Chapter 1: The best hunter in MountainClan
"Ebonythorn, has Wolfpaw learned the skills to become a warrior?" Bearstar asked.
"He has," She replied.
Bearstar turned to Wolfpaw, who was barely able to sit still.
"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name," He said.
"Wolfpaw,from this moment on, you shall be known as Wolfeather. StarClan honors your courage and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MountainClan."
"Wolfeather! Wolfeather!" The Clan cheered his name happily.
The next day, Ebonythorn padded into the camp to receive orders from Hawkwing, the MountainClan deputy.
"Ebonythorn, I want you on a hunting patrol. Choose three cats to go with you. You are leading the patrol." Hawkwing ordered, turning to another warrior to give orders.
"Willowstorm, Icetail and Featherflame, you come with me on a hunting patrol." She ordered. The four cats headed into the forest to start the hunting patrol.
Ebonythorn crouched down, stalking a rabbit that was munching calmly on a patch of grass. She crept up towards it, and before it could react, she slammed her paws down on it's tiny shoulders and bit its neck. The little creature gave a shriek of agony. Its body twitched, and it died.
"Thank StarClan!" She muttered, burying her prey for later. She headed deeper into the forest. Suddenly, she heard cats crashing through the forest.
"Why did Shadowstar have to send us in here anyways? He knows that there could be MountainClan patrols in here!" A NightClan warrior yowled in frustration as he attempted free himself from a patch of brambles.
"Just shut up and keep looking for prey!" Another warrior hissed, scanning the area for prey.
"Get out of MountainClan territory!" Ebonythorn yowled, lunging at one of the NightClan warriors. She pinned him down, raking her claws down his soft underbelly. He shrieked in pain, throwing her off and pelting out of the forest. Willowstorm, Featherflame and Icetail rushed over to help. The rest of the NightClan patrol raced towards them to attack.
"You may think your Clan is the best of them all, but we'll show you!" The NightClan deputy, Willowleaf hissed, tackling Featherflame. Ebonythorn ripped Willowleaf off Featherflame, shoving her aside before slashing at another warrior. She whirled around to claw at another warrior. The four MountainClan warriors fought until the NightClan warriors couldn't take anymore, and fled towards their territory.
"Don't come back unless you want your pelt ripped off!" Ebonythorn yowled in triumph.
They headed back to camp to report the incident to Bearstar.
"We cannot take this issue lightly," Bearstar began, standing up.
"I'll organize a battle patrol. We attack NightClan tonight. You four shall continue hunting. Well done."
By the peak of the afternoon, the four cats had caught enough to feed the entire Clan. Ebonythorn caught the most prey, catching 10 squirrels, 2 rabbits and 3 ravens. They headed back to camp. The fresh-kill pile was full, and Bearstar called a Clan meeting.
"Cats of MountainClan, earlier this morning, a NightClan patrol attacked our hunting patrol. But, Ebonythorn, Willowstorm, Featherflame, and Icetail fended them off. Our hunting patrol filled the fresh-kill pile, and I am nominating Ebonythorn as the greatest hunter in MountainClan. She caught 15 pieces of prey, which is the most prey caught by a single cat during a hunting patrol for a long time."
The Clan cheered. Ebonythorn lifted her head proudly. She would continue to serve her Clan for many moons after this.
"Should we start without DarkClan?" Leafstar asked.
It was the night of the Gathering. All the Clans had gathered at the Great Pine to share their news.
"No. They could have something important to say." Bearstar replied.
"We're here! Sorry we are so late!" Viperstar apologized, leading her Clan into the clearing.
"Who would like to speak first?" Bearstar asked.
"If no one else wishes to speak, I will." Viperstar volunteered.
"Alright. I'll go next." Whitestar added.
Bearstar threw his head back and gave a loud yowl to silence the crowd of socializing cats.
"DarkClan will speak first." Bearstar said, stepping back.
"The prey is running well in DarkClan despite the Leaf-fall cold. That's all I have to say."
She stepped back, allowing Whitestar to speak for SnowClan.
"SnowClan is thriving. The river is partially frozen, but our Clan still has access to the river to drink. A fox has been spotted in our territory," He turned, addressing Leafstar,
"Leafstar, the fox passed from our border to yours. You might want to deal with it before the fox makes a permanent settlement in your territory." He reported, stepping back.
"Thank you, Whitestar. My warriors will see to that. Now, if no one else wants to speak, I will speak for OakClan,"
She stepped forward.
"OakClan is also thriving this leaf-fall. The forest is full of prey, and the river is filled with fish. Our medicine-cat has taken Squirrelpaw as an apprentice."
"That is wonderful, Leafstar. I'm glad to hear that our Clans are all thriving this leaf-fall." Shadowstar, the NightClan leader said.
"NightClan is doing very well. We have plenty of prey, and new kits this leaf-fall."
Bearstar stepped forward.
"MountainClan thrives, as always. Our prey is bountiful, our nursery is full, and we have plenty of apprentices who are training hard to become warriors. We have a new warrior, Wolfeather,"
He paused. The crowd of cats cheered, and died down as Bearstar spoke,
"Our hunting patrol did excellent yesterday. A massive amount of prey was brought back to the fresh-kill pile. I was especially impressed by Ebonythorn's hunting skills. I nominated her the best hunter in MountainClan."
The crowd cheered again. Ebonythorn lifted her head in pride.
Once the cheering died down, Whitestar finished the gathering.
"The gathering is over. Have a safe journey back to your territories, StarClan be with you all."
Ebonythorn settled into her nest in the warriors' den. She thought about the Gathering, and how Bearstar never addressed their quarrel with the NightClan patrol. But, she simply shrugged, and fell asleep.
The next day, She'd just finished a border patrol when Bearstar called everyone to the clearing for a Clan meeting. He sat up on a fallen tree, waiting for his Clanmates to settle.
"Cats of MountainClan, this Clan meeting has been called because four of our kits are ready to become apprentices!" He yowled.
"Owlkit, Stonekit, Stormkit and Icekit, come forward please."
The four kits bounded over to the Fallen Tree excitedly to receive their new mentors.
"Owlpaw, your mentor will be Ebonythorn,"
Ebonythorn padded over to touch noses with Owlpaw.
"Stonepaw's mentor will be Wolfeather, Icepaw's will be Briarwing, and Stormpaw's mentor will be Nightfire."
The next day, Ebonythorn took Owlpaw out to explore the territories.
"This is our border with SnowClan," She explained. "They are our only neighbors."
Owlpaw gasped. "Really?"
Ebonythorn smiled. "Yes, really. SnowClan are friendly, they aren't hostile towards us.
The two cats headed towards the edge of the mountain.
"Be careful, this is a cliff." She warned as Owlpaw ran towards it.
"If you look down, you will see DarkClan. They are also friendly towards us, mostly because we don't bother them."
Owlpaw looked bored. "Don't we have any enemies?"
"Well, we have NightClan. They are pretty much mean to everyone except OakClan." Ebonythorn explained.
"OakClan?" Owlpaw seemed confused.
"OakClan is located in a more dense part of this forest. Their leader is Leafstar. She can be very demanding at times, but we don't know exactly how hostile she is towards us."
When Owlpaw didn't reply, she decided to head back to camp.
"Let's go back to camp."
They trudged through the deep snow in silence, until Owlpaw felt the need to ask more questions.
"Why is your warrior name Ebonythorn?" He asked.
She inhaled sharply. "Well, I have a sleek black pelt, first of all. See these claws? She unsheathed the claws on one paw and held it up.
"Woah...those look really sharp..." He gazed at Ebonythorn's claws in admiration.
"They are as sharp as thorns, Owlpaw. When I was an apprentice, my mentor had me sharpen them until they were sharp enough to cause deep wounds. Do you want to see how sharp they are?"
Owlpaw stiffened in fear.
Ebonythorn laughed. "Don't you worry, I'm not going to demonstrate on you." She turned towards a pine tree. The bark looked old, but still strong enough. She lashed at it with her claws, scoring a few shallow claw marks on the bark.
"That tree's bark is too thick to demonstrate properly. I'd have to show you by using prey, but there will be no hunting sessions today." Ebonythorn explained.
"Aww! I really wanted to hunt today!" He complained.
"It's getting dark out. Besides, we're almost there."
He sighed. "Ok."
Once they were back at camp, Bearstar padded over to greet Ebonythorn.
"So, do you like having an apprentice, Ebonythorn?"
She dipped her head. "Yes, Bearstar. He's a very curious one, too."
"Good. It's always great to hear how much warriors like having apprentices of their own. Would you like to lead a hunting patrol tomorrow?" He asked.
"Sure. I'll take Owlpaw, Nightfire and Stormpaw." She replied.
"I'll see to it that Nightfire is notified. Thank you, Ebonythorn." He dipped his head before heading back into his den.
Ebonythorn settled down into her nest. Today was a great day, and she hoped Owlpaw would be ready to go hunting tomorrow morning.