A New Beginning

Chapter 5

Leafblossom!

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Dawnpaw held her head high as she trotted into the camp. A plump vole hung from her jaws. Not many cats were in camp but the few that were congratulated her.

"Nice catch Dawnpaw!" Tigerblaze meowed. "That will fill many cats bellies tonight, good job Dawnpaw," Mouseears congratulated. Dawnpaw purred loudly and set her vole on the very top of the fresh-kill pile.

It had been two sunrises since Starclan's message and Dawnpaw had been making the most out of it. Leafblossom bounded up to her happily. "That's huge! I would love to sink my teeth into that," Leafblosssom exclaimed. "You can have it if you'd like," Dawnpaw meowed.

Leafblossom looked surprised, "Really?!" Dawnpaw purred, "Sure, I don't mind." Leafblossom purred, "Aww thanks Dawnpaw. Your so sweet."

Dawnpaw watched happily as her friend grabbed the vole in her jaws and trotted away. She started to walk away towards Shadepaw when a familiar voice called her back. "Dawnpaw, I need to speak with you," the cat meowed.

Dawnpaw turned to see Squirrelstar standing outside of her den looking at her expectantly. The apprentice quickly skipped over to her mother and followed her inside the den.

It was dark and had a musky scent in the den. Squirrelstar's nest was safely hidden in the far corner of the den. Shadows danced around the large area but there was still that found its way into the den.

Squirrelstar sat in the very middle of her den and waited for her kit to settle down as well. "Fishstream has been giving me every detail about your training," she began. Dawnpaw was now confused. Ok so she has been keeping up with my mentor. So what?

"And he has informed me you are not taking our new techniques in as fast as Shadepaw and the other warriors. Actually he said your just not understanding at all," Squirrelstar meowed. Dawnpaw was quite taken aback by this comment. "I mean, yeah, I'm having some trouble but I'll get there. I just need to train more," Dawnpaw meowed.

Squirrelstar sighed, "I know your having some difficulty but Shadepaw is doing just fine. Dawnpaw, if this keeps up I might have to extend your apprenticeship." Dawnpaw's eyes widened with shock, "What! Why would you do that! I'm your daughter for Starclan's sake."

"I'm sorry but the clan must have warriors that have all of their fighting and hunting skills sharp. And its fine if you need some extra time to train," Squirrelstar meowed in a calming voice. Dawnpaw jumped to her paws and glared at her mother with disbelief.

"I can't believe you would choose the reputation of the clan over your own kin," Dawnpaw growled. And with that she raced out of the den without warning. She faintly heard the yowls of protest from her mother as she ran out of camp but she didn't care. I can't believe she would do such a thing!

Dawnpaw ran blindly through Shadeclan's territory. Not caring where she ended up. But something made her stop dead in her tracks. She opened her mouth to scent the air. Fox! A moment later a young fox burst through the undergrowth. It wasn't big but it had muscles that shown through its pelt.

Dawnpaw felt her fur bristle with alarm as she slowly backed away from the creature. The fox bared its large yellow teeth as it let out a fierce snarl. She snarled right back as she got into a fighting position.

Starclan help me! She braced herself as the fox lunged towards her. Dawnpaw neatly sidestepped to avoid it gaping jaws. She quickly spun around to deliver a paw full of thorn sharp claws into the fox's eye.

The fox howler with pain. Blood immediately swelled out if the wound she just made. Dawnpaw took this to her advantage and bite down hard into its flank. The fox tried to spin around to catch her in its jaws but it was blinded by blood.

It clumsily whirled around in a circle, completely clueless of where she had gone. Dawnpaw chuckled before darting under its belly to take her claws through the soft and fragile skin. The fox screeched with pain.

She braced herself for another attack but the fox was already limping away, leaving a trail of blood behind it. Dawnpaw huffed as she flopped onto the ground.

She winced when she realized she was slightly hurt. But it wasn't anything too bad, only a few cuts and bruises. I probably should go tell Squirrelstar about the fox. She sighed and got to her paws to start walking back to camp when an idea hurt her smack dab in the head.

This is my time to leave smoothly. The scent of fix and the blood stains will surely fool the while clan that I'm dead! But then guilt entered into her brilliant idea. I'm so sorry Squirrelstar. I didn't mean to leave at this time but I have to. Starclan, please just watch over my mother while I'm gone.

Dawnpaw looked back at where the camp was generally located. Goodbye Shadeclan. She sighed and began to walk towards the direction of the moor. After all, the meeting date was tomorrow night.