Chapter 2
Leopardpaw opened her eyes, but was puzzled to see that she wasn't in the apprentice's den. Instead, she could barely see a thing. All she could make out were dark bare trees, dead grass, and eerie luminescent fungi. The apprentice gasped with shock when she saw that Silverpelt wasn't visible, and the moon was blood red.
Am I in an omen dream from StarClan? She wondered, If so, then please let me wake up! She closed her eyes and hoped to wake up, but nothing happened. She walked forward, pricking her ears for signs of danger.
A hiss coming from above her caught her attention. Leopardpaw paused to sniff the air, but a menacing yowl confirmed her fears.
"Your silly training will have no use here!" Leopardpaw looked up and was frightened at the sight. A large flame-colored cat was lying on a tree branch. He had dirty fur matted and his long claws extended as if they had never been sheathed. His dark blue eyes were almost black in this dark forest, but when he grinned evilly at the apprentice, his yellow fangs shimmered.
"What is this place?" Leopardpaw challenged in a weak voice. Please, StarClan, give me strength if I have to battle this evil-looking cat!
The cat stood up on the branch and yawned, "It has many names. Some call it The Place of No Stars. I call it the Dark Forest." The orange cat bunched his muscles and jumped to the ground, landing perfectly. "It's for the cats that were rejected from StarClan," he spat.
This cat truly is evil! Leopardpaw backed away from the tom slowly, but he followed.
"What are you doing here, anyway? You're far too young to be in this place," he growled while stalking toward Leopardpaw.
"I…I don't know," she stammered. The small apprentice braced for attack as the large, broad-shouldered tom inched closer and closer. Finally, a loud yowl made him halt.
"Fireclaw, don't scare away our visitor!" Mysterious ice-blue eyes were the first thing Leopardpaw noticed when a magnificent golden tabby tom walked up next to her.
"But Lightningstar, she's trespassing," Fireclaw hissed, his eyes filled with hate toward the apprentice. Lightningstar didn't reply, but stared at the dark ginger tom until he slunk away into the shadows.
The golden tabby switched his icy gaze to Leopardpaw, who was shivering with cold and fear. "Don't be frightened, Leopardpaw. I won't let anything hurt you," he purred with a calm and reassuring voice.
"Who are you?" Leopardpaw asked. She was less frightened by this new cat. Her instinct said that he was trustworthy.
My name is Lightningstar, young Leopardpaw," he meowed. "I was the leader of your Clan before Skystar, but I am also your grandfather; your father, Scorchfang is my kit."
Leopardpaw remembered nursery tales of the leader before Skystar – a ruthless, cunning cat who nearly destroyed SunClan with his ambition. This cat, however, seemed different to Leopardpaw.
"Come and walk with me. We can talk better while moving; this place gets very cold," he meowed and walked away with his granddaughter at his side.
A sharp claw prodded Leopardpaw's side and she woke up. "Get your lazy tail up, or Tigerwhisker will hang your pelt outside of the warriors' den!" Sunpaw whispered.
"No need for claws, I'm getting up," Leopardpaw yawned and stretched her tired legs. Her body was aching as if she had never slept.
Sunpaw meowed, "Tigerwhisker asked me to tell you to meet him at the entrance to the camp before sunhigh. He said you should eat first because you'll need your energy for today."
Leopardpaw nodded. Once Sunpaw left, she licked the moss from her fur and walked into the camp clearing. Over by the fresh-kill pile, Foxpaw and Whitepaw were sharing tongues, eating prey, and basking in the newleaf sunlight. Leopardpaw grabbed a mouse and sat next to them to eat.
"So, how was your first day?" Whitepaw asked Leopardpaw cheerfully.
"Well…I got Thunderscar some fresh bedding," the golden spotted she-cat murmured embarrassingly and gulped her mouse down quickly.
"Oh…well, hopefully your mentor will have something more exciting for you to do today!" Whitepaw gave the younger apprentice a friendly lick on the shoulder. "Speaking of mentors, I'm supposed to meet with Goldenstorm to hunt. Bye!" She sprinted off. Leopardpaw noticed her brother staring at Whitepaw's pure white pelt as she ran into the tunnel.
"She's very pretty, Foxpaw," Leopardpaw purred amusingly.
"W…we're just friends!" he stammered.
Leopardpaw meowed with amusement, "And I'm a mouse. Well, I'm going to meet Tigerwhisker for training." She padded toward the tunnel that left in and out of camp, only to find that Tigerwhisker wasn't there. She snorted and sat down to wait.
Lazy furball's probably still asleep, she growled to herself. She sat for several minutes until it was finally sunhigh. Before Leopardpaw could walk away, though, a large cat sprung onto her back and pinned her to the ground.
"The first skill of being a skillful warrior is to always keep your senses keen for enemies," a familiar deep voice growled. The cat released her.
Leopardpaw sprang to her paws and arched her back, but her fur flattened and she hissed with annoyance when she saw that her attacker was Tigerwhisker. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off by running away. Leopardpaw followed, still furious by her mentor.
They ran until they reached a barren, rocky landscape. "Be careful not to tread on a sharp stone," Tigerwhisker called, but Leopardpaw's pads were already bloody. Tigerwhisker halted next to a large boulder and meowed, "This is the Stone Circle. Mentors and apprentices do battle training here." He jumped onto a pile of rocks, and then onto the top of the boulder. Leopardpaw didn't struggle on the climb due to her adventurous kithood, and then stood by her mentor. He nodded with approval. "Look down into the center of the rocks. The grass lets us train without injury, and the surrounding rocks help us execute special battle maneuvers."
Leopardpaw looked down at the clearing. Sunpaw and Moonpelt were battle training with Rockpaw and Torntail. Leopardpaw watched Rockpaw leap onto a large rock that was above Sunpaw and in a split second, land on his back and pin him down. Torntail called something to the young cats.
"Let's move on," Tigerwhisker mewed. He jumped down the same path that they came up, and continued running through the rocky cliffs. After a while, the terrain changed into grass and mud. Leopardpaw noticed a new form of rocks – long, smooth ones that bordered the river.
"This is Sunningrocks," Tigerwhisker said. "It's a great place to hunt, but MarshClan likes to cross the border during leaf-bare to hunt here. We constantly battle over the rocks, and they switch possessions often, but right now they're SunClan territory."
Leopardpaw made note of the territory and then they moved on. They ran once again through the rocks until they reached the forest. Tigerwhisker stopped and whispered, "Don't make a sound." He crouched down to the ground and crept forward with his ears pricked; he had smelled a mouse. He stalked across the forest floor silently. Once he was close enough to the mouse, he pounced and killed it with a quick bite on the back of the neck. Tigerwhisker motioned for Leopardpaw to come over and offered to share the mouse. Leopardpaw's stomach growled and ate her share gratefully.
"The next place we're going to isn't too far away, but it's probably the most important part of our territory." He walked quickly this time with Leopardpaw beside him.
He's not as bad as I thought, Leopardpaw thought while looking up at the brown tabby. His bright green eyes met hers for a moment, and then he smirked and broke into a sprint. Well, not so bad for an annoying furball at least! She laughed and chased after him.
The next stop amazed Leopardpaw. Four huge boulders were standing aligned in a vast clearing. "This is the Great Rocks: the Gathering place where the four Clans meet every full moon to share news," Tigerwhisker meowed. "When you go to the Gathering, I'll give you more information of things you have to keep in mind while attending."
Leopardpaw couldn't wait any longer to attend a Gathering. Hopefully I can go to the next one, she thought with anticipation. She looked up at the Great Rocks and changed her thoughts.
Never mind, I can't wait to become a leader and speak from the rocks!
Sorry for taking forever to update. School is draining.
~Skyy
