A/N: Yes, slow updating. But again, I'm enjoying my summer. Please read and review!
She had made up with her family, Fogpaw decided as she and Stormpaw hunted together. Their tails swished in unison as they held their paws poised over the river. The early morning sun felt warm, and made the water glint and sparkle. No fish seemed to pass by them currently, but the splashes near the river mouth alerted them to their presence.
"So," Fogpaw muttered, keeping her voice low as to not make the fish stay near the river mouth. "Do you like Silvermoon? I see you staring at her always, and you can't talk while with her."
Stormpaw started, falling into the water and making a big splash. His fur was slicked to his skin, but the water rolled slowly off as he climbed out of the river. The gray tom glared at his sister as he lay out on the bank.
She joined him, pressing her fur against his. "Sorry," she mewed, laughing as he glared at her. "But tell me, do you like her?"
Her eldest brother mumbled something unintelligible, slowly rasping his tongue on his quickly drying fur. She nudged his slightly darker pelt, and he muttered a small yes.
"I knew it!" Fogpaw crowed, jumping up. She glanced at the river, assessing the fish situation, and her tail drooped when she realized that not even the fish splashing near the mouth were there anymore. "Mistyfoot won't be too happy," she mewed, looking back at Stormpaw with fear and sadness in her eyes.
His fur now completely dry and fluffier than ever, Stormpaw joined his sister. "You're right. There won't be any others anytime soon, either. Want to go try and catch some land prey? See how we fare as ThunderClan cats!"
The cats laughed, prancing off from the gurgling river onto the rest of the RiverClan expanse of territory. The marshy grass proved well for the finding of small mice and voles. However, the prey was worse for the capture then they thought, for their technique was horribly off. Tails dragged on the ground, making fallen leaves rustle, and paws landed harshly, making the small puddles splash. Finally, on the rungs of pure luck, Stormpaw caught a mouse. The tom jumped from a long distance, landing upon the small creature and killing it from his weight.
The squished mouse hung limply from his strong jaws, looking forlorn. "We have something to give to the fresh-kill pile, though," Stormpaw mewed.
Fogpaw laughed, and took off towards camp, racing her favorite sibling. In the end, he finally won, and both came into camp muddy and tired, with their fur windblown. Beetlewhisker looked at the two, and shook his head when he saw their appearance, and walked away when he saw the prey in Stormpaw's mouth.
She looked at the sun, as it climbed higher into the sky. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, hey, Stormpaw," she called. "I got to go now, I'm going to go hunting with… uh, Rushfoot. Maybe we'll catch something this time!"
Her brother chuckled, but his eyes weren't on her. Fogpaw dashed out of camp without anyone's eyes on her, least of all not her brother, who was lusting after Silvermoon. The light gray she-cat trotted over to horseplace, where she and Exile had agreed to meet, as not to alert either of their Clans. She sat with her tail curled around her paws, and the shadows quickly ate her form as she waited for her better mentor.
Linelinelineline
He had been taking long strolls to the horseplace three times a day, hoping to find the she-cat, Ivypaw, there again. Even though she had threatened StarClan, and tried to fight him, he couldn't resist her. Just the way that she held herself, and put herself to the full of her belief made him get shivers up his spine.
"Going to horseplace again?" A low voice asked, making Adderpaw whip around to stare at the cat. Breezepelt stood menacingly behind him, glaring at him with amber eyes. "Don't cheat your Clan with another cat, let alone a cat not in a Clan that lives with horses. Cats might find out, and then you have to have kits with a cat from your Clan, kits that you won't love." The end of his sentence was finished as a snarl.
Adderpaw inched away from the angered cat, trying to escape being hurt. "Breezepelt," Swallowtail purred, rubbing against the stiff tom. "Leave him alone, I've seen him on those trips. He does nothing much, maybe make faces at the horses or cloud watch. It's ok. I'm just worried that he's going to face one of those cats. Weaselfur was killed near the RiverClan border the other day, and we can't lose our only warrior apprentice."
The apprentice turned away in shame, for he never thought that anyone was following him, and seeing him make faces. He had to be quiet, and leave, making sure that no cat would follow. Not only to stop them from seeing him make faces, but just in case Ivypaw was there.
Linelinelineline
"Eaglepaw, are you coming to fight with me, Skypaw, and the rest of the apprentices? The mentors say that there's going to be this big competition between us." Dawnpaw came towards the large brown tom. He had been grooming Blossompatch, both purring in happiness and delight.
The sun shone down on top of the ThunderClan camp, glinting of the occasional pelt. He looked up groggily and then back to Blossompatch in disdain. "Sorry," he muttered, and followed Dawnpaw out of camp towards the training hollow.
He took advantage of the long walk in the afternoon to wake up slightly, for he had dozed off while sharing tongues with Blossompatch.
As he approached the hollow, Eaglepaw's eyes finally opened. He observed each apprentice carefully, watching for signs of fear or anxiousness. Flowerpaw talked with Redpaw, giving quick glances to Firestar and Brambleclaw. Rainpaw talked with no cat, just glared ahead, preparing herself for the course ahead. Smokepaw sat by her leader and deputy, laughing quietly at the ordeal the warrior apprentices had to do. The sisters sat by one another, pressing their fur together in condolence, but not talking. Eaglepaw went over to them, but stopped in his tracks as Skypaw gave his a glare, and Dawnpaw looked sadly at him.
"Did I –" he asked, before being cut off by the rest of the mentor's entering the hollow. They streamed through the entrance, their pelts blending into one, and separating only when they reached Firestar.
"Today," he announced, "there will be a competition, like the one that we had with all four Clans, but it shall be within ThunderClan, as we have more than enough apprentices."
The ginger leader withdrew, and Brambleclaw stepped forward. "The rules are as follows. All warrior apprentices must compete. There shall be no cheating. There will be four events, which are Running, Hunting, Fighting, and Climbing, all which are essential things for a warrior to know."
The leader smiled a large smile. "The winner of the most events will win pick of the fresh kill pile not once, but for a whole quarter moon!" All quivered at the thought of winning, and choosing the best prey over everyone.
"The first competition will be Hunting," Brambleclaw announced, drawing Eaglepaw out of the daze of boredom he was in. The dark brown tabby chuckled. Birds chirped in the trees above and in the forest within. "You all have until the sun reaches full sunhigh to come back with the most prey." Eaglepaw looked towards the sun, noticing that he had not much time before noon. "Begin," the deputy spoke, and the apprentices shot off into the undergrowth.
Eaglepaw went quickly, but not too fast, to the twoleg place. He wanted to save his energy for the race, but yet have enough time to hunt. The sounds of prey all around him made him unsure of whether he was right in going to the abandoned twoleg home, but he knew that no other cat would go to that prey rich place. Mice and small birds could be heard indoors, and he was good at stalking them in the overgrown garden. Eaglepaw took one look, and crept through the stones, his mouth collecting saliva just looking into the prey rich place.
Mice stood in the open, sure that there were no predator to watch them as the carefully picked up seeds. Birds sung their tunes as they worked, cleaning their feathers off, and making quite a clamor as their songs melded together. There was even a family of rabbits, Eaglepaw thought with surprise.
Quickly he set to work, picking off the mice easily, as they were not used to predators. He stuck to the overgrown bushes as not to alert the other prey. A pile of mouthwatering mice was beginning to form, as the brown tom had caught five of the delectable creatures. He set about catching the rabbits, for the timid animals were looking around wildly. Eaglepaw rushed the largest one, and caught it within his jaws, snapping its neck, but making the others dash away in fear.
To his dismay, the birds had stopped calling, and were watching carefully for any intruder that had made the rabbits flee. Knowing that he couldn't get more than two birds easily without one of the others calling, he had saved them for last. He crept upon a blue jay, marveling at its colors, when he stopped under the large rhododendron bush where the bird was resting. He shot a paw through the leafy branches, silencing the majestic bird before it could call out, and pulling it towards him. Its wings fluttered once or twice before Eaglepaw snapped them, and dragged the dead animal to the pile, along with the rabbit.
He had to get back soon, the tom decided as he looked into the sky. It was almost sunhigh, and time would be out then. He tried for one more bird, a robin with a blood red breast, but missed it as it flew high into the air, cawing its alarm loudly. Once they heard its alarm, all the prey vanished, leaving no trace of them ever being there.
Eaglepaw placed his catch on the large rabbit, making sure it didn't fall off, and dragged the pile towards camp. It took longer than expected, for there were many brambles in the way for him to maneuver around and get stuck on. When he finally reached the hollow, it caught him by surprise that the prey was already counted out, and Rainpaw sat with a smug face.
Firestar's eyes bulged when he saw Eaglepaw's load, but sadly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Eaglepaw. You came after the time limit. None of that counts."
Dawnpaw came over, and softly mewed, "don't worry. If you have come in time, it would've beaten Rainpaw's measly three mice and three squirrels easily."
Eaglepaw thanked the she-cat, unawares of his leader telling them of the next event. "… climbs the highest in Sky Oak wins." He turned away from Dawnpaw, and right into the face of Skypaw, who snickered.
The cats positioned themselves at the base of the mighty tree, and after Brambleclaw's 'begin,' they began their ascent.
Although Redpaw had strong back legs, and was an apprentice for longer than every other cat, he lost his nerve around the first branch, having to back down quickly. Dawnpaw was next, almost falling by being spooked by a squirrel. Flowerpaw and Rainpaw's screeches could be heard from the other side of the tree as they fell, Rainpaw accidently unhinging Flowerpaw's claws, and she falling on top of her. Fortunately, the fall wasn't that great, and they both landed in a pile of moss.
"Only one left," Eaglepaw told himself as he hitched he claws in to scramble even higher on the big tree. He knew that the height that he was at now was no match to when Cinderheart went climbing and fell, so he knew that he had a whiles to go. "Where's Skypaw?"
The white she-cat was ahead of him, and as she reached a branch, she settled, and watched Eaglepaw's struggle. "I'm going to win this simply. Why? Skypaw, Sky Oak. You can't climb higher than me, and even if you could, good luck coming down!"
He gnashed his teeth, and set about getting to the cocky sister's branch. Each pawlegnth he took hurt, the sap of the tree gunking up his claws. With a grunt, he reached her branch, and she laughed. "So it's a tie?"
He snarled a no, and kept going, wanting to win this challenge greatly. "You're crazy, Eaglepaw!" Skypaw called, knowing she had lost and beginning her descent. "You're crazy, just like your mother!"
Eaglepaw stopped dead. His mother. He hadn't thought about her in StarClan knows how long. He tried seeing past the branches into her camp, but could find nothing. A hard wind blew through him at that point, and Eaglepaw knew that it was from the cats his mother had joined. He hissed a warning, and began shimmying down the tree, not really caring about the speed.
He was down soon, to the thankfulness of his heart, which had felt like it was going to burst in fear. Fozleap smiled at his apprentice, knowing that in the past few days, all their training had been worth it. "Eaglepaw wins!" Firestar yowled, happy for the tom, but slightly upset that his own wasn't winning. "Next, Fighting."
The matches were quickly set up, skill deciding who you were battling. Dawnpaw and Skypaw went first, the sisters a near even mathc for each other. Near the end of the battle, however, Skypaw charged her smaller sister, making her fall on her back, and easily pinned.
Skypaw was announced the winner, and Flowerpaw and Redpaw ushered into the clearing. The two took to circling each other, watching for weaknesses. It was Redpaw who attacked first. He charged, like Skypaw, but Flowerpaw was ready for it. She stood on her back legs, preparing to crush the tom, when he detoured to her left side, making the she-cat twist and fall. It was an easy pin with her like that.
Eaglepaw and Rainpaw went in next. The she-cat hissed and growled, showing that she was in no mood for losing. His limbs tired from climbing, Eaglepaw felt as if he could barely move as the blue gray she-cat darted towards him and knocked him over with a quick blow to the head. As she went over to pin him, Eaglepaw thrust his hind legs in a last futile attack. It worked, as Rainpaw was thrown into the underbrush. When she came out, however, she was snarling, and quickly leapt upon Eaglepaw, who was struggling to get up. "You won't win," she hissed quietly in his ear, and pinned him on the spot.
"Rainpaw wins!" Firestar announced. "It shall now be Rainpaw verses Redpaw, as they are the most experienced."
The siblings sauntered into the clearing, Redpaw telling Flowerpaw 'he knew it was best to leave climbing out so he could win fighting' before he left.
They faced each other, paws twitching in excitement as Brambleclaw told them they could begin. As usual, they began circling each other, when Rainpaw attacked. Caught off guard, Redpaw stumbled, and swiped at her face. It was a harsh battle, neither sibling willing to give in. It finally ended, however, with two blows in quick sucession to Rainpaw's body, which made her collapse.
"Redpaw is the winner!" Firestar announced. He turned to Skypaw, who was cowering near her sister. "For the final battle, we will have Redpaw and Skypaw!"
He turned eagerly to his apprentice. "F-Firestar," she mewed, "Why don't we just give it to Redpaw, as I haven't had as much training as him, and we all know who will win."
The leader looked sadly upon his apprentice, but nodded. "As you wish. The winner of Fighting is Redpaw!" The tom looked happily among his friends, ahppy atleast that he had won something.
"The last competition will be Running," Firestar yowled. He drew a line in the sand with his tail, and the apprentices lined up eagerly. "You will run from here to the stream and back, being careful not to go over the border. This is a test of both speed and endurance."
The brown tom lined up next to Skypaw and Redpaw, feeling more energized as he rested while watching the siblings fight. "Begin!" Brambleclaw yowled.
They ran off into the territory, knowing where they were going, and wanting to win. Rainpaw was in the lead, closely followed by the rest of the pack. Skypaw and Dawnpaw were falling behind, although Redpaw wasn't doing too well either. Eaglepaw was in a step-by-step race with Flowerpaw, each intending to win. Eaglepaw's luck kicked in as Flowerpaw tried to dodge a rock, and failed. Her trip up left her in last place, without much hope of winning.
Suddenly, a kick of high speed flowed into Eaglepaw. He turned to the right, where he saw a starry cat racing along with him. "You don't think they called me Runningwind for nothing, right?" he joked, urging Eaglepaw faster. He was startled as Rainpaw came hurtling back the other way, but understood when he saw the stream. He touched the bank quickly, and raced off, trying to catch Rainpaw before she won the whole thing.
The forest was alive as he ran, and it would have been a wonderful day to stroll about, if they weren't having this competition. He passed the others, each as surprised as he when he came dashing out of the bracken.
A light came to him, and he knew the clearing was near. He burst through the bracken, Runningwind disappearing as soon as he hit the light.
Eaglepaw saw all the mentors, who were congratulating him on winning. The only thing that was disturbing Eaglepaw as he ignored the compliments, was the lack of a snotty blue gray she-cat.
"Where's Rainpaw?" he asked, turning to Firestar. "She was ahead of me the whole time."
Linelinelineline
Fawnpaw sat happily, continuing her session with Startlingflight out in the open of camp. There was barely anyone there, however. Only she, Startlingflight, Ferretfur and Olivenose were out in the open. The rest were out on patrols, or hunting parties, or simply sleeping. Blackstar had been in his den for unuaually long, and he would tell Fawnpaw that he was planning things. Redwillow had gotten his paw stuck in a tree, causing the fragile bone to break.
She groggily lifted her head, examining the clear blue sky. It was sunhigh, and the pines provided little protection from the sun's warming rays. She basked in it, her fur pressed against Startlingflight's happily.
A small head poked itself out of the entrance, making Fawnpaw shake her head in wonder. Did she really just see what she thought she saw?
"I'll be back," she told the ginger tom, and walked over to the entrance. There, she saw nothing. She took a step further into the territory, scenting and searching. Was… was that a CometClan scent? Dear StarClan help them if CometClan would come this close to a Clan's camp!
Suddenly, she hear a rustle, and a white blur race into camp. She tried chasing after it, but was attacked. Before she could yowl, a small tail was shoved in her mouth. "Quiet!" The gray kit demanded. "Falconkit will be done quickly, and then I can let you go!"
Fawnpaw wanted to ask what was going on, and why she was being held hostage by a kit. When she tried to ask, however, the kit scratched her nose and hissed at her to be quiet.
Her eyes welling up with tears, Fawnpaw looked closely at the gray flecked kit, realizing something familiar about her.
"Sootkit?" she asked through her tail. The kit ripped her tail out of the apprentice's mouth quickly, and stared with big eyes.
"H-h-how do you kn-know my name?" Sootkit stuttered.
"You were a kit of ShadowClan," Fawnpaw explained, "but you –"
She was cut off by a yowl, Olivenose's yowl, from camp. "Intruder! A kit just stole the biggest toad from the fresh kill pile!"
Fawnpaw was trampled by a white kit, who turned to Sootkit with a big toad in his mouth. "Come on!" he ordered, and she followed. Soon, more warriors of ShadowClan came out, jumping over the stupefied form of Fawnpaw in their pursuit.
Linelinelineline
Falconkit ran, as fast as he could towards his camp. Even though he didn't want to admit it, the voice in his head told him it was a very stupid idea for doing that, and Mrashkit was right for staying home. "Great FallenClan," he hissed as he heard the warriors behind him gaining. "We must have all of ShadowClan behind us!"
Exile, the shadow that had been following them, heard the commotion. He ran swiftly, but quietly to watch the whorde come near. Then, like the shadows their Clan was named after, he attacked. Three warriors fell, seemingly without a trace as to who did it. The mob stopped, and glanced back at the bleeding cats. It wasn't fatal, and Exile wasn't trying to kill them, he just wanted to let the kits get safely home. He dropped from a tree on the cat foremost in the front, shoving him into the ground and clawing his back before climbing up the tree without a trace.
"It's haunted!" a she-cat screeched, her tail firmly between her legs. "Those kits were spirits from the Dark Forest, sent to steal food for the older, eviler counterparts! They're going to get us!"
A few followed her lead, going back to camp like mice. The remaining group was small, and, not including the injured four, they only had three cats. "Should we go on, Olivenose?" A dark gray tom asked.
Olivenose, as she was called, turned towards the lake. "No, Scorchfur. They have only taken one piece of prey, but leave guards by the RiverClan border so that they can't cross it again."
Scorchfur dipped his head, and deciding he had had enough, Exile slipped away like a ghost. He caught the kits scents, and followed their slow progress through RiverClan territory, ready to fight for them if necessary.
"Shut up, you mousebrained kit," Harefall snarled as the black kit mewled in terror of being separated from it's mother. He blended so well into the snowcovered mountains, unlike the bundle of dark black fur in his mouth.
The rocky mountainous landscape disappeared, along with the snow, to reveal a winding, slowmoving river. Two other cats sat within the river, four kits by their paws.
"Hello, Salmonfall and Ravenfall," the SnowClan leader mewed to the other two, who dpped their heads. "now, we all agree that FallenClan has been sending us dreams of the 'Others' and these kits are going to find them?"
Ravenfall nodded. "Kindlepaw is old enough to know what is going on and to lead the others. Along with Blackpaw and Moonpaw of StreamClan, the youger ones shall learn and help."
Salmonfall nodded. He turned to the two, clearly siblings, and snarled orders at them. "You are to travel far, far away. Listen always to Kindlepaw, and teach the ones younger than you."
"That goes for you too, kit," Harefall snarled in the black kit's ears. He turned his attention to the whole group in disdain, for they were all half Clan kits. "Travel through the nearest city, and then over the river. You should come to a large monsterpath, with the scents of many cats. Those scents are what you are looking for. Once you get a good whiff, set out over the mountains, and once you clear them, you shall find the 'Others.'"
Kindlepaw nodded, glaring harshly at the leaders. "Now set off," salmonfall growled.
"Wait!" ravenfall mewed. "We should give names to the youger ones, so that they shan't get used to being called 'kit.'"
"Why?" Salmonfall asked. "We are not their mothers!"
"Exile," Harefall snarled, ignoring Salmonfall. "For you have been exiled from your Clan."
Ravenfall looked disdainfully upon the SnowClan leader. "You, younger sister of Kindlepaw. You shall be named Flowingpaw, even though you aren't apprentice age yet. Your silvery pelt looks like the flowing stream upon whose blood runs through your veins."
"Now go," salmonfall rumbled, his claws unsheathing. "Find them for us, so that these dreams may stop."
The leaders turned their backs to the kits, and faced with no other option than to go on their journey, they left.
Exile shook his head. That memory was more powerful than it should have been. He still kept an eye on Falconkit and Sootkit, and so far, no danger had presented itself to them. He would protect them, so that nothing as bad as what happened in his kithood would befall them.
A/N: Yes, I know, long. But you did it! So please review?