Warriors: QuailFlight's Dream

Chapter 1: Never Give Up

Quailpaw shivered as a gust of wind blew through her gray and brown tortoiseshell pelt. Today was a cold day in leaf-fall, a sign of soon-to-be leafbare. She was on a sunhigh hunting patrol, though the sun was almost completely covered in white and gray clouds.

"Wow! It's cold today!" Gingerheart, a ginger she-cat, and her mentor, ruffled her fur against the wind. "A sign of early leafbare."

"That means we should probably get to hunting." Frostfeather, a white she-cat, purred.

"My goal today is finally catch a squirrel!" Adderpaw, a cream she-cat, Quailpaw's littermate, and Frostfeather's apprentice, leaped in pride. "I've always been so close to catching one, yet they were all so far from my paws."

"You'll catch one someday." Quailpaw purred, flicking her tail over Adderpaw's ear.

"I don't know how Riverpaw has always been able to catch a squirrel whenever she finds one!" Adderpaw sighed. Riverpaw was her and Quailpaw's ginger sister.

"Maybe because she learns with Featherpaw and Hollowpaw." Quailpaw replied. "They're going to be warriors very soon anyway!"

Featherpaw and Hollowpaw were siblings; Featherpaw a silver she-cat and Hollowpaw a black and white tom. In just a few sunrises, they were bound to become warriors.

Quailpaw admired Adderpaw; the cream she-cat was always determined to follow her dreams even if it seemed like there was no hope left. Quailpaw knew Adderpaw would become a great warrior, and she would too; right beside her two sisters, gazing up at the leader while the Clan watched them with proud and excited glances boring into their pelts.

"Don't worry, Adderpaw." Frostfeather purred, breaking into Quailpaw's thoughts. "I believe you'll catch one today."

"Quailpaw! Adderpaw!" Hollowpaw came racing through the undergrowth, Featherpaw only a tail-length behind him.

"Hollowpaw!" Quailpaw turned. "Why do you seem so excited?"

"Our assesment is today!" Featherpaw burst out from behind her littermate. "If we pass, then we're going to be warriors!"

"Hey! I wanted to tell them!" Hollowpaw flicked Featherpaw's ear with a white paw.

"You were taking too long, and I was too excited!" Featherpaw pushed him so he stumbled. The two apprentices started pawing at each other in excitment.

"Wait a minute!" Adderpaw broke in. "You two are becoming warriors already?!"

"I mean, only if we pass." Featherpaw gave Hollowpaw one last flick on his ear before ending the play-fight.

"Fox-dung! I wanted to be a warrior!" Adderpaw whined.

"You will be soon, little apprentice." Featherpaw softly flicked Adderpaw's ear with her soft tail.

"Just because you're becoming warriors today doesn't mean you can call me little!" Adderpaw grunted.

Featherpaw opened her mouth to reply, but a gust of wind cut her off.

"We should go hunting soon before all they prey runs and hides in their dens." Gingerheart meowed. "Featherpaw, Hollowpaw, you two should head back to camp."

"Race you back to camp!" Featherpaw sneered.

"I bet you that I'll get back first!" Hollowpaw flicked her ear before bounding off.

"Hey! You got a head start!" Featherpaw called before bounding after him.

"Don't trip while you race back!" Quailpaw called after them.

"Come on, Quailpaw!" Gingerheart called. She, Frostfeather, and Adderpaw were up ahead, padding in the opposite direction of the racing apprentices.

"Coming!" Quailpaw called, racing after them.

As the patrol continued on, Quailpaw could smell cold in the air. While she was sniffiing, she smelled the scent of prey.

"Squirrel!" Adderpaw meowed into her ear. "And it's mine." In a flash, the cream cat bounded off into the forest.

"Okay, here seems like a good place to hunt." Gingerheart slowed to a stop.

Quailpaw could tell that she was right. The scents of prey was strong here. As Gingerheart and Frostfeather split up to hunt, Quailpaw scented a vole and immediately dropped into a crouch. The vole was clear now; it was snuffling around the roots of a tree, looking for seeds and things to eat. Little did it know, that it was it that was going to be eaten.

Quailpaw crawled closer to the vole, making sure that there was nothing to alert the vole of her presence. Once she was close enough, she put her weight in her haunches, did a small wiggle, and leaped. Quailpaw sent a shower of leaves flying; the vole lifted its head but Quailpaw was too fast for it. Her outstretched paws landed right on the vole and Quailpaw managed to kill it with a swift bite to the neck.

"Great catch!" Gingerheart padded up from behind her, making Quailpaw jump. "Sorry." the ginger she-cat purred. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." Quailpaw lifted the vole in her jaws. Glancing at Gingerheart's catch; a fat pigeon, she meowed "you caught something good, too."

Gingerheart purred before the two cats heard a yowl from a cat. Quailpaw almost immediately recognized the startled yowl of Adderpaw, and the two cats bounded off towards the yowl.

"Do you mind?" Frostfeather was meowing when Quailpaw arrived. "I think you just scared off every single catch in the forest."

"Is everything okay?" Quailpaw asked.

"I missed a squirrel, again." Adderpaw was crouched beside Frostfeather, her paws outstretched from when she was trying to catch her prey. "And I'm sorry, Frostfeather."

"Don't appologize to me, appologize to the Clan for leaving them without fresh-kill." Frostfeather grunted.

"Don't be rude." Gingerheart dropped her catch and padded over to the white she-cat. "Me and Quailpaw caught something. It should be enough for now."

"I'm sorry you didn't catch a squirrel, Adderpaw." Quailpaw padded over to her littermate, who's tail and head were drooping.

"Don't worry, Quailpaw. I'll catch one someday." Adderpaw lifted her head, her blue gaze boring into Quailpaw's pelt.

"I think it's time to head back." Gingerheart meowed. "We've spent so much time out here that I think that the next hunting patrol might've been able to get a lot of sleep while waiting."

Quailpaw watched Gingerheart pick up her catch again before she followed her and Frostfeather back to camp, Adderpaw padding along beside her.

"I'll never give up on catching at least one squirrel before I become a warrior!" Adderpaw meowed. "It's my destiny to do so!"

As the sun started to fade to sundown, Quailpaw admired her littermate and how she never gave up, no matter the cost.