
"Maybe in two days." The grey warrior shrugged. "You'll be to tired if you go to the gathering."
"And if I don't?"
"I'm not sure." Mistleg shook her head.
"It's almost Sundown." Rabbitleap, a senior warrior interrupted. "We had better get back to the gorge."
He spun around on one paw and leapt back to the nearest branch. "It's faster if we leap through the trees. Even though it's your first day, I'm surprised all of you are so tall." The pale ginger warrior purred. Hollypaw bunched up her haunches and leaped up to Rabbitleap.
"Wow! That's so fun!" Hollypaw jumped up to the highest branch and streaked through the tallest branches.
"Wait for me!" Mallardpaw scrunched down and chased after her.
As the sun began to set, Bramblepaw showed Hollypaw her nest. Bramblepaw rocked back and forth on her paws, as she mewed about how horrible the nest looked. Hollypaw yawned and curled up, between her two brothers. As the moon began to rise, Hollypaw closed her eyes and fell into a gentle sleep.
Hollypaw awoke in a grey and black forest. A disturbance of peace crawled up Hollypaw's back. "Hollypaw…" Hollypaw whipped around. "You know me." A large cat, as tall as the trees, lurked towards Hollypaw. Eyes glowing of yellow, and a mouth with no end, he tackled Hollypaw with one swift movement. "I'm surprised you don't remember your old pal, Ripper…"
"Who…are…you?" Hollypaw struggled the words as she squirmed to leave the cat's grasp. The cat leapt off her started circling the apprentice. "I've never seen you…or have I?"
"Don't you remember this?" An image appeared in front of Hollypaw.
"That's—me!" Hollypaw gasped. "As a kit!" She looked at the image. "What's wrong with my eyes?"
"It's the Poison Spirit. Don't you remember it now? When you tried to kill—"
"No!" Hollypaw yowled and jumped onto the cat. They tumbled through the forest until she shocked awake. Shallowpaw still slept in a hard slumber, but Mallardpaw was out in the clearing.
"Thank StarClan your awake!" Mistleg came charging at her. "You have to eat before the gathering."
Hollypaw nodded. The apprentice was nervous, because she had never been up to the star gazing rock before, where SkyClan held their gatherings. At the fresh kill pile, she picked up a quail and padded over to meet Mallardpaw. Mallardpaw smiled curtly and Hollypaw whispered, "We should go up to Star Gazing Rock after we eat."
Mallardpaw choked. "Are you serious?"
"Keep your voice down!" Hollypaw hissed. "Besides, it'll surprise Mistleg and Quailfeather…Squirrelhop, too. Come on, if we get in trouble, we'll probably have to get moss for the elders, but remember, you get it in the waterfall cave! I love that place, and I believe you do too."
"Fine." Mallardpaw mumbled between bites. Hollypaw finished off her quail and flicked her tail, her brother following.
"Wait! Don't we want Shallowpaw to come?" Mallardpaw stopped.
Hollypaw padded on. "No…he'd be too worried about what might happen." Mallardpaw purred in agreement and followed Hollypaw up the stone slope. As the two apprentices padded up the incline, Hollypaw couldn't help but to remember the cat in her dream. It wasn't like a regular cat…it was more like a…beast or a spirit…but how could she tell? Hollypaw shivered. She had no responsibility for her kit past. "We're almost there," She advised her brother.
"Finally!" Mallardpaw heaved. Above them stood a tall pillar of rock. "That's Star Gazing Rock?" His jaw hung open. "How are we supposed to get up there?"
"Probably a path, maybe we need to climb!" Hollypaw's eyes lit up. She wanted to climb up Star Gazing Rock so badly, she wanted to leap up to the nearest ledge and work her way up.
"Hollypaw! It's almost Sun High! I bet Tendriltail has already assigned hunting patrols! We have to get back!" With as much energy as the tom had left, Hollypaw watched her brother streak off, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Snorting, she followed her brother, down into the gorge. Mallardpaw was sitting next to Quailfeather, and explaining to Mistleg that Hollypaw should be right behind him. Greeting her mentor with a dip of the head, Hollypaw mewed, "Do we get to learn how to hunt today?"
"If Tendriltail ever assigns us to a hunting patrol." Quailfeather bickered. "We're older warriors, we should be first…see! There goes Scufflefoot and Mousesqueak! They only became warriors half a moon ago! Tsk!"
Mistleg purred and whispered in Hollypaw's ear, "Watch out for Quailfeather. He can be unusually picky at times."
"I heard that." Quailfeather growled. Hollypaw rolled her eyes.
"Quailfeather, Mallardpaw, Mistleg, Hollypaw, you'll be going with Vinepaw and his mentor, Treeear, to the falls. There should be plenty of prey there." Tendriltail nodded at the four cats.
"Finally," Quailfeather growled and stalked past the deputy, chin stuck high in the air. Mallardpaw paused and leaped after him.
"Come on, Hollypaw you don't want to irritate Treeear." A voice breathed on her back. Vinepaw flicked his tail. Mistleg was already with the other warriors, and Vinepaw had been waiting for Hollypaw.
The quiet forest grew loud as baby birds chirped for their mother. Hollypaw padded next to Mallardpaw, and whispered, "I'll be right back. Vinepaw is trailing behind." Slowly she stepped backwards, meeting Vinepaw. "You okay?" The older apprentice looked at Hollypaw. "You can tell me." She whispered.
"It's nothing." The tom shrugged. "Look, we're arriving at the training gully." Hollypaw wasn't happy he had changed the subject, although she was excited that they were able to hunt.
"Hollypaw, show me your hunter's crouch…for catching mice." Mistleg nodded to her. Hollypaw lowered her body, her belly a mouse height above the ground. "Good. Maybe stay a little more down wind." Hollypaw gulped. "Now, focus on your prey and—" Mistleg leapt forward and pounced on the leaf she aimed for. "Pounce. Now you try on your own." The black and silver she-cat nodded and padded off.
"I'll go with her." Vinepaw volunteered.
Hollypaw opened her jaws to taste the air. A mouse scurried by a root of a maple tree. Lowering herself, Hollypaw crept up on the mouse. Her ears pricked. There was another cat. It smelt of SkyClan. Ignoring it, Hollypaw raised and leapt. Be-fore the little wood mouse could squeak in alarm, she killed it with a finishing bite. Trotting back to the training gully, she noticed Vinepaw meet her. He carried a large squirrel. Hollypaw looked down. Would she ever be able to hunt things that large? Clearing her memory, she kept on walking. As she arrived back, her mentor praised her, "Good catch." Hollypaw smiled. On the inside, she felt alone as she saw that Mallard-paw had caught a bigger mouse.
"It's okay," Vinepaw murmured. "It's only your first catch. If I were allowed, perhaps you'd like to come by twoleg- place with me. That's where my mother lives. She decided to stay a kittypet." Hollypaw took a step back. Was he suggesting…?
"I'd—rather—not…" Hollypaw gulped. Too shy to look the apprentice in the face, Hollypaw picked up her mouse and streaked back to the gorge. Is he squirrel-brained?
The next sunrises, Hollypaw insisted that she would only go on patrols with her brothers and Bramblepaw. As she entered the clearing, she noticed Ratbite scrambling down the gorge.
"It's Sharpstar! He's dead!" Hollypaw gasped, as well as almost all of the other cats.
"What happened?"
"Leafstar…Now Sharpstar?"
"I—I don't know! There was these two dogs and I—I was able to save Sharpstar once, but then, the dog ripped his neck almost all the way…I was able to flee after he died…" The black tom had grief in his orange eyes. "I couldn't do anything else…those dogs took him…those dogs are murderers!"