I'M BACK! YAY! Oh, and I think I forgot to mention this, Flowerpaw is an apprentice!
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or any of the cats in this chapter except for Graypaw, Tigerpaw, Flowerpaw, Yellowpaw, Stonepaw, Oakpaw, Redpaw, Smallpaw and Swiftpaw.
Graypaw: Just get on with the story! I want to know what happens next! What do I do!?
Me: Alright, geez. Don't get too excited though, it's not like something interesting is going to happen. Whoops, just gave it away!
Chapter Nine
Jayfeather blinked. "What did you say?" he asked.
"I can't be a medicine cat!" Graypaw exclaimed.
"Why not?"
"Starclan came to me in a dream, and they showed me what my life would be like if I became a medicine cat! It's so dreadful, I don't want to live that life. I'm sorry..." Graypaw raced away from the Moonpool.
"Graypaw!" Jayfeather called, but Graypaw didn't hear him. Instead she shot up into the sky. Only this time, it didn't make her feel better. She landed in the forest on a pile of soft moss and didn't move until the sun came up.
I want to be a medicine cat so bad! But that life... it's too terrible!
Graypaw let out a sigh. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was. She curled up in a ball and fell asleep.
Graypaw opened her eyes. The sun was just starting to set. Graypaw leapt to her paws.
She was going to be in so much trouble! Graypaw raced through the forest and back to camp.
A patrol of warriors was just leaving the camp when Graypaw zoomed by. Graypaw expected Moonshine to pounce on her as soon as she set foot into the camp, but Moonshine wasn't there. Only Tigerpaw and Amberpaw were in the clearing, practicing some sort of battle move.
I'll be learning that soon!
"Bramblestar wants to see you in his den," Amberpaw puffed at the gray apprentice.
Graypaw dipped her head as Amberpaw turned around and launched herself at Tigerpaw.
Graypaw slowly padded over to the highledge. She was dreading what was going to happen next.
When she padded into Bramblestar's den, three pairs of eyes stared at her. Dark green, blue, and amber.
Graypaw took a deep breath and padded further into the den.
"Sit," Bramblestar mewed.
Graypaw sat.
"Jayfeather tells me that you can no longer be a medicine cat," Bramblestar mewed, studying her.
"Y-yes," Graypaw stammered, "Starclan showed me a dream of my life as a medicine cat! It was horrible! I don't want that to happen..." Graypaw studied her paws.
"What happened in the dream?" That was Moonshine.
"I-I don't want to say," Graypaw confessed.
"What happened at the end?" Moonshine asked gently.
"I saw myself die!" Graypaw blurted out, "I saw myself jump out of a tree and slam into the ground!" Graypaw closed her eyes and sunk her claws into the ground, remembering the dream.
"Oh, Graypaw, I'm so sorry!" Moonshine gasped.
Jayfeather, meanwhile, had said nothing during the entire time.
Graypaw opened her eyes and turned to Jayfeather. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I really want to be a medicine cat. I really do. But I don't want to live that life that I saw in Starclan."
Jayfeather nodded slowly. "I understand," he mewed.
Bramblestar glanced around at all of them. "It's settled then," he mewed, rising to his paws from his nest. "Graypaw shall now start her warrior training."
"What do we do first?" Graypaw asked, bouncing next to her mentor.
"We go patrol the territory," Toadstep mewed.
"Can Tigerpaw come with us?"
Toadstep hesitated. "I don't know, Graypaw. He's already seen the territory lots of times."
"What about Flowerpaw?"
Toadstep glanced across the clearing at Flowerpaw and Sorreltail. He shrugged. "Let's ask."
Graypaw bounded over to the pair of cats.
"Would you like to go see the territory with us?" Graypaw asked.
"Sure," Sorreltail mewed.
Flowerpaw rose to her paws. The she-cat's sickness still hadn't completely left yet, and she still wasn't quite as strong as she should have been. But that didn't mean that she was weak. Flowerpaw's blue eyes glowed with excitement. "Can we hunt after?" she asked.
Sorreltail shrugged. "Why not? Graypaw can learn how to hunt after."
The four cats ran out of camp. They passed the sandy clearing, the Sky Oak, a few small streams, and soon they were at the Shadowclan border.
"I'll remark the scent," Toadstep mewed and bounded off.
"Why don't you show Graypaw the hunting crouch?" Sorreltail asked.
Flowerpaw's eyes widened. "But I-"
"Is this right?" Graypaw asked, crouching awkwardly on the ground.
"No, no, like this!" Flowerpaw crouched low to the ground, her belly fur just barely touching the grass. Her tail stayed off the ground, and didn't move at all. Flowerpaw focused on her prey- a dead leaf- then pounced, shredding it with her claws. Flowerpaw stood up proudly.
Graypaw tried again.
"Quit moving your tail!"
Graypaw's tail stilled.
"How's that, Sorreltail?" Flowerpaw asked.
"Good job, both of you," Sorreltail mewed.
"Let's go now," Toadstep mewed, returning from marking the border.
They walked through the rest of the territory, the two warriors pointing out the best places to hunt and some nice places to get some moss.
They re-marked the Windclan border, then hunted for a little while. Graypaw caught a mouse, and almost caught another, but that one got away.
Finally, when the sun had almost completely left the sky, they came back to camp.
Graypaw proudly gave her mouse to Purdy, then settled down in a nest between Amberpaw and Tigerpaw and fell fast asleep.
Graypaw jerked out of her dream and reluctantly opened her eyes.
Sunlight was streaming through the apprentice den, it had to be at least sun-high!
"Oh no!" Graypaw leaped to her paws. Toadstep would be furious!
"Relax." Tigerpaw laid his tail tip on Graypaw's shoulder. "Toadstep said you and me and Flowerpaw could sleep in."
Graypaw glanced over and the black-and-white she-cat who was sleeping soundly.
"Did the other apprentices ask what happened?" Graypaw asked him, yawning loudly.
Tigerpaw nodded.
Graypaw remembered her first Gathering.
The night was not very dark. Thin, wispy clouds occasionally passed the moon, but it was never completely dark.
Graypaw glanced around anxiously. There were so many cats at the Island!
It was Tigerpaw and Flowerpaw's second time going, so they were relatively calm. The three apprentices wandered over to a group of Windclan apprentices.
Tigerpaw glanced shyly at a pretty Windclan apprentice named Yellowpaw.
Flowerpaw meanwhile, seemed right at home with Stonepaw and Oakpaw, discussing types of prey.
Graypaw sighed and quickly vanished among the many cats. All of the cats were larger than her, and Graypaw quickly shuffled past them, keeping her head down.
"Graypaw!" Graypaw glanced up as her name was called.
Redpaw was waving his tail in greeting. Graypaw bounded over, eager to escape the throng of cats. They were near several large leafy bushes.
Smallpaw was conversing with a black-and-white tom apprentice.
"That is Swiftpaw," Redpaw mewed, "Swiftpaw, this is Graypaw."
Swiftpaw dipped his head in greeting, and resumed talking.
"How-" Redpaw asked, but was interrupted as Blackstar yowled down to the cats below. Graypaw sat down swiftly, copying the others.
"Shadowclan's prey is plentiful," the white leader started, "We have two kits, Spiderkit, and Webkit!"
"Spiderkit! Webkit!" Some of the cats called out.
Blackstar narrowed his eyes and turned to face Mistystar. "We also defeated a battle against Riverclan," he mewed, "An unjust battle."
The Riverclan cats rose to their paws, yowling in protest. The Shadowclan cats met them, claws unsheathed.
Graypaw flattened her ears to her head. Would there be a battle?
"Stop!" Bramblestar yowled. He glared at Blackstar. "There's no point in starting a useless fight."
"I was just saying that Riverclan attacked us," Blackstar mewed simply, but he sat down anyways.
Mistystar quickly mumbled something about prey, then Onestar reported that they had a new apprentice, Oakpaw.
Bramblestar reported that they had a new a new apprentice, Graypaw.
Me! Graypaw glowed with pride.
The Gathering finished quite quickly after that. Graypaw said goodbye to Redpaw and followed her clan home.
"Come on," Tigerpaw mewed, "Let's go wake Flowerpaw."
He bounded over and tapped his sister with his tail until she woke up.
Flowerpaw's eyes snapped open. She shot to her paws, trembling with fear. Her blue eyes were wide.
"I need to find Jayfeather!" she gasped, "Starclan came to me in a dream!"
:O What happens next?! Please review!