Notes and Disclaimer:
This is actually a split of chapter one, it was split so it wasn't as long.
One of the characters in this story as a certain way of speaking (or a type of accent, if you will) that might be offensive to some people. This was only the way he was written, and I'm not trying to mock anyone.
Warriors is not owned by me, but all OCs in this story such as Firegaze and Twyla are my OCs.
Firegaze turned to see Violet walking steadily into the camp, with Silverfire and Tristan behind her. Silverfire was struggling to keep up, due to the fact that his back right leg had been cut off. Tristan was trudging slowly behind Violet, with his head down low. Twyla, Firegaze's mentor barged in front of her to see. Twyla stopped Tristan for a second to speak to him.
"Did you two get into another fight?!" Twyla hissed into his ear. "When will you figure out violence isn't the answer to everything?"
Tristan blinked at her slowly, tears forming in his green eyes. "I'm sorry, Twyla."
Twyla growled at him one last time before letting him go on. Firegaze looked at her with confusion. I thought that Twyla didn't like Tristan that much. Is something wrong with her? Carefully, she padded up to Twyla, whose pelt was still bristling.
"Twyla? You look upset. Is everything okay?" Firegaze begged pleadingly. She hated seeing her mentor look so angry.
Twyla flicked her tail dismissively. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."
"Okay, Twyla." Firegaze sighed.
Firegaze noticed pawsteps from behind her. She turned around to see the three cats from ThunderClan awkwardly looking around. Firegaze's whiskers twitched in amusement. Looks like she's still playing guide.
"I think you guys should follow Violet." Firegaze directed, trying to hide her amusement.
The three cats followed the same steps Violet had stepped in, until Firegaze noticed the dark brown tabby stopping the skinny black tom with his large claw.
"Ravenpaw, this is no meeting for kits. Why don't you play with the other kits around here?" the dark tabby urged. Ravenpaw simply nodded.
"Yes, Tigerclaw." Ravenpaw replied. Firegaze felt bad for him. Was this "Tigerclaw" that rude all the time? Either way, she was sad he had to put with him all the time.
Firegaze padded up to him. "Hey, why don't you come with me? There's some other apprentices here, too. Besides me."
"O-Okay, sure." Ravenpaw stuttered nervously.
Firegaze smiled a little. She began walking towards the other apprentices, who chatting in a little group. "Alright, so there's me, Blaze, Dylan and my brother, River."
To her relief, Ravenpaw was following her. He was listening to her, at least. Firegaze came to a stop when she saw them looking at her and Ravenpaw.
"Hi, guys!" Firegaze yowled happily. "What's up?"
All three of them looked uncomfortable. River was the first to speak up.
"Talking about uh...you know...uh…" River tried to explain.
Blaze blurted it out like she was keeping a horrible secret. "We were talking about the Clans!"
"So, who are you?" Dylan asked Ravenpaw, immediately changing the subject. "Never seen or heard of you before."
"R-Ravenpaw." He mumbled.
"Eh? You're gonna have to speak up, mate." Dylan grunted. "Can't hear you at all."
"Ravenpaw. I'm from T-ThunderClan." He said more clearly, still mumbling a bit.
Dylan brought a forepaw up to his ear. Is he seriously grooming right now? "Your name's kinda strange to me, mate. Are all ThunderClan cats names so weird?"
"Hey!" Firegaze found herself snapping at him. "You never said that about my name! What about my dad, or my uncle Stargaze? You never said that about us!"
Her friends looked at her with shock. Firegaze had just realized why. She just snapped at her friends, after all.
"I never said anything 'cause I just didn't wanna get beat up." Dylan muttered. "You and your brother have always had a temper."
River slid his claws out. "Hey Dylan, I think you might late for your suckling."
"Oi! Now what in your bloody mind gave you that idea?" Dylan hissed. "I didn't try to hurt'cha! All I said was you and your sis have anger issues, that's all."
"Okay guys, I think we should change the subject!" Blaze awkwardly laughed. "So Ravenpaw-tell us what Clan life is like!"
Dylan and River still stood facing each other, their neck fur bristling. Firegaze sighed. They're not going to let it go, aren't they?
"Hey, guys! Ravenpaw's going to tell us about Clan life! So both of you shut up and listen!" Firegaze hissed. She gave River a hard stare. "And you're training to be a mediator. Just pitiful."
The two toms looked at each other for a second and then sighed. They sat closer to the circle and gave each other dirty looks, but that was the end of it. Firegaze rolled her eyes and looked at Ravenpaw.
"So what's it like living in ThunderClan?" Firegaze asked.
Ravenpaw looked flustered. "Well, uh...it's okay. We have apprentices, warriors and medicine cats."
"Oh! So medicine cats are like healers, and warriors are like fighters! That makes sense." Blaze exclaimed.
"But we only have one or two medicine cats. Not many kits want to become medicine cats." Ravenpaw explained.
Blaze was surprised. "But why not? It's amazing! It's a cool way to help your Clan and heal your Clanmates!" Firegaze wasn't surprised that Blaze took offense at that. She was a Healer apprentice after all.
"Cool...?" Ravenpaw tilted his head. "As in cold?"
"It's just a Blaze thing. Carry on, Ravenpaw." River meowed. Blaze scowled at River, but said nothing else.
"A-Alright. We also have Queens and Elders. Queens nurse their kittens, and Elders are retired warriors or medicine cats who unable to perform their duties. They tell their stories of the olden days to young kits most of the time." Ravenpaw explained further. Firegaze didn't expect him to say all of that. Ravenpaw didn't seem to be the type to talk a lot.
Dylan finally spoke up. "Ah, so sort of how our mothers raised us, then, right?"
"Yeah, I'm guessing. We don't have any Elders here, though. Unless you count Holly." Blaze agreed. "Her fur is honestly starting to gray a little."
"Maybe that's cause she's got you to deal with!" Dylan spat back.
Ravenpaw's eyes widened in shock. I don't think he deals with this stuff very often. Firegaze prodded his shoulder.
"It's okay, those three get into arguments all the time." Firegaze assured him. Ravenpaw slowly nodded while still watching them fight.
"Ravenpaw." Firegaze turned to see Tigerclaw and the pale tabby from before behind them. "It's time for us to go back."
"O-Okay, Tigerclaw." Ravenpaw dipped his head. He turned to look at Firegaze and her friends. "Bye, guys."
"Bye, Ravenpaw! Maybe we'll see you at the Gathering!" Blaze called after him. Ravenpaw nodded back and followed Tigerclaw and the pale tabby out of camp. "Well, I hope so."
Dylan playfully prodded her with his paw. "Why's that, Blaze?"
"Oh, shut up, you!" Blaze retorted. "I'm just saying, it's nice to talk to other cats our age outside of our group."
Everyone agreed to that, at least. Firegaze noticed that it was quieter than usual in the camp. Cats were looking up at the Perched Rock expectantly, like they were waiting for something.
"Hey guys, I think something's up." Firegaze whispered to her friends. They looked around to see everyone looking up at Perched Rock.
River nudged Firegaze. "Well? Come on, let's sit next to our mentors." River then walked away to find his mentor, Dove.
Firegaze nodded and scanned the clearing for Twyla. During a meeting, apprentices always have to sit next to their mentors. Firegaze saw her mentor sitting next to Ivy. Well, I suppose that makes sense. Ivy did mentor Twyla. She padded up to Twyla and sat by her mentor's side.
"...Twyla…?" Firegaze whispered to her mentor. Twyla barely stirred. Firegaze looked down at her paws. Why won't she talk to me?
Because she doesn't care for you anymore. A dark voice crept into her mind. Twyla is angry with you for intruding into her business. Firegaze shut her eyes. No! She cares for me! Firegaze opened her eyes, waiting for the dark voice to reply. It said nothing. Was that my imagination? It couldn't be…because it sounded real.
Firegaze looked back up at Perched Rock, to see her mother standing on top of it. She still felt uneasy about the voice, but she ignored the feeling and listened intently to Violet's announcement.
"Members of The Ten Flames, I have good news. I have spoken to Bluestar of ThunderClan, who is their leader. She invited us to come to the Gathering tonight with them to discuss whether we become a Clan or not." Violet announced firmly. Several outcries of protest greeted her words.
Twyla was the first to speak up. "How do you know they won't attack us?"
Another fighter named Stone agreed with her. "Yeah! Haven't you noticed that they outnumber us?!"
"We'll be fine." Shocked, everyone turned to see Silverfire, who was sorting out damp and dry moss from a corner. Firegaze felt appalled at her father's behavior. How could he say that?
"And how do you know that?" Twyla countered, her shoulder fur bristling.
Silverfire brought his left forepaw up to his muzzle. "Do you really think that bunch of primitive cats will be able to defeat us that easily?"
"Good point." Twyla brought herself to say. Firegaze couldn't help but agree with Silverfire on that; those cats didn't exactly have the kind of training they have. "But I'm not exactly reassured with the word of a feather-brain. Violet?"
"We are going, and that is final." Violet's tone now sounded very irritable. "The cats that are going are Tristan, Jayson, Stargaze, Twyla, Stone, Silverfire and Spiritmask. And if you have an apprentice, they are going too."
Firegaze smiled to herself. She was going to the Gathering.