Chapter One
"Hey Sagewhisker! Ready to go out and train?" Silverpaw asked energetically, her tail flickering in excitement as she waited for her mentor.
Sagewhisker had just walked out of his den and was stretching. "Hi, Silverpaw" he said affectionately, nudging his apprentice's shoulder. "Excited for your first day?"
"Yep!" She responded, "Where are we going today?"
"Hmm... Well, I have a surprise for you. Can you go get Mintleaf for me?" Asked Sagewhisker as finished stretching.
"Ok!" replied Silverpaw, as she ran off toward the medicine can den, purring happily.
"Mintleaf? Mintleaf" Silverpaw searched all over the den but her beloved medicine cat was no where to be found. She searched for a few more minutes before frowning at the empty den.
Sadly she walked back to Sagewhisker. "I couldn't find Mintleaf anywhere."
Sagewhisker walked up to her and sighed. "It seems like we can't find anyone. I was going to take you to see the Moon stones for your first day, but we can't without traveling herbs. I'm sorry Silverpaw."
"It's okay," she meowed in disappointment. "Starclan has a reason for everything, maybe they didn't want me to go today."
Sagewhisker's whiskers twitched and he smiled fondly at his apprentice. "I think you'll grow up to be a very wise cat, Silverpaw." he said admiringly. "I'll take you on a tour of our clan's territory instead! You can eat now," he added, walking over to the fresh kill pile and selected a plump vole.
"I've always wanted to explore the territory!" She exclaimed as she picked up a small mouse from the fresh kill pile. She hummed contentedly after finishing the delicious meal.
Sagewhisker nodded. Silverpaw was going to be a very wise and intelligent cat, he could already see it.
He waited a minute until asking her, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Silverpaw said as she bounded towards Sagewhisker, her blue eyes shining with renewed excitement.
"Okay then. Do you think you can cross the stepping stones out of camp? " he asked, knowing she'd take the dare. Apprentices always did.
'Well she'll be in for a surprise,' mused Sagewhisker as he hid his smile with an unreadable expression.
"Of course!" she cried out, grinning at the challenge, then she agilely leaped from stone to stone. Once she stepped onto the last stone she slipped and fell into the water. Yelping, she tried to swim to the shore, only to be swept away from the strong current.
"Sagewhisker! Sagewhisker! Help me!" Exclaimed Silverpaw as she struggled to keep her head out of the water. Silverpaw felt the water wash over her and the sunlight fade. Her breathing became shallow and she felt her chest feel heavy with lack of air.
"Silverpaw where are you?" Sagewhisker yowled franticly. He spotted her sinking body under the water and dove right in. He took her by the scruff and pulled the young she-cat out of the water. Her grey pelt was soaking and she was barely breathing. "Silverpaw can you hear me?"
'Somehow I know this is all my fault, she was to young to try and cross the river without help. I should've been watching her more carefully.' Thought Sagewhisker guiltily.
Silverpaw's eyes slowly fluttered open and she saw her mentor above her. "Sagewhisker thank you." Silverpaw gave a happy smile and stood up, shaking her pelt.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Asked Sagewhisker as he checked to make sure she didn't have any bad wounds or was in any pain.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine" She gave her new mentor a sweet smile. "I was caught by surprise and the current was stronger than it look like. It was a mistake on my hand."
"Okay, let's start going if your feeling up to it. We'll start going by the WhisperClan border, then curve around to the ShineClan side." Without waiting for her response, he started walking through the plains, knowing she'd follow.
Silverpaw delightfully chased after her mentor forgetting everything that happened before. "Who is Whisperclan's leader?" she asked curiously, ears pricked for an answer.
Sagewhisker slowed down to a more comfortable rate. "Amberstar." he replied nonchalantly, he personally respected the strong leader and her morals. "She's a good leader, but sometimes seems to be too friendly."
"Oh," she said. "Some cats can definitely can be too friendly, but how is that bad?"
Sagewhisker smiled at Silverpaw's thoughtful question before answering. "Because she's the leader of her clan, and there are times when she needs to be strict and cold in order to keep her warriors in line."
Silverpaw nodded in understanding, chin tilted in wonder as she looked at the perfect sky. "That makes sense I guess, but I think that being kind and friendly is a good attribute for a warrior to have." Silverpaw passed by Sparrowpaw and Eaglefoot.
"Hi, Silverpaw!" He called out, grinning at seeing his crush. Sagewhisker and Eaglefoot shared a secret smile, knowing that the young tom was smitten with Silverpaw. Almost everyone knew how much Sparrowpaw liked Silverpaw, well, apart from the she-cat herself.
"Hey Sparrowpaw!" She exclaimed cheerfully before noticing her mentor was getting farther away. "I'll see you later, I've got to go!" She padded away before Sparrowpaw could properly say goodbye.
As they continued their walk, Sagewhisker felt the need to speak up since they had came to an area that smelled strongly of WhisperClan. "Take a good whiff here, Silverpaw. This is WhisperClan scent, before long, you'll know it by heart." Silverpaw sniffed the ground and scrunched her nose slightly.
"It smells weird, but it's fresh, oddly enough, there is their scent over there." She pointed her nose in the direction of a log on Riseclan territory.
Sagewhisker nodded, his whiskers twitching. He lifted his front paw and marked the border. "Come on," he said, nudging her. "Once we get to ShineClan border, we'll get something to eat."
They soon reached the ShineClan border. "Remember this scent too," ordered Sagewhisker.
"Smells better than Whisperclan!" she remarked with a surprised look and Sagewhisker chuckled softly.
"It does," he replied, his ice-blue eyes shining with amusement.
"Can we get something to eat now?" She asked. "I'm excited to see Sparrowpaw, uh I mean..."
Sagewhisker snorted with laughter, then flicked his tail to quiet her. He soon caught two rabbits. "We'll share one, and take one back to the Clan." Sagewhisker states before pawing one of the rabbits to her. "Usually you can't eat on a patrol, but we're not on a hunting patrol, so we're allowed to."
"Okay," she said and took a bite out of the rabbit, then she pushed it back to Sagewhisker.
After they'd finished the rabbit, he sat up. A few moments later, he said, "Ready to head back?"
"Yeah," she said, then started walking behind her mentor. She was completely dry now and was glad because she had started to get cold.
Sagewhisker nodded and led the way back to camp, carrying the last rabbit. When they got back, Sparrowpaw jumped up from his position by the entrance. Then he waved the tip of his tail to greet Silverpaw.
"Hi," greeted Silverpaw, ducking her head as Sparrowpaw walked to her. "How was your patrol?"
Sparrowpaw's ears grew hot in embarrassment and he sat back down to get more comfortable. Sagewhisker left the two lovebirds to themselves and put the rabbit in the fresh kill pile.
Sparrowpaw tried to shrug nonchalantly. "I haven't been on any patrols yet. I just had to run an errand." He brightened. "How was yours?"
"It was great." Silverpaw felt so comfortable around Sparrowpaw, she just felt like spilling out all her feelings to him. "But I wish you were there..." She gazed into his surprisingly soft eyes.
When he saw all the compassion in Silverpaw, he softened immediately. His usually icy, untrusting eyes became cool and relaxed. He was suddenly even more embarrassed. They were denmates, not mates, after all. But what if they could... He brushed against her side, walking towards the fresh kill pile slowly, hoping she would follow.
Silverpaw followed after him and sat down next to him at the pile. "When do you think we will become warriors?" She asked suddenly, causing Sparrowpaw to flick his tail in slight surprise.
Sparrowpaw's whiskers twitched with amusement and he let down his guard. "Probably when we do something out of the ordinary." He said casually. "I just want someone to mentor me."
Silverpaw gave Sparrowpaw a lick on his cheek. "It's okay, I bet you'll love your new mentor!" She exclaimed brightly.
Just then, Ravenwing's anxious voice rang out. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Talltree for a Clan meeting!" All of the warriors gathered, and Sparrowpaw was summoned by a flick of Ravenwing's tail. He anxiously looked to Silverpaw, then licked himself hastily and stood next to Ravenwing.
Silverpaw gave him a smile and watched and waited. Then it hit her, she had serious feelings for Sparrowpaw, but did he like her back?
'I'll talk to him about it after this meeting,' she thought to herself. 'Then I will truly know."
Silverpaw's smile gave Sparrowpaw confidence. When enough of the Clan was gathered, Ravenwing began. "Many cats cannot be found. If any cat has seen one of the missing cats, please tell me after this meeting. It is troubling to have so many cats gone, but it couldn't have been another Clan or a fox, because then we would know. StarClan help us in these times of need." He looked across the Clan, then began again. "But today, I must take the role of leader, as RiseClan's deputy."
Several warriors cheered and some murmured in doubt. "Sparrowpaw." He stepped forward. "You have received your apprentice name and your mentor, but he too, has disappeared. It's time for you to be given a new mentor. Darkriver." He nodded to the light, bluish gray tom. "You will mentor Sparrowpaw. May you teach him your courage and extreme strength!"
They eagerly touched noses. Darkriver had desperately wanted an apprentice. Darkriver wouldn't have been Sparrowpaw's first choice, but he was a good cat and they would learn lots together. "Sparrowpaw!" Cheered the cats of Riseclan, happy to have another mentor and apprentice within the clan.
After the gathering was over Silverpaw padded over to Sparrowpaw. "Hi Sparrowpaw!" She said happily. "Can I talk to you?"
A beaming Sparrowpaw leaped down from the Talltree and next to Silverpaw. "Sure!"
"I just wanted to say that...I really like you Sparrowpaw." Silverpaw stuttered out, blushing.
Sparrowpaw's eyes got huge. He was not expecting this. "I think you're nice, Silverpaw. I like you too." He was too nervous to say 'love', but he did have feelings for the silver-haired cat.
They both smiled at each other sweetly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow Silverpaw." Said Sparrowpaw. He gave her one last smile then padded off towards his den.
End of Chapter One