The Last Clan- book 1

Chapter Thirteen

   "Cloudpaw! Wolfpaw! Birdpaw!" the Clan chanted. Ravenpaw also chanted for the new apprentices. Their time had finally come for them to be apprentices of the Clan. All three of them held their heads up high, letting the Clan cheer. Ravenpaw purred for them. They'd been so exited when Fernstar announced they were going to be apprenticed. Wolfpaw had Acorntree, Cloudpaw had Ivywhisker, and Birdpaw had Fernstar himself. He was pretty proud of that.

   As they started to jump down from the rock, Birdpaw let out a yowl of fright. He plumeted down the rock and landed on the ground. Cats let out gasps, but Birdpaw got up and shook his head. Ravenpaw struggled to keep herself from giving a purr of laughter. Birdpaw got up with his tail held high as his littermates joined him by jumping down.

   "Nice tumble." Snakepaw hissed meanly to Birdpaw. Ravenpaw narrowed her eyes at him, but Birdpaw only ignored the tom. They walked over to Ravenpaw.

   "I'm finally an apprentice!" Cloudpaw boasted. 

   "It feels so exiting!" Wolfpaw meowed. "I wonder what we're going to do? Maybe go on a mission to spy on Riverclan?"

   Ravenpaw purred at her. "Not quite. You'll probably only look around the borders today."

   "How would you know? You're a medicine cat." Cloudpaw pointed out. Ravenpaw flattened her ears.

   "I am a Clan cat, you know. I know what goes on inside Windclan." Ravenpaw felt annoyed. Cloudpaw shrugged. Then their mentors trotted over to the three new apprentices, including Fernstar.

   "We're thinking we could take you around the territory." Fernstar meowed to them. "We have to go, or else we won't have time to explore a lot of places." Ravenpaw cast a glance at Cloudpaw. He flicked his tail at her and turned back to his mentor.

   "But what about the snow?" Wolfpaw asked.

   "We'll manage." Fernstar assured him. They all four got up and trotted out of the camp entrance. Ravenpaw stared after them. Daisyear walked over to her and sat down by her side.

   "Don't you ever wonder what it's like to be a warrior?" asked Daisyear. Ravenpaw looked up at her, surprised. "I mean, be a warrior."

   Ravenpaw suddenly got a feeling of dread. "You're not thinking of becoming a warrior, are you?" Daisyear started, then purred. Ravenpaw didn't think that was funny.

   "Of course not, silly!" she purred. "But I sometimes wonder what it feels like to patrol everyday instead of staying inside camp."

   Ravenpaw looked away. "We could go out for a stroll whenever we want, you know that, right?" Daisyear sighed and nodded. "But I guess it isn't the same." Daisyear shook her head, like shaking a bothersome fly off her ear.

   "Yes, but we're medicine cats. And that's that. We can't change now." Daisyear got up and padded away. But we can change... Ravenpaw thought. 

   A plan hatching in her mind, she called to Daisyear. "If fact, I'm going on a walk right now! But it's just going to be me, okay?" Daisyear nodded and flicked her tail in acknowledgement. Ravenpaw got up and bounced out of the camp. She raced along the hill, until she spotted the patrol of apprentices down the hill. She stood still, then ducked behind a bush. She stared at them as the mentors talked and pointed. The apprentice's eyes were wide and they were nodding.

   Ravenpaw silently slid closer to the patrol as they walked on. She watched them try to pounce on a jackrabbit, but failed. Then they were looking at a fox-hole. Cloudpaw stuck his head inside, then Ivywhisker yowled at him about the dangers of doing that. Cloudpaw shrank back. Then they moved on, patroling the side of the border and hopping through the melting snow. Thaw was here and it was new-leaf in the Clans.

   Ravenpaw heard a loud cracking beneath her. She froze still. Looking down, she saw cracks form beneath her paws where she stood. Before she could yowl for help, it broke beneath her weight and she tumbled down into the hole. She hit the ground with a thump, and Ravenpaw lay there, winded. Her hind paw throbbed painfully beneath her.

   After a moment. she opened her eyes and sat up painfully. Panicing, she stood up quickly, ignoring the pain in her paw. "Help! Some cat help me!" But that made her head hurt. She looked up. The place where she'd fallen through was up at least the size of two Big Rocks. Ravenpaw sighed heavily. She looked around where she was now. It was all darkness, except for a small light at the end of one of the tunnels.

   She looked up one more time, then started limping towards the light. She knew that even if she called up again, they wouldn't hear her. She was too far down and they were too far away from her. She walked, and bristled her fur whenever she heard a small sound. Dripping of water echoed loudly around her. She ran towards the light, and the roof started sloping down. But before she could duck, she hit her head hard on the ceiling. She crouched down in front of the light, painfully, then crawled forward.

   She sighed with relief as she walked into the open. She jumped from a cave in the side of a hill, and into the melting snow. The coldness felt good on her paw, and seemed to draw away some of the pain.

    "Ravenpaw!" She whipped her head to the side. The patrol was standing on a hill next to the one she just emerged from. "Where are you going?" Called out Fernstar.

   "I, um, I was just talking a walk." she told them.

   "Oh, okay." Fernstar meowed. "We're almost done with our patrol. Do you need an escort back?" Ravenpaw felt offensive.

   "I'm fine." She just barely managed not to snap it out to her leader. "I'm going back now. It's all fine!"

    Fernstar dipped his head. "Alright. See you later." She nodded as they turned back and ran down the other side of the hill. Ravenpaw sighed in relief she wasn't questioned. She started to limp back to camp. She walked up the hill and reached the dip in the ground that was her home.

    When she entered, it was almost bare. She walked slowly and tiredly over to the prey pile and picked up a mouse. She settled down on the ground and ate her mouse hungrily. When she finished, she licked her lips and looked up. 

    The sun was almost down. The patrol should be back soon. Ravenpaw got up, and she forgot to hide her limp. Too late, Daisyear walked out and saw the state her apprentice was in.

   "Ravenpaw!" she gasped. "What happened?"

   She ducked her head. "I hurt it jumping and then I slipped on the ice." Daisyer took her hind paw in her jaws and gave it an experimental tug. Ravenpaw winced in pain. Daisyear motioned her inside the den. Ravenpaw limped into the medicine cat den, and then sat down. 

   "It's sprained, but not broken." Daisyear grasped some herbs, then started to chew them.

   "Am I in trouble?" Ravenpaw asked weakly.

   Daisyear walked over and put poultice on her paw. "No, but you should've been more careful. You'll have to stay off it for a while." Ravenpaw dipped her head, ashamed in herself. She had lied to her mentor, too. Daisyear gently pushed her into her nest.

   "No more walking until I say to." Daisyear turned away. Ravenpaw sighed and rested into her nest. A bit of moss was stuck on her tail. She flicked it off and watched her mentor. She was gathering herbs into a pile, and sorting them by name.

   "Um... can I help you sort?" Ravenpaw asked.

   "No." was all she meowed. Ravenpaw's ears drooped and she sat back down in her nest. This is what she got for trying to learn what warriors do.

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just so you guys know, there will be a second book to this one. i don't know what it will be called yet, but keep a lookout for it. but i might name the book The Last Clan- book 2, even. i will stop at chapter 20 in this book, and after that, keep an eye out! peace! ~Xxmedicine_catxX