WARRIOR CATS: The Cursed Star - Tides of Darkness

Chapter One

   A call from a seagull woke Seapaw from his slumber. The tortoiseshell tom raised his head, his jaws parting in a yawn. He flicked his tail lazily and rose from his nest, shaking out his fur and stretching his limbs out, as they were stiff from sleep. The feline looked around the apprentice's cave, his turquoise eyes landing on his brother's nest first. Newtpaw was curled up, asleep. Right, he had accompanied the dusk patrol last night.

   Seapaw then looked at the other nests. Chamomilepaw was still asleep, but the other apprentices' nests were all empty. Shrugging, Seapaw turned tail and ducked out of the den and into the camp clearing. He relaxed a little as he felt the sun beat down on his fur, it was very pleasant compared to the cold den where the apprentice's slept. Looking around camp, he saw it was already bustling with activity, and it was only just past sun-up.

   That's what WaveClan pride themselves on, he thought. The fact that they were early risers and got things done efficiently. Seapaw didn't mind the efficient part. He just didn't like the aspect of getting up early, he always savored whatever sleep he could get. However, his clanmates weren't the same. The deputy, Gullwind, was standing under the Oceanrock, sending out patrols. The leader, Rapidstar, was sitting by his den, talking with a few warriors.

   Seapaw then saw the medicine cat, Oceanpetal, laying some leaves to dry out in the sun. Her apprentice, Breampaw, was entering camp with some herbs in his jaws. Mistypaw was by the nursery, playing with the kits, while Cricketpaw sat with his mentor. Seapaw spotted his mother, Shadedune, talking with Kelpsplash by the nursery as well. And Beachpelt, Seapaw's father, was most likely on patrol.

   Life seemed pretty perfect in WaveClan. Minus a few small things. His parents, both his father and his mother, had fallen out of love, or so it seemed. Meaning they not only distanced themselves from each other, but from Seapaw and Newtpaw as well. Seapaw grumbled and looked away. While he would like to have a relationship with his parents, he didn't push for it. If they wanted to be treated like nothing but Seapaw's clanmates, then that's what they'd get.

   Seapaw found himself pushing away the thoughts of his parents, trotting over to where his mentor was by the fresh-kill-pile, talking with Shorenose, who also happened to be his aunt. Divebreeze and Shorenose were much better figures in his life, the two were there for him more than Shadedune and Beachpelt ever were, they were the support that Seapaw – and Newtpaw – needed. Divebreeze looked towards Seapaw as he approached, a big ole' smile on his face. "Morning Seapaw. How're you feeling?" The tom asked. Seapaw gave a shrug. "I'm alright, Divebreeze," He murmured. "What's today gonna look like?"

   "I'm glad you asked," Divebreeze rumbled, looking to Shorenose. "I was thinking you could brush up on your battle training with Gustpaw," He explained, and Shorenose nodded. "Gustpaw also needs to be refreshed, to see what moves he knows. It's pretty close to his warrior assessment now." She informed him with a flick of her tail.

   Oh, that was right. Gustpaw, Mistypaw, Cricketpaw, and Chamomilepaw were the eldest apprentices, probably due to be made warriors very soon. Seapaw nodded, sitting down and curling his tail over his paws. While he much rather be training just with his mentor, he would go along with this. Not that he had a choice, really. He glanced around, and spotted Gustpaw emerging from the elders' den. Gustpaw swiftly approached, eyes bright. "I'm ready for training!" He announced, raising his head. Seapaw sighed and ducked his head. Gustpaw was kind of annoying. But Seapaw kept quiet.

   The four cats exited camp and headed to the training area. Seapaw stayed quiet while Divebreeze, Shorenose, and Gustpaw chattered. Seapaw was never really social. He was quiet, calm, collected, and didn't show a lot of emotion. He was the complete polar opposite of his brother Newtpaw. He was energetic, eager to learn, and talkative. Their differences are what makes them click. Seapaw's only real friends were Newtpaw, Divebreeze, and Shorenose.

   Breampaw was always busy, so Seapaw never really interacted with him. Mistypaw was too busy mooning over Gustpaw to notice any cat else. Seapaw didn't even know what Mistypaw saw in the confident, snarky furball that is Gustpaw. Gustpaw's ego was boosted so high, he endlessly rambled about himself and how great he was. Seapaw could barely stand being around Gustpaw, he probably would rip his own ears off if he were Gustpaw's friend. Cricketpaw was outgoing and happy-go-lucky, Seapaw didn't mind him but wasn't his friend. Chamomilepaw was quiet and shy, but probably the only cat Seapaw would get along with if they spoke, but she often hung around Gustpaw and the others.

   Seapaw saw Gustpaw halt in front of him. Ah, they were here. Seapaw raised his head and looked at the mentors. Shorenose spoke first. "Alright, we'll start with a mock fight. After, Divebreeze and I will tell you what you did right and wrong. Take your places." She said, sitting down besides Divebreeze. WaveClan apprentices always trained on the ocean shore, so there was a wide open space. Seapaw takes his place across from Gustpaw, a fox-length and a half away. Then, Shorenose yowled.

   "Start!"

   Seapaw saw Gustpaw leaping for him almost immediately, so Seapaw raced forwards. He was aiming to just knock him back, but he misjudged and Gustpaw jumped on his back. Seapaw growled and did his best to shake off Gustpaw. Then, he remembered. A move Divebreeze recently taught him was the drop-and-roll. So, Seapaw did just that. He dropped down and began to roll over, but of course, Gustpaw jumped off of him.

   Seapaw didn't waste time and darted at Gustpaw. He was looking at the apprentice's shoulder, but was planning to aim for his belly. Just like Seapaw thought, Gustpaw reared up to swipe a paw at him, but Seapaw ducked lower. As fast as a snake, he headbutted Gustpaw in the stomach and knocked him down. Gustpaw was laying down, winded. A low blow, yeah, but it's what got the job done. So, Seapaw would leap to pin him down. He placed his forepaws on the older apprentice's shoulders and a back paw on his tail.

   But Seapaw forgot one golden rule. Always protect your belly. The tortoiseshell felt Gustpaw's strong, hind legs pushing at his lower belly. Just like that, Seapaw was thrown off and landed with a thump. The tom groaned, having the wind knocked out of him. Dazed, he struggled to his paws. By the time he barely recovered, Gustpaw ran at him and went for a front paw blow. Seapaw ducked and rolled over out of the way before leaping to his paws clumsily, but he had executed that move better than any cat else would have. He then leapt onto Gustpaw's back and grabbed his scruff in his mouth, but he didn't bite down too hard.

   Gustpaw also knew the drop-and-roll, naturally, so he dropped and rolled over. Seapaw leapt off at the last second, landing messily on his paws and rounding to face Gustpaw. The two met head on, dealing blows against each other, claws sheathed of course. Seapaw raised a paw to meet a blow from his fellow apprentice, but Gustpaw turned and used the back-kick, sending Seapaw reeling. Catching his breath while lying on the sand, Gustpaw pins him down. That's when the mentors called it.

   "And cease! That's enough." Shorenose announced. Gustpaw grinned and got off of Seapaw, the latter rose to his paws and shook sand out of his black and ginger fur. "Good job, both of you." Divebreeze purred, wandering over with Shorenose on his heels. "Seapaw, I'm proud of your performance. You remembered what I taught you, like the drop-and-roll and the duck-and-twist. Your defense is great, but your offense could use some work. I'd be more than happy to help you work on that, of course." Divebreeze meowed.

   Seapaw nodded, taking his mentor's criticism into mind. Then, he listened quietly as Shorenose addressed Gustpaw and his work. It was just as praising as it was correcting. That's one thing Seapaw liked about his aunt. She didn't endlessly praise Gustpaw, and actually gave genuine criticism to the arrogant tom and didn't fall to his charm like others did. Gustpaw obviously didn't like the parts where Shorenose pointed out his faults in the mock battle, which made Seapaw have to hold back a snort.

   "Now, Gustpaw and I will head back to camp. Thank you for this session, Divebreeze and Seapaw." Shorenose mewed with a dip of her head. The she-cat turned tail and headed back towards WaveClan camp, Gustpaw on her heels. Seapaw turned to his mentor. "What now?" He questioned, tilting his head. Divebreeze hummed, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I was thinking you could get some hunting done," He replied. "What do you think?"

   Seapaw gave a nod. He liked hunting, way more than battle training. Something about it was calming to him. Stalking along the forestry border between WaveClan and MistClan, or fishing in the tidepools. "Sure, Divebreeze." The tortoiseshell murmured, his mentor smiling in response. "Great. You know the drill, no crossing borders and don't stay out too long." The tom mewed, and Seapaw nodded once more.

   Divebreeze padded away and Seapaw was alone. The tom would pad over towards the tidepools to get some fishing done. Seapaw was always better at fishing as opposed to hunting land prey. Once reaching the small cove with the tidepools, he crouched by one. While waiting for a fish, he glanced towards the ocean every now and then. Make sure to look, so you aren't swept away. He thought. As grim as it sounded, it was very true. Ever since an apprentice, her name was Streampaw, got swept away while hunting by these very tidepools, the leader at the time put rules in place that you must make sure to check the water of the ocean whilst you are there alone. Or, if you had a companion, they must watch so no cat got pulled out to sea by the strong ocean tides.

   It was a scary thought, really, being dragged out to sea. The very sea Seapaw was named after. It creeped him out just thinking about it. After a moment or so of watching the water, and deeming it safe, he looked back to the tidepool just in time to see a silver shape flit by. Seapaw dunked his paw into the water, his claws hooking into the flesh of the fish and he flung it out of the water. A rudderfish. The prey flailed for a moment or two but soon Seapaw leaned in and bit it, putting the creature out of its misery.

   Seapaw dropped the prey beside him and looked back towards the ocean. It was still tame – well, as tame as it could be – so he determined he could keep fishing. He went on like that for a while. Fishing, checking the water, and fishing again, until he had a few fish. Seapaw got to his paws, picked up his catches, and started heading back to WaveClan camp. The tom trotted along, his paw pads feeling nice on the sun-warmed sand. He could stay on the beach for hours if he wanted too. Maybe another time.

   Soon enough, he arrived back at camp and dropped his catches into the fresh-kill-pile. Prey seems plentiful, he thought. Not for long, with Leaf-bare on its way. Which was correct, it was the beginning of Leaf-fall. Despite having the entire season ahead, Leaf-bare seemed to come very, very soon. It wasn't as intense as it was in other places, but prey was still scarce. At least, in MistClan's forest. Seapaw sighed as thoughts of MistClan filled his mind. When Leaf-bare came, MistClan's leader Fallenstar always demanded that WaveClan and CoveClan let his warriors hunt on their territories.

   Fallenstar was the eldest of all three leaders, which means he believes he is entitled to whatever he deems. Rapidstar never let Fallenstar push him around, and neither did CoveClan's leader, Drizzlestar, though she was much more polite. Seapaw sighed, shaking his head, and those thoughts away. He lifted his head and saw Divebreeze padding towards him, smiling. "Good hunting, I presume?" He purred, glancing at the fish Seapaw had caught. The tortoiseshell tom gave a nod. "The tidepools were plentiful." He responded, nodding. "Well then, why don't you go bring the elders some prey? Then your duties will be done."

   Seapaw nodded in confirmation as Divebreeze padded past him and towards Rapidstar. Seapaw looked through the prey pile, picking up a large rudderfish and made his way towards the elder's den. Ducking inside, he spotted Dolphindawn and Featherscratch talking. Bubbletail was sleeping, and Dustyrock was picking a thorn from his nest. "Afternoon," Seapaw mewed, setting down the fish. Dolphindawn lifted her head and purred. "Seapaw, it's nice to see you." She responded, and Featherscratch piped up. "Are those fish for us?" She questioned, eyeing the prey. With a nod of his head, Seapaw used a paw to push the prey towards them. "Yes." He said.

   As the she-cat began to share a fish, Dustyrock glanced over. "Ah, young Seapaw! I need yer help fer a second, young'un." The old tom mewed, motioning Seapaw closer. Obediently, Seapaw padded over, and the elder continued talking. "Yer friend Gustpaw didn't pick tha thorns outta my nest," He said, and Seapaw snorted. Trust Gustpaw to mess up one of the easiest duties in history. "Will ya help me?" Dustyrock questioned. "Of course, Dustyrock. I'm sorry about this inconvenience." The tortoiseshell murmured politely. Using his paws to part the moss, he looked for thorns. He made sure to pick them out and put them in a pile. Once he was finished, Dustyrock settled back into his nest. "Much better, thanks young'un." He murmured.

   Another nod, and Seapaw turned to leave the elders to enjoy their lunch in peace. Now, he didn't know what to do. Yes, Divebreeze said he had the rest of the day off, but what would Seapaw do with that time? He was used to keeping busy, it made the day go faster. He looked around quietly, before seeing Newtpaw pad into camp. Seapaw walked over to the prey pile, grabbing a Sanderling and waiting for his brother by the apprentice's den. He waved Newtpaw over, and the black and blond tom happily padded over. "Hey, Sea!" He meowed, settling besides his brother. "Want to share?" Seapaw asked, and Newtpaw happily agreed. Seapaw spent the rest of day talking with his brother, their conversation spanning across several different topics.

   Time flew by without Seapaw even noticing, he only then realized how much time they spent talking when the sun started setting, making the sky look like a brilliant flame that faded into pretty blues and deep purples. Eventually, he and Newtpaw retired to the apprentice's den. Seapaw curled up in his nest next to his brothers, smiling as he felt his sibling settle beside him, his warmth seeping into him. Seapaw yawned, looking around the den. Then, he felt the tug of sleep pull at him, and he peacefully allowed himself to drift into rest.