Warriors- Dawn of An Era: The Journey Begins {Book 1} (COMPLETED)

Chapter Nine

The moon glowed over Vinepaw's head as him and Sweetpaw padded side-by-side toward the island. In front of them, Rushpaw was boasting about a fat squirrel he had caught during his solo hunt.

"It was so big, it fed Wildkit, Orchidkit, and Poppyfur!" He was meowing to Spottedshine, who looked ready to jump in the lake.

On his hunt with Sweetpaw, Vinepaw managed to catch a mouse as big as his paw. The pride of catching his first piece of prey made him strive to catch as much prey as he could. When he carried on with his hunt, he snagged a vole and two more mice.

Sweetpaw out-hunted Vinepaw but he didn't feel anything but pride at what he and Sweetpaw caught. By herself, she caught a robin, a squirrel, and a starling. She's the best hunter out of the apprentices. Vinepaw mused and flicked his tail.

When Rushpaw showed off his catch, it was nothing compared to Vinepaw's and Sweetpaw's. He caught a mouse and a small thrush that was injured.

"I caught it out of the air!" Rushpaw had said when Vinepaw was scrutinizing his catch. "I wrestled it to the ground and barely managed to kill it before it could scratch out my eye."

Sweetpaw didn't believe him and to be honest, neither did Vinepaw. He knew his brother couldn't leap high enough to snag a bird mid-flight and kill it without being clawed. Only SkyClan cats can do that.

As Vinepaw padded with Sweetpaw at his side, the ground under his paws began to change as they crossed into SkyClan's territory. His heart began to pound in his chest at the thought of a patrol shredding them as the WindClan warrior had. "Why are we in SkyClan's territory?" He whispered to Sweetpaw.

"We don't have a straight shot to get to the island," she explained as they headed along the lakeshore. "And since SkyClan agreed to let us use their tree bridge, we've used it for seasons."

Rainstar raised her tail and the cats who were chosen to go to the Gathering stopped behind her. Her head turned and Vinepaw realized with a start how old his leader looked. She must be older than Gorsespring and Spotsong. "We'll go one at a time and when a cat reaches the middle, the next will go." She meowed and flicked her tail to Ripplepelt. "Form a line behind Ripplepelt and he will go first."

The deputy dipped his head to his leader and clambered onto the tree, claws sinking into the bark. As he made his way to the middle, it was Spottedshine's turn. Once he was at the middle, Rushpaw went next. The cycle went on and on until it was Sweetpaw's turn.

"Be careful," Vinepaw warned as he helped her get on the tree. "Don't fall or I'll have to send a RiverClan cat to fish you out."

Sweetpaw let out a huff and began inching her way across the tree bridge. Her legs shook and Vinepaw could smell the fear that washed off her pelt. Once she was halfway across, Vinepaw clawed his way up the tree.

The bark was soft and squishy beneath his paws but he made himself ignore it. Don't look down. Don't look down. He screwed his eyes shut as he sank his claws into the bark, forcing himself to hobble across.

When he reached the other side, Sweetpaw pressed against him. On the opposite side, Rainstar was confidently striding across the tree. Vinepaw prayed to StarClan that she would make it to the island without problems. Unfortunately for the leader, his prayers failed.

The tree lurched to one side and Rainstar's paws slipped on the moss, sending the leader crashing into the water with a splash! Ripplepelt let out a yowl and raced to the water's edge, Vinepaw on his heels.

"Rainstar!" Vinepaw panicked as his leader's head broke the surface before disappearing into the raging water. On impulse, he ran to the tree bridge, climbed on top, got to the center, and plunged in.