Rainpaw closed his eyes as he watched Rockfang and Pantherleap stand nose to nose. But right when it seemed the two toms were about to go down in a flurry of claws and fur, a sharp voice echoed through the air.
"Rockfang! Stop this nonsense at once!"
Both Grassclan and Forestclan cats alike looked over at the Grassclan side of the clearing, watching as a fluffy white she-cat padded over. Rainpaw noticed the fur lay flat on Rockfang's shoulders. Uh, he must really respect this cat to surrender so quickly like that, Rainpaw pondered. Though the paw' wouldn't deny that he was grateful for the intervention.
"Sheepclaw," Rockfang greeted, his voice was still gruff. However, the burning hostility that had been there had definitely softened. "We were only-."
"I have eyes and ears, Rockfang." The she-cat, Sheepclaw, growled. Coming to stand right next to the Grassclan tom. "I saw what happened."
Rainpaw was a tad surprised that Rockfang had the decency to duck his head in embarrassment.
"I- well- they-." The tom sputtered, before letting out a lengthy sigh. Rainpaw noticed Snakepaw smirk beside him. suppose he just realized Rockfang lost the battle.
Rockfang turned away from Sheepclaw, flashing Pantherleap a jerky nod.
"Pantherleap," he began solemnly. "I apologize for my apprentice's disrespect, and for my own hostility." The gray and white cat gave his shoulder a hasty lick after speaking. Pantherleap eyed him through narrowed eyes a long time before responding.
"I… accept your apology." Rainpaw blinked as his mentor spun on his paws heading back away into the forest without another word. Great, Starclan, the apprentice shook his head in disbelief. He sure is… strange.
"Ah, foxdung!" Snakepaw cursed in his brother's ear, "I was really hoping we were going to get to be in a real border fight!"
Rainpaw rolled his eyes, oh, Snakepaw…
"Snakepaw," the voice startled the two young cats, they looked up to see that Scarletclaw had started after Pantherleap. And she now sat at the edge of the wood line, inclining with her head for them to follow. Snakepaw sprinted over to his mentor. as Rainpaw went to follow them, he got this weird feeling in his chest. A feeling that told him to look back.
Rainpaw rolled his eyes as he watched Snakepaw and Scarletclaw start off into the forest. Don't be silly. He scolded himself. There is absolutely no reason why I should look back at those, as Snakepaw puts it, Ratbreaths.
Yet, Rainpaw found that when he tried to move one paw in front of the other, It was like rocks had been tied to his feet.
Well, Rainpaw thought. I guess it couldn't hurt to glance over there real quick.
And so, slowly, Rainpaw turned his head to look over his shoulder at the Grassclan cats. Blinking at what he saw. there were no longer three cats in the monster filled clearing, but Four! Rainpaw narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. a young, light brown she-cat with dark brown spots. She was chatting eagerly with the aggressive Grassclan apprentice, Wolfpaw. She's just another Grassclan cat, Rainpaw flicked an ear. So why do I feel so weird looking at her?
It was then that the she-cat pulled her gaze from Wolfpaw and saw Rainpaw in the distance, gazing at her with longing eyes. She held his gaze for a heartbeat, before giving a soft smile and turning back to her clanmates. Rainpaw was surprised by the weird buzzing feeling her aqua eyes left him with. He eyed the she-cat a moment longer, until a sharp yell cut through the atmosphere behind him.
"Rainpaw! You'd best move your tail if you want to see the rest of the territory!" Pantherleap's angry voice pulled him from his trance
"Coming!" He yowled, spinning around and pelting into the woods. Pantherleap sounds awfully mad… Rainpaw realized as he leaped over a fallen branch. Sure hope he doesn't have my pelt for lunch.
"How does Oceanclan live in that!" Snakepaw sniffed in disbelief at all the vast yellowish grit spread out before them.
The day was almost over, and they had almost been shone every part of Forestclan territory by their mentors. Now, they were at the last part the two apprentices had yet to see. The border between Oceanclan and Forestclan.
"Oceanclan cats are made differently than us," Scarletclaw purred, before her eyes darkened and she muttered under her breath. "Their all a bunch of rougues and kittypet's."
Rainpaw perked his ears at that, he had heard that right before he and Snakepaw had been born. There had only been three clans, Songclan, Forestclan, and Grassclan. Which had formed when, Waterclan, which, at the time, had been the only clan, Was wiped out by a huge flood. To keep their cats safe in case of another flood, several of the Waterclan cats had fled from the shore where they had been living. And settled in the grasslands and forests. All the cats had fled except one, Sandstar, who had been the deputy at the time of Waterclan's demise. According to Bonefur, Sandstar had been too afraid to leave behind his familiar land, So he had stayed. And after many moons alone, just recently, he had formed another clan on the same lands Waterclan used to inhabit. Although most of these "warriors" used to be kittypets and loners before joining Oceanclan.
"I wouldn't make fun off Oceanclan cats for their mixed blood, Scarletclaw." Pantherleap scoffed, pulling Rainpaw from his thoughts. "When our own leader happens to have been a loner himself."
Rainpaw stiffened at his mentor's words, I know dad used to be a loner when he was really little. He dug his small claws into the muddy-sand. But that was before Whistlestar took him into Forestclan! And He's just as great a warrior and a leader as any clanborn cat could be!
"Pantherleap!" Scarletclaw hissed sharply, cuffing the tabby hard over an ear with her paw. She then turned to Rainpaw and Snakepaw, her eyes soft.
"While I'm certainly not one for taking in non-clan cats into a clan." She mewed. "I think your father was a rare exception, even when he was a young cat and had just joined the clan, he always seemed to act like a born clan cat."
Rainpaw felt Snakepaw fluff up I pride beside him. He smiled, just you wait dad! One day I'm gonna by as great a warrior as you are!