Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors
Okay, so thorntail and forestlily are warriors now. They went to a gathering, and announced their warrior names.
Whitepaw became a warrior, she is now Whitepelt. Now they're going to another gathering. Cats that are going: lionstar, smoketail, silverstorm, snowstorm, whitepelt, mosspelt, and featherpaw.
Chapter 8
Featherpaw raced after the other ThunderClan cats. She could scent the other Clans.
"Let's go! All the other Clans are already there!" Lionstar said.
"I can't wait! This is my first Gathering as a warrior!" Whitepelt mewed as she padded alongside Featherpaw.
The silver she-cat purred. "I can't wait until I'm a warrior."
"It won't be long. Maybe two more moons," Whitepelt said. "There's Wood Grove."
Featherpaw looked up. Whitepelt was right. She could see the rows of trees of Wood Grove. She purred and started running faster.
"Whoa, Featherpaw, slow down," Smoketail said, blocking her way with his long, grey tail. "Where's the fire?"
"No fire, I'm just excited," Featherpaw meowed.
Lionstar led the way into the clearing. As the ThunderClan cats milled into Wood Grove, Featherpaw heard Blackstar snort and mew, "ThunderClan, late again!" Well, ShadowClan has a reputation for being late too, she thought crossly.
"Come on, Whitepelt, let's go tell Splashpaw and Rainpaw about your warrior name!" Featherpaw mewed.
Whitepelt looked around. "I see them. Follow me." She raced into a crowd of RiverClan cats.
Soon, black and grey fur came into view. "Hi, Splashpaw, Rainpaw!" Featherpaw yowled.
Rainpaw turned around. "That's Rainheart to you."
"And Splashripple," his sister mewed. "We're warriors now, just like Thorntail and Forestlily. Isn't it great?"
"Well, I'm Whitepelt!"
"Congratulations!"
"You, too!"
"Thanks!"
Featherpaw sighed. "And I'm still Featherpaw."
Rainheart drew closer to her. "It's okay, we're older, that's why. Your time will come."
"I guess," Featherpaw mewed. She stood up and took a step away from Rainheart. She enjoyed his friendship, but he was from an enemy Clan, and he was way too close. His eyes showed disappointment, but she chose to ignore it.
Lionstar yowled to begin the Gathering.
Whitepelt and Featherpaw said bye and rushed over to sit with the other ThunderClan cats.
Lionstar spoke first. "Everyone in ThunderClan is well. However, due to the cold weather, prey is hiding more. We also have another new warrior, who is here with us tonight. Whitepelt."
Whitepelt stood up for a moment and purred.
Larkstar stepped forward. "We, too, have two new warriors. Rainheart and Splashripple."
The two warriors stood up. Then Larkstar began to speak about fish and other prey.
At last, Clawstar stepped forward and began talking about rabbits and the moor.
Finally, Blackstar announced that his son, Bearpaw, had earned the name Bearfoot. And the Gathering was over.
Lionstar leaped down from the stump and gathered the other ThunderClan cats together.
Featherpaw caught sight of Rainheart and Splashripple, and waved bye to them with a sweep of her tail. They nodded and joined their Clan.
Smoketail checked to make sure everyone was there. "Come on, Featherpaw, let's go," he mewed.
oOoOoOo
Featherpaw nodded. "Okay, good night," she mewed.
Whitepelt nodded back. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she padded into the warriors den.
Featherpaw yawned and trudged into the apprentices den. Hazelpaw was fast asleep, but Berrypaw opened his eyes when she came in. "Oh, did I wake you up?"
Berrypaw shook his head. "No. Um, Featherpaw, would you like to sleep next to me?"
Featherpaw tilted her head to the side, unsure of how to reply.
"Er, I mean, well, it's really cold and all, I thought..."
"Sure, Berrypaw. Thanks," Featherpaw mewed uncertainly as she curled up beside the grey apprentice. He purred and licked her ear before closing his eyes.
Featherpaw gasped, stunned. She turned away from him and closed her eyes.
oOoOoOo
Featherpaw gasped as she sank into the powdery white snow. She shivered at the cold and scrambled out of it. But she sank in again. She growled to herself and rushed over to Smoketail, who was organizing some patrols.
"It's so COLD!" she yowled.
Smoketail turned to her and
purred. "Well, it's called snow."
"I know that!"
Featherpaw hissed. "Are we going out in the forest today?"
Smoketail purred again. "Of course. We're going on a hunting patrol with Snowstorm and Thorntail."
"In this snow?" Featherpaw yelped. "We won't be able to catch a thing!"
"You'll see. Hunting in
snow is actually a bit fun," Smoketail mewed. "Go ahead and get
something to eat. Oh, there's Thorntail, at the fresh-kill pile.
Could you tell him he's coming on a hunting patrol with
us?"
Featherpaw nodded.
"I'm going to find Snowstorm," Smoketail said. "I'll meet you at the tunnel."
Featherpaw rushed over to
the fresh-kill pile and chose a plump vole, then sat down beside
Thorntail. "Why, hello, Thorntail."
The gold and brown tom
purred. "Hello, Featherpaw."
"Smoketail said that you are going on a hunting patrol with him, Snowstorm, and me," Featherpaw announced.
"That's great!" Thorntail mewed happily. He finished eating his mouse.
"We're going to meet him at the tunnel. So you go ahead, I'll just finish this vole," Featherpaw said.
Thorntail nodded and bounded away.
Featherpaw took another bite of the fresh-kill and purred. She jumped when she heard a voice behind her. She turned around to see Whitepelt laughing.
"Hey!" Featherpaw growled, knocking the young warrior over.
Whitepelt purred and picked a mouse from the fresh kill pile. "Shadowclaw, Ashenfur, Hazelpaw, and I are going on a border patrol later. What about you?"
Featherpaw gulped up the rest of the vole. "I'm going on a hunting patrol. I'm meeting Smoketail at the tunnel. I'd better go right now. Maybe later we can do something together," she mewed.
Whitepelt nodded. "Sure. Later, then. Bye."
Featherpaw nodded and rushed over to the tunnel, where Smoketail, Snowstorm, and Thorntail waited.
"Okay, let's go," Smoketail mewed. "I was thinking we could go to the Sky Oak."
Everyone nodded and followed him out the tunnel. As they traveled to the Sky Oak, Smoketail meowed, "Stay away from the large branches. They're probably covered with snow and very heavy, just a slight disturbance might cause an injury."
Snowstorm purred and mewed in a silky voice, "Smoketail, don't worry, we're going to be fine."
Smoketail stiffened. "I was just trying to make sure everyone would be safe. After all, I am deputy."
Thorntail nudged his uncle. "And we appreciate your concern."
Featherpaw purred and opened her mouth to speak, but Smoketail slapped his tongue over her mouth and mewed, "I will not have my own apprentice lecture me!" But his blue eyes were twinkling.
Featherpaw spit out grey fur and said, "We're here!"
The cats, who had been busy bickering, looked up to see the long, thick, and bare branches of the Sky Oak.
"How about we have a competition?" Snowstorm mewed, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "We all hunt by ourselves, or with partners, and see who catches the most prey."
"I like that idea," Featherpaw said. She glanced at Thorntail and said, "Can Thorntail be my part--"
Smoketail stepped in front of her and said, "As your mentor, I'd like to be your partner."
Featherpaw hissed inwardly. He knows that Thorntail and I like each other, and want to keep us apart. That's not fair! She glanced at Snowstorm for support.
"Well,
Smoketail, that's not fair. You're her mentor. You'll
most likely be trying to get her to improve her skills," the white
queen reasoned patiently. "You can be my partner."
Smoketail
thought for a moment. "Well, I haven't spent much time with my
nephew. Thorntail will be my partner."
Featherpaw sighed, and Thorntail stared down at his paws.
Snowstorm shrugged and nodded. "Fine then." To Featherpaw, she whispered, "It's all right, you and Thorntail will get some time to be alone once you're a warrior. It's a privilege."
Featherpaw ducked her head, embarrassed.
"Well, we'll meet you on this spot when the sun reaches the treetops," Snowstorm mewed for them all to hear. "And we'll see who wins."
Smoketail nodded and led Thorntail away.
"I say we try by the roots of the Sky Oak," Snowstorm said, flicking her tail.
Featherpaw padded after her and blurted, "How do you know that I like Thorntail?"
Snowstorm purred softly, but she didn't give any other reply. Instead, she crouched in the snow and kept still.
Featherpaw looked around and realized that the white queen blended in perfectly with the snow. But her silver fur stood out somewhat. She glanced around and decided to hide in a clump of ferns. She watched as a small mouse scurried on the snow, leaving tiny prints. Snowstorm lay still, until finally, the mouse was a whisker-length away from her front paw. As quick as lightning, Snowstorm snagged the mouse with her claws and killed it. "That's how a white cat hunts during the time of leaf-bare (Winter)."
Featherpaw purred. "Wow. But I'm not white."
Snowstorm shrugged. "Just keep to the way you usually hunt, it's not as hard as you'll find."
Featherpaw nodded and looked around. She saw another mouse carrying around a seed. She crept closer, making sure she was hidden. Then she leaped, slipping a bit in the snow. But she still caught the prey.
"Good job," Snowstorm purred. "Bury that in the snow, and let's keep hunting."
Featherpaw did as she said, then slipped behind some tall reeds. She spied a squirrel scurrying around, and crept closer to it.
oOoOoOo
"Come on, they're probably waiting for us," Snowstorm said. She picked up some fresh-kill in her jaws. Featherpaw did the same and followed her. Finally they reached the spot where the four cats had separated, and made a small pile of fresh-kill.
Smoketail and Thorntail appeared from behind the large tree, and set down their fresh-kill. "How did you do?"
Snowstorm shrugged. "Not much prey, they're all burrowing."
Smoketail sniffed at their prey and counted it. "You caught three mice, a squirrel, and a starling. Well, we caught a rabbit, a vole, a mouse, and two squirrels. It's a tie."
Featherpaw and Snowstorm hissed. "Well, our squirrel was much fatter than your vole, but, alright then."
"Hey! Our rabbit is bigger than your three mice put together!" Thorntail insisted.
Featherpaw shrugged. "You must have some weird eyes, because the way I see it, our fresh-kill were all better fed than yours."
"Say that again!" Thorntail yowled, his tail twitching.
"Come on, let's get all this fresh-kill back to camp," Snowstorm meowed. She picked up some fresh-kill in her jaws and started trotting away.
Smoketail picked up some fresh-kill and leaped after her, leaving Featherpaw and Thorntail alone.
"Well, that was certainly fun, wasn't it?" Featherpaw mewed quietly. Suddenly she felt shy and awkward, and she never felt that way!
Thorntail nodded and padded over to her. "You're shivering," he mewed, draping his tail over her back.
Featherpaw hadn't noticed before, but she was shivering in the cold snow. But at Thorntail's touch, she felt so warm. Uncontrollably, a purr rumbled from her throat. She ducked her head, embarrassed. "Um, maybe we should get the fresh-kill back to camp," she said in a tiny voice.
Thorntail nodded and withdrew his tail from her back. Without speaking, he picked up some fresh kill and waited for Featherpaw. She grasped the rest of the fresh-kill in her jaws, and the two cats walked back to camp together, their pelts brushing.
AWWWWW!! They are so cute! Next chapter, Featherpaw will become a warrior. So make sure you've voted on my poll for what her warrior name should be, and tell other peeps about this too! Next chapter will be up as soon as I get at least two reviews (One from leopardshadow and xxcrowysnextmatexx). Okay, c u later!
