The Decision: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

         On a gloomy morning, two apprentices were rolling around in the midst of the clearing. The day promised to be fair and calm, but the current state was quite dreary; as shown by the thick layer of mist hanging over the Thunderclan camp. The birds were just starting their cheerful song in the trees hanging over the camp, which brightened the mood slightly, but the still darkness clung to the air like a pelt. The morning dew rested on blades of grass and rolled off waxy leaves.  Although the forest was sleeping, the two young cats would soon wake everything up.
    "Tigerpaw! You hit me too hard!" squealed the first apprentice, shaking her head to rid the stars spinning around. The little red she-cat glared at the tom, but her brown eyes twinkled. Her paws, tail tip, ears, and cheeks were an ashen gray, a compliment to the rusty body fur.
    "Sorry, Emberpaw. You should have dodged me quicker!" the second apprentice said slyly, circling Emberpaw. The stocky tom was muscular for his size, and the muscles stood out with dark black stripes across his brown body. His white chest fur and paws seemed to glow in the vanishing moonlight, and the rising sun gave them a pinkish tint.
    "Oh, so it's MY fault now? I'll get you for that one!"
    Emberpaw lunged at him, sending them both tumbling into the warriors den. One on top of the other, they rolled into one of the senior warriors. The tan she-cat gasped at the sudden impact, and took a leap to the side; stumbling. She stood and shook the dust from her pelt and stared at the two apprentices who were cowered in a heap.
    "Gah! Quit acting like kits! I know you were just made 'paws a moon ago, but seriously, you should know better!" mewed Rosepetal, in a playful yet frustrated voice, as she padded up to the pile of apprentices.
    "Oh, sorry Rosepetal. It won't happen again. We promise." Emberpaw apologized, and untangled herself from Tigerpaw. Both cats sheepishly licked their chest fur and glanced away.
    Rosepetal laughed, and waved her tail at the two apprentices. "Run along now, before you wake any of the other warriors. Why don't you wait out in the clearing until your mentors wake up; maybe they will take you out for an early morning hunt.” She gave them a shove,  “Just this time, wait quietly."
    Tigerpaw grinned eagerly and thrashed his tail. "I could use a nice warm mouse right about now!" He said as he turned to leave.
    "Oh, Tigerpaw. You're always hungry! Mousebrain." Emberpaw mewed with a smirk, touching her tail to his ear.
    "I am NOT!" Tigerpaw growled, and jumped at her. They both rolled back out of the warriors den, leaving a cloud of dust.
    "Oh, apprentices," Rosepetal chuckled, "Always up to something. Well, since I'm up, I might as well wake the others." She turned and prodded Sparrowtail.



    Soon every cat in the camp was awake. The hustle and bustle of camp life filled the clearing as the cats awoke from their sleep. Oakstar stepped out of his den under the highrock and stretched. He made his way up the rocks and stood surveying the clearing from his high perch. The majestic Oakstar. Clan leader. Sitting down, he wrapped his tail over his paws. He turned his head to look as Blossomtail came out of the nursery with her three kits tumbling over themselves behind her. Leaftail waddled out too, her belly swollen with kits. The two queens conversed as they walked, comparing tales of their kits. The warriors started to pile out of their den and line up around the highrock, some stretching, some quickly washing, and some talking to the cat beside them. The elders grumbled and mumbled while padding out of the elders den, complaining that it's too early for old cats to be out; they'll catch cold.
    "Those mousebrained apprentices. Who do they think they are, waking us up before dawn?" Grayfoot grumbled to Goldenfur as they made their way over into the clearing. The old tom figured that since he was old, he should control what goes on. The subborn tom was always mumbling about something.
    "Oh, shut your cranky mouth. They're barely apprentices. They were kits just a moon ago. Emberpaw and Tigerpaw were just playing around." Goldenfur said protectively. She always stood up for the young and loved to help out in the nursery and oversee apprentices' training whenever possible.
    "Eh." Grayfoot mumbled, as he padded to the freshkill pile to nose around. Goldenfur glanced at White-eye, the last elder. The tortoiseshell she-cat shrugged as if to say, I'd just stay out of it. She didn't speak much, but when she did her words were full of wisdom.
    "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the highrock for a clan meeting." Oakstar called from the top of the highrock. He paused to scan the clan. Then he continued, "This is going to be a great newleaf. There's plenty of prey, new kits, and strong apprentices. We were lucky that we didn't lose any cats to greencough this leafbare, as the other clans have. Fernwhisker!” he shouted, glancing around for the deputy. Spotting her padding over, he added, “Organize the patrols." Oakstar leaped down off the highrock and padded out into the forest. "I'm going to hunt on my own." he finished, tail tip disappearing through the thorn tunnel.
    "Okay, Dustfall. I want you to take the dawn patrol with Ravenclaw and Sandstripe. Sparrowtail, take Squirrelpelt and Cindercloud on a hunting patrol. Bramblenose, you can organize your own hunting patrol." Fernwhisker called out and padded toward the thorn tunnel. "Cedarscar, Brightpool, and Willowfrost, you're with me. We'll check out how the prey's running on the way to sunningrocks to make sure Riverclan hasn't been sticking their noses where they shouldn't be.” The Sunningrocks, a large pile of stones where there was a break in the trees near the river, was a piece of territory that was often fought over.  Long ago, Riverclan had originally had it within their borders while it was an island, but once the waters died down Thunderclan claimed it was theirs. The dispute had not died with the water. The two clans have always bickered over it, sometimes leading to terrible battles. The deputy feared that yet another one was on the horizon since the clans had not had an argument in several moons.
    Sparrowtail walked over to the thorn tunnel and meowed for Squirrelpelt and Cindercloud. Emberpaw and Tigerpaw tumbled after them. The brown mottled tom was a senior warrior with a likeable personality, but he demanded respect, as he deserved.
    "Yay! Where are we gonna hunt today, Cindercloud?" Emberpaw squealed. Tripping over her own paws in excitement, she prodded her mentor for information.
    "Yeah, where, where?" Tigerpaw added, looking from Cindercloud to Squirrelpelt.
    "It's up to Sparrowtail. But if I had to choose, the giant oak has been teeming with prey recently." Cindercloud replied, glancing at Sparrowtail. The lithe, pale gray she-cat was confident about her decision, but she wanted to make sure the senior warrior knew she was just making a suggestion. She respected the tom, and didn't want to offend him in any way.
    Sparrowtail dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Yes, I think that would be the best choice right now, actually. We can split up to cover more ground. I'll go off by myself, and you and Squirrelpelt can either hunt together and let the apprentices go off, or you could each take your own apprentice."
    Tigerpaw and Emberpaw jumped up and down and looked at their mentors hopefully. The two apprentices loved to do things together; they were inseperable. "Please Cindercloud, can I hunt with Tigerpaw?" Emberpaw pleaded. She met Cindercloud's gaze and they shared a meaningful look.
    "We'll be good and bring back freshkill for the elders!" Tigerpaw added, oblivious to the hidden message in Emberpaw's voice. He stared at his own mentor, Squirrelpelt. The tom looked at Cindercloud.
    "Hmm... What do you think Squirrelpelt? Can we trust these unruly apprentices?" Cindercloud asked with a wink. The apprentices protested and waved their tails in disagreement.
    "Hey, hey, calm down. I don't see why not. We can probably concentrate better without them running their mouths the whole time." Squirrelpelt replied with a grin, winking at Cindercloud. The gray tom hoped that he could spend some time with his mate. They loved to charge through the forest together in the cool of morning, just like they did when they were apprentices, fresh on the trail of some prey or another. Of course, charging through the forest isn't the best way to approach prey. More often than not, the small creature would be long gone by the time they came thundering up. This is the reason why the two only rarely acted immature, and only then when prey is plentiful.  He hadn't been able to relive the young days with Cindercloud all leafbare, and Squirrelpelt wished that he'd be able to run through the mist with Cindercloud hot on his heels, like the good old days when they were carefree apprentices. Anyway, it would be nice to see how their apprentices would get along. "Plus, it would be a good time for an assessment." he thought aloud. This would be the first assessment for the young cats and he hoped that it wasn't too soon. Squirrelpelt was confident, though, that they would do well.
      The apprentices squealed and scampered off into the bracken. The two slowed to a walk near a bramble patch. Emberpaw stopped and looked over Tigerpaw, who was staring off into the brambles. What a tom, she thought. He was completely oblivious to her hints she often dropped. Even though they were still young, she knew what this feeling in her heart was. The tingling sensation every time she looked at him. She hoped he felt the same way, but judging by his happy-go-lucky attitude all the time, he probably hasn't discovered this serious, yet compelling, experience. I should concentrate on hunting, she scolded herself. There will be plenty of time to contemplate my feelings later.
         Emberpaw put her keen ears into action and heard a thrush nearby. She dropped into the hunter's crouch specific to Thunderclan that she had just learned a half-moon ago. She was quite proud of her progress, to be honest with herself. Emberpaw was a quick learner. Tigerpaw, however, had to have things explained to him more thoroughly. This wasn't because he was daft by any means, he just had a different way of going about things. Often she had to go through the day's lessons again in the apprentice den. Something about the way she explained things, he once told her, made everything fall into place. Emberpaw smiled to herself at the thought. She crept through the brambles as Tigerpaw looked around for more prey. He looked up into the trees and spotted something.
      "Squirrel!" blurted Tigerpaw, and Emberpaw's thrush she'd been stalking flew away with a loud screech. The loudly announced squirrel disappeared into the foliage of the oak it was in.
    "Mousedung!” Emberpaw spat, “Now look what you've done. You've scared away every bit of prey from here to Windclan! Now we'll have to go somewhere else to hunt." she mewed crossly.
    "I'm sorry, Emberpaw. You know how I am... I promise I'll try to control myself better next time." Tigerpaw mumbled, embarrassed. He shuffled around in the dust underfoot, ashamed of himself. Now I've gone and done it! He was mortified. He had just had one of his moments in front of Emberpaw, and scared her prey, too! I wonder what she thinks of me now...
    Squirrelpelt slipped out of the bushes. He had decided to watch the apprentices for a moment before running through the territory. "Yes, I do believe you need to work on that." he said, as he sat before the apprentices and tucked his tail over his paws. "But there's plenty of prey in the forest. Don't give up yet."
    "Oh! Yes, Squirrelpelt. I'm very sorry. That was mousebrained of me. It won't happen again, I swear." Tigerpaw squeaked out apologetically. Now even Squirrelpelt had seen his blunder!
    "Yeah, Tigerpaw. Mousebrain!" giggled Emberpaw playfully. I wonder if he knows what I think about these 'moments' of his, she wondered. Probably not, or he wouldn't be embarrassed. I think they're kinda cute! She smiled.
    "Alright, enough." Squirrelpelt scoffed. "At this rate you won't catch a thing all day! Run along now, and meet back at the camp by sunhigh. Understood? I think we should hold off the assessment until another day."
    "Yes, Squirrelpelt!" the apprentices said in unison. Both glad to be set free, but also disappointed that they'd failed the assessment.
    "I'll bring you back a squirrel myself!" stated Tigerpaw with a proud look on his face. He glanced over at Emberfall. Hopefully I can impress her and make up for that slip-up. I wonder if she notices the times I stare at her while she's not looking..
      The two apprentices ran off into the bushes and began to hunt again. Emberpaw stepped into the bracken where she would be concealed as she listened for prey, while Tigerpaw padded into a small clearing where he could see the trees, to look for the squirrel he promised Squirrelpelt. They both walked in separate directions, both thinking of the other.