Warriors: The Beginning

[Unknown]

Mountainmist sighed, only, this time, more heavily. “Sunpaw, you haven’t learnt a thing, did you?” Mountainmist growled. “Look. Look at the punishment and the reward. The punishment is HEAVIER than the reward, isn’t it? I thought I told you already; if you see that kind of situation, don’t be lured into the challenge.” Mountainmist flicked her tail.

 

“I was just kidding about that battle part. But, Sunpaw, you still don’t get it, do you?” Mountainmist murmured, shaking her head. “It’s alright. Go ahead and listen to the story. After you finish, I want you to come back to camp immediately for some battle training. Got it?”

[SoiledLove]

At first, Icefire frowned. She didn't like the sound of it. Mock battle or not, violence brought back bad memories. Then she realized that they weren't going to fight and relaxed. She looked at Sunpaw and smiled.

[ChocoBrownie]

"Yes..." Sunpaw could only nod dumbly as Mountainmist continued her long lecture. When he realized that Mountainmist was letting him hear the story, though, he jumped up, eyes shining. “Thank you, Mountainmist! I promise I’ll train hard!” Sunpaw’s eyes shot towards Icefire. This was like being a kit again, listening to the elder's tall tales. “Icefire! Please tell me the story!” He mewed.

[SoiledLove]

"All right then..." Icefire said. She knew that this may be a decision she would regret, but she decided not to hide it.

((Warning. This may or may not be a long post))

"I was born in the mountains. A place made from rocks and snow and ice. There were blizzards and hailstorms regularly. A very hard place for cats to survive. I had three older siblings and three other siblings in my litter. None of the others in my litter survived. I was the only survivor. It was simply too cold, since we were born in the middle of winter where the mountain is almost always covered in a layer of snow and ice. Water and prey were scarce and hunting was very dangerous, but we survived."

 

Her eye shone with pride as she thought of the harsh environment that they had been able to live in. A place no other cat would live.

 

"However, my father slipped when hunting on the ice. He broke his leg and was never able to hunt again," sorrow now filled her, "Moons later, my mother died. I don't know how, but she was half blind and somehow got outside. She didn't notice the cliff's edge and... And..." She swallowed, unable to continue, "It was horrible," her voice trembled as the first memory of witnessing a death came back to her, "absolutely horrible."

 

She paused to allow herself a few small sobs, then continued, unable to stop after starting. She just wanted to get her story out and take the sadness off her shoulders.

 

"It was all up to my older siblings to hunt for us. I trained alongside them, careful not to fall. Of course I wasn't allowed to do any actual hunting. It was too dangerous. I was determined at the time. I was young and happy at being able to help the family. But I didn't know the half of he truth." She shined with happiness for a moment before getting sad again.

 

"Little did I know, that my family was putting on an act to make me feel okay. They laughed and pretended to be happy, ate less so that I would grow up strong and healthy. I loved them. They felt they needed to protect me more because I was the only one to survive in the litter. But the truth was shown to me sooner than they thought. After I learned how to hunt, I realized, at once, I wasn't very good at it. Haha... I remember how, in greenleaf, the plants would grow back again and it would be safe to go further down the mountain. That day, I came back with my paws empty and burrs all over me." She smiled, "But it wasn't long before leafbare came and prey was scarce again. We moved further up the mountain to avoid landslides. Where the rocks come rushing down in a waterfall. That night, our father left. He thought that he was a burden to us. So he left... And died..."

 

She sighed.

 

"We found his corpse a few days later, we think. My sister decided to teach me about herbs instead since I was shocked. So shocked I wasn't even brave enough to kill a mouse. Then, my oldest brother was killed, trying to drive away a fox. We found him, covered in blood, jaws buried in the fox's throat."

 

Icefire began to feel tears coming down from her eyes.

 

"I realized, far to late, that the world wasn't as it seems. My sister fell ill to white cough. So I had to take care of her. My brother was the only one who could hunt now. He had to hunt for us all. Take care of us all. I realized my sister wasn't eating. She had given up her food to me. But I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let her die. So I left. I left the mountains. A very dangerous thing to do in leafbare. I knew that my siblings would be devastated. But better sad than dead. I knew they stayed alive though. They wouldn't make my leaving be for nothing. I ate berries during that time that I used, going down the mountains. Berries alone. But when I got to the bottom, I knew I had to get stronger and start hunting again. But I was afraid."

 

"I learned how to hide my fear. All of them. And I arrived at the city. The city was a... Different place. A very... Cruel place. You could trust no cat. Even if some were truly nice. Most weren't. One day they would seem to be all friendly to try and get you on their side. The next day, the food would become scarce and they would fight you. Maybe even kill you if it got really bad. Every single day. No end to the fighting. I met Fluffy before coming into the city. She had lost her family to a fire. She was just as scared as I was, except I didn't show it. She looked up to me. I was like fire. Unstoppable, she told me. This time, I used my brain to win fights and earn my right to survived. I didn't need to help Fluffy. She was faring better than I thought. But one day, the elder of the city, Fall, had come back from his travels. The only cat to leave the city since we were all quite satisfied with the life there. There was prey, adventures and cats. Other cats. Cats could become quite loyal to each other through seasons of partnership. We were all blood thirsty, fierce cats. Fall said I was fire, yet I was ice. They started calling me Icefire. Maybe I was strong by training in the mountains. Who knows? Fall told us of the clans. Of how great they were. Of the life here."

 

At this, she looked directly at the cats here.

 

"Not many of them seemed interested. Fall told them about a battle. A great battle that would take place if they tried to get this place for themselves. I knew Fall. I knew when he was mad. He told us of how he would get revenge. No one believed him. He was too soft. But he piped Scar's interest. Apart from me, there were more dangerous cats. Scar was one of them. A great fighter. But he lost to me. Fluffy left soon after she came. This wasn't the right life for her. But she had gotten the strength she wanted. I also left for this place... Because I wanted friends... Once I left. I let myself go. Let my fears and emotions out. I was also feared because of my eyes. They scared my foes so I could win easily."

 

At this, Icefire opened her amber eye and looked at them with her mismatched gaze. One blue, one amber. Like ice and fire.

[ChocoBrownie]

Sunpaw opened his jaws wide in shock, unable to speak. Then, he slowly closed his eyes, as if he was trying to think up of something to say. Something…comforting. But…nothing came. “Now I wish you haven’t told me the story,” Sunpaw admitted, looking down at the forest floor. He stepped on a wet leaf, and then lifted his paw in annoyance when the leaf was stuck to his paw. For a moment, he was silent. Then he mewed, standing up, “Thank you for telling me that, Icefire. I think I now have a better understanding of a warrior’s life now.” Dipping his head, Sunpaw skidded away into the bushes, shooting a glance at Mountainmist. “Mountainmist, I’ll be at camp.” Then he was gone.

[Unknown]

She took few steps towards Icefire, watching Sunpaw leave. “…He doesn’t understand the harshness of life just yet.” She flicked her tail. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Mountainmist nodded, and then looked back at Starlingleaf. “I should be going now, Starlingleaf.” She dipped her head; then slowly followed Sunpaw. But before she reached the cover of the undergrowth, Mountainmist turned to cast Icefire a serious glance. “If you truly need to, you can see our leader. Maybe she’ll give you a place to stay, at Thunderclan. But I can do no more.” As soon as Mountainmist disappeared from the gazes of the others, she ran towards camp, soon catching up with Sunpaw. “Are you alright?”

 

((SoiledLove, you forgot to reply to Coldstorm.))

[SoiledLove]

((Oh, oops...))

Icefire nodded at Mountainmist and watched them leave. Then she looked to Starlingleaf. She was feeling better now that she had said all of that and asked, "So... What is clan life like?"

 

Scar looked at the cat that just asked him to get lost.

"Just as rude as those forest cats, I see... Fall wasn't lying about how the cats here treat outsiders without hospitality," he said, smiling, "So... This clan is called Riverclan? What's that one called then?" He flicked his tail in Thunderclan's direction.

[ChocoBrownie]

"Yeah..." Sunpaw mewed. "I'm just a bit shocked, that's all. It'll go away." After a brief silence he asked, "Mountainmist, what is going to happen to Icefire now?"

[Unknown]

“I’m not sure, Sunpaw.” Mountainmist replied slowly. “What happens next…is up to Icefire.” Soon they reached the entrance of camp; Mountainmist looked down at Sunpaw. “So...let’s start our training now, shall we?”

 

Coldstorm smirked. “Are you in Stupidclan or Rogueclan? You don’t even know what that group of cats is called? Pathetic.” He lashed his tail and went into battle stance, teeth bared. “Why should I tell you anything? Listen up. I’m only going to say this once. My name is Coldstorm; you better remember that name when you get chased out of here."

Edited October 16, 2012 by Unknown

[Stunningfire]

Hazelpaw nodded as she listened to her mentor. It all made sense, except for one thing... "What are we supposed to sound like when we slide our feet across the snow?" she mewed thoughtfully, tipping her head to one side. It seemed to have slipped the apprentice's mind - as it usually did - that she was supposed to be trying out the hunting technique instead of questioning it. Then Hazelpaw was distracted by her pondering altogether as her keen eyes caught a single snowflake drifting down and delicately landing on her mentor's nose. SNNNNNOOOOWWWW!! Hazelpaw thought, delighted. Her eyes lit up and she tilted her head backwards, straining to see the few snowflakes falling. "It's snowing!" Hazelpaw meowed happily, her tail curling up over her back. "Now trying out the hunting move will be easier!" Then she realized that hunting would also be harder and her ears drooped a little. But, still... it was snowing!!

[StarSea]

((Oh geeze! We're going to need another summary! And it's already gathering time! Anyone up for 10 pages until a gathering? xP And how about every four pages we get a summary?))

 

Oakpaw's ears lay flat on his head as though his mentor had been reprimanding him even though it weas just some words of wisdom. "If it's so important, then why is it that she never had time for me before? It's like... like she wasn't even there. She almost never came to visit me. She's worse than my father! Pigeonstar had the chance to care for me, he didn't. Maybe she should try harder, then I might notice." His voice was bitter at the end, though it still had the wistful note as if he had hoped that things could, would, change between the two. He shifted his weight, a little uncomfortable with talking about his relationship between him and his mother with his mentor. He hurt on the inside as he had wished things would have started off differently with his mother, father, and himself, but what was done was done and nothing he or anyone else did could change that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foxthunder tilted his head back as well and watched the snowflake melt on his nose as he let out a breath. "Well Hazelpaw, here's your first snowfall!" he smiled, feeling like a kit again. Then he quickly shook his head, Training! "Come on Hazelpaw, lets get that training done before we get too much and the prey is hiding!" he laughed. "We might even get to try out a little more real hunting if we do this quick." Looking back at his apprentice, he realized she didn't try it yet. "Go on, let me see you do it," he encouraged her. The sign of leafbare seemed to have lightened his spirits even more than they had been this morning.

[Stunningfire]

[Yeah that sounds pretty good xP]

 

Starlingleaf smiled shyly as Sunpaw reassured her that it was alright, and her ears twitched in surprise when Icefire stated that she was afraid of blood. The way she had confronted those other rogues... well, Starlingleaf was beginning to realize that Icefire was an unique one, and she was eager to learn her story. Not quite as eager as Sunpaw though, it seemed. Starlingleaf's whiskers twitched in amusement as the apprentice begged his mentor to let him listen to Icefire's story. Her ears pricked up at Mountainmist's deal, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise at the mock battle idea. Surely the warrior wasn't serious...

 

As it turned out, she wasn't. Starlingleaf smiled as Icefire began her story; her smile faded as the loner got deeper and deeper into the story. Icefire had such a hard life... when she finished her story, the cats sat there in a stunned silence for a bit before Sunpaw spoke. Starlingleaf was still silent as the apprentice left, and dipped her head to Mountainmist as the warrior left as well. Now it was just her and Icefire - the medicine cat had to admit that she felt a little uncomfortable being with a cat she barely knew, yet Icefire had been kind so far.

 

"Clan life?" Starlingleaf didn't know where to start. "It's... it's great, really. We all care for each other and help the Clan. It's amazing being able to belong to something great, bigger than yourself... You know that your Clanmates always have your back, and you don't have to worry." Starlingleaf's eyes shone. "Being a medicine cat is really special. It's kind of scary, too, to know that all your Clanmates are depending on you to help them... but when you do succeed in helping them, it's an amazing feeling.

 

"I'm not doing a very good job at describing this," Starlingleaf murmured, staring at the ground. A faint blush crept to her cheeks, then she glanced up again. "Maybe you should come try it out for yourself," she meowed hopefully. "I think Leafstar would be glad to have you join our Clan." She didn't add that it might be hard because of Icefire's fear of blood... Starlingleaf truly believed that Icefire would be a great addition to the Clan nevertheless.

[StarSea]

(Derp! xP I forgot to reply about Sky!

Okay, gathering in the next five. )

 

As something crashed into Lunapaw's side, she instinctively gripped the kit a little tighter to make sure she didn't drop it and held her tail out a little to keep her balance. Her head jerked to see what it was that hit her and she saw a cat is what ran into her, not much older than a kit! She took a step back, and set Ashkit down, protectively taking a step forward so she stood above him. "Who are you? Not another loner, stealing prey, are you?" she hissed at him, spotting the fish he had. She nudged him to his feet and looked at him sternly. I'm not letting another prey-steeler get away! she thought to herself. "Come on, I better take you back to camp. See what Blizzardstar has to say about you." She tried to sound demanding and like he had no other choice, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. He looked so young compared to what she was used to. She picked up Ashkit and watched the young loner closely as she began to lead him back to her camp. She waved her tail to tell him to follow her.

[Stunningfire]

Lightningstreak was grooming herself when Nightstar approached her. She licked her shoulder a couple more times, and then dipped her head in greeting to the ShadowClan leader. "Not yet," she meowed in response. "I was about to. I was thinking I could lead a patrol and go renew the scent markers along the ThunderClan border, and maybe see if that badger one of the patrols scented a couple of sunrises ago has made a reappearance." Lightningstreak flexed one of her claws at the thought of a badger trespassing in ShadowClan territory; they would take care of it for sure.

 

"I thought Wildshade could lead another patrol to hunt - we need all the prey we can get, as leaf-fall is ending and leaf-bare is approaching." The deputy could already sense frost approaching; the air had a certain chill to it. As if on cue, a small snowflake drifted down and landed on Lightningstreak's ear. She flicked it off, annoyed. It was snowing already? There was even less time than she had thought.

 

Hazelpaw grinned and opened her mouth, catching a snowflake on her tongue. She could feel the coolness there for a brief heartbeat before it melted into plain old water. The apprentice opened her mouth to catch another, but Foxthunder shook his head and told her to get back to training. With a sigh, Hazelpaw nodded, closed her mouth, and crouched down. Hesitantly, the apprentice slipped forward, sliding her paws along awkwardly. It seemed to Hazelpaw that she was moving too slow, so she tried to quicken her pace but ended up unbalanced and almost tripping. She caught herself, but in her clumsiness made a lot of noise. If she had been actually stalking some sort of prey, it would have run away by now. Hazelpaw's whiskers drooped. "Sorry, Foxthunder. I'll try again."

Edited October 16, 2012 by Stunningfire

[StarSea]

Foxthunder tipped his head to the side a little, keeping his unusually colored eyes on Hazelpaw. "Try, try again," he simply encouraged her, glad to have an apprentice so willing to make continuous attempts without being told. While he had been telling her that, he had been thinking about something else, but it would be extremely dangerous for the both of them. Instead he decided better of it and kept his mouth shut.

[SoiledLove]

Scar smirked. "Pathetic? It's called being new, if you didn't know," he said, "Hmm..." He examined the area around him and tilted his head to one side. "Chase me away? Back to the city? I'll have you know that if that happens, more cats will come to take your prey. I'm sure of it. They said they would come if they found it interesting. Plus, I don't think you are strong enough to do so. My name is Scar, named after the Scars I got in city."

~~~

Icefire nodded. "It sounds nice..." she commented, "Oh, and, who is Leafstar?"

~~~

Sky hesitated and then began to follow. He suddenly stopped, however, and wondered what he was doing. He jumped into a defensive position and hissed.

~~~

Fluffy went back into her nest after killing a mouse. She sat and ate it, wondering what Icefire was doing here.

[Stunningfire]

Hazelpaw nodded at her mentor's encouragement, and try again she did. This time, she did much better - she didn't trip or anything. However, her paws still felt awkward and she still moved along at a slower pace than she would like. As most WindClan cats, Hazelpaw much preferred to be chasing her prey rather than stalking it. She wasn't exactly impatient (well, no more than most cats) but with stalking prey... there was so much opportunity for it to escape. If you're chasing it, well, it's just a question of speed. Hazelpaw slipped forward a few more steps, trying to avoid the distraction of the falling snow, then glanced at her mentor for approval.

 

Starlingleaf blushed. "Oh, sorry. Leafstar is our Clan leader - she decides a lot of stuff for our Clan. But it's not, like, a tyranny or anything," she added hastily. "Leafstar is a really good leader, and she always thinks of her Clan first. StarClan chose well." A moment later the medicine cat realized that Icefire probably had no idea what she was talking about. "Uhmm..." How was she supposed to explain that the Clans were led by the guidance of lots and lots of dead cats? A loner wouldn't understand. "I'm sorry, I'm probably confusing you, aren't I?" Starlingleaf sighed.

[ChocoBrownie]

[[Maybe it's too early to have a gathering, I say ten pages is fine. And if anyone needs it, I can give a summary.]]

 

Sunpaw nodded. “Yeah.” Sunpaw nodded, flicking his tail once. “I’m totally psyched!” Sunpaw whisked around. “We’re having battle training now, are we? Are you going to teach me more about speed? I could totally use it; maybe I can match even those skinny Windclan cats! Those rogues won’t be able to catch me; ever! Or are you going to teach me about accuracy? That’s great, too! Or maybe…”

 

Silentpaw looked up at the snow. He sneezed, then flicked his tail in annoyance.

 

 

[SoiledLove]

"Starclan...?" Icefire asked, tilting her head, "I've heard that somewhere before... What is Starclan?" she asked, curious.

 

Fall looked up at the snow and sighed. "I hate the chilly weather..." he muttered. Then, in the near-distance, he could see two cats. They seemed to be training in the snow. He watched them curiously.

[Stunningfire]

Starlingleaf hesitated before answering, wondering exactly how to put this. "Well... have you ever wondered where cats go after they've died?" She winced slightly after she said the last word, realizing that Icefire might be sensitive to the subject of death. After all, the loner had had to experience watching her mother die and finding her father dead... Icefire really had a horrible past, Starlingleaf thought, her eyes warm with sympathy.

[StarSea]

Foxthunder nodded his approval. Then he decided it was time for some more of-the-season hunting practice. "How about we try some leaf-fall hunting? We haven't done much at all, but I want to see how you do and then we can pinpoint your weaker spots and work from there. What you want to do is locate your prey. Make sure it isn't too far away that you won't be able to catch it, but also make sure that it isn't so close that you'll stumble over it when you start running. Would you like an example first?" he offered, willing to help his apprentice get started the best she could in the cooling weather.

[ValidEmotions]

"Do so please. I will be taking Silentpaw with me into the territory where he can better his skills as an apprentice." Hearing Wildshade's mews, Nightstar's ear twitched and she glanced back over her shoulder. "Sending Wildshade out for a hunting patrol may do him, and Twistedpaw, some good. Though, I recommend appointing a less... rough, feline either as leader of the patrol or as second in charge to help curtail his sharp tongue." Turning her gaze back to Lightningstreak, she nodded her head once before heading out with Silentpaw.

 

Outside of the camp, Nightstar flicked her gaze towards her apprentice. "You've been training for six moons now, Silentpaw. You've grown nicely since then and learned a good amount of knowledge. However, there is still plenty to learn. For example, learning how to hunt and fight in conditions other than sunlight or rain. There is the matter of fighting and hunting while the ground is covered in snow and frost. Do you believe you are up to learning new methods?" The light snowfall that had started disturbed Nightstart faintly. It meant that leaf-bare would most likely come a bit early this time and so it would affect the amount of time her clan had to properly prepare for the chilly weather and adverse conditions.

---

 

Dusteye shook out his fur, flicking his tail as if to shake off water. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you so soon, Oakpaw. I know I shouldn't be getting in between your relationship with Pigeonstar. It really isn't my business and it's certainly ruined my first impression as a new mentor." He had noticed how the topic was beginning to affect the younger cat and he hated the fact that he had been the cause of such distress. "Let's focus on other things. You're a newly appointed apprentice and so that means you're unfamiliar with the territory that belongs to Windclan. Come, I'll show you around."

[StarSea]

((Going to school but a quick notice- Girlfairy76 has dropped out of the RP))

[ChocoBrownie]

"Yes," Silentpaw mewed. [[OH MY GOD. SILENTPAW'S FIRST WORD ON THIS RP.]]He pawed the ground, sniffing the air. Snow was truly weird.

[StarSea]

((I'll RP Blizzardstar for the time being so that Lunapaw, Sky, and everyone and stuff can get done, but after all of that, Twistedpaw and Blizzardstar will be removed from the lists and their positions opened up.))

 

Lunapaw turned her head and narrowed her eyes as the stranger acted as if he needed to defend himself, hissing at her. "Fop being housebrained!" she hissed back, her words muffled by the kit. She set the kit down again, by a small clump of reeds, and turned wholly to the tom. "What are you doing?" she growled at him, becoming somewhat annoyed with him. She's already had two interruptions with her hunting training today, she didn't need this, let alone knowing she'd more or less likely be reprimanded by Blizzardstar for not bringing anything back for her first hunting outing.

 

Wondering what was taking his apprentice so long to get back from her first single hunting trip, Blizzardstar began to worry. Getting up from where he sat, he began to pad towards the camp entrance to see if she may be coming back.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oakpaw was unsure of what to say to his mentor. He didn't want Dusteye thinking it was solely because of him, or that he had been trying to help, but when Dusteye had continued to the topic of learning the territory, he couldn't say no. "Where to first?" he asked excitedly, trying to push the matter of his mother and himself to the back of his mind. Maybe if it stayed there long enough, it'd just vanish.