Moon Of Warning - Warrior Cat Fanfiction

Chapter Four

Moonpaw opened her mouth to taste the scents of the forest. It had been three days since she and her brother had been made apprentices. Shadepaw had already perfected the basic battle moves. Moonpaw was falling farther and farther behind in her training, even though she was trying her best. Starlingmist had been doing separate sessions in the clearing, trying to get Moonpaw's moves as good as her littermate's. Right now, Moonpaw was doing her first solo hunting mission. The scent of mouse was strong here. Moonpaw closed her mouth, focusing on the point where the scent pooled. Her body lowered in a hunting crouch. She stilled her twitching tail, swiping her tongue over her jaws in anticipation of the prey. A leaf moved, revealing a small, furry, brown mouse. Moonpaw started to pad forwards, and, remembering her lesson with Starlingmist, she placed her paws lightly on the leaves below her. A mouse will hear you before it scents you. The mouse was nibbling an acorn, and oblivious to Moonpaw right behind it. The wind was blowing in Moonpaw's direction, moving the scent of her quarry to her and not alerting it of the danger. Moonpaw was only a rabbit-length away from it now. She pounced, her paws landing square on the mouse's back. She killed it with a bite to the spine. "Thank you Starclan, for this prey." She whispered around the mouse. Her tail in the air, she went back to where she had buried a thrush and a vole she had killed earlier. Relieving her prey of it's earthen nest, she shivered triumphantly. "Starlingmist will see how good I've done... She'll have to let me come to the Gathering!" Moonpaw said to the forest around her. To her surprise, it answered back. "You did do well young Moonpaw." Moonpaw jumped at the sound of the voice. "Who's there?" She asked, opening her jaws to taste the air. The scent that met her was familiar. "Starlingmist?" She called. Her grey-and-white mentor pushed her way through a clump of ferns. Moonpaw had learned to read her gaze, and she looked up, searching for disappointment. Instead, she was extremely pleased to see pride. Moonpaw jumped around like an excited kit. "See? Look at everything I caught!" She pointed with her tail to the little pile of prey. Starlingmist nodded. "Let's bring it back to camp, you know Twigleaf will appreciate the thrush. You should bring the mouse to Twinklepelt. And I think you should share that vole with your brother." Starlingmist mewed, picking up the thrush. Moonpaw snatched the vole and mouse by their tails and trotted back to camp behind her mentor. The thorn barrier snagged on their pelts, but the two cats ignored it. Starlingmist waited by the fresh-kill pile, still holding the thrush in her mouth. Moonpaw placed the vole beside her mentor, and bounced to the nursery and laid the mouse beside Twinklepelt. Now that the other four kits had been made apprentices, Crystalflower and Morningflame had moved back to the warrior's den. Twinklepelt inclined her head gratefully. Moonpaw raced back to Starlingmist and took the thrush, still bouncing around. She brought it to the elder's honeysuckle bush-den, and placed it on the ground in front of her. "Twigleaf! Marshheart!" She called, rising the elders from their sleep. "Wha' is ih?" Marshheart grumbled. Twigleaf shushed him. "Marshheart be grateful, the apprentice remembered us." She whispered. "I would never forget you guys!" Moonpaw meowed, her cheerfulness not decreased by the comment. She nosed the thrush towards the elderly cats. "The feathers will do good for your nests." She said. Moonpaw left the two cats with their meal, and went back to Starlingmist. Her vole was still beside her mentor. Moonpaw grabbed it, and went to find her brother. She looked in the apprentice's den, but the only cat inside was Litchenpaw, and she was sleeping. Moonpaw pushed her way through the ferns beside the warrior's den. He wasn't there either. She sat beside the fresh-kill pile and waited. She waited for a while, and was about to just eat the vole herself, when her brother came through the thorn tunnel. She straightened, calling his name. "Shadepaw! Over here!" She yowled. She saw his ears perk up, and his head swiveled towards her voice. His eyes brightened, and he ran to her. "Did you catch that?" He asked. "I did! Along with a thrush and a mouse!" She declared. Shadepaw looked at her with pride, and her heart glowed. "Why are you standing there like a frightened rabbit?" She teased. "I caught this to share!" He sat and curled his tail around his paws. "I was waiting for you to say that I could eat!" He replied. "Well..." Moonpaw purred. "You can eat!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Shadepaw started eating the vole, not stopping for air. "Save some for me!" She meowed. As they ate, Sharppaw stalked into camp, his fur sticking up and his eyes full of anger. "Where's Citruspelt?" He shouted. Many heads turned to him, and only one cat spoke out. It was Leafnose, who was also eating a shrew with his mate, Myrtletail. "I thought he was doing battle training with you?" Sharppaw shook his calico head. "He was! Then he told me to go to the Winclan border and catch something, and when I did, he was gone!" Sharppaw paced around furiously. Moonpaw shoved the bones of the vole away with a paw. She shared a look of concern with her brother. Even though their father didn't spend time with them, they still cared. Starlingmist started calling for cats to form patrols. "Swiftclaws, you take Treeclaw, Gladewing and her apprentice Lilacpaw, to look for Citruspelt. Follow his scent. Duskpelt, you take Slightshadow and Twistsnout for the dusk patrol. Go out when the sun has moved to touch the treetops. Marigoldheart, you can relieve Whiskerear of sentry duty when Duskpelt's patrol leaves." Starlingmist finished calling everyone's names, and then she padded over to Leafnose and Myrtletail. As the cats in Swiftclaws' patrol left in search of her father, Moonpaw sighed, and started to groom behind her brother's ears. In turn, he started on her tail. Soon, Marigoldheart and Duskpelt's patrol exited the camp, and Whiskerear came back in. She slipped inside the warrior's den. Tulipheart went to wake Litchenpaw. Shadepaw slowly fell asleep on Moonpaw's back. She curled around him, wondering; Will they find father? She as well drifted into slumber, laying her grey-black head on his side.