Hello everyone and welcome back. :) Here is the next chapter, I hope you all like it.
Wyldclaw- I guess you'll just have to wait and see!
StarclanIsWithUs- I'm hopeing that I can fit Ravenpaw into the story somehow. And not just like Fireheart or someone explaining why he isn't in the Clan, but actually having him in the story, talking and doing stuff.
Jayfeather rules- He isn't my favorite character, but he isn't my least favorite. As I reread the books, I think that he has really gone down in my favorites list though.
Fawnpaw woke up later in the morning. She was surprised that Tigerclaw had let her sleep in so long. Sure, she was at the Gathering last night, but she had expected to be right back into training in the morning again.
Fawnpaw tried to carefully stand up so that she didn't wake Cloudkit who seemed to be sleeping for once, but right as she started to move Cloudkit's eyes shot open. "You're finally awake!" The kit exclaimed.
Fawnpaw licked his ear. "Come on, let's go outside. Maybe Fireheart will play with you this morning."
"Okay!" Cloudkit jumped up and ran outside, his fur messy and sticking up in all different directions. Fawnpaw purred and followed him out, but when she stopped outside saw Tigerclaw disappearing angrily into the warriors den and Fireheart and Graystripe standing in the middle of the snowy camp.
Graystipe let out a long breath. "Fireheart, you are either the bravest cat in all the Clans, or raving mad! For Starclan's sake, don't wind Tigerclaw up anymore."
"I didn't ask for him to hate me." Firepaw pointed out angrily. He turned to leave but saw Fawnpaw and Cloudkit.
"Hi Fireheart!" Cloudkit ran forward, paws kicking up the snow as he ran.
Fireheart leaned down to touch noses with the white kit. "Hello, Cloudkit." He seemed to relax at the sight of him.
"Will you play with me?" Cloudkit looked from Fireheart to Graystripe. "You too?" He asked.
"We would, but we have been up all night doing warrior things." Fireheart said. "We need to sleep and then go on patrol. Later I'll play with you, I promise."
"Okay then." Cloudkit's tail dropped like a stone.
"But for now, why don't you go see if the other kits are awake yet?" Graystripe suggested. "They might want to play."
"Good idea!" Cloudkit purred and ran back to the nursery.
"Come on, Grsystipe." Fireheart padded for the warriors den. "We should sleep while we can." Graystripe followed him in.
Right after Fawnpaw was left alone in the snowy clearing, Tigerclaw pushed his way out of the warriors den again. "Time to train." He told her.
"What are we doing today?" Fawnpaw asked, walking at his side as they left the camp.
"Patroling." Tigerclaw said simply. "If we hurry we can catch up with one."
"Okay." Fawnpaw nodded quickly. She wasn't on patrol often, so it'll be different then practicing hunting or fighting.
Tigerclaw lead her from camp and to the Riverclan border. They walked in silence, listening to the birds sing and the river run by. Feeling the snow under their paws and having to walk a little closer than normal because the air is cold. Fawnpaw didn't mind though.
Soon, Fawnpaw saw the four cats on patrol. Dustpelt, Willowpelt, and Longtail and Swiftpaw.
As they padded closer, Tigerclaw said, "We are joining the patrol for the rest of the way."
Longtail, who was leading the patrol, nodded and fell back so that Tigerclaw took over.
As they renewed the borders, Tigerclaw called Fawnpaw over to him. "Now is a good time to test your skills." He told her. "Taste the air, what do you smell?"
Fawnpaw drew in a long dreath. "Riverclan has gone by not long ago." Their fishy scent was sharp and new. She turned away from it. "Fox."
"Is it fresh?" Tigerclaw prompted.
Fawnpaw tasted the air again. "No, probably a day or two old." She meowed, glad that it wouldn't be close by.
"Anything else?" Tigerclaw asked.
"Squirrel." Fawnpaw said, then asked, "Can I try catching it?"
"If you can find it. We need all the prey we can get." Tigerclaw flicked his tail. "Just hurry back."
Fawnpaw glanced around and followed the scent into the trees, ignoring Tigerclaw staring at her as she left.
She padded farther in, but froze as she saw the squirrel. It was faceing away from her, digging up something in the ground.
Fawnpaw got down low, remembering what Tigerclaw had said about hunting squirrels. But, the snow was loud, and right before she could jump the snow under her crunched.
The squirrel's head shot up and it sprinted for the nearest tree. Fawnpaw jumped after it, climbing the tree and catching it by the tail. She struggled, but managed to bring it closer and kill it.
She dropped to the ground, and spat out the squirrel. She licked her lips, trying to get rid of the squirrel's short fur that had been ripped out on accident. She picked the squirrel back up and ran back over to the patrol.
"You got it." Longtail mewed in surprise.
"It wasn't easy." Fawnpaw admitted, setting it down so she could speak.
Swiftpaw sniffed at it. "Not bad." He said, but lifted his chin proudly. "But I could do better."
Fawnpaw picked up the prey and they continued along the border, renewing the scent markers and pausing once to have a short conversation with two Riverclaw cats who had broken the thin layer of ice to fish.
On the way back to camp, the weight of the squirrel was starting to feel heavy. Tigerclaw must have saw it, because he padded closer to her and said, "I can carry that if you want."
Fawnpaw nodded and passed the prey to him, purring her thanks. On the way down the ravine, Fawnpaw saw Fireheart running past them, Graystripe and Brackenpaw close behind. Sandstorm was following the group.
"With any luck, the sun will bring some prey out." Graystripe was saying.
"Not if they hesr you stomping along!" Sandstorm teased, passing Graystripe.
"He doesn't stomp!" Brackenpaw protested loudly but Graystripe let out a good-natured growl.
Tigerclaw's eyes narrowed as he watched Fireheart pass.
"Can I go join them?" Fawnpaw asked her mentor.
Tigerclaw thought for a moment, then flicked his tail, meaning that she could.
"Thank you!" Fawnpaw purred and bounded off to catch up with her brother and his friends. "Fireheart!" She called and he slowed to a stop. "Can I hunt with all of you?" She askee hopefully.
"Of course." Fireheart nodded and continued up the slope.
Sandstorm was already at the top, and running ahead. Graystripe was showing Brackenpaw where to search for mice among the tree roots.
"I caught a squirrel today." Fawnpaw told Fireheart, feeling proud.
"Was that the squirrel that Tigerclaw was carying?" The ginger tom asked. Fawnpaw nodded and Fireheart purred, "Your getting better."
Fawnpaw nodded and tasted the air. "I smell rabbit." She told him.
Fireheart lifted his head and looked around. He nodded in the direction of the rabbit. It was sniffing at something under a clump of bracken where a few green spikes of grass showed through the snow.
"Go around to the back and scare it towards me." Fireheart told her.
Fawnpaw nodded and padded in a wide circle to the other side of the rabbit, setting her paws down carefully and making sure not to scare it yet. She shifted to look around the bracken.
Her brother was crouched and ready to pounce. Fawnpaw ran at the rabbit. It looked at her with terrified eyes before turning and hopping in the direction of Fireheart. But it was so scared that it ran right into Fireheart and Fireheart took it's life easily.
"Have you been working on partner hunting yet?" Fireheart asked her.
"No." Fawnpaw answered. "Not yet."
"You should go catch up with Sandstorm then," Fireheart told her. "She might like someone to hunt with."
Fawnpaw agreed and as her brother carried the rabbit to camp, Fawnpaw followed Sandstorm's scent until she found her. She was just in time to see Sandstorm jump into the air, hook her claws into a bird, and fall back to the ground, killing it easily.
"Nice catch." Fawnpaw said, purring in amusement as Sandstorm jumped at her voice.
"Oh, it's just you." Sandstorm sighed in relief.
"Yes, it's just me." Fawnpaw padded over. "Fireheart thought that you could use someone to hunt with while he brought the rabbit we caught to camp."
Sandstorm quickly burried her prey. "Well come on then," She started padding away and Fawnpaw followed.
"So how is your training going?" Sandstorm asked.
"It's okay," Fawnpaw answered. "Tigerclaw keeps me busy, but I know that I'm getting better." She hesitated before adding, "But there is one thing that has been bothering me."
"What is it?" Sandstorm asked, looking over at her.
Fawnpaw stared at the ground as they walked. Sandstorm probably didn't know either, but she could still ask. Right?
She took a breath before saying, "Fireheart and Tigerclaw don't get along well. Fireheart's asking questions about my training a lot, and Tigerclaw seems to keep me away from him while training. They are always arguing and glaring at each other. Do you know why?"
"I see them do this too." Sandstorm told her. "I'm not sure why, but Tigerclaw has never liked Fireheart. Have you asked them?"
"I tried asking Fireheart." Fawnpaw told her. "But he won't tell me. Why won't he tell me?" She looked to the side at Sandstorm. She needed an answer. "It's like he has all these secrets, but I can't know about any of them."
"I wouldn't be worried." Sandstorm said. "They have done this since the first day Firestar joined the Clan. I-" She stopped talking when she saw a bird trying to pick up a few twigs for it's nest. She nodded to Fawnpaw, telling her to catch it.
Fawnpaw got down low and slowly moved forward, setting her paws down as light as snow. Finally, she jumped. She landed with the bird between her paws and quickly bit it. She sat up and moved so Sandstorm could see.
"A little small." Sandstorm looked down at it. "But it's prey."
Fawnpaw burried it and they moved on.
Fawnpaw woke Bluestar calling a Clan meeting. She knew what this meeting was for, Frostfur's two kits, Thornkit and Brightkit, had been talking about it for the past moon.
As she followed Brindleface and her kits, she felt Cloudkit angrily padding at her side. "Why can't I be an apprentice? I'm nearly as big as that ginger kit of Frostfur's!"
"Shh!" Brindleface whispered to Cloudkit as Fawnpaw said, "You're not six moons old yet, and you need to be nice to your Clanmates!"
"But I want ro be an apprentice now!" The white kit yelled.
Fawnpaw narrowed her eyes, about to say something. But Brindleface had already started speaking to Cloudkit, explaining how a Clan works again. She was really thankful that Brindleface was here, she was really helping where Fawnpaw was sure that she couldn't.
Fawnpaw turned to watch Bluestar. "We are gathered here to give two Clan kits their apprentice names." Bluestar looked down at where Frostfur was sitting proudly, and the two kits sat one on each side of her. The bigger kit, a ginger like his brother Brackepaw, sprang impatiently to his paws.
"Yes, come forward, both of you." Bluestar invited warmly.
The ginger kit rushed forward and sropped at the foot of the Highrock. His sister followed more slowly. She had white fur like her mother, except for ginfer patches on her back, and a gingr tail.
"Mousefur," Bluestar went on. "You have told me that you are ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Thornpaw."
Mousefur stepped forward and went to tand beside the ginger kit, who ran forward to meet her. Fawnpaw never really talked with Mousefur that much so she didn't knaow her well.
"Mousefur," meowed Bluestar. "You have shown yourself a brave and intelligent warrioe. See that you pass on your courage and wisdom to your new apprentice."
Mousefur, looking just as proud as the new apprentice, touched noses with Thornpaw and then they withdrew to the edge of the clearing, Thornpaw already mewing excitedly.
Bluestar turned to continue the ceremony. "Whitestorm," Bluestar announced. "You are free to take a new apprentice now that Sandstorm has become a warrior. You will be mentor to Brightpaw."
Whitestorm stood up and padded over to Brightpaw. "Whitestorm," Bluestar continued, "you are a warrior od great skill snd experience. I know that you will pass on all you know to this young apprentice.
"Certainly." Whitestorm purred. "Welcome, Brightpaw." He bent down to touch nosed eith his new apprentice, and escorted her back to the gathered cats.
Cats began moving around, congratulating the apprentices and calling them by their new names.
I feel like this chapter is really long and boring, but I can promis that the next one will be better. I really liked writing Cloudkit, hopefully I'll be able to put him in a lot more before he turns into an apprentice. Please review!