I don't own the Warriors series, just ALL these cats, clans, this story, and territories.
Chapter 5
Warm blossom-time sunlight shone down on a dark gray shape. The light shone brighter through the gaps in the tall golden stalks, that were bent over a nest of grass and grain to form a cozy little den. The tom's eyes fluttered open and squinted in the morning light.
"Five more minutes…"he muttered, but got up anyway. He shook his tabby fur out without bothering to groom and slipped through the wheat. On the route, which he knew by heart, he passed several other little dens just like his own, some empty, some with cats in them. Lucky ducks, he thought about the occupied ones. He stepped over his sleeping clanmates and eventually escaped the golden maze into a clearing. In this clearing were the few early risers and a lone boulder.
Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, a pale ginger and cream she-cat turned her green gaze on him. "Care to share, Stormbird?" she purred hopefully around the fur of a rabbit. Stormbird stifled a purr of his own noticing the tom next to her, watching him closely through narrowed eyes. Goldenheart is way too overprotective of his little sister. So instead he gave the pretty she-cat a pokerfaced nod, his heart twisting a little when he saw her visibly sink in disappointment at his stoic response.
All three cats finished their meals in a tense and awkward silence when a black tom jumped on them out of nowhere. "Mornin'!" he mewed excitedly. Goldenheart grunted, Stormbird scowled, but the she-cat eagerly leapt up to speak to her old friend.
"Good morning, Gentlestorm," she said.
"Morning, Dayfield," he greeted, "Since y'all are the first up you get the worm!" The two other toms looked at each other at the lieutenant's choice of words, but soon looked away when they realized just who they were agreeing with. Dayfield rolled her eyes, but Gentlestorm didn't notice the little exchange.
"I've got a patrol with Blackwind, Owlpaw, and Hazeltail along the Sparkclan side. Goldenheart, please lead a border patrol with Halfmoon over by Terraclan," he pointed his tail at the black-and-white tom sunning farther up the left side of the clearing, "And two other cats. Dayfield can you lead a hunting patrol with your protégé, Wrenflight, and Milkfeather?" She nodded happily. So cute… "Good then Stormbird, you and Horsefoot can train your apprentices today." He flicked his tail in acknowledgement.
Goldenheart went to wake up Halfmoon before disappearing into the wheat. Dayfield bounded over to a amber-eyed brown tom with white paws and tail-tip, and a green-eyed cream and gray she-cat who were sharing tongues. After a quick discussion, the three warriors headed to the southern wheat of the clearing to leave for their hunting. Stormbird allowed himself to watch Dayfield leave with a longing look in his eyes before snapping back into his cool guy cover.
Good timing too because just as he shook himself back, Goldenheart stepped out of the stalks where he'd exited earlier with Grasstail, a golden brown she-cat, and Sheepclaw, a fluffy pale she-cat. They joined Halfmoon who was waiting for them at the entrance and sped off to do the morning patrol. Sighing, he headed off in the direction of the warriors' dens and walked through them until he found a particular brown and black shape.
He prodded the dozing cat, "Yo, Horsefoot. Get up, it's training time."
"But I'm a warrior now, Halfmoon," he mumbled. Stormbird rolled his eyes frustratingly and grabbed the tom by the scruff to shake him awake.
"OK OK! Lightclan, I'm up already," he yowled angrily. The dark gray tabby dropped him, nodded once, and padded away to the protégés' dens on the other side of camp. He walked up to a young black tom grooming himself.
"Good morning, Stormbird," he meowed after one final lick.
The older tom nodded before cutting to the chase, "Where's your brother?"
The black cat cocked his head, "Windpaw? I thought he already left with you." Stormbird groaned. "He did it again, didn't he?"
"He sure as fox-dung did," the warrior growled angrily and turned to leave the young tom. When he reentered the clearing, now bustling with cats, rustling from behind alerted him that the protégé had followed him.
"You want me to go find him?" he offered.
He nodded as the younger tom sped off. Why can't Windpaw be like Gorsepaw? Geez.
Once Gorsepaw left the intimidating warrior behind, he let out a sigh of relief. I don't know how Windpaw can even think of angering such a cat. Absorbed in his thoughts, he stumbled into another cat and both of them fell to the ground.
"OW! Watch it," a familiar voice yelled.
Gorsepaw swallowed an apology as recognition washed over him, "Frostpaw! Good morning." He gave his white sister an affectionate lick. She shook her head disgustedly and glared at him with hard eyes like amethyst.
"Don't give me that perfect gentle-cat crap, Gorsepaw. What do you want," she hissed. Gorsepaw flinched at his sister harsh tongue. She's going to make one dung of an herbal cat, he thought.
"I don't want anything, but to bid my dearest sister a good morning. Now if you're going to be so rude, I'll be off with my business." Frostpaw's curiosity and need to be in control got the better of her.
"What business could you have all on your own?"
Her black brother's whiskers quivered in pleasure, "I'm off to find that mouse-brain, again."
She instantly understood and left her brother on his search for their *clears throat* dear brother.
Lush grass blew in the breezy wind, performing its graceful dance for its admirers without a care in the world. Much like the cat standing, chest out, on the tallest hill, letting the wind crawl through his long dark gray fur. It felt wonderful; if he could, he'd stay up there forever. The power and awe smashing together in an overpowering sensation, making him wish for the feeling to never go. If only, if only.
Remembering why he came there, the protégé sprinted down the hill, the thrill giving his legs that extra boost. Suddenly, an image of a dark gray tabby entered his mind making his eyes narrow with determination. I'll show them. Stormbird is going to praise me even if it kills the spiteful furball. He slowed as a familiar mouthwatering scent flowed through his senses. He came to a complete halt and leaned his head back to fully breathe in the scent through his mouth. Rabbit!
Windpaw dropped into a hunter's crouch and started to move forward on silent paws. Rounding a hill, he made out the floppy-eared creature drinking from one of the many pools dotting the hills. Stalking ever closer with the wind blowing towards him, his fur flapping in the wind, the hare didn't notice him until he was a mere fox-length away. Like it had a sixth sense, its big ears pricked up and it wiggled its cute, little nose in confusion. Windpaw took the chance and pounced on the creature. It gave a startled squeak and tried to wiggle free, but his claws were tucked into its skin so he pulled it towards him and gave it the killing bite to the neck. The creature went limp. He stared down angrily at the catch. It was really a scrawny and pathetic creature that looked like it would've died without the hunter's help. Growling, Windpaw silently cursed those dung Pinktrees.
"Nice catch."
Windpaw turned to see a familiar cat padding up to him.
"Oh hey, Bro," he meowed dropping his catch, "What are you doing here?"
Gorsepaw pouted trying to look mad, "You left camp without telling anyone, again. Stormbird sent me to get you for training." The dark gray tom slumped his shoulders. Not again. That old badger-heart is gonna' chew me out for trying to feed the clan. Hmph! Can't they see how noble my actions are; leaving at the break of dawn to catch the food they eat!
"Windpaw…Are you listening to me?!" his brother's yell snapped him out of his thoughts.
"No," he answered bluntly.
The black brother gave a massive sigh, "This is why you'll never become a warrior. Stormbird tells Horsefoot all the time that you space out like that and don't listen to a word he-" He stopped short, finally noticing that his brother had left.
Stupid Gorsepaw. What gives him the right to scold me,his big brother…well, I'll show him too! He sped off, flying over hills with his paws barely touching the ground. Everyone knew he was fast yet they still dared to scold him. I 'm better than the other protégés by a long shot!
Energy flowed through his muscles and he felt his namesake whipping past him faster as his speed increased. I'm the fastest cat in Hurricaneclan! He bowed his head forward to make himself more aerodynamic. No one can even come close to me when it comes to speed. His paws skimmed across the grass, staying only long enough for his claws to dig into soft earth and propel him further. I'll show them (this might as well be his catch phrase)that I can't be stopped! I'm…His tail straightened out. I'm…He flattened his ears against his head. I'm…He spread his long, wiry legs forward with every bound. I-I'm…His dark purple eyes narrowed, focusing on every aspect of his run. I'm-HOLY LIGHTCLAN!
The world was whirling pass him at impossible speeds and glancing down, his paws didn't even touch the ground for a whole second. He was running so fast that with his passing, dust whirled up, clumps of grass were kicked out of the ground, water sprayed out of the pools in the opposite direction, and unsuspecting insects were ripped to shreds by the wind caused by his run. He laughed in his head, Oh ho ho ho ho! I'm even faster than I thought!
Windpaw finally halted his super-speeding as he neared the edge of their territory, a small cluster of trees that signified their border's intersection with Sparkclan and Terraclan. I'm not even panting; that was easy! He turned around and sped back to the hills with an idea forming in his head. He was back in just over a minute. I bet I can shorten the time with practice. Speeding off again, he enacted his plan as the scent hit his open jaw. Almost instantaneously, the rabbit appeared right before he slammed into it. The force of the impact was enough to break its neck, and he repeated this over and over until he'd caught three fairly normal looking rabbits which were considered fat and juicy in these times.
Staring over his catch, he beamed at his work. Way to go, super power! I'm so fast I could catch every piece of prey in our territory before the day is over! He actually considered the ridiculous plan. Neah, then they'd get suspicious and I'd have to reveal my super power. They might label me as a freak and my reputation as a she-cat magnet would be ruined!
He had no such reputation.
This will have to do, I mean, it is pretty impressive and besides. With this new gift of mine, I could finish all my duties, then spend the rest of my time for whatever I want and get stupid Stormbird to be so proud of me, he'd flaunt me off to mentors everywhere!
Smiling hugely at the fantasy, he tried to pick up all three rabbits. Of course, he fell head-over-tail and landed on his rear. "Well, that won't work," he told himself. Then, you could practically see the light bulb appear over his head. Once again making use of his new found secret weapon, he took one rabbit and ran back to the entrance of the wheat field, dropped it, and did the same with the other two. He accomplished this in exactly 51 seconds.
He stared up into the blue sky and saw it was barely sun-high. Right on time, the annual patrol exited the field and jumped back in surprise at him. All except the cat in the lead of course, Stormbird. He nearly pinned him to the ground with brown daggers for eyes.
"Great Lightclan, Windpaw! Did you catch all those rabbits," a young brown tabby warrior exclaimed in sheer disbelief.
Windpaw straightened up proudly, "Of course I did, Haredash. And I caught the one Gorsepaw probably brought back earlier, too." He added the last part just in case Gorsepaw took credit for his catch, but knowing his brother, he'd never do a thing like that.
"Yeah, he told us that," a long-furred black tom said coolly. He stiffened as he recognized his father and mother, Quietwhisper, who silently nodded in approval at him from behind Gustpelt. All three members of Stormbird's patrol came over to Windpaw to give him praise, but Stormbird regained their attention by loudly clearing his throat. His protégé happily anticipated finally being praised by the moody warrior.
"Where were you?" he asked calmly, but everyone could hear the edge of something else in his tone.
Windpaw was confused by his question, "Well duh, hunt-"
Before he could finish, Stormbird loudly cut in, "Well, you should've been in camp waiting for my orders! Honestly, how can you be so incompetent?! You don't listen to a word I say, DO YOU! All you care about is yourself, I bet the thought of how embarrassing it must be for me to have a useless and irresponsible scrap of fur like you as my protégé never crosses your feeble mind! It didn't, did it?! Well…ANSWER ME!"
Throughout the whole time he was ranting at him, Stormbird stepped closer and closer until he was now nose to nose with the trembling protégé.
Gustpelt immediately turned on the junior warrior after the shock of his cold words left him, "Stormbird! How dare you talk to my son that way, or any cat for that matter. You have no right to reprimand him for just trying to help."
The mentor turned on his protégé's father hissing like a snake, "Shut up, Gustpelt! This doesn't concern you, you old windbag!"
Furious, the senior warrior dropped into a fighting stance and quickly, Stormbird followed suit. They started to circle each other like mortal enemies out for the kill, waiting for the other to strike. All of a sudden, they sprung at each other while the three bystanders could only watch stunned into statues. Then, there was a blur of gray and white causing his father and mentor to dig their claws into the ground trying to stop, only causing them to tumble all around the meadow.
They stared in shock at the gray and white,that was indeed a cat,who just happened to be staring them all down,hissing. "What. Is. The meaning. Of this?" she demanded much too quietly to express her true anger. It sent shivers down Windpaw's spine.
"B-Breezegem we," Gustpelt stammered at their leader.
"Spit it out!" she hissed causing the party and the deputy, Gentlestorm, to flinch.
The cause of all this ruckus dared to speak up, "S-Stormb-bird," Mouse-dung, I'm stuttering, "Stormbird a-and Gustpelt were fighting because of…me." The last word barely came out as more than a whisper, but Breezegem heard it none the less.
"Elaborate," she demanded. Windpaw was nervous about getting punished to go on. Luckily, Haredash stepped in.
"Stormbird completely berated Windpaw for no reason other than serving his clan," the young warrior stated. The cats stared at him in surprise, after all, he was speaking up when he was just a protégé a few moons ago. The hothead was the first one to snap out of it.
"That is not true!" he insisted at the nervous tom who flinched, "Windpaw broke the rules by leaving camp without telling anyone, again," he emphasized the word to remind them that this wasn't his first offense in that area, "Then he has the nerve to show off and talk to me in a disrespectful manner! I only gave him what he rightfully earned."
The said "show-off" glared furiously at his mentor and the way he twisted the facts in his favor and he wasn't alone.
"Not true," Quietwhisper spoke up softly, but was too unnerved by everybody looking at her to go on. Gustpelt walked over to comfort his mate and finished for her, "Look at the rabbits he caught. Sure,he should've asked permission before going to hunt alone, but we all know how he is. He just wanted to do a good thing and Stormbird is blowing this way out of proportion!"
The rest of their patrol and Gentlestorm nodded in agreement while Stormbird glowered at them all, but before he could retort Breezegem flicked her tail for silence. "Follow me."
They had no choice but to obey, so they followed the gray-and-white she-cat back through the wheat field and into the clearing. Leaping onto the lone boulder she yowled the same old summoning call, "All cats old enough to chase down a hare gather here around Sky Rock for a clan meeting." Soon, cats spilled into the clearing from unknown locations and found seats. Rustling in the front, forewarned the arrival of a matted ginger tom and Frostpaw.
Movement to the left alerted them of an ancient looking ginger she-cat and a black tom with a deformed front leg,who didn't look any older than Windpaw's father. The meeting was about to start when suddenly, two kits, a tortoiseshell-and-white she-kit, and her black-and-brown brother,burst into the clearing making quite a racket. They were followed by their mother, Woodfrost, and the other two nurses, Cinderfall and stayed at the edge of the clearing and Breezegem finally began.
"Cats of Hurricaneclan, it has come to my attention that I have made a grave mistake," Cats began to murmur confusedly and nervously at her proclamation, "Today a protégé left camp without telling anyone where he was going. Normally, the protégé would be punished, but it seems he did not commit this crime out of smite or sloth but to provide for the clan. He took it upon himself to wake up far before any of us to provide much needed food. For as you know, the Pinktrees' poisoning has scared our prey deep into their holes, killed them, and even forced them into the other clans' territory." She paused to let them soak in all this information.
"My mistake was made long before any of this even happened when I appointed a certain cat to be this protégé's mentor. Therefore, I have decided to relieve Stormbird of Windpaw." Shocked gasps came from the crowd and Stormbird gave a yowl of protest. She silenced him with a cold stare and he sat back down still fuming. Windpaw, on the other hand was ecstatic for he couldn't imagine any cat being a worse mentor than Stormbird.
Their leader's blue-gray gaze softened as she concluded the meeting, "Without further ado, I Breezegem call upon warriors passed to shine favor upon my new choice, Grasstail shall be Windpaw's new mentor." Windpaw was utterly beaming; Grasstail was a fine warrior but had a joking heart and a very playful persona. She's perfect! Most seemed to agree with Windpaw's thought while others thought Stormbird was just fine. They thought Windpaw needed someone to put him in line.
His ex-mentor snorted defiantly and stalked into the warriors' dens as a nervous looking Dayfield followed him. Goldenheart glared at the whole thing and Windpaw didn't blame him. I wouldn't want my sister padding after a cat like Stormbird, either. Thank Lightclan, she's the herbal cat apprentice so I don't even have to worry about that.
Breezegem jumped down from Sky Rock after Windpaw having his head licked by his new mentor. The golden brown she-cat cuffed him over the ear playfully.
"Congratulations, Windpaw!" Gorsepaw told his brother. Frostpaw just flicked her ears.
"Oh, Windpaw!" Speaking of love struck she-cats, "I heard that mean fox-heart chewed you out, licked you back up, chewed you some more, and then spit you into Terraclan!" Well,if that's not the weirdest thing I've ever heard-must be...He turned to look at the distraught speaker, a small light brown tabby. "Are you OK?" Concern glimmered in her amber orbs.
He nodded, "Of course! You know I can easily handle him, Heatherpaw."
She purred knowingly at him while his littermates looked at each other not believing his overconfidence.A gagging sound from behind the adoring protégé was what grabbed their attention. "Ugh, you've got to be kidding me!"
A light brown-and-cream she-cat pushed her way into the group, "Heatherpaw, you can't seriously be into this loser?"
Heatherpaw glared at her with her ears down in embarrassment, "And why not?!"
The other she-cat scoffed, "Because he's an arrogant, conceited, poser who does nothing, but cause trouble. I'm sure anything Stormbird said to him was rightfully earned." Oh great Lightclan, she sounds just like that dragon-eater!
"And what do you know, Owlpaw?!" Windpaw hissed, spitting out her name venomously. Windpaw really hated Owlpaw; she's almost as bad as Stormbird. She always put him down and embarrassed him in front of Heatherpaw. Honestly, I don't how they can be kin nonetheless sisters! The two glared each other down, waiting for the other to break first, but he cursed his luck when Grasstail called him away for training. He could hear Owlpaw prancing with joy at his forfeit and he swore to get her back for this.
Windpaw padded into his den and plopped down on his nest completely exhausted. He spent the rest of the day doing his first training session with Grasstail. She had taught him new fighting techniques like the Quick Jabs that he'd demanded Stormbird teach him, but he always just yelled at him to shut up, and that the reason he wasn't "ready" for those moves was because he never listened. Then, he sent him to tend to the elders like usual.
Windpaw knew he'd like Grasstail way better than Stormbird, but this was just pawesome! Grasstail told him his mistakes with playful mocking and then showed him how to make it better. She never just explained things with long, boring speeches, but believed that they learn best by doing, which he totally agreed with. He happily put all his effort into training with her and she could tell it paid off.
Closing his eyes, he gladly looked forward to his first full day as Grasstail's protégé.
OK, this time I got his power out of the way quickly so we could get into character development. Stormbird really has something stuck up his butt,neh? I don't see how Dayfield can like him at all, but she does because that's what I decided for her.
Anyway, we'll be back at Sparkclan with Dapplepaw next time and it'll be the Gathering! *hint hint* All the mains will meet! *squeal!* X3
PS-Can you really have a good teen drama without SOMEONE getting pregnant? Seriously, I want to know. R&R!