Heyyyy! ~Whatever chapter this is, (6, 7, WHATEVER!) here it is! School is starting soon, so I won't be updating as often (as long as I have homework =/) but I will still try to at least every few days!
~Marble out
Chapter 6:
Swanpaw closed her eyes tighter and curled deeper into her soft nest. Since the battle, any cat that had respected her had turned around and gone back to making fun of her. Her nest lay secluded in a dark corner of the apprentices' den, and there was many holes above where she slept.
"Can you help me fix the holes in the apprentices' den?" she had asked many cats in the Clan. Most ignored her and pretended she hadn't spoken, but some sneered and spat out, "Why would we help you?" at her before spinning and stalking off.
Nightgaze decided to make her final assessment the night after the latest Gathering, when Skystar had announced the making of two new warriors in her Clan: Marshstep and Barkleap. That had only been Swanpaw's third Gathering, as she had missed the first two as an apprentice when Nightgaze had been injured.
But it seemed her mentor wanted her to become a warrior as soon as possible, only for the reason that he didn't like her and hated training her. Swanpaw was preparing to go out into the woods and show her skills to Nightgaze, and she was crouching beside the apprentices' den silently eating a mouse.
As she finished and licked her lips, licking her chest fur quickly, her mentor peered around the corner of the den. "Come on, we're going now. Tanstar wants to do your ceremony today," the black tom told her. Swanpaw nodded and padded after him as he brought her to the stretch of forest beside the IceClan border.
"You will not see me, but I will be watching your technique. Catch as much prey as you can and come back when you're done." As soon as Nightgaze was finished instructing her she was off, following the scent of a squirrel silently.
Swanpaw was so intent on tracking it that she accidentally snapped a small twig with her front paw, and hissed under her breath. She spotted the squirrel, it's head raised, eyes wide, looking around for danger.
After a moment of holding her breath and staying low, hoping the grey squirrel wouldn't see her, the small creature turned back to the leaves and began sorting through them again in search of a nut.
Swanpaw thanked StarClan in her mind and started after the prey again. Leaping forward, she nipped its spine and killed it quickly, holding it down with one paw. She glanced around, hoping Nightgaze had seen that, and buried it under the leaves and roots of a nearby tree.
The white apprentice padded quietly along, sniffing carefully until she found a prey scent.
She followed it slowly to a low bush and she peered into it. Inside was a small nest of mice, barely older than a few sunrises. Swanpaw purred and, after getting most of them, scooped them up and awkwardly carried them to the clearing where Nightgaze sat. He looked slightly out of breath and he was panting, nodding approvingly at her.
"Good catch," he praised. Swanpaw smiled. "I have more, can you carry some?" she asked, already heading away to get the rest. Nightgaze blinked and did so, leaning down to pick up the mice in his jaws.
Swanpaw retrieved the squirrel and took a mouse from Nightgaze. She padded alongside her mentor in silence, until they reached the camp. "I'll go tell Tanstar, you grab some fresh-kill before your ceremony." For once, Nightgaze didn't sound scornful or angry as he spoke to her. She dipped her silver streaked head and deposited her mouse on the pile, keeping the squirrel to eat for herself.
As she sat beside the apprentices' den again, she heard talking inside of it. Brackenpaw and Marblepaw. "I can't believe that disappointment is becoming a warrior. At the same time as us, too! How could Tanstar do this to us?" the brown tom was talking. "Yeah, I know." Marblepaw's voice was quiet.
"Right? This sucks," Brackenpaw finished, saying goodbye and exiting the den.
Well, sorry this chapter was a bit short, but I am also updating the Allegiances today. If I miss any mentioned cats, feel free to correct me in a review. I know last time I did Allegiances I missed, like, 4 or 5 cats, so, I hope I don't this time.
SMOKECLAN:
LEADER: Tanstar- Large tan-furred tom with amber eyes
DEPUTY: Dewdrop- Blue-gray tom with green eyes, white tail-tip
MED. CAT: Wavefur- Larger blue tom with intimidating amber eyes
APPRENTICE, Wolfpaw
WARRIORS:
Nightgaze- Large black tom with white tail-tip
APPRENTICE, Swanpaw
Birchsight- Small, light brown tom with blue eyes
Jaystep- Old grey tom, half blind in one (green) eye
Blackwing- Large, jet-black tom with amber eyes
APPRENTICE, Brackenpaw
Moonwhisker- Dark grey/black tom with deep blue eyes, Swanpaw's father
Sunblaze- Ginger she-cat with fiery amber eyes
APPRENTICE, Branchpaw
Whitecloud- White she-cat with grey and blue patches, blue-green eyes
Skyfur- Blue she-cat with unusual silver/blue eyes, very quiet
APPRENTICE, Marblepaw
Redleaf- Red tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Pebbletail- Silver-gray tabby she-cat with icy blue eyes
Foxstep- Flaming orange tom with blue eyes
Bearfur- Brown tom with one white forepaw and dark blue eyes
QUEENS:
Mapleleaf- light brown she-cat with soft blue-green eyes (Fallenkit, Featherkit, Duskkit, and Mothkit)
Sami- Long furred brown, white, and orange tortoiseshell she-cat
APPRENTICES:
Swanpaw- White she-cat with silver streaks
Brackenpaw- Dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes
Branchpaw- Spitting image of Brackenpaw, splash of white on his chest
Marblepaw- White she-cat with light blue eyes
MISTCLAN:
LEADER: Badgerstar- Huge black and white tom
DEPUTY: Darkear- Dark grey tom with amber eyes
MED. CAT: Mouseleap- Dusky brown and grey she-cat
APPRENTICE, Spiderpaw
ICECLAN:
LEADER: Brightstar- White and grey she-cat with amber eyes
DEPUTY: Brownfoot- Dark brown tom with blue eyes
MED. CAT: Frozenheart- Light blue and white she-cat with blue eyes
APPRENTICE, Bluepaw
SUNCLAN:
LEADER: Skystar- Blue she-cat, icy blue and silver eyes
DEPUTY: Clearflame- White tom with fiery green eyes
MED. CAT: Blazefur- Orange tom with blue eyes
Yay I'm finally finished! Anyways, 1000 something words! Please review if you are enjoying the story! (Sorry I didn't update earlier :/ I'll try to write the next chapter for tomorrow!)
~Marble OUT!
