Warriors- Dawn of An Era: The Journey Begins {Book 1} (COMPLETED)

Chapter Six

"Wake up, Vinepaw." Vinepaw's eyes blinked open and he looked up to see Spottedshine towering over him. It wasn't dawn yet and Vinepaw wondered what the tom wanted at the time. "You're on the dawn patrol, remember?"

Vinepaw felt embarrassment crash into him as he nodded to the tom, yawning. How could I forget? He looked to his right where Sweetpaw was still curled in a ball beside him, sleeping soundly. He let out a small purr and rasped his tongue over her ear before rising to his paws. As he padded out of the apprentice's den, he stretched.

"Good morning, Vinepaw." Meowed Cloverfur as she padded toward her apprentice. She looked energized from their dip in the lake yesterday. Her eyes were bright and she looked like she could do two laps around the lake without stopping.

"Good morning, Cloverfur," yawned the apprentice as he flexed his paws. "What are we going to do today?" He asked as he and Cloverfur padded toward Ripplepelt.

"When you come back from the dawn patrol, we will practice hunting again then we'll try to hunt real prey," Cloverfur answered and Vinepaw's ears perked up. Real prey?

"Are you sure I'm ready to hunt real prey?" He asked, looking at his mentor worriedly. Inside, he was shaking. What if he couldn't hunt at all?

Cloverfur looked over at him. "I believe you are ready, Vinepaw." She meowed and flicked her ear. "But if you think you aren't ready yet, we can still practice."

Vinepaw nodded and padded up to the deputy. "Morning, Ripplepelt." He meowed.

The white tom blinked warmly at Vinepaw and Cloverfur. "Good morning, you two." He purred and flicked his tail. "Vinepaw, you're on the dawn patrol with Darkfang, Badgerstorm, and Beetlescar. You'll be heading to the WindClan border then back."

Vinepaw nodded. "Thanks, Ripplepelt." He meowed and dipped his head to Cloverfur. As he headed for the cats on the patrol, his mind wandered. What if we encounter Hawkpelt on our way to the border? The thought of seeing his father after his exile made Vinepaw shudder.

"There you are, Vinepaw." Badgerstorm's mew made him look up to meet her dazzling hazel eyes. Like Sweetpaw's. His fur heated at the thought of the tortoiseshell apprentice and he shook out his pelt. "Are we ready?"

Darkfang, who Vinepaw assumed was the patrol's leader, flicked her tail. "We better be," she grumbled. "I'm not waiting any longer for cats to wake up."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of their nest," Beetlescar meowed jokingly as they began to head out of the camp. "Sleep on a thorn, Darkfang?"

The dark gray tabby she-cat let out a growl and the tom fell silent. He's doing better since Blossomscar's death. Vinepaw noted and silently padded alongside Badgerstorm as they headed deeper into the forest.

As they padded on in silence, Vinepaw wondered what Rushpaw was doing. Was he going to train or do his duties? He thought to himself as he got lost in his thoughts. What about Sweetpaw? Was she going to do any hunting or battle training today? She'd better not battle train without me! Without realizing the patrol had stopped, he crashed into Beetlescar, let out a warning growl for him to keep quiet.

"What's going on?" He whispered to Badgerstorm. The white speckled she-cat's ears were perked, nose twitching as she sniffed the air. Her mostly black fur lifted and Vinepaw felt alarm flash through him.

"I smell WindClan cats," hissed Darkfang as she unsheathed her claws. "They've crossed the border." Vinepaw's heart thudded in his chest. Would the patrol fight the trespassing warriors?