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Tawnystar of Hiddenclan- Thanks so much for being the first reviewer and liking my story. I'm trying my best to keep this fanfic as interesting as possible. Thanks for your support!
Yay! The first chapter finished!
The location is the new forest after the Great Journey when Twolegs destroyed the old forest.
Hope you guys will enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS!
"Got you!"
A small silver-furred kit pounced on a dead mouse, sinking her tiny claws into its fur. Releasing the mouse again, she started batting the dead creature from one paw to the next squealing with delight.
I'm going to be the best hunter in FireClan, she thought while slamming her paw down hard right onto the mouse's back. She uttered a satisfied purr when she heard a loud crunch.
"Silverkit! Stop playing with the fresh-kill! Didn't I learn you any manners?"
A beautiful grey and white she-cat took Silverkit by the scruff and hauled her off the mangled mouse.
"We can't let a good piece of fresh-kill go to waste, so unfortunately for you, you'll have to eat it now," Silverkit's mother said, while placing the she-kit back on the ground again.
"But it's all dusty now," Silverkit complained, poking the mouse cautiously with one of her claws.
"You played with it, so now you have to eat it."
"But I'll get a bellyache," Silverkit wailed, showing her tiny fangs.
"No, you won't," Frostblaze said sternly.
"You have to eat something. Or do you want to starve?"
"I'll eat that mouse, Frostblaze. Give the young cat something more decent to eat."
Frostblaze turned her head and saw her mother, Brightflower, coming closer.
"Don't be ridiculous, Brightflower. Silverkit have to be taught that playing with fresh-kill is not something that a warrior does," Frostblaze said, looking at the silver she-kit with stern eyes. But Brightflower ignored her daughter and took the mouse into her jaws.
"Smells and tastes fine to me," the elder said around the fresh-kill.
"This will make a lovely meal for me."
Frostblaze shook her head as Brightflower took the mouse to a quiet spot under an overhanging tree and started eating it. Silverkit seized this opportunity and tried to sneak away from her mother.
"Not so fast,"Frostblaze said, putting her paw on Silverkit's tail.
"It's time for you to go back to the nursery."
Silverkit pulled her tail out from under Frostblaze's paw, indignation in her blue eyes.
"But . . ." she started.
"No buts. This is your punishment for playing with that freshly-caught mouse. It's your own fault for being such a mousebrain."
Silverkit tried to protest further, but Frostblaze didn't give her a chance. She took the kit by the scruff and carried Silverkit to their nest in the nursery.
"But I'm hungry," Silverkit said, while dangling from side to side like a piece of fresh-kill.
"I'll go fetch you something later, but for now you're getting a time-out."
"I hate mice," Silverkit hissed through gritted teeth.
"Please come and play with me," Silverkit begged, opening her eyes wide and drooping her ears, trying to look cuter. Frostblaze groaned and turned in her nest, her back facing Silverkit now.
"Not now, Silverkit," Frostbalze said, yawning.
"I'm tired."
"But I'm bored, and there is no-one else to play with," Silverkit protested while prodding Frostblaze softly in the back.
That was true. Silverkit didn't have any brothers or sisters. Her brother was born dead. Frostblaze had taken her to his grave once, telling her that his name would have been Snowkit because of his fluffy white pelt. Silverkit had looked at the grave with sad eyes, wondering how it would have been if she had a brother to play with her and protect her from danger. Frostblaze was also the only queen in the nursery. Rosebud had left the nursery two sunrises ago after Robinpaw and Lionpaw have become apprentices before her.
I can't wait to start my training. I'll be the best apprentice and show Robinpaw and Lionpaw what a fast learner I am.
Silverkit bounded out of the nursery, filled with excitement. The silver she-kit padded across the clearing towards the apprentices' den. She poked her head through the entrance to the den, but sighed with disappointment when she realized that the den was empty.
"They are out for a training session," a deep voice said from behind Silverkit. Silverkit nearly jumped out of her skin. The dark brown tom purred with amusement. Silverkit remembered Frostblaze telling her that he's the Clan deputy, Rockpelt.
"When will they be back?" she asked, stepping forward.
"I'm not sure . . ." Rockpelt stopped mid-sentence when Pricklefur entered the camp with Robinpaw following behind. The apprentice was carrying three mice in his jaws, looking pleased.
"Wow!" Silverkit said, bounding to the fresh-kill pile.
"You caught both of them all on your own?"
Robinpaw put down his burden to reply.
"Yes! It was great! Pricklefur taught me this great move to catch a whole bunch of them.
"Do you want me to teach you?"
Silverkit gave a small jump, unable to contain her excitement.
"Yes please!"
The apprentice lead Silverkit to a secluded place with enough space to jump, twirl and stalk. Robinpaw sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws.
"Every apprentice starts with the basics, which is the hunter's crouch."
"I've heard of that," Silverkit said, her eyes sparkling.
"It's the first the first hunting move you learn. I saw you and Lionpaw do it."
Silverkit lowered her body, her belly only a few inches off the ground. She lifted one paw and slowly and carefully placed it down on the ground again. Slowly, but surely, the silver kit made her way forward, concentrating hard. Robinpaw looked impressed.
"Nice work, Silverkit. You're quite a fast learner."
Silverkit sat up straight, puffing out her chest.
"Can you swipe your paw while in the hunter's crouch?" Robinpaw asked, lowering his body to demonstrate. Silverkit watched closely as he extended a paw and expertly swiped it at imaginary prey.
"This is how I caught those three mice. It's a very simple, but still quite effective attack. Try it."
Robinpaw sat up straight again and looked down at her expectantly. Silverkit took a deep breath.
I can't look foolish in front of him now.
She resumed her position, carefully lifting her paw, trying to imitate Robinpaw. Silverkit managed to swipe her paw successfully, but it was nor as graceful as Robinpaw's swipe. The apprentice gave her an approving nod, but Silverkit wanted to be an expert just like him.
"It wasn't perfect," she said, flexing her claws. "Can I try again?"
Robinpaw nodded.
"Sure, but don't push yourself too hard. You're not an apprentice yet. Your mentor will let you practice that move till you're sick of it."
But if I master it now, then I wouldn't have to practice that hard, she thought, but didn't voice it.
The duo were interrupted when Lionpaw came skulking into the camp with only a single black bird in his jaws. The golden apprentice looked irritated, placing his prey down with a scowl. Robinpaw padded over to him, Silverkit following a few paces behind.
"I hope your luck was as bad as mine."
Lionpaw looked at his scrawny catch with scorn.
"Actually, I caught three mice with the new move Pricklefur taught me."
Robinpaw looked embarrassed. Lionpaw turned his head, looking downcast.
"Don't worry, Lionpaw," Silverkit said.
"It's your first hunting expedition. At least you caught something."
Lionpaw snorted.
"What would you know? You're just a kit."
The golden apprentice padded to his den, leaving Silverkit gaping after him. She lowered her head.
What he said is probably true.
Robinpaw hastily apologized for his brother's rudeness before scampering after him. Silverkit slowly retreated back to the nursery, her ears drooping. When she entered the den, she noticed that Frostblaze was already in their nest, grooming herself. She paused mid-lick as Silverkit approached the nest.
"What's wrong, Silverkit?" the grey and white she-cat asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing. I just want to become an apprentice already. It's taking forever!"
"Have patience," Frostblaze purred.
"In only a moon's time, you will have your own mentor and start training."
The kit snorted and slumped into the nest next to her mother. Envy towards the apprentices seeped through her intensely.
I don't want to be a silly, weak kit anymore. How can I show my Clan I'm ready to be an apprentice?
Silverkit opened her eyes and was quite surprised to notice that she was definitely not in her nest anymore: She was in the forest. It didn't take her long to realize she was dreaming. Everything around her seemed a bit hazy; she couldn't quite make everything out. Strong FireClan scent suddenly wreathed around her, drowning out her senses
Silverkit gave a yelp when a dark brown tom emerged from the bushes next to her, startling her. She recognized the cat as Rockpelt, FireClan's deputy. He was carrying a mouse, the little brown creature hanging limply in his jaws.
"Rockpelt," she called to the tom, taking a step forward. She knew she wasn't breaking the rules by being outside the camp, since this was only a dream. But Rockpelt didn't reply, he didn't even seem to notice her.
This is weird, she thought. This isn't what usually happens in dreams.
The deputy walked right past her, their pelts barely touching. Silverkit called out to him again, but, like before, there was no response.
Am I invading his dream in a way?
Before Silverkit could follow the tom, a loud, painful shriek came from him, followed by a muttered curse. Silverkit's fur stood on end from his outburst. She carefully walked closer, noticing that Rockpelt's right paw looked odd, twisted to one side, but before she could get a closer look, everything around her started to fade away. The ground under her paws suddenly gave way.
I'm falling! she mentally screamed. Silverkit woke with a start in her nest, all the hair on her pelt standing on end. She started to calm down when she noticed that she was safely back in her nest in the nursery.
That was so scary.
Silverkit shivered when a light wind ruffled her fur. She then realized for the first time that Frostblaze had already left the nursery. A frown appeared on her face when she heard loud chattering and yowls coming from outside.
I wonder what's going on?
Silverkit stood and stretched each paw in turn, wincing when she felt how stiff and tired they are.
It feels as if I had explored the entire forest.
After hastily smoothing her fur down with a few vigorous licks, Silverkit scampered out of the nursery, heading to the source of the commotion. A large group of cats, mostly warriors, were huddled together tightly, looking at something in the middle of the circle. The tiny kit tried to squeeze her way through the crowd, but it was quite a mission to get past all the sturdy cats.
She spotted Robinpaw only a tail-length away and prodded him in the side with a paw.
"What's going on here?" she whispered, standing so close to him that their pelts touched.
"I'm not sure," he whispered back.
"But I think something happened to Rockpelt."
Silverkit's eyes widened in shock.
Rockpelt? . . . the dream . . .
Now desperate to reach the centre of the formed circle, Silverkit pushed and thrusted her way through the throng, ignoring surprised gasps when she accidentally stepped on a tail or paw. Sighing with relief, Silverkit was finally free from the walls of suffocating fur. But when she saw what caused all this commotion, a faint whimper sounded in her throat.
The deputy was lying on his stomach, his front paws extended in front of him. Something was terribly wrong with his right paw: It was twisted at an awkward angle and Silverkit thought she could see a bone sticking out through the dark fur. It looked so painful and Rockpelt was gritting his teeth, uttering pained hisses.
Silverkit recalled her peculiar dream, remembering Rockpelt trudging in a deep hole, twisting his paw in the process.
What's going on? Is this just some kind of coincidence?
But before Silverkit could think about this situation more, the medicine cat, Softbelly, emerged from the crowd and quickly padded to Rockpelt's side. After assessing the damage, she turned around to look at the group of surrounding cats.
"I'll need two warriors to help Rockpelt to my den. I don't want to treat him here."
Silverkit looked at the medicine cat's face, but Softbelly didn't show much emotion, maybe just a glint of concern. Silverkit's father, Sparrowfang, and Blueshadow stepped forward. The two warriors nudged Rockpelt to his paws and supported him on either side. The deputy gritted his teeth in pain when he accidentally placed his injured paw onto the ground.
"Try not to apply pressure to it," Softbelly said.
"You don't want to injure it more."
Rockpelt only grunted in reply, hopping on three legs to get to Softbelly's den. Anxiety prickled in Silverkit's stomach as she watched the trio go.
What if that paw doesn't get healed? Will Rockpelt ever be able to hunt or fight again?
Softbelly suddenly walked past Silverkit, her head lowered. It looked like she was in deep concentration.
"Umh . . . Softbelly . . ." Silverkit said, noticing the worry in her voice.
The medicine cat perked her ears and turned her head to look at the kit.
"Don't worry, little one," Softbelly said reassuringly.
"Rockpelt will be fine."
Silverkit wondered if Softbelly was also trying to reassure herself. Without another word, Softbelly proceeded to her den. Silverkit watched her leave till she was in her den and out of sight. The little kit shivered, her gaze lowered.
It's painful watching a clanmate suffer.
Done with the first chapter!
Please leave reviews, guys. It will be much appreciated.
Stay tuned for chapter 2!