sURPRISE SURPRISE!
Hello everyone! I would like to present to you a sneak peek to…
Wind Storm, the sequel to Dovewing's Decision!
I won't be updating Wind Storm very frequently, as I have other things to do. ^-^
This would essentially take place somewhere in the near beginning of The Apprentice's Quest, the first book in the 6th arc called A Vision of Shadows (which is an official thing btw). So keep in mind that, whenever The Apprentice's Quest is released and you read it, this fanfic was typed BEFORE The Apprentice's Quest was released!
So if you see Sparkpaw and Alderpaw with official warrior names in the 6th arc,
That don't match with their warrior names here,
That's because this was typed in before the actual thing came out in bookstores.
SO YAH.
And when their (or any cats') official warrior names do appear in the original series, I will change them on here.
Thank you and enjoy this preview of Wind Storm! :3
The fresh scents of Newleaf filled the air. Bright, yellow sunlight filtered through the forest at an angle, tall shadows slanting across the ground. Shrubberies were ripe with brightly-colored flowers, where multiple bumblebees hovered peacefully from one flower to the next, collecting nectar. The light, airy birdsong carried along through the gentle breeze that rustled the slightest of whiskers.
Olivepaw hunkered and lashed her tail in the air, keen to catch an imaginary squirrel that stood in front of her.
Thornclaw shook his head. "You won't be able to hunt like that with that tail wriggling around in the air like that." He stood beside her and crouched down, lying his tail flat, parallel to the ground. "Remember to always keep your body low to the ground."
Olivepaw studied his posture and lowered her tail, along with levelling her small body closer to the ground. She earned an approving nod from her mentor.
"That's better," commented Thornclaw. "Now sneak up closely behind it with your haunches low as well." He demonstrated this by lowering his haunches, slithering up in a swift pace. Olivepaw tried the move once he had finished. "And try not to wobble so much," he put in but not in a strict tone. "It could swash around all the leaves that could be around you during leaf-fall."
Olivepaw flared her nostrils and took a deep breath. She tried not to let the senior warrior's words sting her. I honestly think that I done that flawlessly, she thought exasperatedly. But she knew that no cat was perfect. She only messed up once and she'd mess up as many times as she could. But Olivepaw knew that she'd get it next time, whenever that was.
"Let's move on to battle moves," meowed Thornclaw smoothly.
Excitement fizzed through Olivepaw's spine and down to her tail-tip. This is going to be great!
From nearby, in the training hollow, Sloepaw scurried over and stood in front of Olivepaw. "Hey, Olivepaw, you won't guess what I just learned!" he exclaimed.
"What is it?" meowed Olivepaw inquisitively.
"This!" Taken by surprise, Olivepaw's nose was cuffed playfully by Sloepaw's sheathed forepaw. The air was filled with Sloepaw's mrrows of laughter. Olivepaw flattened her ears and bared her teeth.
"That wasn't funny!" she hissed. "Get serious, you moron!"
Sloepaw twitched his whiskers. "Everyone always fell for that," he snickered.
Infuriated, Olivepaw's fur bristled around her tufty shoulders. "Get out of my way, you mouse-brained bee!" she snapped. She swatted a forepaw several times exasperatedly in between Sloepaw's ears. The very dark gray tom cringed, striking back with sheathed paws. Olivepaw was smacked hard in the face and soon the two siblings were in a plume of dust clouds, scrapping and rolling in the dust.
Cloudtail scurried over, his fur bushed out to look twice its size. "What do you think you two are doing?" he growled. Olivepaw felt teeth being tightened around her neck scruff as Cloudtail separated her from her brother. Once he placed her down, he sighed crossly, worn-out with stress. "Sloepaw, don't ever leave your place until you've gotten that front paw blow perfectly. Do you want to become a warrior or not?"
Sloepaw stood up and shook plumes of dust out of his fur. "But I—"
"Don't even think about arguing with me," snarled Cloudtail. "Bring your tail over here. Don't say a word to Olivepaw until your training is over for today."
Sloepaw had his lips shut tight, indistinct annoyance sparking through his eyes. He flicked his tail-tip and lowered his head, following after his mentor. As much as Olivepaw knew that Sloepaw was a complete hairball to deal with, she couldn't help but suppress her sympathy for him. She envied his positive attitude and spirit. Being scolded by Cloudtail was something that no cat would want to be under. Olivepaw knew that soon enough he'll get over it.
"Now, Olivepaw," meowed Thornclaw. "I won't fuss at you. I was just like that when I was a young apprentice. Always getting into trouble and be scolded at. Cloudtail's been having a rough morning and he shouldn't be letting his anger out on your brother like that."
Olivepaw looked over at the side of the training hollow, where Cloudtail and Sloepaw moved further away from her and Thornclaw. With paws sheathed, Sloepaw brought his forepaw down towards the white tom's head. Cloudtail dodged it and countered the attack, knocking Sloepaw off his paws. Cloudtail appeared to be nippy and uptight, as if he wanted the training sessions to end already.
"He still hasn't recovered ever since Brightheart died," murmured Thornclaw sadly. "She was bound to greencough many moons ago, before you were born."
Olivepaw felt a pang of pity for the surly tom. She made one final glance at Cloudtail while he helped up Sloepaw. "I'm sorry for his loss," she meowed sympathetically. "He's never really said anything about it…"
"And he shouldn't," meowed Thornclaw. "He doesn't want to be constantly reminded again and again that his mate was no longer next to him. But I feel that she is watching over him from StarClan, where she can get all the sleep and mice that any cat would ask for."
Olivepaw paused and lifted her gaze. She could feel her mentor following her gaze through his warm eyes.
Thornclaw looked down at her, a warm look across his face. "Now," he meowed. "Let's get back to our training, shall we? I'll show you the leap-and-hold."
Olivepaw nodded, feeling energy and anticipation seeping through her paws and up to her ears. She stood and watched silently as Thornclaw demonstrated the technique.
On a side note,
If you don't know who Olivepaw or Sloepaw are, they are Morningfeather's daughters and their father is Fernsong.
If you have forgotten (or didn't know at all)…
Lionblaze x Cinderheart—Fernsong, Hollytuft, Sorrelstripe
Dovewing x Tigerheart (unofficial)—Morningfeather, Pineheart, Goosewing
Fernsong x Morningfeather (unofficial)—Olivepaw, Sloepaw
Dovewing x Bumblestripe (unofficial)—Briarkit, Seedkit, Larchkit, Rosekit
….and yes, Dovewing had a second litter after Tigerheart because she had wanted her and Bumble's relationship to "start over" rather than get back together to where they left off.
So keep on the lookout for the new fanfic Wind Storm!