A/N: Here's the next chapter! I've thought hard and long about this, and now I think I've orginized a better plot. Please, review! Sorry, lol, again I don't wanna be a begger, but I feel like I just need someone to tell me what they think of this! I appreciate the reviews I do have though, and I couldn't have gotten this far on this story without you guys! I love to hear what people think, and what mistakes they found in my writing. I want to improve! Anyway, here I bring you chapter 10!
Echosky purred to see Ashcloud waiting for him and his apprentice. The two exchanged nuzzles.
Graypaw felt happy for his mentor finding a nice she-cat. But just as Graypaw thought about that, Mudpaw and Silverpaw passed. Again, they're doing something together.
It made Graypaw feel horrible when he saw the two. The way Mudpaw gazed affectionatly at Silverpaw... It made him sick. Silverpaw let out a content purr. Mudpaw pressed closer to her as they began to walk with herbs in their mouths towards the medicine cat den. Silverpaw drew away from him without any thought, and dropped the herbs. Again, Mudpaw hissed quitely to himself. Graypaw grinned a little.
Good... Silverpaw still doesn't know how Mudpaw feels about her. That means I still have a chance! The grey apprentice thought.
"Let's go already!" Ashcloud mewed, smiling. Echosky chuckled, and began padding out of camp. Graypaw followed, sighing. Ashcloud leaned up against Echosky, purring loudly. Graypaw wished he felt that happiness with Silverpaw.
As the three poured into the open forest, they began to get closer together. Graypaw sometimes had run to catch up with the two. Echosky joined Ashcloud's purring, and the two kept walking. Graypaw felt slightly angry. Did they not notice him?
Echosky purred something to his friend (Who was probably more than a friend to him). Graypaw pricked his ears up, trying to listen to what he said. The apprentice managed to pull out some words from the sentence.
"You know... Beautiful cat I've... seen..." Graypaw tried to put the words together, and eventually figured out Echosky had said: "You know, you're the most beautiful cat I've ever seen." Graypaw felt jealousy stab in his heart. Not of Echosky being so close to Ashcloud, but for Echosky having a seh-cat undersatnd him. Graypaw sighed.
The apprentice sprinted forwards, realizing he was trailing behind. The three neared the border between them and Iceclan, and Graypaw began sniffing. Echosky broke away from Ashcloud and sniffed too, much to Ashcloud's dismay. She sniffed too, and there seemed to be no scent of Iceclan on their side of the border.
"We're good, let's go." Ashcloud said. Graypaw was still sniffing, and was surprised to see her wanting to go so soon.
"We can't yet; There may be a scent we missed!" Graypaw argued. Ashcloud stared. "I think we're all good, okay?" She muttered. Graypaw snorted silently to himself, and nodded.
The three headed off, their ears pricked up and their eyes alertly scanning the area. But Echosky was always up front with Ashcloud, talking to her.
Graypaw sighed. There was no way they could do a patrol like this! He grunted and looked at the two, their tails entwined. Graypaw sniffed the air deeply, and began to trail behind and inspect the area.
Suddenly, the sound of grass rustling filled the air. Graypaw froze, eyes darting around. His ears twitched as he scanned the forest around him. But the rustling had stopped, and the forest was still.
As Graypaw and Echosky got farther, Graypaw began to creep away from where the sound came from. But as soon as he turned his back, he heard it again.
Rustle rustle...
"Who's there?" Demanded Graypaw, spinning around. He glanced around, but the rustling had stopped again. He sighed. Echosky and Ashcloud were way ahead by now. Confused, the apprentice decided he'd come back out later to see what it was.
The grey apprentice sprinted towards Ashcloud and Echosky, watching Echosky rasp his tongue over Ashcloud's cheek. She giggled. Graypaw grunted and sighed once more. Would he ever feel that love and happiness?
The three returned, happy that nothing unusual was spotted or scented on their patrol. Or, at least Echosky and Ashcloud didn't.
Graypaw still wondered about that rustling. There was a strange scent in the air too, which bothered him even more. He would have to sneak out at night and see what was up...
Cats were charing tongues everywhere by then, and Graypaw noticed Silverpaw alone.
This is my chance! He thought, suddenly forgetting about the strange thing he heard on patrol. Graypaw quickly thought hard about what to do, and raced over to the fresh-kill pile.
He glanced it over, thinking of what Silverpaw liked. A finch? No... A finch isn't right. A shrew? Too small. A mouse? Meh... not exactly the best gift... A vole? Naw... A squirrel! I'll get her this plump squirrel!...
"Hello, Silverpaw! You wanna share a squirrel?" A familiar voice asked. Graypaw spun around at that, seeing Mudpaw grasping a squirrel in his jaws, standing near Silverpaw. Graypaw growled lowly. He was going to do that!
"Of course!" The she-cat purred, patting her tail on the ground next to her. Mudpaw sat down, nudging the prey towards Silverpaw.
"You eat first." He offered, licking the top of her head sweetly. Silverpaw purred, gazing at Mudpaw fondly.
The two leaned against each other, eating the squirrel as the sun sunk in the sky. They purred, grooming each other. Fox-dung! Graypaw thought, glaring at the pair.
The grey apprentice stormed off unnoticably, a sparrow hanging limp in his mouth. Graypaw sat near the nursery, and ate while he watched kits play. He thought he felt a smile creeping across his face as he remembered how his sister would play with him. He chuckled, taking a bite of the sparrow.
"I'm Gingerstar, leader of Flameclan!" Mewed Gingerkit, puffing out her chest.
"I'm Spotstar, leader of Moonclan!" Spotkit mewled.
"I'll be Whitestar, leader of Iceclan!" Whitekit meowed.
"And I'll be Sunstar of Pineclan!" A voice piped up. It was Sunkit, who was climbing on top of the small rock that the other three older kits sat on.
"Why do you get to be a leader? You're the same age as Splashkit and I! You should be a deputy like us!" Branchkit squeaked. Sunkit glared.
"But there are four clans!" He squeaked. "And it doesn't even matter how old we are."
The kits continued to argue, causing Graypaw to chuckle. He sighed and gulped down the last bite of sparrow, before getting up and stretching.
"I might as well check on that one spot again..." He muttered, glancing at Echosky as he rested his head on Ashcloud's. Graypaw began to pad away, licking the blood from the sparrow off his muzzle. His whiskers twitched as he headed towards the camp entrance, ears pricked up.
Graypaw sniffed the air, deeply inhaling all of the scents around him. His senses were flooded with different smells, but one smell seemed to stay there and sting his nostrils. The scent of cat.
I knew it! This is coming from close to the Moonclan border... But there don't seem to be tensions between us. Why would a Moonclan cat tresspass on our territory?! Graypaw thought, scanning the area.
The sun was sinking in the horizion, painting the skies bright yellows and oranges. The scent lingered in the air, and it was still fresh.
Suddenly, the rustling began again. The apprentice swished his tail back and forth, crouching low in the grass. More rustling. Graypaw's ear tips twitched, and his eyes remianed focused on the area that the sound had came from. Seconds went by. Seconds turned into minutes. Time went by faster and faster, and the sun got lower and lower.
"Whew!" Someone breathed, sounding out of breath. Graypaw crept forward, silent. He was getting closer to the cat. He poked his head through the grass, and spotted a slender light ginger she-cat with prey at her paws.
Graypaw growled lowly, glaring. He bunched his muscles, and sprange into the air.
"Who are you, and why are you on Flameclan territory!?" He spat, landing ontop of the she-cat. Her eyes widdened in surprise as she lay on her back, practically being crushed by the apprentice above him. She wiggled, but stopped knowing it was hopeless.
As Graypaw gazed into her amber eyes, he realized she was about his age as well. Maybe still an apprentice... He thought, staring at her.
"Ow! What do you want?" She gasped, glaring back at him.
"Sorry, but you're tresspassing on Flameclan territory." Graypaw said in a calmer voice, lifting his paw off her chest.
"Flameclan territory? Erm... I, uh..." The she-cat mumbled, looking afraid. Graypaw pressed his paw back on her chest.
"I belong to... Um, Moonclan! I was hunting and I accidently must have crossed the border..." She meowed, her gaze turning into a confused and worried one. Graypaw got off her, shaking his fur.
"It's alright, I was just making sure you weren't an attacker. May I ask what your name is?" The grey apprentice asked.
"I... uh... erm, I'm Ginger... Gingerpaw! Gingerpaw of Moonclan." The light ginger she-cat answered, getting up and grooming her ruffled pelt.
"Ah, I see." Graypaw said to the she-cat understandingly. He felt bad. He'd scared a cat from another clan out of her fur!
"That's a lot of prey you got! A shrew, a mouse, a sparrow, a finch, a squirrel... I thought rabbits were the only prey on Moonclan grounds!" Graypaw mewed, glancing at the dropped prey.
"Moonclan, we... we discovered a slightly foresty area on our territory! It's littered with prey." Gingerpaw said confidently. Graypaw nodded.
"I should be going now... My clan will worry." The apprentice said, flicking his tail towards his territory.
"Yes, I... Erm, I should too. Bye, uh, Graypaw!" She said with a smile spreading across her face. Graypaw chuckled, and watched as she gathered her prey and sprinted off.
A/N: Ah, a new character! Gingerpaw seems like a good cat, huh? Well, I have big plans for her... And she may not be what she seems. Hehehe!