So, I've thought and thought about it and I am pretty sure I have Echopaw's name picked out. But…I'm still not positively sure about it. Lol here's the comments:
VitaniXKopa: yeah, I love the name Echosong but, unfortunately, the Hunter girls used it in SkyClan's Destiny. :\ aw well…lol
Wolfwing: Thanks! I actually thought it needed MORE details. Ha ha!
Thundering clouds covered the sky as Echopaw emerged from the den. A misty drizzle shrouded the camp in a dreary fog. She stepped out of the covering above her and her long fur absorbed the rain in seconds. Her creamy coat turned dark and heavy and she padded sullenly to the meager fresh kill pile. The pickings were few: a single mouse and two squirrels. Her belly rumbled and she chose one of the drenched squirrels, carrying it a little ways away to eat.
She settled down under a tree, hoping the branches would offer some type of protection against the storm. She bit into the tough prey and wrinkled her nose. It was stale and cold, but she finished it anyway. After her meal, she looked around the camp to see who was out.
Rowanpaw, his dark fur slick with water, was sitting with Goldenmist and Mouseclaw under the shelter of the Elders' den. Petalstream was talking intently with Hawkstar and Windfur while Hollyfrost padded out of the Warriors' den. Echopaw flicked her ears to get the water from off of them and shivered from the cold rain.
The ferns in front of the Medicine Cat den shuddered, and Featherpool stepped out. She shook her gray pelt, splattering droplets of water everywhere before it was soaked through again. She spotted Echopaw and veered towards her. Echopaw sat up as she approached.
"Great day, isn't it?" Echopaw meowed with false enthusiasm.
Featherpool hissed. "If this keeps up, then the whole Clan will be sick with runny noses and coughs."
Echopaw shrugged. "At least it isn't leaf bare."
Featherpool nodded, casting an irritated glance at the sky. "No cat can do anything with this weather."
"I agree," Whitepelt muttered, walking past them towards the fresh kill pile. "Patrols should be sent out around now."
"I think I saw Fishleap, Jaypath, Dustclaw and Tinypaw head out earlier. Maybe they were going hunting," Featherpool murmured.
"If they can even catch anything. All the prey will be hiding from this rain," Echopaw grumbled, blinking away the drops from her eyes. The rain started to fall harder, pounding the rooftops of the dens and making the ground muddy. Whitepelt padded away and Featherpool headed towards Hawkstar, leaving Echopaw alone. But only for a moment.
"Great StarClan, I hate the rain!" Rowanpaw growled, sliding across the slippery mud. "It makes me feel like an Elder with my cold bones!"
Echopaw purred looked at him mischievously. He caught her glance and tilted his head. "What?"
She scooped up a paw full of mud and tossed it at him. It hit him on the side, causing streaks of brown to run down his fur. Echopaw let out a mrrow of laughter as he turned his shocked blue gaze on her.
"Bet you hate it even more now!" she teased playfully, crouching down In a hunter's crouch, her tail swishing across the ground.
"Why you little…" he cursed. He scooped up some mud and flung it at her but she dodged out of the way.
"Missed me!" she taunted.
Rowanpaw ran at her, his huge forepaws struggling to keep balance across the slick earth. Echopaw was better at maneuvering, her slender shape allowing her to jump easily around him. She hurled herself at him and crashed into him, knocking him onto his side.
"Hey!" he yowled, making a huge splatter.
She leapt on him and held him down. "Give up?"
He easily threw her off. "Never!"
"Hey, you two!" Adderflight's shout made them halt in their playing. Echopaw looked up to see the tortoiseshell tom stalking to where they were. "Just what in StarClan are you doing?" he demanded.
Rowanpaw stood up, his fur rumpled and matted with mud. "We were just playing, Adderflight."
"What you should be doing is hunting for your Clan!" he spat.
"Yeah, well I don't see you out in the forest gathering prey!" Echopaw retorted, not caring that she was being disrespectful. "In fact, I think you could use some playtime to ease up that bossiness in you."
Adderflight glared at her through slanted blue eyes. The threat in them was clear and made her shiver, but she didn't back down. "And I think that you need to learn some respect."
Echopaw snorted. "I'll give you respect when you earn it."
"Echopaw!" Rowanpaw gasped, glancing worriedly towards Adderflight. He knew just how mean the warrior could be.
Adderflight let out a low hiss. "Let me tell you something, apprentice. I-"
"What's going on here?" Hawkstar asked, coming up to them. His gaze flickered between the two bristling cats in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
Echopaw stared hard into those dangerous eyes. "I don't know, is there?"
Adderflight held her gaze for a moment, and then stepped back. "No, of course not. I was just asking Echopaw if she had been out hunting yet today."
Hawkstar looked at him suspiciously, turning to his daughter. "Is this true? I do not want my cats to start fighting with each other."
Echopaw bit her tongue to keep silent. She wasn't going to cause trouble by telling on Adderflight. It would probably just make her look like a whinny apprentice anyway. "Everything's….fine, Hawkstar."
The ThunderClan leader hesitated, and then nodded. "Alright, if you say so. Echopaw, Rowanpaw, Forestfur and Windfur are about to leave for border patrol. You should go and meet them. I think a break from camp would do you both some good." As he said this, he raked his gaze over Rowanpaw's muddy pelt. Echopaw nodded quickly and walked away with Rowanpaw behind.
As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Rowanpaw burst out, "I thought he was going to claw your fur off! You have to be more careful with what you say, Echopaw."
She scoffed, shrugging away his obvious concern. "Please, he wouldn't do that. Hawkstar would claw off his fur if he did. Anyway, I could take him."
Rowanpaw stopped and looked at her. "Echopaw…" Echopaw halted and turned to him. "What?"
He gave a look so intense she had to look away, afraid of what she might find there. "Just be careful please," he murmured.
Echopaw nodded awkwardly. "Come on, they'll be wondering where we are."
She padded away, pretending she didn't see the slight disappointment in Rowanpaw's eyes. I'm going to be leader one day. How can I have the same feelings for him as he has for me if I have a Clan too? She shook her head to get rid of the unwanted thoughts. That was long way away. She just had to focus on being a great warrior for now.
Thunder boomed across the sky and Echopaw flinched at the loudness of it. When she reached Windfur and Forestfur, she noticed that her mentor did not look too happy to be out in the rain either. However, Windfur looked as much at ease as if it were a bright and sunny day.
"I feel like a fish," Forestfur spat to no one in particular as the two apprentices walked up.
Rowanpaw came up slowly, dragging his paws and looking considerably less excited than he had a minute ago. Echopaw chose to ignore the guilt she felt, hoping it would go away during the patrol. She bounced forward on her toes, energy surging through her cold limbs. "Burr, I'm freezing! Can we go now?"
"I don't see what the big deal is," Windfur sniffed. "It's just a little rain."
The sky lit up as a bolt of lightning brightened it with a crack. Thunder shook the ground shortly after, making the cats' ears go back in alarm. After a moment of silence, the rain continued its downpour. Forestfur glared at the silver she-cat. "Just a little rain? Are you sure you're not RiverClan?"
Windfur shook her head and motioned for all three to follow her as they exited the camp. Forestfur muttered something about slimy fish, but no one paid much attention.
"Let's just hurry," Rowanpaw growled, ducking underneath a low branch. "I don't want to be out here anymore than I have too."
Echopaw padded onward through the forest, white ears pricked for any sign of movement. They walked in silence, the weather not the best to strike up a conversation in. They headed for the ShadowClan border first. Echopaw had to continually stop to shake the mud out from underneath her claws. After about the fourth time of doing this, Forestfur scowled and snapped, "It's just going to keep getting under them. Just wait until we get back to do it, would you?"
Echopaw rolled her eyes but said nothing. When they arrived at the border, Windfur raised her tail and they slowed to a halt. "Rowanpaw, tell me if you smell anything unusual."
The ginger tom opened his mouth and took a deep breath. His eyes narrowed in concentration. Echopaw sniffed the air and all she could smell was rain. After a moment, Rowanpaw shook his head. "ShadowClan scent is there but it's very faint and stale. They haven't remarked the borders recently."
Echopaw looked at him in surprise. "Wow, you must have a good nose if you could smell anything with this storm!" she meowed, impressed.
Rowanpaw ducked his head in embarrassment. "It's nothing, really."
Windfur snorted. "Don't be so modest, Rowanpaw."
"I think we should head back. I can barely see through this downpour!" Forestfur growled with her amber eyes narrowed against the water.
Windfur nodded in agreement and after remarking the border, the patrol turned to go back to the camp. Echopaw was shivering uncontrollably by now. She felt Rowanpaw press against her, trying to share what little warmth he had with the small she-cat. She glanced at him gratefully, feeling an unexpected tenderness all of a sudden. It was so strong that it almost took her breath away. What's going on with me? She scolded herself.
As they neared the ThunderClan camp, screeches reached Echopaw's ears through the torrential downpour. Echopaw gasped in alarm as the sounds of battle got louder as they grew closer. Echopaw slipped away from Rowanpaw and started running towards the brambles that guarded the clearing.
She heard the other three cats flowing hard on her paws and their paw steps thundered across the muddy ground. Echopaw slipped though the brambles and what she saw made her freeze where she was.
The lithe forms of the ThunderClan cats were fighting ferociously against the shadows of the RiverClan cats. Sunwhisper was grappling with a huge gray tom Echopaw hadn't seen before while Pinepaw and Tanglepaw were fighting side-by-side against the tortoiseshell pelt that Echopaw recognized as Willowfeather. She squinted through the rain to where two large shapes were circling each other. She could make out her father's broad shoulders and his dark fur. In contrast, the other cat was white with darker splotches. It could only mean one thing: Hawkstar was fighting Crowstar.
Before she could even think about it anymore, a scrawny cat barreled into her, knocking her off her paws. The golden face of Sunleaf sneered down at her as Echopaw struggled to get out of the RiverClan cat's grip.
"You caused my loyalty to be questioned, you stupid cat!" the she-cat yowled, pummeling her with long claws. Echopaw screeched in pain and kicked Sunleaf off of her. The she-cat went flying and while she lay, dazed, Echopaw raked her claws down the golden fur and across the white ears.
"Then you should have left when you had the chance!" Echopaw spat, lashing out.
Sunleaf growled and lunged at her, but she hopped out of the way just in time. Quick as the lighting flashing above, Echopaw lashed out a paw and hooked it around the warrior's legs as she went by. Sunleaf went tumbling into the mud and Echopaw ferociously bite her tail.
Sunleaf yowled in pain, kicked Echopaw off, and fled from the scene. Echopaw was breathing heavy, but exhilaration coursed its way through her. This was her first battle, and she was going to make sure ThunderClan one.
She crouched and then threw herself back into the mass of fighting cats.
DUN DUN DUN! Read and review please!