Hello readers. "Night Arises" kind of seems like a cheesy name, don't you think? But it's fitting because this story is about the rise of "NightClan". Just thought I'd clear that, 'cause it's a strange title.
The story takes place in the old forest, long long long after Firestar and the others. (Let's say they never moved out of the old forest, shall we?) Cats from the books may be mentioned, ecspecially two cats in particular... But I'm not giving anything away!
This first chappy is kind of boring. But it explains some things, and the story gets better in the second chappy, I promise.
Sablefrost opened his eyes and squinted against the bright sunlight.
"Whoops… Didn't mean to doze off," he muttered to himself. He stood and stretched, feeling well rested. His brawny form was mostly black, with only a white chest and paws. His eyes were dark brown. They looked thoughtful and considerate most of the time, though Sablefrost was more of the action type.
From the position of the blazing greenleaf sun, he guessed he had slept for about an hour. He looked around and his eyes landed on the fresh-kill pile that he and Passionpaw had filled earlier. The two of them had been up at sunrise and had hunted for hours. It was exhausting, yet oddly satisfying. The weather had drawn out plenty of prey and it had been like the mice were jumping into their claws, as Passionpaw had put it.
Passionpaw was his somewhat difficult apprentice. At nine moons she was already as good a fighter as any warrior, as well as a great hunter and she was wonderful at getting along with the other apprentices. Unfortunately, with as good as she was, she had somehow gotten it into her head that she was ready to be a warrior.
It had started out subtly. Passionpaw started shirking her apprentice duties and sneaking out to 'join' patrols without permission. Then she had started asking for her warrior ceremony early and when that was declined she became stubborn. The real turning point was when she lost her temper and started yelling at the elders. Since then the reddish-brown tabby had withdrawn into herself and started sulking all the time. She always did her best when she was hunting or fighting, but her duties as an apprentice were neglected to the point where Shallowstar had to threaten to take away her apprentice name.
Last moon Shallowstar had refused to let Passionpaw come to the gathering because of her 'attitude.' Sablefrost had to repress a purr of amusement as he remembered how Passionpaw had worked so hard on all her duties this week. She really wanted to go to tonight's gathering.
Sablefrost padded over towards his leader's den. The sun beat against his black fur, making him swelter. He loved greenleaf, but the heat made him sometimes wish it was leaf-bare all over again!
Sablefrost stopped ouside the entrance of his den and meowed before coming inside. Shallowstar stood in the far corner, giving his ears a washing. Shallowstar was Sablefrost's father. They didn't look much alike, with Shallowstar being mostly gray with a white muzzle and Sablefrost black and white.
"Hello, Sablefrost," meowed Shallowstar without looking up. He was in the far corner of his den, which was made of gorse and sticks. Sablefrost sat down and curled his tail around his white paws.
"Passionpaw has been working so hard this week," meowed Shallowstar. "After you fell asleep she went to her duties. Then she helped Tremblingleaf collect herbs for a while. She's exhausted, so I sent her to the apprentice's den for a rest before she has to go on that patrol." He purred with amusement. "I think she really wants to go to the gathering, what do you think?"
Sablefrost smiled. "Yeah, she hasn't mentioned it at all, but you can tell. Are you going to let her come?" he asked, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice.
Shallowstar didn't answer at once. Before he had a chance to reply, Sablefrost heard his name being called by Mottledheart, the deputy. He excused himself and left, hoping Shallowstar would seriously consider letting Passionpaw go. She may have had a temper, but she was a hard worker. And it was clear she had her heart set on going tonight.
"Yes, Mottledheart?" he mewed as he approached the tortoiseshell tom. Mottledheart turned his dark green eyes on the young warrior. "Where's Passionpaw?" he asked, sounding cross. "She's supposed to go on a patrol, but no one can find her anywhere."
Sablefrost felt his heart sinking. Not again! "Um, did you check the apprentices den? She was supposed to be resting."
Mottledheart rolled his eyes. "Of course we checked the apprentices den, mouse-brain. Great StarClan!" he growled. Sablefrost swallowed.
"Well… I don't know where she is. Let me go see if I can find her," he meowed, already turning.
"Hurry up, Sablefrost! The patrol is due to leave in a few minutes!" the deputy called after him. Sablefrost didn't need to be told twice. Darn you, Passionpaw! he thought in despair. He sniffed the camp entrance but her scent was stale, probably from this morning. So she hadn't left camp, like she usually did. Sablefrost was relieved. There were only so many places she could go inside the WindClan camp. He checked with the elders, but they hadn't seen the russet colored apprentice since she had done her duties that morning. He went to see if she went to Tremblingleaf's den for some reason, but she wasn't there either.
He looked around, wondering if Passionpaw was in the warrior's den. It wasn't likely, but he wasn't sure where else to look. He approached the den half-heartedly, intending only to glance inside to see if she was there, when he heard her voice.
"I don't know if he'll let me go or not. I hope he does though… I've worked hard all day!" she was saying.
The black and white warrior froze. Who was Passionpaw speaking to? He had the terrible feeling he knew.
"Not just all day…" meowed a silky voice. Sablefrost had to keep his neck fur from rising. Mudstreak!
"You've been behaving all week… I've noticed it. Everyone's noticed it. Shallowstar would be a fool not to let you go to the gathering tonight."
Sablefrost bristled. He had heard enough already. He stepped into the den where Passionpaw and Mudstreak sat across from each other, talking casually. Mudstreak spotted him and narrowed his eyes.
"Hello, Sablefrost," meowed the white warrior calmly. Passionpaw turned around, smiling. "Hi, Sablefrost!" she mewed happily.
"Passionpaw, you're not supposed to be in here." Sablefrost meowed, giving her a stern look. Her smile disappeared.
"I was just talking," she mewed defensively, averting her gaze.
"Talk outside, not in here," meowed Sablefrost firmly. He had to stop himself from adding You're not a warrior yet because he knew that would only make her angrier. Instead he said, "Besides, you have a patrol! Have you forgotten?"
She jumped, eyes growing wide in alarm. "Oh, no!" she cried, dashing out of the den without a backwards glance.
"She wasn't hurting anything," Mudstreak meowed calmly. Sablefrost couldn't hide his anger anymore.
"She's not supposed to be in here! You know that. Even the smallest kit knows that!" he growled.
"Show some respect, Sablefrost," meowed Mudstreak, voice dangerously low. "I am a senior warrior, after all." Without another word, the tom stalked past Sablefrost into camp. Sablefrost let his breath out slowly, wishing he would have kept his temper.
Mudstreak had always rubbed his fur the wrong way. But when he had started taking a liking to Passionpaw, Sablefrost had become absolutely intolerant of him. The older warrior was always on Passionpaw's tail, always wanting just to talk to her. In fact, Mudstreak supported her rebellious behavior, always telling her she had the right to become a warrior. He played on her feelings and emotions, sticking around just to conveniently be around to talk whenever she was upset. She refused to listen to Sablefrost's warnings about him, stubbornly insisting they were just good friends. Sablefrost knew better, but he couldn't convince Passionpaw of that and Shallowstar couldn't just forbid the two of them to talk together. They both knew that would make things worse, anyway. Sablefrost shuddered as he imagined how vulnerable Passionpaw was to Mudstreak's ways. He wanted to knock some sense into her head, but technically Mudstreak was doing nothing wrong and he had never done anything wrong in the past. Really, there was nothing Sablefrost could do about the older warrior so he just kept an eye out, trying to keep them apart as much as possible.
Sighing, Sablefrost stepped from the den and crossed the camp to go visit his sister in the nursery. Fallenleaf had given birth to her three kits a few days earlier, so he tried not to exhaust her too much. But it was always nice to talk to her. She had a calming effect on him.
He pushed his way through the protective brambles of the nursery wall and meowed a greeting. She looked up, her green eyes sleepy, but content.
"Hi, Sablefrost," she mewed, curling up her tail. "You haven't come and seen me for a while. What's up?" she asked, bending down to lick one of her kittens on the head. Sablefrost crouched down, watching the kittens proudly. There were two solid dark browns, like their father Oakwhisker, and a light brown tabby like her mother. He licked the tabby kit and sighed deeply.
"Passionpaw has had me on my paws since sunrise," he explained with a smile. Fallenleaf purred. "Oh yes. She was in here earlier. Had my moss changed in three minutes flat. I take it she wants to go to the gathering tonight?" she mewed, gazing at Sablefrost with her piercing green eyes. Sablefrost chuckled.
"Oh yes. She definitely wants to go to the gathering," he mewed. "I hope Shallowstar lets her."
"Oh, I'm sure he will. He knows he's got to give her some privileges." Fallenleaf mewed confidently. That made Sablefrost feel better, and he felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. Just as he opened his mouth to say something more, he heard Shallowstar call a Clan meeting.
"Oh!" he mewed, standing up. "He must be announcing who's going to the gathering!" His tail twitched.
"Then get out there, furball," laughed Fallenleaf. "Shoo!"
Sablefrost grinned at her and turned, waving his tail goodbye. He burst out into camp, just as Shallowstar started announcing the names. He walked over and sat beside Oakwhisker, tilting his head to look up at his leader. He was in the group, and he was glad to hear that Mudstreak would be staying home… but what about Passionpaw?
"…Goldenpaw, Azurepaw and Passionpaw." finished Shallowstar at last. Sablefrost let his breath out without even realizing he had been holding it. Oakwhisker chuckled and flicked him on the shoulder. Sablefrost ignored him and looked up at the sky. The sun had gone down only minutes ago, so the sky was still streaked with gold and purple colors. The full moon was already becoming brighter and stars were beginning to appear.
A rustling announced the return of the patrol. Sablefrost turned and saw Passionpaw entering camp. She looked bored, but as she glanced around camp he watched it slowly dawn on her that there had just been a meeting. She turned and bounded towards him.
"Sablefrost!" she breathed, looking excited. "Did he… Am I…" she didn't finish her question, staring at him, waiting for the answer. Sablefrost couldn't help but let out a mrrow of laughter. Passionpaw had only been to one gathering before; no wonder she was so worried.
"Yes, Passionpaw, you're going to the gathering," he mewed with a smile. She smiled and bounded into the air, as if she just had to let her energy out. "Yes!" she mewed triumphantly, eyes gleaming. Sablefrost cuffed her over the ears playfully. He loved her when she was like this.
"Come on you furball," he mewed. "Let's go get some fresh-kill before we have to leave for fourtrees."
Ooh, what'll happen at the gathering? O.O