Still Lightning writing!
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A molted brown she-cat padded silently through the undergrowth. Her fur rippled brilliantly against her toned muscles under her thin pelt. The mouse she was after was still not aware of the predator that was stalking it. She waited for the right moment, staring at the plump mouse. She would leap at it at the perfect moment!
Suddenly, her hunt was ruined. "Blazepaw!" yowled her Clanmate, interrupting her chance. The mouse instantly scuffled into the undergrowth with a squeal. Annoyed, Blazepaw turned, and shot at a look at the cat who called her. It was Shadepaw, her best friend.
"You scared it off!" Blazepaw groaned. "I was just about to catch that mouse . . ."
"You would of caught it if you didn't over-analyze the situation," said Shadepaw. "All you've got to do is leap and kill."
Blazepaw shook her head. "It's not as easy as that. I was so close," she added, trying her best to make her friend feel guilty.
Shadepaw didn't even look taken back. The black she-cat's unusual orange eyes met Blazepaw's own eyes. "We've found two WindClan apprentices in the stream. Your mentor was calling; he thought it might be urgent."
Blazepaw growled. "Filthy WindClan cats, thinking they can trespass into our territory whenever they want!" she said with annoyance. Blazepaw had never had a battle in her life; times were peaceful between the Clans. However, she had been in a border skirmish with WindClan before a moon ago. She had a feeling that they would trespass again, considering the fact that they enjoy stealing prey.
She abandoned her spot and found the patrol which consisted of her mentor Mouse-ear, Oakfoot, Hawkfire---a young tom who had been made into a warrior three dawns ago---and last, Shadepaw's mentor, Sootheart. The two WindClan apprentices looked helpless and uncomfortable as they nervously watched the ThunderClan patrol scoop them up out of the water.
"Why have you two crossed our borders?" growled Mouse-ear, the patrol leader.
Blazepaw took her place beside him, and gave a look of challenge to the two brown tabby toms. They looked so young and small---or perhaps that was how all WindClan cats looked like. They were thin cats, after all.
"We didn't cross your territory," growled one of them. His fur was lighter than the other apprentice's, and his eyes were more hostile. "We just fell into the stream."
"That counts as crossing into our territory," growled Shadepaw. "Two scrawny things like you should watch where you're going."
"And you should watch what you're saying!" the WindClan apprentice retorted.
Sootheart stood taller. "Shadepaw, watch your mouth. Let Mouse-ear handle this with no interruptions." The ginger she-cat kept her gaze on Shadepaw, giving her apprentice a warning glance. Shapepaw just shut her mouth, but her eyes were locked onto the rude apprentice.
"What are you two doing so far from your camp?" Mouse-ear asked, looking between both of them. "You don't look like you've been training for over a moon!"
"Stop judging us!" snapped the apprentice.
The second WindClan apprentice who had been quiet up to this point put his tail at his friend's mouth. "Let me handle this, Hawkpaw," the tom meowed. Blazepaw felt slightly amused. Hawkfire and Hawkpaw both share a name. She looked between them both, but they obviously didn't seem to care.
Hawkpaw was staring at his friend with disbelief. "ThunderClan is nothing but rude, Tigerpaw---"
"We didn't mean falling into the stream," said Tigerpaw, dipping his head apologetically. "But I don't think that we should be treated like we trespassed on your territory on purpose. The stream belongs to both WindClan and ThunderClan. Not just ThunderClan."
"Big words for a small apprentice," said Oakfoot with interest. As soon as Oakfoot said 'small,' Tigerpaw shot a look of defiance at the ThunderClan tom.
Hawkfire eyed the apprentices. "Shall we escort those two back to our camp?"
"Why?" Blazepaw asked. "They did nothing wrong. You heard Tigerpaw---the stream belongs to both Clans."
Hawkfire snorted. "I bet if we weren't here, they would have gone into our territory anyways."
"That's not true!" growled Hawkpaw. "Who do you think we are?"
"Two trouble-makers, that's what you two are," Shadepaw hissed, her fur fluffing up by her rear.
Mouse-ear gave Shadepaw a look. "I think you ought to calm down, Shadepaw," said the warrior. "Maybe I should just escort them back to their camp and not bring it up to Treestar?"
Blazepaw looked up at her mentor. Treestar was ThunderClan's leader, and was the brother of Mouse-ear. The day Mouseear became her mentor, she was excited because the tom was respected amongst his Clanmates and was an excellent hunter and fighter. "I think that's best," Blazepaw said.
Hawkpaw leaned closer to Tigerpaw, and whispered in his ear. Luckily, Blazepaw was close enough to hear it. "We don't have to stay---we can easily outrun these tree-hoggers. We don't want them trekking through our territory, anyways!"
Tigerpaw's eyes widened, but something about that idea lit a fire in his fierce amber gaze. Blazepaw stepped up and quickly moved behind them, blocking their exit. "You two are not going to outrun anyone," growled the ThunderClan apprentice. She felt triumphant and proud of herself; she certainly would never be able to outrun them but she could always outsmart them. The fire in Tigerpaw's eye quickly went away, and he narrowed them at Blazepaw.
Mouseear looked up at them. "I've made a decision and I will hold it," said her mentor. "Blazepaw and I will escort them back to their leader, and the rest of you will continue to patrol the border. Understood?"
Hawkfire shrugged. "Alright. I'll continue to lead the patrol, if that's good with you," meowed the young warrior. Blazepaw looked up at him, admiration gleaming in her eyes. Something about him always made her paws tingle. She meowed a quick good-bye to him before he went on with the border patrol. Oakfoot and Sootheart followed Hawkfire, and Shadepaw padded after them, shooting a glance of envy at Blazepaw.
Blazepaw indeed felt fortunate to be going into enemy territory. The idea made her excited that she will know possible future battle terrain.
Tigerpaw, on the other paw, looked a little annoyed and mumbled, "Why should they be going into our territory? We didn't even trespass into their's . . ." No cat but Blazepaw had heard him.
Hawkpaw glared at the ThunderClan cats. "You best not try hunting here," growled the tabby, "Or bad things are bound to happen."
"It's not like we need your prey anyways," retorted Blazepaw, standing taller.
Hawkpaw growled. "Who are you to say that?"
"I say what I want." Blazepaw gave the WindClan apprentice a hard stare.
Tigerpaw rolled his eyes. "Hawkpaw, cut that out. We best get moving so we don't have to hang around ThunderClan anymore." The tabby tom padded back into WindClan territory, his chin held high. Hawkpaw grumbled something under his breath before walking besides him. Blazepaw could obviously tell that they weren't brothers; they seemed like they often fought, but they also seemed really close. She wondered if they really were littermates or not, but she didn't ask, feeling too awkward to start conversation.
She followed her mentor Mouse-ear, bringing up the rear of the group. Hawkpaw sighed and whispered something to Tigerpaw, but Blazepaw couldn't hear what it was.
Tigerpaw gave Hawkpaw a friendly nudge. "Don't be so bummed out, you shrub."
Hawkpaw narrowed his eyes. "Who are you calling a shrub, shrub?"
Mouseear's ears pricked with interest, and Blazepaw only seemed to get a little aggravated at the two toms. Well, as long as they don't continue that, everything should be---
"I'm not the shrub here," Tigerpaw said taking a step away from Hawkpaw, ruining Blazepaw's thoughts. "You're the one who's acting all gloomy."
"I'm not a shrub!" Hawkpaw growled.
Mischief glinted in Tigerpaw's eyes. "Hawkpaw is a shrub! Hawkpaw is a shrub!" teased the WindClan apprentice.
Blazepaw's claws dug into the earth. "Will you two cut it out? You're not kits!" she snapped.
Hawkpaw glared at her. "Look who's a shrub now, Tigerpaw. The ThunderClan apprentice who thinks she can tell me what to do!"
Mouse-ear's tail raised in the air, a sign that he wanted to silence them. "You three had better cut that out now, or else I'll make sure your leader gets you in to serious trouble, Hawkpaw and Tigerpaw." Then, he turned to Blazepaw. "And wait till' I tell Treestar to put you on boring apprentice duties for a quarter-moon!"
Blazepaw wanted to protest that she wasn't trying to tell them what to do, that she only wanted some peace. But she knew that it was best just to keep her mouth shut. Hawkpaw seemed to realize that too, and kept to himself, looking grumpily down to his paws. Tigerpaw, having a laid-back personality, didn't seem to really want to say anything himself.
Blazepaw kept on walking through the moor, uncomfortably raising her paws over the grass as if she were prancing like a deer. Tigerpaw and Hawkpaw seemed to smoothly be able to cross it with no trouble, and it made her wonder how they can stand such openness. She looked over to Mouseear, who looked just as uncomfortable as her.
After a little bit of time, Blazepaw was surprised that they hadn't run into a patrol. She could see up ahead in the distance a tall rock surrounded by clumps of heather. The camp didn't seem well-guarded, but as she approached, she could see how WindClan cats easily had the advantage in living in such an open space. Cats could have their eyes and ears everywhere without having to worry if there's something lurking in trees or the undergrowth. Their camp was very easy to defend.
Upon getting there, the camp entrance guard, who was a white tom with long legs, snarled. "Hawkpaw, Tigerpaw, what is the meaning of this?" demanded the white tom.
"We caught them in the stream, Swiftleaf," Mouse-ear informed. His tone of voice was not as hostile, but it was still defiant. "I just decided to escort these two trouble-makers home."
Hawkpaw snorted. "Not like we needed to be escorted, anyways!"
"And we weren't planning on crossing into their territory," Tigerpaw added. "We fell in after a race."
A heartbeat later, a pretty golden she-cat emerged from the camp entrance, easily shouldering her way through Swiftleaf with her slender shoulders. "Tigerpaw, where have you been?" demanded the she-cat warrior. "I was going to take you on a second hunting patrol but you were gone by the time I went to find you!"
Blazepaw found herself speak up, wanting to be a part of the conversation."We found him on ThunderClan territory."
"For the last time, we weren't on ThunderClan territory!" Hawkpaw snapped. "Ivystorm told Tigerpaw and I to take our games outside the camp, and we did. We just ended up falling into the stream."
"And it wasn't our fault," Tigerpaw put in. "I'm sorry, Sunheart."
Sunheart nodded to Tigerpaw, and turned her amber eyes onto Mouseear. "Thank you for escorting these two home---though I wouldn't have deemed it necessary."
Mouseear gave a curt nod but was the depths of his eyes were flashing with irritation. "I didn't want them getting away with anything so I decided to take them here on my own." He turned to Blazepaw, acknowledging her as well. "My own apprentice accompanied me."
"Well, threat or no threat, we don't welcome you here," said Swiftleaf with hostility in his tone. "I reckon it's best if you two leave at once. I'll have three warriors escort you."
Mouseear looked as if he wanted to protest, but didn't. After all, this wasn't ThunderClan territory---it belonged to WindClan. Blazepaw didn't think that she could ever get accustomed to the open moors anyways. Sleeping under the cover of the trees and sheltering from the ferocious winds was where she was most comfortable. She liked hunting in the undergrowth and smelling the forest sent. Living away from ThunderClan was something terrible to think about. No other Clan was better suited for her, anyways.
"Sunheart, do you mind choosing two other cats and taking these two back home?" Swiftleaf asked the pretty she-cat.
Sunheart nodded. "I can," she meowed. She dashed into camp for a few heartbeats, leaving the five other cats in awkward silence. Finally, Sunheart returned once more with a creamy black tom and a slender black she-cat by her side. "Cloudpatch and Rabbitleaf agreed to escort these two cats back to their own border."
Cloudpatch nodded, and shot a hostile glance at Blazepaw. "We'll make sure they leave real soon," growled the cream-colored tom. Rabbitleaf nodded with agreement.
"Good riddance," Hawkpaw muttered under his breath, and Tigerpaw just watched without saying a word.
Before the group of cats left, Sunheart called to Tigerpaw, "I'll see what to do with you when I get back!" before trekking over the grassy moor to meet with Cloudpatch, Rabbitleaf, Blazepaw and Mouseear. The ThunderClan cats and the WindClan cats were keeping a good distance away from each other, although they seemed to be keeping a close eye on Mouseear and Blazepaw all throughout their trip back to the ThunderClan borders.
Blazepaw felt happy to be back home. She couldn't stand not another moment out in the open exposed territory. Rabbitleaf gave a last look to the ThunderClan cat. "We don't want to see you coming back!" called the black she-cat before running off to meet with her Clan mates, Sunheart and Cloudpatch.
Blazepaw turned to Mouseear. "I suppose we should be getting back to camp," she meowed.
"We will," Mouseear said. His mouth was open; he was tasting the air. "But first I say we must catch something. Treestar will wonder where we are. Our previous patrol most likely made it back to camp."
"Okay." Blazepaw obediently padded into the trees, opening her own jaws to taste in the air. "I'll meet you back here after I manage to catch something." She stalked into the undergrowth, and Mouseear went a separate direction, skillfully creeping through the trees.
Blazepaw made sure she stayed by the border close to the stream to watch the WindClan cats go. They were quite hostile, especially that feisty little apprentice known as Hawkpaw. Tigerpaw, though, seemed much more easy-going, and looked as if he were a fast runner but a bit of a clumsy one. The other warriors of WindClan were unwelcoming--their leader hadn't even come out to greet them.
Well, Blazepaw thought, I hope I don't have to go there again. I wouldn't want to get Hawkpaw in my fur again!
* * *
Blazepaw eagerly padded back into the ThunderClan camp, her tail raised with pride as she carried a squirrel and a mouse. These were two good and plump catches. It was greenleaf, the season of warmth and prey and sunshine. It hadn't rained in almost a moon, though, but everything was always good during greenleaf.
Upon dropping the fresh-kill on the prey pile, Shadepaw instantly burst into the clearing from the apprentice den, her orange eyes eager. "So?" promoted the apprentice. "How did it go with WindClan?"
Blazepaw shrugged. "It felt quite open in the moors, but I guess things were how I expected them." She remembered the WindClan cats she encountered. "They're hostile, and Hawkpaw's talks a lot of mouse-dung."
Shadepaw chose a starling from the fresh-kill pile. "Hawkpaw's just talk, he's not all that," she said. "I've spoken with him tons of times at the Gatherings I've been to. He's not so pleasant."
"I've noticed," Blazepaw said, thinking about how many arguments and retorts he had made so far. There were so many that she didn't think she could keep count, but it did amuse her of how grumpy one can be. Blazepaw took her squirrel from the fresh-kill pile, and said, "I'm going to bring this to the elders. I'll talk to you later, Shadepaw."
"Alright, talk to you soon," she agreed, walking off with her starling.
Blazepaw padded to the elder's den, and poked her head inside. She could see Slipperyfeet grooming Lightfur, while Blackears dozed off in the back of the den. Quietly, the apprentice padded inside the den, and placed the fresh-kill on the ground.
Lightfur was the first to notice her. "Hi, Blazepaw," she said with a purr. "Nice of you to stop by."
"I caught a squirrel today and thought that I should give it to the elders," Blazepaw offered, nosing her prey towards the three. "Would you like to take it?"
Blackears stood up, his tail flicking with delight. "Squirrel's my favorite," he meowed, and then added, "Thank you Blazepaw. It's a nice squirrel." The elder dipped his head down and took a bite out of it's warm flesh. Blazepaw's mouth watered but she did not bother to ask for a bite herself.
"Don't mind if I do," purred Lightfur, taking the next bite. She seemed to relish the taste of the prey.
Slipperyfeet, who hadn't moved, shuddered. "I don't understand how you all like that stuff. Squirrels are too hairy and scrawny-I much prefer things like voles and birds."
"I can get you one, if you'd like," Blazepaw offered.
"No." Slipperyfeet shook his head, still remaining in his nest. "I ate earlier, so I'm fine. But thanks anyways," he added, before curling up and covering his nose with his tail.
Blackear's whiskers twitched. "How can a cat live in a forest if he does not like it's squirrels?" asked the tom in a low voice humorously. She looked up to Blazepaw. "Thank you, young'n, but we're good from here on out. You may go if you'd like."
Blazepaw nodded and padded outside of the den, letting Lightfur and Blackead continue their jokes. She was headed for the fresh-kill pile, hungry after seeing those two elders eat the delicious-looking squirrel. She wish she could have had it for herself, but it was in the warrior code to make sure to feed the Clan before a warrior will take his own meal. Blazepaw's feelings about the warrior code were secure, and she never intended on breaking it no matter the cause.
She was about to choose a good looking sparrow from the pile, until she heard a cat call her name. She recognized him instantly-Hawkfire was sitting by the warriors den with a vole by his paws. "Do you want to share with me, Blazepaw?" he asked.
Blazepaw's eyes lit up like a kit's and she eagerly nodded. "I'd love to!" she said. "I-I mean, it's better than wasting the prey on the fresh-kill pile . . ."
Hawkfire took a bite from the vole. "You're right, Blazepaw." A glint of something humorous sparked in Hawkfire's eyes, but Blazepaw pretended that she didn't see it so she wouldn't feel offended that he was secretly teasing her. He watched as she took a bite of the vole.
Blazepaw instantly purred. "It tastes great!"
"I caught it during the border patrol." Hawkfire bent down and took a bite himself.
"Good job," she said, her voice sounding of approval.
Hawkfire simply shrugged. "The poor thing ran straight across my paws; it wasn't all that." Blazepaw took another bite and so did Hawkfire.
The ThunderClan apprentice beamed. If only every day turned out to be like this!