Post by Name on Mar 9, 2013 16:16:39 GMT -5
Another Warriors fanfiction~
It was about sunhigh. The grass was full and vibrant, there were few clouds in the sky, and the sun was blazing. A perfectly normal day for the young, yet large, pale gray tabby tom. His green eyes were narrowed, sharp, ready to catch sight of any food. It was greenleaf, and though he had plenty of prey, more was always nice. Besides, Storm felt that he was hungry enough for a bit of lunch.
The tom was only 8 moons old, and his parents had just left him on his own. They would've left when he was fully weaned, at 6 moons, but just in case something were to happen to him, they decided to train him in hunting and fighting a bit more before moving on. Storm wondered if the two loners would ever have more kits, but it wasn't his concern either way.
Like his father once was, Storm was a rogue. His mother had always been a loner, and his father became a loner so he could always travel with her, because she did love to travel. Storm preferred to stay where he'd been brought up, and like the Clans that were near him, he marked his territory's scent and challenged all that came through. He was stubborn and wouldn't back down without a fight, even if the cats were much bigger than he. Of course, many were bigger, and Storm often lost fights, but what could be expected? The cat wasn't even fully grown yet!
As Storm prowled forward, he almost purred. It wasn't like him to act like this, but the soft grass underpaw and the heat of the sun against his back just made him feel like laying around and purring the day away. Maybe he'd head down to those rocks. What did the Clans call them? Ah, yes, Sunningrocks! The name was quite appropriate, at least, Storm thought so.
"Alright, now that you've learned a bit, you have to go out and get yourself some prey. ThunderClan normally doesn't tread into those fields because rogues and loners are out there, but I think it might be a good place to start." The sound of an adult tom's voice made Storm stop. He sounded quite young, actually, but there was enough authority in his voice for Storm to realize he must've been a young warrior. Storm honestly knew hardly anything about the Clans, but he'd come over to the ThunderClan border to overhear some conversations in his moons, so he knew a bit... He knew there was a leader and warriors and apprentices. Warriors trained apprentices. There were four Clans. Or were there 5? Maybe it was 6? Well, that was the extent to Storm's knowledge on Clans, anyway.
"Okay, got it, Cloudpelt!" A she-cat's voice came next. It was a light-hearted voice. She must've been the apprentice. She was definitely a new apprentice, by the sounds of it.
Before Storm knew it, the she-cat, who turned out to be a calico she-cat with green eyes like his own, was stalking around his territory. He heard the warrior's voice again, "Tigerstripe and I will be checking the river, okay? Just catch up to us once you've got some prey!" The tom, Cloudpelt, and what Storm assumed to be Tigerstripe, talked as they left, but their voices soon faded.
Storm watched with widening eyes as the calico she-cat came closer. She was about to go right past Storm, but the young tom leaped out at her, his ears flat to his head, his eyes fully dilated, and his claws and teeth were prepared to shred. "Get off my territory!" The large light gray tabby screeched.
Storm landed on the calico she-cat, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes were wide in fear, and as Storm clawed into her side, she squealed in pain and lashed out at him, batting him on the face with her claws unsheathed. Storm stumbled back, now standing in the grass, and retaliated the blow, scratching the ThunderClanner right back.
"Stop!" She mewed pathetically, crouching in fear. Storm stood in front of her, his pelt fluffed up in rage. He stood tall, clearly intimidating her. "Please stop! I didn't know this was your territory! I promise I didn't know! I really, truly didn't know. I'm sorry." She was trembling at this point, and Storm felt a sharp prickle of guilt, but it only lasted a moment, for the anger was back.
"Stay away from my territory next time. Your Clan has much more territory than I could ever even think of having. Can't I have my small piece of land without your kind hunting in it?" Storm growled. It was then that the calico she-cat noticed his scars from previous fights. Storm knew this because she was looking at his pelt and flinched a few times.
"How old are you?" She asked.
"What does it matter to you?"
"How old are you?" The ThunderClan apprentice asked again.
Storm sighed, "About 8 moons. You?"
"6 moons." She answered. She stood up a bit, reaching up to Storm so she could scent him. "My name is Dapplepaw. What's your name?"
"Storm." Storm hissed as Dapplepaw scented him, and she backed off. "Why don't you go now? I'm sick of you being here."
Dapplepaw's ears fell back again, and this time it wasn't in fear as much as it was in sadness. Disappointment, possibly. "You don't have to be so rude, you know."
"You're trespassing on my territory! You've probably scared away all the prey! Go before I tear your pelt off!" Storm yowled at her.
"Fine, then. I'll go." Dapplepaw hissed back, her tail lashing. She padded away from Storm, but once she got to the tree line, she cast a quick glance back at him. Storm had been watching her as she walked away, but when she looked back at him, he merely spit and headed off.
Storm stopped by the river that marked ThunderClan and RiverClan's borders with each other, and crouched, lapping up the cool water. The water was quiet and not too fast at this time of year, but there was definitely a current. After he was done drinking, Storm cleaned his pelt. He didn't mind water all that much, and since he was decently covered in blood, both his own and a bit of Dapplepaw's, the tom shrugged and jumped fearlessly into the water. He stood, his paws pressed against the round, worn stones of the riverbed. When he stood in this part of the river, Storm's shoulders were at the surface of the water, so there was no chance of him drowning, really. The tom felt the water flow around him, and he purred. The weather was nice, he got into a fight, and finally, Storm was chilling in the water. Quite the eventful, great day!
A few moons had gone by since Storm had met Dapplepaw. 3, to be exact. He'd often see her at the edge of the treeline, looking out at his territory. They hadn't spoken since they met, but every time Storm had gone into the open when Dapplepaw was around, she'd instantly turn and run off into her own territory. It was odd, in Storm's opinion. It was as if she was searching for him, but upon finding him, she was too nervous to leave ThunderClan territory again and talk to him. Maybe she was scared of him. It was probably for the better, since Storm definitely didn't need any other cat in his life. If it weren't for Dapplepaw's hanging around at the edge of Storm's territory practically every day, Storm probably would've forgotten all about her, which he would've been fine with.
As it was leaf-fall, the nights had certainly gotten colder. It seemed to Storm that the leaves had fallen off the trees much sooner this year than the year before, and that it had started getting colder much faster. Storm found himself shivering in the cold every night, which he wasn't expecting to happen until leaf-bare.
Storm had been born in raised in a little cave that was in the side of one of the hills on which Storm lived. The only thing that Storm had for bedding, as a result of living in fields, however, was the long grass through which he padded every day, and that grass wasn't comfortable or warm in any way. Storm would've liked to sneak into ThunderClan's territory sometime during greenleaf, but he didn't want to depend on going into others' territories for things he needed, especially after chasing every single cat he met off for so much as putting one paw in his territory. It just wouldn't be right in Storm's green eyes.
One particular night, the cold got really bad, and Storm scented another cat coming near as he tried pathetically to sleep. "Storm? Are you there, Storm?" A voice he'd heard only one day came back to him, and Storm's claws sank into the grass on which he lay.
"Dapplepaw!" The tom growled, "What do you want? Didn't I tell you to go away?"
"Well, yeah, but that was three moons ago, and..."
"I meant forever!" Storm retaliated. He saw Dapplepaw's silhouette against the moonlight, her green eyes shining in the darkness. The moon was full. "Shouldn't you be in your den, anyway? I don't want your Clanmates to come bothering me because you've been here."
Dapplepaw's ears fell back once again and her tail drooped. "My Clanmates won't find out, trust me. I just wanted to bring you this." The calico apprentice picked up a bunch of moss that was near her and placed it by Storm. "No cat in ThunderClan has said anything about scenting intruders around, and I wondered what you used for bedding, since I knew that no intruders meant you hadn't gone into ThunderClan territory to find some moss. With that, I decided to bring you some, since this year is so cold."
Storm was taken aback. Here he was thinking that Dapplepaw came to annoy him, but instead, she brought with her a present of sorts. He was grateful, but like he'd show that! "Take it back." Storm said.
"No." Dapplepaw mewed.
"Take it back and go to your camp or whatever. They're going to find out you're gone." Storm said.
"No they won't. The Clans are at the gathering right now. Don't you know anything about Clans? The full moon means a gathering! I was supposed to stay in camp, but since the others that stayed back are all sleeping, I snuck out." She sat down and began casually washing a paw.
"For the last time, Dapplepaw," Storm began to snarl and stood up, "Go away!"
"Storm." Dapplepaw whispered forlornly, looking at him.
Something about the tone of her voice when she said it, or maybe it was the upset look she gave him, made Storm give in. He sighed, "Look, Dapplepaw, thank you for the moss. Really. I do appreciate it. Please, though, for your own sake, leave my territory. I don't want you to get in trouble." He padded over to her and ran his tail along her flank. Storm couldn't believe himself, but somehow, he felt that it was the right thing to do. He'd never been guilt tripped in his entire life before now.
This definitely seemed to satisfy Dapplepaw quite a bit. "I'm glad you at least are happy with the moss." She purred, "But, please, Storm, let me come back! At least sometimes!"
"No." Storm meowed sternly. Dapplepaw purred, flicked an ear, and batted his face playfully at this.
"You'd better make plans to see me around again!" She mewed before running back to her territory. Storm sighed again. She was so persistent!
Prologue
It was about sunhigh. The grass was full and vibrant, there were few clouds in the sky, and the sun was blazing. A perfectly normal day for the young, yet large, pale gray tabby tom. His green eyes were narrowed, sharp, ready to catch sight of any food. It was greenleaf, and though he had plenty of prey, more was always nice. Besides, Storm felt that he was hungry enough for a bit of lunch.
The tom was only 8 moons old, and his parents had just left him on his own. They would've left when he was fully weaned, at 6 moons, but just in case something were to happen to him, they decided to train him in hunting and fighting a bit more before moving on. Storm wondered if the two loners would ever have more kits, but it wasn't his concern either way.
Like his father once was, Storm was a rogue. His mother had always been a loner, and his father became a loner so he could always travel with her, because she did love to travel. Storm preferred to stay where he'd been brought up, and like the Clans that were near him, he marked his territory's scent and challenged all that came through. He was stubborn and wouldn't back down without a fight, even if the cats were much bigger than he. Of course, many were bigger, and Storm often lost fights, but what could be expected? The cat wasn't even fully grown yet!
As Storm prowled forward, he almost purred. It wasn't like him to act like this, but the soft grass underpaw and the heat of the sun against his back just made him feel like laying around and purring the day away. Maybe he'd head down to those rocks. What did the Clans call them? Ah, yes, Sunningrocks! The name was quite appropriate, at least, Storm thought so.
"Alright, now that you've learned a bit, you have to go out and get yourself some prey. ThunderClan normally doesn't tread into those fields because rogues and loners are out there, but I think it might be a good place to start." The sound of an adult tom's voice made Storm stop. He sounded quite young, actually, but there was enough authority in his voice for Storm to realize he must've been a young warrior. Storm honestly knew hardly anything about the Clans, but he'd come over to the ThunderClan border to overhear some conversations in his moons, so he knew a bit... He knew there was a leader and warriors and apprentices. Warriors trained apprentices. There were four Clans. Or were there 5? Maybe it was 6? Well, that was the extent to Storm's knowledge on Clans, anyway.
"Okay, got it, Cloudpelt!" A she-cat's voice came next. It was a light-hearted voice. She must've been the apprentice. She was definitely a new apprentice, by the sounds of it.
Before Storm knew it, the she-cat, who turned out to be a calico she-cat with green eyes like his own, was stalking around his territory. He heard the warrior's voice again, "Tigerstripe and I will be checking the river, okay? Just catch up to us once you've got some prey!" The tom, Cloudpelt, and what Storm assumed to be Tigerstripe, talked as they left, but their voices soon faded.
Storm watched with widening eyes as the calico she-cat came closer. She was about to go right past Storm, but the young tom leaped out at her, his ears flat to his head, his eyes fully dilated, and his claws and teeth were prepared to shred. "Get off my territory!" The large light gray tabby screeched.
Chapter 1
Storm landed on the calico she-cat, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes were wide in fear, and as Storm clawed into her side, she squealed in pain and lashed out at him, batting him on the face with her claws unsheathed. Storm stumbled back, now standing in the grass, and retaliated the blow, scratching the ThunderClanner right back.
"Stop!" She mewed pathetically, crouching in fear. Storm stood in front of her, his pelt fluffed up in rage. He stood tall, clearly intimidating her. "Please stop! I didn't know this was your territory! I promise I didn't know! I really, truly didn't know. I'm sorry." She was trembling at this point, and Storm felt a sharp prickle of guilt, but it only lasted a moment, for the anger was back.
"Stay away from my territory next time. Your Clan has much more territory than I could ever even think of having. Can't I have my small piece of land without your kind hunting in it?" Storm growled. It was then that the calico she-cat noticed his scars from previous fights. Storm knew this because she was looking at his pelt and flinched a few times.
"How old are you?" She asked.
"What does it matter to you?"
"How old are you?" The ThunderClan apprentice asked again.
Storm sighed, "About 8 moons. You?"
"6 moons." She answered. She stood up a bit, reaching up to Storm so she could scent him. "My name is Dapplepaw. What's your name?"
"Storm." Storm hissed as Dapplepaw scented him, and she backed off. "Why don't you go now? I'm sick of you being here."
Dapplepaw's ears fell back again, and this time it wasn't in fear as much as it was in sadness. Disappointment, possibly. "You don't have to be so rude, you know."
"You're trespassing on my territory! You've probably scared away all the prey! Go before I tear your pelt off!" Storm yowled at her.
"Fine, then. I'll go." Dapplepaw hissed back, her tail lashing. She padded away from Storm, but once she got to the tree line, she cast a quick glance back at him. Storm had been watching her as she walked away, but when she looked back at him, he merely spit and headed off.
Storm stopped by the river that marked ThunderClan and RiverClan's borders with each other, and crouched, lapping up the cool water. The water was quiet and not too fast at this time of year, but there was definitely a current. After he was done drinking, Storm cleaned his pelt. He didn't mind water all that much, and since he was decently covered in blood, both his own and a bit of Dapplepaw's, the tom shrugged and jumped fearlessly into the water. He stood, his paws pressed against the round, worn stones of the riverbed. When he stood in this part of the river, Storm's shoulders were at the surface of the water, so there was no chance of him drowning, really. The tom felt the water flow around him, and he purred. The weather was nice, he got into a fight, and finally, Storm was chilling in the water. Quite the eventful, great day!
Chapter 2
A few moons had gone by since Storm had met Dapplepaw. 3, to be exact. He'd often see her at the edge of the treeline, looking out at his territory. They hadn't spoken since they met, but every time Storm had gone into the open when Dapplepaw was around, she'd instantly turn and run off into her own territory. It was odd, in Storm's opinion. It was as if she was searching for him, but upon finding him, she was too nervous to leave ThunderClan territory again and talk to him. Maybe she was scared of him. It was probably for the better, since Storm definitely didn't need any other cat in his life. If it weren't for Dapplepaw's hanging around at the edge of Storm's territory practically every day, Storm probably would've forgotten all about her, which he would've been fine with.
As it was leaf-fall, the nights had certainly gotten colder. It seemed to Storm that the leaves had fallen off the trees much sooner this year than the year before, and that it had started getting colder much faster. Storm found himself shivering in the cold every night, which he wasn't expecting to happen until leaf-bare.
Storm had been born in raised in a little cave that was in the side of one of the hills on which Storm lived. The only thing that Storm had for bedding, as a result of living in fields, however, was the long grass through which he padded every day, and that grass wasn't comfortable or warm in any way. Storm would've liked to sneak into ThunderClan's territory sometime during greenleaf, but he didn't want to depend on going into others' territories for things he needed, especially after chasing every single cat he met off for so much as putting one paw in his territory. It just wouldn't be right in Storm's green eyes.
One particular night, the cold got really bad, and Storm scented another cat coming near as he tried pathetically to sleep. "Storm? Are you there, Storm?" A voice he'd heard only one day came back to him, and Storm's claws sank into the grass on which he lay.
"Dapplepaw!" The tom growled, "What do you want? Didn't I tell you to go away?"
"Well, yeah, but that was three moons ago, and..."
"I meant forever!" Storm retaliated. He saw Dapplepaw's silhouette against the moonlight, her green eyes shining in the darkness. The moon was full. "Shouldn't you be in your den, anyway? I don't want your Clanmates to come bothering me because you've been here."
Dapplepaw's ears fell back once again and her tail drooped. "My Clanmates won't find out, trust me. I just wanted to bring you this." The calico apprentice picked up a bunch of moss that was near her and placed it by Storm. "No cat in ThunderClan has said anything about scenting intruders around, and I wondered what you used for bedding, since I knew that no intruders meant you hadn't gone into ThunderClan territory to find some moss. With that, I decided to bring you some, since this year is so cold."
Storm was taken aback. Here he was thinking that Dapplepaw came to annoy him, but instead, she brought with her a present of sorts. He was grateful, but like he'd show that! "Take it back." Storm said.
"No." Dapplepaw mewed.
"Take it back and go to your camp or whatever. They're going to find out you're gone." Storm said.
"No they won't. The Clans are at the gathering right now. Don't you know anything about Clans? The full moon means a gathering! I was supposed to stay in camp, but since the others that stayed back are all sleeping, I snuck out." She sat down and began casually washing a paw.
"For the last time, Dapplepaw," Storm began to snarl and stood up, "Go away!"
"Storm." Dapplepaw whispered forlornly, looking at him.
Something about the tone of her voice when she said it, or maybe it was the upset look she gave him, made Storm give in. He sighed, "Look, Dapplepaw, thank you for the moss. Really. I do appreciate it. Please, though, for your own sake, leave my territory. I don't want you to get in trouble." He padded over to her and ran his tail along her flank. Storm couldn't believe himself, but somehow, he felt that it was the right thing to do. He'd never been guilt tripped in his entire life before now.
This definitely seemed to satisfy Dapplepaw quite a bit. "I'm glad you at least are happy with the moss." She purred, "But, please, Storm, let me come back! At least sometimes!"
"No." Storm meowed sternly. Dapplepaw purred, flicked an ear, and batted his face playfully at this.
"You'd better make plans to see me around again!" She mewed before running back to her territory. Storm sighed again. She was so persistent!