1Sorry for the long wait I kinda got soaked up in another of my fics (it happens to be my most popular one) plus I had to write a warriors paper for a summer project so it kinda soaked up all my warriors inspiration. Not much else to type in this particular spot so I'll just let you get on to the reading.
Disclaimer: ohhh just read last chapters
Mysticpaw dropped the mouse into the fresh kill pile. She had been asked to go hunting with the hunting patrol. She hadn't caught much, two mice, but it was her first time on a hunting patrol so she wasn't expecting much.
Duskpaw strode pridefully up behind her his tail and head held high. He had managed to catch a crow. This was an amazing feet for any cat but for a new apprentice that still hadn't lost all of his fluffy kit fur it was a particularly amazing.
"I'm still not sure how you managed to catch that," Mysticpaw retorted looking down at the crow. "It's my pure skill of course," he replied proudly a playful gleam in his eye.
Mysticpaw had noticed a change in the young cat recently. He wasn't as shy around others, in fact he was rather proud and outgoing. Mysticpaw stopped to ponder the sudden change when she got caught in his misty green eyes.
"Hey you two," a happy mew was cast across the clearing and snapped Mysticpaw from her thoughts.
Mysticpaw turned her head and noticed Silverpaw trotting over to them. "How did your hunting trip go?" The silvery gray she-cat asked.
"I caught two mice, it's not much but it's my first day what can I expect." Mysticpaw said humbly before turning around and picking a vole from the fresh kill pile.
"I caught a crow," Duskpaw stated proudly.
"Did I hear you say you caught a crow?" A voice interrupted the three apprentices. Mysticpaw knew who it was before she looked up, she had memorized his voice by now.
Looking up only confirmed her thoughts. Brambleclaw was padding over to the trio and he looked pleased.
"Yes I did," Duskpaw purred. "I'm impressed," Brambleclaw stated, his statement showing true through his mew. Duskpaw's tail moved sided to side with content as he lifted his head to soak up the praise. "Thank you," he purred back to his mentor. Mysticpaw rolled her eyes.
"All cats old enough to catch their own pray please gather." Firestar's voice rang out clear as a bell across the camp.
Mysticpaw grumbled as she placed her vole back and obediently walked over to highledge. Silverpaw walked next to Mysticpaw her every movement flowing perfectly into the next.
Mysticpaw admired her friend she truly was one of the prettiest cats she had ever seen. Sometimes Mysticpaw wished that she was more like her. Her own rather short blue-gray coat getting a little boring, but Silverpaw's silver-gray coat always caught the light differently so it looked ever changing.
"I have chosen the cats that will be attending the gathering," Firestar announced. Mysticpaw then realized that she was sitting at the base of highledge. Turning her attention to the cat up atop the ledge she tuned in to what he was saying.
"I'll be taking Graystripe, Squirrelflight, Cloudtail, Brightheart, Ashfur, Rainwhisker, Sorreltail, Sandstorm, Spiderleg, Goldenflower, Mousefur, Ferncloud, Duskpaw, Silverpaw, and lastly Mysticpaw." Firestar listed the names of the cats that were to attend the gathering.
Upon hearing her and Silverpaw's name Mysticpaw dug her claws into the earth. "What's with you? You should be thrilled," it was Sorreltail speaking. Mysticpaw startled slightly looked up at her friends mentor. "I guess I was just tired and hoping to get a good night sleep," she lied quickly. Sorreltail looked at the young she-cat questioningly but didn't press the matter.
"Well leave soon so if you haven't eaten then you should," Firestar called out before hopping off of highledge.
Mysticpaw lifted herself off her haunches. Her ears half way back thinking hard she padded over toward the fresh kill pile.
"What are we going to do?" Silverpaw hissed quietly at Mysticpaw. Mysticpaw flicked her ear. "I'm not sure we'll have to go... maybe we can find a way to leave early. For now though we need to go to the gathering it would look odd if we didn't," Mysticpaw murmured.
"Oh look squirrel my favorite," Silverpaw picked up a squirrel. "I won't be able to eat it all want to share?" Silverpaw asked as best she could with her mouth full of squirrel.
Mysticpaw didn't like squirrel all that much, too much fur in her opinion, but figured that she might as well, "alright." She answered.
Silverpaw padded over to the big rock near the apprentice den, that was where the apprentices ate.
She placed the squirrel on the ground and bent over it. Mysticpaw joined her friend and bit into the fat squirrel.
A few minutes later Mysticpaw and Silverpaw could bee seen grooming themselves. Silverpaw being a lot more careful than Mysticpaw was.
As Mysticpaw finished with her grooming she got up and stretched her limbs all one by one then arching her back. "Show off," Silverpaw purred. "Yah at least I don't spend a moon grooming myself," Mysticpaw pointed out in defense.
Silverpaw was about to say something when she was cut off by Firestar's yowl. "It's time for the gathering all who are to be attending please follow me." Firestar then jumped off of high ledge landing gracefully on the rock floor. He continued to make his way over to the camp entrance where he waited for the other cats to join him.
Slowly the cats seeped from the all corners of the camp and gathered around their leader.
"Come on it's time to go," Silverpaw got up and trotted over to Firestar. Mysticpaw soon joined her in front of her father.
As Mysticpaw sat down she noticed Duskpaw just in front of her watching Firestar intently. Mysticpaw didn't know why she had been paying so much attention to the tom lately. 'It must be the sudden change in his personality' she thought to herself.
"Alright come on," Firestar's mew washed over the group of cats as he sprang out of the camp. He was closely followed by the others.
All the cast ran thorough the forest like the water flows through the brook. Each cat found their way easily and none strayed from the pack.
When they entered WindClan territory they didn't slow their pace. They ran across the moors as easily as if they had been raised there.
In what seemed like no time a t all to Mysticpaw the group of cats were in front of the tree-bridge.
Firestar halted and paused for a moment before jumping up on top of the fallen tree and starting across.
The rest of the clan started wordlessly after their leader. Mysticpaw, Silverpaw and Duskpaw bringing up the rear.
The branches brushed uncomfortably against her pelt but she dismissed it. As she neared the end of the tree she grew more confidant with her steps. She was practically running by the time she reached the end of the tree-bridge.
When she jumped off of the three and her paws felt the contact of the soft wet grass she yowled with triumph.
Silverpaw was soon at her friends side "I expected that to be a little harder." She admitted. "I knew I could do it," Mystic stated her voice slightly playful. "Of course you could have done it oh mighty apprentice," Duskpaw stated his mew covered with sarcasm.
Mysticpaw scoffed him over the ear playfully. The same amount of playfulness gleamed in her misty blue eyes.
"Remember you are apprentices not kits," Sorreltail pointed out.
"Yes I know Sorreltail," Mysticpaw muttered mostly to herself as she bounded through the bush where the rest of the clan had disappeared.
When Mysticpaw padded through to the clearing her eyes grew wide. There were so many cats.
Their scents mingled together creating a strange new scent for the three apprentices. "Make the best of your time this is the only time when you will meet the other clans in peace," Brambleclaw instructed before padding over toward a RiverClan warrior.
"Yah, yah," Mysticpaw huffed so he couldn't hear her.
"Let's go over there," Silverpaw suggested pointing at a group of apprentices.
"Ok," Mysticpaw agreed.
"Smell's like WindClan and I think that fishy smell is RiverClan," Duskpaw mewed following the other two over to the small group of cats.
As the three approached the group a small tortoiseshell she-cat looked over at them. She parted her jaws and took in a big gulp of air.
"ThunderClan I assume," she mewed. She seemed nice enough.
Mysticpaw nodded her head, "I'm Mysticpaw and this is Silverpaw and Duskpaw."
A big black tom pushed the tortoiseshell out of the way and stood a mouse length in front of Mysticpaw. "I'm Inkpaw, a RiverClan apprentice," he mewed coolly.
Duskpaw pushed himself in between the two making Inkpaw fumble backwards. "Duskpaw," He hissed.
"Protective aren't we," a new mew washed over the apprentices, "I'm Yellowpaw, and the tortoiseshell is Honeypaw." The mew came from a sand colored she-cat.
"We're WindClan apprentices," Honeypaw explained.
Silverpaw stepped forward, "sorry about him, my brother has been acting different lately." Silverpaw shot a quick glance at Duskpaw.
"How old are you?" Mysticpaw mewed stepping out from behind Duskpaw.
"About seven moons," Inkpaw mewed.
"We're only six, we were just apprenticed today," Duskpaw meowed.
"A little young to be coming to the gatherings aren't you?" Inkpaw challenged.
"Haven't you heard there clan is short on apprentices," Honeypaw pointed out.
Silverpaw nodded, "yes we are having a bad year for apprentices but we are as strong as ever."
"Really, if this is what ThunderClan has to offer I don't think they pose much of a threat," Inkpaw sneered.
"Aren't very friendly are you?" Mysticpaw asked.
"Inkpaw who are you quarreling with?" a new older mew broke the tension.
Mysticpaw looked away from Inkpaw too see a large tabby with broad shoulders.
Inkpaw turned around. "Father," he started, "it was nothing just a little debate about the strength of the clans." he mewed.
"Really... and who are these young cats?" the tabby asked.
"Mysticpaw of ThunderClan my father is Firestar," Mysticpaw spoke proudly.
"Firestar... really," the tabby stared down at the apprentice with cold eyes.
"And who are you?" Silverpaw asked in as polite a tone as she could muster.
"Hawkfrost, warrior of RiverClan," he said in a cold tone.
Just then a yowl came from the branch where the leaders sat. all the cats tore their attention from their conversations and looked up at the leaders positioned among the branches.
"I bring good news from ThunderClan we have three new apprentice here with us tonight, Silverpaw, Duskpaw, and Mysticpaw." Firestar reported. All eyes were brought upon the three apprentices. Silverpaw squirmed with uncertainty under the force of all the gazes. However Duskpaw and Mysticpaw were unaffected.
"RiverClan is prosperous and we have a queen that is due with kits anytime now, and Inkpaw the apprentice I told you about a moon ago is here with us today," Leopardstar mewed calmly. Inkpaw seemed to soak up the praise and his dark eyes blinked in satisfaction.
The next leader started without consent from the last. "ShadowClan is doing fine, we have a queen due with kit's any time now just like RiverClan and a queen that was starting her kiting as we left for the gathering." Blackstar mewed, Mysticpaw already didn't like him she could just tell from his mew.
"WindClan is doing well," Onestar mewed. "We have spotted a new fox in the area and we drove it out, we think that it went up into the hills but ThunderClan should watch out for it, it might have headed into ThunderClan territory."
"Thank you WindClan we appreciate the warning," Firestar thanked the WindClan leader.
"We also have two new apprentices with us today, Honeypaw and Yellowpaw," the cats turned their heads in the direction of the new apprentices and nodded their heads as if to approve of the young cats.
After a moment of silence which seemed like an eternity to Mysticpaw Firestar raised his head. "If nobody has anything to say the gathering is over," after another short pause the leaders jumped down from the branches of the great tree.
Each separate Clan made their way across the fallen tree-bridge one after another. As Mysticpaw's paws touched the grassy earth on the other side she knew that the time to sneak away was near.
I only have one thing to say and it's kinda depressing... I start school Friday and so it'll soak up a lot of my time and I'll probably only have time to type on the weekends. Like I said not so happy news but I plan on finishing this story and I might even turn it into series it depends on how many chapters it takes to write this first chunk of the whole plot.
Purpletial