A/N: Wow, I've been on FFN for…what, four days? And I already published a second story. Good job Volaris. Anyway, here's chapter one of Everlasting Leafbare, I hope you enjoy it.
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The entire camp shakes as the storm lets out a strangely loud clap of thunder, as if it was performing the opening act. Palepaw opens her pale blue eyes just in time to see the den illuminate with a flash of bright light. Seconds later, she recognizes the familiar sound of rain hitting the solid dirt ground.
Groaning, the light-colored apprentice rises out of her nest and stretches briefly. A single drop of water trickles through the thick reed roof of the den and lands right on the top of Palepaw's head. She wipes the water off with her dark brown paw and pads out of the structure. She narrows her eyes against the torrential downpour as she trots over to the large crowd of cats, all closely gathered under the semi-sufficient shelter of a large willow tree. The confident voice of the deputy is temporarily drowned out by a clap of thunder, followed by another bolt of lightning.
The cream tabby tom has his ears pinned against his dark brown head, and his short fur is drenched to the skin. He lashes his dark colored tail at the fact that he has to repeat himself.
"As I was saying, Snowstep will be leading the dawn patrol along the RowanClan border," Eveningfall says as his pale eyes sweep the assembled crowd of cats. His gaze lands on Palepaw. "Please take Mossystone and Palepaw."
All the way on the other side of the tree, Snowstep dips his head before weaving his way through the throng of wet cats until he reaches where Mossystone is. The calico she-cat beckons to Palepaw with a wave of her multicolored tail. Palepaw pads away from her Clan and to the camp entrance, where Snowstep and Mossystone are waiting patiently.
"Good morning," she greets her mentor before dipping her head to Snowstep.
"Let's get going, shall we?" the white tom suggests, leading the way out of camp.
The marsh that makes up their territory makes it hard to traverse in the first place, and the rain certainly doesn't help. The previously-small pools of water are already swelling and overflowing, sending algae and dirty water spilling out. The grass that grows on the limited solid patches of ground is two mouse-lengths long in any given spot, making it hard for cats to see where they are going. The willow tree branches all hang low; the constant weight that the rain and snow puts on the small limbs has permanently disfigured them. Where there isn't water or grass, there is mud and occasionally, large rocks. The rocks are all too slippery to climb, and the mud is at least belly-deep.
A few moments of careful navigation later, the cats arrive at the top of the border. Unlike WillowClan's marsh, RowanClan's territory is relatively easy to navigate, even in storms like this as their territory is relatively flat, with just a few trees and clumps of underbrush.
"If there were any scents here before, I'm sure the rain washed them away," Mossystone notes, poking her nose into a cluster of cattail plants.
Snowstep waves his plumy tail in agreement as he pads down the border, his previously white paws now a muddy brown color. Palepaw follows the senior warrior, sniffing at patches of plants ever so often. She smells no RowanClan though, just wet grass and mud.
"Found something!" Snowstep calls from a few fox-lengths away. Palepaw finishes her thorough investigation of a small willow sapling before she trots over to the white tom; Mossystone a few mouse-lengths behind her.
"A tuft of fur," Mossystone notes as she pads up to Snowstep. "Ginger. A bit too far on our side for my liking."
"I concur," Snowstep says, giving the tuft one more sniff before he pads off. "We'll tell Acornstar when we get back."
Palepaw simply nods and follows the pair farther down the border. The group pads on in silence, one of the cats stops and sniffs at a few plants but to no avail. They are nearing the end of the border, and Palepaw is rather looking forward to the dryness of her nest when they are to return to camp. She shakes out her light-colored pelt, only to have it be completely soaked again within seconds.
A faint rustling catches the apprentice's attention. Turning to her left, she drops into a crouch and with a flick of her tail, she asks her Clanmates to do the same. Complete silence falls over the area, the steady beat of the rain hitting the ground the only sound. Palepaw creeps forward a few steps, tasting the air and catching the faint scent of mouse. She spots the thin creature; it's snacking on a half-eaten nut at the base of a small willow sapling. She circles around to the other side of the tree, intending on sneaking up on the poor thing. She stalks forward a few pawsteps and prepares to pounce. Her tail, straight out behind her, shoots up as she leaps and pins the mouse down. She quickly bites its neck and ends its short life. She picks up the prey in her mouth and glances at her mentor for approval.
"Very good," Mossystone purrs as she looks at the creature with longing.
"Yes," Snowstep says, tearing his blue gaze away from the food. "Let's head back to camp now, there's no sign of RowanClan down here."
Palepaw nods her agreement, locking her jaw to make sure that she doesn't drop the mouse in a puddle on her way back. No matter how little or how skinny, prey is prey, and prey feeds cats.
The three makes their way back to camp the same way that they had come down; slowly and carefully. Snowstep had fallen into a pool of swamp water on the way back, and his normally bright white pelt is now covered in algae and mud.
Palepaw shakes out her fur one more time before she enters camp. No cats are outside apart from Acornstar, who is sitting under the protection of the willow tree. Palepaw pads over to her leader and drops the mouse at her paws.
"Did you catch that?" the light brown tabby asks her.
"Yes," Palepaw says quietly. "Who would you like me to bring it to?"
"Bring it to Deerspots and her kits, please," she says, not removing her green gaze from the food. "Nice catch."
Palepaw simply dips her head before picking the mouse up and trotting across the clearing, to the large den that makes up the nursery. She ducks inside, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness.
"Hello Palepaw," a soft voice greets her.
"Hi, Deerspots," she purrs, padding over to the queen's nest. "I brought you this."
"Oh, thank you dear," she meows, taking the mouse from Palepaw.
The queen tears into the small rodent, her kits still curled up against her belly. Palepaw takes that as her cue to leave and ducks out of the den. She looks around the camp, her eyes landing on Mossystone. The calico she-cat is sitting outside the warriors' den, sheltered by the small willow tree that grows behind the structure. Palepaw trots over to her and sits down, looking at her mentor. She is about to speak when an outraged yowl cuts her off.
Looking around for the source of the noise, she spots Sunlily and Eveningfall across the camp. Sunlily is staring guiltily at Eveningfall, who has a look of betrayal and sadness on his narrow face.
"What's going on?" Mossystone asks, getting to her paws. Palepaw follows suit.
"You can't! They're my kits too!" the cream tom insists, lashing his dark brown-tipped tail.
"Do you want your kits to grow up like this, Eveningfall? Going days without meals, maybe even starving to death? That's what happened to Birchheart's kit, do you want it to happen to ours, too?" Sunlily asks, her pale ginger fur bristling.
"There has to be a different solution," Eveningfall pleads. "You can't leave."
"What's going on here?" Acornstar says, stalking over from her den.
"Sunlily wants to go join the Twolegs," Eveningfall says, lashing his tail angrily. "Tell her she can't!"
Acornstar glances at her deputy, a look of slight anger in her eyes. That's enough to get Eveningfall to contain himself; he straightens up and clears his throat.
"Sunlily, it is not my place to decide whether you stay or leave. But make this decision carefully; if you leave the territory you will not be welcome back into it," Acornstar says.
"I've thought about it," she says confidently. "I have been for the past moon. I'm leaving to join the Twolegs. I can't let my kits grow up like this!"
"If that is your decision, I'll have two of my warriors escort you to the border," Acornstar says calmly. "WillowClan will miss you."
Sunlily touches noses with Eveningfall briefly. "I love you."
Eveningfall says nothing in return, he only watches as Graydust and Lightpath pad over, exchange brief words with Acornstar and then head out of camp with Sunlily between them.
Acornstar walks over to her deputy, laying her light brown tail over his back comfortingly for a moment before padding back to her den, but this time ducking inside.
"Did that really just happen?" Palepaw asks, looking quizzically up at Mossystone.
"It appears as if," the calico replies with a heavy sigh, padding off.
…
A/N: This is my first time writing in present tense, so I apologize if there are a few grammatical errors. Please point them out to me if you notice them. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.
I'm really trying hard to make this book great, so updates on this one will be a lot slower than my other story as it takes longer to write these chapters. I'll try my hardest to update at least twice a week on both stories, though. :]