User:VanillaWhiskerz

= Grasswhisker's Journey =

ThunderClan
LEADER: Aspenstar—a tortoiseshell-tabby tom with hazel eyes.

DEPUTY: Leechcloud—a tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Pigeonwhisker—a blue and cream tortoiseshell she-cat with copper eyes.

WARRIORS:

Rookpelt—a black tabby tom with gold eyes

Poppyheart—a tortoiseshell-tabby she-cat with gold eyes

Juniperstorm—a blue and cream tortoiseshell tom with green eyes

Goldenstripe—a golden tabby tom with green eyes

Nettlefoot—a tortoiseshell she-cat with orange eyes

APPRENTICES:

Sootpaw—a black tabby she-cat with long fur and gold eyes

Nightpaw—a black tabby tom with long fur and green eyes

QUEENS:

Starlingfang—a black tabby she-cat with copper eyes (Mother to Grasskit, Shinekit, Sootpaw and Nightpaw)

Icestone—a white she-cat with short fur and copper eyes

ELDERS:

Wrencloud—a chocolate tabby she-cat with short fur and yellow eyes

ShadowClan
LEADER: Rowanstar—a short haired, gray tabby tom, with green eyes.

DEPUTY: Dusklion—a dark brown and black splotches tom with blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Fennelpelt—a long haired, red tabby tom, with yellow eyes.

WARRIORS:

Foxlight—a red and white tom with sienna eyes

Adderkink—a dark brown tabby tom with yellow eyes and a broken tail

Orangegaze—an orange spotted she-cat with amber eyes

Frogtail—a yellowish tabby she-cat

Darkfur—a tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

APPRENTICES:

Lilacpaw—a cream and gray tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes

Slatepaw—a gray and black spotted tom with yellow eyes

QUEENS:

None

ELDERS:

Vinescreech—a gray tabby tom

SkyClan
LEADER: Goldenstar—a golden tabby tom with green eyes

DEPUTY: Gleaming Lights—a white tom with amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Yarrowears—a tortoiseshell she-cat with white ears and brown eyes

WARRIORS:

Mousetail—a brown tom with yellow eyes

Greenhaze—a pale gray she-cat with green eyes

Wormleap—a blue tom with reddish eyes

Miles—a brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Beechfeather—a black and white striped she-cat with blue eyes

APPRENTICES:

Sandpaw—a pale ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Birchpaw—a white and black striped she-cat with blue eyes

Nettlepaw—a golden tabby tom with blue eyes

QUEENS:

Lightstep—a gray and white she-cat with yellow eyes

ELDERS:

Heatpounce—a gray tom with no eyes

Nightfoot—a black she-cat with amber eyes

WindClan
LEADER: Squirrelstar—a white she-cat with red spots and brown eyes

DEPUTY: Newtclaw—a brown tom with pale speckles

MEDICINE CAT: Skunkwhisker—a black tom with pale blue eyes

WARRIORS:

Hailtail—a white tom with blue eyes

Jumpscar—a gray she-cat with a hideous scar on her side and green eyes

Tallfawn—a brown tuxedo she-cat with amber eyes

Possumheart—a gray tom with yellow eyes

Bruisefoot—a black tom with green eyes

APPRENTICES:

Blazepaw—an orange tabby with amber eyes

QUEENS:

Daffodilface—a pale yellow tabby she-cat with orange eyes (Mother to Featherkit and Sandykit)

Dogclaw—a brown tabby tom with dark eyes

Yellowstripe—a yellow tabby she-cat with green eyes

RiverClan
LEADER: Hailstar—a blue and white she-cat with dark eyes

DEPUTY: Thymepelt—a yellowish tabby tom with green eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Hardstone—a muscular gray she-cat with a missing hind leg and yellow eyes

WARRIORS:

Otterbelly—a brown tom with blue eyes

Leopardclaw—a golden and brown spotted she-cat with amber eyes

Blueash—a blue she-cat with yellow eyes

Sootwater—a black tom with blue eyes

Burnflame—a tortoiseshell tom with redish eyes

APPRENTICES:

Cardinalpaw—a yellow tabby tom with dark eyes

Jaypaw—a silver tabby tom with dark eyes

QUEENS:

None

ELDERS:

None

ELDERS:

None

Cats Outside Clans
Sunny Skies—a golden she-cat with amber eyes

Howie—a dark brown barn cat tom with yellow eyes

Tom—a silver tabby kittypet tom with amber eyes

Drippaw—a brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Prologue
The moon shown high above the SkyClan camp. A golden tabby tom staggered in through the entrance with a blood-stained pelt. Gasps around the edges of the camp sounded in the clearing.

"What happened, Goldenstar?" A tom yelped at the entrance of the warriors den.

"Drippaw..." Goldenstar growled. "He attacked me when we were patrolling. I he killed Sparrowsight, I tried to save his body...." Goldenstar sighed. "But Drippaw almost killed me too. I knew he's been planning something evil! He ran away once I had him chase me here." A light rain started to sprinkle the ground.

"Well, I guess there's no use chasing him now in this rain." Goldenstar growled. "He'll be aways off now, and the rain will wash his scent away." Goldenstar trailed off and suddenly fainted.

"Get out of the way!" Yarrowears mewed. "He needs air." She glanced briefly around the clearing. "Mousetail, Greenhaze, help me move him."

The two warriors scurried to their medicine cat's side and Yarrowears lifted her unconscious leader onto Mousetails back and helped Greenhaze keep him steady. They carried Goldenstar to Yarrowears den and set him on a mossy nest.

Yarrowears flicked her tail tip towards a pile of fresh moss. "Fetch some water for Goldenstar with that moss ." She instructed to Greenhaze. "Mousetail, tell the others Goldenstar will be okay." They nodded and hurried to do what they were asked.

Outside, Lightstep was pacing, anxious for her mate to be okay. She nodded to Greenhaze and Moustail as the walked out past her.

"Goldenstar will be okay!" Mousetail yowled for the clan to hear.

"Are you sure?" Lightstep worried.

"Yarrowear said." He assured the expecting she-cat. "If Yarrowear says he'll be alright, he'll be alright."

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A large brown tabby tom, about 15 moons old, lunged. He aimed at an old, tall, oak tree. With all his anger gathered in the swipe, his claws gouged the trunk leaving deep claw marks.

"I'll get you back!" He growled, ripping up grass and dirt inbetween his claws.

The tom clawed the oak tree again, imagining that it was his enemy. He imagined a golden tom, pure hatred in his eyes, glaring at him, with bleeding wounds all over. The brown tom couldn't wait until the day he might see his past mentor in a state like this. Though he knew it would probably never happen.

"I'll kill you if I ever see you again!" He yowled into the forest. "I can't believe that that mouse brained SkyClan believes him." He sighed. Drippaw had been watching from the edge of camp to see what Goldenstar did after he ran. He had been soaked in the lake when Goldenstar tried to drown him after he killed Sparrowsight in a fight that had been caused only by an arguement. "Well I guess he is the leader. Even if I didn't kill Sparrowsight—which I did't." He corrected himself. "—Goldenstar still could have exiled me…."

Chapter 1
It was bright outside with not a single cloud in the sky to ruin the perfect day flowers were starting to bloom after a cold, long leaf-bare. The leaves in trees high above camp were swaying, well, the leaves that the trees had. Starlingfang had kitted almost six moons ago and her two kits were hyper and excited. Aspenstar had decided to make them apprentices when they were only almost six moons.

"Come on Shinekit!" Grasskit squealed, pinning Shinekit in a play battle again. They had been wrestling all day and still had enough energy to run around the lake and back. "You've got to work harder! We're almost apprentices! You wouldn't want to be considered weak for how you fought as a kit when your a warrior, would you?" Grass kit lashed her tail in annoyance. "It's not fun when you don't try."

"I was!" Shinekit mewed. Of course she wasn't trying her hardest, but she was too exited.

Grasskit frowned. She was annoyed by her sister, Shinekit never really tried.

"Would you quiet down out there?!" Yowled Wrencloud from the Elders den. "I'm tryin' to sleep! Thank StarClan they're going to be outside camp finally." She was deaf, which meant the wrestling sisters had made a lot of noise.

Wrencloud was only about fifty moons old, she retired because she couldn't hunt anymore, she had lost her hearing when some immature twolegs made such a loud, growling sound out of some kind of little monster they had to scare her away.

"Why don't you come in for a story?" Wrencloud suggested.

"Yes!" Shinekit squealed. She raced to the Elder den entrance and padded inside to settle down beside Wrencloud. Grasskit thought stories were for kits and they needed to grow out of listening to them, but she had to admit, she loved listening to Wrencloud's stories.

When Grasskit had decided to join the two she-cats, Wrencloud launched into a battle scene where she met the WindClan leader. Apparently the story wasn't true, because Downstar was a leopard, and his brother was Grayfang, the tiger. Grasskit loved the story though, especially when Grayfang defeated the twoleg monster and cats never saw them again for many moons. She wished Grayfang was real so he could do it again because the warriors seemed to hate monsters.

"When Downstar had given the command, boom! Lightning struck the invading cats and the ones that escaped—"

"Grasskit! Shinekit! Come here, your ceremony is soon." Starlingfang called from the soft mossy nursery.

"Well you kits better go." Wrencloud mewed.

"Coming!" Shinekit mewed. "Bye, Wrencloud!" She turned to Grasskit as the two padded from the Elders den to ThunderClan camp's clearing toward the nursery. "Aren't you excited too?"

"Of course!" Grasskit smiled. "I bet I'm more excited! Race you!"

Shinekit sprinted ahead, she always was faster than Grasskit. "Why do I even ask?" Grasskit chuckled. She raced after her sister and didn't even get close to winning. Shinekit beat her to Starlingfang by several heartbeats.

"I've been waiting." Shinekit giggled.

"Now kits," Starlingfang mewed. "get along. I will wash you." She lapped Shinekit and Grasskit all over, leaving no dirt or dust behind. "Now go on, I think Aspenstar will call you out soon."

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath highledge for a clan meeting!" Aspenstar's call sounded from high above the camp. Starlingfang's timing was perfect.

Grasskit proudly walked out of the nursery, tail high, Shinekit padded behind.

Aspenstar was crouching on highledge watching his clanmates emerging from their dens or looking up from the fresh kill pile. Leechcloud, his mate and deputy, sat beside him. The sun was high, and the clearing was bright. The grass above ThunderClan's hollow swayed in the gentle breeze. This was the perfect day to become an apprentice. They would explore the territory with no snow, perfectly how it should be as most cats thought.

Juniperstorm and Poppyheart sat side by side, tails entwined. They had been sharing tounges only a moment ago beneath highledge. Rookpelt joined Starlingfang, Shinekit, and Grasskit under highledge and licked Starlingfang's cheek. He smiled down at his youngest kits, his broad black frame giving off heat from the sun.

Nightpaw and Sootpaw sat together at the edge of the clearing, and watched their little sisters proudly and a little bit relieved because other Apprentices could do chores now. Nightpaw blinked at them kindly.

"We have gathered here today for one of the most important parts of clan life." Aspenstar started. "The making of apprentices. Grasskit, Shinekit, step forward." He beckoned the two kits with a flick of his tail. "Grasskit, you are almost six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day until you get your warrior name, you will be known as Grasspaw." He turned to Juniperstorm. "Juniperstorm, you have shown great loyalty, and strength to your clan, and you are ready to take on your second apprentice. I hope you will pass on your skills to Grasspaw."

Grasspaw's heart burst with pride. Juniperstorm was the strongest cat in Thunderclan! Well, I'll beat him in being the strongest soon! Grasspaw thought. She dipped her head to Aspenstar and smiled back at Rookpelt and Starlingfang. Then she padded over to Juniperstorm, touched noses, and sat beside him.

"What will we do first?" Grasspaw whispered.

"Hush." Juniperstorm growled. "You mustn't disturb the meeting. For StarClan sake it's for your sister up there!"

"...Then from now on until you get your warrior name, you will be known as Shinepaw. Goldstripe, you are ready for an apprentice, may you pass down your skills in hunting and reason to Shinepaw."

"Thank you, it would be an honor to mentor Shinepaw."

Goldenstripe and Shine paw touched noses and sat together.

"Clan dissmissed." Aspenstar yowled.

"Now what will we do?" Grasspaw mewed.

"Wait a little bit." Juniperstorm mewed. "I will talk to Goldenstripe." Juniperstorm padded over to Goldenstripe and whispered with him. Grasspaw stood with her paws planted in place and her pelt fluffed out even more than usual with hope. She wanted to explore the territory with Shinepaw on their first day being apprentices. Grasspaw had dreamed of ThunderClan's forest and wanted to see it for real.

"Goldenstripe and I have agreed to take you on the tour. But first, you should get a bite to eat with your sister before we start." Juniperstorm informed her.

Shinepaw bounced to Grasspaw. "I don't want a piece of prey first!" She complained. "I just want to leave! So let's hurry up." Her tone was bright even though she was unhappy.

Grasspaw quickly picked up a sparrow and trotted over to Shinepaw. They ate quickly and raced to tell their mentors they were ready to leave.

"Alright, let's go." Goldenstripe mewed. Juniperstorm flicked his tail good-bye to Poppyheart, and followed the apprentices and Goldenstrpe out of camp.

The sudden shade from the trees blocked out the sun and Grasspaw had to adjust her eyes to the gloom. The trees were of all different kinds, There was brown trunks and white trunks, dark and even some were grayish. Most trees had leaves but some were still recovering from the cold winter. There was still a breeze, but it couldn't reach the cats in the shade of the trees.

Goldenstripe lead the way, telling the two new apprentices all that there was to see. They lead them past the old abandoned twoleg nest and Grasspaw loved the smell of the leaves growing in the soft soil. He showed them the abandoned Thunderpath and the SkyClan border. They wandered towards the lake, and saw a ShadowClan hunting patrol.

"Let's leave them be." Juniperstorm advised. "I bet they won't like it if we make noise."

"They have a good hunting crouch." Shinepaw pointed her tail to one of the warriors.

Grasspaw nodded as they walked away. The two apprentices were shown the lake, in all its wet glory. Grasspaw could see RiverClan cats swimming near the gathering island. The patrol met the WindClan border once the sun started to set for the evening. It blazed the grass and turned it orange. Birdsong began to die away, and fay prey scurried back to their dens to sleep.

"We best head back." Goldenstripe mewed. "It's getting late. And you two have seen much." He looked back at Shinepaw and Grasspaw. Shinepaw's head was drooping and she looked like she could fall asleep standing, but Grasspaw's eyes were bright and she wanted to see more.

"Goldenstripe is right." Juniperstorm chuckled. "Your sister looks like she's falling asleep right where she is!" He added to Grasspaw.

Goldenstripe let Shinepaw lean against him while they slowly headed to camp. Grasspaw strode ahead and Juniperstorm kept an eye on her from several tail-lengths behind.

When they had returned to camp, Sootpaw was there to greet them. "I've made comfy nests for you two in the apprentice den." She smiled and looked at the drowsy Shinepaw. "Sure looks like I made them just in time."

Chapter 2
Two moons had passed since Shinepaw and Grasspaw had been apprenticed. Grasspaw was excelling at everything she tried. Shinepaw was great at hunting, but with how she was fighting, she would fail her assessment if it was now. Grasspaw now knew that Shinepaw really was trying in their play fights as kits, and she felt horrible for treating her the way she did.

Now, Grasspaw and Shinepaw were out on another battle practice. The wind was strong, and the leaves that were now all grown back, were rustling. Grasspaw had to fluff out her thick coat to stay warm. It wasn't cold, but the wind made it feel that way.

"Yes!" Juniperstorm shouted above the wind. "Nice moves. Remember to keep your claws sheathed." Grasspaw pinned Shinepaw under her hind paws, and scrabbled at her stomach while Shinepaw writhed beneath her. Shinepaw went limp and breathed heavily. Grasspaw stepped aside and Shinepaw shivered as she got up. Her legs were wobbling and fur fluffed out as much as it could be. Shinepaw looked miserable.

Goldenstripes eyes were full of pity. He must have been disappointed in his apprentice.

"Shinepaw..." He mewed.

"I—I can't go on like this. I'll never become a warrior!" She mewled pitifully. She was crouching low to the ground and looked like a tiny kit lost in a storm. Her pelt was uneven, and she had her ears pinned to her head. "I'll never become a warrior..." She repeated quietly.

"No." Grasspaw mewed. "I could never become a warrior without you. You must go on!" Grasspaw curled around Shinepaw and ran he tail soothingly along her flank.

"Thank you Grasspaw, but I know you don't mean it."

"I do." Grasspaw started to sob.

"We should go back to camp." Goldenstripe suggested.

Shinepaw nodded to her mentor and stood up. Her legs wobbled all the way back to camp with her tail drooping and all the leaves and twigs crunched under her paws. Even a fox wouldn't make as much noise as she did.

"I'm never going to be a warrior, am I." Shinepaw whispered to Goldenstripe.

"Of course you are!" Goldenstripe reassured her, though it didn't make much difference.

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That night Goldenstripe woke Shinepaw up. Grasspaw stirred in her sleep when she heard his voice.

"Shinepaw, get up." He nosed her side. Shinepaw blinked her eyes open.

Her eyes suddenly widened. "Are we under attack?"

"No." Goldenstripe chuckled. "Follow me."

He led Shinepaw out of the apprentice den and nodded to Poppyheart who was guarding the camp entrance. She nodded back and moved out of the way so that they could pass. Goldenstripe continued through the forest to training hollow.

"Here we are." He meowed. "I will be training you nightly until you are able to beat Grasspaw in a battle."

Shinepaw nodded and smiled at her mentor. He was so thoughtful. She had a sudden admiration for him, he was taking his own time to train her in the night.

"Can we work on dodging? I'll at least have a chance if I really get into a battle if I can." Shinepaw mewed.

"Of course." Goldenstripe purred. It rumbled deep in his throat.

Shinepaw then noticed how handsome her mentor really was and was surprised he didn't have a mate.

Goldenstripe crouched down. "Attack me." He mewed. "Claws sheathed."

"Now?" She pounced and reached her paws out to bat his shoulder. Goldenstripe shifted to the left and Shinepaw landed with a thump to the ground. She found her paws and quickly leapt to the left to try again.

Goldenstripe didn't expect her to get up so fast and wasn't prepared. Shinepawtackled him down and pinned his shoulders.

"Wow!" His eyes widened. "Where did you learn that?"

"Oh—Uh, I just went with my instincts I guess." She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, but inside, she was bursting with pride.

"That was great!" Goldenstripe purred.

Shinepaw stepped to the side and Goldenstripe got up. Shinepaw was small and Goldenstripe towered over her. The two cats purred and looked at each other.

"Well," Goldenstripe stopped purring. "that what I just did before you turned, is simple. You looked at my shoulder where you were aiming, so I could easily slip to the side and avoid it. All you need to do, is find out where your opponent will leap. Usually, they will look like they're aiming somewhere else, but leap in a different direction. You just need to move after they jump and decide where they will land."

Shinepaw nodded. "Leap at me." She mewed.

Goldenstripe glanced at her left foreleg, but leapt at her right. Shinepaw knew instantly where he aimed and jumped out of the way. Goldenstripe landed nimbly on the fallen leaves.

"You will pass your assessment. You will become a warrior." He purred.