Skypaw froze. Her tail lashed back and forth as her eyes met the green ones that were glaring at her heavily. Even in the middle of the night, where darkness roamed the territories, his pelt still shone as bright as storming flames.
Willowleaf and Russetsky hadn't noticed. They continued to talk about Skypaw as if she wasn't there, and she felt her fur start to raise.
"Be quiet!" Skypaw snapped. The ThunderClan deputy and the former medicine cat looked confused as they looked at her. She would usually feel guilty by such an outburst to upper Clanmates, even if they were her friend and her own mother, but not now. No cat would learn about the prophecy.
Willowleaf followed Skypaw's gaze. She froze and looked at Russetsky quickly.
"I need to go," She meowed. Russetsky's eyes now rested on the fiery pelt. She nodded briefly at Willowleaf, her eyes narrowed.
"Skypaw," Willowleaf whispered fiercly. "Meet me at the Gathering island tomorrow after you're done training." Skypaw nodded and watched as the tortoiseshell she-cat sprinted across the marsh. Skypaw wanted to know where she would go, because certainly their nests would be destroyed from the monsters.
Skypaw looked back to her mother right as her tail flicked in signal. Without taking her eyes off the pelt, the ThunderClan deputy took her time to get to the ThunderClan scent line, something she was against just a few moments before.
As the two she-cats reached the border, Skypaw's fur flattened as she realized who the cat really was.
"Firesoul," Russetsky meowed, somewhat coldly. "Would you like to explain why you're in the territory alone at moonhigh?"
Firesoul continued to glare heavily. Skypaw didn't care, she was just relieved the ThunderClan leader had not caught them instead. Surely a warrior couldn't do much damage, right? After all, she had been caught with the deputy!
"Sunstar sent me out here to check for rogues," Firesoul spat. "Looks like it was a good idea. It hasn't even been a whole day since she was exiled!"
"You saw her in ShadowClan territory, not ThunderClan's. If you had been listening, you'd know that is where Sunstar had exiled her. She did nothing wrong."
"What about you?" Skypaw tried to hold back a mrrow of amusement. She knew there was no way Russetsky would lose this arguement. "And that runaway apprentice!"
"That runaway apprentice is my daughter." Russetsky meowed coldly once more, but calmly. Once again, Skypaw found herself admiring her mother.
"So?" Firesoul's tail lashed.
"I also order patrols." Her mother fought back. "I had her come with me."
Firesoul was silent for a moment, until his eyes brightened like he had found a nest of mice. "Why were you talking to Willowleaf, then?"
"To tell her to get her paws off our territory." Russetsky's eyes started to blaze like fire. "Do not question me again."
Skypaw didn't know how she felt about her mother's lie. She knew well enough that Russetsky did not support Sunstar exiling ThunderClan's only medicine cat, but she also knew that Russetsky would tell Willowleaf to get off ThunderClan's land if she was caught there. Russetsky was a loyal deputy.
"We're going to head back to camp," Russetsky dismissed the suspicious warrior. "Finish what Sunstar told you to do and report back to me."
Firesoul nodded once before continuing along the ThunderClan border. Skypaw knew that he would not find any trace of Willowleaf near their territory, but she didn't say anything but follow her mother through the dark woods.
*
*
*
Skypaw's paws ached by the time she collasped in her nest. Both of her sisters were in the den, huddling closely together. Skypaw felt lonely, so she curled up next to Rainpaw. She hadn't seen her sister since the battle with the badgers. Her heart weighed heavily with guilt.
She examined her a little closer. She didn't seem to have any broken bones, but gashes and scratches still littered her dark gray tabby pelt. One of her ears was torn, and Skypaw knew that Rainpaw would use that to brag about her survival. However, she didn't mind.
Shadepaw had a few gashes herself from the ShadowClan battle, but nothing serious. The redness of them was impossible to miss as they shone brightly in the moonlight against her shadowy pelt. Skypaw heard a faint purr rumble from both of her sisters' throats, for they were happy to be together again.
It suddenly occurred to Skypaw that Russetsky's name didn't make sense as she gazed at Shadepaw. Her mother had a shadowy pelt, not a reddish-brown one. The sky certainly didn't turn those colors, so why had the ThunderClan deputy been named after it?
Skypaw shrugged it off. Her name didn't matter, only the fact that she was a loyal member of ThunderClan.
As she curled up, she was confused on where to lay exactly. Should she lay close, joining in on her sister's bond? Or should she keep her distance, keeping herself away like she always had in the nursery?
Skypaw's mind traveled back to when she had spoken to Appleleaf for the first time. She shrugged, curling up closely to Rainpaw. She wouldn't let another opportunity fall through her paws at a relationship with her sisters.
She was surprised when she noticed a faint purr form in her own throat and rumble in sync to her sisters' as she drifted into sleep.
*
*
*
"Skypaw!" A familiar call reached Skypaw's ears. She was on her paws within moments. Shadepaw's nest was empty, although Rainpaw still remained in hers. She stirred and opened her eyes at Skypaw's movement.
"Morning!" Rainpaw chirped, leaping to her paws and stretching. Skypaw couldn't deny the amount of excitement in her sister's eyes.
"Morning," Skypaw replied before her voice came out small. "Look, Rainpaw..."
Rainpaw looked at her, her deep blue eyes that reminded Skypaw of the lake full of curiosity as she asked, "Yes?"
"I'm really sorry for not visiting you in the medicine den. I really should have, but I was just so busy." Skypaw knew her apology sounded lame, but she waited for her sister to reply anyway.
"It's okay," Rainpaw meowed, her voice filled with understanding. "I'm glad you found the nest we built for you next to me last night. Shadepaw and I were worried you wouldn't take it." The understanding was replaced with shyness.
Skypaw did nothing but purr, and Rainpaw repeated her actions. A few moments passed before Skypaw heard Hazelflower's voice echo throughout the clearing again. "Skypaw!"
Skypaw groaned. Why couldn't she have one moment with her sister before it was interrupted?
"I got to go train," Skypaw meowed apologetically.
"That's okay!" The excitement in Rainpaw's lake blue eyes returned. "I get to train again, too!"
Skypaw purred before ducking out of the den. She pushed the memory of Willowleaf declaring Rainpaw wasn't ready to train yet away. Being the only apprentices in the Clan, she knew that that would not be the last heart warming moment she would share with the cats she now knew as friends.
Skypaw blinked a few times as sunlight burned her eyes as she reached Hazelflower. She was not expecting it to be this late. I can't believe I slept till sunhigh! Did Hazelflower oversleep, too? She had thought it was dawn.
Yet again, she did trek through ShadowClan's territory and to their camp before returning to her nest on an empty stomach. As soon as she realized that, her stomach rumbled.
I'll have to grab something from the fresh kill pile after training. Skypaw prayed that it wouldn't be a long session.
"We're going to hunt today, lazy fur!" Hazelflower meowed cheerfully. No matter what mood Skypaw was in, Hazelflower could always make her happy just by her tone of voice.
Skypaw nodded approvingly. She hasn't hunted with Hazelflower in ages.
Hazelflower and Skypaw were about to head out of camp when a shadowy pelt stood below the Highrock. Her mother's voice boomed in her ears as she called out patrols.
"Border patrol: Duskwave, Petalheart, and Rainpaw." Skypaw purred as she heard her sister's name being called on her first patrol in what seemed like ages. Russetsky continued. "Hunting patrol: Jaysoul, Flarecloud, and Shadepaw."
Once again, the two she-cats were about to leave camp, thinking the ThunderClan deputy was done talking. However, her voice still rang through her ears. "We will be going to the Gathering tomorrow! The cats selected are Duskwave, Jaysoul, Bramblefrost, Bumblefoot, Petalheart, Hazelflower, Flarecloud, Firesoul, Shadepaw, Skypaw, and Rainpaw."
Skypaw's paws tingled with excitement at hearing her name. She continued out of camp for real this time with Hazelflower as they made small talk.
Skypaw almost tripped on her own paws as she saw amber eyes twinkle through the bushes before vanishing from her sight.
Yay! A longer chapter!
I know this Gathering is actually very, very late, and I apologize. Skypaw's been training as an apprentice for almost four moons now and I haven't mentioned a Gathering once. It's just been a pawful for her with the prophecy on her paws and Willowleaf being exiled, not to mention Sunstar's situation.
Please pretend that Skypaw and her littermates have attended about three Gatherings already, so this will be her fourth. This will also make it easier on me so I don't have to pretend she's in awe. XD
Also, I know I have only written one training scene for Skypaw. This was right before the battle with the badgers, in case you don't remember. I'm sorry, but I find writing training is actually quite boring when I know what I have in store for the silver tabby apprentice... XD
Thanks for reading and please forgive me for slacking off a bit!
Edit: I have just posted the first bit of the How To book. It's called 'How to Fanfic' and is published on my profile. Go take a look!