Magpie Flying Alone- a Warriors Fanfiction

Chapter 2- Friends

Magpiepaw scowled as a paw prodding her side awoke her. "Come on you lazy slug. We're on dawn patrol." Magpiepaw wrinkled up her nose, before heaving herself up and leaving the den with Figpaw, the cat that had woken her.

Three days had passed since the pair had first interacted, and they had quickly bonded over shipping their mentors together. "Elkpaw is coming too," Figpaw informed her, giving him a subtle disgusted glance as she mentioned the smug tom. "Great," Magpiepaw muttered sarcastically. "He'll probably scare off the entirety of LakeClan by them looking at him," the two apprentices broke into giggles, but straightened up quickly when they saw their mentors approaching. 

"Is Elkpaw here yet?" Figpaw's mentor, Flintshard asked, his tail flicking slightly with impatience. "He's just finishing his prey. Will his mentor be coming too?" Magpiepaw's mentor Flintshard shook his head. "Lightningfrost is visiting his kits," Magpiepaw suppressed a groan. That's even worse, she thought irritably. He won't have his mentor to distract him, so he'll have to annoy us.

Elkpaw strode out of the nursery, looking smug, as usual. "I thought you said you were just finishing eating," Figpaw hissed at the tabby tom. "I know," he said as he reached them. "But Heronkit and Cloudykit are just too hard to resist! Blossompaw and I will have kits just as incredible as them someday." Figpaw and Magpiepaw exchanged eye rolls as they set out through the tunnel into the forest. Blossompaw was a white and ginger she-cat that was constantly obsessing over Elkpaw. Magpiepaw had no idea what she saw in him, apart from the fact that he was a decent fighter. Elkpaw was convinced they were going to be mates one day. Lightningfrost's mate Silvermoon had just had her kits, so Magpiepaw guessed her and Figpaw would have to deal with him most days. 

"Are we doing battle training? I bet I could take on Magpiepaw and Figpaw at the same time.'' "No, we're doing a border patrol but hunting if we can, and you would know that if you weren't prancing around with your kit friends," Figpaw muttered with a glare, before adding quietly, "and I've beat you before." Elkpaw opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to decide against it and just scowled. There was a few moments of silence, before Magpiepaw's mentor Frogspots broke it by whispering, "I can smell a mouse. Flintshard, You take it," Flintshard appeared startled and looked at his paws. "No, no, you're much better at hunting than me." Magpiepaw shot a look at Figpaw and they both tried not to react as the oblivious toms continued to bicker.

"Magpiepaw, you catch the mouse," Flintshard then insisted, making Magpiepaw's heart jump. "O-okay," she murmured. Feeling the pressure in her chest as she crept towards the smell. She spotted the tiny creature and prepared to pounce. She leapt, and landed just short of the mouse. It squeaked in alarm and started to escape, but Figpaw was there, intercepting it with a paw.

"Good job both of you," Flintshard praised them warmly, much to Elkpaw's dislike. "Magpiepaw needed help to catch a mouse. I can do it by myself," He commented haughtily. Magpiepaw scowled, but didn't protest. Hopefully he fails, then Figpaw and I will have  something to be smug about. Elkpaw crept up on a sparrow, flicking his tail, before pouncing and  landing neatly on the bird. Elkpaw turned to the she-cats with his catch, but Flintshard flicked him with his tail as warning not to say anything. Elkpaw looked reluctant, but padded past Magpiepaw to continue the patrol. As Flintshard and Frogspots walked on ahead, Elkpaw stopped beside her, dropping his sparrow. Close enough to ruffle the fur on her face, he murmured in her ear, "I told you that I'm better than you."

***

"Magpiepaw, Blossompaw, Elkpaw, and Emberpaw," Shadestar finished listing the cats going to the gathering and began to talk to his Deputy, Silentsong. "Yay," Magpiepaw grumbled as she turned to her friend. "I get to go to the gathering with my two favourite cats." Figpaw sighed in reply. "At least you're going to the gathering. I have to stay here getting jealous about Twigpaw and Fireflypaw being made Warriors tomorrow. All because of my stupid leg." Figpaw had wrenched her leg climbing a tree during training that day, and Lavendersong insisted that she shouldn't go to the gathering. "And I missed Fireflypaw's last apprentice training session. She really wanted me to watch her." Magpiepaw had a building suspicion about Figpaw and Fireflypaw, but for the sake of her friend she hadn't mentioned it yet. 

"Come on, twigs-for-brains. we're going." Elkpaw growled, and Magpiepaw said one last goodbye to Figpaw before reluctantly following the tabby apprentice. Blossompaw bounded up to her, and Magpiepaw tried not to reel back when she could feel the excitement radiating off of her. "This is my second gathering. I wonder if Snowpaw will be there. she's my friend from FalconClan. Do you know her?" "I've... seen her around," Magpiepaw responded. Blossompaw always managed to act like she was everyone's best friend. "OOH!" Blossompaw yelled quite close to Magpiepaw's ear, making her jump. "She's probably a warrior by now. I want to be a warrior, so then I can be a queen." That line sent a shiver down Magpiepaw's spine. She's a moon younger than me, and already thinking about having kits. Why aren't I? What's wrong with me?

***

Magpiepaw felt the same claustrophobic feeling she had experienced at the other two gathering she had attended. so many cats, so many judging her and her clan. She noticed that the energy of LakeClan had changed, and there was a more nervous, uptight feeling among them. she observed that quite a few of them had decently fresh wounds slashing through their glossy pelts.

The three leaders leapt to their places on the dead tree, and for the first time Magpiepaw realised how frail Shadestar looked compared to huge, powerful Wavestar and lithe, fit Falconstar. "Attention!" Wavestar yowled, before dipping his head respectfully for the older leader to speak. 

"StormClan is well," Shadestar reported. "Silvermoon has given birth to two healthy kits, and prey is plentiful. Falconstar?" the striped she-cat nodded. "CanyonClan is also content. we have a new warrior, Snowflight. Her littermate Sproutpaw is yet to complete his training as a medicine cat apprentice." There was a murmur of congratulations for the young warrior. Magpiepaw spotted Blossompaw's delighted face through the crowd, whispering excitedly to her friend. Falconstar passed over to Wavestar, who was more nervous than his usual confident self. 

"LakeClan has had some... troubles with a group of rogues on our shared border with StormClan. They managed to severely injure one of our senior warriors, Smokeberry, who later died from his wounds." A ripple of condolences for the fallen cat passed through the crowd. "We also managed to kill one of their cats, too, and so they seem to be backing off. The problem is, they seem to be moving onto StormClan territory." There were several yowls of protest and concern before Shadestar silenced them. "Thank you for informing us, Wavestar. StormClan will be on lookout. This gathering is finished." the cats dispersed, and Magpiepaw ducked her head as she spotted Emberpaw scanning the crowd, probably looking for her. Blossompaw appeared by her side again, and Magpiepaw used the opportunity to hide behind the younger apprentice.

"I can't believe Snowflight is a warrior now! Soon you and Elkpaw will be too, and I'll be alone in the apprentice den for a whole moon before I can be too. Ooh, I'm going to be the oldest apprentice, and I'll get to teach Lorikeetkit all about being a warrior." Frankly, Blossompaw's energy exhausted her, and she wasn't the one talking. Blossompaw seemed like such a promising warrior, but all Magpiepaw wanted to do was curl up in her nest and go to sleep.