Blizzard [Warriors Fanfiction]

Chapter One [REVISED]

      Hailpaw opened his soft golden eyes to see red and orange leaves scattered in the entrance of the apprentices' den. He stood groggily and stretched, surprised at the fact that he awoke before his mentor, Lynxstep, called for him to go hunting or training.

      Glancing around, he saw that all of his denmates besides Ravenpaw were still curled up, sound asleep. Leisurely padding from the cover of the small indent in the side of a wall of soil, he blinked several times to adjust to the bright rays of light that came from the partially covered sun.

      The cat standing night guard was Otterstrike, who raised his sleek brown head after spotting Hailpaw.

      "Hailpaw!" The tom called from across the clearing. His copper eyes, usually warm, were tired and filled with worry. "Have you seen Ravenpaw? I spoke to her last night and she told me she had to go to the dirtplace. As far as I noticed, she never returned."

      The white tom shook his head. "I haven't seen her, sorry. She was the only one not in her nest when I woke up." Pausing for a heartbeat, he decided it was best to ease Otterstrike's concerns. "I can go look for her if you'd like."

      "Good idea." A different yet familiar voice mewed from Hailpaw's left. He turned to see Lynxstep, a cream tabby she-cat, strolling into the conversation. "Eat first, then see if you can find her. It'll be good tracking practice."

      The SwiftClan tom nodded obediently and walked to the fresh-kill pile, wondering where Ravenpaw could be. As he settled down with a nice plump mouse, the apprentice pondered over different scenarios he might run into.

      Attacked by a badger when making dirt? Most likely not, or her screech would've woken the whole camp. Attacked by a rogue and dragged into the forest as a prisoner? Probably false as well because there were no clumps of fur to prove the theory.

      Finishing off his mouse, Hailpaw headed for the clump of ferns that hid the camp from the rest of the territory. Before exiting, however, he almost smacked right into Briarpaw, whose dark brown face turned into a sneer when he caught sight of the slightly younger cat.

       "Where are you going, Hailpaw?" His voice was crisp with mockery. "Off to return to the life of a rogue? Or maybe fetch some mouse bile for Splashmask because you're no good at anything else!"

      Hailpaw ignored the harsh words and brushed passed the tom, grunting over his shoulder, "I've been assigned to track Ravenpaw's scent trail who has been missing all night."

      When Briarpaw's smug expression shifted to an interested one, the white tom left him wishing he wasn't so rude so he could get an explanation. He turned and followed the fading scent of his denmate. It led him through the Towering Oaks and past the Sky Spruce, and for what he could tell, she had been alone, meaning her disappearance was voluntary.

      After trotting by Deep Caves, Hailpaw noticed the scent growing stronger, indicating he was close. Passing one last clump of undergrowth, he spotted her, sound asleep under the shelter of a birch tree.

      "Ravenpaw?" He called out tentatively.

      "Huh?" She asked, startled while opening her piercing green eyes.

      He shifted on his paws uncomfortably. "Lynxstep and Otterstrike sent me to find you because you were missing all night. Why are you here?"

      "I... um... was making dirt and- err- fell asleep and sleepwalked here." The black she-cat stuttered while climbing shakily to her paws.

      Hailpaw's golden eyes must have rolled right into DewClan territory. There was no way he believed that she had sleepwalked to the center of SwiftClan without bumping into a tree and waking up.

      His tail flicked impatiently. "The truth, please."

      She sighed. "Fine... promise you won't tell anyone?"

      "Alright." He nodded skeptically.

      "You know Kestrelpaw of ThornClan?"

      Hailpaw's stomach dropped when she mentioned the enemy apprentice's name. He knew where this was going, and he certainly didn't like it.

      "Don't tell me-" He started, but Ravenpaw cut him off.

      "Yes, at the last gathering he asked to meet up at the border a half moon from then. When I arrived last night, he wasn't there. Instead of waiting around at the territory line where I could get caught, I decided to go farther back into SwiftClan." Her eyes flashed as she awkwardly offered her explanation. "I must've fallen asleep while waiting."

      Hailpaw blinked in disbelief for several heartbeats, then exploded. "Out of every apprentice from a different Clan you could be padding after, it had to be from ThornClan? You know we've been battling for moons and decide to meet up in secret, breaking the warrior code in so many ways! Russetstar will be disgusted when she hears about this. You'll be cleaning the elders for seasons! Or worse, exiled."

      "You... you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Ravenpaw exclaimed, panic starting to overcome her.

      Hailpaw stopped to think for a moment, letting himself calm down. After a moment he sighed deeply. "You're right, and I'll keep that promise." He flashed her a look of annoyance. "But I certainly won't like it."

      "Thank StarClan." She breathed, then glanced around worriedly. "What will I tell the Clan?"

      The white tom shrugged. "What you told me might have been believable if you hadn't stuttered so much. We'll say you were only a few tree-lengths away from the dirtplace wall and you had sleep-walked there."

      Ravenpaw's tail drooped in relief. "Thank you, Hailpaw. I don't know how to make it up to you."

      "Start by making your secret meetings with ThornClan apprentices a secret." He growled slightly, but still managed to keep his temper.

      The black she-cat nodded solemnly and followed Hailpaw as he headed back towards camp. Following the scent trail the way he had come, he thought furiously at the stupidity of Ravenpaw's actions. That she-cat has no idea what she's doing. If anyone finds out she was trying to meet with Kestrelpaw, she'll be punished for moons.

      Shaking his pelt, he continued walking but stopped suddenly when a horribly familiar odor reached his nostrils. His companion nearly bumped into him, whispering, "what's wrong?"

      Hailpaw took a few more heartbeats to identify the smell before hissing in fear and disgust, "I smell ThornClan on our territory!"

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A/N: A bit short, only 1062 words. I usually strive for longer, but I thought the end of that chapter was a good stopping point. What do you think of these characters introduced? The next chapter should be out soon! ~ Feather 

P.S. Any constructive criticism is welcome to help me improve.

P.P.S. Also Frozenpaw has been renamed Hailpaw so all the siblings can have two-syllable names. I'm weird.