Warriors: Sun and Moon - Into the Town

Chapter 1

  Pads pressing into the soft sand, and white fur glowing beneath the full moon, Sunpaw was making her way to her first gathering. She had not yet been apprenticed a full moon and already she and her littermates were already attending!

The cinnamon ticked tabby tom moved his mouth but she did not hear what he, Aspenpaw, had to say.  

A black she-cat replied; it was their sister, Moonpaw.  

"What?" Sunpaw asked, her voice louder than she realized.  

Moonpaw raised her voice, but that did not help. Sunpaw had to read her mouth as it moved. "We're wondering how many cats will be there."

What an intriguing thought. Sunpaw wondered how many there would be. She figured all the clans would bring as many cats as ThunderClan. So she counted the cats around her but then realized she didn't know how to figure out just how many that would make from four clans.  

"Come on," Morningpool, a dilute tortoiseshell, meowed as she passed the littermates, "stop doddling!"

Moonpaw said something, Sunpaw could hear her voice, but she did not quite make out the words.  

Morningpool purred, the vibrations were felt by Sunpaw. What had Moonpaw said? But she did not want to ask and be annoying, as she recently began to feel she was.  

Finally reaching the large fallen tree, Sunpaw bunched her muscles and then leapt, arcing with the shining moon behind her so beautifully. Little did she know, Moonpaw and Aspenpaw, who had yet to leap, were awing at their sister.  

She landed on the large log and reminisced about the story she had been told even as a kit. It was many moons old, something that happened before the grandparents of the elders. But the story went on, perhaps tweaking with time, but the gist remained the same.  

"Move!" came a soft meow, though really the cat had spoken loudly, just close to Sunpaw's ear as she felt his breath. It was a fawn classic tabby tom, Dusttail.  

Carefully picking her way across the fallen tree, Sunpaw found herself at the other side and not in the lake that lapped beneath it. She leapt to the soft ground and followed her clanmates, led by their leader, Spottedstar, a bushy red spotted tabby tom.  

Sunnyface, her mentor, pressed his side to hers and moved his muzzle to her ear. "Have fun, meet someone new!" the white and cream tabby told her.  

Sunpaw nervously nodded, "Okay!"

She began wandering around, moving away from her clan, though she cast glances to make sure they weren't too far. But as they all reached the shore, they intermingled with the other cats. It was so odd to smell all these scents and see everyone being so friendly!

Moonpaw and Aspenpaw caught up to their sister.  

"Where to?" Moonpaw asked.

Aspenpaw angled his ears and said something that looked like, "It looks like apprentices are there!"

So the trio trotted to the other cats their age. Only, they found they were gathered around a much older cat.  

The ShadowClan elder smelled similar to Dusttail, in that it had a scent that was indistinguishable as far as gender was concerned. It spoke and Sunpaw heard a feminine voice. But then a warrior came up and said, "Listening to this old tom, huh?"

Puzzled, Sunpaw glanced at her brother and sister.

Moonpaw whispered, "He must be like Dusttail."

Aspenpaw added, "Don't be rude about it, Sunpaw!"

The warrior went on, "You lot can get some crazy ideas from Snowlily, here!" And then he walked away.