Warriors || Hopestar's Choice: Book 1 (1 of 3)

Chapter 16

The next morning, Hopepaw woke early to eat something before training. She went to the fresh-kill pile and found an appetizing mouse. It tasted like the forest and it made her a little homesick. No matter what, she felt that, in her heart, TigerClan would always be her home. She was a TigerClan cat at heart. That's where her kin was. Well, and here, she reminded herself, thinking of her father and two half-siblings.

"Hopepaw, today we are going to practice swimming and fishing again." Graystripe mewed as he came up to her. "All your other skills can be put on hold for now. If you're going to live in RiverClan, you need to know how to swim and fish."

She nodded her russet head. "Okay." Quickly, she finished her mouse and followed Graystripe out of camp. It surprised Hopepaw how much she looked like him. Although their pelts were different colors, they both had thick pelts and a dark dorsal stripe.

They crossed the stream and traveled down the slope to the river. Hopepaw looked past the river at the TigerClan forests beyond. She sighed, missing her home.

"I miss the forests, too." Graystripe said, making her jump.

"I do not!" Hopepaw argued.

Graystripe chuckled and looked at her with knowing eyes. "I used to look at the forest like that all the time, I still do." He suddenly looked very sad. "No matter what, ThunderClan is my home. But ThunderClan is gone, so where else have I to go?"

Hopepaw felt hopeless. What was she supposed to say? He's the one that left. Then she reminded herself that she was the one who left as well. She had no right to judge him, except she had consent from her leader...as a spy...

"ThunderClan might not be lost forever," Hopepaw mumbled, but it was a false spark of hope. Tigerstar's grip on TigerClan was so strong and nothing could diminish his power.

Graystripe shook his head. "I fear the day that Tigerstar sets his eyes on RiverClan, or even WindClan. One more clan under his power will destroy whatever balance remains."

Hopepaw glanced at Graystripe, her father. His yellow eyes contained sadness and fear. She saw how real his fear of Tigerstar and TigerClan were. If TigerClan took over RiverClan, Tigerstar would most surely kill Graystripe and his kits. She realized, with a sickening feeling in her stomach, that she fell into that category.

Should Tigerstar ever learn that Graystripe was the father of Hopepaw, Owlpaw, and Maplepaw, they would all surely perish. Sandstorm would most likely be killed as well for her traitorous act. But how could something so horrible feel so right? When Hopepaw looked at Graystripe, she saw herself reflected there. He was more a part of her then she could ever realize.

"Let's fish," Graystripe suggested, breaking the silence. He padded to the riverbank and crouched down at the water's edge. "Now, Hopepaw, when you're catching fish, you can't let your shadow fall over the water. It's the same thing as being downwind from your prey. Keep your eyes focused on the water."

Hopepaw nodded and took a similar stance next to Graystripe. She stared into the water and noticed shadows among the water that represented fish. Her stomach growled and she fought to maintain control.

"When you see a shadow, use your paw as a hook." Graystripe demonstrated, flashing a dark grey paw into the water. It happened so fast that Hopepaw was surprised to see a fish flopping on the riverbank.

"Now you try." Graystripe nodded to her.

Hopepaw crouched down on the edge of the riverbank and tried to keep her shadow from passing over the water. She had her paw ready, hooked like a claw to snatch her prey. Beneath the surface she saw a shadow flicker and Hopepaw lashed out a paw but missed. Now her paw was wet and she had nothing to show for it.

She flattened her ears in frustration but didn't falter. Hopepaw saw another shadow and flashed her paw at the shadow. Surprisingly, she felt her claws hook into the fish and her paw swiped it out of the water. The fish landed on the bank beside her and flopped around. At first she was shocked that she actually caught one, but then her instincts kicked in and she gave it a deadly bite.

"Good Hopepaw!" Graystripe purred, and he seemed genuinely proud of her. "Fishing is a little strange at first, but you'll get used to it. Try again."

They fished for the rest of the morning and by the time they finished, Hopepaw had caught two fish. She felt so proud! The water didn't bother her quite as much but it was still uncomfortable. Graystripe gazed upon Hopepaw with glowing eyes.

"Excellent! You're a quick learner, Hopepaw," Graystripe exclaimed. "Let's head back to camp, I'm sure that you're hungry-I know I am!" Graystripe chuckled and picked up the fish he had caught. Hopepaw followed his lead and struggled to carry both fish at once. They were slippery!

When they arrived back at camp, Hopepaw noticed the eyes of the clan boring down on her. She set her catches on the fresh-kill pile and slipped away towards the apprentice den. Stormpaw and Featherpaw sat outside the apprentice den and each of them had fresh-kill.

"Good morning, Hopepaw!" Featherpaw exclaimed with bright blue eyes.

Hopepaw purred at Featherpaw, "Good morning."

Stormpaw simply gave her a nod but that was enough for Hopepaw to feel welcomed. She sat down beside them and watched the camp wake up. Warriors went out on patrol and hunting, elders bathed in the early morning sun, and Hopepaw watched four rambunctious kits exit what she assumed must be the nursery. The four kits ran up to Hopepaw with bright, curious eyes.

"Good morning, kits." Featherpaw purred to them. "Does Briarnose know that you're outside?"

A blue-gray tom rolled his eyes. "Of course she knows."

Stormpaw growled slightly to the kit. "Be respectful, Hailkit."

Before Stormpaw was finished speaking, one of the she-kits padded up to Hopepaw. She was a pale gray with darker flecks and amber eyes. The she-kit sniffed the air. "You smell weird..."

"Dewkit!" The other she-kit, a silver tabby, gasped. "She can hear you!"

Hopepaw pinned her ears, unsure of what to do. They were just kits and they didn't know better...but it still hurt. She couldn't look them in the eye and she turned to eat her fish. Eventually, Featherpaw shooed off the kits who ran back towards the nursery.

"Sorry, Hopepaw," Featherpaw sighed, scooting closer. "They don't mean any harm."

Stormpaw nodded in agreement. "Kits don't think before they speak. Soon your TigerClan scent will be replaced with the scent of RiverClan."

Hopepaw lowered her head and muttered to herself: "I hope so."

Tonight she had agreed to meet with a cat from TigerClan since it was her second night. She had to give a report and even though she's only been here for two days, she already felt some sort of kinship here. It was probably because her father and half-siblings lived here. If she betrayed RiverClan's secrets, she would be putting them in danger.