————— ❝Mᴀʏ sᴛᴀʀᴄʟᴀɴ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀᴛʜ...❞ ————— Chapter three of Lost Hope! We switch perspectives to our second protagonist, a ThunderClan apprentice named Goldenpaw! [TW: mentions of war and bl00d.] ————— Next: undecided. Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/586884883/ First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/594737492/ ————— Goldenpaw walked happily out of her den and ran up to Mountaintail. “Hello there, Mountaintail.” Mountaintail eyed his apprentice suspiciously. “What brings you up so early?” Goldenpaw knew her master. What he was really asking was, “What are you up to now?” Goldenpaw grinned. “Just going out to hunt for my clan.” Her mentor scowled. She knew he hated it when she provided a good enough reason that he couldn’t say "no" to. Mountaintail sighed. “Fine. Don’t do anything you’ll later regret.” Goldenpaw winked at him, smiling, and ran into the woods. Almost immediately she spotted a squirrel to catch. She pounced on the rodent making it look like it wanted to run, but it was too late. She sank her claws into its flesh, blood splattered on her paws. “Ha!” Goldenpaw exclaimed with satisfaction. When she knew Mountaintail wasn’t watching her- which he does a lot because she was supposedly “suspicious”- she went farther into the woods and into WindClan territory. Goldenpaw grinned, looking around for anything to catch. But she couldn’t find anything that ThunderClan wouldn’t think skeptical. Her eyes went wide-eyed as she sniffed, smelling the scent of a fox. She glared at where she assumed it was and left, running back to ThunderClan. To cover up her tracks, she caught and killed more prey for her clan. When she walked back, Mountaintail immediately walked over to her. Goldenpaw giggled. “You missed me that bad, huh?” She said sarcastically with a wide grin on her face. Mountaintail looked at her confusingly. When she kept her grin and didn’t say anything, he shook his head and sighed. “You are not like most, Goldenpaw,” he said with a serious tone, but a smile started forming in the corners of his mouth. “Not like most.” “No doubt about that.” Goldenpaw laughed. “What did you come to me for?” Her mentor nodded. “Right. I want you to wake up every morning at the time you did today and start hunting. You are by far ThunderClan’s best hunter- and don’t you dare tell Stormstar I said that- so I’m sure you will be happy to do this.” “That’s just an understatement. But of course, I’m happy! Thank you, Mountaintail, thank you!” She licked him and jumped around. Mountaintail chuckled at his apprentice’s clumsiness. Pawsteps thundered from up ahead and both ThunderClan cats looked up, alarmed. A patrol of RiverClan cats bounded up to them, their tails lashing with irritation. “You there! We’re here to speak to Stormstar!” the warrior who was in the lead, Heronwing, snapped. Goldenpaw snorted. Who were they to charge into ThunderClan territory and order ThunderClan cats around? Stupid fish-munching mangepelts, she thought disdainfully. “Alright, we’ll take you to camp then,” Mountaintail grumbled. He took off ahead, his tail streaming behind him. Goldenpaw followed with the RiverClan patrol on her heels. Unease filled her to the brim as she glanced back at the rival patrol. Something about the way they acted and demanded Goldenpaw and Mountaintail around didn’t sit well with the dappled she-cat. “Stormstar, we have visitors!” Mountaintail declared as he and Goldenpaw marched the RiverClan cats into camp. Their Clanmates bristled around them like one huge angry cat, hissing and glaring at the visiting patrol. Pebbles skittered down the side of the High Rock and Stormstar made her way down, her stump of a tail twitching irritably. “State your purpose of being here,” she snapped at the RiverClan cats. Heronwing drew back her lips to snarl in response but the looks of her Clanmates held her back. “We’ve heard a rumor of ShadowClan allying with WindClan, so we want to ally with you. If ShadowClan thinks we’re that stupid not to notice them trying to gain power then they’d better think twice,” she growled. Heronwing whisked her tail as she waited for a response, her muscles tense. (cont below)
Art by me The Warriors franchise is owned by the Erin Hunter group Goldenpaw and Tornstar are owned by my friend @EvilStarry Inspired by the fanfic being written by me and Starry on google docs (look inside [backdrops - code] for something important) —————————— (cont from above) “So you come here, demanding an alliance with ThunderClan all because you heard a rumor? Bah! Don’t make me laugh, we don’t even know if that’s true. You could’ve made it up to gain our trust and ruffle ShadowClan’s fur. I’m not stupid but I’m not going to join an alliance over a rumor for StarClan’s sake. Does Blizzardstar even know you’re here? Was this his idea? Did he send you with this propaganda? Come back to me when you’ve got answers,” Stormstar hissed. She flicked an ear dismissively and turned her back to the rival patrol. Heronwing spat in fury and stomped over to be in the view of ThunderClan’s leader. “Blizzardstar did send us! And this isn’t propaganda, Blizzardstar has had reports of WindClan and ShadowClan scents mingled at our border. Don’t you think that’s a little bit suspicious, Stormstar? Or are you too dense to listen?” she challenged. Stormstar glared back at the RiverClan she-cat with baffled rage, her mouth flapping open and shut with stunned silence. “You- how dare you- well then. If what you say is true, then let me find out myself.” Stormstar huffed angrily. Flicking an ear, two cats--Rubyfire and Brokenear--sidled up to their leader’s side. “Let’s head to the border, everyone else, watch our guests.” Stormstar thundered out of camp with Rubyfire and Brokenear at her heels. Goldenpaw watched them leave, unsure if she should stay in camp or sneak after the three cats. After a few seconds of deep thinking, she decided to follow them. She found the group at the border, chatting amongst themselves. “I don’t see, or smell, anything wrong with the border. Those flea-pelts were probably lying,” Brokenear hissed. “They most likely were. I can’t find any mingled scent.” Stormstar agreed. “Wait, do you hear that?” Rubyfire interrupted. Goldenpaw held her breath hoping they weren’t talking about her. A noise farther up the border startled Goldenpaw and she stifled a surprised hiss. “So the patrol you sent asked me to meet you here. What do you want Crescentstar?” rumbled a deep tom voice. Peering around the bush she was hiding behind, Goldenpaw spotted the leaders of WindClan and ShadowClan, Tornstar and Crescentstar, sitting opposite of each other near the border. “It’s about the alliance. I’ve sent multiple messengers but they’ve all come back saying you weren’t available. Are you avoiding me?” Crescentstar said with a cold tone. “Why would I be avoiding you? I’ve been busy, that’s all,” Tornstar replied with a snort. Crescentstar wrinkled her muzzle, her face a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. “Whatever the reason, do you accept the offer?” she hissed, taking a step forward until she was just a mouse-length from Tornstar. The WindClan leader looked thoughtful, his black tail swishing as he contemplated his answer. “Fine. I accept the alliance offer. I’ll have to discuss this with my deputy and Clanmates however, so it isn’t a definite yes until everyone has decided,” Tornstar replied, flicking his scarred ear. “That’s an answer enough for me. I’ll send a patrol tomorrow asking for the final decision,” Crescentstar mewed. Tornstar nodded and took a step back, his eyes glistening with formality. “Shall I escort you back to the Thunderpath?” he asked. “No, I can see myself there.” “Very well. May StarClan light your path, Crescentstar.” The dark gray she-cat began heading towards the Thunderpath, casting a dark look over her shoulder at Tornstar. “May StarClan light your path too, Tornstar,” she called, returning the farewell as she drew further from the border. As Crescentstar disappeared over the hill, Tornstar turned and trotted further off into WindClan territory. (END of chapter three :) chapter four's release is undecided)
