Brightpaw sat at the river's edge, her perfectly groomed fur glistened in the early morning light. Her mentor, Bluefoot, padded behind as Sheerpaw, Troutpaw and Brightpaw fished. The apprentices had raced ahead during the dawn patrol to catch some breakfast for their mentors.
"Bluefoot likes carp!" Brightpaw yelled as her brother dived underwater. The ginger and white tabby disappeared from view as he went under an algae covered rock.
Sheerpaw followed him, paddling through the water and duck-diving under with strong kicks. She saw the brown rubbery fish scatter as Troutpaw hooked them on his long curved claws. One of the fat fish panicked and swam right into Sheerpaw's waiting claws. She swam upwards with the thrashing fish in her jaws and pulled herself up onto the bank.
Bluefoot gave an approving purr as she saw the catch and Hawktail's face lit up momentarily when he saw the two apprentices.
"Fish-brained river weed!" Troutpaw yelled, violently shaking his wet fur like a twoleg dog.
"River weed doesn't have a brain!" Brightpaw mewed, cuffing him over the head with a sheathed paw.
"Can we eat them?" Troutpaw asked hopefully, licking his lips and staring at Silverfang pleadingly. Silverfang sighed but his whiskers twitched in amusement.
"You only care about your belly." He flicked his tail in a 'go ahead' and Troutpaw wolfed down the fish in quick ravenous bites.
"Maybe my warrior name will be Troutbelly." He purred, licking the remains of the fish off his claws and whiskers.
"Or Troutbrain." Brightpaw muttered, rolling her eyes at her brother's remark.
"Hey!" Troutpaw leapt at Brightpaw, pushing the small black apprentice into the water. Bluefoot padded over to the water and hauled Brightpaw out by her scruff.
"We have a patrol to do, don't you remember?" She growled, looking at Hawktail, who was taking small neat bites of the fish Troutpaw had caught.
"Let us eat Silverfoot." Bluefoot said, her voice tight as if she was forcing herself to be polite with the brisk grey warrior.
Silverfoot hissed quietly and licked a paw, his claws unsheathed threateningly. After a while, Hawktail sat up and began to clean his frazzled whiskers.
"Ready?" He asked. The patrol nodded and Troutpaw leapt up, waving his tail in excitement. Sheerpaw licked the oily remains of the carp off her teeth.
"Well "Troutbelly", can you remember were the borders are?" Hawktail mewed, his voice slightly teasing. Troutpaw's eyes shon and he nodded, racing off towards the border with his sister in tow.
"They'll be great warriors."
~~~~
"All cats old enough to swim gather here beneath the Willow Stump for a Clan meeting!" Palestar yelled. Robinfeather ushered her kits into the nursery and Sheerpaw sat up from her sun-warmed spot beneath a willow tree. She noticed Brightpaw and Troutpaw sitting by the Willow Stump, their pelts neatly groomed and a flash of jealously pulsed through her.
"RainClan!" She stood at the front of the Willow Stump, her chest puffed out proudly. "StarClan has been good to us this leaf-fall. The nursery has been full of kits and we have many apprentices. And now there are two apprentices ready to be warriors!" The Clan cheered as Palestar raised her head to the darkening sky.
" I, Palestar, leader of RainClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warriors in their turn." She turned her bright blue gaze to the trembling apprentices and mewed,
Brightpaw and Troutpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
The apprentices exchanged a quick look before nodding.
"I do." They chimed.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Brightpaw, from this moment you will be known as Brightleap. StarClan honors your independence and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RainClan. Troutpaw, from this moment you will be known as Troutfin. StarClan honors your energy and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RainClan."
"Brightleap! Troutfin! Brightleap! Troutfin!" Sheerpaw joined in with the Clan's joyful chants, her heart bursting with pride for her friends.
"Clan dismissed." Palestar mewed quietly, leaping down from the Willow Stump and over to Swallowherb. Sheerpaw noticed Hawktail and Shimmerfrost talking under the shade of an over hanging branch and purred.
"Have fun keeping vigil!" Oakpaw mewed, nosing Troutfin's shoulder.
"I'll have to keep him awake." Brightleap joked, flicking her tail.
"It'll be cold." Sheerpaw teased, purring louder as Brightleap aimed a good-hearted swipe at her with a sheathed paw.
"Whatever." Troutfin mumbled.
"Oh cheer up, you're no Troutfun. " Sheerpaw ducked Brightleap's next swipe and dropped into a crouch.
"Haha!"
"At least I don't have to sleep with you lot snoring like badgers." Brightleap teased, her tail whisking in the air.
"We're not that bad!" Oakpaw yelled as Troutfin and Brightleap walked away to go build their nests in the warriors den.
"That'll be me soon." Sheerpaw whispered to herself. Determination rose inside her and she looked towards the setting sun.
~~~~
"Head forth and see the rising of the moon!" Desperation edged the cats screech.
Sheerpaw thrashed in her nest and opened her eyes. Lolapaw mewed something inaudible in her sleep and rolled over, her hind legs sticking in the air. Her heart pounded in her chest and she padded out the den silently.
The moon was just above the horizon, resting by the tips of the Twolegplace. Troutfin and Brightleap were keeping vigil, paying no attention to Sheerpaw. Her paws seemed to carry her out off camp and she snuck through the barrier into the forest. Gathering speed, she ran through the willows, her head exploding with thoughts and StarClan cats whispering to her.
She reached the lake quickly, diving into the water and wishing for it to drag her under. The moon's silver light cast shadows that looked like twoleg nests. Sheerpaw paddled around the lake, reaching the other side. Soaked to the bone, she continued towards the moon unwillingly, as if some other cat was controlling her paws.
"The moon." She chanted under her breath. "Head forth and see the rising of the moon."
"And you are at the moon." A cat mewed. Sheerpaw froze. She looked up and saw the Gathering cliffs. A grey and white apprentice sat with his tail curled around his paws.
"Creekpaw?" Sheerpaw hissed. Another cat's scent hit her and she arched her spine.
"Sheerpaw!" Creekpaw's friend, Yellowpaw leapt out from under a rock and ran up to greet her.
Sheerpaw had meet the over-excited she cat on patrol by the SleetClan border and vowed to never talk to her again.
"Are you here too?"
"Well obviously." She mewed, moving away from the light ginger she cat.
The scent of BreezeClan drifted towards her and she jumped onto a rock opposite Creekpaw. A tortoiseshell tom stepped out of the shadow onto the beach. His yellow eyes shon in the moonlight as he looked around.
"Moon?" He asked. Creekpaw and Sheerpaw nodded and he relaxed, flattening his dark fur.
"Well." Creekpaw licked at paw calmly and looked at the moon, now fully above the horizon. Stars glimmered strongly in the night sky and a gust of wind tugged Sheerpaw's fur.
"We go to the moon." Sheerpaw ordered, her paws tingling. Mottlepaw nodded slowly and looked up.
"Surely there should be another?"
"Why?" Yellowpaw asked, her thick pale fur sticking up at all angles.
"There is!" An excited voice mewed loudly and a mottled tom burst out the bushes on the other shore. "Sorry! I couldn't sneak out."
Sheerpaw tilted her head, how did he know they snuck out as well.
"Applepaw!" Yellowpaw greeted the tom and nosed his flank.
"Can we go already? Sheerpaw hissed, feeling Poolsight breathing in her ear.
"Alright bossy, keep your fur on." Mottlepaw mewed calmly.
The five cats got up and looked at each other nervously.
"StarClan sent us to do this." Sheerpaw said, glancing at the timid cats. Mottlepaw nodded and stepped towards Sheerpaw.
"We will see the rising of the moon."
YOOOO
ALLEGIANCES FOR GOOSEFEATHERS CURSE
WHAT
HOUNDSTAR
CHIVECLAW
DAISYTOE
CHILLLLLLL OMG
I CANNOT EVEN RN
BUT CLOUDBERRY WAS RAVENWINGS APPRENTICE
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
MAPLESHADES VENGEANCE AND GOOSEFEATHERS CURSE WERE MOONS APART
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
YOU ARE READING
Warrior Cats; Empty Tide #1
Fanfiction"Poisonous flowers can grow in the prettiest fields." The four Clans of warrior cats who have lived by the Twolegplace for generations are being thre...
