Rising Sun- The Prophecy

Chapter 1

Sunpaw felt the ferns brush against his fur. The river flowed nearby. His tail was raised slightly above the ground. He lifted a paw, and Sunpaw's strong hind legs pushed him off the ground. He landed squarely on the water vole he'd been stalking. He picked up the limp body in his jaws and silently thanked Starclan for the prey. "Good catch!" his mentor, Sandhill purred. 

"Thanks." Sunpaw murmured, his voice muffled by the prey he was carrying.  They padded back to the Fireclan camp with two squirrels, a water vole, and a thrush. They dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile which was growing with all the Newleaf prey. "Great job hunting today, Sunpaw! If you're not too tired would you like to go to the river and fish?" 

"Of course! Could I also work on my swimming?" Sunpaw  tilted his head.

"Sure. Eat some fresh kill and we'll get going." Sandhill ordered. Sunpaw trotted over to the fresh-kill pile and chose a rabbit. He sat next to a moss covered log and took a bite out of the fresh-kill. 

"Hey Sunpaw!" Jaggedpaw bounded over to him. "What are you doing today?" She questioned.

"Sandhill's going to take me to the river to fish." Sunpaw took another bite after he finished speaking. 

"Oh, cool! Do you think we could train together tomorrow?" Jaggedpaw seemed full of energy. Sunpaw guessed she hadn't been out for training today. 

"Sure, that sounds fun, but I'll have to make sure my mentor doesn't have anything planned."

"Okay!" Jaggedpaw's icy blue eyes shined in the sunlight. Sunpaw sighed. She was so beautiful. How come he'd never noticed this before? "Sunpaw? Are you okay?" Jaggedpaw took a step forward.

Sunpaw blinked. "I'm fine." 

"Are you sure?" There was concern in Jaggedpaw's eyes.

"Yeah, I..." Sunpaw tried to think of an excuse. "I just can't wait for the next gathering!"

Jaggedpaw perked up. "Oh yeah, I forgot! It's tomorrow!" Sunpaw finished his rabbit in a few swift bites. 

"I'd better go. I think Sandhill's waiting." Sunpaw stood up and started to pad away. 

"Wait!" Jaggedpaw called. Sunpaw turned around at the sound of her voice. "Don't forget to ask your mentor about training tomorrow!" 

"Okay! I won't!" Sunpaw called back. As he walked away, Sunpaw felt guilty for lying to Jaggedpaw. It wasn't that big of a lie... 

"Hello Sandhill, Sunpaw." Needlewhisker, the deputy, stood before them. "I was wondering if you could go on a patrol with me, Owltalon, Whitepaw, and Shadowspot." Sandhill blinked.

"Just a minute." He replied. "Sunpaw, would it be okay if we canceled our plans?" 

"Sure." Sunpaw held his annoyance inside him. Why was Sandhill speaking to him like a kit? Well, it might be because I was excited about it. Still, it was pretty annoying. They padded back to Needlewhisker. 

"Of course. Sunpaw hasn't been on a border patrol today." Sandhill flicked his ear towards Sunpaw. 

"Okay then, let's go." They padded out of camp. "I was thinking we could patrol the Forestclan border today." Needlewhisker said. "That sounds like a good idea. The dawn patrol already got the Cliffclan border, and the evening patrol could get the Dustclan border." Owltalon commented. Sunpaw flicked his tail to Sandhill, beckoning him over. Sunpaw dropped to the back of the patrol, Sandhill following.

"I was wondering if we could train with Jaggedpaw and Wispcloud tomorrow." Sunpaw's voice was casual. 

"Sure. That sounds like a good idea." Sandhill replied. "We'll go at Sunhigh, if that's okay with them." 

Sunpaw purred. "Great! Then we can rest and get something to eat before the gathering."

"If you get to go." Sandhill reminded him. "I'll ask Woodstar to bring you along if you're good." Sandhill flicked him on the ear with his tail. 

"Thanks!" Sunpaw meowed. "I'll be super good!" Sunpaw vowed. 

Sandhill purred. "I'm sure you will." Sunpaw's fur warmed at the praise. However, a heartbeat later, the warmth turned to ice as Sunpaw heard the hissing and screeching of cats. Sunpaw opened his mouth to taste the air. Forestclan!