AN: Chapter 2
AN: Chapter 2! First off, I'd like to thank Crescentclaw, Little Black Inkblot, Tigerstripe, LadyCat 51, Grassyleaves, Crazy Flamie -211 Atoms Left, and Mushroom T. Thank you all so, so much for reviewing! Second, if you leave a review (which I'm hoping you will), I'll thank you with a reply and a review for one of your stories. Exceptions to this rule are found on my profile. So review! And finally, general disclaimers apply. Enjoy!
I sat alone silently on the other side of the thunderpath. The sun was slowing rising in the sky, casting a pink glow that tickled the dewdrops on the pines. The dawn patrol would just be leaving the gorse tunnel back at ThunderClan, perhaps with my brother on it.
They won't miss me, I tell myself. I won't be treated like crowfood there like I am here.
My ears prick at the sound of distant mews. I follow them. They grow louder as I approach, and the wave of scent hits me. ShadowClan. I recognize a few of the cats by sight from Gatherings. I stop for a moment taking in what each cat looked like. If my father accepts me, they'll be clanmates.
My heart soars at the thought of being clanmates with cats who care nothing about who my father is. I picture myself play fighting with the youngest looking cat… sharing prey, hunting, being made warriors together…
I can almost smell their surprise when the patrol finally sees me. A ginger she-cat pushes her way to the front.
"What do you want?" she snarls, her bone white teeth glinting in the early morning sun. "This is ShadowClan territory." She scents the air. "You're ThunderClan. Leave now." She spits the last words out with a menacing snarl.
"Russetfur," a scraggly grey tom I hadn't noticed hovers by her shoulder, "She's too small to be a warrior. Let her explain herself."
I give a small, grateful nod in his direction. He looks back at me with kind eyes.
"I want to join ShadowClan," I mew, my eyes burning with fiery excitement, eliciting an undisguised look of surprise from Russetfur. The apprentice on the patrol looks at me like I just claimed to have fallen from StarClan.
"You're Tigerstar's daughter, aren't you?" the grey tom mews through squinted eyes. Where I expect to find hostility, I only find curiosity, and (maybe) warmth. "We'll take you back to camp." He promises. Russetfur looks annoyed that the gray warrior made the decision for her, but is too proud to show weakness to ThunderClan.
We walk in silence. The only sounds are the birds in the trees and the wind in the pines as we pad along. I look at the cats in the patrol. Only Russetfur, the grey tom, and a ginger apprentice. The apprentice looks at me strangely, then thinks for a minute and looks shyly away.
The camp is shaded by pines and the gorse that surrounds it. I like it. It has a strangely warm feeling, despite the damp air and marshes. A huge tabby stands by the entrance, warily letting us pass when he sees me. He exchanges a few words with the apprentice before running to a white cat with black paws. He glances up from his prey and looks at the returning patrol, before dashing to a den in a hollow tree.
My father walks out of the hollowed tree, followed closely by the white tom. A few cats mew a greeting, which he returns with a thundering purr. Dark tabby fur blends with the shadows in the camp, and I feel a pang of homesickness. He looks like Bramblepaw. For a heartbeat my heart longs to go home. This is my home now, I tell myself.
"Welcome, Tawnypaw," my father meows, pausing before adding in a whisper, "I am very proud of you."
I let out a long purr. The praise alone is more than I feel I received at ThunderClan. Tigerstar beckons me with a flick of his tail to the pine his den is in. I see him bunch his haunches, and, muscles rippling, leap onto a branch.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath HighPine for a clan meeting," he yowls, his voice echoing around the camp. My fur tingles at the familiar words.
Most of the clan was already milling about the pine, obviously aware of my arrival. I spot the ginger apprentice who was on the patrol, whispering excitedly to a small brown tom only a bit larger than he is.
"Tawnypaw," Tigerstar mews solemnly, "Is it your wish to give up your life in ThunderClan to join ShadowClan?"
"It is!" I manage to squeak.
No going back now.
"Until you finish your apprenticeship," he continues, "You will be mentored by Oakfur." He finishes his sentence with a glance at the small brown tom.
The tom pads up, his eyes filled with both curiosity and wariness. We touch noses before retreating into the crowd.
"Tawnypaw! Tawnypaw!" a queen cries. The rest of the clan takes up her call, but I notice Russetfur and the black-footed tom remain silent exchanging short glances. Their stares scorch my pelt, but Tigerstar doesn't notice. I can see the pride burning in his dark eyes. For the first time I see him as a real cat, not an evil traitor, like in the stories the elders tell. And what they see me as.
"Blackfoot?" Oakfur mews to the white tom once the meeting is over, "Could I skip going on hunting patrol at sunhigh to show Tawnypaw around?"
Blackfoot stares at me for a heartbeat, then hesitantly gives a curt nod, but adds, "I want both of you on hunting patrols tomorrow."
"Thank you, Blackfoot," he meows, "Tawnypaw and I will go at sunhigh tomorrow."
I can almost feel the hostility and tension between the two toms, though Oakfur doesn't mention a dislike of Blackfoot as the camp fades into the distance. My mentor quietly points out good places to hunt as we walk along. "So you know where to go tomorrow." He points out.
"You remind me of Brackenfur," I mew before remembering he probably doesn't know who Brackenfur is.
The confused look on his face tells me that my assumptions are right.
"My old mentor," I explain, embarrassed.
"How so?" Oakfur asks, slowing down a little, surprised by this connection.
"You both are friendly," I meow, "And you're both brown. And you're always nervous, like the leader is going to swoop down and choose another mentor for your apprentice." I let out a purr to let him know I'm not trying to make him feel uncomfortable.
"I've never had one before," Oakfur mumbles.
I twitch my whiskers understandingly, before adding encouragingly, "You're doing fine. I'm sure Bramblepaw would be jealous."
He recognizes that name, and after that, I feel as though my mentor has a kind of confidence that wasn't there before.
"Here we are," Oakfur mews, gesturing with his tail, "This is where we'll come for battle training."
A clearing springs out of the gloom at us. Pine needles cover most of the earth, and tall, green pines cast dark shadows over the forest floor. I glance at Oakfur, and see an almost wistful look in his eyes, as though he is remembering all the time he spent training here.
I tenderly set one paw down on the pine needles that cover the floor of the clearing. It's so soft! I think, and I eagerly bring my other three paws onto the pine needles. If I ever walk on clouds, this is how I expect it to feel.
"Soft, isn't it?" Oakfur purrs, joining me on the needles, "I was thinking we could join Jaggedtooth and Rowanpaw for training here tomorrow at dawn. How does that sound?"
"Great." I nod softly, still looking in awe at the clearing.
"Come on," Oakfur meows, "It's time you saw your new home."
AN: Gah! Done! Grassy Leaves did so many edits to this chapter, but they made it about 100x better than before. This chapter is over 1,000 words, which is more than I've ever written. I feel accomplished. On to Chapter 3! Woohoo!! Reviewing makes the world go round, so be sure to push the little button! P.S. I changed Oakheart to Oakfur. Sorry about that! Cookies to everyone who noticed!