Adjustment (For Spike and Night)

[Amber]

A little over a half moon ago she was a loner with not a care in the world. She had her mother to curl into the warmth of, and a brother who would do anything for her. She never really had to do anything, no one depended on her, she depended on everyone else. Her life had been content with watching her brother hunt for them, or practice his fighting skills. Never had she been put in harm's way. That was back when her name was Dakota, or Kota to her mother and brother. When she stayed by her mother's side when she wasn't with her brother.

All of that had changed when she had wandered into the forest one day and met the clumsy tom known as Mudpaw. He had really sparked her interest, enough to where she ventured back into the Clan. Her brother had tagged along with her on this trip, more or less because Dakota had been scared and knew he would be her best protection. The little fluffy kit had not told her mother, thinking she would be back in a day or so, like she had the previous time. But that had not been the case.

Dakota had stumbled once again into ThunderClan territory, and met up with the leader of the Clan, who she came to know as Ashstar. It took very little persuasion to let her join, since the Clan was low on warriors, and of course, Shadow had came along. The first cat she had seen when she entered the camp was the same clumsy cat she had met on her first journey. Dakota had bounded over to him, not knowing she was suppose to stay with Ashstar, who turned out being Mudpaw's mentor. It all was so much to take in.

Before she knew it, her name was no longer Dakota, it was Lilypaw. And she was officially a Clan cat. She was training to be a warrior, and shared a den with four other apprentices, one being her brother, no longer Shadow, but Rookpaw, and Mudpaw. It didn't take long for the little she-cat to see there was a lack of she-cat's in the Clan. She was one of the few. At first she stuck close to her brother, like she usually did, and would occasionally talk with Mudpaw. But Lilypaw was still a little unsure about everything.

Training soon started and she was given a tour of the territory. That was the easy part, what followed was something she didn't like at all. She had to practice fighting and hunting, defending and feeding her new Clan. There were so many rules to follow and she didn't know how she was going to be able to remember them all. Luckily, she had Mudpaw to help. She still has some issues with fighting, and is reluctant at battle-training, but has come to her senses that hunting isn't the same, and has become okay with it. She caught her first mouse shortly after she began training. Maybe watching her brother and mother had helped her. After all, observation was her skill.

After a day's hard work, the fluffy apprentice had made her way back into the den. She curled up in her nest, and as soon as Rookpaw was around, she curled up by him. No matter what, she was going to stick to him. She had become the complete opposite of what she had been half a moon ago. She had become somewhat independent, and not dependent on others. She could hunt, decently, and even knew her way around. Lilypaw now had confidence.

When the morning light appeared in the den, the apprentice had stretched and yawned. Looking around she wondered if her friend was up and about yet. Going toward the back of the den, where Mudpaw slept, she prodded him with a paw. "Mudpaw, wake up! I wanna go out of camp but I don't wanna go alone. Go with me please?"

[nightstorm]

His life had spun out of control. But not in a way in which he felt was bad. It was just...different.

Shadow felt bad about leaving his 'mother' behind, but Dakota had needed him. No, it was Lilypaw now. And he was no longer Shadow, but Rookpaw. What a confusing circumstance.

It had all started when Lilypaw had gone off on her own, and wandered onto ThunderClan territory. Just the thought of his sister out on her own made his fur stand up on end. And the fact that she had run into a Clan cat - a male one at that - made him want to rip something to shreds. Overprotective brother? Maybe. But Lilypaw didn't have fight training, like he did (or so he thought).

Then, after she managed to escape, or rather, was helped by the strange Mudpaw (he'd have to thank him for that later), she decided to go running back! He'd had to follow her. He couldn't let his sister, the only blood relative of his left, just go off and disappear. Not like their parents. So he'd come along, not as reluctantly as he would have liked either.

They'd been found by the ThunderClan leader, Ashstar, who accepted them into the Clan without too much fuss. Apparently (and it was apparent) there was a lack of she-cats. Rookpaw was sure Ashstar would have been just fine if Lilypaw had been on her own, but as it were, he was part of the package deal. Tough luck, Ashstar.

He'd been given a mentor, just like any other apprentice (as the warriors-in-training were called), and had been taken on a tour of the territory. It was impressive, for such a small group of cats. But Rookpaw was surprised to find that just after a few days, he began to feel a sense of pride towards his new Clan.

Training was much better than the tour, however. Rookpaw took quite easily to fighting - it was the only thing he truly felt confident in, and was a skill he knew would be useful. Not only for defending his sister, as he would have previously, but also to defend the Clan he was coming to love. He was better at battle-training than hunting, but the skills would come in time. At least he could already catch his own prey. He'd had to do that to survive - well, maybe Frostflower had, to take care of them.

Then there was the learning of each cat's name, and their roles in the Clan. Warriors, elders, apprentices, queens, deputies, medicine cats and their apprentices...there seemed to be so many, though he had heard that ThunderClan was small compared to the other Clans: ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. For now, he was content to know the apprentices: Mudpaw, Spiderpaw, Patchpaw, Lilypaw, and himself.

And the rules...there were so many. He was having a difficult time remembering them all, but his 'mother' had said he was sharp...he'd be able to cope soon. Or so he hoped. After all, it wouldn't do to upset Ashstar, so soon after joining ThunderClan.

Still, he felt he was doing just fine. And it seemed Lilypaw was as well. He wasn't sure he enjoyed sharing her time with other cats (her mentor, Mudpaw, etc.), but he would eventually warm up to the idea.

Speaking of warm...the warm furry thing next to him had just moved. Rookpaw raised his head sleepily, in time to see his sister finish stretching, and walk over to Mudpaw. He watched lazily, as she prodded Mudpaw, trying to rouse the other apprentice. At last, he decided to rouse himself, and he stretched, his black fur rippling as he did so. "Morning, Lilypaw," he yawned.

[spike]

The tom twitched as the dogs chased his tail. Their fangs came way too close to his tail and he could barely escape it. What idiots dogs were. He leapt over a log, a few of the larger ones falling behind when their paws failed to meet the height. Now it was down to three. They were racing faster than any cat he knew, and so was he. His paws trampled leafs and twigs with little care of the sound it made. He was saving his life, not trying to hunt anymore. The mouse was long gone, hiding in in its borrow safe and sound. It was the warrior that now ran that was failing to find a proper hiding spot. ”Mudheart! Mudheart! Hurry!” a terrified voice cried. He recognized the female voice. He turned his head, still running full speed ahead. There was a wonderful she-cat keeping up with him though her image came in and out due to the trees. She was beautiful and yet her pale blue-green eyes were filled with what he recognized as distraught. ”Mudheart!”

Trapped.

He skidded to a halt when he realized he was running straight into a grouping of brambles, all of it too thick and sharp to crawl through on his own. His white chest rose and fell in fast gasps as he ran along the edges, eager to find an escape before he risked his life.

Too late.

The canines closed in, fangs glistening, bloodlust filling their eyes. The leader, a long-limbed spotted one, barked, flecks of slobber flying everywhere. Then, in a split second, the back was attacking with their fangs ready to destroy-

"Mudpaw, wake up! I wanna go out of camp but I don't wanna go alone. Go with me please?"

”What?” the oldest apprentice yelped as he climbed to his paws, shocked out of his dream. He blinked in bewilderment, fur standing on end, as he stared at the one that had awoken him. It was only Dakota. No, wait. Lilypaw. He still had to get used to her new name. He liked her as Dakota and he liked her as Lilypaw but he couldn’t forget her loner name. Her pale ginger fur made her look as pretty as ever and his ears flushed naturally. ”Oh, uh, sure I, um, will go with you, uh, if you want.” He gave a small smile before looking over at her brother, Rookpaw. That was easy to remember considering he hadn’t known the tom’s real name though he was sure Dakota- Lilypaw- had mentioned it.

”W-where we gonna, uh, um, go?” he asked. Mudpaw didn’t bother straightening his fur out. He was too immersed in staring at Lilypaw.

Gosh, she was pretty.

[/blockquote]

[Amber]

Geez, it was like trying to wake a rock up! The quiet little apprentice continued to prod her friend with her paw. Was he ever going to wake up? She was glad that she had a friend in this place, well other than her brother. Rookpaw had always been her best friend, the only cat she could rely on, other than her mother. Now that she was somewhere with other cats it felt weird, she actually liked the company of others. Dakotapaw blinked as she stared at Mudpaw. What kind of dreams did Clan cats have? Were they like the ones that she had? Well, she was a Clan cat now, so maybe her dreams would change.

Before the fluffy ginger cat could think anymore the most familiar voice she would always recognize alerted her. Her brother must have awoken. She hoped that she hadn't been the one to disturb him, she didn't mean to. Padding back toward her brother, when it became a bit obvious that Mudpaw was still fast asleep, she began to purr. "Sorry for all the yelling, I didn't mean to wake you." Dakotapaw mewed. Though she was happy to see Rookpaw awake, guilt was washing over her. Blinking her blue-green eyes she pressed her fur against him, and sighed deeply. "I'm glad you came with me." she murmured. "I just wished we would have told...." before another word could be uttered the familiar lump of Mudpaw began to stir. Finally!

Giving her brother a quick lick, she returned to her friend. When Mudpaw awoke with such a jolt, Dakotapaw herself was a bit frightened and was about to run back to her brother. But thankfully Mudpaw realized where he was or whatever was going on. She couldn't help but stifle a little laugh at his timidness. Lilypaw had never been that timid. "Thanks. I thought it might be alright if you went with me, since you are almost a warrior." That thought made her tail sink a bit. Though she had only been in the Clan a short amount of time, she knew what that meant. It meant he would no longer be in the same den as her. It would mean she wouldn't have her first friend in the Clan by her anymore.

When Mudpaw spoke again, her tail rose back up to normal height. She wouldn't let him know she was upset if she could help it. "I dunno. Maybe just to the training hollow? You can show me all those moves it takes to being a warrior!" Having a half moon of practice, Lilypaw was no longer afraid to speak with Mudpaw, and didn't have any trouble. He was probably the only cat, though. "That is, if you want to. I don't want to force you to do anything." she added quickly onto her last statement.

What was he staring at? Was he staring at her? Surely she wasn't that interesting. "Do I have something in my fur?" she asked, turning around to inspect her coat.