Warriors Go to the Fair

PROLOGUE

It all started one summer evening, when Leafpool and Jaypaw were out collecting herbs near the WindClan border. Jaypaw was carrying a mouthful of burdock root that they'd found earlier, and Leafpool was sniffing out some watermint. As she did so, she kept glancing over the stream and into the hills where WindClan made their home. Jaypaw wondered why, but his attention was immediately ripped from Leafpool and herb-collecting when he smelled something odd among the leaves lying about on the forest floor.

Jaypaw, dropping his herbs, plodded over through the leaves to the fleck of white he'd smelled. He dropped his head and licked up the white fleck from the forest floor and chewed it slowly. Exciting flavors exploded on his tongue and he yelped with excitement. What was that white fleck?! What was it doing there?! And why was it so yummy?!

Leafpool looked over. "What's wrong?" she asked in that quiet voice of hers. She padded over, her delicate tail wrapping around her apprentice's shoulders. "What's yummy? Did you catch a mouse?"

Jaypaw looked up blindly. "No!" he mewed. "Look!" he added, pointing his tail-tip to the other piece of white that lay a tail-length away from where the first had lain so gently on the leafy forest floor. Leafpool's eyes bugged out at the sight and their amber depths looked disrupted.

"What's that?" she asked scornfully, unwrapping her tail from around her apprentice's shoulders and padding forward to prod the thing with her tail-tip cautiously.

"I've no clue!" Jaypaw called over from where he stood. "Try it! It's excellent!"

Leafpool bent down and lapped up the small white shred and chewed it thoughtfully, the way she might chew a new herb that she'd discovered. Suddenly, her eyes bugged out even more and her tail stood straight up, her fur bristling, her amber eyes spinning and her whole body swaying as if she were dizzy. Jaypaw, sensing a change in his mentor, sprinted forward. "Leafpool! What's wrong?" he asked, half annoyed that his mentor was trying to get attention.

She bent forward. "That… was… AMAZING!" she yelped, her voice getting louder with every word. She bounced on her paws, her fur bristling, her amber eyes filled with pleasure and excitement. "Jaypaw! You must get me more!"

Jaypaw scented the air. "I can tell there's more around…" Jaypaw felt around the ground underneath his paws and then felt some. "Ah! Here's some!" Jaypaw called out to his mentor. "But you can't have any. We've got to take it to Firestar and ask him what it is! He might know!"

Leafpool growled. "Jaypaw, you will give me that right now, young apprentice!" she hissed, crouching down and staring at her apprentice with narrowed amber eyes. "Give it to me!"

Jaypaw held the fleck in one of his pawpads. "No way! The way it's making you act, any cat would think you were a kit again!"

The Medicine Cat snarled. "Give me it!"

"No!"

Leafpool sprang from her crouch, her claws out. Jaypaw yelped, sensing his mentor leap, and ran off into the forest towards the camp, feeling the breeze on his face. This was odd. He wasn't affected by the white fleck the way Leafpool was, but it sure was delicious!

Jaypaw ran into the camp through the barrier of thorns and brambles, and right into a cat that smelled like Sandstorm. Sure enough, it was. Sandstorm looked down, bewildered. "Jaypaw!" she mewed. "What're you doing? Why do you look so afraid?"

Not being able to talk because of the white fleck in his mouth, he dropped it. "Sandstorm! Take me to Firestar now!"

"Sure… but why?" Sandstorm asked, bending down and sniffing the white fleck. "And what's this?"

Jaypaw licked the white fleck up again, out of Sandstorm's reach, and held it in between his teeth. "I don't know," he mumbled in between his teeth. "Maybe Firestar will."

The two padded up to Firestar's den, where inside, Firestar sat in his nest, grooming his chest fur diligently, his green eyes tired looking. Firestar looked up when he saw his mate and grandkit pad in.

"What's up?" Firestar asked, rising from his nest. "What's wrong, Jaypaw? You look as if you're being chased by the whole of ShadowClan!"

"Something like that," Jaypaw meowed, after dropping the white fleck at Firestar's paws. "Tell me what this is. Hurry! I found these out in the forest and Leafpool ate one and now she's after my tail for it! She nearly ripped me to shreds for it!"

Firestar stiffened when he saw the white fleck. "Oh no…" Firestar meowed softly, staring down at the white fleck, his green eyes wide and his mouth open in a small gape. "Get this away from the camp, immediately! Sandstorm, fetch Thornclaw to throw it in the lake…"

Jaypaw looked up. "But what is it?" the young gray cat asked.

Firestar bristled. "Popcorn," the ginger tom meowed. "Twoleg food."

Jaypaw pondered this. "Popcorn. So Leafpool's crazy about popcorn." He tipped his head. "If it's Twoleg food, why's it out in the middle of ThunderClan territory?" he asked.

The leader shook his head. "I don't know, Jaypaw," Firestar answered. He sat down in his nest. "Sandstorm, are you going to find Thornclaw yet?"

Sandstorm dipped her head. "Yes, Firestar," she mewed, and raced out of the den and down into the Camp. But as she exited, another cat, a fluffy white tom with blue eyes, padded in.

Cloudtail sat down in front of Firestar, his uncle, not noticing the white fleck. Jaypaw let out a silent breath of relief. "Hello, Firestar," Cloudtail mewed. "I was wondering if I could take a patrol to the ShadowClan border…"

The white warrior stopped dead as he looked at his paws and saw the white fleck. "What's this?" the white warrior asked, stooping down to lick it up. "Mm, this is good!" Cloudtail mewed, the popcorn going down his throat.

A look of dread crossed Firestar's face. "No!" he yowled, rising from the nest in a flash. "Jaypaw, this is terrible!"

Feeling a sense of defeat, Jaypaw sat down, feeling bitter. "Cloudtail, you mouse-brain, why'd you eat that?!"

Cloudtail was bouncing on his forepaws, a look of amazement on his face. "Oh my

StarClan! That was… AMAZING!! What was it?!"

Suddenly, Brackenfur entered the leader's den, with Sorreltail at his paws. They each carried a few white flecks into the den, in their mouths. Another look of dread crossed Firestar's face.

The two Warriors padded into the den confidently and dropped the flecks at Cloudtail and Firestar's paws. "What are these?" Brackenfur asked, keeping a level head. Meanwhile, Sorreltail was bouncing on her paws like Cloudtail and Leafpool had.

"I must give some of this to Brightheart and Whitewing!" Cloudtail yelped, grabbing two popcorn pieces and sprinting out of the den. Sorreltail let out a yowl.

"I'm going to go share these with Cinderpaw, Poppypaw, and Honeypaw!" Sorreltail added, grabbing three pieces. Now there were only four pieces left.

Firestar slumped down into his nest, looking stunned. "First one piece… that was bad enough… now it's all over the Clan!"

Then, Leafpool ran into the den, dropping four more pieces of popcorn and wolfing down another. "This is great!" she yelped, a crazed look in her eyes. She bounced on her paws and lashed her tail, making yipping noises like a dog. Then Whitewing padded in, with Ashfur, Spiderleg, Daisy, and Hollypaw hot on her heels.

"Popcorn!" they screeched, and they attacked the pieces. Whitewing, who already had had a piece, stepped back, bouncing on her paws, still suffering from the effects of the first.

Then Lionpaw walked in, with Berrynose, and the two each took a piece, and the chaos began.

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Stay tuned for Chapter Two, where oddness rules!

-Dewy-