Chapter 1: The Prowling Begins

"I can't wait to start training tomorrow!" yowled a very excited Lynxpaw as she sat with her apprentice friends in the Apprentices' Den one night. She had just been Lynxkit a day ago. But now, she was officially six moons old, and Scarstar held a ceremony and made her an apprentice. Her mentor was chosen to be Wildgaze, and so far, she thought that was pretty cool. Wildgaze wasn't mean and snappy; he was greatly pleased to have his first apprentice.

"We're all happy for you, Lynxpaw," Sliverpaw mewed with a genuine smile. "By the way, Rednight told me I could now begin hunting bigger creatures, like rabbits. I've never been so excited in all my life!"

"Dapplestem told me that I'm finally able to do battle training with her," Woodpaw chimed in. "I can't wait to show her how much of a warrior I can become!"

"I'm supposed to be herb collecting tomorrow," Aquapaw added. "I'm going to be collecting cobwebs, catmint, chervil, all that good stuff."

"Wow, you guys are going to have so much fun tomorrow," Lynxpaw observed, curling up into a mossbed. "I honestly thank StarClan for my life."

Lynxpaw wasn't lying. She had a nice mentor, good friends, a good leader, and plenty of cats to look up to. What could change everything? Well...

"Wake up, Lynxpaw!" Aquapaw's meow broke through one of Lynxpaw's nice dreams the next morning, and the lynx-like cat yawned and stretched as she awoke to the light of day.

"Morning, Aquapaw," Lynxpaw mewed kindly.

"Morning, Lynxpaw. I'm gonna head to the Medicine Den early. See ya 'round!" With that, Aquapaw sprinted off into the ScarClan camp towards the Medicine Den.

Lynxpaw got up and trotted over to Wildgaze, who was sitting outside the Warriors' Den.

"Hey there, Lynxpaw. You look excited today," Wildgaze mewed, noticing Lynxpaw's optimistic expression.

"Yes, I am! I know it's early, but can we start training?" Lynxpaw meowed. "Please?"

Wildgaze chuckled. "Of course. Let's go."

Lynxpaw and Wildgaze trotted on over to the Hunting Grounds, where Sliverpaw was already hunting. Her mentor, Rednight, was sitting down, watching her.

"Alright, Lynxpaw. Hunting is not hard. Now...let me ask you something: how loud do you need to be to catch prey?" Wildgaze asked Lynxpaw.

"Hmmm..." Lynxpaw thought for a moment. "Quiet, right?"

"Yes, Lynxpaw, that's correct," Wildgaze observed.

"Wildgaze, send that apprentice hunting instead of acting like she's taking a test," laughed Rednight as he eyed Wildgaze.

"Just focus on Sliverpaw, Rednight," Wildgaze purred as Rednight chuckled. Lynxpaw chuckled as well.

Wildgaze spoke to Lynxpaw again. "Go stalk a mouse. Let's start with something small. You can take all day, since you're so determined. I don't think Scarstar will have a problem with that. Just be back before moonhigh."

"Okay," Lynxpaw purred as she ran off. She ran into the trees and disappeared, but Wildgaze was confident that she wouldn't let him down.

Okay, Lynxpaw. This is the moment you've been dreaming of for the past 5 moons...time to make Wildgaze proud.

Lynxpaw was in a hunting crouch position as she made her way through the dense leaves of the ScarClan forest. The she-cat felt like lashing her tail back and forth in excitement, but she didn't want to scare away her prey. Eventually, that evening, Lynxpaw found a mouse, its beady eyes darting this way and that. Lynxpaw hid behind a bush and stalked the helpless creature. She got closer...and closer...until a rogue barn in the distance caught her eye.

"What's that big red thing?" Lynxpaw asked out loud, scaring off her mouse. Forgetting all about the lost prey, the she-cat jumped out of the bush and approached the "big red thing". She wasn't thinking...at all. Wildgaze would eventually get worried if Lynxpaw didn't return to camp soon. Curiosity enveloped the she-cat as she trotted towards the rogue barn. Lynxpaw knew about rogues, but she didn't know a single thing about rogue barns. She was about to learn the hard way.

Lynxpaw reached the end of the forest, and she was greeted by a huge field. Acres of wheat swayed in the evening daylight, and the rogue barn shined a bright red as the sun touched it.

Wow, what is this place? Lynxpaw thought. Suddenly, she saw a brown tom with black stripes emerge from the rogue barn. His grey eyes glistened in the light. Even more curious, Lynxpaw walked over to the brown tom.

"Hello. I'm-" Before Lynxpaw could introduce herself, the brown tom hissed threateningly.

"Who are you...and why are you here?" he asked, his mew deep and mean. Lynxpaw shrank back.

"I-I...uhm..." she stammered.

"Get lost, kittypet. Your kind isn't allowed here," the brown tom spat.

"W-What's a kittypet?" Lynxpaw asked. Confused, the brown tom gave her a sniff.

"Oh, silly me. You're not a kittypet. You're from ScarClan, aren't you?" he asked, his hackles falling.

"Y-Yes..." Lynxpaw answered. Then she asked, "Wait, how do you know about ScarClan?"

"I'm Shadowruin, but call me Shade. I used to be a ScarClan cat," the brown tom replied simply. "Your kind is welcome here."

"Oh...okay, thanks," Lynxpaw meowed. "I'm Lynxpaw."

"Well, what are you doing here, Lynxpaw? Shouldn't you be training?" That question poked Lynxpaw like a thorn.

Oh no! I forgot about my training! Wildgaze is not going to be happy... she thought as her ears flattened. She was about to leave, but Shade stopped her.

"Wait!" he mewed. "Please stay for the night. I've never had guests from ScarClan before. Not after I left to try out a different life."

Lynxpaw turned to Shade. He explained, "Scarstar told me that clan cats are never supposed to leave their clan, even if it's to fulfill their own desires. But I didn't listen, and I ran away. I just wanted explore the world more...and now I found a cozy home. ScarClan's cats decided it would be best if they stayed away from a 'rebel rogue' like me."

"Oh...sorry to hear that," Lynxpaw mewed. Lynxpaw was loyal to her clan, but she felt bad for how the clan treated Shade. Her mom had taught her the difference between a loner and a rogue. Shade seemed more like a placid loner than an aggressive rogue.

"Please...stay," Shade pleaded.

"Sorry, Shade, but my mentor is probably looking for me. I really have to go," Lynxpaw protested.

"Okay...I guess I can't stop you," Shade mewed. He smiled. "But please try to stop by for a sleepover one of these days."

Lynxpaw nodded, and then she ran off into the forest.

When Lynxpaw returned, her heart sank when she saw that Scarstar was holding a clan meeting. Not willing to meet any cat's gaze, Lynxpaw hid behind a bush.

"I'm sorry, Scarstar," meowed the alarmed mew of Wildgaze.

"I can't believe you would do this to the clan...I can't believe you didn't watch Lynxpaw," hissed the furious mew of Scarstar. "You were supposed to look after her while she was training! She's not even a moon-old in apprenticeship yet, and you let her go missing."

The angry murmurs of the other clan cats backed Scarstar up.

"I was confident that Lynxpaw had it all in the bag," Wildgaze meowed, his ears flattening.

"Wow, Wildgaze," meowed Rednight. "You should be relieved of your duties as a mentor for being too lazy to watch Lynxpaw."

"Indeed," Scarstar mewed. "Wildgaze, for letting Lynxpaw go missing, I now say you are-"

"It's not his fault!" yowled Lynxpaw, jumping out of the bush she was hiding in. She ran in front of Scarstar.

"Lynxpaw! Thank StarClan you're alive!" Dapplestem purred.

Wildgaze didn't share Dapplestem's relief. He stood up and glared at Lynxpaw, his fur bristling.

"Lynxpaw, where have you been?!" he spat.

"I...uhm...met a former ScarClan cat," Lynxpaw meowed nervously, shrinking back. She had never seen this side of Wildgaze, even though the two had only known each other for less than a day.

"You WHAT?!" Scarstar yelped.

Lynxpaw's ears flattened from the many pairs of eyes that were watching her. "H-His name was...S-Shade..."

"'Shade'? Are you talking about Shadowruin, the clan cat that betrayed my clan?" Scarstar meowed calmly.

"Y-Yes, Scarstar..." Lynxpaw nodded. "...and is it true that you ordered the other clan cats to never visit him? He's kinda lonely."

Scarstar's fur bristled. Why was Lynxpaw bringing up the past, and why was she making it seem like Scarstar was in the wrong?

"That's none of your business, Lynxpaw," Scarstar hissed.

"Yeah," added Wildgaze. "You shouldn't be prowling around during training."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Lynxpaw meowed.

"Clan dismissed; Lynxpaw has returned. Wildgaze, you may train Lynxpaw again in the morning. But this time, please keep your eyes on her," Scarstar announced, and then all the cats, except Wildgaze and Lynxpaw, groaned and left the scene.

"Uhm, Wildgaze?" Lynxpaw meowed. Wildgaze gave her a placid expression.

"What?"

"Shade seemed kind of nice to me when I met him. Why has Scarstar turned you guys against him?"

"Because he became a rogue, and rogues are usually aggressive stray cats."

"Did he say he was a rogue, or did Scarstar assume that?"

"Oh...uhm..." Wildgaze went silent.

"I'm tired. I'm gonna go sleep. See you in the morning, Wildgaze." With that, Lynxpaw went into the Apprentices' Den, where the other apprentices were already asleep. Lynxpaw curled up into a mossbed.

If there was no proof that Shade was a rogue, than why was Scarstar being so...hateful towards him?

Okay, I'm liking how this is turning out. There is more to come, Warriors fans. PEACE OUT, and GOD BLESS. (I really should end out all my author's notes with that.)

:3