Warriors: The Blood Moon Rises

Chapter one

The soft new-leaf air blew through the trees and birds flew overhead. The flowers were blooming and the sparrow eggs were hatching. New life was forming and so were new opportunities. Umber dropped to a crouch as she set her eyes on a mouse that sat a few feet forward. She stayed as still as she could so the mouse could not hear her black fur again the soft, green grass. She sprang into the air and pounced on the mouse, killing it quickly. Umber immediately started digging in. It was a fat and juicy mouse, and Umber was grateful for it. She hadn't eaten since yesterday. She took the last bite of her mouse, licked her lips, and started to dig a hole to bury the remains. Umber knew that clans of cats dwelled about, and if they caught you eating even something as small as a mouse on their territory, they would attack you and maybe even kill.
Suddenly, Umber heard rustling in the bramble bushes behind her. She raised her head and sniffed for anyone. Don't think anybody's here she thought, until she picked up a scent. Two she cats were somewhere watching her! "Come on out, clan cats. I know you're watching me!" Umber shouted at the brambles. The brambles rustled again, and out popped a large fluffy brown tabby. A few seconds later, an identical looking one popped out behind her. They looked young, and very clueless. The first one looked Umber up and down, and suddenly got into an attacking pose, which took Umber by surprise.
"Who are you? You're on Shadowclan territory!" She growled.
"Why should I tell you? Who wants to know?" Umber retorted, trying to be as mysterious as possible.
"We do!" The second cat jumped up from behind her, making Umber jump with surprise. "I'm Shadowpaw! The angry one about to slice your throat out is Falconpaw." Said Shadowpaw, gesturing to the other cat. Falconpaw rolled her eyes anxiously and nudged Shadowpaw hard. Umber could hear her mutter, "Shadowpaw, hush! It's just a loner. Let me do the talking so nobody gets hurt."
Shadowpaw huffed and rolled her eyes. Falconpaw jumped back into her attack position.
"I'm gonna say it again. You're on Shadowclan territory!" She hissed.
"What are you going to do? Get your leader? I just wanted a snack!" She replied non-chalantly.
"No, we're gonna fight!" Shadowpaw shouted, from the side this time, taking Umber by surprise again. They both hit the soft grass with an "oomph!" Umber hit Shadowpaw with a not-too-hard blow to the chest, stunning her. This gave Umber enough time to roll over and pin Shadowpaw to the ground.
"Wow, Shadowclan is weak! I will definitely be coming back here for food." Umber thought out loud.
"Falconpaw, help!" Shadowpaw stuttered nervously. She actually thought that Umber was going to kill her!
"Hey! That's not fair! Shadowclan isn't weak! Please let my sister go, she's only an apprentice." Pleaded Falconpaw, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Don't get any ideas." Umber muttered to Shadowpaw as she lifted her paws off her shoulders. Shadowpaw quickly trotted back to her sister and they dashed behind the brambles. Weird little cats, Umber thought as they ran away. Before Umber could turn around and leave, she heard a much larger voice.
"Falconpaw, Shadowpaw, go behind those two pines over there. Swiftshadow and I will show you how to properly deal with rogues." Out from the brambles stepped two cats. The first was a tall, jet black tom with cold blue eyes whom Umber assumed the voice belonged to. The other was a long-legged, gray she-cat whom she guessed was Swiftshadow. The tall black tom peered down at Umber. Her heart was thumping loudly. It felt as if his cold blue eyes were piercing her soul.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"U-umber." She tried to answer promptly so to not cause any trouble, but stuttered.
"Do you know whose territory you're on?"
"Sh-Shadowclan?" She replied
"Yes. And do you know what Shadowclan does to intruders?"
"I don't know, and I'm sorry but I don't want to stay long enough to find out!" Umber said, making a dash for it.
"Hey! Wait!" Swiftshadow called after Umber. She could hear them both chasing after her, and they were catching up fast. As she sped through the soft green grass, she tried to make as many turns and twists as she could to try and throw them off, but they still followed! Finally, she saw a hole in some bracken. She knew the bigger cats couldn't fit, and wasn't even sure if she could fit herself. She turned the sharp corner and dove into the hole. Down she went, falling and falling. She put her paws over her mouth so she wouldn't scream. Finally, she hit the ground. Umber coughed and got to her feet. There was bracken poking her and sticking in her fur. She looked back and noticed a cut on her flank from the bush. Umber panted as she scanned the area for a way out. She saw a tiny glint of sunlight, so she headed in that direction. They appeared to be dirt tunnels. Umber wondered if the clan cats that chased her used these for anything. These tunnels could be her new home! After a minute of walking, Umber saw the outside. No harm can be done if I just stay in these tunnels for a few nights, thought Umber. She decided to turn around and go back to the den. "I hope I never see another stupid clan cat again." Umber muttered before dozing off to sleep. Umber only slept for a minute before she heard a voice whisper.
"Hey! Psst! Loner! Over here!" The voice sounded oddly familiar. Umber peeked up at the mouth of the tunnel and saw the shape of a cat. As she padded closer, she recognized her as Falconpaw from earlier.
"What are you doing here?" Asked Umber, annoyed.
"I don't know. It just seemed mean to chase you off like that. I just wanted to say sorry about that whole situation. It was my first time hunting alone, and Ravenscar chewed me out real bad after you ran off." Falconpaw rambled.
"It's okay, I guess. I should probably say sorry for hunting on your territory or whatever. I didn't know certain groups were entitled to pieces of land." Umber said, putting extra emphasis on the word "entitled".
"It's okay, you didn't know. Sit down on that hollow log over there. Let's get to know each other." Said Falconpaw, gesturing to a log under a large oak tree. The log was right under a spot of sun.
"Are you even allowed to be talking to me?" Umber pressed, hoping Falconpaw would leave.
"No. It just seemed like the right thing to do, so I did it," said Falconpaw, looking ahead. "So where did you come from?" She asked.
"I don't really know. I just kinda hunt and survive and stuff," mumbled Umber.
"Well if you keep hunting around here, the clan cats won't be merciful. You won't be this age forever, and other clans won't hesitate to do more than just chase you off," said Falconpaw, looking seriously at Umber. "Maybe you could join...my clan?"