A she-cat crouched eyeing a fat rabbit. She was going to catch it. Her tail flicked form side to side just above the ground. She tensed ready to spring.
"Stealthpaw!" The rabbit ran off into the grass. Irritated Stealthpaw stood up.
"What is it Whitepaw? You scared off the best rabbit I have seen all day." She tried not to be too angry with her friend.
"I was told to get you to go back to camp." Stealthpaw sighed. Whitepaw was the oldest apprentice in the clan. He was a whole three moons older then her.
"Ok. I'm going." She started to head back to camp. She had been an apprentice for four moons and that was her first time hunting on her own. She had been planning to stay out all day hunting.
She stopped got a rabbit she had caught earlier. She was going to give it to the elders. That was what she did.
"Stealthpaw! There you are." Heathertail called to her from across the camp.
Stealthpaw dropped the rabbit at the freshkill pile. She could take it to the elders after she talked to her mentor.
"Yes Heathertil?" She always looked up to her mentor. She was the best cat she knew. She would do anything for her.
"Onestar said you could go to the gathering tonight." She almost jumped out of her fur.
"Really! My first gathering! Yes! Is Redpaw coming?" Heathertail nodded purring in amusment.
"Yes. Your brother is going to. Onestar knows better than to separate you to." Stealthpaw felt her fur bristled in embarrassment. Stealthpaw had become an apprentice before Redpaw, because he was too small. She had refused to leave the nursery and be called by her new name or do her duties until Redpaw became an apprentice too.
"So why don't you take that rabbit you caught to the elders, then go see if Kestrelflight needs any help. She was asking for you earlier. Then go get some sleep. You will need it." With that Heathertail walked away flicking her tail in farewell.
Stealthpaw sighed. She grabbed the rabbit by its fur and drug it to tot elders. They thanked her and started to eat. She nodded and headed towards the medicine den.
It wasn't that she didn't like Kestrelflight but she was just too protective for no reason. When she was a kit she looked outside the camp and KestrelFlight had made a huge fuss over it. She had made it obvious that she didn't want her to be an apprentice many times. And the worst part of all was that no matter how hard Stealthpaw worked to prove herself Kestrelflight kept treating her like a kit, and since she was the medicine cat a lot of the other cats did the same.
"Kestrelfight? Are you in here?" She stepped in to the den.
"Stealthpaw! You shouldn't come in here. If you eat the herbs you could get hurt." Stealthpaw sighed.
"I won't eat anything. I was told you had been looking for me. Is there something you need?" Kestrelflight stared at her.
"No. I just wanted to know where you were."
"Well I am going to the gathering tonight, so I am going to bed." She held her head high, rubbing it in that she was more of an apprentice.
With that she pranced back to her nest in the apprentice den.
"Icepaw, are you listening?" the young she-cat looked up from the plants she had been staring at.
"Yes, sorry Graymist. I will try that move now." He mentor sighed. This wasn't the first time Icepaw had been daydreaming during training.
"No. I think this is all for today. I am going to go talk to Mistystar. Why don't you go back to camp and see if you can help the other apprentices with anything." Icepaw nodded disappointed with herself.
She had been trying to pay more attention to her training but she couldn't help notiveing all the looks, feels, tastes, and smells of all the plants.
She walked into camp with her head and tail drooping. She sighed.
"Icepaw, whats wrong?" The medicine cat , WillowShine, walked to her. Mothwing had died before Icepaw was born from a break out of green cough. TI was heroic because the only reason she got it was because she spent some much time and energy helping the other sick cats. She was the only one that died.
"Oh. Nothing really. I just get ditracted too easily. That all." Willowshine nodded.
"Well, I am running low on herbs. I could usesome help carrying all of them back. Would like to help me?" Icepaw nodded furiously.
"Yes! Let me go to Riverpaw, so he can tell Graymist when he gets back." She ran off to find her sister.
"Riverpaw! RiverPaw!" Icepaw ran into her at the elders den. "Graymist went to talk to MistyStar and she was on patrol. Would you mind telling him when he gets back that I went to help Willowshine gather herbs?" Riverpaw stared stunned for a moment. Then lick her sister's check.
"Of course. Just make sure you have fun. I will tell Graymist for you." Icepaw purred a thanks and ran back to Willowshine.
"Ready to go?" Willowshine was purring with amussment.
"Yes!" Ice paw bounced on her paws.
"Ok then. Let's go." She lead the way out to the camp and to all the places to gather herbs.
Icepaw listened to everything she was told. She learned the name of the plants and where they tend to grow and what they were used for. She had never felt so accomplished in her life. She had always thought she wasn't good at being a warrior but this made her feel better.
When they made it back to camp Graymist was there waiting for them.
"Well then, thank you for helping me today, Icepaw." Willowshine took the herbs and head to her den.
"Sorry, Graymist. Willowshine needed help." Graymist shook his head.
"It's ok. I talked to Mistystar and we both think that going to tonight's gathering will help you focus better. Would you want to go?" She jumped up.
"Yes! I would love to!" Graymist smiled.
"Well then why don't you go get your rest. You will be needing it." she nodded and ran off.
On the way to her den she ran into WillowShine again.
"why are you in such a rush?" She smiled.
"I am going to the gathering tonight!" Icepaw didn't notice but Willowshine's smile falter for a second. Then she fixed it.
"Well then you should go get some sleep." Icepaw didn't need to be told twice.
"Hey Brokenpaw, w-would you like to go hunting with me?" Brokenpaw shuffled her paws shyly.
"I can't Brokenpaw. I am going to train with Lionblaze. He is going to teach me more attach moves. I can hunt with you tomorrow." The she-cat nodded embarrassed and ran to her mentor.
Flamepaw watched and then shrugged. He would never understand girls.
He walked to Lionblaze.
"So can you teach me now? I am ready." Lionblaze looked at him. The mentor shook his head. I don't think I should.
Flamepaw jaw dropped. "Why not! You said you would show me some more today!" Lionblaze laughed.
"If I showed you then you would be too tired to go to the gathering."Flamepaw jumped on his mentor.
"Ok! The training can wait till later. I don't mind anymore!"
"Then you had better get something to eat and rest." Flamepaw nodded and ran off to do as he was told.
Hawkkit was running through the wood. The fox right behind her.
She had left the camp for the first time without permission and because of her white fur the fox had seen her.
She was sure it would eat her. Then out of nowhere a gray-streak shot in front of her.
A cat had come out of nowhere and was attaching the fox. Hawkkit was too scared and tired to move. She was shaking in fear.
The tom, she realized it was a tom, must have startled the fox because it wasn't long till it ran off.
"You stupid kit! You left your camp, got chased by a fox and crossed the border in to the thunderclan territory!" He sighed.
He grabbed her by the scuff and started to take her back to her home. She was still shaking for the shock.
That was him. Hawkpaw's Jayfeather.
"Hawkpaw! Wake up. There is a fox. We need you to take care of it before you can go to the gathering." Hawkpaw's mentor, Rowanclaw, called to her.
She sat up, annoyed that he good dream was interrupted by a fox.
"Fine. Rowanclaw and Whitetip come with me." It was Hawkpaw's unofficial job to get rid of any foxes that come too close to the camp. With her white fur in the dark forest she was the first thing they would see and they would chase her until she lost them. No cat that really cared what happened to her, but she could pick two cats to come with her for protection. She always chose Whitetail and whoever told her to go put herself in danger.
RowanClaw took her and the tom, to where the fox was. Whitetip looked at her and they both nodded. He raised his tail so its white tip was visible over the undergrowth. He waved it around till the fox noticed it. When that happened Hawkpaw charged out of their hiding place. She ran until she knew the fox wasn't behind her anymore, and headed back to camp.
"Did it leave?" She panted as she came to her friend out outside the camp.
"Yes, and it is all thanks to you." He purred in gratitude.
"Come. We are going to the gathering." Rowanclaw called into the camp. Blackstar came out with a few other warriors.
It was Hawkpaw's first gathering. She was the only apperintice. But there were two queens, Pinenose and Shrewfoot that were expecting kits soon. Hawkpaw's foster mother, Kinkfur, had two kits that died not long after Hawkpaw was found. Whitetip had just been made a warrior and he had been the only kit of his litter.
Beside Whitetip, only Kinkfur and Whitetip's mother, Ivytail, where the only cat that seemed to like her. Littlecoud, the medicine cat, seemed to think that she was a trouble maker. None of the other Cats liked her because she had no clan blood. Tanwypelt was more opened minded but still kept her distance.
It was a long way to the gathering. But it was going to be worth it when she got there. She couldn't stop thinking about her dream, or rather memory, which she had had before leaving. She had later discovered that Jayfeather was the medicine cat of his clan and that he was blind, not that it made any difference about what she thought of him.
They finally made it to the island. It was full of cat. All of the clans must have been there.
"What do I do?"Hawkpaw whispered to Whitetip.
"Go talk to some apprentices. See go to them over there." He waved his talk in the direction of four other appernices. Two she-cats and two toms. One of the toms had bright red ears. He was very skinny but looked musucluar. He was beside a dark tabby she-cat. On his other side was a ornageish red tabby tom. The other she cat was a blueish gray.
"Fine." Hawkpaw walked over to them, her tail twitching. She couldn't help but let her eyes search the crowd for Jayfeather.
"Hello! I am Stealthpaw. That's my brother Redpaw."She was shaking with excitement. "We're from Wind clan. Who are you?"The tabby she-cat almost pounced on her as she came up to the group interrupting her search. She waved her tail in the direction of the red eared tom.
"I'm Hawkpaw." she said irritated. She look at her fluffy white pelt.
"Why are you named that? I would expect you to be named something like Snowpaw or Whitepaw. You don't really even look like a Shadowclan cat." Hawkpaw's fur bristled.
"Pl-please don't say that." The dark apperntince stuttered.
"Well your name should be talkpaw, or nosiepaw, or annyoingpaw." She was going to say more but she caught the scent she had been looking for, Thunderclan.
"Do you know where I could find Jayfeather?" Hawkpaw walked to the other tom apperince.
"Yes. He's my kin. He should be with the other medicine cats. I am Flamepaw by the way." She sighed. I knew he would be here. "How do you know him? You are from shadowclan right?"
she nodded. "He saved me once when I was a kit." Hawkpaw was about to go look for Littlecloud when Stealthpaw stopped her.
"Why don't we have a contested. Whoever can get this Jayfeather to talk to them more wins." her fur bristled again. she would enjoy a contest like this.
"Challenge accepted." She charged of through the crowd, Stealthpaw not far behind. she knew the other apprentices were following too to see what would happen.
she found him not too long after. The four medicine cats where in a little group away from the other cat, whispering to each other. Littlecloud was the first to notice them.
"Hawkpaw! What are you doing here. You and the others have to leave." she ignored him and walked up the familiar gray cat.
"Jayfeather… I am Hawkpaw, the kit you saved from a fox." He turned his head in her direction and nodded.
Stealthpaw took the opportunity to shove pat hawkpaw. "Hi Jayfeather! I am Stealthpaw, windclan. It's nice to meet you." He did the same thing to her. She stared at him in disbelief.
One of the medicine cat looked pasted the two of them.
"Oh, Icepaw. There you are. I have been looking for you. This is Jayfeather. I though you might like to talk to him, since you are so interested in herb."
The apprentice moved forward shyly. "H-hello."
"It is nice to meet you Icepaw. As Willowshine told you I am Jayfeather. What do you want me to tell you about herbs?" Icepaw started to shake in exicement.
Hawkpaw spent the rest of the night listening to the two of them talk. Stealthpaw and her stared at them. Redpaw and Flamepaw talked about it and laughed.
By the time they left she felt dishearted. It didn't help that Littlecoud was still angry with her. That night she lay down in my nest. She looked through an opening in the ceiling.
"I swear on star clan that I will make Jayfeather love me." she looked away.
She thought of the cats she had met. They were all nice. She drifted to sleep that night into a dream that for once wasn't about Jayfeather. Instead it was about Redpaw, Flamepaw, Icepaw, and herself standing among the stars.
Hey. I have a video that shows waht all the new cats look like.
watch?v=u5N2WfhkM6Y&feature=plcp
