Hi again everyone! This is the next chapter of my new horror story. Many thanks to the people who reviewed and added this story to their favourites or story alerts! You guys really made me happy XD. From now on I'll be replying to reviewers at the end of chapters and will mention as many as I can =). So please read on and enjoy the story! x
Disclaimer: The Warriors stories belong to Erin Hunter. The only things that are mine in this story are my own characters and plot.
Author's Note – This story takes place in the old forest, just in case anyone gets confused about that. And this chapter is really just to give you readers an idea of what's been going on in the time between what happened in the prologue and now, since there has been a pretty big leap. As well as that, it's mostly a build-up towards the main part of the story, which is definitely coming up soon.
Chapter One
The sun was sinking low in the sky, shedding blood-red light over the forest and reflecting off the calm surface of the river as it wound its way through RiverClan territory. Two cats sat together on the shore, their pelts brushing, staring out at the shimmering water. One had sleek pure white fur and beautiful eyes the colour of pale sapphires. The other had a smooth silver pelt with dark tabby markings, a distinctive splash of white fur on its chest and eerily-pale green eyes. For a time the two felines continued to gaze out over the water, lost in their own thoughts.
The four Clans – RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan and ShadowClan – had been at peace for a while now. There had been very few skirmishes along the borders, no prey had been reported stolen, and the leaders spoke civilly to each other at every full moon Gathering. Indeed, life in the forest had rarely ever been so quiet and peaceful.
For the cats of RiverClan, this meant good news. The Clan was thriving with plentiful food and a complete lack of disease. There were new litters of kits to care for, the apprentices were learning quickly, and the elders still had a lot of life left in them. The warriors had been fulfilling their duties of providing for their Clanmates so efficiently that there had been very little for their leader, Stonestar, to complain about – something which every cat considered to be a definite bonus. And, on top of all of that, two new warriors had been appointed to the ranks after completing their assessment with flying colours.
Presently, Whispersong and Snowcloud were happily reminiscing about the ceremony that had taken place only a week ago, the ceremony that had seen them earn their warrior names at last. It had been a joyous occasion for everyone involved – but for Whispersong most of all. For a long time it had been a topic of much debate whether she would even be permitted to become a warrior at all, due to her unfortunate disablement; Whispersong was mute. This had caused most of her Clanmates to come to the conclusion that she would be hindered during warrior duties, particularly in battles or patrols. They were concerned that, without a voice, Whispersong would never be able to warn the other cats of dangers or make decisions within the Clan like any ordinary warrior would. However, despite the many flaws that had plagued the she-cat all her life, Stonestar had eventually been swayed by the arguments of Dewfrost, Whispersong's mother, who had fiercely declared that both of her kits deserved the chance to prove themselves worthy. In the end, the leader had relented and Whispersong had been apprenticed alongside her sister before, at long last, becoming a fully-trained warrior of RiverClan. This was truly what miracles were made of, Whispersong had thought proudly as she received her name, glad that she was allowed to live her dream.
The silver tabby let out a silent sigh of contentment as she watched a water vole scurry about on the far side of the river. But that was where ThunderClan's territory began and Whispersong knew better than to swim across and try to catch it. It simply wasn't worth getting into a fight with ThunderClan over, especially now that RiverClan had enough food to sustain them in their own territory.
Snowcloud, Whispersong's sister, had also seen the little creature. Her ears pricked and she sniffed the air, kneading the pebbles with her snowy forepaws. "I could sure do with a bite of that vole," she murmured, mostly to herself. "I haven't tasted it in ages!"
Whispersong flicked an ear in agreement. Like all RiverClan cats her preferred diet was fish, but that didn't mean she was opposed to eating other kinds of prey now and again, and she had to admit that water vole was definitely one of her favourites.
Beside her, Snowcloud glanced up at the sky. The sun had almost completely disappeared below the horizon now, and the white she-cat seemed to decide that it was time for the two of them to head home. She stood up and touched Whispersong with her tail-tip. "Come on, slowpoke! I'll race you back to camp."
Whispersong's eyes gleamed at the challenge. She got to her feet and hared after Snowcloud as her sibling raced away into the lush Greenleaf undergrowth. The pair leaped over tiny brooks and weaved around bushes and trees, relishing the coolness of the evening wind on their pelts. Soon they were approaching the small island where RiverClan had its camp, well-concealed among trailing willow branches. Whispersong, now in the lead, swam easily across the stream surrounding it and made her way inside.
The first thing she noticed was a muscular black-and-grey tom crouching outside the entrance to the warriors' den, swallowing what appeared to be the remains of a large fish. Whispersong's spirits plummeted a little when she saw him. It was Nightheart, the cat whom Snowcloud had been padding after since they both were apprentices. It wasn't that Whispersong minded her sister wanting a mate, but there was just something about the dark tom that she didn't like.
Nightheart's piercing golden eyes rested on her, narrowing ever so slightly as they did so. But then Snowcloud came bounding through the camp entrance and his expression seemed to lighten. "Hey, Snowcloud!" he greeted her.
Snowcloud purred at the sight of him, causing Whispersong to cringe inwardly. Why couldn't her sister have her eye on some other tom? Snowcloud didn't appear to register her sister's discomfort, however, as she suggested brightly, "Let's go and sit with Nightheart."
Whatever you say, Whispersong thought gloomily, aware that she had little choice in the matter. She shrugged and followed the white she-cat across the sun-baked earth.
Author's Note – I'm aware that this chapter is quite short and probably boring, despite my best efforts to make it good =(. I take comfort only in the fact that it's at least longer than the prologue (minus the allegiances) lol! It got a tiny bit rushed towards the end though, since I got writer's block about how to finish the chapter and wanted to upload it quickly, so I apologise about the abruptness of the ending. Never fear though, you'll get to hear more about Nightheart and why Whispersong doesn't trust him in the next chapter, which will (hopefully!) be a lot better than this one! So please keep reading and leaving me your lovely reviews XD. Also, sorry about the many random author's notes! You guys have been very patient while reading them and I appreciate it =).
Replies to reviews:
Rainb0wshine – Thanks so much for your review, it made me smile =). I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Foxface – Thank you for your review! I love it when people show an interest in my stories =). More chapters will be coming up soon!
