Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A cold wind stirred the pines around Blackpaw, ruffling his fur and roaring in his ears. He flattened them to his head and kept walking after Sparrowstripe and Pebbletooth. The two toms ahead of him were murmuring, so quiet that Blackpaw couldn't hear them against the wind.

Near him, Leafpaw was following. She was shorter than him and merely an apprentice, but she wasn't half as annoying as her sister Birdpaw, and Blackpaw was grateful for that. Leafpaw seemed as sophisticated as Emberpaw, his stiff sister, maybe even more sophisticated, but in a good way. Blackpaw liked that she was quiet and never spoke out of turn. She always let him take the lead on things.

Now, though, he wished that she would speak over the roar of the wind to him. He felt an eerie silence whenever the wind died down, and that silence spooked him more than he expected it to.

Leafpaw, always observant, noticed his tension and looked over at him. Her leaf-green eyes sparked with curiosity. Blackpaw looked down at her and smiled briefly. It was awkward and Blackpaw shivered, but Leafpaw was quiet as always. Blackpaw continued walking through the trees, his dark pelt spiked up along his spine.

The cats stopped at the border. Sparrowstripe began to mark the border, and Pebbletooth joined him. Blackpaw watched Sparrowstripe with a certain contempt look. His sister had fallen in love with the lanky tabby, and Blackpaw had decided to secretly hate the new warrior just as much as he secretly hated Emberpaw. He had been made a warrior the day before, the day Leafpaw, Birdpaw, and Stonepaw were all made apprentices as well, and Emberpaw had cheered his name the loudest. The tom had then walked over to her after his ceremony and whispered in her ear, purred, and twined his tail into hers. Blackpaw was nothing less than disgusted by them; they'd seemed to forgotten about being a warrior and what that meant, just like Blackpaw did as he was standing there, watching his Clanmates remark the borders themselves.

"Blackpaw, why don't you help us out?" Sparrowstripe meowed calmly. He had patience and kindness, which Blackpaw didn't.

"Do you need help, or can you do it by yourself, Sparrowstripe?" Blackpaw hissed back. He immediately bit his tongue, but Sparrowstripe had already spun to face him.

"You're the apprentice here, not me, so I suggest you respect your elders and start working," Sparrowstripe snarled.

Blackpaw, unafraid, looked at Sparrowstripe. "You're the warrior? Do you want to challenge who is the real warrior here?"

"Good warriors do what they're supposed to," Leafpaw mewed softly, "so follow Pebbletooth's example."

Blackpaw curled his lip. "Stay out of our conversation, kit," he snapped.

"I'm not a kit," Leafpaw started to say, but Blackpaw turned back to Sparrowstripe. "Well do you?"

"Warriors don't hurt their clanmates, either." Sparrowstripe had regained his calmness. Blackpaw was about to set him off again, he was sure.

"I'm sure they would in ShadowClan, if Darkstar wasn't such a softie," Blackpaw hissed, claws already unsheathed.

"Darkstar is a great leader. He knows fighting isn't the answer, unlike mouse-brains like you. Instead of declaring war on Applestar when she thought we'd stolen prey from them, he was smart and didn't risk the lives of his cats." Sparrowstripe meowed.

"I guess you're right." Blackpaw meowed. He was lying, but Sparrowstripe didn't have to doubt him as much as he already did. Blackpaw had heard rumors about him and his littermates; they had powers, the cats said, blood from all the clans, they weren't to be trusted...

Blackpaw didn't believe a word of it. Sure, their parents were each half-clan, and they had heritage from all the Clans, so how were they dangerous? They'd be a help to their clan, with their speed, skill, and strength.