The Final Hunt

[Yoko]

((Ooc: Can we say he just ran into them instead. x3

Rainstorm= not young and gray))

Rainstorm was a little distance away from Lionpaw by now. He was especially keen to watch Mudpaw's perfomance. It was so rare to see a leader's apprentice in final assessment. But he paused at the sound of something crashing through the undergrowth. Whatever it was clearly was not used to the low lying plants, and could not possibly belong on ThunderClan territory. The senior warrior snarled and unsheathed his claws as the bumbling ceatures approached.

He would never have expected what emerged from the leaves. Two WindClan she-cats! Doveclaw and Thrushtail...if he was not mistaken, though they had looks that were too distinctive to be confused with any others. They appeared to have not noticed him, as he was standing to their far right as they walked. He blinked away his stunned gaze as Thrushtail spoke. She sounded urgent enough but with other Clans you never could tell.

"Swallowfang, Ashstar!" Rainstorm yowled immediately. "We have intruders!"

He felt a sting of remorse that the apprentices might not be done hunting, but the Warrior Code came first as always. Defending territory was important, even in times of such peace.

"What are you two doing here?" he demanded, dark blue eyes squinting, shifting from one she-cat to the other.

Are they here as a distraction? Is WindClan on its way to our camp? He could see no reason why WindClan would attack them. They weren't fit to live on this territory and they had no qualms with ThunderClan from what he could see at the last Gathering. Still, these two were intruders and must be treated as such. If Thushtail was earnest about needing to speak to Ashstar, she would certainly get her chance now. Even if they were only messengers, better safe than sorry. He flexed his claws and gave each of them looks, as if he meant to pin them down with his eyes alone.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang wasn't far away from Softpaw when she heard the undergrowth rustle loudly. Her eyes slid toward the direction the noise was coming from. The warrior was surprised to see two WindClan cats emerge from the bushes. One of them started talking to Softpaw and she heard something about needing to speak with Ashstar. Rainstorm had already arrived, it seemed, and was questioning them. Swallowfang wasted no time heading over as well, still looking strong next to the larger tom.

She gave both the WindClan cats a suspicious look, curious of what could be so important that they needed to tell Ashstar about. She felt no need to speak though, for Rainstorm had already gotten to the point by asking what they wanted. Swallowfang didn't like the idea of leading these two cats through their territory so she hoped her leader would just get here quickly. Ashstar couldn't be too far away.

[Amber]

Dakota's mind began to wander as she stared at this tom. Here she was in front of a true Clan cat, and she wasn't bombarding him with questions. She was thinking about home. She knew Frostflower was probably worried sick, and Shadow was going to throw a fit. She had never been gone this long, always chickening out at the last moment on a solo adventure. Yeah, she had made a few adventures by herself, but not for more than a few minutes before she ran back to her mother. Now if she had either her mother or brother with her, she would be gone all day. She wondered if they were thinking about her right now. Snapping back into reality she now began to wonder why she hadn't completely freaked out that she was all alone yet. This tom seemed interesting enough to distract her. When he spoke again, she noticed he didn't seem as nervous, the studdering had stopped. Was he as comfortable around her as she was him?

"A warrior assessment? What is that?" she queried blinking in amazement. "And well it looks like you need all the help you can get. If your job is to hunt." He had made fun of her size, so she had to retaliate. "Sorry, that was harsh." Kota quickly apologized. "Mudpaw? I can see that. Your fur looks like mud. I don't mean it looks like mud, all sticky and stuff, but the color does." Oh great, he had her babbling now. "I've heard stories about warriors and how they chase off cats. Or something like that. I've also heard a little about the clans, but I don't think I've heard of ThunderClan." she mewed looking around. "I don't want to get you in trouble, though. But if you can help me just find my way back before anyone else comes along you can say you chased me off." Dakota really didn't want this cat to get in trouble, he seemed so nice. "But I live with my mother and my brother. I think they call it the rogue loft, I've been walking forever." It was Kota, she had to add the last part.





Ashstar had been visiting the other two apprentice's assessments. She felt her own apprentice could do well, and knew the other two would do just fine. They had been training for a while now, and deserved to be warriors. There really wasn't a need for this assessment, but it was custom to give them one last final assessment. She blinked and began to head toward the scent of Lionpaw, memories of her own assessment coming to mind. Her father had been proud of both her and Frostwind. Her brother had actually worked hard that day, and was possibly the only time she remembered him doing something other than sitting on his rear or sleeping. While reminiscing, the gray she-cat heard a yowl from Rainstorm. What in the world did that tom want? She followed the sound and spotted the tom with two WindClan warriors. Now what could they want?

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory? There better be a good reason." Ashstar glared at the two she-cats, it didn't matter the reason they had, unless it was very good they would have to be chased off. Just because ThunderClan lacked in size, didn't mean other cats could go tromping all over their territory. And they just had to interrupt what could be the most important day for three of their apprentices.

[Ki]

Well, they'd successfully attracted the attention of ThunderClan. Step one, complete! She wasn't intimidated as Ashstar walked up, but instead was rather pleased that they didn't have to run all the way to ThunderClan's camp. (Though she was, admittedly, a bit curious to see it.) "Oh, good...sorry, but we're on Ravenstar's orders. He thinks that giving ShadowClan four more kits would just make them all the more pwoerful. Sooo...since all four Clans have claim to the kits, he wants to split them up so that two go to eat Clan. That means two for us, two for RiverClan, two for ShadowClan, and two for you. And lets face it, you-" Thrushtail quickly decided to cut that sentence short. No use in offending them, even though she thought they'd be too distracted by this news to really care about the insult at the moment.

All the same. She smiled and did not continue her sentence, rather, she let it hang there and let the cats figure out for themselves what she planned on saying. "So Ravenstar sent us here to tell you."

[:c a i:]

What in StarClan was going on? Lionpaw had been in pursuit of a nice vole when he stopped the chase abruptly, called to a halt by the sound of his mentor's yowl, ringing out in the trees. The vole was promptly forgotten and Lionpaw set off soundlessly in the direction of his mentor's voice. Whatever had captured Rainstorm's attention enough to make him interrupt an assessment-in-progress had to be important, and Lionpaw was going to be there to face it with him. He was almost a warrior - so nearly - so now he was going to be one.

He appeared from the undergrowth stealthily, narrowing his eyes as a waft of WindClan drifted over to him. He moved to sit beside his mentor, now big enough to sit almost shoulder-to-shoulder with him. He stared at the two WindClan cats wordlessly, subtly fluffing out his mane of golden-brown fur as he listened, all set to react if things got nasty. He somehow doubted it would, though, since there would be no motivation for two outnumbered she-cats to try anything funny, right here in the middle of ThunderClan territory.

Lionpaw hadn't been expecting the words which came from one of the she-cats, however, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as he heard. WindClan was going to willingly give over two of their kits? What? That was madness. Ravenstar must be getting old to allow this to happen! Lionpaw of course gave no outward sign of his thoughts, though, and he merely sat, waiting for his leader to take charge. He couldn't resist glancing at Rainstorm to see what he thought though, and silently tried to decipher his mentor's reaction. More kits for ThunderClan was a brilliant idea in his opinion, though it seemed rather... Odd. Very odd, in fact, since WindClan had been so insistent against giving their kits up at the Gathering. Lionpaw was highly curious to see what Ashstar would say now.

[Amber]

Ashstar listened to the she-cat who spoke and gave her the opportunity to explain why they were on ThunderClan territory. It was a good thing one of them had decided to finally speak, or else they would have been chased off immediately. Her attention was caught when they said they were under Ravenstar's orders. Now what could the tom leader want? But the message was good news, or at least for ThunderClan. ShadowClan, however wouldn't like this at all, but it sounded perfect. It meant two more kits for ThunderClan, and she was right, ThunderClan did have claim to the kits. The gray leader couldn't help but grin at the thought of receiving these kits. "Well that is mighty generous of Ravenstar." she said, but Ravenstar's thinking was genius. ShadowClan was already dominating all the other clans, they didn't need four more cats, two was plenty. "Thank you for the information. We will come after some of our apprentices have their ceremony. Tell Ravenstar that we will be there." Ashstar said to the two she-cats.

Seeing that two of the apprentices were with them she wondered where Mudpaw was. Probably still hunting. "Softpaw and Lionpaw, go get your prey and head back to camp, and prepare for your warrior ceremonies, you two deserve it. Swallowfang and Rainstorm, stay here and make sure our guests get back to their own Clan, then come back to camp. I will go get Mudpaw and will meet you as soon as I can." she ordered looking at the two she-cats before heading off to search for her apprentice.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Doveclaw gazed at the apprentice with brief surprise, but quickly recovered her composure when she realized that they had finally found a ThunderClan cat. The young tom was quickly joined by two more warriors and another apprentice, and she assumed that they were out on a patrol. Thrushtail lost no time in blurting out the reason for their arrival, so she didn't need to say anything there, but it wasn't these cats that they had come to see. They still needed to find...

Ah, there she was.

Ashstar appeared and regarded them both with a steely glare, and Doveclaw respected her more for that, despite the fact that any leader could act tough when she had four battle-ready cats to defend them. If the she-cat had welcomed them unquestioningly, the warrior would have wondered if she was truly ready for the position of leader, or even of deputy, for the Clans could not always exist in peace. But she dipped her head politely as Thrushtail, once again, did the speaking. Well, she had never been one to be reticent around other cats. "Please be at our camp as soon as you are able," she added once Ashstar had spoken. "Specklestar will be impatient as it is; we don't want her deciding that she has to come and retrieve the kits herself."

Nodding another affirmative at Ashstar, the delicate she-cat turned on her tail and strode back the way they had come, motioning for Thrushtail to follow. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the ThunderClan cats beginning to disperse, the grey and tan apprentice that they had seen first slipping away to do as he was bid. They didn't need to accompany ThunderClan back to their camp; Ashstar had given her word that they would be there, and she would be, with two kits to gain. Now the only thing they could do was return as fast as possible and report to Ravenstar.

[Yoko]

Rainstorm was glad for the quick response of Swallowfang and Ashstar. They would take it from there, but he continued to look sternly at the two she-cats. He did not turn to face Lionpaw as he arrived. In his peripheral vision he had seen the apprentice emerge, and was proud as he sat nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with himself. He'll make a fine warrior indeed. He was overjoyed that Ashstar would go on with the apprentice ceremony. It appeared that this incident had not spoiled the assessment at all.

He nodded at Ashstar's orders. He would gladly escort these two off ThunderClan territory. He found it a bit disconcerting that they had gotten so far into it withou alerting any cat. We are stretched thin...A few extra warriors can only be an asset to this Clan. After waiting patiently for Doveclaw to finish speaking, Rainstorm stood to his paws and circled to the right side of the two she-cats, giving them a curtly polite nod and gesture to follow.

He and Swallowfang would have to hurry if they were to make it back in time for the ceremony. Lionpaw was going to be a warrior! Rainstorm could not help his proud smile.

[spike]

I'd start with chapter one, love innocent and young

Mudpaw listened to her talk and he couldn't help the wry grin that crossed his face at the talk of warriors and the stories told outside of the Clan. He was sure that all loners would mock him after Dakota got through talking to them. Mudpaw knew he was a pathetic cat, or at least that was what his confidence was telling him. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He was sure that his mother would return and he would be a fine warrior for her to see by then. However, until then, he was sure Dakota would be enough. She was friendly and he had to laugh here and there at the way she prattled without a blink of the eye. It was... cute.

As the morning sun on a new day

The apprentice frowned when she finally mentioned where she lived though. The rogue loft was far off and he knew it would be risky business to venture his chance at earning his warrior name alongside Lionpaw and Softpaw. What would Ashstar think, not being allowed to give her own apprentice a name that he wanted so desperately? The brown tom looked towards the sky as if the blackbirds in the canopy above would give him an answer. But they only cawed viciously rather than providing him with answers.

Even though I know the end, well, I'd do it all again

"Oh, great StarClan," he sighed. "That's, uh, a good distance from here. You've really gotten yourself, um, lost, Dakota. I don't know if, uh, I can help you. But- but I'm sure I can try. If I show you to, er, the border but I can't, uh, do much. I gotta stay here. Ashstar would, uh, get very mad if I left. But I wanna help you, er, Dakota. You're, um, n-nice enough." But then his ears flicked back and his eyes widened greatly. He knew pawsteps from anywhere and they couldn't have been just anybody. It was either a warrior or an apprentice and he knew what they would think of him talking to a loner, especially with no prey caught. He was doomed to fail. "Hide!" he yelped loudly and scrambled in an attempt to figure out where the cat was coming from. He was surely going to be in trouble for this.

And to top it off, he didn't even get a chance to help Kota out.

'Cause I got a lifetime in, while you loved me

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang had reason to be suspicious of the two WindClan cats, after all they had come all the way here to promise them kits that would otherwise stay in WindClan. She didn't deny that they needed the kits, after all their Clan was so small. But she wondered if they could really trust them. Ashstar seemed to believe them and it was a good opportunity.

She nodded to Ashstar and turned to join the other three warriors as they walked back to the WindClan border. Swallowfang walked with them, skeptical but trying not to show it on her face. They would find out in time what was really going to happen. After Softpaw's warrior ceremony. She still felt pride inside for her soon-to-be warrior.

[Amber]

The more she thought about it, the more silly this all seemed. Getting lost was understandable, but how in the world could she end up so far from home? Well it sure wasn't hard now that she thought about it. The little mouse she had been chasing after had led her into the forest, and then she was distracted by a bird flying above, and had gotten a bit scared. That is when she had made a mad dash for shelter. Now she remembered! She thought she was being chased by some big cat here. It was probably just her overactive imagination again. Dakota had ended up here, after basically tripping over her own paws and shuffling along. Maybe she wasn't better off that Mudpaw was.

Oh great, even he admitted it was far away. Leave it to her to get completely lost. Even if Mudpaw couldn't help her too much, a little would do her better than where she was now. Even though she would have loved to see where he lived, the little she-cat knew it was probably better to get on home. She really was missing her mother and brother, and she couldn't wait to tell Shadow about her adventure. "Well thank you. Any help I can get will be gladly appreciated." she began before she heard him getting anxious about something. Mudpaw was looking a little paranoid. What could have him so scared? Nodding she ran for a nearby bush, it wasn't hard for her to fit in, but it sure was going to leave thorns or something in her fluffy fur. Dakota stared at her new friend, hoping everything would be alright.

Trekking away from the WindClan cat's, Ashstar's mind was full of thoughts. Two new kits! They would be getting two more kits! She knew it was an awful thing, tearing them away from their mother, but it was better than to let ShadowClan get four of them, and ThunderClan had claim to them, so the reasoning was legitimate. The leader was wondering what her father would have done. He probably would not have let the Clan get this far into a hole. She was the worst leader ever! The only kit left in the nursery was nearing apprentice age, and even with these two new kits they would only be in the nursery a short while before becoming apprentices themselves. And there was only a few cats eligible to have kits, okay other than herself Swallowfang, but she just couldn't imagine that she-cat as a queen, not yet. And herself? No, that would be against the code, and the only other she-cat was Patchpaw, and is far too young. Shaking her head she looked around and spotted Mudpaw. He looked like he was having a rough time.

She padded to her apprentice, hoping he had at least caught something in their short amount of time. "Mudpaw, I need you to report back to camp immediately. We have urgent news that needs to be discussed with the Clan, and whatever you have caught will be fine, just bring it back with you and meet me by the entrance." Ashstar said to the tom. "And please hurry, this is very important." She added. She didn't have time to explain to the apprentice everything, she would do that in front of the Clan in a moment. Right now she needed to get back and let the Clan know what was going on. She needed to think of several warriors to come with her on this journey. Ashstar quickly left Mudpaw, hurrying back to camp.

[spike]

I was born the day you kissed me

Mudpaw didn't get a chance to even breathe before Ashstar stood before him. His whole being tensed and he just smiled falsely at his mentor. She spoke with haste and it did worry him slightly. Something strange was up and around. Ashstar, he assumed, was usually calm and collected. Or at least she was with him. So her anxious tone was getting to him instantly. Ashstar, next to his elderly great-aunt, was all he had in the way of family. So her worry was overpowering on him.

And I died inside the night you left me

The apprentice hardly realized the breath he was holding until it was released in a strong breath. The brown apprentice turned towards the bush where the leaves parted ever so slightly to show off Dakota hiding there like a mouse. "Um, uh, it's okay," he comforted. "That was, uh, my leader. She's my mentor too. Ashstar, uh, needs me." His face fell and he stared at her longingly. He stared at the ground and realized no prey sat there. He had failed his test but he hadn't realized that right away. He was more concerned about Dakota though. It was not safe for her to be on ThunderClan.

But I loved, oh, how I lived

He gave a small smile her way and motioned for her to come out of the bush. "Look, I, uh, can't go. But listen, you can, um, go along those little fences. See? Far down there? That's, uh, Twolegplace. I'm sure that, um, you'll find kittypets there. Kittypets are, uh, pretty good with loners. They'll, um, help you. Go along the fences and, er, ask for them. They'll lead you straight to, uh, the barn. You'll cross through, uh, ShadowClan. Watch out! Don't run into, um, er, their warriors. They're nasty cats. You should, er, eventually make it back. Okay, Dakota?"

While you loved me

His ears flared red and just stared at her for a moment longer. What to say? That he wanted her to spend more time with him? Laugh at him a little longer? Enjoy her company when her company spoke against the warrior code? Well, maybe it didn't but he was not supposed to befriend outsiders of ThunderClan. Not ones he might later have to fight. "Will, um, you be, uh, uh, uh..." He grinned shyly before figuring hte word. He hated to admit he got nervous around she-cats his age. Doveheart was one thing. Swallowfang too. But Dakota was a she-cat of his age range. It just wanted... correct. "Wil you be okay?" he said fluently.

[Amber]

Dakota hid deep in the bush, she knew that her ginger fur really wasn't helping at all. Why couldn't she have a pelt that blended in better? At least it wasn't bright ginger, it was pale, although that still didn't help much. The little she-cat kept as close to the ground as possible, becoming somewhat scared. She didn't want her new friend to get in trouble because of her. She did, however, know how to keep quiet and not speak. This was something she was good at. It was her nature to be quiet and not say much, especially around strangers, or cats that could kill her just by looking at her. Why did her fur have to be so fluffy? Why did she keep thinking about her fur? Kota peered out from the bush, staring at the approaching cat. She didn't look that fierce, but Kota knew better than to judge someone just by looks. A moon or so ago she had been playing with her brother when a cat that looked so calm and quiet had basically attacked them, if not for Shadow protecting her she probably would have not made it.

She watched the she-cat talking with Mudpaw, only understanding a few words of the conversation, Dakota's thoughts were elsewhere. She almost jumped out of her fur when Mudpaw came over. She needed to learn to pay attention. So the cat that had come was the leader of the Clan? She was right to not pass judgment on her then. So he was the leader's apprentice, yet he still couldn't catch anything. What were the rest of the apprentices like then? Were they all like this? Nodding she stumbled out of the bush, tripping over herself more than the bush. Oh great, now she was having issues. When she finally managed to get out she sat and stared at Mudpaw listening.

Dakota could find her way back, she knew she could. And if she couldn't, like Mudpaw had said, she could ask for help. "I wish all cats were nice like you." she mewed softly. He really was helpful, of this she was very glad and grateful. Anyone else would have probably torn her to shreds. "Thank you for your help." she added.

She laughed a little as he stumbled over words, she really was going to miss him. He was funny, and nice. If only he could come back with her. "I'll be fine. I can't wait to tell my brother all about my adventure. He is gonna be so jealous." she grinned at that. "But I'm really going to miss you. If you are ever around the rogue loft, come and visit me. I really wish I could stay, but I know I need to leave. Maybe I'll come and visit you again." Her eyes saddened. She had finally found someone other than her mother or brother that she wasn't afraid to talk to, and now she had to leave.

[spike]

I was born the day you kissed me

For a twelve moon old apprentice, he was sure to be acting like some sort of youngster. The brown tom smiled to the she-cat and bobbed his head eagerly. "If you come back, you, uh, gotta be careful," he stated. "You got lost, um, and it's not a good thing. We, er, aren't supposed to have loners around. He flicked his tail eagerly then nudged her in a friendly sort of way. It was the same thing he did for Spiderpaw, maybe a bit different. It was good to have her laughing at him. Yes, laughing AT him. He didn't mind it. It was nice to know he could laugh at himself and somebody would do it with him.

And I died inside the night you left me

So he stepped back and grinned like he never grinned before. He was happy to have helped. Helping actually was like the prey he should've caught. A nice sense of accomplishment filled him and he was eager to see her again. "When, uh, you come back, I'll, um, no longer be Mudpaw! I'll, er, be a warrior! Yep, a real good warrior. You'll see. And, uh, don't forget that Twolegplace leads straight to, uh, um, ThunderClan territory!"

But I loved, oh, how I lived

He flicked his ears towards where he heard some sounds and sighed. "Time to go," he grumbled."I'll see you later, uh, Dakota." Mudpaw stopped and watched her for a second. SHe was cute, that was for sure. He had to talk to Spiderpaw about this! Then the tom turned and took off after the scent trail his mentor had left.

While you loved me