A/N: I do not own Warriors! I own only my characters!
This is one of my first stories, and my first Warriors one. Please review and tell me what you think so far!
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"
Palekit's eyes flickered open as the cry rang out across the WindClan camp. He hopped up onto his feet, and then scrambled out of the nursery, which was a small hole in the ground near the edge of the camp clearing. As he began leaping excitedly towards the immense rock known as the Tallrock, a paw snatched him backwards. Palekit let out a hiss of annoyance before he turned to see who had stopped him.
His mother, Dawnfire, stared back at him with dark blue eyes. With a flick of her dark orange fur, she signaled him. Palekit hesitated, turning to look at the Tallrock with his bright amber eyes. Hearing a hiss of warning from behind him, he turned and strode back to his mother. Dawnfire proceeded to wash her son's dark tawny pelt. Squeaking in dismay, Palekit tried to wriggle away from her, batting at her with his light-brown, almost ginger, paws. She glared at him and Palekit stopped.
"Are you done yet?" Palekit asked impatiently. Dawnfire muttered a reply, but at the same time swept her tongue over his ear, muffling what she said. The ear flicked in annoyance. "What?" he said, turning to look his mother in her eyes. Dawnfire stopped licking him, her green eyes sparkling with pride. Palekit watched her, filled with a deep love. By some sudden urge, he reached up and licked his mother on the shoulder. She purred, and Palekit almost wished this ceremony wasn't about to happen. Almost, he thought excitedly.
"I said," Dawnfire meowed after Palekit pulled away, "that, yes, I was finished cleaning you." Palekit squeaked in excitement, and dashed off towards the Tallrock. The Tallrock was one of many boulders that surrounded the WindClan camp, except it was much larger than any others, and was ideal for calling meetings. Palekit stopped in front of the large Tallrock, and gazed up in wonder at the top.
Movement caught his eye on the edge of the boulder, and he turned his head to see the tortoiseshell pelt of the WindClan leader as he climbed up onto Tallrock. Palekit had nothing but respect for the leader, and admired him greatly. He shifted, out of nervousness and excitement, on the soft ground, and a small plume of dust was kicked up. There was a sudden huff of exasperation behind him, and then a tongue began to clean his newly-dirty fur again.
"Now, Palekit," his mother's voice whispered quietly into his ear as she washed him, "you must make sure you wait until Spottedstar names your mentor before you walk forward. Then, you must touch noses with the chosen mentor." Palekit nodded, not paying attention as he gazed around the clearing at the cats, wondering who would be his mentor. Spottedstar's yowl turned his gaze back on the leader.
"Cats of WindClan, we have been thriving these past moons. However, we currently only have two apprentices, and that it is a problem that I intend to fix. Palekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Palepaw. I ask StarClan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior." Spottedstar's amber gaze swept over the clearing, as if he was searching through them, until it settled on an ashen gray tom with teeth that hung out of his mouth.
"Stormfang, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Nettleclaw, you have shown yourself to be courageous and honorable, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Palepaw." The gray warrior dipped his head respectfully and stepped forward. When he reached his new apprentice, he leaned his head down to touch noses. Palepaw blinked in confusion before he realized what was happening, and shoved his face forward. His nose smacked into Stormfang's, and caused both the warrior and the apprentice to squeak in pain.
Muttered snickering and chuckling could be heard throughout the clearing, and Palepaw lowered his ears in embarrassment as the cats called out his new name. "Palepaw! Palepaw! Palepaw!" Palepaw shifted his paws embarrassingly as he heard his mother's voice loudest of all. Feeling a light brush on his flank, he turned to see Stormfang looking expectantly at him.
"So, are you ready to begin your first day as an apprentice, Palepaw?" Palepaw was so excited that he could only manage to nod rapidly. Stormfang chuckled quietly before turning and heading out of the camp. "Then let's begin with a little battle training, shall we?" From behind him, Palepaw heard Dawnfire shuffle, and she stalked around to face the gray tom.
"Oh, he's not going to get hurt, is he? I mean, he only just started his apprenticeship. Maybe you should wait until he's a little older for battle training." Her eyes were round with fear for her young kit, but Palepaw was glaring at her. His mentor eyed her for a moment before flicking his tail at his apprentice.
"She's right, actually, Palepaw, in some sense. So right now, I'll teach you about gathering moss. Don't worry," he said, as Palepaw glowered at the ground in disappointment, "the skills you learn while gathering moss will help make you a better warrior." Palepaw nodded, hiding his disappointment, before he followed his mentor out of the camp through a break in the rocky wall. They continued walking for a minute, before stopping in front of a group of rocks covered in a green fuzzy substance. "That's moss," he said, flicking his tail at it.
"I know what moss looks like," Palepaw muttered darkly. "Let's just do this already, okay?" Stormfang sighed visibly and shook his head before demonstrating how to scrape the moss. Palepaw imitated him absentmindedly, until a quick reprimand brought his mind back to focus. Stormfang's tail flicked back and forth in annoyance as he watched his apprentice scuff the moss from the rock. Palepaw looked anxiously at his mentor, then turned and hastily tried to make the small squares of moss look neater.
"You do understand that what you're doing right now is also a valuable battle maneuver, right, Palepaw?" At Stormfang's words, Palepaw paused, looking curiously down at his claws. "Those swipes you are performing will become invaluable in the heat of battle. Also, when we carry this moss back to camp, you will learn a great way to carry prey. We can learn something important in even the most menial tasks; remember that, Palepaw."
Moonlight shone down on the clearing as Palepaw settled down with the other apprentices. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that he was now sleeping out under the starry sky, no longer in the nursery under the ground. It had been a half-moon since Palepaw had begun his training; in that half-moon, Palepaw had learned more than he thought possible. And I still have more to learn! he thought excitedly as he circled and lay down in his nest. Tonight's the Gathering. I wish I could have gone; at least Stormfang's going! When he gets back, I'm going to have him tell me all about what happened. Stifling a yawn, Palepaw gazed up at the starry sky, his eyes tracing the great constellation of Silverpelt. Silverpelt was the place where warriors went after they had died.
He blinked back tears. I wonder if Mossheart is up there, he thought, recalling the death of his father one moon ago. It had been in battle, as his father surely would have wanted to go. ThunderClan had been stealing prey from their border, though they wouldn't admit it at any Gatherings. Spottedstar decided he would attack the next group to wander over the border, and put together an attack group, which included both Spottedstar and Mossheart. The following day, cats did come and take prey, though they weren't ThunderClan; they were a large group of rogues who went by the name BloodClan. Spottedstar growled a warning at them, but they wouldn't listen, forcing the WindClan warriors to attack.
Not only did Mossheart die, but Spottedstar also lost his sixth life, leaving him with only three more. Needless to say, both Palepaw and Dawnfire paid no attention to the leader's life; they both grieved for Mossheart. And now, one moon later, Dawnfire had come to her senses. But something inside Palepaw had died; he had looked up to his father, the former deputy of WindClan. And he didn't even live long enough to see me named an apprentice, he thought dejectedly. The new deputy was a light gray, almost white, queen by the name of Sootpelt.
Palepaw sighed and his ears drooped as he recalled Mossheart's death. I hope he's watching me, he thought, watching me grow into the warrior that he was. Slowly, Silverpelt blurred into nothingness as Palepaw drifted to sleep. Suddenly, a scream split the night, and Palepaw's eyes snapped open. He jumped up and spun around wildly. The first thing he noticed was that the clearing was empty. What's going on? he thought desperately. He took a tentative step forward, then quickly pulled his paw back when he felt a sticky substance. Looking down, Palepaw saw that the whole camp was washed in blood. The scent filled him as he looked wildly around. Out of nowhere, he spotted a cat lying on the ground. Dreading who it might be, he ran up to it, trying to ignore the sticky substance underneath his pads.
As he got nearer, Palepaw saw that it was two cats. But, as he got even closer, he saw that it was not two cats, but a whole pile. Despair filled him as he came to a stop in front of the pile. On the top, soaked in blood and barely recognizable, were the bodies of Dawnfire, Mossheart, Stormfang, and Spottedstar. Palepaw recognized the bodies of the other cats that made up WindClan, even the kits and elders. He backed away, shocked, until his back paws hit something. Spinning around, he found himself staring into the eyes of a shadowy beast. He turned and bolted, letting out an earsplitting cry.
"What's all the racket?" a voice cried all of a sudden. Palepaw's tail twitched, and he woke up. It was only a dream; just a terrible dream. But, he thought, what could it possibly mean? He opened his eyes, and found himself staring into the bright green eyes of his mentor. "Is everything alright?" he meowed, suddenly stretching down and smoothing the fur on the top of Palepaw's head with his tongue. Palepaw sat through it until his mentor pulled away. He blinked, his blue eyes round with fear and embarrassment.
"It was nothing, Stormfang. Just a bad dream," he murmured. Stormfang nodded, his eyes full of sympathy as he backed away, and padded over to the other warriors. As his mentor left, Palepaw noticed that the Gathering patrol had just returned. The other apprentices gave Palepaw looks of sympathy before they settled back down. Palepaw shuddered at the idea of sleep, but lay down anyway. Though he was not ready to go back to sleep, for fear the dream would return, he closed his eyes, and eventually drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"It's time to wake up, sleepypaws," a deep voice murmured. Palepaw shifted before opening his eyes to stare at Stormfang. "Training time," his mentor said with a smile. "Go get some fresh-kill before we go out." Palepaw nodded slowly as he stood up. Still not fully awake, he arched his back in a stretch. Shaking the sleep from his head, he padded over to the fresh-kill pile. It looks low, he thought. Maybe Stormfang will take me hunting today. He snatched a skinny rabbit from the pile and padded back to the other apprentices. Settling down, he sank his teeth hungrily into the rabbit's fur.
A sudden thought caused Palepaw to perk his ears in curiosity. Last night was the Gathering! I can't wait to hear from Stormfang what it was like. He hastily gulped the rest of his rabbit down before he bolted up and ran over to Stormfang. The gray tom was still eating a rabbit, and looked at Palepaw questioningly. Palepaw blinked in sudden embarrassment, shuffling his forepaws as he struggled for the right words.
"Er, um, I was just wondering what the Gathering was like, Stormfang." While the tawny apprentice was speaking, Stormfang finished his meal and stood up.
"Don't worry, little apprentice. I'll tell you all about it while we're training. Come on," he said, flicking his tail, "it's time we got you in some battle training." Palepaw's ears pricked in excitement, and he quickly jumped and followed Stormfang as they left the camp. "Since WindClan has no real training area, I'm just taking you a small area from the camp so we don't disturb the elders or kits." Palepaw nodded as he followed his mentor.
Stormfang stopped in the middle of a dusty clearing. Turning, Stormfang faced the tawny apprentice. "This will be far enough," he explained. "Now, the first thing you'll have to learn is to think first, but don't think too much. I want you to size me up, and try to knock me down." Palepaw nodded, daunted for a moment by the warrior's size. His eyes roamed over the gray pelt, until they settled on his forepaws. Without waiting for Stormfang to see, he darted at his mentor's paws and swiped. Stormfang jumped backward, causing Palepaw to overbalance and fall forward.
Sputtering, Palepaw picked himself up from the dirt. He shook his head in irritation. "You have to consider my size, and my speed. I am stronger than you, Palepaw, and quicker. You must use your brain to stop me. Now, here I come!" Stormfang launched at Palepaw. Palepaw backed away, and then dropped into a crouch. As Stormfang grew closer, he sprang into the air with a mighty leap, landing on the gray warrior's back. With a yowl of triumph, he reached down to bite his neck gently. A sudden buck threw him off, causing him to land on the dirt with a muted thump.
"Better," Stormfang's voice mewed, "but the battle is not over until you have given the final bite." They continued training as the sun arced over the sky. When it was nearly sunhigh, Stormfang yowled to halt. "That is enough," he said. "I can see that you are tired, and you have done well. Now, let us return to camp. Tomorrow, we will continue your training." Palepaw lay on the ground panting. Hearing Stormfang's words, he pushed himself off the ground and followed his mentor, though his paws felt dead with exhaustion.
Upon entering the WindClan camp, Palepaw saw that there was unrest. Confused, he began making his way to his mother. But before he could reach Dawnfire, a small, light-brown apprentice with unusually sharp claws stopped him. Palepaw was irked, but he let it go.
"Briarpaw," he said, trying to mask his irritation, "what's going on?"
"First of all, Palepaw," she said menacingly, "don't think I didn't hear the irritation in your voice. But anyway," she continued, dismissing his tone, "RiverClan has been stealing prey from our borders! They openly admitted to it too!" The young apprentice was practically bouncing with excitement. Palepaw twitched his ears, and forgot about his mother for the moment.
"Really?" he asked, looking her in the eyes. "Were you…at the Gathering last night?" Briarpaw nodded viciously, and he didn't dare doubt her. "What, exactly, did the RiverClan leader say?"
"Swiftstar said," Briarpaw mewed hurriedly, "that they needed more prey because their territory was not supporting her clan. Then she looked Spottedstar in the eye and thanked him for the prey running on our borders." Palepaw couldn't believe his ears. RiverClan, stealing prey from WindClan territory! His neck fur bristled; Briarpaw noticed, and nodded. "I'm hoping Spottedstar will assemble a border raid party, and we'll be able to show those RiverClan cats we're not as soft as they think!" The eagerness in her mew was apparent, but Palepaw shook his head. He wasn't sure the best thing for the clan right now was a battle; and surely, battle was not the way to show a rival clan not to steal prey.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather hear beneath the Tallrock for a clan meeting!" Spottedstar's yowl cut into the small apprentice's thoughts, bringing him back to the clearing. He gathered along with the other WindClan cats as they settled beneath the boulder. He noticed that he was sitting right next to Briarpaw, but she took no notice of him. Shaking his head, Palepaw looked up to see what the tortoiseshell leader would have to say.
"Cats of WindClan," he called out, "RiverClan has admitted that they have been stealing prey from our border. It is in my mind that we should form a patrol, wait for them at the border, and shred them so they won't forget!" A yowl of agreement rose, and Palepaw looked around to see that he was the only one who seemed unready for battle.
"Dawnfire, Stormfang, Palepaw, Blacknose, Brightclaw, Briarpaw! You will accompany me!" Spottedstar leapt down from the Tallrock and padded over to the entrance to the camp. Palepaw looked and saw that the other warriors that had been called were also padding to the entrance. Nervous, Palepaw followed Briarpaw as the excited apprentice practically bounced over to the gathering patrol.
Palepaw found it extremely odd that Spottedstar had called together a patrol consisting of so few warriors, and two apprentices. Surely this isn't enough cats to be able to survive an attack against RiverClan, he thought as he gazed from one cat to another. His gaze lingered on Briarpaw, and especially her bright blue eyes. She caught his gaze, and flicked her tail teasingly. Palepaw twitched his ears in embarrassment and turned away.
As he turned, he caught a glimpse of white disappearing into a crack between two boulders. Isn't that where the medicine cat lives? Palepaw thought with a pang of curiosity. Bending his ears, he heard that the clan leader was only giving the pre-battle orders. Making up his mind, Palepaw slipped away from the patrol and padded over to the crack. Peering inside, he was startled to see that there was a cave inside, with a roof almost five cat-lengths above his head.
As his gaze swept over the cave, he realized that his earlier surmise must have been correct. There was a nest in one corner of the cave, and the rest of the floor space was covered with all kinds of different plants. Tempted by curiosity, he stepped quietly around the cave, looking at leaves and berries, and even some roots. One small pile in particular, a group of three or four dark red berries, was huddled in a back corner.
Wondering what they must taste like, Palepaw stretched out and grasped one of the berries in his teeth. As he was about to bite down to taste, however, a loud yowl of alarm came from behind him. Palepaw spun around, the berry still in his mouth, to find himself face to face with the whitest cat he had ever seen. Stranger than the cat's color, though, were the cats penetrating green eyes. Before he could drop the berry and speak, the white cat rushed forward and batted the berry out of the apprentice's mouth.
He made no attempts to be gentle, and Palepaw laid his ears back in pain as the paw smacked him and knocked the berry from his teeth. Angry, he hissed, his tail twitching back and forth.
"What was that for, you stupid furball?" he cried out, not worried at the moment who he was speaking to, nor caring. The white cat met his gaze with contempt, and matched him for anger.
"Do you have any idea what you were about to eat?" he hissed challengingly. Palepaw blinked, and slowly shook his head. "That," he pointed with his paw at the small red berry, "is a deathberry." Palepaw stared at the white warrior, not understanding. With a sigh, the older cat continued. "Deathberries are an extremely poisonous berry; a single berry is deadly enough to kill kits and elders."
Palepaw blinked in surprise, then swiped the berry away from himself. "Why would poisonous berries be kept inside the WindClan camp?" he hissed, refusing to back down. "Wouldn't that just mean you have the added worry of keeping kits and elders from them as well as everything else? Who are you anyway?" he added, almost in afterthought. The white warrior's ears pricked in shock.
"You don't know who I am, or remember me?" A glint of amusement entered the cat's eyes. Palepaw opened his mouth, but before he could meow, the cat continued. "My name is Emeraldice. I'm your clan medicine cat, and your uncle," he added with a gleam. Palepaw blinked.
"Does that mean-"
"I'm your father, Mossheart's, brother. It seemed especially fitting that the brother of WindClan deputy be medicine cat, but now…" Emeraldice didn't finish the sentence, and Palepaw suddenly recognized the similarities between the medicine cat and his father: the broad shoulders, the green eyes, and the slender tail.
Without warning, Palepaw was hit with grief. He blinked back tears as he saw, in Emeraldice, his father. Seemingly in understanding, the white cat wrapped his tail around the young cat. Palepaw, seeking the comfort of a familiar face, pressed into the older cat's pelt. He stayed like that for a long time.
When the white pelt against him suddenly shifted, Palepaw opened his eyes and realized that he had fallen asleep. He craned his neck to see Emeraldice's face, and saw that the medicine cat was still asleep. Careful not to disturb him, Palepaw stood and backed out of the medicine cat's den, as he now realized it had to be.
He turned and came face-to-face with his mother, who wore a furious expression. Palepaw wondered if it might be worth trying to explain what had happened to him, but decided against it when Dawnfire spoke.
"Where have you been?" she cried out, the panic evident in her voice. Palepaw shuffled, and batted absently at the ground.
"I…I went into the medicine den," he murmured quietly, not meeting his mother's intense gaze. "I saw a cat, Emeraldice, go in there, and I wondered what the place was." He risked a glance at his mother, and saw that Dawnfire was looking at him now with obvious worry.
"You didn't eat anything, did you?" At this, Palepaw winced, remembering the conversation about the deathberries that he'd had with Emeraldice. Unable to completely lie to her, he simply shook his head and looked back down at the hard dirt. He heard a sigh of relief, then a wet tongue licked over his head. "You know," he heard her mew, almost as an afterthought, "I'm almost glad that you went in there. The raid party left hours ago; since you couldn't be found, they left without you."
Palepaw looked up, shocked. They had not waited for him, or even searched completely! Filled with a sudden anger, he stood up, and was about to go complain to Spottedstar when Dawnfire's orange paw pushed him back. Palepaw stopped himself from hissing in anger, and realized that, as she always had, she was just trying to protect her son.
Lowering his head in defeat, but not before Dawnfire gave it a reassuring lick, he began making his way over to the apprentice's den. Briarpaw's not going to let me hear the end of this, he thought sourly. Sure enough, before he could lie down on his nest, Briarpaw appeared at the camp entrance and shot over to Palepaw. She was followed by the other warriors from the patrol. He noticed that they were all covered in scratches and scrapes. His eyes widened as she came straight to him.
"You should have been there, Palepaw!" she mewed as soon as she was in range. She crouched down next to him, and bored her eyes into him. He was painfully aware of the wounds covering her as she continued to speak. "There were so many cats! It was so loud!" Palepaw saw her shudder, and blinked. Had it been that bad? "I fought a cat twice my size! He didn't stand a chance against my speed!"
"Weren't you...afraid? Wasn't it your first battle?" Palepaw mewed tentatively. Especially if she had fought a cat twice her size!
"Of course I was afraid, mouse-brain! But I just did what Foxfur taught me!" She was purring; Palepaw couldn't believe it. How could this cat enjoy battles so much, especially if they were as chaotic and wild as Briarpaw had said?