I now realize that I made all the kits in the last chapter seem really mature. Pretend that they weren't :)
Enjoy!
It had been three days since Moonpaw was apprenticed, and she was aching all over. The first day she had been all over Thunderclan territory: she had visited Fourtrees; been warned away from Snakerocks; learned the smells of Shadowclan, Windclan, and Riverclan; been told of the continuous struggle for Sunningrocks; and had had the danger of Owl Tree at night explained to her.
The second day, Goldenstar had taught, or tried to teach, her apprentice how to hunt. Moonpaw's attempts were pitiful. She startled away all the prey with her loud paw steps that she could not hear to know their volume. Goldenstar told her to walk the quietest she possibly could; quieter than she thought feasible, or required. The only piece of prey Moonpaw caught that day was a slow-moving mouse, and that was only because Moonpaw had stepped on its tail while she was practicing stepping lightly.
Today, the third day, Goldenstar had attempted to teach Moonpaw how to fight. Moonpaw had lost every scuffle they'd had. She could not hear her mentor creep up behind her, or the tips Goldenstar gave. Moonpaw was thrown upon the ground countless times, and she now realized that the only reason she had ever won any brawls as a kit was because she was stronger than most of her den mates. But not stronger than a full-grown leader paw-picked by Starclan.
"I'm useless!" Moonpaw had roughly cried out in despair. Goldenstar leapt in front of her and growled so she knew Moonpaw could see.
"You are not useless! You caught a mouse your first day hunting, did you not?" Moonpaw opened her mouth to discredit herself, but her leader waved her tail in dismissal. "It may well have been an accident, but you were walking quiet enough that the mouse did not hear you. Many hearing cats cannot bring fresh-kill back to camp on their first day." She smiled warmly and continued. "Many cats were surprised that you did. And today's fighting practice? You'll learn. I'll help you train to use the heightened senses you have because of your deafness to your advantage."
Then the leader of Thunderclan had turned around and beckoned for Moonpaw to follow her back to camp. As soon as she arrived she limped straight for the apprentice's den, where she saw Tumblepaw and Growthpaw, who had not been present at Moonpaw's apprenticeship because she was on a patrol, sharing tongues. She waved her tail wearily at them then slipped inside to sleep. She curled up into a tiny ball and slept.
Moonpaw was dreaming of becoming the clan's best hunter when a paw jabbed her in the side to wake her up. Moonpaw blinked the sleep from her eyes and saw Tumblepaw, one of the oldest apprentices, standing over her. She got up and stretched, then followed him out of the den. When she stepped outside, she was bathed in moonlight rather than the sunlight she was expecting. She gave Tumblepaw a quizzical look, and he looked right at her and spoke:
"You and I have been chosen to go with the clan to the gathering tonight." His eyes twinkled in the moonlight and Moonpaw could almost feel the excitement radiating from him, and now her. She kneaded her paws eagerly and started towards the clearing. It must have just rained; there were a few puddles about. As Moonpaw passed one, she noticed just how much her name fit her.
In the water's reflection, she could see how the white fur of her muzzle and chest slowly faded to gray, and then black as it coursed down her body. It looked as if she was always bathed in bright moonlight, with her maw pointing upward towards the moon. Moonpaw glanced at her almost white forelegs, then at her almost black hind legs, and pranced around in a circle, just enjoying the night air. There was no question; Moonpaw was stunning in the moonlight, but she didn't acknowledge, nor care about this. She was too young to think about love, or finding a mate, and so she frolicked in the moonlight, unaware of a golden apprentice gazing at her with awe.
Sunpaw was aware that what he felt for Moonpaw was just a crush, and it would, inevitably, pass, but for now, he just sat and observed. He shook his head as if to clear it. He, too, was much too young to be thinking about love and mates, although he was to be a warrior in a bit over a moon. So Sunpaw shoved these irrational feelings aside and got ready to leave for the Gathering.
Moonpaw saw many cats gathered at the gorse tunnel, and joined them. She saw Goldenstar at the front, with Ivorytail close behind. In the mass of cats behind them, Moonpaw saw her father, Ledgestep, Maplefield, Wildfang, Thrushclaw, Fluttergaze, Curlpelt, Leafsong, Tumblepaw, Flowingspirit, Sunpaw, Berryblaze, and Bumblenose.
Moonpaw soon realized she was the last to arrive, and shrank from embarrassment. Sunpaw trotted up to her and pressed his flank to hers in encouragement. The parade of cats began to move, with Sunpaw, Moonpaw, and Tumblepaw at the end. They dashed towards Fourtrees hurriedly; clouds were threatening to pass over the moon. They paused at the top of the slope. Moonpaw looked downward in awe.
She had never seen so many cats in her life! There must have been dozens of cats, in every shape, color, and size imaginable. At a flick of Goldenstar's tail, the party of felines ran down into the hollow. Goldenstar took her place on the Great Rock, and Ivorytail sat down at it's base. Moonpaw had no idea what to do. She felt the buzz of many voices passing through the air, but heard only silence. But as Moonpaw had never known anything else, to her it was not silence, but normality. She followed Tumblepaw and Sunpaw to a group of apprentices from other clans.
Moonpaw's heart raced. She would be meeting new cats! But what if they thought she was hopeless as a to-be warrior? She needn't have worried. As the stink of Shadowclan, the waterlogged smell of Riverclan, and the open and wind-blown scent of Windclan assaulted her nostrils, she was greeted with warm smiles and words of what she assumed was 'hello', but the speakers weren't looking right at her. Moonpaw smiled helplessly, and Sunpaw stepped forward to explain what Moonpaw guessed was an explanation for her unresponsiveness.
She must have guessed correctly, for as he stepped away the cats looked at her with sympathy and looked straight at her to speak.
"Hello, I'm Stillpaw," said a light gray Riverclan she-cat, who still had fluffy kit fur.
"I'm Bouncepaw, and this is Ivypaw." A brown tabby tom gestured to a crème-colored she-cat. They both smelled of Windclan. Then a potent odor drifted from her right as a Shadowclan apprentice rose to speak to her.
"I'm Foxpaw," the red and white tom spoke slower than necessary, but in a kind way rather than insulting. Two more apprentices of Shadowclan spoke next.
"Hey, I'm Brushpaw. Nice to meet you," a fluffy black tom began politely as a small, light brown she-cat that reminded Moonpaw remarkably of Scruffkit interrupted.
"I'm Mouspaw," she said eagerly as she waddled up to touch noses with Moonpaw.
Moonpaw smiled at their warm welcome, and then watched obliviously as the group laughed and joked together.
I wish I could hear, if only for tonight! Moonpaw longed sadly. She felt like she was out of this group rather than in the center. She looked at her paws.
The pulsing in the air from the many voices became almost unnoticeable as the cats quieted down and the Leaders began to speak. Once again, Moonpaw felt like an outsider because she could not hear the conversation. So instead, she studied a lighting bug that was hovering over Fluttergaze's head.
Suddenly, she felt Sunpaw's hackles raise beside her and looked up to see many other Thunderclan cats growing as their hackles rose as well. Moonpaw whipped her head around to see numerous cats from all clans openly staring at her. She looked at Tumblepaw in confusion. He nodded upwards.
Moonpaw gasped, because the clouds had covered the moon, and it didn't look likely to clear up anytime soon. She glanced up towards the clan leaders.
No! The thought was too late as Shadowclan's leader, Frozenstar, tensed his muscles to leap at Goldenstar…
DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNN!!!!
By the way, I have the next chapter written already, so review and maybe I'll post it quickly...
Your Pal,
ll SuperOreoMan ll
