Hello everyone! My name is Spottedmoon (also known as Twilightworshipper14) and I am cowriting this story with Brightstar (Brightest Night125) so the first chapter/prologue was written by Brightstar and this chapter was written by me. I will be posting a chapter every Monday and Brightstar will be posting a new chapter every Friday. Now, on with the story!
Chapter Two
Spottedmoon rolled over in her nest, paws twitching while she dreamed about chasing a squirrel through the forest. Her pelt bristled while she tossed and turned until another cat exploded into her, yowling and raking his claws down her pelt. Spottedmoon hissed angrily, bucking the other cat off and whirling around only to pull short, staring with shock at the faceless cat.
"Who are you?"She meowed, cocking her head curiously to the side. The cat didn't say anything. Spottedmoon opened her jaws, drawing in the scent, tasting a little bit of...Windclan? "What do you want, warrior of Windclan?"Spottedmoon meowed again and the cat opened its mouth.
"Do not steal prey!" It hissed before yowling and leaping forward. Spottedmoon jerked awake moments before the cat landed, panting and confused.
What did it mean?
The lingering chill of the dream crept into her bones, fear buzzing in her veins. It wasn't often that Spottedmoon had dreams from Starclan but when she did, they were normally with a cat that wasn't quite so…creepy.
The quiet bustle of the camp drifted into the warrior's den and Spottedmoon sighed, recognizing it was time to get up. Shaking it off, Spottedmoon crawled out of her nest and stretched before trotting out of the warrior's den, blinking as the bright light hit her eyes. Yawning, Spottedmoon paused to rasp her tongue over her paw and swipe it over her eyes a few times.
"Spottedmoon!" Brightstar yowled, trotting over to Spottedmoon. The deputy to Thunderclan straightened and nodded respectfully at her leader and friend.
"Yes, Brightstar?" Spottedmoon meowed.
"Can you take a hunting patrol out today? The fresh-kill pile is running low." Brightstar asked, her small white fangs flashing as she spoke.
"Of course, Brightstar. Would you like me to pick who comes?" Spottedmoon meowed and Brightstar nodded.
"Happy hunting!" Brightstar called before trotting off to the medicine cat's den. Spottedmoon turned, scanning the clearing.
"Dewcreek! Robintail! Redpaw! Leopardfrost! Are the four of you prepared to go on a hunting patrol?" Spottedmoon trotting over to the four cats.
"Of course!" Dewcreek meowed, puffing out his chest. Shooting amused looks at the younger warrior, Leopardfrost and Robintail nodded too. Redpaw bounced happily, excited about being on a warrior's hunting patrol.
The young apprentice has already been on a few patrols but her excitement is boundless and Spottedmoon shoots a look at Dewcreek, rolling her eyes when she saw him grooming instead of ready to leave.
Why couldn't she have gotten an apprentice like Redpaw? A quick learner, boundless excitement and curiosity…but no. Instead, she was stuck with a loud, annoying, reckless tom that unfortunately, is now a part of the Clans as a warrior. Starclan help them all…
"Are you ready, Dewcreek?" Spottedmoon meowed a bit sharply, reminded of all the grievances her former apprentice had put her through.
"Huh? Oh, sure." He grinned and Spottedmoon rolled her eyes, trotting for the clan entrance. Would he ever grow up?
The five of them headed out with the four warriors watching as Redpaw hunted for prey. The she-cat was fairly skilled and had caught a mouse and two moles when Dewcreek spotted a rabbit sitting by a tree, nibbling on a seed. The light blue-gray tom with lighter gray streaks on his back dropped into a crouch, his yellow eyes focused on the rabbit.
He crept forward while the other four cats watched and then leaped forward with a yowl, startling the rabbit into running. Spottedmoon rolled her silver eyes, exasperated at her apprentice.
"I swear, I taught him better than that." Spottedmoon meowed to Robintail, Redpaw, and Leopardfrost while Dewcreek raced after the rabbit.
"Um, isn't that the way to Windclan?" Redpaw asked hesitantly, flicking her tail in the direction of Dewcreek. Spottedmoon's eyes widened as her dream abruptly flashed through her mind and the ghostly whisper resounded again.
"Do not steal prey!"
Oh no! Spottedmoon broke into a run after her former apprentice, hoping she'd get to him before he did something stupid. Digging her paws into the ground, Spottedmoon shot forward, racing towards the tail of her apprentice that was quickly heading out of her sight.
Leopardfrost, Robintail, and Redpaw raced after Spottedmoon, concern in their eyes as they struggled to keep up with the fast deputy.
The four cats broke through the forest in time to see Dewcreek race over the Windclan border and kill the rabbit on their territory.
"Oh, no," Redpaw muttered, her gray eyes wide. Robintail glanced at Spottedmoon and flinched at the icy look in her eyes.
"Dewcreek!" Spottedmoon yowled angrily, stalking up to the borderline but staying just behind it as the blue-gray tom looked up, startled. "Look at where you are!" Spottedmoon hissed, pinning her ears to her head.
Dewcreek looked around and stiffened but before he could say or do anything, the scent of Windclan drifted towards them, four of them racing down the hill towards them. Dewcreek looked shaken, his mouth smeared with the blood of the Windclan prey and his claws fresh with the blood as well.
"Thunderclan cats!" Leopardfrost stiffened when she heard the Windclan cats and saw them racing towards them. "Prey stealers!" One of the cats hissed, glaring angrily with blue eyes. He was a gray tabby tom.
"Birdflight is correct." A large ginger tom with a white mark on his chest meowed. Spottedmoon stiffened. That is a fellow deputy, Flameheart."I see you Thunderclan cats have seen fit to hunt on our territory…" He paused a beat. "Again." His mew was sharp and something inside of Spottedmoon flinched.
"I apologize. My former apprentice has broken our code and he will be punished for it. He did not mean to hunt on your territory but it will not slide by." Spottedmoon meowed, doing her best to hold her head high, despite the cold, antagonistic looks the Windclan cats were shooting them.
"What?" Dewcreek protested, prey-blood around his mouth. "This rabbit was on our territory first before it was on Windclan territory and I caught it! Doesn't that make this our prey?" He meowed angrily, his pelt lifted and bristling.
"That isn't how this works!" Spottedmoon hissed between gritted teeth.
"You may have caught that prey but it was on our territory that you caught it, which makes it ours!" Birdflight hissed, bristling angrily. Dewcreek straightened, marching over to the other tom and hissing right in his face.
How could he be so arrogant?
"I caught it!"
With a yowl of anger, Birdflight launched himself at Dewcreek, who met the fight eagerly. They hissed and yowled, raking their claws down each other's flanks. They were a spitting ball of fur and Spottedmoon started forward, prepared to fight in the defense of her Clanmate.
Flameheart made a move to stop her from moving forward but she shot him a dark, commanding look that made him pause for the briefest of moments. That was all she needed.
She leaped forward, fastening her fangs in Dewcreek's scruff, bracing her paws against the ground to pull him back but he yowled with pain and raked his claws down her muzzle and lunged at Birdflight again. Releasing her former apprentice, Spottedmoon hissed angrily, blood dripping from her muzzle.
Shaking the blood off her muzzle, she circled the two fighting toms, prepared to jump in and pull them apart when she had an opening.
Birdflight dropped low and lunged forward, grasping Dewcreek's front paw in his teeth and biting down, pulling a yowl of pain out of the other tom. Dewcreek dropped before shooting forward, shredding Birdflight's ear with his teeth, blood dripping from a cut over his eye, making it hard for him to see.
Two of the Windclan cats started forward, deep growls in their throats and a fighting gleam in their eyes. Panic swished through Spottedmoon. She has to do something before this turns into an all-out border fight!
"Enough!" Spottedmoon yowled, the deep roar coming from the lithe she-cat startling the two toms out of their blood-lust. "Dewcreek, get over here!" She ordered angrily, puffing up her pelt and lashing her tail angrily. How dare he disobey her? "You are suspended from your warrior duties until further notice and all you will do is attend to the elders and our medicine cat."
"What!" Dewcreek yowled angrily, ignoring the way her silver eyes went ice cold.
"You want to argue? We are adding nursery den duty to that list too. You have anything else to say?" Spottedmoon growled but the tom fell silent, glaring mutinously at the ground. "Apologize to Windclan," Spottedmoon ordered and the tom's head shot up as he stared at her. "NOW!" Spottedmoon spat, her mew unforgiving and ice cold enough that he flinched and reluctantly turned to do as she said.
"I…apologize for…trespassing and…stealing your prey." Dewcreek spat, looking the furthest thing from apologetic.
Birdflight bristled again, blood streaming down from his ear. He started forward but Flameheart blocked him, shooting him a stern look before turning back to Spottedmoon as Dewcreek crossed the border back into Thunderclan territory.
"Thank you for handling this, Spottedmoon." Flameheart meowed, shooting a furious look at Birdflight, who shrunk back. "Rest assured, Scorchstar will handle Birdflight in an equally fair manner." Dipping his head at the group, Flameheart picked up the rabbit and whirled around, leading the charge back to his camp.
After a moment, Spottedmoon hurried back over to Thunderclan territory and paused in front of her former apprentice with a look in her eyes that made him shrink back and drop his head down low to stare at the ground in shame as he shuffled his paws, feeling like an apprentice again.
"You disappoint me, Dewcreek." Spottedmoon finally meowed and turned, leading them all back to camp. Redpaw crept after the two warriors and deputy, shooting a hesitant and apologetic look back at her previous den-mate before she leaped off after the senior warriors.
Dewcreek stared after them, feeling shame sweep through him. The headstrong tom has yet to learn how to keep control of his anger and how he has let his former mentor down.
His head and tail dragging low with shame, he silently followed them home.