Chasingpaw lazily rolled over as the sun shone into the apprentice's den, trying to get just one more minute of sleep. After a lot of tossing and more tossing, she relented and opened an eye, hissing: “Of all days to be sunny, you choose the ONE day I WANT TO SLEEP!!!” She yowled. When the sun didn't respond (as expected, unfortunately) she groaned and forced herself to sit up. As she shook off the last remnants of her peaceful sleep, she squinted at camp. The golden trees of leaf-fall shimmered under the light of the morning sun. Fresh, cool air drifted sluggishly through the brambles. Cats were out of their dens, chattering, and the dawn patrol dropped a plump vole in the fresh-kill pile. She’d never seen the camp so vibrant before. Well, not since the old deputy’s death, anyway. It was almost refreshing — but FIRST — she needed some water. Chasingpaw’s body gladly welcomed the water, and she sighed contentedly as the cool liquid traveled down her throat. Alright, she was ready to train! It didn't matter that Shimmersnow hadn't taken the time to teach her yet. She knew the deputy was busy, struggling to follow in Mistlefern’s pawsteps. But today, she had promised to come watch her. Chasingpaw couldn't wait, not another moment! As she looked around, though, she felt her heart sink. Her mentor was nowhere to be found, and a little bit of sniffing revealed that she was in the leader's den. Chasingpaw perked up a bit. Perhaps she was discussing important Clan matters with Pantherstar? Ooooooh, how exciting! She hurried over and peeked in, feeling like a really awesome spy. Before she could do her sneaky tumble though, Shimmersnow turned around and gasped. “Chasingpaw! You’re not supposed to be in here!” She said. She glancing at Pantherstar, who was looking at the apprentice sheepishly. Chasingpaw blinked, not understanding what she’d done wrong. “Well, I thought you told me to come find you if you didn’t come see me by sunhigh. To mentor me. And… it’s sunhigh, so—” she broke off, noticing a shimmering red pebble between Pantherstar and Shimmersnow. “OOOOO A ROCK!” she grinned, pouncing. In midair, Shimmersnow stuck out a paw, and Chasingpaw struck against it with an “oof!” She fell down and rubbed her ear where a twig had poked it on landing. “Hey! What was that for!?” Shimmersnow looked mad. “GET OUT! And stop disturbing us! I’ll- I’ll catch up!” Leaving no time for Chasingpaw to protest, her mentor shoved her OUT OF THE DEN!!! Chasingpaw sat up, squinting against the sunlight. Urgh! How rude! Well, fine. If Shimmersnow wasn’t going to mentor her, she would just have to do it herself. She looked back and saw Pantherstar and her mentor just looking at each other, smiling. What was that about? She didn’t even want to know! She huffed distastefully and walked off. Making her way to the entrance, she made sure no one was looking before slipping out. She came face-to-face with a patch of daisies and sneezed. Looking back at the tunnel, she saw that no one was following her. Thank StarClan! She ran toward the thicket, feeling the last warmth of greenleaf following her before she leaped into a pile of crackling leaves, giggling. Well, of course Chasingpaw was angry at her mentor, but a part of her couldn' t help but like this new freedom she’d been given. She got up, shaking dry leaves and dirt off herself. “Alright, first things first, time to practice my hunting!” She padded into the darker area of the forest, ears flicking for any sign of prey. Closing her eyes, she sniffed the air. Oh StarClan, she couldn’t smell anything! If only SOMECAT had been there to guide her, but no! Shimmersnow was the most INFURIATING cat in all existence. Frustrated, she decided to get a higher view. “Alright, up we go! I’m kind of nervous. This tree looks very old. Maybe it’ll get mad at me… oh, well. I have to try!” She unsheathed her claws and began worming her way up the tree. Somewhere along the way, she was sure that she just squished a beetle, and now its family was out for revenge. No matter, she had to keep going!
Finally, she reached a solid branch about a fox-length up, and she heaved herself onto it, panting. That was harder than it looked! How did cats do this ALL the time? Stretching her exhausted limbs, she remembered her goal. “Right, find prey! Alright, where could it be? Come out, prey! Oh, maybe if I tell them that it’s safe to come out!” She took a deep breath and paused. “How do you speak mouse? Umm… chirp, squeak squeak! It’s safe, micies!” Hah. She had done it. She had learned the language of even the most basic of prey. Hunting in leaf-bare was hers for the taking. “BEAT THAT!” she yelled to no one in particular. Suddenly, the air got chillier. Huh? That wasn’t supposed to happen. Looking up, she spotted something blocking the sun. Some kind of… bird? Well, she was sure that was normal. Although, it did look like it was coming this way. “Nope, it’s definitely coming this way. A little bit too fast for my liking!” Panicking, she crouched to leap off the tree. The ground was very far away. What if she couldn’t make it? She didn’t want to break all her bones! She yowled in terror as the bird swooped towards her, claws extended. This is it, this was the end! She would become its prey and learn just how feathery the inside of birds are. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” She felt cold talons grab her. She clung on to the branch, refusing to let go. The bird screeched and dug its claws deeper. Surprised, she squeaked and let go. The branch below her became a sheer drop, and her eyes widened as she realized she was in the air. “No! No, no no! I won’t let you!” The bird suddenly squawked and tilted in midair. They were losing momentum. Chasingpaw blinked her hazy vision and saw… a cat? A black cat? She gasped, relieved. “Brownflash!” The warrior hissed and clawed at the bird, her brown eyes flashing with fierce determination. “Let her go, eagle-scum!” She yowled, throwing herself onto the back of the eagle. It jerked in flight, and they were floating in place for a terrifying second before all three of them went plummeting down. Chasingpaw screamed as the eagle let go. She began falling, away from the eagle and warrior. Brownflash grabbed her scruff before she could get too far and leaped from the back of the eagle onto a redwood tree. Chasingpaw trembled, her body shaking with fear and shock. She dared to look down, but she couldn’t the eagle anymore. She turned to Brownflash to thank her, but the older cat looked furious. “Who told you to come out here alone!?” She hissed. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous for apprentices, and any cat, to be out here? I’m going to tell your mentor, and you’d better get a punishment for this. If I hadn’t heard your ridiculous shouting, why, you’d be in pieces and fed to eagle chicks by now!” She bit Chasingpaw’s scruff and began making her way down the tree slowly, cursing and muttering through her neck fur. Chasingpaw trembled. She had never seen her so angry before. “W-wait! You don’t understand!” She protested. “Sh-shimmersnow was the one that told me to go train by myself. She… she said she would catch up. But I know that I was wrong to—” she broke off with a yelp as Brownflash stumbled. The warrior dropped her on a branch, looking like she was about to explode. “Shimmersnow said… WHAT?!?!?” She roared, unsheathing her claws and scratching a deep gash into the redwood tree. “That ridiculous cat! She doesn’t even know how to be a proper cat, let alone a deputy and mentor! Why Pantherstar would even—” she broke off, noticing that Chasingpaw was bleeding on the sides. Brownflash sighed worriedly. “Come on, let’s get you home.” Chasingpaw let herself be carried all the way down the tree and back to camp. She never wanted to train by herself ever again! --------------------------------------------------------- Credits to ClanGen for the names and plot events I post a new chapter every Wednesday!!! Ping list (if you want to be taken off or added to the list, please let me know!): @youwanttoknow @zehrsofdestiny @Foxtail017 @thebeanartist @Glistenfeather Hey guys! Soooo I got the most votes for making this into a comic, so when I have at least ten chapters posted I'll start working on the comic. I don't know if I'll have time thought, but I can try! Anyway, thanks for reading! :D you guys are awesome
