A War Of The Clans (Warrior Cats Story)

Chapter Two

Patience... Darkpaw kept thinking as she crouched low.
The small toad was was peacefully sitting on the log. They were content, yet aware that Darkpaw was near as its eyes were fixed on her.
Patience! She was getting annoyed.
Darkpaw couldn't take the slowness and leapt, the toad being alert.
She unsheathed her claws and scratched the leg of it as it hopped back into the small puddle.
"Fox-dung!" She snarled to herself.
"You gotta have more patience, Darkpaw," Reedpaw called out. "I get that its hard, but thats the main thing about hunting!"
"Whatever!" Darkpaw hissed, "just a stupid toad anyways!"
"Its prey!" Mistpool suddenly growled. "Do you want your clan to starve?"
She didn't answer.
"Thats what I thought!"
"I hate Mistpool," Darkpaw whispered to Reedpaw.
"Don't let her hear you!" He replied. "She has mice ears!"
Darkpaw snorted and tasted the air, she smelt her own scent along with Mistpool's and Reedpaw's. She suddenly smelt some rabbits, but ShadowClan doesn't have rabbits often.
"Anyone smell rabbit?" She inquired, looking at Mistpool and Reedpaw.
They tasted the air and nodded. Darkpaw started wandering to the scent, it didn't smell fresh. She dodged pine trees and small puddles.
"What in StarClan?" She questioned, seeing small scraps of rabbit. "Who would waste rabbit? And who did this?!" Her voice was sounding a bit grumpy.
She sniffed the rabbit, all she smelled was rotten rabbit and... WindClan!
"What'd you find?" Reedpaw's voice arose.
"Disgusting!" Mistpool suddenly yowled, possibly scaring all the prey. "I cannot believe this!"
This isn't a dream, Mistpool, you idiot! Darkpaw thought.
"It smells of WindClan, but why would they waste such delicious prey?" Reedpaw wondered.
"Well, we'll report this to Acornstar before the gathering." Mistypool rolled her eyes. "C'mon, pick up the prey!"
"Wait, us?" Darkpaw tilted her head, staring with disbelief. "No, no, no, us?"
"Of course!" Mistpool hissed. "Are you deaf?!"
"Its all nasty and gross, why us?!" It wasn't Darkpaw, but Reedpaw protesting.
"If you want to be a warrior," Mistpool began. "Then pick up the prey!"
"Fine!" Darkpaw hissed and sluggishly picked up the disgusting piece of prey.
It isn't even prey anymore! She thought, angry. Its just a ripped out piece of wasted kill!
I hate Mistpool," Reedpaw snarled. "How did she even become a warrior?"
"More importantly," Darkpaw let out a soft smile. "Why are you following us? You're supposed to be with Spikefur!"
Reedpaw perked his ears up.
"Oh, fox-dung!" He gasped. "I forgot!"
Darkpaw then watched him run off, she sighed then returned to her duties. She tried to ignore the rotten taste in her mouth, but she couldn't. She felt like she needed to gag.
"Hurry up!" Mistpool called from a far.
"I'm coming!" Darkpaw hissed in reply as she sprinted.
She let her paws make their way to the camp. Waiting there was Mistpool, reporting about the prey they found with Acornstar.
"There you are," Mistpool grunted as she snatched the prey out of Darkpaw's mouth.
Darkpaw sat down by her mentor, feeling uneasiness next to her. She coughed awkwardly, not knowing if she should leave.
"Anyways..." Acornstar continued. "It does smell of WindClan scent, its a possibility that it was them who killed it. Yet, they have a quite far distance between us..."
"True," Mistpool murmured.
"If this happens again, we'll report it to the gathering we have." Acornstar replied. "Right now we have to attend it."
Darkpaw watched her brown tabby leader climb up the High Rock. She looked proud and confident, like Darkpaw wanted to be.
"All cats old enough to hunt gather beneath the Clan Rock for a clan meeting!"
Cats gathered around and Darkpaw just stayed sitting.
"The gathering has come and it is time to choose who I will bring," She began as she scanned the cats. "I have decided to bring Mistpool, Cloudstrike, Spikefur, Darkpaw, Reedpaw, Stormpaw, Whitetail, and Softbreeze."
Darkpaw's green eyes widened at the fact she was going to a gathering. A gathering! She was also glad Reedpaw would come to. He was like her best friend, but felt like it was even more than best friends.
"Are you excited that we're going to a gathering?" Reedpaw's voice suddenly came out of no where.
"Agh!" Darkpaw gasped, heart beating. "Don't frighten me like that!" She half joked.
"Well, whatever, scaredy mouse!" Reedpaw purred.
"Shh!" Darkpaw shushed him.
"Grab a piece of prey from the fresh kill pile and we'll get going." Acornstar finished. "Clan dismissed."
Darkpaw didn't feel hungry. Its going to be her first time at a gathering! Yet she always wondered why they and Reedpaw didn't go earlier, since they're both 8 moons old.
"Hey, you're gonna eat the whole pile, Reedpaw!" A kit joked.
Darkpaw recognized the kit, Thrushkit. He tried swatting a mouse away from his paws, which made Darkpaw giggle.
"Thrushkit!" A voice called. "Buzzardwing says don't bother the apprentices!"
"But I'm not bothering them, Smallkit! Tell her that!" He called back.
"I'm not a messenger!" She hissed.
"Kit drama, am I right?" Reedpaw joked, biting his mouse.
"Come on, its barely drama!" Darkpaw replied. "Its just normal kits with their siblings as messengers."
"Well, for me its drama because my sister always used to tell lies everytime I asked them to tell Larkclaw and Hollybreeze anything!" Reedpaw smiled.
"Like what?" Darkpaw questioned.
"Once she said I ate a warrior's leg!" Reedpaw exclaimed.
Darkpaw burst out laughing.
"A warrior's leg?!" She asked. "Thats extreme for a kit!"
"Are you all ready to leave?" Acornstar called out.
"Yeah!" Darkpaw and Reedpaw both cheered.
"Lets go, Clan." She flicked her tail as the warriors and apprentices padded behind their leader.
Darkpaw strolled next to Reedpaw, her eyes glimmering in excitement. Her paws seemed to bounce up and down as she grinned ear-to-ear.
"Someone seems excited," Reedpaw brushed his fur against her's.
Darkpaw's pelt felt like it turned red and tried to hide it. She horribly failed and licked her chest trying to hide her embarrassment. While doing so, she tripped herself because of her own paws.
"GAH!" She fell, face first into the ground.
Reedpaw grabbed her scruff and helped her up. He let out a soft smile as he waited for her to get back in balance instead of leaving her, like the rest of the Clan.
"Now, be careful with these stepping stones," Acornstar warned.
Darkpaw carefully analyzed the way her leader made her way through the rocks. She leapt at one rock, sustaining balance. Then, she leapt to the next one, then the next one, and so on until she made it. Once it was her turn to go, she got into a position like the hunting crouch. Then, she pretended to be hunting a crow, and pounced on the rock and repeated the same steps. When she made it, she whipped her head around to see Reedpaw next. He clumsily leapt onto the first rock, almost slipping off, the second he made was an improvement, and for the last final few, he luckily made it.
"That looked terrifying for you," Darkpaw commented.
"Yep, can't believe I almost slipped and died!" Reedpaw replied.
"Well, you probably wouldn't die." Darkpaw pointed out.
"Did you see those currents?!" He sharply replied.
"Nope, because it was dark." She joked.
"We have arrived..." Cloudstrike told the apprentices.
Darkpaw gazed at the huge crowd. She didn't know the Clans had that many warriors and apprentices!
"You're free until RiverClan and WindClan arrive." Acornstar meowed. "Just at a gathering, don't reveal too much, or too little."
Darkpaw and Reedpaw nodded in response as they dashed away. They both looked for apprentices their age or older. "Hey, wanna sit next to us?" A gray apprentice called.
"Sure," Darkpaw replied, sitting down to the tom, who smells like ThunderClan.
"Whats your name?" Reedpaw asked.
"Juniperpaw," He answered. "And the apprentice next to me is Maplepaw."
"Hello!" The she-cat replied.
"Greetings!" Reedpaw smiled.
"How are you guys?" Darkpaw asked.
"We're doing great!" Maplepaw exclaimed. "All the prey in ThunderClan is great! The bad thing is, that some of our warriors have greencou-"
"Okay, I think thats enough talking!" Juniperpaw cut her off. "The gathering is about to start!"
I think she was about to say greencough! ThunderClan is weak! Hmm.. Though I don't think we should attack...
Darkpaw thought.
"Greetings everyone!" Acornstar welcomed the warriors and apprentices.
Everybody grew silent as they listened closely to their leader's words.
"So, who will go first?" She asked.
"I'll go first," a pure black tom stood up.
"Go ahead, Stormstar." Acornstar dipped her head.
"RiverClan has been doing well, tons of fish and minnows have been invading our stream. Four new kits have been welcomed into our clan. They're doing great! That is all."
"I'll go now," Brightstar announced.
"ThunderClan has been thriving with squirrels. We've been doing extremely well and two new kits have been welcomed to our clan as well. Oh, we have a new apprentice as well, Sunpaw is her name. We hope she does well, and that's all I have to say."
"May I go?" Blazestar, the leader of WindClan, asked.
Brightstar nodded.
"WindClan has been doing very well. No kits have been welcomed yet, but we have 2 queens expecting. We also have a new apprentice. His name is Dewpaw, and is very excellent. WindClan hopes he becomes a great warrior. That is all."
Acornstar took a deep breath. She didn't like confrontation, but she had to bring up the prey.
"Our clan has been pretty well. Though we have no new kits, we have an expecting queen. No new apprentices yet, but 2 of our kits are close to apprenticeship." Acornstar took a deep breath. "I have a feeling that it's very important I bring this subject up. Our mentors and apprentices have found rotting rabbit on our territory. It had the scent of WindClan, and we wanted to ask if you have an idea of why it's there, Blazestar?"
Blazestar looked slightly flabbergasted, but then cleared his throat.
"I know nothing of the matter, but I will bring it up with my clan after the gathering. I thank you for informing me so I can confront the warrior or apprentice who has been doing this."
Acornstar nodded and stepped back.
No arguments? Thank StarClan!
Darkpaw thought. She had often heard stories from the elders on how many fights broke out in gatherings. Since this gathering had no arguments, she let out a small sigh of relief. She felt something brush her shoulder. It was Juniperpaw.
"Hey, your clan is leaving!" He pointed out, chuckling a bit.
Darkpaw swiftly turned around to see her clan disappear one by one.
"Ah! T-Thanks!" She shouted before dashing to catch up to them.
Darkpaw panted as she padded beside Reedpaw, who was holding in his laughter.
"I-Its not funny!" She scoffed.
"To me, it is!" Reedpaw snickered.
They continued walking back to their territory, soon arriving at camp. Darkpaw and Reedpaw went into the apprentice's den, since neither of the, were hungry. Darkpaw sighed and looked at the stars before lying down on her soft nest. She watched Reedpaw yawn and lie down on his nest, which was right next to Stormpaw's, his sister.
"Good night," Darkpaw murmured.
"Good night," Reedpaw responded, exhaustedly.
Reedpaw fell asleep in a blink of an eye, since he as barely able to keep his eyes open while coming back to camp. After that, Darkpaw fidgeted around before she finally found a comfortable position where she was content. She looked up at the stars one last time.
Oh stars, I always wonder if you're the souls of fallen clanmates. I guess I'll never know, huh? Oh well.
Darkpaw smiled. She then drifted off to sleep.