Chapter 3

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait; AP tests take up too much of my time...anyways, here's another chapter. Takes place right after the last one and covers "The Wizard and I" and "What is this Feeling".

As always, I own nothing. All credit for Wicked and Warriors go to their rightful owners.


Briarpaw, Dawnpaw, and Ebonypaw were trying to comfort Flowerpaw after she had learned that she would have to share a den with the one cat she could not stand.

"Something's wrong," Flowerpaw sniffled.

The others waited intently for her response.

"I didn't get my way." She made it seem as though it was inconceivable for her to not get her way.

And with that, Flowerpaw followed her friends back to the main part of camp to see if anything was left on the fresh-kill pile.


"My dear, do you know what you could do with a gift like yours?" Whitefeather returned her full attention to Ivypaw, eyes sparkling. "You could be on your way to meeting Graystar."

Ivypaw felt her throat run dry. Graystar? The Graystar? No, it was almost too good to be true. Graystar was the leader of EmeraldClan, a Clan that lived past the Moonpool in a secluded forest where he lived with his Clan known only as the Emerald Forest. EmeraldClan was rumored to be the home of the most skilled and wisest warriors in the whole forest. No one knew much about Graystar, he never appeared at Gatherings, but from what Ivypaw had heard, he was the greatest warrior to ever live. He could never be beaten in battle and he had powers unlike any cat. Whenever the Clans were in trouble, the leaders turned to him for advice and help.

"I'm sure he'd be very impressed with you. In fact, I know for a fact that the position of Deputy is still open. Perhaps, if you prove yourself, you may be the next Deputy of EmeraldClan."

And with that, Whitefeather left. Ivypaw was speechless with wonder and shock. Could she really become a Deputy? And of EmeraldClan?

She began to picture it in her mind. Leading a Clan of cats who didn't care about what she looked like. Standing side by side the most respected cat in the whole forest while other cats would look up and see how much she had changed from the ignored green apprentice to an honorable and dignified Deputy. And no longer would Finchpelt or Nightpaw feel embarrassed or ashamed of being her kin; no, they would be proud to share her blood. Graystar would be impressed and help her understand the reason for her powers. If any cat could make sense of her strange abilities, that cat would be Graystar. Maybe she had a great destiny ahead of her, a destiny that other cats could only dream of. Even these mere thoughts made Ivypaw's heart beat faster. She could hear it now,

"Ivypaw, I am so honored to meet a cat with such amazing talents. I know I can rely on you as my loyal Deputy." Graystar would say.

Suddenly, Ivypaw felt her whole body freeze, as if she were caught in a trance. Wait, what's going on? She panicked. Then, almost as clearly as if the image had been in front of her, she could make out the blurry images of cats gathered under the Highledge, as if they were celebrating something. She thought she could make out faint yowling and although she had no way of knowing for certain, it seemed as though they were having a celebration for her. She felt so unlimited knowing that this vision could be of the future. The future she deserved. To be standing there with Graystar.


Ivypaw made her way back towards the camp. Eyes turned and she heard sneers from the other apprentices. Ignoring them, she padded along and picked a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, taking it to her usual spot by the shade of a bush. She noticed that just across from her sat Flowerpaw and her group of friends. They were warming themselves in the sun and eating voles by the looks of it. All of them seemed to be mewing about something all at once and Ivypaw found it difficult to eat with all the noise they were making. Annoyed, she pressed her ears against the back of her head.


"Tell me all about it." Hazelpaw took another bite of her vole as she waited for Flowerpaw to explain how she had ended up denmates with the greenest cat in ThunderClan.

Flowerpaw sighed in an overly dramatic fashion and casually licked a snow white paw.

"You see, I was going to ask Whitefeather if I could be shown where exactly my private den was. But she took it to mean that I had volunteered to share a den with….you know, her. I mean, what's the use of having a Deputy when they won't even listen to you?"

She noticed that Ivypaw was eating by herself a few tail-lengths away out of the corner of her eye. She felt her eyes narrow. I've never done anything to deserve this! She thought indignantly. But then she thought to herself, No one ever said I had to be nice to her…

Flowerpaw raised her voice until she was certain the Ivypaw could hear.

"You know, Ivypaw has to be the worst denmate in ThunderClan."

A slow smile crept in when she saw Ivypaw bristle at the comment.


Ivypaw snarled and stormed to where Flowerpaw was still giggling. The she-cats had forgotten their food as it was tossed aside so that they could witness the confrontation that was occurring.

"Well, maybe I'd be a better denmate if you didn't have feathers in your brain half the time." Ivypaw spat.

Flowerpaw narrowed her eyes. "Well, you're…you're…you have green fur!" Ivypaw saw her wince, realizing herself what a terrible retort that really was.

"Thanks for letting me know." Was her dry, sarcastic response.

"Well, I hate the sight of your face!"

"And I hate your voice. It sounds like a dying mouse."

"You know what Ivypaw, I don't think I've ever felt like this about anyone before." The smaller white she-cat tried to intimidate her by pushing her way towards her, eyes narrowed into furious slits.

"I feel the same." Ivypaw stood up taller and bared her teeth at Flowerpaw, causing her to take a step or two back out of fear.

"I hate you!" Flowerpaw yowled. At this, the whole camp turned to look at the two apprentices, but Ivypaw was too angry to care at the moment.

"So do I. In fact, I loathe you."

By now, a crowd had formed around them. All the apprentices were eagerly watching and whispering amongst themselves. The apprentices all turned to support Flowerpaw, standing behind her and supporting her.

"She's not worth it, Flowerpaw."

"Ivypaw's just a green, fox-hearted mousebrain."

Ivypaw and Flowerpaw began to circle each other. Ivypaw didn't take her eyes off of Flowerpaw for fear that she may unsheathe her claws at any moment. Flowerpaw stubbornly held her gaze as well.

"What's all this fighting about?" at the sound of her mentor's voice, Ivypaw spun around. Standing in front of her was an ivory-colored tom with calm blue eyes. His stern frown made her feel guilty as she stepped away from Flowerpaw who also seemed to understand they had gone too far.

"I'm sorry Goatfoot…" Ivypaw mumbled. "It won't happen again." She winced. Her first day of being an apprentice and already she had made an enemy and disappointed her mentor. How can this day get any worse?

"I trust you will use better judgment next time. If you feel up to it, I was going to ask you if you wanted to start your training."

She perked up a bit at this news. "Now? Of course."

As Goatfoot began to leave, he turned back to call over his shoulder,

"You two won't be able to come to the Gathering tonight. In fact, none of the new apprentices will be going."

"How come?" Ivypaw asked, curious.

Goatfoot sighed. "ThunderClan is growing quickly. Thornstar doesn't want to intimidate the other Clans and he thought it might be better for the more experienced members of the Clan to go tonight. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll let you come next moon." And with that, he was gone.

Ivypaw's tail drooped. She had been looking forward to her first Gathering. Goatfoot signaled for her to follow with a flick of her tail. She shook off the disappointment and followed him into the forest.


"Made it back just in time." An orange tom jumped from atop a tree branch onto the dried leaves on the forest floor, causing a loud crunch.

"I'd say you were pretty late Firepaw." Another tom mewed, this one a dark gray. Firepaw gave his pelt a shake and retrieved his kill from earlier. The small mouse wasn't much, but he knew it was more than the other apprentices had caught yet. They had to be taught to hunt. Firepaw just used instinct. Setting down the mouse, he turned to the gray tom.

"Ashpaw, I'm just in time. That old Whitefeather was too busy lecturing the other apprentices, she didn't even notice I was gone."

"Whatever you say." Ashpaw grumbled.

"Hey, shouldn't you be getting back to WindClan? I can find my way back to ThunderClan from here." Firepaw had already broken the Warrior Code too many times today.

"Fine. I'm leaving. See you around." And with that, he pelted back through the forest in the direction of the moor. Typical WindClan. Always thinking they can outrun you.

Picking up the mouse in his jaws, he made his way back to camp feeling pleased with himself and his catch. Today can't get any better.


A/N: Up next is "Something Bad" and "Dancing through Life" :3 Please review