Thundering Darkness

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Pebblepaw! Thornpaw! Batpaw! Darkpaw! Nightpaw! Minnowpaw!"

Pebblepaw fluffed up her fur excitedly as she looked around at all her clanmates cheering out her name. This is it! She was finally an apprentice. Pebblepaw wasn't sure she could feel any warmer, even as she fluffed up her pelt against the cold leaf-bare chill. Her rival, Darkpaw, didn't seem to be sharing her same excitement, though. It was understandable; Firbush wasn't exactly the dream mentor.

"So, how does it feel to finally be an apprentice, Pebblepaw?" Pebblepaw turned to see her new mentor padding up to her again, now that the crowd was disbursing. Her wounds still looked painful from the Thunderclan skirmish, but thankfully their rivals hadn't attacked them upfront again in the past two moons.

"I feel great!" Pebblepaw announced cheerfully, "I didn't expect to get the clan deputy of all cats as my mentor. I'm so glad I'm an apprentice even though I'm only five moons old!"

Shimmerclaw hesitated before answering, "yes," she admitted, "that was a surprise for me as well."

Pebblepaw blinked anxiously up at her mentor. Did I do something wrong? Shimmerclaw was usually so cheerful and mischievous despite her age.

Then, Shimmerclaw flicked her ears, as though she was dismissing her thoughts. Pebblepaw wondered what would happen next as the last of her clanmates disbursed and returned to the rest of their duties. She noted that Carptuft and Basstail, the two new warriors that had been promoted today as well, were digging into the freshkill pile, and preparing themselves for their long nighttime vigil.

"Well Pebblepaw," Shimmerclaw began again, "I'll give you until sunhigh to adjust yourself to being a 'paw, and then I'll talk to the rest of the mentors to get all six of you new apprentices to tour Riverclan's vast territory together!"

Pebblepaw blinked eagerly, "alright Shimmerclaw," she nodded agreeably.

The clan deputy and her new mentor nudged her affectionately, "sneaking out isn't illegal now Pebblepaw, but don't take that for granted," she said with a slight laugh, and then padded away, giving Pebblepaw a wry, mischievous glance, "I did it too, as a kit, of course."

Pebblepaw bounded toward her mother. She expected Spikewillow to be happy, but the warrior was glowering at her, pelt bushed up in agitation.

"I thought I raised you better," she spat at Pebblepaw, "being a little tattletale, and whining off to Troutstar whenever things don't go your way. Now he despises me, and it's all your fault. We're cutting ties now Pebblepaw, once and for all. I owe you nothing now."

Pebblepaw merely walked away sadly. Troutstar had told her that Spikewillow wasn't worth the effort. She always talked to him about everything that Spikewillow did, or said to her, but that didn't make her a tattletale. She noticed that by contrast to her own mother, Lilacstorm, mother to Nightpaw and Darkpaw was nuzzling her two kits affectionately.

"It will be good to finally patrol with you two," she said to them proudly, "the nursery is so cramped, and all you can really do is sit there being bored, but when you're out in the forest everything is different. You can truly live out your best life, fighting, patrolling, and catching freshkill for your clan- I can't imagine a more fulfilling life."

Pebblepaw fluffed up her pelt eagerly and proudly. I am going to be the best apprentice ever. Nothing will ever hurt Riverclan again!

"And this, young cats, is the Windclan border. They can be kind of StarClan-crazy and are a little bit prickly on the whole, but we've managed not to lose any territory to them so far under Troutstar's leadership."

Pebblepaw was on her first ever trip outside of clan territory. She and Shimmerclaw were at the lead of the patrol. She remembered a time a few moons ago when she would have darted into Windclan's own camp to attack them, after she had learned of their attack on Spikewillow and Riverclan. I was always a reckless kit, Pebblepaw reflected, now that I'm an apprentice, and I won't have time for being mischievous!

Windclan's territory was on a moor with gently sloping hills that seemed to stretch on endlessly into the pure blue horizon. It seemed so open, and free. As Pebblepaw stood awestruck at how big the world was, she noticed two warriors racing to catch a rabbit. Their long legs and muscular, wiry bodies propelled them rapidly over the rolling hills. They looked so different from Pebblepaw's own clanmates who had glorious long-furred pelts, and a more rounded appearance.

"Hurry up, apprentice," Pebblepaw turned around just to hear the sharp mew of Firbush, and realised that the rest of the patrol was starting to move on without her.

She propelled her short legs to catch up with the rest of the apprentices who were in the middle of the pack of mentors.

"Big isn't it?" Nightpaw mewed to her.

Pebblepaw felt a flash of irritation. Is he trying to make excuses about my falling behind the patrol? "It's nothing I can't handle," she mewed, and sprinted off to get back to the head of the patrol.

Shimmerclaw turned to look back at her, "how are the rest of your friends enjoying their first day out?" she asked cheerfully.

Pebblepaw took a second to catch her breath before responding to Shimmerclaw's question. It was really hard for her, a small five moon old apprentice, to keep up with her older denmmates. "I guess Nightpaw thinks it's a big world?" she offered, trying to make something out of the only sentence she'd heard an apprentice say on this trip.

Shimmerclaw laughed heartily, her teal eyes bright with amusement, "that's exactly what I remember on my first day," she said, then added wryly, "I actually completely lost my mentor on my first day out. Totally not on purpose."

They continued walking on for what seemed like moons. Pebblepaw was now gasping for air, as the taller cats walked seemingly faster and faster. What kept her going, past all the bubbling brooks and towering trees was the thought of seeing Thunderclan territory. If they make a fight, I can avenge my father, Treeleap, and prove that I'm not weak!

"Here it is. Thunderclan land." Pebblepaw looked up to hear Midnightstorm, Nightpaw's mentor's angry voice. Or, at least what seemed like an angry voice for the generally emotionless, aloof tom.

Pebblepaw looked up. If she was being honest, she expected to see a rat-infested dump, with angry, bloodstained cats crawling out of the shadows to attack them. Her imagination had made her picture a land that was different from her own; twoleg rubbish strewn on the ground, the reek of rotten freshkill, a land crawling with nothing but evil.

What she actually saw was a strip of land, with a gentle gurgling stream, and the sound of two sparrows chirruping in the leafy green trees. There was a peaceful feel about the place, and the scent of freshkill was everywhere.

"Huh." Pebblepaw heard Batpaw mutter aloud, "I expected it to be a bit more..."

"Evil." Min finished.

"This is almost worse, though," Darkpaw spat, "they've taken our own glorious land, and added it to their own rotting trash heap. Of course this place is beautiful," she said quietly, "that's because it should be our territory."

Min walked closer to the border, with seemingly no intention of stopping at the borderline. "Look!" She called out, "there are fire flowers over here."

The other mentors began to pad away. Pebblepaw watched anxiously as Min padded closer, and closer to the ThunderClan scent marker. Only a few more pawsteps, and she was going to cross it. Min's mentor, Snowflight's pelt was bushed. It seemed that even some warriors were scared of Thunderclan's scent markers. I guess Snowflight's always been ridiculously passive though, Pebblepaw reflected. Suddenly, there was a screech, and a flash of black fur darted across Pebblepaw's vision, and she was being bundled into the undergrowth, and into darkness.