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Warriors-The Faraway Isle-Past Skies

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RSC Cooper Inc
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« on: November 01, 2011, 06:39:44 pm »

Looking for feedback; will be editing soon. Keep in mind that this is the unedited version, i actually lost my updated file



PROLOGUE

 
The forest was quiet in the still of the leaf-bare night as four cats slipped out of the undergrowth. The cat in the lead, a muscular ginger tabby tom, stopped by a tree to mark it with his scent. Another cat, a brown, wiry-furred she-cat walked a few fox-lengths ahead and marked a shrub. The other two cats, a young, light-tan she-cat and a pretty grey she-cat, padded behind.
            The grey she-cat padded up to the ginger tom and brushed her tail affectionately along his back. “Not now, Greyfawn!” He said so quietly that only she could hear. She smiled at him and whispered “Oh, Sparrowfire, I can’t help it.”
The four cats proceeded along a line of trees bordering the Twolegplace. Sparrowfire lifted his tail in front of the tan she-cat to stop her. “Wait, Mousepaw, this is the border, we have to stay on this side.”
Mousepaw took a step back and looked up at her mentor. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, the wiry-furred she-cat pricked her ears toward the Twolegplace. “Wait, look at that!”
“What is it, Cloverfur?” mewed Sparrowfire.
“I think I see Turtletail over there!”
“What?” mewed Greyfawn. The three cats gazed in the same direction as Cloverfur, and, sure enough, a tortoiseshell tom was sitting on a Twoleg fence. “What is he doing in Twolegplace?”
Another cat, a blue-furred she-cat, ran out to Turtletail from the northeast. “That’s Bluewater, from RiverClan!” hissed Greyfawn.
“Wait; let’s see what she’s going to do. She seems alone.” Sparrowfire stopped Greyfawn from proceeding forward with his tail.
Suddenly, as Bluewater leapt up beside Turtletail, four more cats, two white toms, a black she-cat, and a silver tabby she-cat exploded from RiverClan territory behind Bluewater.
“It’s an ambush!” yowled Sparrowfire. “SkyClan, attack!”
The four cats shot out towards the RiverClan patrol. Sparrowfire launched himself at the black she-cat and the two rolled together. He grabbed her scruff in his teeth and tossed her towards one of the white toms that Greyfawn was scrabbling with. Both RiverClan cats teamed up against Greyfawn, but Sparrowfire jumped in between the three. He spotted Cloverfur on the other white tom, and the silver tabby on top of Mousepaw. The white tom jumped at him, flipping him over. “SkyClan dung!” he yowled.
“Stop!”
Sparrowfire looked up from the fight. Mousepaw had gotten on top of her opponent, and Bluewater was standing between Cloverfur and her opponent. Turtletail was standing right behind him.
“Bluewater wasn’t attacking,” he mewed. “We were…” He looked away, towards Bluewater. “We’re mates.” He finished hesitantly, with a sparkle in his eyes.
“But…” Greyfawn’s jaw dropped open.
With a RiverClan cat? That’s against the warrior code! Sparrowfire was shocked as well. “Turtletail, you can’t—“
“Twolegs!” yowled the silver tabby.
Sparrowfire turned towards the forest to see six Twolegs with orange pelts standing behind the ten cats. Four of the Twolegs were carrying branch-like objects. The other two were holding two shiny web-like objects. They haven’t seen us. But they are blocking our way back. He glanced towards RiverClan territory, where four more Twolegs were walking from.
“Follow me!” he hissed to the cats. He ran northeast with the wind, towards a line of trees along the Twolegplace. He looked back to see every cat following him. Mousepaw was in the back, a few tail-lengths behind Cloverfur. He ran ahead, looking out for any more Twolegs. He veered away from a tree-eater and a Twoleg monster as they tore up the earth.
Suddenly, the earth fell from beneath him. He had fallen into an open Twoleg den in the ground! As he hit the ground, two cats landed on top of him, and he heard thuds as 6 more cats fell. He looked up, and Mousepaw was staring down from up above. As he looked around the den, he saw many shiny webs like those that the Twolegs had. Objects hung on the wall that looked like glimpses of the forest and of a great span of water. A golden tom lay by a closed doorway.
“Hey! You must be the cats that my Twoleg is gonna take to the reserve!” he mewed.
“What? What is this place? And what’s a reserve?” questioned Turtletail.
“This is me and my Twoleg’s home. She studies animals and sometimes she sends them to the reserve. It’s an island far from the forest.” He got up and padded towards Sparrowfire and gave him a sniff.
“What’s an island?” mewed the silver tabby.
“It’s a piece of land floating in the Great River. That’s a really big expanse of water. Twolegs get to the island by monsters called boats.”
“So your Twolegs is going to take us to this reserve? Far away from the forest?” mewed Bluewater. She dropped her jaw.
“But we have to get back to our clans!” hissed Cloverfur.
“Well, my Twoleg isn’t going to care, she just wants to put cats on the reserve. But don’t worry, there are some other cats there already!” he mewed cheerfully. “It’s a great place, with big forests and a waterfall. You’ll have it all to your selves!”
Mousepaw has been listening to this whole conversation, Sparrowfire thought. “Mousepaw!” The apprentice pricked his ears at his name. “Go to Cloudstar! We need some help!” Mousepaw shot off towards the forest.
Sparrowfire sniffed; and earthy smell mixed with the smell of Twolegs came to his nostrils. The door opened up, and a female Twoleg covered in dirt stepped out into the room. She reached out and covered up the entrance the cats had fallen into with flat pelts. She cooed and reached down to pick up Greyfawn, who struggled in her grip. Outside, a monster roared. The Twoleg looked towards the sound, and then walked towards the shiny webs. She picked up every cat, each trying to struggle away, and enclosed them into the shiny webs.
She picked up Sparrowfire and Greyfawn simultaneously and dumped them both into one web. StarClan, save us! Sparrowfire looked to his mate. “I’m sorry,” he mewed. “This is all my fault.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” she soothed, “We’ll work this out somehow.”
The Twoleg uncovered the den again, and more Twolegs reached in to be handed the webs. When Sparrowfire’s web was handled, he swiped at his captor. The Twoleg drew its hairless paw back and yowled, then put a yellow pelt over it and picked the web up again. He and Greyfawn were placed inside the belly of the monster, it roared, and then took off. There were more cats in the monster already, and the cats around Sparrowfire wailed in anger and sadness. They were all leaving their homes and clans.
His hopes for becoming deputy were over. His hope to see his kits become SkyClan warriors was gone. His only hope now was that he could protect Greyfawn, Cloverfur, and himself. StarClan, watch over us, please!

CHAPTER 1

 
A slender, tortoiseshell-and-white tom stepped out of the bramble den. His ginger-orange stripes on his legs, back, and head caught the greenleaf sun, and Sunstreaks felt the warmth of the new season.
            He looked over the camp. The apprentices were playing by their den, the juniper bush. His apprentice, Blizzardpaw, was being tackled by Redleaf’s, Rainpaw. Icepaw and Bluepaw were sharing tongues as they watched the play-fight. Turtlepaw, the youngest apprentice, was playing with Joyvoice’s kit, Stormkit, and her foster kit, Beachkit, who had been found abandoned on the beach by Mossrocks.
            A tail brushed over Sunstreaks’ back. He turned to see a ginger-gold tom with a glint in his eyes. “Good luck today, brother.” the tom mewed. “Thanks, Bigfoot.” Sunstreaks replied. Sunstreaks had just been named the new deputy after his mother, Dreamgaze, had given up her deputyship to move to the elders’ den. Bigfoot padded to the juniper bush to share tongues with his mate, Fernleaf. As he sat down, their kits, Blazingkit, Rosekit, and Fallowkit, rushed out of the nursery, also part of the juniper bush, to tackle Turtlepaw.
            Paws padded from the bramble tunnel. The dawn patrol, Rockmoss, Bluefire, and Lightfeather, had returned, each with prey in their jaws. Sunstreaks followed them to the fresh-kill pile as they laid down their prey. He picked up a squirrel in his jaws and placed a mouse under his chin. He carefully traveled to the elders’ den, a hollow, dead tree stump, and placed his squirrel down in front of Dreamgaze and Barkfur.
“Thank you, Sunstreaks.” mewed Barkfur as she bit into her meal. “It’s an honor to have fresh-kill delivered by the deputy.” Dreamgaze mewed affectionately. “You’re welcome.” he said to both she-cats as he sat down to eat his mouse. Both Darknight and Treebranch each chewed on voles deeper inside the den.
“So, how is Blizzardpaw’s training coming along?” Dreamgaze queried. “She must be getting the best training; her mentor is her best friend, let alone closet kin.”
Sunstreaks looked up from his meal. “I think that she will become a warrior in the next moon. She has got her hunting skills perfected, and she has found great ways to be camouflaged to make up for her white pelt.”
“Well, she will be a great warrior despite her loss.”
“Wait, who’s becoming a warrior?” queried Barkfur.
“Blizzardpaw is, Barkfur.” replied Sunstreaks.
“Blizzardkit? But Hazestar just gave birth to her a few days ago!”
“Again, Barkfur, Blizzardpaw is almost sixteen moons old!” Dreamgaze mewed amusedly.
“And Hazestar… she passed away eleven moons ago.” Sunstreaks said hesitantly. Barkfur’s memory was going. It wasn’t even strong enough to remember her traumatic fall from Mossrocks into the sea. He played the day back in his head. They were hunting together, like they had in his apprentice days, when she had slipped off the edge of the top rocks. Toadgrin, then deputy, now Toadstar, led a search party, but they never found her body. She drowned in the sea, and lost her last two lives at once. Sunstreaks missed her deeply. She was his leader, his kin, and even his mentor.
“Oh, forgive me! I remember that now.” Barkfur apologized.
Sunstreaks finished his mouse and wished a good day to the elders as he walked into the open to find his apprentice. He padded to the front of the juniper bush, but only Bluepaw and Icepaw were still there, taking old moss out of nursery.
“There you are!”
Sunstreaks whipped around to see a spotted long-furred tom standing behind him. “Rivereyes, have you seen Blizzardpaw?”
“Redleaf and Rockmoss were going hunting, so I sent her out with them and Turtlepaw.”
“Well why would you do that? I was going to teach her the Sparrow Perch today…” Sunstreaks whined.
“Because it’s time you, me, and Falconflight raced again.” Rivereyes smirked.
“No, Rivereyes. I can still promise you that you are not going to win.” Sunstreaks mewed, annoyed.
“But how do you know that you haven’t become rusty?”
Toadstar was padding from the Shore Den, a den made in a dune bordering the stream running through camp. “You three haven’t raced in moons. You yourself need some more exercise.”
“Well, I’ve been busy with Blizzardpaw. I wanted her to become a warrior by greenleaf, but I still don’t think she is ready.”
“Oh, Sunstreaks, you need to relax!” Toadstar looked thoughtful. “I know, you three will race at sun-down; we will hold a clan event. When all cats are in the camp. Go ahead and find Blizzardpaw. Redleaf said he was going to the forest near Tree Cliff.”
“Well… Okay. I guess we can race,” he turned to Rivereyes “have you thought up another route?” he mewed.
“You bet I have!”
Sunstreaks nodded, and then padded towards the bramble tunnel. He passed Rainpaw playing in the stream with Beachkit. “Hey Rainpaw, why aren’t you with your mentor?”
“He told me to stay here. He was taking Turtlepaw and Blizzardpaw out.”
“Well, I’m going to join them, why don’t you join me?”
Beachkit, a kitten
Rainpaw perked up and ran up to Sunstreaks. Beachkit jumped up and ran at Sunstreaks, batting at his tail. Sunstreaks flipped around and playfully bared his teeth.
Beachkit returned the gesture, then sat up, licked his paws, and mewed “Hi!” in a voice so cute, with his lazy eye looking straight at him, that Sunstreaks couldn’t help licking his ears. Beachkit nuzzled his deputy, and then ran off towards the elder’s den.
Sunstreaks turned back around. Rainpaw was staring expectantly at Sunstreaks.
“Well? What are we waiting for?”
Sunstreaks admired the apprentice’s charisma. He stroked him with his tail then ran off through the tunnel, but slowed down so that the he could catch up.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2011, 06:48:02 pm by RSC Cooper Inc » Report Spam   Logged

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RSC Cooper Inc
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« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2011, 06:40:20 pm »

 
CHAPTER 2

 
The sun was starting to go down, and the sky was turning orange.
            Sunstreaks was traveling quickly, and Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw were trying to keep up behind him. He didn’t want to race Rivereyes earlier—racing him was always too easy. This time, however, the whole clan was watching. He was excited to show off his skills to Toadstar, who was planning out the race with Rivereyes and Falconflight.
            Falconflight was Sunstreaks’ main competition for the deputyship, and he was the closest match for Sunstreaks’ speed. The two were apprenticed together, so they had always been close clan mates, and never let competition get between them.
            Toadstar had been mentor to Falconflight while Hazestar had been Sunstreaks mentor. The two had shared a warrior ceremony when they had ran with all their ability to warn the camp about an incoming attack from DoveClan.
            As he padded into camp, he was tackled by a blur of ginger fur. He looked up at his attacker to gaze into brilliant blue eyes.
            “Hi Sunstreaks.” mewed the she-cat, amused at her instant victory.
            Sunstreaks widened his eyes, pretending that Bluefire had knocked the breath from him, and then went limp. She immediately jumped off the deputy. “Sunstreaks! I’m so sorry!” She frantically sniffed him and licked him between the ears. Sunstreaks sprang up and spun around her, dove under her legs, pushed up with his hind legs, then flipped himself over and grabbed her with his paws, finally landing on top of her, pinning her to the ground.
            She looked taken aback. “I guess the lick was unnecessary.”
            He returned the gesture. “Not if I do that.”
            He set his captive free, while Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw finally caught up behind him. The two padded to the fresh-kill pile and took a sparrow to share. Rivereyes and Bigfoot were sharing a large rabbit with Dreamgaze. Sunstreaks flicked his tail against Bluefire’s to say goodbye to her and joined his kin.
            “How dare you waste this much fresh-kill!” he said jokingly. “There’s more than enough here for only three cats! I guess I’ll just have to eat the extra fresh-kill.” He sat down in between Bigfoot and Dreamgaze and heard a chuckle from Rivereyes. Sunstreaks took a bite from the haughty rabbit, thanking StarClan for such a great meal. “Who caught this?” he queried after he swallowed.
            Bigfoot swallowed a gulp and stated proudly “Fernleaf found it and we cornered it together.”
            Sunstreaks congratulated his brother with a pat with his tail. “You two make a great team. We are all grateful that Fernleaf left DoveClan to join SparrowClan. She’s one of our best trackers.”
            “So did you remember our race?” asked Rivereyes, finishing his meal.
            “Of course I did! You’ve been asking for moons!”
            “Well, Toadstar said that he would call a meeting when it was time.”
            Sunstreaks scanned the camp for Toadstar. He was sharing tongues with Barkfur. She seemed to ask a question, and Toadstar showed amusement in his eyes. She must have forgotten something again. Sunstreaks finished his meal and went to find Falconflight. He was letting Icepaw and Bluepaw chase him, staying just out of reach of their scrabbling paws.
            Before he reached Falconflight, Toadstar got up and jumped up on top of the Shore Den.
            “All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather by the Shore Den for a clan meeting!” he yowled.
            Most cats were already close enough, but Treebranch and Darknight padded out from the elders’ den, Joyvoice followed her kits out of the nursery, and Sophie, the medicine cat, crawled out of her den behind the dead tree. Sunstreaks took his place right behind the stream.
            “Well, this isn’t as much a meeting as it is a clan event! It is now greenleaf, and it’s time to enjoy life! Our three fastest runners, Falconflight, Rivereyes, and Sunstreaks, have agreed to have a race for the first time in moons! Of course, we all know Sunstreaks has always won—" Sunstreaks licked his chest fur in embarrassment. “But it’s been a while, so maybe he’s become rusty. Well, Falconflight and Rivereyes, please step forward.”
‘           Falconflight and Rivereyes both padded out from the crowd to sit beside Sunstreaks. “Rivereyes, have you made a decision on the route?”
            Rivereyes hid a hint of amusement in his eyes as he explained his plan. “Well, we decided to start at Furface’s den, then take any route we can find back to camp, specifically, the fresh-kill pile. Rockmoss will officially decide the winner. Oh, and Lightfeather will come with us to start the race.”
            Sunstreaks expected the glint in Rivereyes’ gaze. Yep, I knew he’d be up to something. Toadstar nodded. “Alright, then let’s get this race started! But first would anyone else like to join?”
            Bluefire jumped up excitedly. “Can I join?” Blazingkit and Stormkit joined in her excitement. “Us too! We want to run!”
            “Bluefire, you may run, but kits, the distance they will be running, to you it would be the length of camp!” Toadstar mewed sympathetically.
            The kits took that as a challenge, and raced each other to the other side of camp. Joyvoice and Fernleaf raced after their kits. Sunstreaks was happy that Bluefire wanted to join. She ran up to sit beside Falconflight as they prepared to travel.
            “Well then, you five might as well get going if you wish to get back before sun-high tomorrow, with a route like that!” mewed Toadstar as he leaped from the Shore Den. “Rockmoss, you’ll be on watch tonight anyway, so you can warn the clan when they get here. Good luck, all of you.”
            Sunstreaks led his patrol out of the camp as the clan wished them to travel safely and to have fun.

            Furface’s wooden den loomed over the five cats. The sun had sunk about a tail-length in the sky. In front of the cats was a thin inlet wrapping around them.
            “Alright, everyone line up on the stream.” Lightfeather mewed.
            Rivereyes, Falconflight, and Bluefire stepped forward. Bluefire looked especially eager. Rivereyes had a suspicious glint in his blue eyes. Sunstreaks, though, made a point to stay where he was.
            “C’mon Sunstreaks, we’re starting.” yowled Falconflight.
            “I’ll let you guys start first. I’ll give you a head start.”
            Lightfeather stood beside the cats, and started them off. “Alright, get ready.” They all got into pounce positions. “Everyone ready?” they all nodded, but Bluefire hesitated.
            “Go!”
            Rivereyes and Falconflight jumped over the stream, and Bluefire tripped over her paws before leaping.
            “What are you waiting for? Don’t wait for me! I’ll see you back at camp.” Sunstreaks hissed playfully at Lightfeather.
            She nodded with a smirk, then took off. Sunstreaks waited until the party had reached the middle of the pine forest before taking off. He leaped over the stream and ran across the small plain.
He reached the forest and weaved among the trees. He scented a blackbird and quickly spotted it on a low branch of a tree up ahead. He leaped onto a lower branch of a tree and quickly leapt off into the blackbird, snagging it with his jaws. He landed lightly with the blackbird still in his jaws.
As he exited the forest, he caught up to Lightfeather and Bluefire, in the back of the race. He nodded cheerfully to the two she-cats as their eyes widened to see that he had caught prey in the middle of the race. He sped up and pulled away, spotting Falconflight. Rivereyes was to the left of him, the two only a tail-length apart.
Suddenly, Falconflight leapt over Rivereyes and headed to the stepping stones. Rivereyes turned his head to watch him, the same glint in his eyes as before. I knew it! Sunstreaks smirked.
The sun was half over the horizon. The sky was turning purple, and Rivereyes was reaching the river now, the river from which the camp stream branched from. It was too wide to jump over, since it was more than twice the width of the stream. Rivereyes was the best swimmer in the clan. He could swim right across the river, not needing to take extra time using the stepping-stones.
Rivereyes jumped into the river, and Sunstreaks reached the shore when Rivereyes had swum to the middle. Sunstreaks, without hesitating or stopping, leaped and landed         square on his brother’s shoulders. Without waiting to feel his brother flail beneath his paws, he leaped off as quickly as he had landed.
As he landed on the shore, he stumbled a bit from such a long leap, but managed to keep the blackbird in his jaws. He kept on though, leaping high over the bramble barrier shielding the camp.
He landed on top of the shore den to see every cat in the clan looking out the bramble tunnel. As he leaped across the shore, they all turned, wide-eyed that he hadn’t come from the bramble tunnel. He leaped over the fresh-kill pile, then set his blackbird on top.
The whole clan was buzzing, talking about the race.
“Sunstreaks is the fastest cat ever!”
“I thought for sure Falconflight was going to win!”
“Where are Rivereyes and Bluefire?”
Falconflight was running through the tunnel, smirking. He gazed wide-eyed when he saw Sunstreaks sitting contentedly. He padded up to him, flustered. “How did you pass me? I didn’t see you at all after the race started!”
“I’ll tell you when the others get here.”
Dreamgaze and Bigfoot came over to congratulate Sunstreaks on his win. Toadstar padded over to the Shore Den and strained to look over the barrier, afraid that another cat might just hop over the barrier too.
The sun was disappearing below the horizon when Bluefire, Lightfeather, and Rivereyes returned together. Rivereyes was soaked from head to tail-tip, while Bluefire and Lightfeather were chatting cheerfully. Sunstreaks spotted Falconflight padding up to Bluefire, rubbing muzzles with her. He looked away to find Toadstar. He was sitting in the same place on top of his den.
Seeing the last cats returning, he stood up and yowled “All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here by the Shore Den for a clan meeting.”
Sunstreaks took his place by the stream, and Rivereyes followed him, along with Falconflight. Bluefire walked with him, step-for-step. All cats were already close enough to hear, and they quickly quieted their chatter.
“Sunstreaks has won the race, with Falconflight right behind him! Rivereyes and Bluefire have both tied for third place!” Toadstar continued.
All cats cheered, especially Blizzardpaw and Dreamgaze.
“Sunstreaks, would you care to share your story of the race? Judging by your finish, it must have been exciting.”
Sunstreaks nodded, then spoke up so that every cat could hear him. He told the story of his entire race, from giving the head start, to the blackbird, to use Rivereyes as a stepping-stone. “Then I placed the blackbird on top of the pile.” he finished.
“You caught a blackbird?” Falconflight was wide-eyed, and Bluefire had a smile on her face, proud to have been the first to find out.
“How did you know I was going to cut through the river?” yowled Rivereyes.
Sunstreaks just sat up proudly. His apprentice, Blizzardpaw, ran up to him and muzzles.
“Now aren’t you happy that you raced?” mewed Toadstar as he leaped down. “I haven’t eaten decently since yesterday, I think I’ll help myself to that blackbird, if you don’t mind.”
Sunstreaks playfully flicked his leader’s ears with his tail. Toadstar stalked to the fresh-kill pile and took the blackbird as the rest of the clan broke up and went to their dens. Falconflight and Bluefire went to the warriors’ den, their tails intertwined, but Sunstreaks forced himself to think of other things, like the patrols.
“Rockmoss, I’d like you, Brighttail, and Icepaw to take the dusk patrol. Blacksnow, Redleaf, Bluepaw, and Rainpaw can take the dawn patrol.” He mewed to the selected warriors and apprentices. They all nodded, then went off to their dens. He was the last to enter the warriors’ den, and mewed a “good-night” to Toadstar as he was finishing his blackbird.
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« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2011, 06:40:54 pm »

CHAPTER 4


Sophie woke to the sounds of cats dragging brambles across the sand.
            She stepped out of the den to see Brighttail and Blacksnow directing their apprentices on how to build the barrier near the Shore Den with brambles. Sunstreaks was stepping out of the warriors’ den with an inquisitive look on his face. He padded to where Brighttail and Blacksnow were preparing brambles. Sophie stalked closer to hear what he was saying.
“Why are you building on the bramble barrier? Did it break?” he queried.
“No, we just figured, if you could jump over it, who is to say that a DoveClan warrior couldn’t?” Blacksnow replied.
“Our ancestors.”
The three cats looked over their shoulders to hear Sophie speak. She stepped forward to join the conversation.
“What do you mean by that?” Brighttail looked puzzled.
“Well, cats like Sunstreaks, Bigfoot, and Toadstar all having great jumping ability, right?” she continued. “Well, that ability is inherited from our ancestors in SkyClan. DoveClan isn’t descended from SkyClan at all, so they wouldn’t have the ability.”
“Well, then where did DoveClan come from?” Bigfoot had joined in the conversation, along with Fernleaf, Icepaw, and Bluepaw.
“DoveClan was descended from RiverClan. They have RiverClan’s swimming skill. They also received ThunderClan blood, because both Hawkstar and Beestripe both have ThunderClan haunches.”
“SparrowClan also received blood from WindClan, judging by Falconflight’s, Rivereyes’, and my own running skill.” added Sunstreaks.
Sophie nodded. Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw had also joined in listening. Fernleaf stepped forward, with doubt in her eyes. “But I left DoveClan and joined SparrowClan, so the opposite could have happened. It would explain Rivereyes’ and Blizzardpaw’s ability to swim.”
“Well, you are the first cat to change clans since the beginning of these two clans,” Sophie continued. “when Bluewater left her clan mates from RiverClan to join Turtletail, her mate from SkyClan. In fact, that is why Rivereyes and Blizzardpaw can swim so well.”
 “You two are very right.”
Toadstar padded out of his den. “Sparrowstar, the first leader of SparrowClan, was a full member of SkyClan. Greyfawn and Turtletail, also from the original clan, both had WindClan blood, and Bluewater was pure RiverClan. Dovefeather, the first leader of DoveClan, was pure RiverClan too. Icewater and Snowpelt were half ThunderClan, and Nightfog had traces of ShadowClan in her, which was responsible for her dark coat.”
“Wasn’t there a fifth cat in the original SparrowClan?” Blizzardpaw spoke up.
“Yes, Cloverfur, but she became a medicine cat, so she couldn’t have kits, or a mate at least.”
Blizzardpaw glanced at Sophie, but whipped her back before she could make eye contact. The fact that she couldn’t mate didn’t bother her much.
“Some of us got extra skills.” Toadstar continued. The whole clan, except for Barkfur, Treebranch, and Darknight were gathered around. “Rivereyes received agility on land and in water, Lightfeather can both swim and jump high, and Sunstreaks is our best runner and highest jumper.”
Sunstreaks and Rivereyes both licked their chests in embarrassment, while Lightfeather’s eyes lit up when she was mentioned.
“Well, I guess we didn’t think of that.” Rockmoss apologized. “In fact, with the barrier just the way it is, It has an extra advantage to those of us who can jump over it as a shortcut into camp.”
“Good. Next time, consult with Toadstar or me if you want to rebuild the camp.” Sunstreaks joked. The clan had broken up; it was almost sunhigh, and some of the cats went to take their share from the fresh-kill pile.
“C’mon, you’re going hunting with us.”
Sophie was startled by Sunstreaks prodding her flank with his paw. Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw were standing on either side of him. “We’re going to go hunt by Mossrocks so everyone can have food by sunhigh.”
Sophie nodded hesitantly, then followed Sunstreaks out of the bramble tunnel.

As the cats reached Mossrocks, Sophie immediately spotted a vole taking shelter in a crag between the rocks. She stalked up to it, and laid down right above it on the rocks. With a swift swipe, she brought the vole up to her jaws to deliver a final blow to its neck. She laid the vole down on the rocks and sent thanks to StarClan for her catch. She buried it at the foot of the rocks, where Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw had already buried two more voles.
A shadow swept over Sophie, followed by another bigger one. Sunstreaks landed in front of her, a finch between his paws. He turned, smirked, then buried his prey in the same spot.
She started up the rocks again when she sensed movement. She tried to find it, but before she could spot it, Blizzardpaw leaped out from behind a rock and bowled Sophie over.
“Aha! I did it! Did you see that Sunstreaks? She didn’t even see me!” Blizzardpaw was so excited that she could hide so well.
As a retort, Sophie kicked up her hind legs to launch Blizzardpaw forward, then flipped backwards to pin her down. “Did you see that coming? I don’t think so.” Sophie jeered. She let Blizzardpaw free and continued hunting.
By sunhigh, she had caught a water vole, while Sunstreaks had caught two more finches, and Rainpaw had caught a mouse. “This is good,” Sunstreaks praised the patrol. “Let’s head back.”
The hunting patrol took a shortcut through the trees. Sophie carried her two voles, Sunstreaks carried two finches, Blizzardpaw carried a finch and a vole, and Rainpaw carried a vole and a mouse.
Suddenly, Sophie heard a yelp from behind her. Blizzardpaw had her head stuck in a rose bush.
“What are you doing?” Sunstreaks mumbled around the prey he held.
“The roses smelled so good, I just wanted to smell them better.” Blizzardpaw’s mew was muffled by the shrubbery. Rainpaw was giggling as he sat beside her. Sophie playfully batted him with her tail as she padded up to help. She set her prey down, then pushed a paw against the bush to make an opening around Blizzardpaw’s head. She instructed Rainpaw to do the same.
Blizzardpaw slowly pulled her head back. Sophie carefully inspected her for thorns. “You’ve got a few thorns, but we’ll have to wait until we get back to camp for me to remove them.” Sophie mewed.
They reached camp in good time, the sun had hardly moved. The cats set their prey down on the fresh-kill pile, and Sunstreaks took his finches to the elders’ den.
Sophie brought Blizzardpaw to the front of the medicine den. She pawed at the thorns on Blizzardpaw’s face, and they fell out easily. She looked for more, and found some strange seeds on Blizzardpaw’s neck. She brushed them out and let Blizzardpaw eat with the other apprentices.
            Sophie tried to find the seeds she brushed away so she could inspect them, but she couldn’t find them. They must have fallen into the shrubs around the dead tree.
            Sophie padded to the fresh-kill pile and picked up a mouse and a shrew. She took them to the Shore Den to eat with Toadstar. She mewed to let him know she was coming in, then entered. She tossed the mouse to him and dropped the shrew by her paws.
            “Good day, Sophie.” Toadstar was laying on his back, a ball of dried moss in his paws. He’s such a kit! Sophie thought cheerfully.
            “The same to you.” She sat down and began to chew on her prey. He clawed his mouse by the tail, flung it backwards, then caught it by the tail in his jaws. He layed it down, but he seemed to have something on his mind.
            “Sophie, do you… Do you think—or maybe feel—something?”
            She swallowed. “What do you mean?”
            “Have you been feeling anything different? I had a dream a few days ago, and I’ve been having these feelings, if you will, that something is important that I’m not seeing.”
            “What kind of dream was it?”
            He rolled over and sat up. “Well, first, it started off with a night sky. I saw a cat in the middle of camp. I don’t remember what he looked like, but his amber eyes pierced the darkness. He also had bright streaks of blood on him. Well, the streaks resembled blood ,at least. Then, the sun came out, but it traveled backwards. It soon became night again, then day, and the cycle kept repeating. I realized that every time the sun went down, the cat started to blend into the stars, until only his eyes were visible. Then, all I saw were his piercing eyes looking straight at me from the night sky. They looked exactly the same, but somehow, I knew it wasn’t the same cat.”
            Sophie shivered. The dream played in her head. It seemed familiar, but she knew she had never had it before. She almost had an image in her head of what the mysterious cat looked like, but she couldn’t figure out who it was.
            “This seems familiar. I don’t really know who it is though. Maybe I’ll have the same dream, then I’ll probably be able to put more thought into it.” she finished her shrew and stood up. “I’ll try to think it over, and I’ll tell you if I come up with anything.”
            He waved his tail in greeting as she left, but he didn’t look at her, he seemed too distracted by his thoughts.
            Sophie went to her den and got comfortable in her nest. She tried to focus on the dream as sleep encroached her like darkness.
 
CHAPTER 4

 
Sunstreaks’ dreams were filled with stars as he slept. The night sky covered everything, and he felt the burn of another cat’s piercing eyes staring into his.
            He awoke to the sharp feeling of a paw prodding his side. He opened his eyes to stare into the same amber gaze as he saw in his dream. He jumped from his nest, the fur on his neck and tail bristling.
            “Whoa, hey, it’s just me!” Bigfoot yowled. “It’s time for you to lead the dawn patrol.”
            Sunstreaks let his fur lie flat. It was just his brother. He realized that the eyes in his dream weren’t Bigfoot’s. They seemed familiar, but not enough for Sunstreaks to match a name to. He led Bigfoot out of the warrior’s den, then went to fetch Blizzardpaw, but Brighttail had woken her and Icepaw already.
            “Alright, let’s head north.” Sunstreaks led the patrol out of camp, following the stream. Sunstreaks looked up at the dark, morning sky, still feeling the burning gaze of his dream. A single StarClan warrior still wavered in the sky, and Sunstreaks wondered if it was Hazestar, looking down on her clan. He wondered if she was proud of him.
The moon still hung in the sky, just a sliver of darkness left until it would be full. Later tonight, it would be full, Sunstreaks realized. Tonight would be his first Gathering as deputy.
            “Stop staring at the moon! We’re on patrol!”
            The icy mew came from Icepaw, who sounded nothing like her mother, Joyvoice. She was fully awake, and not happy about it.
            “Respect your deputy!” snapped Brighttail.
            Sunstreaks padded forward, keeping along the river until they reached the lake. He veered away from the line where sand turned to grass and started up the slope where grass became peat and rock. He climbed the narrow slope until he came out on top of the plateau overlooking the southern part of the island.
Sunstreaks gazed at the rock jutting out from the middle of the river. It was the roof of the Waterfall Cave. Before SparrowClan and DoveClan arrived, two chunks of rocks had fallen from the roof, leaving two gaping holes to let light into the cave.
He led the patrol along the river again, marking the border every once in a while. He noticed cats walking along the other side of the river. A dark tom, a white tom, and a grey tabby she-cat. Sunstreaks recognized Fallengaze, the clan deputy, Owlpelt, and Featherpelt. He raised his tail in greeting, but only Owlpelt and Featherpelt returned the greeting. Fallengaze had lost his sight last greenleaf, but had refused to let his blindness rule him.
The four seemed like they were tracking something. They weren’t grouped together like a patrol, but instead, they were scattered, sniffing the ground. They weren’t in the forest, so Sunstreaks doubted that they were tracking prey. He continued along the river until they reached pine trees.
“DoveClan!” hissed Blizzardpaw.
“Don’t worry, they’re on their own side of the river.” Sunstreaks replied.
“No, I can scent them too,” mewed Bigfoot. “the scent is drifting from the trees.”
Sunstreaks picked up the scent too. “Let’s follow it.” He led his patrol towards the tree, following the scent. As the cats got closer, the scent became clear. It was two apprentices, a tom and a she-cat, and they were confused.
“I don’t think we are. I don’t hear the river!” the tom yowled.
“It has to be! The rabbit holes don’t lead under the river!” the she-cat replied.
They must have followed a tunnel. There were tunnels all over the island, dug by rabbits and the cats from early generations. Tunneling was a skill passed from WindClan, and not many cats had it. Slender cats like Sunstreaks, Lightfeather, and Dreamgaze all had the skill, but never used it.
The apprentices must have chased a rabbit down the tunnels and come out in SparrowClan territory. Some tunnels weave lead the river, but it was considered to dangerous to use those.
“They must have gotten lost in the tunnels.” Sunstreaks told the patrol. “Let’s lead them back to the Waterfall Cave so they can cross back over safely. They found the apprentices pacing back and forth. “Who are you?” Bigfoot yowled at them.
They whipped around. “I told you this wasn’t out territory!” the yellow she-cat yowled at her clan mate. They turned around to try to run.
“Wait, that tunnel isn’t safe!” Sunstreaks yowled.
The apprentices turned back slowly. “How did you know we were going to the tunnel?” questioned the dark ginger tom.
“We overheard you. Now who are you?” Bigfoot queried.
“I’m Foxpaw, and this is Lightpaw.” the tom stated.
“You must be new apprentices.” Sunstreaks mewed. This is what that patrol was looking for! “Come with us, we’ll take you back to your territory.”
They both hesitated, especially Foxpaw, but finally followed the patrol as it turned south.
The seven cats reached the Waterfall Cave before the sun was halfway up. Bigfoot and Brighttail escorted the two apprentices across the rock behind the cascading waterfall. As soon as the apprentices had reached the other side, Bigfoot and Brighttail returned and the patrol traveled back to camp.
As Sunstreaks padded into camp, Bigfoot, Brighttail, and the two apprentices padded off to share tongues with their clan mates. Toadstar was waiting for the patrol.
“Anything to report?” he asked Sunstreaks.
“Nothing but some DoveClan apprentices that wandered through the tunnels. They went under the river and ended up in the northern pines.” Sunstreaks replied.
“Anything else?” Toadstar easily discarded the news as if his mind was focused on one thing.
“No, only the apprentices. We spotted a DoveClan patrol searching for something on their side before we found the apprentices, and later figured that they were looking for them.”
“Alright. Well, the Gathering is tonight. Are there any cats that you would like to come?”
“Well, I think Dreamgaze should come, since she just moved to the elders’ den. If you plan on mentioning the race, I’d bring Bluefire, Rivereyes, and Falconflight. I’d like Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw to come also; this may just be their last Gathering as apprentices.”
“Do you think that they should be made warriors?”
“Not yet, but they are the oldest apprentices, and they are running out of things to learn.”
“Alright then, I’ll take your word for it.” Toadstar took a few steps back, then turned around and headed for the dead tree. What was that look he gave me? Sunstreaks thought inquisitively.
            “Good morning Sunstreaks.” Bluefire cheerfully greeted him. “Did I hear you say something about me?”
            “Since you were in the race I asked Toadstar to take you to the Gathering.”
            “Oh! Thank you! I love going to the Gatherings!” Bluefire bounced on her paws.
            “You know—um, my paws are itching to move. Would you like to go running with me? Uh—we can hunt too.” Sunstreaks felt a little nervous talking to Bluefire alone.
            “You know you’re too fast for me!” she playfully flicked his nose with her paw. “But I’ll come anyway. I’m feeling the itch to run too.” Bluefire replied. She didn’t seem to notice the nerves in Sunstreaks’ voice.
            “Let’s go to the Tall Pine.” he mewed as she followed him out of camp. “Oh, and you don’t have to stay back there, you know.” He noticed that she stayed behind him, respecting his deputyship.
            She let out a mrow of laughter and matched his pace. After they passed the stepping-stones, she broke out into a run, looking back over her shoulder to see if he was following. He did the same, but he had to slow down to match her speed.
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« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2011, 06:42:00 pm »

CHAPTER 5

 
They took the longer route around the trees, but instead of heading for the Tall Pine, Sunstreaks turned sharply at the forest’s end and fled into the trees. He jumped into a tree and climbed to the middle branch. He turned around to see her right behind him.
Bluefire had a glint in her eyes that showed she was up for the challenge. She jumped up into the same tree, but Sunstreaks just jumped to a branch in another tree. She climbed higher, but Sunstreaks got ready to pounce into another tree. She anticipated the action and jumped into the same tree he was aiming for. Knowing she would do that, he raced down the tree, jumping from branch to branch. As he hit the ground, he took off towards the Tall Pine.
Sunstreaks ran as fast as he could, not wanting Bluefire to see where he was going to hide. He reached the huge tree and jumped high into the branches. As she caught up, he carefully  maneuvered around to the other side of the tree and dropped down to lower branches. He looked forward to see her arriving, sniffing around, trying to find his scent.
Bluefire padded forward, under the tree, and as soon as she looked up, Sunstreaks pounced, rolling her back, but somehow, she was able to pin him down.
She leaned forward and hissed playfully “I’m not that slow, Sunstreaks.”
She rolled over to land beside him, and the two looked up at the clouds. Sunstreaks enjoyed spending time with Bluefire. They had been so close in their apprentice day, but their paths diverged when they became warriors. Bluefire didn’t become a warrior until a few moons after Sunstreaks did, and he took his place as a senior warrior while she stayed among the lesser warriors. When he became deputy, he felt their bond weaken even more.
“I miss our apprentice days.” he thought out loud. “Do you?”
“You mean when we had to take orders from the warriors? Of course!” she joked.
He let out a mrow. “I mean when we were more equal. When I became a warrior, we didn’t really talk as much. Then, when I became deputy, I feel that we were even less equals.”
“Wait, are you saying that you are more important than me?” she mewed calmly and turned to look him in the eye.
“Oh—no! No, that’s not what I was saying at all!” he became flustered as he met her gaze. “No, I mean, I feel like you haven’t been thinking of me as an equal. I—like when we were leaving camp, I had to coax you to walk beside me.”
She looked away and had thoughtful look in her eyes. “Well, maybe I have been thinking of you as a better cat than me, but it doesn’t really help when you show off like the other day. You gave us a head start, just to show off, didn’t you? And the same with the blackbird!”
Sunstreaks thought the race over in his head. He was just giving them a chance, he knew that the race would be boring if he won so easily. However, before the race, he remembered his excitement before the race, how he had the will to win. Also how he had shown off his blackbird by placing it on the very top of the fresh-kill pile.
“I get it. I—I’m sorry Bluefire. I just wish…” He wished he could tell her his feelings, but he knew that she had stronger feelings for Falconflight, and he had the same for her.
“What is it?” Bluefire noticed his hesitation and looked into his eyes again. “You can tell me.”
Sunstreaks paused. “I don’t know.” His lie burned inside him. His feelings were locked in his stomach.
“Well, maybe it’ll come to mind if I tell you my one wish.” She smiled as she gazed at the sky. As she tried to explain it, though, her smile disappeared. “I do feel like a lesser warrior, Sunstreaks. I wish that the other cats would accept me as a senior warrior. I got my warrior name twelve moons ago, and I still have a nest on the outer edge of the den.”
She looked deep into Sunstreaks eyes. “I know Toadstar never thinks of me as a
great warrior, and not even my mentor, Dreamgaze, fully believes in my strength. I noticed Toadstar’s hesitation when he let me join the race.”
            “Well, do you know that no one has taken my nest near the center since I replaced Dreamgaze? Why don’t you take it tonight?”
            “Really?” she perked up, but her eyes clouded with doubt. “But if I moved away from Falconflight, I’m afraid that he’d be hurt.”
            “But there’s an empty nest near my old one, since… Since we lost Driftgaze.” Driftgaze was a senior warrior that died a short time before Sunstreaks became deputy. “Falconflight can take that one.”
            Bluefire lit up at the statement. She rolled on to her belly and pushed her muzzle against Sunstreaks’. “Thank you Sunstreaks!”
            When Dreamgaze became deputy, Sunstreaks had been a warrior for a good time, so he took a place next to his mother in the center of the den. Driftgaze slept in a spot next to Sunstreaks’. Since Sunstreaks was deputy now, he got the nest in the direct center of the den, which was reserved for the highest ranking warrior. If Bluefire took his old nest, she would have a spot right next to him.
            “You are most welcome.” He got to his paws. “Let’s head back, it’s sunhigh.” The sun had moved to the center of the sky since they had left. He hadn’t realized the time fly by.
            “You want to hunt first?” Bluefire got to her paws too.
            “That would be a good idea. It’s not expected of senior warriors to go outside of camp and not come back with prey.” He joked. She flicked his nose lightly with her paw.
            Sunstreaks took off south, with Bluefire trying to catch up behind him. He pretended to push his limit, and let Bluefire catch up, then pull ahead.
            “Hey! Get back here!” he yowled. They reached the southern forest after cutting right through the shallow pond, and started looking for prey.
            Sunstreaks opened his mouth to let the scents of the forest wash over his scent glands. Crow he thought. He spotted the black creature picking at something on the ground. He jumped into a tree behind the bird, then got ready to pounce.
            “Sunstreaks, wait!” yowled Bluefire.
            He had already pounced, but the crow fluttered away sounding its deep alarm call. As it flew away, it revealed the shiny substance it was picking at, and Sunstreaks’ paw landed right on it.
            He let out a screech of pain, and picked up his left paw to examine it. It looked like a piece of Twoleg waste, but Twolegs hadn’t visited the island since he was an apprentice, and Furface always stayed near his den. Where is this from?
            Bluefire ran up to him and checked his paw, then tried to dislodge the shiny object, but he yowled “Ack! No, no, no, Sophie should do this, she’ll know better.”
            “Alright, if you say so.” Bluefire seemed a little confused. She stepped backwards, then unburied a mouse she had caught. “Lean on me, I’ll support you.” She went to his left side to support that side so he didn’t use his hurt paw.
            They traveled slowly, seeing scattered pieces of waste every once in a while. As they padded along the narrow path between the river and the camp’s bramble barrier, the two cats had to move even closer together. Small pieces of waste were even caught in the brambles!
            They padded through the stream leading to camp, and Falconflight, Rivereyes, and Bigfoot came running as soon as they saw the two cats.
            What happened?” Rivereyes’ gaze was clouded with worry.
            “Where have you to been?” Falconflight queried.
            “Me and Sunstreaks were stretching our legs, then when we were hunting, he stepped on a piece of trash.” Bluefire responded. “We need to see Sophie.” She coaxed Sunstreaks to sit beside the stream as Sophie padded from her den with some herbs.
            “Yep, it’s in there deep.” she mewed. “Tell me what happened.” She started trying to claw the object free. Falconflight and Rivereyes padded away with Bluefire’s catch to take it to the fresh-kill pile, while Toadstar came to inspect the commotion. Sunstreaks shakily told the story, from the crow to the pieces of trash in the brambles.
            “It was Twoleg trash? Twolegs haven’t been spotted here for moons, other than Furface.” Toadstar thought out loud.
            “Here, chew on this dandelion.” Sophie pushed a yellow flower toward Sunstreaks. She had freed the object, and was rubbing some sort of poultice into it.
            “Will he be able to make it to the Gathering?” Toadstar pushed the question that hadn’t come to Sunstreaks’ mind yet.
            Sophie started wrapping a ball of cobwebs around his paw. “Of course, if he stays off his paw and keeps the cobweb dry.”
            “Don’t worry Sunstreaks, I’ll keep you company while you rest.” mewed Bigfoot.
            “And I won’t leave you lonely either.” mewed Bluefire.
            “Thanks.” Sunstreaks strategically looked at Bigfoot first, then Bluefire. When he looked at Bigfoot, his amber gaze unnerved him again, but Sunstreaks shook it off.
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« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2011, 06:42:54 pm »

CHAPTER 6

 
Sunstreaks had been resting by the dead tree since he returned with Bluefire. She and Bigfoot had stayed by his side, and he had also been accompanied by Dreamgaze, Treebranch, Barkfur, and even Sophie stayed to chat. Falconflight and Rivereyes padded by every once in a while, but never stayed for more than a few words. The sun was close to setting.
Beachkit, Blazingkit, and Stormkit stormed through the crowd and jumped onto Sunstreaks. Rosekit and Fallowkit attacked the crowd from the side, jumping on to Bigfoot. After the kits jumped on Sunstreaks, Treebranch, Dreamgaze, and Bluefire grabbed them by their scruffs and placed them by Bigfoot.
“But Bigfoot’s not my father!” Stormkit yowled.
“Yeah you’re not lucky enough to have one like mine!” Fallowkit praised her father as he swelled with pride.
“You’re the one whose not lucky enough!” Stormkit supported his kin. “Blacksnow is the best!”
“I bet Sunstreaks’ father is better than both!” Beachkit, the fatherless kit, mewed.
“But Sunstreaks doesn’t have one!” Blazingkit hissed.
“Yeah he does!” Rosekit turned to Sunstreaks. “Who is your father, Sunstreaks?”
Sunstreaks was surprised that this intriguing conversation had moved to him. “Well, that’s a good question. Unfortunately, I can’t answer it.” Sunstreaks had never met his father, nor had he really ever thought about him. He sent a questioning gaze at Dreamgaze.
Her startled expression didn’t surprise Sunstreaks. Neither he nor his two brothers had ever asked about the mysterious cat. “Your father?” she replied. “Well, I guess I can reveal his name.” Her eyes revealed two emotions, both love and sadness. “His name was Rikki, and he is a loner.”
He is a loner? Is he still alive? Sunstreaks thought. “He never really became a clan cat,” she continued. “but he was in the clan for sometime. I met him on the edge of our territory, when I had just become a warrior. I convinced him to join the clan, but he never fit in, or wanted to listen to Hazestar’s authority. He left the clan shortly after you were born, and shed his apprentice name, Eveningpaw, given for his starry black pelt, similar to Silverpelt himself.”
As his mother finished her story, Sunstreaks noticed Toadstar leaping onto the Shore Den.
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather her by the Shore Den for a Clan meeting.” Toadstar yowled the familiar words as the clan was getting ready for the Gathering.
            “We are about to leave for the Gathering, but first, as some of you know, Sunstreaks and Bluefire have found Twoleg waste scattered south of camp. Until we find out what is putting the waste there, no cat may go near the southeast forest.”
            Murmurs passed through the clan about the event, and Toadstar raised his tail for silence. “I have chosen the cats to go to the Gathering. Falconflight, Rivereyes, Bigfoot, Dreamgaze, Darknight, Redleaf, Bluefire, Turtlepaw, Blizzardpaw, and Rainpaw will come. We will leave when the first star appears in the sky.” He leaped down and padded briskly over to Sunstreaks.
            “Are you sure you want to go to the Gathering?” Toadstar asked.
            “I’ll be coming anyway so it’ll be fine.” Sophie replied for him.
            Sunstreaks’ paw wasn’t hurting, but he was still afraid to walk on it. Bigfoot and Bluefire promised to help him along the path to the Waterfall Cave.
            By nightfall, all cats that were chosen but Blizzardpaw, Rainpaw, and Toadstar were waiting at the entrance. Sunstreaks got to three paws, and Bigfoot rushed to support his left side. Falconflight was pacing around Bluefire, and Rivereyes was pestering Redleaf. Turtlepaw was playing with Stormkit and Beachkit, while Blazingkit, Rosekit, and Fallowkit were chasing Darknight’s tail.
            “Redleaf, please fetch Rainpaw and Blizzardpaw.” Sunstreaks asked the young warrior. Redleaf swiped a paw, claws sheathed, towards Rivereyes to push him away, then bounded over to the apprentices’ den.
            Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw soon appeared, with Redleaf right behind. Toadstar bounded from the warriors’ den, and padded up to the front of the crowd.
            “Is everyone ready to leave?” he scanned the crowd of cats, nodded, then raised his tail to signal departure. Sunstreaks was already on his paws, Bigfoot beside him. As Toadstar took off, all the warriors followed, with the elders, the apprentices, Bluefire, Bigfoot, and Sunstreaks hanging behind.
            As Toadstar neared the lake, the waterfall came into view, and DoveClan was already filing into the cavern. Toadstar led his clan up the rocks and turned to enter the cave.
            As Sunstreaks followed, he gazed around the huge cavern. Long ago, before his ancestors arrived, the river flowing over the cliff flowed under it, creating the great space. The southern half of the island sank and the river flowed over the new cliff to create a lake and two rivers.
            In the center of the huge space sat a ring of pointy stones that reached out from the floor and ceiling to try to touch each other, and inside the ring sat the two chunks of rocks that had fallen from the ceiling many seasons ago. Hawkstar, the DoveClan leader, was sitting on the left rock, and Toadstar was leaping onto the other.
            Blizzardpaw and Rainpaw broke off to meet Foxpaw and Lightpaw, the apprentices Sunstreaks’ patrol discovered earlier that morning. Dreamgaze and Darknight padded over to where Highleap and Berryeyes were resting by the ring of stones. Sophie was joined by Orangesky and his apprentice, Leappaw. Sunstreaks recognized Tornflank, Owlpelt, and Pebblestream, along with the deputy, Fallengaze in the crowd of DoveClan cats. The rest of the warriors but Bigfoot padded over to them to converse.
            Pebblestream, seeing Sunstreaks being supported by another cat, nudged Tornflank to glance over, and the two toms bounded to meet with Sunstreaks.
            “What happened? Why’s Bigfoot” Pebblestream queried, looking questioningly at both Bigfoot and Sunstreaks.
            “I stepped on some Twoleg trash this morning while I was hunting with Bluefire in the forest south of camp.” Sunstreaks mewed.
            “Well, why are you here and not staying behind in camp?” Tornflank tipped his head.
            Sunstreaks puffed out his chest. “I became the new deputy just a few sunrises ago.”
            Tornflank’s eyes widened and he looked back towards where the elders were sitting. “You have? But what about Dreamgaze?”
            “She decided to join the elders.” Sunstreaks replied.
            “Hunting with Bluefire, huh?” Pebblestream inquired suspiciously. He tipped his head towards Falconflight, who was chatting with her.
            Sunstreaks reared back and licked his chest fur. ‘Well—we were just hunting, there—there’s no harm in that is it?”
            Pebblestream let out a mrow. “Don’t worry, Sunstreaks, she doesn’t know about your feelings, and Falconflight would never hurt you.” The young warrior  flicked his tail.
            Sunstreaks reared back again. “How do you know about my feelings?”
            Before the young warrior could reply, Toadstar yowled to start the meeting.
            “SparrowClan and DoveClan, gather here in the StoneRing for the Gathering.”
            The warriors and apprentices outside of the ring gathered inside it, and Sunstreaks, assisted by Bigfoot, padded over to sit by Fallengaze between the two boulders. Bigfoot stepped back to join Falconflight and Rivereyes.
            “Greetings Sunstreaks.” Fallengaze had special senses of smell and hearing that made up for his blind sight. “I see that you have taken up a new position in the clan.”
            “SparrowClan is still enjoying a continuing era of peace,” Toadstar began. “Prey is great, and we have time to enjoy clan life. Just a few sunrises ago, Dreamgaze stepped down from her deputyship to enjoy a peaceful life with the elders.”
            The clans yowled their wishes of peace for the new elder. “Our new deputy is Sunstreaks.” Sunstreaks nodded as the clans congratulated him.
            Toadstar looked down on his deputy, then continued his speech. “Sunstreaks has more than proved himself worthy for his position. The day after he was promoted, he was challenged by Rivereyes to a race. The race became a clan event, and the two were joined by Falconflight and Bluefire. Sunstreaks showed his speed and skill by finishing the race with amazing results. First, by catching a blackbird along the way, and second, by using his quick thinking to use Rivereyes as a way to cross the river.”
            Sunstreaks felt pride burn his pelt, but the memory of Bluefire’s discomfort cooled it quickly. He turned to Bluefire to see her gazing at him. She was smiling, but she was hiding sadness in her eyes.
            “We think that Twolegs are visiting the island,” Toadstar continued. “because just this morning, Sunstreaks and Bluefire found Twoleg waste scattered south of our camp. Sunstreaks, if you have noticed, has a wound caused from a piece he stepped on. If you see any activity, please warn us.” He finished and sat down, nodding to Hawkstar.
            The DoveClan leader got to his paws and started his speech. “Fortunately, we haven’t seen any Twolegs or any of their waste. DoveClan is also enjoying peace, and prosperity accompanies it. Just yesterday, we appointed a new warrior, Flameclaw.”
Hawkstar let his gaze rest on a black she-cat. She licked her chest in embarrassment. Sunstreaks noticed that she had dark ginger front paws.
“We also have two new apprentices, Foxpaw and Lightpaw.” Hawkstar continued. Lightpaw puffed out her chest, while Foxpaw, who was laying against the ground, put his head between his paws.
            “They already prove adventurous.” He turned to Toadstar. “I apologize for their intrusion this morning.” Toadstar hesitated before nodding in acknowledgement. I guess I never told him who the apprentices were. Sunstreaks thought.
Hawkstar looked back over the two clans. “If there are those who don’t know it yet, Ruth and Boaz, the kittypets living with Furface, have been blessed with a kit of their own.” He paused as some cats cheered. “His name is David, and he has already strayed into DoveClan territory and met our warriors. Ruth and Boaz have taken him into camp to show him clan life. We think that they might let him join the clan!” Most of the cats cheered at that. “Featherpelt fell into the deepest of craters north of camp and broke her front leg. She is healing well, and is almost ready to join the rest of the warriors in their duties.” He sat back down. “That’s all the news that I have.”
“Then the Gathering is over. See you next full moon, Hawkstar.” Toadstar leapt off from his rock. He signaled with his tail to his clan to leave as the Gathering came to a close.
“Good luck with your deputyship, Sunstreaks.” Fallengaze had approached Sunstreaks to help him up.
“Thanks, Fallengaze. I’ll see you next full moon. Thanks for assisting.” Sunstreaks ran his tail along Fallengaze’s shoulder. It was a gesture of respect to make up for his inability to see Sunstreaks dip his head to the aged deputy.
He stepped away with Bluefire to follow his clan back to the bramble clearing. “Don’t forget your new nest.” he whispered into her ear.
“How could I?” Her gaze was warm as she licked Sunstreaks behind the ears.
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« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2011, 06:43:15 pm »

CHAPTER 7

 
Sophie crawled into her den after finally reaching camp after the Gathering.
            Thoughts about Toadstar’s dream had haunted her all day. She failed to have the same dream the night before, but she could still imagine the cat streaked with blood as vividly as if she had the dream herself.
            As she settled in her nest, she prayed to StarClan to send her the dream if it had any significance, and the darkness of sleep surrounded her.
            Her dreams started with her still inside her den. She got to her paws and padded outside. Immediately she noticed the night sky change to day and then night again. As the sky changed, a black-and-white cat sat outside the warrior’s den, watching the sky with a bright amber gaze. His forehead, back, tail, and paws were adorned with streaks of blood.
            The cat looked familiar, but Sophie’s mind refused to find a name. She looked up at the sky, and noticed that the moon was thinning as the cycle of night and day repeated.  The mysterious cat lowered his gaze from the sky to look directly at Sophie. His gaze burned into hers, but Sophie still couldn’t figure out who he was.
            She looked to the sky again, and realized that the moon was waning again. When the full moon appeared, the stars seemed to shine even brighter, and the cycle stopped.
She dropped her gaze to the mysterious cat, but he was gone. All that was left was his bright amber gaze that burned into her from the starry night sky.
Suddenly, she awoke. She had finally had the dream, but she needed to decipher it before telling Toadstar. She padded out into camp, and was surprised by the bright morning light.
Sunstreaks was laying outside of the warrior’s den with Rivereyes and his apprentice, Turtlepaw running around him. Sunstreaks was clearly enjoying the antics of the two toms. Sophie padded over to him and sniffed his hurt paw.
“It’s still not fully healed, but it can be uncovered later today, so stay off it until then.”
He nodded as Turtlepaw jumped in front of him and playfully swiped a paw across his face. Rosekit and Beachkit ran out of the nursery and tackled Turtlepaw, knocking him off his paws.
Icepaw and Bluepaw were sunning themselves outside the apprentices’ den. Blizzardpaw was chuckling because Rainpaw fell asleep walking outside. He was clearly tired from the trip last night. Falconflight was drinking from the stream while Bluefire was sunning herself beside him.
Sophie had a feeling that the blood-adorned warrior was near her, but he was not the cat that she needed to watch out for.
“Sophie, there you are.”
Toadstar was padding out from the Shore Den. He looked troubled.
“I need to make a trip to the Moonwater.” He mewed.
What? This dream must be really troubling him. She thought. “Shall we leave now?”
He shook his head. “I’m going to take Blizzardpaw with me. She hasn’t been there yet, and she is about to become a warrior.”
Sophie nodded. Visiting the Moonwater is an important part of an apprentice’s training. “Alright. Sunstreaks and I will watch the camp after you leave. I suggest you leave at sundown.”

Toadstar and Blizzardpaw padded out of camp through the bramble tunnel. Sunstreaks had been left in charge of camp, and Toadstar followed Sophie’s suggestion to leave at sundown.
The orange-pink sky was darkening above. Blizzardpaw respectfully stayed behind Toadstar and didn’t say much until they reached the lake.
The rock leading up to the Waterfall Cavern had a cave in the front of it. A sandy rock outside of the small cave was just big enough to hold a few cats to share tongues with StarClan. The water surrounding the small island reflects moonlight and starlight that filters through the waterfall. That specific water was given the name Moonwater after it was discovered to have the same powers as the Moonstone from the forest where the original clans live.
“Blizzardpaw, we aren’t swimming to Moonwater.”
Blizzardpaw had placed a paw in the water. She was one of the best swimmers in the clan, along with Rivereyes.
“We aren’t?” She took a few paces back. “How do we get there then?”
“Well, first off, if you try to swim, you’d be crushed by the waterfall.” Toadstar mewed. “There is a tunnel behind the cavern that leads under it and out into Moonwater.”
Blizzardpaw nodded, and the two cats climbed the rock and stepped in front of the cavern. Toadstar stopped to gaze at the waterfall cascading down from the sky. The dark orange-and-purple sky looked amazing through the screen of water, and the sun hit the falling river from the east and lit it up with dancing light.
He flicked his tail towards the cave and padded inside. Traveling into the ring of stones and in between the two chunks of rock in the middle, Toadstar’s pelt tingled as he passed under the two holes in the roof. As they exited the ring of stones, he and Blizzardpaw entered the back section of the cave.
Toadstar lifted his tail and Blizzardpaw halted behind him. “Let your eyes adjust.” he reasoned. As his eyes fixed themselves to the darkness, a hole in the floor appeared a tail-length in front of them. “This is the tunnel. Follow me carefully.” Toadstar jumped onto a ledge below the hole, and onto consecutive ledges.
After reaching the bottom of the tunnel, which was only a deer-length or two, light shone through the thin mist from the tunnel’s end. Blizzardpaw followed behind, and as she got closer to Moonwater, her excitement seemed to grow.
They padded out into the open, Toadstar noticed that the sky was dark blue, and the moon was about to appear.
“The moon is almost up.” Toadstar whispered.
“Then we can drink the water?” Blizzardpaw mewed excitedly.
Toadstar covered her mouth with his tail. “Yes, but you have to be quiet. We must respect our ancestors.” The original clans didn’t let apprentices share tongues with StarClan, but the island clans let them so that they can see where they come from. “When you drink the water, you will fall asleep. Your dreams will take you to the forest, where our ancestral clans still live.”
Blizzardpaw nodded. Toadstar looked up, and saw the moon filtering through the waterfall. He padded up to the water, and gazed into its murky depths. The moon and stars danced in the rippling surface. Blizzardpaw padded up also, and, after a nod from Toadstar, lapped at the water. She laid on her stomach and fell asleep. Toadstar did the same. As darkness crept upon him, he kept the dream of the mysterious cat in his mind.
His dream began as he was padding through the bramble tunnel back at camp. The sun was low; close to sunset. A golden she-cat appeared in front of him. “Beeswarm! It’s great to see you!” he mewed to his former mentor.
“What do you mean?” she queried. “We just trained a little while ago! C’mon, this meeting will be important.” She mewed with a glimmer in her eye. She turned and bounded over to the center of camp where everyone was already sitting. Hazestar was upon the Shore Den, looking much younger than when he had last saw her.
He recognized Driftgaze and Barkfur padding from the nursery, Falconflight running around their heels. But it wasn’t Falconflight back then, it was Falconkit. Dreamgaze followed behind, also with her kits, Riverkit, Bigkit, and Longkit. Longkit tried to run up to Hazestar, but Falconkit tackled him before the slower kit could avoid him.
He sat at the edge of the crowd. This meeting seemed very familiar, but he didn’t realize what it was until Hazestar began to speak.
“I have been told that a certain apprentice has obtained the abilities needed of a warrior.” She looked to the sky. “I, Hazestar, leader of SparrowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn.” She looked down at Toadstar, or Toadpaw as he was at the time. “Toadpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”
His memories of being an apprentice filled him as he padded to the front of the crowd and mewed “I do.”
Hazestar jumped from the Shore Den in front of him. “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Toadpaw, from this moment you will be known as Toadgrin. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SparrowClan.” She rested her muzzle on his head, and he licked her shoulder
The clan cheered his “new” name, and soon broke up to go to their dens. The sun had already sank below the horizon, and the stars were in the sky. Longkit suddenly appeared between Toadstar’s paws. Toadstar looked into the eyes of younger version of Sunstreaks. He was originally named for his long body. As he had aged, Longkit had became Longpaw. Soon his speed increased, and his orange stripes appeared, earning him the name Sunstreaks. His amber gaze was bright and wide, ready for the many seasons head.
The young kit turned away to follow his denmates into the nursery. Toadstar looked up, and, hidden amongst the stars of the night, he noticed an outline of a cat with a bright amber gaze. This was no StarClan warrior, though.
A sea bass flopping into the lake from the river above woke Toadstar. He finally realized who the amber gaze belonged to. He also had a pretty good hunch who the first mysterious cat was. His streaks of blood weren’t blood, though. More like streaks of sunlight.
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