Warriors; MoonClan: Fire [ 1 ]

Chapter Four

"Moonpaw, wake up! It's time to train!" Weaselpaw prodded Moonpaw with his paw. Moonpaw opened his eyes drowsily. "Go away.." he murmured, curling up. "Grayfoot and Raventalon are waiting for us outside of the camp!" Weaselpaw persisted. Moonpaw re-opened his eyes. They were training today! He got up slowly and shook his fur.

 "Hedgepaw's going to become a warrior when we get back, so we'll know what to expect!" meowed Weaselpaw. Moonpaw and Weaselpaw padded out of camp, interrupted by Ebonykit. "Hey, what'cha doing?" he meowed. "We're going to train!" Moonpaw mewed. "Cool! Can I come, too?" Ebonykit dropped into a hunting crouch. Her tail brushed the ground, and her paws blundered around. 

 "Ebonykit!" called a voice. It was Barkclaw. "That is not how you hunt!" Weaselpaw and Moonpaw laughed. Ebonykit looked at Barkclaw. Her head hung. Moonpaw and Weaselpaw took this as an opportunity to slip away. "Finally here," spat Raventalon. "Now now, Raventalon," Grayfoot meowed, "these are young apprentices. I remember your first day.

"Now," Grayfoot continued, "we're going to learn the territory today." Raventalon narrowed his eyes at Weaselpaw. "And if you get the idea to run off..." Raventalon unsheathed his claws and pawed the ground, ripping up dirt. Moonpaw imagined the grass as Weaselpaw's pelt. He shuddered.

"For StarClan's sake, Raventalon!" Grayfoot hissed. Moonpaw flinched at such language. "I will tear you to shreds next time you threaten and apprentice, kit, or elder!" Raventalon's face twisted into a smile. "There won't be a next time," he murmured. Moonpaw's eyes widened in fear.

 Raventalon's gaze rested on Moonpaw. His muscles bunched up. Moonpaw was ready to leap to the side. Raventalon pounced. Moonpaw leaped to the side. Raventalon hit his chin hard on the ground. Moonpaw took this as a chance to pounce. He leaped to the side. Raventalon kicked out. Moonpaw jumped. His back paw landed on Raventalon's foot. "Ow!" Raventalon yowled. Moonpaw bounded onto Raventalon. "Stupid apprentice!" growled Raventalon. He rolled over. Moonpaw wasn't ready, but he jumped off as Raventalon exposed his belly. Moonpaw slashed at his belly. "Raventalon," Grayfoot meowed. "Moonpaw just turned you into crowfood. I thought you'd be smarter than that?"

Raventalon hissed, "Good job, Moonpaw," through clenched teeth. Weaselpaw stared. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Teach me to do that!" "I guess it was just..." Moonpaw mewed. "Instinct." Moonpaw smiled with pride. "I'm proud of you, Moonpaw," Grayfoot meowed. "That's why I requested you as my apprentice to Hawkstar. I knew you'd be amazing from the start. Let's go!" Raventalon got up from his back. Weaselpaw bounced up and down. "Moonpaw! Moonpaw! Moonpaw!" he cheered. Raventalon narrowed his eyes and stifled a friendly meow, "Next time, Moonpaw, you'll be the crowfood!" "I don't think so!" Moonpaw replied, good-humored.

Moonpaw was tired by the time they got back. The sun was nearly down. They did a border patrol at the same time they scouted the territory. When Weaselpaw walked into the apprentices den, he immediately collapsed into his nest, as did Moonpaw. They were soon asleep. 

"All cats old enough to walk gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Hawkstar's rasp rang about the clearing. "He's getting weaker and weaker everyday," Moonpaw remarked as he sleepily walked into the clearing with Weaselpaw. "Agreed. He's going to lose another life soon," Weaselpaw meowed. Weaselpaw sat down with Moonpaw. They waited. Hedgepaw walked up. "I, Hawkstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down this apprentice," Hawkstar meowed. "He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his return. Hedgepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Hedgeclaw. StarClan honors your wisdom and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." "Hedgeclaw! Hedgeclaw!" called the Clan. 

Shiveringpaw, who was now Shiveringfeather, licked Hedgeclaw's shoulder. "Good job," she meowed. Shiveringfeather padded away to Dappleheart. Moonpaw and Weaselpaw looked at each other. "That's a good way to kick off a day!" Moonpaw meowed. Weaselpaw nodded. Raventalon touched Weaselpaw's shoulder. "Let's go," he meowed. "Bye, Moonpaw!" Weaselpaw mewed. "See you 'round!" Moonpaw called after him. Grayfoot distracted Moonpaw from seeing where they went. "Come," he meowed, flicking his tail towards Starlingfeather. Starlingfeather smiled and waved at them with his tail. Moonpaw walked into the elder's den.

There was a pile of moss and bracken. The den was empty. "I'll show you a little," Grayfoot meowed. He picked up a few bracken fronds and placed them in a neat pile. He lay moss neatly over the bracken. "You try." Moonpaw nodded. He walked over to the piles and did what Grayfoot did. He made a neat nest. "Good job!" Grayfoot praised. Moonpaw gave a weak smile. He didn't like doing this much. "Go eat, I'll talk to Raventalon when he and Weaselpaw are finished with their training." Moonpaw nodded. 

He padded over to the fresh-kill pile and selected an unusually small squirrel. Leaf-bare had come late this season, and that sadly meant a long, harsh Leaf-bare. He was born in late Greenleaf and could hardly remember the last time he felt truly warm. Moonpaw stayed by the fresh-kill pile. Soon, Weaselpaw was there too. "What'd you learn today?" Moonpaw asked. Weaselpaw lay down. "Battle-training," he mewed. "I think we're going to go learn how to hunt soon!" Moonpaw meowed, trying to cheer Weaselpaw up, because, for some reason, he was very gloomy at the moment. Raventalon padded up to them. "You two can go explore," he growled. "Don't cross the borders!"