I'm very sorry it took me almost a month to update...
The Erins own Warriors.
Young Eaglepaw (he felt like a little hero now) grew up. He grew stronger, and learned even more. His head injury healed, and he stayed healthy. As Eaglepaw kept training, he quickly forgot about the rogue. Or whoever that cat was. Fights with ShadowClan occurred often, more than once almost every moon. Peace was only temporary, and the warriors wondered how long this would last.
Maplestar and Blizzardclaw were busy bees, sending out extra border patrols. But not every warrior cat could go. It was important to keep every cat well fed, obviously. So was defending the camp. Cats were tired, some very exhausted. Eaglepaw himself was on his last legs. But then he heard his mentor's voice. Calling him, oh great. What now? Apparently Blizzardclaw wanted apprentices too. He always seemed to give Eaglepaw more work to do than the others. Was Eaglepaw happy? Of course not, that lazy furball.
The golden apprentice followed Mistpaw out of the apprentices' den.
"Lucky," she had said, after asking him where he was going.
Eaglepaw yawned, yesterday he had gone on five patrols. "Why?"
"I have to clean the elders' den," Mistpaw replied, sighing. "All by myself!"
Eaglepaw shrugged. Oh. He wasn't surprised. Last moon, he had visited the elders. All of them were grumpy, and it would be cough season soon (white and green). Fortunately, Eaglepaw's friend Redpaw was with him.
"The elders might tell you a story," Eaglepaw told the younger apprentice.
Eaglepaw and Mistpaw, however, continued talking. They had a long chat, and maybe Eaglepaw told Mistpaw a story. Not that he'd be an elder anytime soon. Apprentices had a lot to talk about. By the time Eaglepaw found Graystorm, the rest of the patrol had already assembled. Graystorm's apprentice saw that it was Featherpelt, Roseheart, and Yellowtail. And Redpaw, who laughed. Redpaw was convinced that every young she-cat Eaglepaw talked to, he had a crush on.
The warriors also talked. Apparently WindClan was also getting involved in this dispute...this rivalry that ShadowClan had.
"Well, let's go!" Graystorm meowed loudly, so the group could hear him.
The two apprentices brought up the rear. They were slower than the full grown cats.
"Blizzardclaw won't be happy if we're late," Eaglepaw said.
Redpaw nodded, he was looking at something in the distance. Eaglepaw didn't bother asking his friend what it was.
Instead, he suggested they catch up. Redpaw disagreed. At this pace, they could talk about more. Like, when the older cats wouldn't hear them. Because apprentice talk was not usually very interesting, and sometimes it was silly. Unless intelligent apprentices, Redpaw and Eaglepaw for example, were the ones speaking.
This time, it was about the battle that was soon to come. The fastest way to become a warrior, Redpaw agreed with Eaglepaw, was to fight for ThunderClan, and fight well.
Redpaw asked him one of his very interesting questions, but now Eaglepaw wasn't listening. The golden apprentice heard another voice. It didn't sound like Redpaw at all.
I'm warning you.
"What?"
I'm warning you, kit.
"I'm not a kit!"
I'm warning you.
I'm warning you.
I'm warning you.
"Shut up!"
I'M WARNING YOU.
Death will come.
"Eaglepaw?" Redpaw questioned him again.
"Nothing," his friend muttered.
"And what do you think you're doing here?"
Eaglepaw and Redpaw had walked straight into ShadowClan territory.
Somewhere, an unfamiliar cat peered out of a bush. A stranger was watching. The cat's fur was short and dark. He emerged slowly, prepared to flee if the Clan cats noticed that he was there. If they were in fact Clanners, he must be deep inside their territory. They did smell like a group of cats that his friend had described to him, but he had never seem or smelled before.
Twigs cracked under his feet, paws that hurt since he often found thorns stuck in them. He thought these cats had to be ThunderClan. The biggest Clan, but they were soft compared to the others. Well known for their kittypet additions. The dark cat hated kittypets, kittypets would never know what a challenge was.
Meanwhile, the dark cat faced challenges every day, a daily struggle to survive in the wild. Who would feel sorry for those spoiled fools, pampered by their two legged owners? Not him. Careful, he warned himself, you're making too much noise.