Unknown(yup dats da title!) }{ umm... cheese?

[inkflower]

CHAPTER ONE ;D
SRRYSRRYSRRY I JUST NOTICED THIS IS IN WINDCLAN..... ITS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THUNDERCLAN!!! SRRY JUST IGNORE THAT FACT FOR NOW...
Im srry... I don have the book with me righ now... so the ceremony might not be right...

Inkpaw dropped smoothly into the hunter’s crouch, and quietly crept nearer to the rabbit she had scented, avoiding the crunching bracken and rustling heather. The gentle breeze stirred her sleek black fur. She was no more than a tail length away from her prey when something crashed through the bushes in front of her, the rabbit darted away immediately.
“Hi, Inkpaw!” meowed the cat as it stopped in front of her. It was Rowanpaw, another ThunderClan apprentice.
“Rowanpaw! I almost had that rabbit! You know how valuable prey is in Leaf-Bare, but now you’ve probably scared off all the prey in the territory! It could’ve fed all the elders and more!” She hissed at the brown tabby, her fur bristling.
“Well it wasn’t my fault, I didn’t know!” Rowanpaw’s eyes grew wide, “Oh, and Bramblestar wants you back at camp right now!”
“Well you should’ve told me earlier!” Inkpaw meowed, “He’s going to claw my fur off if I make him wait any longer! Mouse brain!”
Rowanpaw let out a purr of amusement. “Well, you’re wasting time talking to me,” he said, washing one white front paw, “Hurry up!”
Inkpaw ran through the undergrowth in the direction of the ThunderClan camp, wondering what Bramblestar could want now. She leapt smoothly over the familiar terrain and was soon back at the camp. She quietly padded to the lichen-draped entrance of the Clan leader’s den.
“Bramblestar? It’s Inkpaw,” she meowed quietly, “Rowanpaw said you wanted to see me?”
“Oh yes, come in!” a voice said from inside the den.
Inkpaw brushed past the lichen and sat down in front of Bramblestar, who was sitting up in his bed of moss.
“I have to talk to you about your mentor, Ferncloud, you know she was shaken by Dustpelt’s death many moons ago,” Bramblestar started, “She has told me she’s ready to become an elder.”
Inkpaw stared at Bramblestar, “But how could she become an elder? She’s not that old!”
“Inkpaw, you have to understand, Ferncloud isn’t as young as you would think. She was already a warrior when they drove out Tigerstar! You’ve heard about my father!”
“Yes,” the apprentice replied. The dark tabby was a treacherous cat who had murdered many cats, including the old deputy of ThunderClan, to try and achieve power in the forest. He had even tried to murder Bluestar, the leader before Firestar, who was just before Bramblestar.
“So try to forgive her, I know you wanted to continue to be mentored by Ferncloud, but she just can’t go on with her regular duties when she’s feeling old and sad, you know? Tell the other cats, the ceremony will be held at moonhigh.”
“Okay, Bramblestar.” Inkpaw replied and walked out of the den with her mind in a tangled knot.

“Why are you so down, Inkpaw?” Dawnpaw asked as Inkpaw lay down in her pile of moss.
“Ferncloud is becoming an elder!” she wailed hopelessly, “Who will mentor me now? Ferncloud was the best!”
“I’m sure that Bramblestar will pick a good replacement for you, after all, he was descended from the greatest cats in ThunderClan history, good or bad!” the older apprentice reassured her, “Now, get some sleep and I’ll wake you at moonhigh.”
“Thanks, Dawnpaw.” Inkpaw mewed and lay her head down on her paw, shifting restlessly until sleep claimed her.

Inkpaw woke to a sharp prodding in her side, “Wake up, Inkpaw! It’s time for the ceremony!”
With an inward groan, she pulled herself up and staggered out of the den with Dawnpaw. Bramblestar was just calling the meeting when they sat down under the highrock.
“May all the cats who can catch their own prey join under the highrock for a clan meeting!” he yowled to the camp, Inkpaw watched as other sleepy cats came out of their dens, muttering groggily.
When all the cats have assembled, he spoke, “We are here today to receive Ferncloud as an elder. She has served her clan well, she was the one who fought side by side with Firestar in the war against BloodClan and Tigerstar, and we will honour her for many moons to come. Ferncloud, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go join the elders?”
“It is,” the pale ginger she-cat meowed shakily.
“Then I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this warrior who has risked her life for the good of her Clan, may you grant her rest for the many moons to come.” Bramblestar rested his muzzle between Ferncloud’s ears as if he were naming a new warrior and Ferncloud gave his shoulder a respectful lick before leaping off the highrock.
“As you all know, Ferncloud had an apprentice, and since she is now an elder, she cannot continue with Inkpaw’s training. Sorreltail, you are a very experienced warrior, and you have proved your loyalty many times over, and you are smart and brave. May you pass these qualities to Inkpaw, you will be her new mentor.”
Inkpaw bounded to the top of the highrock, where Sorreltail was waiting for her, they gently touched noses and stood proudly as the clan chanted Inkpaw’s name.
“Inkpaw! Inkpaw!”
When the noise died down and the cats had returned to their dens, Sorreltail came up to Inkpaw and said, “I’m sorry about Ferncloud, Inkpaw, but we don’t have control over what other cats choose to feel, so we have no control over how they affect the clan. But also, we have control of our own feelings, so if you choose to continue feeling down, it’s going to affect your training.” Inkpaw nodded and said nothing. Sorreltail gently brushed her tail against Inkpaw’s shoulder and left to sleep in the warriors’ den.
Inkpaw went back to her own den after and sat down in her bed of moss, Rowanpaw and Sagepaw settled themselves on either side of the black cat, “You needn’t be so sad,” Sagepaw meowed, “It’ll be okay, Sorreltail is a great cat! Maybe you’ll like her even more than Ferncloud!”
Inkpaw glared at the light gray she-cat.
“Wrong thing to say…” Rowanpaw taunted in a singsong voice, “Listen up Inkpaw, there’s nothing you can do about it now. Even StarClan has accepted Ferncloud as an Elder, what can sulking do to change it? You know it doesn’t matter who mentors you, just that you become a great warrior!”
Rowanpaw turned to look at the two she-cats and to the young tom’s surprise, they were both asleep. “Figures,” he muttered and rested his head on his paws.

[inkflower]

CHAPTER TWO ;D

“Inkpaw! Inkpaw! Inkpaw!” Inkpaw woke to Rowanpaw jabbing her savagely with one forepaw. “What?” she murmured irritably, poking Rowanpaw just as hard with her own paw.
“Sorreltail said that she and Birchfall would take us on the early hunting patrol!”
“That just means more work in the morning,” Inkpaw hissed humorously and got to her feet, “Well if the great warriors want us to hunt for their mighty appetite we shall serve them until the last drop of blood drops out of our veins!”
“Quit it with the sarcasm will you?” Rowanpaw meowed, “We’re hunting for Squirrelflight and her kits today! And mind you, don’t settle for the skinny stuff, these are Bramblestar’s kits we’re talking about!”
“But it’ll take forever to find anything fat enough for the mighty Bramblestar!” Inkpaw said, “It’s leaf-bare for StarClan’s sake! What did you expect of this weather?”
“Well you two had better get moving before Squirrelflight wakes up and finds no fresh kill left for her!” Sorreltail called from the den entrance, “Get out here! Birchfall’s gonna blow a gasket!”
The two apprenticed rushed out to the clearing, where the two warriors waited, Birchfall growled good-humorously and led the way out through the gorse tunnel.
“Rowanpaw, take the path from here to as far as the abandoned Twoleg nest and come back with your kill before sunhigh. Inkpaw, you go down to the lake near the great oak. Go on, it’s already after dawn.”
Inkpaw stared for a moment and then leapt through the grass down towards the lake, it was a good path to follow down to the lake and there was great hunting there. Even in the midst of Leaf-Bare, there were warm spots on the rocks where ThunderClan cats liked to sun themselves, and when the cats weren’t there, prey would come out and warm their pelts too.
Gently putting on paw in front of another, Inkpaw crept closer to a skinny vole that she had spotted lining its nest with grass. She was downwind from her prey, so it couldn’t scent her. Inkpaw pounced, the vole darted away from her, but she caught it with one forepaw and killed it swiftly with a bite to the neck. She buried it in the ground next to an old oak tree, planning to collect it later.
As quietly as possible, she continued to the lake, senses alert for any sound of scent of prey. She knew Squirrelflight loved to eat rabbits, so maybe if she was lucky enough to catch one for her, she’d be happy to let Inkpaw become a warrior.
Her ears pricked at the sound of rustling in a nearby bush, she stalked towards it, without knowing what it was, she pounced and was greeted by a surprised meow.
“Sorreltail?” she gasped as she realized who the lump of light brown fur beneath her was.
“Inkpaw, get off of me,” she meowed as she struggled to his paws.
“I’m so sorry!” the apprentice mewed as she sat down on a clump of heather, “I should’ve looked before I leapt.”
“It’s okay,” Sorreltail replied, “A deaf rabbit would’ve noticed me. Anyways, we can’t continue hunting, I probably scared off all the prey in the territory, and—“
Her sentence was cut off by a bloodcurdling yowl in the direction of the clearing that marked ShadowClan territory.
“Let’s go!” Sorreltail hissed and ran through the forest towards the sound. Inkpaw followed without a word.
They reached the clearing quickly, to see Rowanpaw and Birchfall fighting off a ShadowClan patrol.
Sorreltail let out an angry caterwaul and jumped in to help them. Inkpaw saw Rowanpaw struggling with two ShadowClan apprentices, he was close to being pinned down. Inkpaw ran towards them and dragged one of them off her friend by the scruff, spitting out a mouthful of ginger fur.
“What are you doing here?” she spat at the warrior, clawing the intruder’s belly with merciless blows from her hind feet.
“You don’t deserve this territory if you can’t defend it!” he snarled.
Inkpaw raked her claws across his nose and gave him a sharp bite to the shoulder while he was still surprised by the drops of scarlet blood dripping off the end of his muzzle. He yowled in pain and ran off into the bushes.
The ThunderClan cats were outnumbered, there were way more of ShadowClan, it wouldn’t take long to get more warriors from camp, Inkpaw thought. She raced off into the trees, nobody noticed her.

[inkflower]

CHAPTER THREE ;D
Inkpaw ran across the old thunderpath and back into camp. “There are ShadowClan trespassers by the clearing!” she hissed angrily, her fur puffing up.
The other warriors who had been sharing tongues looked at her with wide eyes.
“Well don’t just gape! Go help Sorreltail and Birchfall!”
Cloudtail stood up, with Cinderpaw, his apprentice beside him, “C’mon you mouse brains, to the clearing!”
With angry hisses, a patrol of six warriors, including Bramblestar himself, and two apprentices squirmed out through the gorse tunnel behind Inkpaw. When they finally reached the border, more ShadowClan warriors had arrived too.
Sorreltail and Birchfall were spitting at the other cats, but they were wounded and tired from the fray. The reinforcements bounded into the clearing with furious screeches. Inkpaw combed the clearing for any sign of Rowanpaw, but he was no where to be seen. Before she could look for him, Owlwing pounced on her from behind, she spat and raked her claws across him again and again, but he held her down easily.
“I thought you were better than that to attack other clans! I thought we were friends!” she hissed at the cat who had been a good friend in times of need.
“You thought wrong, ThunderClan’s half blood cats don’t deserve territory if they can’t defend it!” he hissed savagely and bent to bite her throat.
Suddenly, the weight on her back was gone, Inkpaw turned to see Honeydew dragging the ShadowClan warrior off her. Before she could thank the golden-brown she-cat, she had disappeared into the battle.
Inkpaw jumped into the bushes, opening her mouth to try and catch Rowanpaw’s faint scent, but all she could smell was the stench of blood and fear coming in waves from the battle.
Then, she scented the tiniest hint of Rowanpaw’s familiar scent, she followed it slowly, thanking StarClan that no ShadowClan warrior had noticed her.
When she found Rowanpaw, she gasped, the young apprentice had been badly wounded and blood oozed out from a nasty gash on his side.
“Rowanpaw!” she meowed, racing to his side.
“I—I got as far as I could go…” he whispered.
As the brown tabby fought for breath, Inkpaw grabbed him by his scruff and decided to drag him back to camp; it wasn’t far from where they were. Rowanpaw let out squeaks f pain occasionally, but he didn’t struggle.
“Leafpool!” she called through a mouthful of fur, “Leafpool! Jaypaw!”
The medicine cat and her apprentice poked their heads out of their den, Jaypaw cautiously made his way to Rowanpaw. Leafpool reached back in her den for healing herbs and cobwebs, while her sightless apprentice guided them to an empty nest.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” Inkpaw asked Leafpool, but the medicine cat looked at her with determined eyes and said, “He’ll come to no harm, as long as I’m here.”

Inkpaw started back to the apprentices’ den with her tail drooping, forgetting completely about the fight that was still going on at the ShadowClan border. All she could think about was Rowanpaw’s still figure lying in the dust.
Then, a triumphant yowl broke the silence of the camp, Inkpaw turned around to see the battle worm warriors returning from the fight.
“ShadowClan fox dung!” Birchfall spat, “Those mouse brained fools tried to move the border again! But we sure showed them what ThunderClan’s all about!”
“But we’ve got to get Whitewing to Leafpool right now!” Sorreltail exclaimed with wide eyes, “I think this wound might get infected if we don’t get it looked after.”
“Leafpool!” Inkpaw ran back to the medicine cat’s den, “The warriors have returned, they need your help!”
Jaypaw walked out of the den, “Who’s injured?” he asked.
“Whitewing and the other warriors that have been fighting ShadowClan.” Inkpaw said to the blind medicine cat apprentice.
Jaypaw sniffed at their wounds and retreated back to the medicine cat’s den to fetch Leafpool. Soon after, a brown tabby form appeared in the clearing.
“All right, Jaypaw. Now, what do we use to stop bleeding?” she quizzed her apprentice.
“Cobwebs,”
“What about infected wounds? Name all of them.”
“Um… Burdock root, dried oak leaves, um… I think, horsetail, marigold and rolling in wild garlic.”
“You forgot chervil leaves,” the medicine cat meowed as she scanned the patrol for heavy injuries.
“Sorry…” Jaypaw murmured.
“So go fetch some cobwebs, then,” Leafpool meowed, motioning to the herbs stored inside her den with her long tail.
“Where’s Whitewing?”
“Right here,” the white she-cat rasped, her green eyes glazed. A crust of blood had formed around a huge slash down her belly. She gasped whenever she tried to move. The proud cat who had raised Inkpaw when her mother disappeared was now a crumpled heap of white fur on the cold rock.
Jaypaw came bounding back one paw held above the ground, covered in cobwebs, he almost crashed into Inkpaw in his haste.
“Here are the cobwebs, Leafpool,” he meowed, “I hope it’s enough.”
“It’s plenty, Jaypaw. You can go rest now.”
Jaypaw’s light gray fur bristled, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest, but he obeyed his mentor and stalked back to the den.
“Bramblestar?” Inkpaw meowed to her leader, “Was that battle really worth what’s at stake right now?”
Bramblestar looked at her with wide amber eyes. “Why wouldn’t it be? If we didn’t fight for our territory, the other clans will think of us as weak. There would be much more raids and much more injured warriors.”
“Even so, there is absolutely no way that was the last attack from ShadowClan, and we have many cats suffering from White-cough and Green-cough, why can’t we just take back the territory later?” Inkpaw flicked her ears.
“Oh, Inkpaw, maybe someday you’ll understand. There is more bubbling underneath ShadowClan’s cover than you would care to imagine. Now, Inkpaw, go get some rest. Rowanpaw will be better in the morning.”
The black apprentice blinked, wondering how Bramblestar found out about her worries for Rowanpaw.
Bramblestar purred wearily in amusement, “Clan leaders know these things, Inkpaw, don’t worry.”
Inkpaw dipped her head gratefully and ran back to the apprentices’ den to get some sleep before Sorreltail left with the dawn patrol.

[inkflower]

CHAPTER FOUR (it IS four... right??) ;D
“Inkpaw, Inkpaw!” she heard her name being called from in the apprentices’ den the next day.
She mewed sleepily and lifted her head to see Dawnpaw standing in front of her, “Leafpool told me to come and fetch you right away!”
“Did she say what it was about?” Inkpaw opened her jaws in a wide yawn.
“She didn’t tell me anything about what’s happening. I feel so disconnected!”
Inkpaw sat bolt upright and tore out of the small den, moments later, she appeared at the rocky entrance of the medicine cat’s den.
“Leafpool!” she meowed, kneading the hard ledge with her front paws.
“Oh good, Inkpaw, you’re here! Come in and see Rowanpaw!” the sandy tabby meowed gently from inside the moss-lined cave, a bit of sorrow tugging at her voice.
Inkpaw gently padded into the space, it was unusually airy and sweet-smelling inside the den, and it made Inkpaw totter a little before she caught herself.
“How are Rowanpaw and Whitewing doing?” she asked.
“Rowanpaw’s doing fine, he’s breathing better and the swelling has gone down. You really shouldn’t have dragged him through the dust, though. He’s really beat up and dirty. He’ll want a good washing later!” Jaypaw meowed, appearing from deeper in the den, “Whitewing is great too, but she’ll have trouble with her leg for a few moons.”
“Why?” Inkpaw asked, “What happened to her?”
“She was injured.” Jaypaw meowed curtly.
“Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about,” Inkpaw hissed, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Why are you so cranky all the time? Is it because you think other cats pity you of your blindness?”
Jaypaw let out an angry yowl, only to be cuffed on the ear by his mentor.
“Enough! Both of you, there are injured cats in this den, if you want to settle arguments physically, take it somewhere else!” Leafpool’s eyes blazed with fury, “Jaypaw, she was just asking about her nursing mother! How could you be so cruel? You’re a medicine cat, who is supposed to take care of the clan during weak hours. If you want to continue your apprenticeship in my den, then you’ll cooperate. Inkpaw, I suggest you go visit the patients while I go collect herbs with Jaypaw.” She looked pointedly at the gray apprentice and picked up a bundle of dried oak leaves, being careful not to crumple the fragile pieces, and disappeared outside to sun the leaves and get rid of the dampness that had seeped in during the night.
Jaypaw followed her with a bitter sneer on his face, “Not that I ever wanted to be a medicine cat anyways!” he spat, and hissed at Inkpaw before disappearing.
After the medicine acts had gone, Inkpaw noticed a heap of light brown tabby fur in a dip in the corner. Inkpaw plodded over and whispered, “Rowanpaw!”
“Inkpaw?” he whispered hoarsely, “Is that you?”
“Of course it is, you stupid furball, how are you doing?”
Rowanpaw examined his shoulder, “I think I’m going to be okay… My shoulder is feeling really stiff, though. And I think these scratches are getting infected. They’re going all red again.”
Inkpaw turned in habit to call the medicine cats, but she instantly knew how eager Jaypaw would be to help her. Bristling at this thought, she remembered a few moons ago, when Sagepaw was still a kit, and she had almost been stolen by ShadowClan, she had been badly scratched. What had Leafpool used that time? Inkpaw caught whiff of a familiar scent, and realized that there was a pile of broad leaves laying a few tail lengths away.
She cautiously picked up a leaf and chewed it into a pulp, while Rowanpaw complained of an aching hind leg. Inkpaw spit out the pulp into another dock leaf and dragged it to Rowanpaw.
“Quit complaining like an elder and show me your scratches!” she hissed.
“You’re not a medicine cat, what are you doing with those leaves?” he said as he turned around to reveal red rashes along his back.
She gently pressed the poultice onto his wounds, hoping that she was using the right herb, if she was wrong, she couldn’t imagine what would happen.
“That stings!” Rowanpaw mewed, writhing in discomfort.
“That means it’s working,” a voice said from the entrance. Jaypaw nosed his way past the barrier and stopped beside Inkpaw. “What are you giving him?”
“Dock leaves,” Inkpaw whispered to the older apprentice, “Leafpool gave it to Sagepaw when she was stolen by ShadowClan. Cedarstar really scratched her up.”
“You’re right,” Jaypaw meowed, “Good going.”
Inkpaw turned away, obviously not willing to talk to the other apprentice, “Whatever, any cat would know.”
“Listen, I know I was a bit cold—“
“A bit? Really, Jaypaw, the snowiest day in leaf bare couldn’t be as cold as you are to your clanmates!”
“Sorry.” Jaypaw said quietly.
“It’s okay,” Inkpaw meowed briskly, spreading the poultice until it covered all the scratches.
“I have to go help Leafpool, I’ll be back later to have a look at Rowanpaw.” Jaypaw slipped out of the den without waiting for a reply.
“Um… Inkpaw?” Rowanpaw said from his nest in the moss, “You’re neglecting your patient with your chitchat!”
“You don’t need anything, so I don’t see how I’m neglecting you, you mouse-brain!” Inkpaw purred, smoothing the chewed dock leaf over the scratches.
“Whitewing’s over there,” Rowanpaw said, pointing with his tail, as he sensed his friend’s worry.
“Thanks Rowanpaw,”
“Be quick, I thought you were going on dawn patrol, it’s almost dawn now.”
“I’ll remember that,” Inkpaw said with a worried glance at the sky through the thick brambles.

[inkflower]

CHAPTAAA FIIIVE! ;D
Inkpaw gently padded over to the heap of white fur and soft bedding. “Whitewing?” she murmured, “It’s Inkpaw, how are you?”
“Inkpaw?” the white warrior meowed weakly, “Where am I?”
“You’re in the medicine cat’s den,” Inkpaw said, delighted that Whitewing was strong enough to speak.
“Oh, I hurt everywhere…” she said, attempting to lift her right foreleg, but it was a feeble attempt, and her leg dropped back into the moss. She let out a hiss of pain and rolled over, making herself more comfortable.
“Where do you hurt most?” Inkpaw asked, laying a paw on Whitewing’s shoulder, it was warm and dry.
“You have a fever, Whitewing,” she meowed gently, while raking her brain for the smell of that particular herb Leafpool had used not days before. She could only remember daisies. She hoped that was specific enough to help her get the right plant.
The black apprentice nosed through the herbs and jumped back with a hiss when she got a whiff of the mouse bile in a crevice in the smooth rock face. She finally found a bushy branch with small flowers on it. Hoping she was right, she bit off a few leaves and started chewing them slowly. Suddenly, she remembered that you were supposed to eat these leaves, and that they were called feverfew.
She bit off more leaves and took them to Whitewing, who was dozing lightly, her tail twitching.
“Whitewing, eat this,” Inkpaw mewed and dropped some leaves in front of the warrior. “Why?” she murmured sleepily.
“You have a fever, and a bad one at that, so eat up!”
Whitewing reluctantly took a leaf, wincing at the bitter taste. “I’ll finish this bit, but that’s it!” she meowed.
Inkpaw dipped her head and returned to her post by Rowanpaw.
“So what’s been happening around camp? I’ve been away for a while now…” Rowanpaw meowed up at Inkpaw.
“You’ve been down for a day and a night!” Inkpaw purred, “You didn’t miss anything!”
“And he won’t miss anything else,” said a voice from the thorn barrier, “He can train again tomorrow morning!”
“Jaypaw, stop sneaking up on cats!” Inkpaw hissed, “I might need to claw your ears off for that!”
Jaypaw snorted and continued, “I asked Leafpool, all he needs to do is take a few poppy seeds for sleep,” he paused, “Which he won’t get with you chattering around here, and rest. He’ll be better tomorrow.”
“Hey, stop right there, Inkpaw isn’t keeping me up!” Rowanpaw meowed in surprise, “I can sleep just as well after talking to her!”
“It’s okay, Rowanpaw, I’ve got to be off. If I don’t go on dawn patrol, Mousefur won’t let me eat for the rest of the day. You know how she can be, cranky old elder, I’ll be back tomorrow morning to drag you out of here! We can hunt together!”
Inkpaw darted through the prickly entrance and peeked into the warrior’s den, where Sorreltail was washing her ears.
“Sorreltail!” Inkpaw yowled excitedly, “Let’s go on dawn patrol!”
“Sorry, Inkpaw, I think I have a chill, why don’t you go hunting, and I’ll get someone else to do the patrol? I have to go to Leafpool, too.”
“Okay, Sorreltail, no worries,” Inkpaw didn’t really want to mark the borders anyways, so she squeezed through the prickly gorse and into the forest.
She saw a flicker of movement towards her left, and then a dash of fur. Inkpaw dropped into the hunting crouch, fondly remembering the day that Rowanpaw had interrupted her while she was stalking a rabbit. She crept forward, step by step, she inched closer to the vole crouching at the base of an oak tree, scrabbling in the dirt for food. When she was no more than a tail length away, she pounced and swept her paw under the vole, it flew into the air, where she gave it a swift bite to the neck, killing it before it could squeak and scare away other prey.
Inkpaw buried it under the oak, remembering where she had stored it. She opened her mouth and drew a deep breath, there was a faint scent of mouse on the breeze, she slowly followed it until she found the scrawny brown rodent trying to open a seed. She jumped and landed on it, but when she landed, she slipped, and squashed the mouse with her shoulder.
She groaned and licked the mouse’s blood off her fur and cleaned the dirt off a gentle scratch on her foreleg. She was sure that the scratch wouldn’t bother her.
Picking up the squashed mouse, she bounded back to where she stored the vole and added it to the store. She caught a flicker of movement in the ferns nearby, and caught the scent of another cat. From what she could distinguish, this cat wasn’t someone she was familiar with. Maybe it’s just an elder, wandering off. She thought as she pried open a clump of ferns to get a better look.
She gasped, trying to scrabble up Sky Oak, was Nettlekit, while her littermates, Seedkit and Ripplekit cheered her on. Her older sister, Pebblepaw, mewed in excitement. Inkpaw ran into the clearing.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at Pebblepaw, “Why are these kits here? Kits aren’t allowed out of camp, let alone climb Sky Oak!”
Pebblepaw’s eyes widened in alarm, staring at the other apprentice,
“I—I—thought it would be fun…” she stammered.
“Fun to what? Get your sister killed?” I though you were more mature than that! I overheard Bramblestar and Squirrelflight talking the other day, you were going to be a warrior! But now I don’t see that happening, ever!”
Inkpaw didn’t make up the part about becoming a warrior, she heard Bramblestar listing a couple of warriors when she was going to tell Sorreltail she was hunting. She was a little disappointed that she wasn’t one of them, but she knew she was still a bit young.
“Nettlekit, get down!” she yowled up the tree, where Nettlekit was shivering.
“I can’t!” she wailed, “I’ll fall!”
“I can go get her,” Seedkit squeaked, looking smugly at Inkpaw.
“No you can’t, Cindepaw is an excellent climber and she fell while trying to get Mousepaw down. She broke her leg doing that, you’re not going to!”
Seedkit flattened his ears in anger, and leapt away from Inkpaw, gripping on the small ridges in the bark of Sky Oak with his tiny paws. Pebblepaw ran over and tried to drag him down, Seedkit hissed and brought his claws over Pebblepaw’s muzzle, scarlet drops dripped off her nose. Yowling in surprise, Pebblepaw swatted Seedkit, the tiny gray scrap of fur fell down and didn’t get up.
“Pebblepaw! What did you do?” Inkpaw meowed in despair. She ran to Seedkit’s side and saw Pebblepaw had left a gash in the tiny kit’s side. She gasped, Seedkit was still alive, his flank heaving with effort. Inkpaw bounded to the tall oak and dragged a pawful of cobwebs down from an abandoned owl’s nest.
“Get me some juniper berries! They’re small and blue, hurry!” she called to Pebblepaw as she covered the wound with the sticky fibres. Pebblepaw came bounding back with her mouth full of the bitter berries and dropped them at Inkpaw’s feet.
The apprentice chewed them into a poultice and shoved it gently into Seedkit’s mouth while Pebblepaw held his mouth open. She stroked the kit’s throat to make him swallow.
Seedkit gasped and wriggled on the ground, his breath going in slightly easier now. He batted at the cobwebs that plastered his ribs, his tiny legs thrashing. Seeing the kit was okay, Inkpaw turned to Pebblepaw.
“What were you thinking? Or weren’t you thinking at all? How could you let a kit climb Sky Oak, much less hit one with claws unsheathed?”
“I—didn’t know…” Pebblepaw stammered, “I thought Nettlekit was just going to climb up and then down again and we could see who climbed the highest…”
“And fell hardest? Really, Pebblepaw, I thought you were better than that!”
Inkpaw turned her back on the stuttering apprentice and tried to persuade Nettlekit to come down. She leapt up onto the lowest branch. “Nettlekit, jump down, there’s a branch right under you… Yes, that’s right, now come closer to me… There’s a branch there, but watch out for that bark, it might be slippery…”
Inkpaw slowly guided Nettlekit down to the ground, where she gave her a few swift licks. The kit mewed in fright as Inkpaw pushed some juniper down her throat.
“Juniper tastes nasty!” she whimpered, and spat out a small mouthful, but most of it was down her throat, so Inkpaw didn’t bother to scold her.
“Pebblepaw, carry Seedkit back to camp, directly to Jaypaw, if you don’t mind.” Inkpaw said curtly as she nudged Ripplekit and Nettlekit in the direction of the stone hollow. “Hurry, now.”

[inkflower]

You know what? I'm sorta tired of typing in all the CHAPTER WHATEVER ;D 's so imma just gonna put all of it here... Go nuts!

Inkpaw squeezed through the gorse tunnel and called, “Brook, your kits!”
The tribe cat looked out from the nursery, “Oh, good! I was looking everywhere for them, they must have slipped off while I was napping! Where were they?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Inkpaw meowed, “Pebblepaw took them to climb Sky Oak!”
“Pebblepaw!” Brook hissed angrily, her fur bristling, “What made you do such a thing? You could’ve killed them! They’re your only brothers and sisters, how could you put the in such danger?”
“I’m sorry, Brook.” Pebblepaw meowed with her head down.
“What’s happening?” Inkpaw turned to see Stormfur padding into the clearing, “Kits!” he exclaimed, “Where did you find them, Brook?”
“Inkpaw brought them back here, and, oh, StarClan! Seedkit is hurt!” she picked up the kit by the scruff and ran off to the medicine cat’s den.
“Jaypaw, Leafpool!” she heard the queen call.
“They were climbing Sky Oak,” Inkpaw explained to the confused warrior, “But they’re okay now, your kits will be just fine.”
“Thank you, Inkpaw.” Stormfur said with a dip of his head, “Pebblepaw, come with me, you’re going to see Bramblestar.”
Pebblepaw followed her father meekly without complaint to the leader’s den just below the Highledge.
Inkpaw heard Brambleclaw give the kit a good long lecture, and stretched out on the floor of the camp, after she was well rested, she let camp again to collect her prey and possibly hunt some more.
She dug up the vole and the soiled mouse, and carried them back to camp, planning to drop her load and then get something for Whitewing, Rowanpaw, and the medicine cats.
Dropping her catch on the small pile, she saw Sorreltail looking out at her from the warrior’s den, an approving look on her face.
Inkpaw slipped out of camp again to hunt some more, she decided to go down to near Sky Oak, in hopes of finding prey in the cover of the many trees.
She scrabbled across the old thunderpath and into the undergrowth, scenting the air for any hint of prey. She caught the stale scent of a magpie, It’s a pity, she though, It would’ve been great prey for the clan. Underneath the smell of the bird, was a scent that she’d recognize anywhere, WindClan!
Surely ThunderClan couldn’t appear as weak as to have another clan, and also the friendliest clan to them, attack them again! Inkpaw followed the scent, hoping it was just a careless apprentice straying across the border while chasing a rabbit or something, but her heart skipped a beat when she realized that the scent was not leading back to WindClan territory, and that it was leading deeper into her own clan’s, she knew that the WindClan cat wasn’t going to the Moonpool, she was already too deep into the territory. The scent was growing stronger and so was Inkpaw’s curiosity, she finally reached a patrol of cats crouched in the undergrowth, watching over the thorn barrier on the edge of the ThunderClan camp.
“What are you doing here?” she spat furiously, “WindClan mousedung have no right to be on ThunderClan territory!”
She saw a pale she-cat with green eyes step out of the group, “And what could you do about it? Apprentice?” Inkpaw recognized Heatherstone, a friend of a ThunderClan cat, Lionpelt.
“Lionpelt won’t like you anymore if he saw you here, you piece of over ripe crowfood!” Inkpaw hissed angrily, and stepped forward. Nervous, Heatherstone stepped back, closer to the edge of the cliff.
“You’re not exactly in the best position right now, in a bad position, I would say, to be insulting someone who could push you right over this cliff,” Inkpaw continued, “Did Onestar send you?”
“That is none of you’re business, you’re just a measly apprentice!” Heatherstone hissed, with a quiver in her voice.
“Intruders!” Inkpaw yowled, hoping cats in the camp would hear her call and come to her aid.
Heatherstone’s eyes widened and she pounced on Inkpaw, claws unsheathed, with a snarl of unmasked fury.
“What’s going on over here?” Inkpaw heard Sorreltail yowl, as soon as she saw Inkpaw, she dragged Heatherstone off her and threw her by the scruff to one side, where she pounced and bit her savagely on the shoulder. Heatherstone let out a howl of pain and rolled into the bushes, Sorreltail followed her. Inkpaw saw the other warriors pouring into the clearing, often checking their balance so they didn’t fall over the steep cliff right to their death.
Inkpaw was watching the she-cats fight when an apprentice jumped on her from behind. She felt his hot breath by her ear, “Watch who you call mouse dung, you kittypet!” the black apprentice bristled with anger, “I’m not a kittypet!” she yowled, and rolled onto her back, flipping the WindClan cat off her. She dragged him by the scruff and clawed his ears to shreds while the other apprentice thrashed wildly. She flipped him again and battered his belly with her hind legs, ignoring the furious swipes he clawed across her side.
Before she let him run away, she grabbed his foreleg with her teeth and twisted with all her might, she heard a satisfying crack and let go. The pale gray apprentice stumbled and limped quickly into the bushes with one more glance at Inkpaw, “This isn’t over!” she heard as she dragged a warrior off Honeydew, giving him a sharp bite to the base of his ear and watching his scamper away.
When the last of the WindClan patrol was out of sight, she sank down and rested her muzzle on her paws, her heart beating wildly. Time seemed to slow as suddenly, the apprentice who had called her a kittypet ran out of the bushes and charged into Inkpaw, shoving her right over the cliff.
Inkpaw felt her heart stop in terror, as she reached up to grab the ledge with her paws, her paws met cold stone, but she could not get a grip. Suddenly, she felt strong jaws grasp her scruff, then heard an angry screech as a ThunderClan can barreled into the apprentice. Inkpaw looked up and saw Rowanpaw, struggling with her weight, his claws slowly slipping closer to the edge. Then, Sorreltail reached down and grabbed Inkpaw’s scruff and hauled her up to safety.
Panting, Inkpaw flopped down onto the cold rock, the noticed Brackenfur still struggling with the gray cat. Inkpaw leapt at the cat, pulling him off Brackenfur, and throwing him closer to the edge of the cliff, he realized that he might fall off the cliff at any time and shrank back at Inkpaw’s burning green gaze.
“You piece of fox dung,” she breathed, “You think you could beat ThunderClan blood so easily? You think we’re as pathetic as you?” By then, the other ThunderClan cats were watching her and yowling in agreement.
“WindClan will always be better than ThunderClan!” the apprentice sneered, “Always! That will never change!”
“It has already changed, you worthless thing, we have risen above you and your types, why don’t you go and crawl back to the nursery and whimper like the kit you are? Why don’t you go scampering back to you mother, Nightcloud? I know Crowfeather won’t protect a thing like you, imagine, being so pathetic, even your father doesn’t care!” Inkpaw spat on his face and bit him on the back of the neck, sending him running into the trees, she chased him until he was past the border, where she sat down and washed her paws.
“Maybe you were a bit harsh,” she heard Sorreltail say as she settled beside her apprentice.
“Harsh? You’re kidding! He pushed me off a cliff!” Inkpaw hissed, and got up to go back to camp. Sorreltail followed her and pulled a bur out of Inkpaw’s fur.
“It’s good that you found the goodness inside of you to let him go. I could tell you just wanted to finish him.”
“You wouldn’t know,” Inkpaw muttered, “The only reason was that Bramblestar would never make me a warrior then. He’s worth less than a couple of mouse tails to me!”
“I’m proud that I’m your mentor.” Sorreltail said simply and brushed her shoulder with her tail. “I’ll see to it that you and Rowanpaw are made warriors soon.”
Inkpaw stared at her mentor, “Warriors?” she whispered hoarsely, “Really?”
“Yes, now go get some herbs from Leafpool and sleep. I’ll talk to Bramblestar.”
Inkpaw padded quietly into the camp, lost in her thoughts, a warrior! She couldn’t believe it, she had been an apprentice for barely seven moons and she was going to be a warrior!
She kept thinking as Leafpool fussed over her wounds, not really hearing the words she was muttering.
“What are you thinking?” Jaypaw suddenly asked her.
“Oh—nothing,” Inkpaw murmured, and licked her wounds, before Leafpool applied the cobwebs.
“You’re thinking something, you might as well tell me.”
“No.” Inkpaw said, annoyed that Jaypaw was being so nosy.
“Tell me,”
“No.” Inkpaw’s fur bristled angrily.
“Jaypaw, quit annoying her, Inkpaw, make your fur lay flat.” Leafpool ordered.
Reluctantly, Inkpaw relaxed her shoulders, and her fur stopped bristling. Leafpool gently stuck the cobwebs onto her fur, Jaypaw seeping chervil juice into her wounds whenever there was a gap. The juice of the leaves stung, and she knew it was payback for making Leafpool mad at her apprentice, but it was chervil, and it would help with infection.
After she was treated, she stalked out of the den, picked up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, and crept into the apprentices’ den, she was tired! She couldn’t believe that WindClan cat had tried to push her right off the cliff! Inkpaw was sure Bramblestar would mention it at the next gathering, and how she would love to see their ashamed faces!
“Hi, Inkpaw!” Dawnpaw sat down next to the battle-weary apprentice, “I just got back from hunting. I caught three voles and two mice! I guess prey’s running well today! Did you catch anything?”
“Well, I scented magpie, but it was stale, and in case you haven’t noticed, I just came back from a brawl with WindClan…?” Inkpaw casually took a bite out of the mouse as if she were discussing the weather.
“A fight with WindClan? And I thought we were friends with them!” Dawnpaw meowed, “What happened?”
“I found them spying on the camp over the thorn barrier at the top of the rock wall, one apprentice shoved me right over the edge, but Rowanpaw grabbed me just in time!”
“Well, I guess you’ll need your rest now, I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Dawnpaw touched her muzzle to Inkpaw’s and walked away to sleep with Sagepaw and Petalpaw.
“Oh, look, it’s our fallen warrior!” Rowanpaw mewed as he sat down beside Inkpaw, “Are you going to finish that mouse?”
“Knock yourself out,” Inkpaw muttered, pushing the mouse towards the other apprentice, “I’m glad new leaf is coming soon, at this rate, you’ll finish all the prey in the forest before anything starts growing!”
Rowanpaw snorted and busied himself with the mouse, “See you in the morning,” he purred and took the mouse to eat outside.
Inkpaw rested her head on her paws and let sleep claim her.
In Inkpaw’s dream, the apprentice woke up in an unfamiliar forest, voices called out to her, speaking of anguish and pain.
“Who are you?” she howled, “What do you want?”
Invisible paws tugged at her fur, voices of cats whispered in her ear. Slowly, the voices faded away, and a flame-coloured cat stepped out of the undergrowth.
“Welcome, young one,” the stranger said, “I am Firestar, the past leader of ThunderClan.”
“Why are you talking to me?” Inkpaw asked, “What about Bramblestar or Leafpool? Or even Jaypaw?”
“I have a special message for you, Inkpaw,” Firestar led her through a clearing, with four trees surrounding it, “It is only for your ears, do not tell anyone of this, not even Rowanpaw,” The clan leader seemed to guess how much she trusted the other apprentice. He ran past a few bushes and into a wide open moor, Inkpaw watched his flickering pelt streak through the grassland, and she followed. After what seemed like a lifetime of running, she reached a cave with jagged rocks coming out of the ground and ceiling.
“Where are we?” she called to the ThunderClan leader.
“This is mothermouth,” he meowed fondly, “This was the moonpool before we moved to the lake. This was our home before the Twolegs tore it up to make new Thunderpaths. Come with me.”
Absent mindedly, she followed Firestar into the cave, it was pitch black inside, and she only had her whiskers and Firestar’s scent to lead her. Smooth pebbles lay underfoot and as the tunnel went deeper, the smell of mold grew stronger. Eventually, they reached a cavern, much brighter than the tunnel; the cave was open to the sky. But still, she could not see very far in front of her muzzle.
Suddenly, the whole cave was flooded with light as the moon reached its high point in the sky. Inkpaw gasped as she saw a huge, smooth, glittering rock in front of her.
“This, Inkpaw, is the Moonstone. We came to share with our warrior ancestors.” Firestar brushed his tail against the smooth surface.
Before Inkpaw could speak, Firestar was gone, and so was the light, the Moonstone crumbled into dull, dusty ashes, and a booming voice filled the cavern.
A deadly enemy lurks in the shadows, beware a cat you cannot trust, the voice echoed off the smooth walls of the cavern, which were now beginning to give way. A silhouette appeared on the other side of the wall, a cat, a bit bigger than Inkpaw, but as soon as Inkpaw blinked, it had disappeared, leaving only a faint memory.
“Inkpaw, wake up!” Dawnpaw prodded Inkpaw gently in the side, “Wake up! Bramblestar is calling a clan meeting!”
“What time is it?” Inkpaw murmured dazedly, “What does he want now?”
“It’s moonhigh, Inkpaw, and I think Bramblestar has an announcement, I overheard him talking to Squirrelflight a while ago,”
The apprentice plodded out to the clearing with her friend, and joined Rowanpaw, who was wide awake, underneath the highledge.
“May all the cats that can catch their own prey gather underneath the highledge for a clan meeting!” Bramblestar yowled from the ledge a few tail lengths above the other cats, who had already gathered.
“We are here today to appoint three new warriors!” he meowed, murmurs of surprise ran through the crowd below. Bramblestar continued, “I call up Dawnpaw, Rowanpaw, and Inkpaw!”
Inkpaw’s eyes widened, she was becoming a warrior? She leapt onto the high ledge with Dawnpaw and Rowanpaw behind her.
“I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices, they had trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.” Bramblestar briefly nodded at the startled apprentices, “Dawnpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Dawnflower, we love you for your compassion and caring for your clanmates.” the leader rested his muzzle on the newly named warrior’s head and Dawnfire gave his shoulder a shaky lick.
“Rowanpaw, from now on, you will be known as Rowanclaw, we honor you for your courage and loyalty.” Bramblestar gently placed his muzzle on Rowanclaw’s head and the warrior gave Bramblestar’s shoulder a lick before going to join Dawnflower.
“And Inkpaw, you will be known as Inkfire, for the flame that burns in your heart, driving you on to be a loyal warrior to ThunderClan, we will remember you saved us from an invasion from WindClan. These new warriors will stand vigil tonight, and guard the clan while we sleep!” Bramblestar rested his muzzle on Inkfire’s head, and she gave him a lick on the shoulder before she joined her friends.
“Dawnflower! Rowanclaw! Inkfire! Dawnflower! Rowanclaw! Inkfire!” the clan chanted their new names and began to scatter.
“Wait!” Bramblestar called, and the cats returned to their posts, “We have more good news, Brook’s kits have reached the age of six moons and are ready to become apprentices! Since these new warriors have worked so hard in their apprenticeship and are older than most to become a warrior, they will be getting their apprentices tonight. Seedkit, Ripplekit and Nettlekit, come to the highledge!”
With tiny excited mews, the three kits were given a quick wash and carried up by their mother and father. Stormfur and Brook stood back while the ceremony went on.
“Dawnflower, you are patient and understanding, you will mentor Seedkit, Rowanclaw, you are strong and brave, you will mentor Nettlekit, Inkfire,” the leader paused, “You have shown great loyalty and you will mentor Ripplekit. I hope you will pass these qualities on to your apprentices, who will now be known as Seedpaw, Nettlepaw, and Ripplepaw!”
The new apprentices and mentors touched noses, and stood on the highledge proudly.
“Seedpaw! Nettlepaw! Ripplepaw! Dawnflower! Rowanclaw! Inkfire!” the clan chanted, and then, at Bramblestar’s signal, they quieted and left for their dens.
“Inkfire! Inkfire!” the newly named warrior turned around to see Ripplepaw, running to meet her.
“Can we go exploring tomorrow? And can you show me how to stalk mice and birds and rabbits? Can we go on dawn patrol? Or fight off a nasty ShadowClan invasion?” the dark gray apprentice bounced with joy.
“Sorry, Ripplepaw, I’m keeping vigil tonight, remember? I’ll have Cloudtail take you for some training, okay? And it’s probably best if we don’t see any more of ShadowClan for a while!” Inkfire purred with amusement at her apprentice.
“Okay, okay!” she mewed and hurried off to meet her brother and sister in the apprentices’ den.
Inkfire saw Sagepaw and Petalpaw come out of the apprentices’ den shortly after, “Those new apprentices are loud, I’ll never get any sleep!” Sagepaw complained, “I wished we could become warriors too! Then I won’t have to sleep with them squealing in my ear!”
“Congratulations, Inkfire, good luck on training that apprentice,” Petalpaw laughed, “She’s a handful!”

[inkflower]

I haven't decided what to do with her yet... so I'm still writing it... ;D
When it's out.. KNOCK URSELF OUT ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D