In Halfstar's Shadow
Chapter 1
Sablepaw slowly opened her eyes, letting light fill into her, warming her fur. She looked around, and realized that she was in the dead maple tree she had chosen to sleep under. Leaves crunched under her as she spun over and gently nudged her former denmate Talonpaw. He had chosen to rename himself Breaking. She thought the idea was stupid.
"Wha-?"
"Wake up. It's time to go." Sablepaw told him softly.
Now awake, Breaking began to protest.
"But Shadowclan are so rude! They'll never listen to a thing you say! Remember? They got some new, young, snotty leader, and Jay told you what happened to his friend!"
Jay, the other loner they had met, told them how Jay's friend Rock had went into Shadowclan territory and got supposedly "ripped apart". Sablepaw didn't believe it.
"Talonpaw, you know he was just joking so we stay away from the clans. Since Thunderclan won't accept us, I'm going to Shadowclan." She said stubbornly.
"I'm not Talonpaw! I'm Breaking! And I'm not going to Shadowclan! If you want to go so badly, I'm staying a loner. So you can go and get your carcass over there, because that's what you'll be once you step inside their territory!" he said, almost yelling.
"Well, I will go get my carcass over there. Goodbye Talonpaw." She said, and then walked away, stamping her feet into the leaves as she headed for the foul-smelling border with Shadowclan.
"It's Breaking!" he shouted at her.
She merely flicked her tail in submission.
After Sablepaw had stomped away, ranting and mumbling, she had stumbled over the Shadowclan border. She sniffed the air.
Patrol!
She stopped in her tracks, as she saw a rustle in front of her.
"Hey! I see her!"
Sablepaw's eyes widened, and she looked around, getting ready to jump out of the way.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
A very slim brown tabby tom stepped out of the bushes, accompanied by a pretty black she-cat and a white and black apprentice. The tom leading the patrol had a vole in his mouth, and he set it down, glaring at Sablepaw. She could tell they were young, and she had her paw on the border, giving them reason to attack.
"Answer my question." The tom growled at her.
"I want to join Shadowclan.." she said simply. She was shaking a bit, and she watched as their muscles relaxed a little, but not enough for her to not be nervous.
"What are you? A kittypet or something?" the she-cat asked.
"Can't you smell Thunderclan on her? Are you a spy for them?" the tom asked. The apprentice took a step forward and sniffed Sablepaw gingerly, and then widened his eyes to the point of extention. The she-cat gasped, and the tom took a step towards Sablepaw. She gasped and took a step back. The she-cat hissed under her breath. Sablepaw turned around swiftly as she heard a snarl.
Facing her, was a fox. A very strong looking fox, with a vixen behind it.
The tom lunged at the fox and the apprentice stood in front of Sablepaw, as the she-cat ran past them and headed for the vixen. Sablepaw gasped, thinking she would be killed, and kill the tom too. The male snarled, and turned to the vixen, running for him. The tom jumped onto the fox's back legs, biting down on his hide, and digging his claws into the fox's legs, putting all his weight on them as the fox tried to get away. There was a sickening crunch, and the fox wailed in pain, and turned on the tom. Sablepaw looked past him, to see the vixen biting down on the she-cat's neck, and Sablepaw could see the blood oozing out of a wound she had gotten on her flank. Sablepaw ran past the apprentice and jumped onto the vixen, knocking it over with great force. The apprentice growled at her, but she ignored it, biting down on the vixen's ears, she ripped part of it off, leaving the vixen screaming. The she-cat was on the ground, bleeding badly from her wounds. She saw the fox run past her, and she turned, ready to fight it, only to see the tom chasing after it. He stopped when he crossed the border, and turned to Sablepaw. He walked over panting, and sat down beside me. He looked at the she-cat and then back at me.
"Thank you. We must get her back to camp. I will make sure Halfstar know's you saved her." He said, more kindly this time, but also nervously. The apprentice turned to her and smiled halfway.
"I'm Bravepaw. Nice to meet you, hey, what's your name?" he asked.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Sablepaw." She said nervously.
"Okay Sablepaw! Come on, help me get Onixflame back to camp, oh, and yeah, That's Thrushwing. He can be a bit of a furball sometime."
Sablepaw absentmindedly nodded slowly, and she could tell she was going to like living with these kind cats, no matter what Breaking said.
Sablepaw had unwillingly, almost forced upon telling her past to this new apprentice, Bravepaw. She sighed when he had asked her, and grunted when the other two agreed on their way there.
"You know, you just found me, do you reall-"
"Yes, you will need to explain it all to Halfstar. Here he is."
We had gotten to camp by the time our argument started, and she could feel all of Shadowclan's eyes on her as her pelt burned. It just got worse when Halfstar stepped out. This was the first time someone, besides his own clan, had laid eyes on him. She was the first outsider to meet him. He smiled politely at her, and then turned to Thrushwing.
"Who is this?" he asked. His voice was very gentle, but you could tell it had been worn to the point of exhaustion.
"This is Sablepaw. She says she wants to join. She won't let us know why, but she agrees to let you hear." Sablepaw opened her mouth to protest, but then was silenced by Halfstar.
"Well, Sablepaw, come with me and my deputy. Twilightmoon! Come!" he called for Twilightmoon, which, while while she was still in Thunderclan, had learned Twilightmoon was the new deputy. He also signaled for his medicine cat, Jayfire and his apprentice Poppyscar. They followed Halfstar into a den behind some rocks, and Sablepaw reluctantly followed. When she padded into the den, she immediately felt moss beneath her paws. Halfstar signaled for her to sit in front of him and Jayfire, and she came and sat next to Poppyscar, the medicine cat giving her a lick on the shoulder. At least someone was showing kindness for the newcomer. She sighed, and looked into Halfstar's eyes, and then began her story.
"I was born in Thunderclan, to Howlingwind and Pepperleaf, I was their second litter. Hollowstar never accepted me.. My littermates, Briarpaw and Stillpaw, and also my older sibling, Icepelt, always taunted me, and called me names. I never liked them. Only my parents ever respected me, not even my denmates. So, my only friend and I Talonpaw, or, as he likes to call himself Breaking now, left. He refused to join your clan, and I wish to." She finished with a smoothe stop. Halfstar nodded every once in a while, and then stopped. She was amazed how young he was. She could tell he was only about the age of her, and she was only about nineteen moons old. He nodded once more, and then walked outside.
"Come on, now." Poppyscar said, giving me a slight nudge. I gasped a little, and then got up, and followed Twilightmoon out of the den. During the time I was speaking, she kept giving Halfstar uneasy glances, and she hadn't spoken the whole time. I narrowed my eyes, half suspiciously, and came to sit under a large tree, which Halfstar had jumped off earlier. He climbed up it and Poppyscar sat beside me. Halfstar raised his head and called out to his clanmembers. I couldn't help but noticing the muscles bunched under his pelt. He looked like he was unbeatable.
"May all clan cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Hightree for a clan meeting!"
I learned then that it was called the Hightree, in which he stood on.
All the clan cats gathered beneath him, and behind me. I felt embarrassed as they all stared at me.
"I call upon my warrior ancestors so they may look down on this apprentice. She has come to us in need and will join our clan. Sablepaw, do you promise to be loyal to protect and defend your newly named clan, and remain loyal to your clan, even at the cost of your life?" he asked, I liked the way he twisted the words to make me vow upon my life of loyalty to him and his clan..
Not.
"I do."
"Than by the powers of Starclan, I let them see you now as a member of Shadowclan. I shall continue being your mentor. We will go and hunt now. Twilightmoon, I am taking Sablepaw to see the territory, organize a hunting patrol." He called out to his deputy before jumping off and trotting over to me.
"Come on Sablepaw. I can show you around, and then you may converse with the other apprentices and warriors." He said kindly. I dipped my head in respect, and then followed him out of camp slowly.
