Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 9

Later that day Rissa was sitting in the shade of the camp eating a plump trout when Darkfinch padded up to her. "Did you hunt for the clan?" he asked her. Rissa shook her head. "Why are you eating the clan's prey then?" At that Rissa lost it,"I am not eating the clan's prey," she yowled the clan turned and watched the two siblings. One the clan deputy the other the smartest pet cat there was. "I caught this fish for myself. I don't live with the clan I don't need to hunt for your elders. I hunt for myself and only myself. I fend for myself and only myself. If something goes wrong I blame only myself. I padded to the other side of the lake so I wasn't in your territory and I hunted this trout, so I wasn't stealing prey you could catch. I got prey for me to eat and only me. If I share with others that is up to me. If I hunt to others it is up to me. I am independent I don't depend on other cats and I don't protect other cats."she snarled. Darkfinch retorted with, "you are sheltering with the clan so you will go with the clan ways. You will feed others cats before yourself. In a clan what makes us strong is that the warriors help the kits, the strong help the weak. So you will help us in the clan, as you are staying with the clan." Rissa stared. "I serve no one but myself. If I am forced to help the cats that have lost the skill of hunting by sitting on their paws while letting others hunt for them then I leave the clan and I don't return to visit." She said. "I made a deal with Hollytail that we would come and see her clan if we all came as a family Rissa included. If Rissa returns to the woods near her human home than Olivia and I go with her." stated Princess. "Why do you make decisions for Olivia. She is old enough to make decisions by herself, you let Rissa fend for herself." snapped Hollytail. "No, Hollytail. I make my own decision and my decision is to let others take charge. I am loyal to the end and I am loyal to those who are loyal to me. Princess convinced her human to get her human's sisters to adopt Rissa and I and she helped me survive. If there is anyone I am most loyal to it is our mother. I would go with her rather than stay here with you." Olivia retorted to Hollytail. Hollytail glanced between her clan and her family. "Then I go with my family. The warrior code states to be loyal to the clan above all measures. I was born in a human home, my family is my clan. If the 3 of you go and Darkfinch stays then I go with you as I am loyal to the majority of my family. I agree with Rissa. She didn't do anything to harm the clan. If they go I go with them." Darkfinch watched as the clan deputy watched his family waiting for him to say something to see if they were leaving or not.

Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 8

Darkfinch just flicked his ears signaling to the patrol to go back to the camp. The pet cats padded behind them.  As they got to the camp, Owlkit raced up to Brownpaw and said, "Who are the other cats are they prisoners?" Before Brownpaw could answer, "I will speak for myself, Brownpaw. I am not a prisoner of your precious clan. If anything I look better taken care of then you do." All the clan had gathered around Rissa and Brownpaw when Cinderstar appeared at the top of the rock. "Nightclan, this is Princess, Olivia and…." Cinderstar never finished his sentence because Rissa interrupted him. "I can speak for myself you know. I am not one of your obedient loyal cats that will sit and do anything that is ordered of me. I don't care if you are the most powerful cat in the world. I can still speak for myself. Just because you have authority doesn't mean the rest of us can't speak for ourselves." Rissa glared the leader of Nightclan. Cinderstar looked at surprise at Rissa. He just watched when Mousekit and Sparrowkit turned and tried to sneak up on Rissa she hissed at them without even turning to look at them. Flowerclaw glared at Rissa before gathering her kits with a sweep of her tail. Cinderstar then continued. "These cats are the kin to Hollytail and Darkfinch. I would like to invite them to stay with the clan for as long as they like and if they wish they to join the clan permanently then they would train along side, Whitepaw, Blackpaw and Brownpaw. You will make them welcome and as long as you are loyal to the clan you will be kind to them." The clan nodded. "Darkfinch take a hunting patrol out to the territory as I heard the only prey the first one caught was a sparrow that they didn't catch." Darkfinch nodded and he narrowed his eyes as he saw Rissa padded out into the forest. "Where are you going?" he called. "Hunting," she replied. "Well bring some prey back for the clan." Darkfinch called. Rissa showed she heard with a flick of her tail before padding into the brush and vanishing from the hunting patrols' view. 

Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 7

At the sight of the clan deputy and his sister all the clan cats fell silent out of respect until Brownpaw grabbed the sparrow and started backing away. A growl from Rissa made him stop, "Where do you think you are going with that sparrow?" she asked. "He is going back to the camp like any loyal clan cat would." said Darkfinch. "Why would he bring it back to the camp?" Rissa snarled. "It was caught by a clan cat it is clan prey," said Hollytail. At those words the hunting patrol shifted nervously. "It caught by the clan apprentices was it?" said Olivia. Hollytail and Darkfinch glanced at each other before nodding. "So my daughter Rissa is apart of the clan now Serafina? I thought you were the only 2 kittens I had lost to the clans Storm." said Princess. Hollytail and Darkfinch froze. "Is Rissa apart of your clan because Rissa was the cat who caught it Serafina." said Olivia. "You are bold to call the clan deputy by the name he doesn't go by." said Brownpaw. "I call my son whatever I want to call him," Princess snapped at Brownpaw. "Your son?" asked Rushclaw curiously. "Oh so your their mother." said Rosesweep. "Come back to the clan and meet our clan leader," Hollytail begged Olivia. (Olivia had always been the more fun sister, Rissa had always been more serious focusing on her survival more than her friends. Hollytail had always been the cat who cared for every cats safety, and Darkfinch the only son had always been the strongest." Olivia looked at Princess. "Olivia can go if we can all go," said Princess. "What makes you think you are all welcome in Nightclan. You chose to live with humans I would have thought that you would want to stay with that decision." said Darkfinch dangerously. "Who said we wanted to live with you?" snapped Rissa. "Hollytail wanted Olivia to come meet the cats she is living with, how does that translate into can we come and live with the cats you live with. You always thought you were the strongest and better than the rest of us. I would like to let you know that not even you would have been able to leap high enough to catch that sparrow. I have been training all my life to live by myself in the woods. I have focused on the skills and my instincts to live in the wild my whole life I have since I was a kit, but I have never wanted to live in a group of cats. I would rather live by myself fending only for myself that way I am not to be blamed for lost battles or causes that weren't my fault." said Rissa. The hunting patrol looked at Rissa like she was crazy and they waited to see what their deputy would do. 

Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 6

Whitepaw turned to Brownpaw. He was about to speak when Brownpaw interrupted him. "I think we need to head towards the forest, there is always some forest prey there." she said. Whitepaw thought for a moment, before nodding. "Sure, we should try for some birds." Brownpaw nodded and the two siblings padded towards the forest. "I see a sparrow," hissed Whitepaw. "Get into the bush to hide your white fur, I will chase the bird towards you." The apprentices dropped into a hunting crouch. Brownpaw started padded towards the bird. Suddenly Brownpaw leapt. The bird let out a warning call and started running towards Whitepaw. Before Whitepaw could pounce, Brownpaw charged the bird. The bird let out a screech before taking to the sky. Suddenly a small tabby shape raced towards the bird and leapt into the air and snatched the bird from the sky. Rosesweep and Rushclaw burst into the clearing. Whitepaw was yowling at his brother, "You said you were going to drive it towards me, we were supposed to be working together to hunt." Rosesweep nodded. "If it weren't for this tabby she-cat than that prey would have gotten away." Suddenly a cat came charging towards the clearing calling, "Rissa, Rissa." The other cat looked at the clearing. Then she let out a call of, "Princess, Princess it is the clan cats that Serafina and Storm went and joined." At that Princess came padded towards Rissa and her sister. The clan cats were still staring at the cats. "Who are you and what are you doing in our territory?" asked Rushclaw. "Catching your prey for you," snapped the cat named Rissa. Whitepaw padded forward. "Are you looking for Serafina and Storm?" he asked. Rissa turned and growled at him, "How do you know my siblings pet names?" "Don't be ridiculous Rissa," said her sister. "These cats live with them, of course they know their pet names." Rissa snorted and in answer to her question Brownpaw said, "We don't know a Serafina and Storm, I don't know what Whitepaw is talking about." Rissa looked at her sister in triumph. "It is ok, Rissa I have seen this apprentice before. He tried hunting in my garden and Olivia just because they live with them may not mean they know their pet names. They go by a different names now. Darkfinch and Hollytail if I am think correctly." As soon as Princess mentioned Darkfinch and Hollytail the cats nodded. "We know them, they are in our clan." said Rosesweep. They were interrupted by a cat saying, "Who said my name?" said a cat and then the other cat said, "what were you doing hunting in a human garden. My own apprentice, Whitepaw I thought you knew better." It was Darkfinch and Hollytail. 

Whiteclaw 's Tale - Chapter 5

Finally and after what Whitepaw though was forever  Darkfinch looked satisfied and the group padded back to the camp. Whitepaw had just settled down to eat a shrew when a stern voice stopped him, "Exactly what do you think you are doing. I know you went out on the dawn patrol with Darkfinch. You apprentices think you can take what you want but no the warrior code clearly states that all the member able to hunt for the clan must feed their clan mates before they can eat for themselves. Go hunting with Rushclaw, your father will gladly take you hunting." Said his mother Dawnpetal. "What about Darkfinch?" Growled Whitepaw. "What about me?" Asked Darkfinch stalked up behind his apprentice. "You must learn your manners Dawnpetal is not only your mother she is your elder and a respected member of Nightclan. You must respect her as any other clan member would," he snapped at his apprentice. He turned to Dawnpetal, "What were you speaking to Whitepaw about?" He asked. "He was going to eat a shrew and I know for a fact that you guys didn't hunt yet today." She said quietly.  "I told him he could go with Rushclaw on the hunting patrol." Darkfinch nodded, "We can both go, I need to watch my apprentice," he said. Whitepaw looked at his mentor before stalked over to where Rushclaw was waiting. The brown cat looed surprised to see his oldest son but he welcomed him into the patrol. Darkfinch padded over when Rosesweep came with Brownpaw. Agknoledging that Rushclaw was the leader of the patrol with a flick of her ears the little group padded away until thenstopped in a clearing. "It is Cinderstar's idea that we get the apprentices working together. He would like the cats to partner up and hunt we would watch from a distance. Darkfinch I would go back to camp I heard that Cinderstar was making some apprentices soon and he wanted your opinion on mentors. We will look after the apprentices." Darkfinch nodded and tore off towards the direction of the camp. "You two," Rosesweep pointed with her tail at the apprentices "We would like you to hunt and we would like to see how you work together."  She said. "If you complete this task then, before we go back to camp you may hunt by yourself." said Rushclaw. Whitepaw nodded excited at his chance to see Princess.

Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 4

"Darkfinch is my mentor, he is teaching me how to be a loyal and dedicated warrior of Nightclan." Princess looked at him. "Ok, but each time I catch you in the garden then I expect new information on Serafina and Storm, oh sorry Hollytail and Darkfinch. Rissa or Olivia may be here too, Rissa and Olivia are my other kittens. They will want information too." said Princess. "Rissa and Olivia don't live here?" asked Whitepaw.  "Oh, no. Serafina and Storm went to the clans while Rissa and Olivia were adopted by my owner's sisters. They come and visit me sometimes." Princess explained. "So do we have a deal?" asked Whitepaw. Princess nodded, "until next time them." With that Princess turned and padded away into the house. Whitepaw turned and raced back to the camp with some freshly caught mice. Darkfinch padded over to Whitepaw, "I tracked you to the edge of the forest. Where did you hunt today?" he asked. "Near the lake. I found a nest of mice." said Whitepaw to his mentor. His mentor nodded but narrowed his eyes at his apprentice. "Ok, get some food and then get some rest for the night. We are going on the dawn patrol in the morning." Whitepaw nodded picked up a shrew and headed towards the apprentice den. The next morning, Darkfinch shook the bracken to get his apprentices' attention, "Wake up Whitepaw. We have to go on the dawn patrol." Darkfinch snapped at his apprentice. "Come on." Whitepaw threw a glare at his mentor before padding after him.  If Darkfinch noticed he didn't show it, Darkfinch just continued walking calmly towards the border. Whitepaw looked around as he walked he wanted to go back to Princess. Darkfinch sensed that his apprentice was ansty and he was waiting for something. He is waiting for the patrol to be over than he can go slip away to find something. "Where is he border marker?" Darkfinch quizzed his apprentice. "Over there near the edge of the forest," replied Whitepaw as if he knew that Darkfinch was testing him. Darkfinch stared at his apprentice. Darkfinch shook his head and the dawn patrol carried on. Whitepaw watched his mentor carefully wondering when he was going to be allowed to go back and share the news of her kits.

Whiteclaw's Tale - Chapter 3

The next morning Whitepaw woke early and he realized he was sleeping in the apprentice den, he was an apprentice! He padded out into the camp to find Darkfinch waiting for him. "Today I will show you the boundaries." he said. "Even though we don't live near any other cats and we could hunt as far as we like we have boundaries to keep passing strays and lonerse out of our territory. They stay out if there is a definite scent line." Darkfinch explained as the padded towards outlook ledge. "Do you see the edge of the forest?" he asked Whitepaw. When Whitepaw nodded Darkfinch swept on, "That is one boundary another is the edge of the meadow, the lake and the last boundary  is the human homes on the other side of the hill." Whitepaw nodded trying to absorb all the information at once. "Do you like your siblings?" Darkfinch suddenly asked. "Well, they are a bit bossy at times but they are good at heart." he said, then Whitepaw added. "Do you like Hollytail?" Darkfinch looked at him, "Hollytail isn't my only sibling. I have more. As you know my mother lives with humans. Hollytail and I didn't like it so we ran off into the woods and Cinderstar took us in. Princess always had looked after us so we went back to see her once in a while. We stopped now that we are warriors of course and being loyal to Princess and her human would mean we would be disloyal to the clan of course. I didn't mind Princess or my other 2 sisters, Rissa or Olivia. Hollytail is another story. I am loyal to the clan and therefore loyal to her of course, just sometimes she is a bit annoying." Whitepaw nodded. "Now I am going to show you the hunting crouch." Whitepaw copied the moves. "Aim for those leaves now," said Darkfinch. Whitepaw nodded and pounced. Darkfinch nodded, "Try some hunting by yourself, I will come back to see if you have caught anything." Whitepaw nodded and stalked a squirrel, suddenly the squirrel turned and ran. Whitepaw ran after it, when the squirrel scampered up a tree. Whitepaw slowed to a halt when he noticed a sparrow flitting through the brush of a human garden. Whitepaw instinctively dropped into a hunting crouch and padded towards it. He was about to pounce when a snapped twig startled the bird and it flew away into the trees. Whitepaw turned to snap at whatever had moved the stick, when he realized it was a small tabby cat. "What are you doing in my garden?" she snapped. "Hunting and who are you?," he retorted. "Well hunt somewhere else," she said "the birds in the garden are mine, and my name is Princess." "How about this? If you let me hunt in the garden then I will update you about Hollytail and Darkfinch." Princess looked at him. "How do you know Darkfinch?" she questioned.