Warriors: Into the Forest

Chapter 1

Oliver glanced out into the forest.  He had heard rustling in the leaves earlier that day, and he had barely moved since, wanting to see if he could discover what was out there.

     As usual, nothing happened.  The moon reached its peak, and there had still been no sign of any wild cats.  Another unlucky day, he thought.  I would like to hunt for myself every once and a while!

     He glanced back at his house.  All the lights were off except for one upstairs, and Oliver could see the outline of his housefolk walking around their bedroom.  Perfect.

     Oliver leaped down from the fence and raced into the forest, slowing down embarrassedly as his collar jingled.  He padded slowly and his mouth began to water at all the scents that surrounded him.  He could smell pheasants, mice, shrews, and so much more.  Then, his attention swiveled to the mouse nibbling a seed under a tree root.

     He raised his hackles and padded slowly towards the tree, but he stepped on a branch, and the mouse dove into the nearby hole.

     Oliver hissed, infuriated at the failed catch.

     "You know," a voice came from behind.  "That's not how you hunt mice."

     Oliver whipped around and saw a brown tabby sitting on a flat rock at the edge of the clearing Oliver had come to.  "Who are you?" Oliver asked.

     "Oh, I'm just Molewhisker.  A LightningClan warrior.  And you are on my territory." the tabby meowed, and Oliver saw him unsheathe his claws.

     "I'm sorry." Oliver mewed.  "I didn't know this was your territory, Molewhisker."

     "Sure you didn't, FogClan inva-" Molewhisker stopped speaking, and Oliver noticed he was looking at his neck.  "Oh, now I get it." the tabby mewed.  "You're a kittypet."

     "Kitty-what?"

     Suddenly, Molewhisker leaped at Oliver, and Oliver instinctively unsheathed his claws and clawed at Molewhisker.  They wrestled on the ground for several moments, until a scoff came from the edge of the clearing and Molewhisker jumped away, taking the collar with him.

     "What is going on here, Molewhisker?" a gray tom asked.

     "This,"  Molewhisker paused and glanced at Oliver.  "Kittypet was on our territory!"

    The gray tom took one look at Oliver and his eyes narrowed, but not suspiciously.  Was that... curiosity in his gaze?  "What is your name?" the tom, who had a similar scent to Molewhisker, asked.

     "O-Oliver." he replied.

     "Well, Oliver," the tom meowed.  "I am Thornstar, leader of LightningClan.  How would you like to join us?"

     Oliver barely heard Molewhisker's yowl of shock, and meowed, "Really?  I can?"

     "Yes." Thornstar replied.  "You look the age of a new apprentice, and you haven't been to the cutter yet."

     The cutter? Oliver thought before replying, "I'd love to!"

     "Then follow me."