Chapter 1
Leafpaw woke up abruptly as a cat landed on him. "Intruders!" he gasped. Just as he turned to attack his opponents,Cinderpaw cuffed him on his ear playfully. "It's just us, mousebrain!" She let out a mrrow of laughter and Leafpaw quickly ducked his head and gave his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.
"What's the commotion in here?" A broad-shouldered gray tom stuck his head in the apprentice den. "Sorry,Mousepelt," Birchpaw apologized. "We were just playing!" Seedpaw meowed. "Well, you're not kits anymore. You should behave more like apprentices. Now come on out, you still have to train with your mentors. After all that commotion though, I think I'll need to have a word with your mentors. Doing the elders' ticks and collecting moss for bedding would be good punishments. Of course, they are just regular apprentice duties but I reckon that you all would prefer training with your mentors." "We're sorry, Mousepelt, please don't cancel our training sessions with our mentors!" Heatherpaw pleaded.
Mousepelt huffed and stalked out of the apprentice den. The apprentices glanced at one another and padded out to the clearing as well. Leafpaw couldn't help but twitch his ears in annoyance, what did all this have to do with him? He just woke up, for Starclan's sake!
Fernstar stretched and yawned. She padded sleepily out of the leader' s den and sat down in the clearing. "Greetings, Fernstar," Moonpelt meowed, bowing her head in respect. Greetings,Moonpelt. Could you take Cinderpaw, Heatherpaw and Leafpaw out for their warrior's assessment? Bring Starfire and Eagleflight with you. Flowercloud is on a patrol, that's why I'm asking you." Fernstar meowed. "Of course, Fernstar," Moonpelt replied,and padded off to get the other cats.
The apprentices grabbed some prey and they all headed out of camp and stood at the edge of the forest. "All right," Moonpelt meowed. "Cinderpaw, you will hunt here, in the forest. Heatherpaw, you will hunt in the moorland area. Don't cross into Breezeclan territory! Leafpaw, you will hunt at The Great Pine Tree. You have until dusk and we will be monitoring your progress. You may begin NOW."
Cinderpaw and Heatherpaw immediately dashed off, and Leafpaw followed after a moment's hesitation. When he arrived at The Great Pine Tree, he raised his head and scented the air. "Perfect," he thought as the scent of squirrels filled his nose. Leafpaw settled into a hunter's crouch and crept forward. He distantly heard a cat's footprints behind him but he was concentrated on his prey. He wasn't worried, it was most likely Moonpelt watching his progress. Just then, the squirrel decided to climb up The Great Pine Tree. It was so fixated on the pinecones that it did not notice Leafpaw at all. Without hesitating, Leafpaw pounced and clambered up the tree. The squirrel, startled, dropped its pinecone and was just about to scamper away when Leafpaw slammed it under his paw. He delivered the killing bite to its neck swiftly and thanked Starclan for the prey. He then climbed down the tree and buried the squirrel so he could come back and retrieve it later.
Soon, dusk fell and Leafpaw had caught two mice, three squirrels and a vole. He met up with the rest of the apprentices and the warriors and together, they padded back to camp with their prey. The older cats gazed warmly at the apprentices as they all had done very well. "The clan will eat well tonight!" Eagleflight meowed. "Well done, apprentices! You will all be made warriors tomorrow." The three apprentices looked at each other in delight and basked in the praise of the other cats.
Fernstar tossed and turned in her sleep that night. She was happy that Leafpaw had done well for his assessment but she just can't seem to fall asleep! Finally, she dozed off. In her dream, she was in Starclan's hunting grounds. "Beware the clan that lies…" Sparrowstar, Lightningclan's previous leader, meowed. "Wait!" Fernstar yowled, but the dream had already faded.
Okay guys! I finally finished chapter 1! Yay! Reviews please!