Story note:Approx 350 Moons have passed between the Prologue and this Chapter (Roughly 1.5 Mistystar lifetimes)
For Reference, The Prologue takes place 190 moons ahead of the newest warriors series (which I have not read, and is why I am distancing this as much as possible so as to not conflict with the already wobbly cannon in the series even though Twolegs dont jus in warriors very often)
Chapter 1
"WAKE UP!"
He Jolted Awake at the loud words being rather rudely shouted into his ears, and the first thing he noticed immediately was that it was Dark outside the den.
"DAWNPAW!"
Dawnpaw was one of Foxsteps kits, which were born just sunrises apart from him and his brother Shrewpaw. She was probably (actually definitely) not only the loudest of her litter but also the loudest in the nursery.
He quickly got up, throwing off all sense of Tiredness in a fit of anger. This was the SECOND Night in a row in which Dawnpaw had woken him up early and he took sleep (and waking up early) seriously. He had already told Dawnpaw that she could wait until morning to play, and she always ignored him!
Dawnpaw was at the entrance of the den, and by a miracle sent by Starclan themselves neither of their loud yelling had awoken the other Thunderclan Apprentices.
"Come on Frostpaw, let's go on a Patrol!" Dawnpaw said, wiggling excitedly in the pale moonlight which shone directly above them.
"Dawnpaw the sun isn't even up yet and our mentors said not to go off on our own…" He murmured as he padded towards her. He wished he had the energy to pounce on her in a fashion they did in the nursery, but he was far too tired.
"But what if we caught prey? I'm sure our clan would appreciate the food!" Dawnpaw said, and as much as Frostpaw wanted to fault her, he did admire her willingness to prove herself by helping the clan.
"Dawnpaw…I want to help the clan as much as any other cat but disobeying my mentor isn't something I'm going to do." Frostpaw said as politely as possible, he watched her ears droop and he felt a pang of sadness for the cat he'd held a fond friendship with for his entire life.
"Dawnpaw…I'm not mad, It's just-"
"I understand Frostpaw, I'm sorry." She said as she padded away to the Apprentices Den and vanished behind the brush.
Frostpaw had no intention to hurt her feelings in that Conversation, and the guilt weighed heavy. He had never had a conversation like that before with any cat before, let alone someone he was so close to.
Suddenly he heard pawsteps in the Dirt, and his Mentor Applefern was quickly there beside him.
Applefern was the Clans Deputy, Her Bigger Frame Shone in the moonlight, illuminating her Cream-Ginger spotted pelt.
"I can see that look on your face." Applefern meowed, "I saw the whole thing and trust me, you did nothing wrong, you obeyed an order from the Deputy and your Mentor and treated your fellow Thunderclan Cat with respect in the Process." Applefern reassured him gently.
"But I feel like I did, she looked so sad.." Frostpaw meowed, he flicked his tail a bit in the light breeze as he gazed at the Apprentice's den.
"I've had many such conversations with my fellow warriors." Applefern admitted, "and many didn't go as well as I'd admit, But you handled it far better than My own Apprentice self did."
That made him feel better, particularly the fact it was coming from the Clan Deputy, His Mentor and a Senior Warrior of the Clan.
"It's already almost sunrise, So how would you like to go on an Early Patrol?" She asked him. Their Conversation had carried on long enough so that he didn't notice the Dawn Sky was already starting to lighten.
"Sure…." He said.
"I'll be getting a Few Other Warriors and assign the Evening Patrols, You can get a moment's rest in the Den while I do that." Applefern said as she padded away.
He stumbled into the Apprentices' den and noticed Viperpaw giving him a glare, He was Dawnpaws Brother and one of 3 of Foxsteps kits, The Other being Leopardpaw.
Dawnpaw must have told him what happened, but Viperpaws Glare didn't seem murderous at least, which was pretty good for him.
He sat down on his Nest, Dawnpaw lay in hers, she didn't seem very Downtrodden as she was earlier but she didn't seem in the best of moods. He wanted to say something to her despite the talk he just got from Applefern to apologize for his words, but before he could say anything Flamewing, one of the warriors, stuck his head through the entrance of the den and spoke loudly.
"Dawnpaw, Frostpaw, Graypaw, you're going on Morning patrol so get up." He said with a Stern tone, Flamewing was one of the Sterner cats and Graypaws Mentor, but he was obviously still a caring cat and had a strong bond with his elder apprentice, who was only a few moons away at most from becoming a warrior.
Frostpaw picked himself quickly from his Warm nest and padded outside the den, followed by the other apprentices. They were made apprentices only a Few sunrises ago and had been on only 1 patrol which was the Initial Tour(except for Graypaw who had been on many more Patrols than any of them)
Thunderclan Territory was Huge!
Ever Since the Twolegs left or whatever the Clans had been forced to expand their Hunting grounds to accommodate new Cats coming in from the outside, that had led to Conflict of course, Thunderclan and Skyclan had Fought a War many moons ago that had culled their populations until they agreed to just take the unclaimed areas on the edge of their territory.
Once the Clans stopped killing each other over the same strip of land things became much prettier. Riverclan had it the best, they quickly took the horse place and the Thunderpath became overgrown with plants over time, and they soon became the largest Clan by Population, Just ahead of Shadowclan.
Speaking of Shadowclan….they were doing Ok I guess? They Bordered Skyclan and Riverclan and hadn't done much of anything in a while from what I heard from the Elders. They Mostly stuck to themselves, marking their borders and attending Gatherings and that was it.
Skyclan, Bordering Thunderclan and all and being sandwiched was in the Worst position of all the Clans, they got the Bad deal, they only got a bit more land of which had less prey, keeping their Population low and causing the Occasional Famine. Every once in a while a Queen will turn up on Thunderclan or Shadowclan's borders trying to get them to adopt their kits so they could be well fed, or thats what the elders said at leasts
Thunderclan had prospered too, although not as much as Riverclan, it had grown significantly since the War with Skyclan Many moons ago. It held the most territory of any clan and the third largest Population, although it still punched far above its weight.
Windclan was ... .still windclan. Nothing had changed for them at all
Speaking of Windclan…
We were now heading along the Windclan border and he could smell the scent of the Windclan cats. It wasn't as bad as the Elders described Shadowclan or Riverclan scent, but he preferred Thunderclan any day.
"Windclan…still fresh." Dapplefur, one of the Warriors said.
"It's been a while since we've been this close to encountering one of their patrols, almost strange to see such a fresh scent." Applefern said, Flamewing nodded.
"Windclan keeps to themselves typically, But I wouldn't put it past them to cross over the border to catch a rabbit that wandered into our territory so be alert." Flamewing nodded, Applefern nodded her head, although she was the deputy Flamewing was older than her and had some combat experience from a scuffle with Skyclan, he knew what he was doing.
"Flametail is right, although Thunderclan and Windclan have been at peace for countless moons We should still be prepared." Applefern said they moved further along the border away from the Glimmering Surface of the Lake, and Frostpaw took in the scents of the Border as they moved further into the forest.
"The Outer Borders, the tour didn't take you here." Said Applefern after a good bit of walking, they were quite a distance away from the lake now and were surrounded by either Foliage or Tall grass on the WIndclan side.
"These were claimed after the Vanishing, there used to be a Thunderpath here, but now it's Cracked with Grass." Flamewing said as he gestured to the Broken up Black stone covered with moss and grasses that was scattered in a line in front of them.
"Prey runs very well out here which is why for large hunting patrols this is a Priority hunting ground, it's further from camp but provides much more food." Dapplefur informed them and Dawnpaws eyes lit up. She was probably thinking about catching every squirrel and mouse in the whole forest if I knew her right.
"It's already been a while, so we will be returning to camp." Applefern said.
"Can't we hunt first?" Dawnpaw begged
"No, Hunting lessons start tomorrow." Applefern responded Sternly.
"Please…?" Dawnpaw asked
"No."