Yay, my second-longest chap, consisting of seven pages! *does happy dance* and c'mon, guys! Review more! We're aiming for 400 now!
Disclaimer: If I owned Warriors, Ashfur would rot in the Dark Forest (no offense to Ashfur supporters)
"Worthless. Stupid. Freak. Not normal," Blazingdawn hissed.
Dovewing stepped back, her ears flattened. She didn't want her special senses now~she just heard herself whimpering with them.
Blazingdawn flicked her tail. "I suppose you've had enough?"
Dovewing almost leaped at the opportunity. "Yes! Please!" she was kicked away with a stinging blow.
"Yes, please master," Blazingdawn scowled. "Don't let me correct you again."
Dovewing nodded meekly, then was dealt a slash across the flank.
"You idiot!" Blazingdawn shrieked. "I just tell you, and you don't respond? Now, what was that?" under her breath, just loud enough for Dovewing to hear, she muttered, "Horrible manners."
Dovewing would've rolled her eyes if it weren't Blazingdawn who was there. Blazingdawn held an air of superiority around her... Something that told Dovewing she was not to be messed with.
"I am taking you to my sister," Blazingdawn mewed haughtily. "I trust that you shall maintain your poor manners?"
"Yes, master," Dovewing mumbled, too tired to even fight back.
Blazingdawn, who seemed satisfied by this answer, turned around and flicked her tail. "Move it!" she hissed. "Dawn is coming, and my sister doesn't like being kept waiting." The flame-colored she-cat continued at a brisk pace. "Hurry, snail-for-paws!"
Dovewing trudged forward. The ground was littered and reeked of death. She wondered how Blazingdawn could stand such stench.
Finally, Blazingdawn stopped in front of a den in a dead honeysuckle bush with twigs draped around it. "Butterflyfang!" she called, "I've brought the she-cat."
There was a barely audible grunt, then shuffling, then finally a pretty tortoiseshell with the same intense, violet eyes emerged. She ducked her head hastily and slightly formally.
Blazingdawn clucked her tongue. "What did I tell you about manners?"
Her sister glared at her. "What did I tell you about shutting up?" she rolled her eyes. "Your obsession with formalities is annoying and boring me."
"Deal with it," Blazingdawn rebuked, before she turned to Dovewing. The gray she-cat had her ears flattened and her bright green eyes filled with fear. "Dovey, this is Butterflyfang, my sister."
Butterflyfang, still bedraggled and sleepy, yawned and mumbled a 'pleasdameatcha' through it. Dovewing would've found it funny if not for the fact that she was related to Blazingdawn. Her long, curved claws were longer than any Dovewing had seen, and she winced just thinking about getting attacked.
Dovewing let out a yelp as she was roughly cuffed over her ears with unsheathed claws. The tips of them drew the tiniest amount of blood out.
"Now, Dovey, I think I've taught you better," Blazingdawn lightly scolded, as if she were no more than a kit, pouncing on tails, while Blazingdawn was just a caring mother. Dovewing almost snorted. The truth was much more different.
Dovewing hastily bowed her head. "Pleased to meet you, too. My name is Dovewing."
"So I heard," Dovewing mewed dryly.
Blazingdawn curled her lip. "Dovey, I need to show you something." slyness had worked it's way into her tone, and Dovewing was immediately suspicious.
"Yes?" she mewed, still keeping up the polite act~she did not want to get clawed.
Without warning, Blazingdawn pounced on her, lightning-fast, and clawed her viciously across the flank. Dovewing yelped and her vision momentarily blurred, before stumbling into a standing position, pain edging her body.
But what really disturbed her was Butterflyfang. Butterflyfang eyed the blood greedily and let out an insane giggle, as if she was excited, and pushed her over. Her tongue lapped at the blood, before growling and slashing her more. Dovewing shrieked in pain and struggled, but Butterflyfang was, by far, stronger. Slash by slash she tore, and the more blood she drew. The more blood she drew, the more blood she drank. Blazingdawn watched this with glee, as if she had been planning it all along.
Reflecting on it, she probably had.
Finally, Dovewing managed to tear free of Butterflyfang's grip and pelted somewhere~anywhere, really~in the distance. Her deep wounds stung and it hurt even more with the dead bramble and thorn thickets scratching her along the way.
She found a secluded scraggly bush with a few leaves still clinging to it's almost-bare branches and curled up there, squeezing her eyes shut, her wounds still stinging and bleeding.
StarClan, oh, StarClan, help me!
"Lightningkit, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Lightningpaw." Bramblestar mewed.
Lightningpaw bounced, and the young tom looked thrilled to have finally become an apprentice.
"Toadstep," Bramblestar continued, "You have proven to be a skilled and speedy warrior. I trust you will pass on all that you know to young Lightningpaw."
The black-and-white tom stepped out from the horde of cats and whisked his new apprentice away. Looking at them, Amberstorm wasn't sure which cat was the more enthusiastic.
Bramblestar turned to the second kit.
"Featherkit, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Featherpaw."
The light gray she-cat was so excited she mewed her new name aloud. "Featherpaw!" purrs erupted from the crowd, and Featherpaw ducked her head, embarrassed.
Bramblestar, too, was stifling a purr, but nevertheless continued. "Your mentor will be Blossomfall."
Murmurs of surprise rippled among the cats, but no one protested as the tortoiseshell she-cat proudly stepped forward to greet her new apprentice.
"Blossomfall, you are a warrior with excellent battle training, and exceptional loyalty. I trust that you will pass on all that you know to Featherpaw."
Amberstorm gritted her teeth. Here came the most annoying one.
"Whitekit, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Whitepaw. Your mentor will be Bumblestripe."
Inwardly, Amberstorm heaved a sigh of relief, whereas Snowclaw, on the other paw, looked disappointed. Honestly! You would think that all he does is moon over her! She glared at the dark ginger she-cat with four white paws, her amber eyes sparkling, her bushy tail held high. But she is pretty...
The cats dissolved to do other things, while Bumblestripe and Blossomfall led their apprentices out. Toadstep, however, lingered. "I'll be right back," he promised Lightningpaw, who was practically jumping with excitement and anticipation.
Amberstorm watched as Toadstep went into the nursery (with Lightningpaw trailing reluctantly behind him) and emerged with Briarlight. He led her to Seedflower's den, Briarlight's belly bouncing all the time. Amberstorm quietly creeped over to the medicine cat's den.
"~arlight's expecting my kits," Toadstep was mewing proudly.
Seedflower purred. "Congratulations," then her voice took a more serious tone. "But she can't feel anything below the broken part of her spine~it will be dangerous for her to kit, I can assure you that."
"Way to ruin the mood," Toadstep muttered, and Briarlight laughed.
"Don't worry, Toadstep," she assured her mate, "I'll manage somehow."
As they exited, Amberstorm hastily scrambled over to the nursery, hoping that it didn't look like she was eavesdropping on them. The nursery was almost empty with the exception of two queens. Three, Amberstorm reminded herself.
Lightningpaw was talking to Windkit while Petalkit was nowhere to be seen. Then again, she had seen Petalkit outside, under the warriors' den, catching stray tails and getting yelled at by Cloudtail.
"You'll become an apprentice soon," Lightningpaw promised Windkit. "You're five moons already."
Windkit twitched her ear miserably. "But it's so lonely in here! There isn't any cat to play with other than Icecloud and Petalkit!"
"Daisy's kitting soon," Lightningpaw reminded her.
"But I won't be able to play with them for a whole moon! And by then I'll be an apprentice!" Windkit sighed. "Sorry I'm being such a grouchy-tail~"
Like Spiderleg! Amberstorm thought.
"~but I'm going to be really bored."
Lightningkit nuzzled her fondly. "I promise I'll play with you any time I can," he licked her ear before waving his tail goodbye as Toadstep called him. "Bye, now!"
"Bye," Windkit mumbled miserably.
As Amberstorm exited the nursery, she was roughly bumped/shoved by Dewpaw, who had a smug look on his face. "What're you doing in there? You and Snowclaw having kits already?"
Amberstorm felt her face grow hot. "No!" she protested. "I was just...just...visiting Icecloud's kits!"
Dewpaw rolled his eyes haughtily. "Whatever. Ijust passed my warrior assessment, so let's see who's so good now," he spat at her before walking away.
Amberstorm sighed and closed her eyes. She suddenly remembered the night before, meeting with the ShadowClan cats.
"Burnetheart?" Amberstorm padded cautiously into the clearing, feeling very exposed. "Marshpaw? Heavypaw?"
"Here," Marshpaw called from a bush near the border, his bright blue eyes stark in contrast with the night. The moon was young, only a tiny claw in the sky. "And it's Marshlake now."
"And Heavypelt," Heavypaw~er, pelt, added.
"Wow," Amberstorm couldn't help but blurt out. "I'm surprised Ratstar named you Marshlake instead of Marshscar." she purred sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."
"No problem," Marshlake replied breezily. "I think it makes me look like a fearsome warrior!"
"Actually, it makes you look like a weakling that lost a life," Burnetheart muttered, and they all burst into giggles, with the exception of Marshlake, who huffed playfully.
"You're only saying that because you have none!" he shot back.
Heavypelt's jaws parted in a silent laugh as it was Burnetheart's turn to be indignant.
"Hey!" she yowled, pouncing on him. Marshlake struggled for a moment, then flipped her over with his superior size and rolled off her, laughing. As Burnetheart got up, she was disoriented and instead jumped on Heavypelt.
"What the~" Heavypelt began, before he was knocked over. Pretty soon, all four of them were pouncing on each other, purring and laughing.
"Ooomph!" Amberstorm exclaimed as Marshlake landed heavily on her. Marshlake laughed and helped her up.
"Thanks," she mewed gratefully, licking his ear. Then she stopped in mid-lick. What was she thinking? This was a ShadowClan cat! Then a small voice at the back of her head mewed, "So what? He's your ally." Amberstorm inwardly shrugged and continued grooming the scraps of dirt and dead leaves off of Marshlake's pelt. Once she was finished, his tortoiseshell fur was gleaming like a thousand stars.
"Well, then," Marshlake laughed. He licked her head, smoothing down the fur. Burnetheart and Heavypelt were too locked in their 'combat' to notice.
Amberstorm buried her muzzle in his fur, rejoicing in the warmth. When was the last time she did that with Snowclaw? Certainly not recently. And, to her surprise, Marshlake didn't flinch away like she'd expected him to. Instead, he snuggled up beside her, warming her up even more.
"You were shivering," he murmured to her, his breath hot in her ear.
Amberstorm was surprised that she didn't notice how rabidly she was trembling. She shot Marshlake a grateful glance before curling up closer, placing her head on her paws, and letting her eyelids droop.
She woke up later, still beside Marshlake. Burnetheart and Heavypelt were also fast asleep. They both looked like they had fallen from exhaustion. She checked the sky, then quietly choked. It was almost dawn! In a panic, she shook Marshlake awake.
"Wha~?" Marshlake murmured, his eyes barely open.
"Wake up!" Amberstorm hissed in a panic. "It's almost dawn! We need to leave!"
Marshlake was immediately awake. "Okay," he mewed, nodding. "I'll wake Heavypelt and Burnetheart. You can go back."
But when Amberstorm turned to leave, she glanced back to see Marshlake looking at her with a certain fondness shining in his eyes.
"Amberstorm?"
Amberstorm opened her eyes to see Snowclaw standing in front of her, shyness thick in the air.
"Yes?" she asked, sounding icier than she had intended, and she winced.
Snowclaw shuffled his paws. "Well...I was wondering if you'd like to go hunting with me?"
Amberstorm's jaws almost fell open, until she realized that Snowclaw was only asking her because Whitepaw wasn't there. With a quiet sigh, she mewed, "Sure."
A few moments later, the two young warriors found themselves walking through the dense ThunderClan forest, their ears pricked and alert for any prey. Without warning, Snowclaw leaped in the air, hooking his claws into the wings of an unsuspecting robin. The red-chested bird barely had time to let out a warning call before Snowclaw dealt it a bite to the neck.
"Nice," Amberstorm muttered. She suddenly stopped at the sound of scrabbling, and fell into a crouch, immediately pinpointing a scrawny shrew nibbling at some green shoots poking out from under the now-thinner layer of white powder.
When she was close enough, Amberstorm pushed off of her legs and killed the shrew in one quick bite, slitting it's throat. With a satisfied nod, the two made their way back to the camp. It was still leafbare, and those two tiny pieces of prey were probably all that were there.
When they entered, they found out that Dewpaw's warrior ceremony had already started.
"~o you, Dewpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and defend the Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Bramblestar questioned.
Dewpaw's mew was confident and a little arrogant. "I do."
"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Dewpaw, from now on you will be known as Dewshade. StarClan honors your cleverness and hunting skills."
"Dewshade! Dewshade! Dewshade!" the Clan cheered while Bramblestar rested his muzzle on Dewshade's head and Dewshade, in turn, licked his shoulder respectively.
Amberstorm glanced at the sky, and was startled to see that it was almost nighttime. I'm meeting them tonight! she thought.
As the rest of the cats settled in for the night, Amberstorm snuck out of camp, making her way to the place where she had met them the last time.
Maybe the fact that two blue eyes were glowing near the bushes helped her...just a little bit.
"Marshlake?" Amberstorm questioned. "Where are Burnetheart and Heavypelt?"
"Some mission to recruit rogues," Marshlake muttered darkly, before brightening. "But you made it!"
"You sound surprised," Amberstorm remarked dryly, a purr already rumbling in her throat. Why did she always feel fluttery now when she saw the tortoiseshell tom...?
Marshlake laughed. "I have every reason to," he teased her. "Didja have a nice sleep last night?"
Amberstorm felt hot embarrassment flushing over her. "Maybe," she admitted quietly.
Marshlake's bright blue eyes scanned her face for a trace of sarcasm, and seemed satisfied when he didn't.
"Hey, do you know about Dovewing and Tigerheart?" Marshlake suddenly asked.
Amberstorm blinked, recognizing the names of her former mentor and former ShadowClan deputy, but she didn't know what he was talking about.
"No," she mewed cautiously.
Marshlake shrugged. "Well, apparently, Tigerheart~who used to be Heavypelt's mentor, by the way~was exiled because he was meeting Dovewing during the night, and when Blackstar confronted him about it, he confessed that he loved her." Marshlake shrugged. "They left pretty quickly after that."
"I should think so," Amberstorm laughed.
Marshlake leaned forward and licked her ear. Suddenly, Amberstorm knew why he had brought up the story of Dovewing and Tigerheart. The question that was still waiting to be uttered hung in the air.
Would you do that for me?
"Yes," Amberstorm unconsciously breathed, loud enough for Marshlake to hear. He looked at her, surprise lingering on his features before they dissolved into something gentler. The scar that Amberstorm had given him still sat there, but new fur grew around it.
"You would?" Marshlake asked.
Amberstorm curled her lip. Maybe it's time to let Snowclaw go. "Maybe," she admitted, blinking, suddenly shy.
Marshlake buried his muzzle in her fur. His mew was muffled, but Amberstorm still heard it.
"When you first gave me that scar, I hated you. But after a while, I couldn't stop thinking of you. Not even at the Gatherings, where I would scour the entire island, looking for you. And then you showed up on our territory, standing over Blackstar's body." Marshlake curled his lip slyly. "You're really pretty. You know that, right?"
Amberstorm was too surprised~and shocked~to say anything.
"Over and over you plagued my thoughts. Over and over I looked for you." his blue eyes crinkled. "I had a lot of fun last night."
And finally a good night's sleep, Amberstorm thought, though it was possible it was only her.
"Who didn't?" she found herself answering, and she was briefly surprised that she could even find her vocal cords.
"True," Marshlake's mew had a teasing tone to it. "But I'm pretty sure I had the most, because I was playing and laughing along with the cat of my dreams."
Marshlake took a deep breath.
"Amberstorm, I...I think I'm in love with you."
"Amberstorm?"
Startled (and cursing for not paying attention to their surroundings), Amberstorm spun around, to meet the disbelieving eyes of Snowclaw.
Oooh! Cliffie! Guys~question: Do you like SnowxAmber, MarshxAmber or WhitexSnow better? I would make a poll but I ALREADY HAVE A POLL ON MY PROFILE with DovexTiger and DovexBumble, so vote on the poll on my profile page, reivew saying your fav OC pairing, and here's our quote!
Quote:
Tigerclaw: "Stop that moaning. Now, will some cat tell me what's going on? Graystripe, do you know this RiverClan cat?"
Graystripe: "I loved her."
Tigerclaw: "What~these are your kits?"
Graystripe: "Mine and Silverstream's. I know what you'll say, Tigerclaw. Don't bother. I don't care."
-Tigerclaw and Graystripe about Silverstream in "Forest of Secrets"
That was one of my fav lines in the book. Graystripe grieving over his mate (I prefer Silverstream over Millie. Seriously. WHO DOESN'T?) and telling Tigerclaw to shut up. Epic xD
-Sky