Chapter 6, Meeting
Ravenpaw led the way out of camp with Spiderpaw close behind.
"I wonder who the other apprentices will be," she murmured.
"I don't know," Spiderpaw answered. "Probably one from RiverClan, one from ShadowClan, one from WindClan…" he trailed away, but his eyes burned with curiosity.
Excitement fluttered in Ravenpaw's chest. Who were the other cat's going to be?
They reached Fourtrees. No other cat was there yet.
They waited for a few moments before there was a rustling in the bracken and Squirrelpaw appeared.
"What are you doing here?" Ravenpaw yelped. Had Squirrelpaw followed them? What was she doing here?
"I had the dream!" she spat, "Just like both of you, I expect. Now let's go on this journey!"
"We have to wait," Ravenpaw meowed, "There are only three of us here. Spottedleaf said to meet with six others. That means there needs to be seven."
Squirrelpaw snorted. "Whatever!"
Suddenly another cat appeared. He was grey and brown.
"Who are you?" Squirrelpaw demanded.
"My name's Smokepaw and I am a ShadowClan apprentice. What are you're names?"
"I'm Squirrelpaw," she hissed, "and this is Ravenpaw, and Spiderpaw."
Smokepaw smiled and nodded. "So you three had the dream?"
"Yes," Ravenpaw nodded.
"Yes?" asked a nervous voice, "yes what?"
A silver she-cat appeared, followed by a small brown tom with a broad face and a narrow muzzle.
"You are from ThunderClan…and ShadowClan…Right?" she asked.
"Yes," meowed Ravenpaw, "What are you're names?"
"I'm Splashpaw," the silver she-cat told her. "And this is Volepaw. We are both from RiverClan."
Volepaw drew his teeth back in a snarl. "Don't tell them, Splashpaw!" he spat, his tail bristling.
He faced Ravenpaw. "You're the kittypet!" he hissed, "Stop faking that you were chosen for this quest."
Ravenpaw felt her tail thicken and she unsheathed her long claws. "Watch it, I'm no Kittypet!"
"To you maybe!" he spat. He was worse then Squirrelpaw.
"Volepaw, relax," said a voice. A brown cat stalked down the slope and faced the cats. "I'm Owlpaw of WindClan."
He had a plain voice. It was not aggressive, or kind. It was harsh, but in a nice way. Ravenpaw found herself staring at him.
Owlpaw met her gaze. They stared at each other for a long time until Spiderpaw nudged Ravenpaw.
"Well," he began, "should we leave on this quest?"
"I don't see any reason to wait," Splashpaw reasoned.
"Gorsepaw didn't tell me to delay," Owlpaw muttered.
"Neither did Nightstar," Smokepaw meowed.
"Did anybody's dream-sender tell you to wait?" Squirrelpaw asked.
"No," the other apprentices chorused.
"Well," Ravenpaw meowed awkwardly, "I sort of wanted to say bye to my Clan…"
"We can't let them know where were going!" Spiderpaw yelped, "They might stop us. We need to find the savoir of the Clans. Somehow I feel great trouble is coming."
"That's true," Owlpaw muttered. "Then let's go!"
"Where?" snarled Squirrelpaw.
"Over the mountains!" Splashpaw meowed, jumping to her feet. "That's what Silverstream said!"
The other cat's looked at each other and everybody seemed to take a deep breath.
"Are we ready?" Spiderpaw asked. "Then let's go."
He rose to his paws slowly as if he had been sitting there for a moon. As he passed Ravenpaw he muttered, so only she could hear, "I scared."
She rubbed the side of her face to his in agreement, then padded forward.
"Run!" Owlpaw yowled happily, dashing up onto the uplands with a mighty bellow.
"Shut up," Volepaw muttered angrily, but only Ravenpaw heard him.
Slowly the cats filed into a line with Smokepaw at the front, then Owlpaw, after him was Ravenpaw, then Spiderpaw, and next was Splashpaw and behind her was Volepaw, and last came Squirrelpaw.
Muscles rippled under their pelts in a smooth motion as the seven apprentices loped across the uplands, on the longest journey of their lives.
Yeah, sort'a like TNP Midnight, but I promise it will be different. Keep reading and remember to review!