I am so sorry for waiting such a long time but inspiration has not been my friend lately. I have not given up on this story yet, and we have officially entered the Omen of the Stars portion of the Warrior Cats set so spoilers. Then again, maybe not because the plot and the way things go deviates a lot from what the books have in mind. So this is the sisters' first day as apprentices and here we go!
Lionblaze padded carefully through the undergrowth, his apprentice prancing ahead of him and firing off questions without a care in the world.
"At this rate she'll scare off all the prey in the forest." He grumbled lowly. Dovepaw flinched and her paws turned to lead.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled solemnly. "It's just, I've never been out of camp before and you've got to be the bravest warrior there is! I… I always wanted to be like you when I grew up, and Ivypaw's been thinking king about talking to Hollyleaf's bug I think she's kinda scared. And with good reason too, because your sister has to be one of the fiercest she-cats in the entire Clan! Like Sandstorm and Squirrelflight!"
Lionblaze stared at the little grey she-cat, shocked.
"Did you hear what I said?" He blurted out.
"What? No! That's crazy, why would I hear you when you're all the way back there?! It's just, you seemed annoyed and you were walking slower than I was so I thought you might be mad at me."
"Good excuse, kid. Who taught you to lie like that?" Dovepaw's ears flattened and she trotted closer.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone?" She pleaded. "We could get in trouble if you do and I don't want Ivypaw to get hurt because I-."
"Slow down, kit, and start from the beginning." Lionblaze ordered.
Dovepaw fidgeted uneasily.
"I don't know… I mean, I don't want Firestar to kick us out."
"No one is going to make you leave our Clan, Dovepaw, but you and Ivypaw might be able to help us figure a few things out. Start from the beginning. When did this first happen?"
"Well, the night we were born, I know most kits don't remember but Ivypaw does because Jayfeather was snarling at someone. She said they were bad cats that wanted to hurt us so we would fight for them when we got older."
"As time went on, she started seeing them more often. She said they would stare at her by the fresh-kill pile when we went outside. At first I didn't believe her, because I couldn't see them myself, but then I started hearing whispers, things other cats said, and one time I tried to pounce on a bug that was halfway to the medicine den, and I told Ivypaw."
"We tried to tell Whitewing but she was scared, had no idea what we were talking about. Birchfall knew about the dark cats Ivypaw sees, though, and he said to keep it a secret, because not everyone saw them. Ivypaw told me later that he's been where they live, and so have Ferncloud's brother and Hollyleaf's black friend. She said those three rejected the dark cats and got hurt, but Birchfall didn't see them as much as Ferncloud's brother and Hollyleaf's friend. She said he got out easier. Now that she's an apprentice, the dark cats are going to come to her tonight, to make the same offer they did to the others."
Here, Dovepaw sniffed and started shifting around on her paws.
"She said she wants to see what they do, but I don't want her to get hurt anymore. They found her once and they clawed her so bad even Jayfeather and Leafpool had trouble fixing her… that can't happen again, Lionblaze, she can't go back there anymore!" Dovepaw whimpered.
"I'll do my best to make sure she doesn't, Dovepaw, but it won't be easy." Lionblaze muttered darkly and Dovepaw gasped.
"You're like Birchfall, aren't you? Or like Ferncloud's brother. You've been there, haven't you?!" She spat.
"How did you-?"
"You talk like you know them! Like you've been there before. Ivypaw asked Birchfall and he talked like that too. You… you traitor!" She hissed lowly.
"What?! Dovepaw-!"
"I just trusted you with my sister's life and now I find you you're just like the rest of them! How could you go there so willingly? Didn't they get to hurt you too?" She implored. "They're bad cats, Lionblaze, I thought you knew that!"
"Yes, I know!" He snarled. "Of course I know because once I got out, I realized they were the exact opposite of everything we stand for. You're right, Dovepaw, I have been there-. Stay right where you are!" Lionblaze spat.
"And listen. I have been there. I got training like Birchfall and Breezepelt did. He's Hollyleaf's black friend, that's his name. But I got out, denied their training once I got what I needed, and they never bothered me again, just like they never bothered Birchfall."
"Breezepelt and Ashfur, he's Ferncloud's brother, have it harder because the dark cats are haunting them. They're in a bad place, Dovepaw, and the dark cats take advantage of vulnerable cats, cats who are lost or scared, and lead them further into the darkness. Birchfall and me and all the cats you mentioned, the ones that have seen like Ivypaw has, we're trying to get them to come toward the light."
"To StarClan?"
"Exactly. It's good that you know that. Now, I know about Ivypaw but what about you? How far can you see and hear?"
"I don't know." Dovepaw mumbled, winded from the stories she told.
"Well that's something we'll have to test out, but not now. You look tired. Why don't we head back to camp and we'll see if Ivypaw is there. You can tell her about our conversation and see how her day went. We'll pick up to where we should be tomorrow. How's that sound?"
"But I didn't do anything."
"You just told me some very important information, things that we need to defend the Clans from the dark cats. I think that deserves a visit to your sister along with some rest."
"She probably caught prey on her first try." Dovepaw mused happily.
"That's rare." Lionblaze warned.
"But she could do it! Ivypaw's going to be one of the best hunters in all four Clans!"
Lionblaze chuckled softly. Dovepaw got excited rather easily.
Ivypaw trotted beside her mentor, eyeing the trees carefully as they went on. The dark cats followed them sometimes, and she itched to know where Dovepaw was. It burned, not being able to protect her sister when she knew what was out there… but then she remembered that Dovepaw was with Lionblaze, and he knew almost as much as Hollyleaf's black friend. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. Had he gotten training and left when he figured out, like Birchfall, or did they stalk his every pawstep, like Ferncloud's brother and Hollyleaf's friend? She'd guess the golden warrior was like her father, but with more training.
"Why don't we stop here and you tell me what you can smell?" Cinderheart broke the apprentice from her thoughts and Ivypaw shook herself out, opening her mouth to get a better feel of things.
She couldn't see and hear as far as Dovepaw could, it she knew the scent of prey when she saw it. Her eyes snapped to a mouse scurrying across the forest floor and she waited for it to get closer. Whitewing had told her that mice can feel your pawsteps. There was no use in trying to chase it when it was already going for its hole. It would just squeal and run faster.
She waited for a few more heartbeats and pounced, landing right in front of the animal and trapping it between her paws, claws unsheathed.
"How do I kill it?" She asked a stunned Cinderheart. The grey tabby hurried over and ducked her head. The panicking mouse went quiet seconds later with a nip to the back of its neck.
"That was very good, Ivypaw. Where did you learn that?"
Ivypaw froze. Whitewing only told her that mice could feel her pawsteps. She got the rest from watching Birchfall when he was with the dark cats.
"I… Whitewing told me that mice can feel your pawsteps and Birchfall showed me the hunting crouch. I figured since I didn't know how to stalk yet my best chance was to wait until it got close enough to pounce on. I caught it… but that's obviously not enough." Ivypaw scowled.
"Well, you'll learn how to kill the prey as we go on, but catching it is half the battle, so good job on that part. Do you want to try again? We have the rest of the day for you to improve."
She nodded and they padded deeper into the forest. It was a terrible thought, the idea of killing something, but this way prey. Eventually, she would have to fight other cats if she wanted a chance against the dark cats.
She missed her second try, but Cinderheart caught a squirrel to make up for it. Her next few tries were successful and the pair brought back a bounty of prey, five of which she'd caught (and killed) herself.
Dovepaw had to wait the rest of the day for Ivypaw to return to camp, and Lionblaze had disappeared into Firestar's den. Dovepaw had ducked her head and stifled a wail. She'd messed up when she chose to confide in Lionblaze, and now she, her sister and her father would be cast out for good!
Ivypaw came bounding through the entrance, a mound of prey in her jaws and eyes alight with excitement. She set it down on the fresh-kill pile and turned to face her sister, whose downhearted expression faded to one of amazement.
"Did you catch all that?!" She gasped.
"Most if it is Cinderheart's, but I caught five whole pieces all by myself! And one of them is a mouse on my first try, just like I promised."
"I knew you could do it!" Dovepaw crowed excitedly. "You're going to be one of the greatest hunters in the forest, like Sandstorm!"
"If I'm half as good at anything as Sandstorm is then I can did a happy cat." Ivypaw snorted.
That got Dovepaw upset again, and Ivypaw nudged her sister.
"What happened today, Birdy? You look exhausted."
"We didn't get much training done, Vine. I… I messed up, Ivypaw. I didn't mean to but I trusted him and I shouldn't have because now he knows everything and he probably told Firestar and now we're gonna get kicked out for sure!" She squeaked out, panting.
"Hey, Dovepaw? I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that?" Ivypaw murmured softly. "Deep breaths, try to match me, okay?"
Dovepaw nodded and gulped down air, holding it in his a heartbeat before breathing out again. The sisters repeated this several times before Dovepaw was back to normal.
"Are you alright?" Lionblaze was staring at them with Jayfeather at his side. The blue-grey tabby poked around Dovepaw with his nose and Ivypaw glared at Lionblaze.
"You shouldn't have made her tell." The grey, black and white tabby growled, flicking her tail angrily.
"I don't care how long you've been in the Dark Forest, you're not getting my sister to go anywhere with you ever again." She growled lowly. "Not alone. I'll ask Firestar to switch us or something, but if this is what she ends up like after not even half a day with you then clearly you're not who everyone thinks you are." She sneered, glaring at him.
"Then again… you're only half as dark as Ferncloud's brother. He gets haunted, but I guess you don't know what that's like, do you? No, you're a bit more like Birchfall. I still don't like you. Stay away from my sister, Lionblaze." Ivypaw scoffed. The golden tabby blinked in shock and watched as the apprentice led her sister to their den.
"This is going to be harder than we thought." He muttered.
"Dovepaw has problems with her emotions and they affect her breathing. When she's too excited or too scared, she won't be able to breathe right. Any other time she's fine, but those are signs you need to watch out for." Jayfeather informed his brother. "Now, we're going to get the group together and you and Cinderheart are going to tell us everything that happened with your apprentices, because they are definitely hiding things and if what I just heard was right, Ivypaw has a connection to the Dark Forest."
"You're right. We need to gather the others first." Lionblaze growled before heading to the warriors' den.