[☆] silentclan: a rise clan

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Darkness. Darkness clouded the feline’s vision as she awakened within her dreams. The environment she had landed in was cold; as if individual shards of ice were striking her pelt from every single direction imaginable. The only source of light in the environment was the white freckles that dappled the darkness that cloaked the night, each freckle illuminating at different densities and strengths. The environment, while seemingly barren, was also quiet. So quiet, you could almost feel as if one could hear their own blood rushing through their ears, as if one could hear their own heart beating, or their lungs inhaling air.

Amberpaw, standing in the middle of the unfamiliar place, rose to her paws, blinking a couple of times. A black ring had fuzzed around the edges of her vision as she began to awaken, her head turning back and forth warily. Upon seeing no scenery, her brows furrowed in confusion as she made her way forward, looking left and right. She parted her maw to cry out to anyone else present, only to find that she could not bring herself to speak, choking and stumbling over her own words.

Instead, the cream tabby turned to silence, her ears pricking up right, flicking in each direction. The action was seemingly mindless, but Amberpaw was putting all her effort into her ears. She was trying to pick up a sound, perhaps a sound that could guide her to a cat that could tell her where she exactly was. Amberpaw’s head then tilted downward, her hazel eyes locking on the ground. From above, she could see the top of each tree below, slowly raising her head upward. She then realized she was in the sky; among the stars.

Instantly, her heart began to pound as she darted forward, trying to find a source of water. She wanted to see if her silhouette was starry, see if she had become deceased and joined the ranks of Starclan. Am I dead?! Amberpaw thought frantically to herself as she continued to run, moving in no particular direction before sliding to a stop, taking a moment to tilt her head downward, her breath stripped from her when she saw how high up she was in the sky.

With a breath inward, she then rose her head, opening her maw to speak.

“H-hello?” The cream tabby pushed out, her words quiet and raspy, the tone chilling to any cat in the living realm.

No response.

Amberpaw gazed around in confusion for a moment longer before her eyes locked on something in the distance; a smaller silhouette, just a couple inches smaller than Amberpaw herself, stood several meters beyond Amberpaw’s current position. The feline’s figure was composed entirely of beaming white stars, each indiviual detail of the cat’s fur lined with stars. Amberpaw took in a sharp breath, crying out loudly.

“Hello!?” Her breath had returned to her, her yowl far louder than even she herself had anticipated. The cat’s head turned in her direction, and upon seeing their eyes, Amberpaw’s own eyes widened, her pupils dialating in excitement. The feline’s eyes were a stark yellow, the same shape as Ebonypaw’s. She studied the starry silhouette for a moment longer in silence, then called out in hesitation.

“Ebonypaw?” Amberpaw said weakly, seeming to be in disbelief. The cat’s ears perked at the name, giving Amberpaw all she needed to know. Within a mere second, she darted forward, throwing herself upon Ebonypaw in pure excitement. “You did make it to Starclan!” Amberpaw cried out, standing on top of Ebonypaw’s silhouette. Ebonypaw’s familiar laughter emerged from beneath her larger frame as she stood up.

“It’s good to see you too.” Ebonypaw replied in a quiet voice, more delicate than her voice from while she was living. “This cannot be a long reunion, however. There is something you must warn your clan of, and the other cats up here thought I should tell you first.”

“Why me first?” Amberpaw asked in confusion, tilting her head to the side. Ebonypaw looked at Amberpaw, her yellow eyes locking before her frame. Amberpaw had not taken the form of a starry silhouette, to the greatest of her relieves.

“Because, it’s about Wolfstar. I heard he is going to be mentoring you. Applesong may have talked about this with you already.” Ebonypaw said, watching as Amberpaw nodded her head to acknowledge Ebonypaw. “You see, Wolfstar isn’t the greatest leader. He does stuff behind the scenes that is.. Messed up, to say the least. When he was my mentor, he was very kind, but when I got here, the others warned me that was a facade. He created a kind outer facade to earn my trust.”

“I heard what Wolfstar did, killing a warrior that challenged him a while ago.” Amberpaw commented, her eyes clouding with worry. “Ebonypaw, what should I do? What if he makes me do something bad for him and I get sent to the dark forest?” Amberpaw asked frantically, her breaths beginning to grow staggered as they always did when she was panicked. Ebonypaw saw her panic and walked over, gently placing her paw upon Amberpaw’s which instantly silenced her.
“That’s what I’m here to talk about. You see, Wolfstar may make you do bad things.” Ebonypaw said, sighing remorsefully. “However, as Applesong said, you are to obey him. It will be dangerous for not only you, but the clan as well, but in order to keep yourself alive until you’re a warrior, you must endure. It may hurt you, and you may have to do something.. Disgusting, such as unjustifiable murder.” At the mention of murder, Amberpaw’s jaw clenched, the taking of Ebonypaw’s life striking in her mind once more. Ebonypaw saw her pained expression, but briefly ignored it, merely tightening her grasp on Amberpaw’s paw.

“ I have talked to the others of Starclan and warned them of Wolfstar’s doings. We promise that anything he forces you to do will not affect whether or not you come up here to Starclan.” Ebonypaw said with a soft smile in hopes of comforting the distressed cream tabby. Amberpaw lifted her head briefly, a weak smile making it’s way across her muzzle.

“Thank you, Ebonypaw.” Amberpaw said, appreciating the reassurance. “I’m scared. Even if I’m still coming to Starclan, it doesn’t feel right to do anything like that for Wolfstar.”

“And it’s not, Amberpaw. You’re right to think it’s wrong, because it is. However, you must do whatever it takes for you to survive. In this situation, the ‘strongest will survive’ mentality is absolutely crucial. Now, you’re going to need to awaken, for our visit is over. I’ll visit you once more come a couple moons later.” Ebonypaw said with a smile, touching her starry nose to Amberpaw’s.

“Farewell, Amberpaw.” Ebonypaw whispered out delicately as she began to fade away.

“Wait!” Amberpaw cried out as her vision began to fade, her limbs giving out beneath her as she collapsed, slowly gaining consciousness back to the living realm.

For the next eight moons of training, Amberpaw knew that she would have to be diligent and brave in order to make it through. She would have to do undesirable and unimaginable things, but would be free the moment she became a warrior.

[dimi.]

Ten moons had passed since Amberpaw had become an apprentice, nine moons since Ebonypaw had passed. The season had freshly transitioned from Leafbare to Newleaf, the flourishing green plants and leaves returning to their destinations after the bitter cold ceased for the next few moons. The sky was a clear blue, a few see-through clouds scattered throughout the sky. The sun beamed brightly, providing a good source of warmth to the prey and felines that roamed the forest.

This day in particular was a special one for Amberpaw. Training beneath Wolfstar had been a rough journey, which was to end on this day; she was about to gain her warrior name. She had just awakened, nudged awake by her friend Brookpaw, a light brown cat with soft yellow eyes filled with affection.

“Amberpaw, you need to get ready.” Brookpaw whispered out gently, a small proud grin making its way across her muzzle. “You know what day it is, right?”

Amberpw looked around the den, her eyes narrowed as she tried to register what was around her. Her eyes then lit up as she sat up, instantly leaping to her paws. “I’m going to become a warrior today!” The apprentice howled out in excitement, her eyes widening. “Today’s the day! I’m free, Brookpaw! Free!” She yipped, circling the brown cat in excitement. Although Brookpaw was unsure of what she meant by free, she expressed the same amount of excitement, bouncing up and down in a similar fashion.

“I wonder what my warrior name will be!” Amberpaw exclaimed, puffing out her chest proudly. “Maybe something like.. Amberclaw! Or Amberyowl! Something that shows that I am ferocious and not to be missed with!” Amberpaw howled out, looking at the entrance of the den, her sounds instantly silencing when she saw Applesong standing outside the den, a small laugh emerging from the tortoiseshell. The wounds on her neck from several moons prior had turned into scars, the fur having never grown back over the site of the wounds.

“I’m sorry for being so loud..” Amberpaw began, squeaking when Applesong gently batted at her ear.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s cute to see how much you’ve grown.” Applesong said with a delighted smile. “Now, you need to get cleaned up before your ceremony, the entire clan’s eyes will be before you!” Applesong explained, making her way over swiftly. “Brookpaw, clean up the fur on her back, will you? I’ll get this mane that’s forming on top of her big head.” Applesong said playfully, resulting in Amberpaw bucking her head upward.

“Hey! My head isn’t THAT big!” The cream apprentice shrieked out, the fur on her cheeks flaring outward in embarrassment as Brookpaw lapped at her spine, slicking down the individual strands of fur to her short-furred pelt. Applesong lapped at Amberpaw’s ears, calming down the strands that had spiked up out of fear when the intimidating tortoiseshell had entered the den. After a few moments, Applesong took a step back, looking over Amberpaw.

“Look at you! You look like you’re ready to go!” Applesong said with a grin, turning to Brookpaw. “Doesn’t she?”

“She sure does! Man, I can’t wait for my own ceremony..” Brookpaw said with a long, drawn out sigh of disappointment. The silence between the three after Brookpaw’s comment was broken by Wolfstar’s gruff voice being faintly heard outside of the den, howling from atop leader’s rock.

“May all old enough to seek their own kill gather beneath leader’s rock at this time for a meeting!” The muffled voice howled out. Amberpaw’s eyes lit up as she turned to Applesong, her heart pounding.

“I’m so nervous, what if they all laugh at me?” Amberpaw said before realizing how ridiculous it sounded, a laugh emerging from her. “Nah, I’ve been training for ten moons. I’ll make all of them quiver before me.” Applesong and Brookpaw exchanged worried glances as Amberpaw bounded out, sitting near the back of the crowd that had began to form. The warriors gathered quickly, whispering about various topics, such as what they were going to eat after the meeting.

Wolfstar hushed the crowd with a low intimidating hiss, the warriors shutting their maws almost in sync. “Today, we have gathered here to give an apprentice a rank they have been waiting for for quite a while.” Wolfstar’s gaze shifted over to Amberpaw with a proud, but seemingly relunctant smile. “Amberpaw, please make your way up the rock at this time.”

Amberpaw stood up, sticking her head up high as she stride up the rock, standing beside Wolfstar. From the rock, she could see Applesong and Brookpaw sitting beside each other at the back, with grins ear to ear as they watched the cream apprentice take her seat beside the leader. Once comfortable, Wolfstar turned to the feline, taking a sharp breath inward before beginning the speech.



“I, Wolfstar, leader of Howlclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” Wolfstar said, gazing up to the sky briefly before turning his attention back to Amberpaw.

“Amberpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” Wolfstar asked, his ferocious yellow eyes locking with Amberpaw’s. Amberpaw had to take a quiet breath before raising her head up high, her maw parting as her speech grew loud.

“I do.” Amberpaw said proudly, puffing her chest upward with a grin, which she swore would make her jaw drop off of her face at this point. Wolfstar looked at the apprentice, nodding his head briefly before turning back to the clan cats below.

“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Amberpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Ambersky! StarClan honors your bravery, persistence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Howlclan.” Wolfstar said with a grin before turning to the Amberpaw, resting his muzzle atop her head briefly. Amberpaw, as she had rehearsed, lapped at his shoulder with a smile.

After a moment, Wolfstar turned back towards the cats sitting below, yelling out loudly.“Give it up for Ambersky!”

Instantly, the clan camp broke into chaos, loud chants emerging from the crowd. “Ambersky! Ambersky! Ambersky!” The warriors chanted out loudly. Ambersky watched in amazement, her attention on Applesong and Brookpaw as they leaped in the air repeatedly, howling Ambersky’s name so loud, she swore they would go deaf if they kept up the pace any longer. The voices soon fizzled, and Wolfstar stood back up, speaking strongly.

“Ambersky will sit vigil tonight. This meeting is dismissed.” Wolfstar said before making his way off of leader’s rock. Ambersky leaped down from the rock, instantly met with praises and congratulations from the felines that surrounded her. She then made her way towards the warriors den, knowing her next duty; setting her nest up, since she was going to be moving into the warrior’s den.

Brookpaw and Applesong approached her, each equally excited as Ambersky. “Look at you!” Brookpaw cried out. “It’s like you’re a new cat with your name! Ambersky, it sounds so pretty!” Ambersky thought Brookpaw’s rambling would never stop as she let out a soft laughter.

“Thank you, Brookpaw. Your ceremony isn’t too far from now, maybe a couple more moons.” Ambersky said with a smile of encouragement as she turned to Applesong. “Say, Applesong, has Starclan spoken to you in a while? I haven’t heard from Ebonypaw in a couple of moons.”

“No, I haven’t come to think of it. Starclan is selective in when they contact me, and the past four moons I’ve gone to Moonpool, there have been no significant messages for me, only warnings of scarce prey in Leafbare and such. I’ll definitely tell you if I get anything tonight.” Applesong said with a soft smile. “Now, until then, you most certainly need to get some shut-eye. You’re gonna be up all night looking over the clan, and all of Starclan’s eyes will be on you.”

“Of course, Applesong. Always rushing me to sleep.” Ambersky said with a soft giggle. “I’ll head to bed after I fix up my nest.” Ambersky said in a promising tone before entering the apprentice’s den. She moved to her nest, looking over it. She had maintained the same nest for all ten moons of her training, adding more comfortable feathers every now and then. She began to pick up mouthfuls of the feathers, making sure to curl her lips over her fangs to not tear the feathers before moving into the warrior’s den directly across from the apprentice’s den.

When she entered, she found a conveniently empty nest directly next to the entrance. She made her way over, gently placing the feathers on the bed before scattering them with her muzzle, thrashing her head back and forth until the feathers were evenly distributed. Ambersky’s eyes lit up when she realized she had left the golden feather behind. She darted back into the apprentice’s den, gently grabbing the golden feather.

She then made her way back to the warrior’s den, approaching her nest. She unsheathed her claws, gently digging one into the side of the moss bed, making a small slit for the feather to go into. Ambersky then tilted her head, gently sliding the feather into the slit she had made, straightening it with a nudge of her head before smiling. The golden feather stayed upright, a signal that the nest belonged to Ambersky.

Ambersky then took a seat on her haunches in the nest, glancing around briefly. She then decided against sleeping, for once going against Applesong’s wishes. She leapt out of the nest and shook out her pelt, making her way out of the den once more. She made her way towards the exit of the camp, her ears perking when she heard Wolfstar’s voice from behind. “Ambersky, where might you be going?”



“I’m going to go hunting.” Ambersky said, coming up with an on the fly excuse. Wolfstar looked at the warrior curiously before a small smile flashed across his muzzle.

“Alright. Be on the look out for a rabbit. I’m craving one.” Wolfstar said, intending to make it sound more like a command than a suggestion. Ambersky silently vowed not to come back into the camp until a rabbit had been caught in her maw. She bowed her head respectively, speaking quietly.

“Yes, Wolfstar.” She then turned towards the exit, making her way outside of the camp. When she exited the camp, the smells of the untouched, brand new leaves of Newleaf struck her nostrils. She stuck her nose to the air, taking in a sharp breath as she absorbed what was around her. She then made her way forward, humming happily. Her hazel eyes surveyed the terrain before her, seeking any sources of life within the area.

The first few minutes of her walk were quiet for the most part, with the exception of a few leaves rustling in the trees above when a violent breeze abruptly swept by. Ambersky briefly stopped in her path, looking around the scenery. She smiled contentedly, the feeling of being free from Wolfstar’s mentorship a relieving one. She was snapped out of her relaxing thoughts when she heard a pile of nearby sticks rustle. Ambersky’s head slowly turned in the direction of the crackling wood as she slowly crouched. The fur of her chest brushed against the forest ground beneath her, her tail freezing in its current position.

A couple of meters ahead, near the base of a tree, she saw a small but plump rabbit lingering near a burrow at the base of a tree. Lucky sight! Ambersky thought to herself, silently relieved her hunt would be over quickly, or at least the piece of prey she was to catch for Wolfstar. She planned on staying outside of the camp to kill the next couple of hours. Her eyes locked on the unsuspecting prey as it’s nose nudged around the leaves that surrounded the base of the tree, seeming to be adding to the inside of the burrow.

Tail up, chest low, paws stiff, and ready to pounce.. Ambersky repeated the normal directions in her mind, her eyes narrowing as she locked her sights on the vulnerable nape of the rabbit. The nape was shielded by a thin layer of gray fur, and an even thinner layer of skin beneath it. Ambersky’s hazel eyes lit up as her hind legs sprang back, sending her upper frame soaring upward. She had flung herself through the air without a sound emerging from beneath her large paws.



Before the prey had a moment to react, Ambersky landed behind it, with one of her front paws on either side of the rabbit. She then snapped her upper jaw downward, her fangs gently nipping the back of the rabbit’s throat, swiftly taking it’s life by cutting through an artery essential to life, the being falling limp beneath her grasp almost instantly. When the rabbit was for sure deceased, Ambersky released the rabbit, taking a comfortable seat on her haunches.

“Thank you Starclan for allowing my clan this meal. It is deeply appreciated.” Ambersky said as she rose her head up to meet the sky. The sky had changed colors once more, the sun having began to lower in the distance. The sky was an unpredictable canvas of colors, various pinks and purples splashed upon the sky beneath the dense white clouds, which took on an orange hue against the setting sun.


Ambersky then turned to the burrow, digging a shallow hole directly before it. She then placed the rabbit beneath the soil, burying it swiftly afterwards. She then reached her paw up and unsheathed her claws, swinging her paw upward. She clawed at the base of the tree, marking the tree for reference when she came back to grab the rabbit on her way back to the camp. She then stuck her head upwards, sniffing the air vigorously. She picked up on the scent of water, remembering a river just south of the forest. She turned over her shoulder, making her way towards the source of the scent of musky water.

She pushed herself between the small opening between two bushes, emerging on the other side. A large river was before her, cold rushing water seeping between stones in the water. Ambersky took in a deep inhale, the air surruonding the river almost feeling fresher than the rest of the air. She then leaped forward, sitting beside the bank of the river on her haunches. Ambersky comfortably leaned down, lapping at the cool, rushing water. The water was refreshing, slipping down her throat smoothly, some dripping down her chin, the fur on her chin draping downward as it dripped water, a small laugh emerging from her.

Ambersky heard a quiet laugh from across the river that wasn’t her own, her head snapping up instantly, her laughter ceasing. She saw nothing, her ears flattening as the whispering from several moons ago began again. The voice, however, was no longer raspy, and full volume, coming from no direction in particular.

“I’m proud, Amber. I’m so sorry.” The voice was still feminine, but Ambersky was unsure of who would be talking to her about being proud, or apologizing. Ambersky glanced in each direction, remembering what Applesong had said about the dark forest. Ambersky let out a low hiss as she leaped to her paws, backing away from the river with bold speech erupting from her jaw furiously.
“You aren’t gonna get me, you dark forest punks.” Ambersky then turned, darting back into the forest. Once she was far enough away, she slowed to a walk, stopping before the tree she had buried the rabbit at. At this point, her chest was heaving, her maw parted mindlessly as she sucked in air aggressively, her lips pucked slightly. She then turned to the poorly formed dirt mound, digging into the ground until she was able to retrieve the rabbit, shaking it around to get the dirt off of it briefly before making her way back to camp.

At this point, about an hour had passed, the sun almost entirely beneath the horizon. The sky had began to shift from bright colors to the dark navy blue that cloaked the sky each night, some thin gray clouds drifting along the sky at a soft and slow pace, relaxing to look at for minutes at a time. Ambersky’s eyes remained locked on the ground, her heart pounding as she visibly flinched, the memories of Ebonypaw’s death flooding her mind once more, the foolish dark forest creatures having been the ones that sent her on that voyage anyway.

She shook her head as she held the rabbit in her jaws, physically jerking the thoughts out of her mind as she entered the camp, making her way to Wolfstar’s den. “Wolfstar?” Ambersky called out, her voice muffled by the fur in her maw. Wolfstar emerged from the shadows of his den, his yellow eyes glowing faintly from the small source of light beyond the den. Upon seeing the rabbit in her mouth, his smile widened.

“Ah, Ambersky, you’re back. And you got me a rabbit just as I asked. Fantastic work.” Wolfstar said in delight as Ambersky dipped her head, placing the plump rabbit before him. “Healthy rabbits like this are hard to come by near the beginning of Newleaf. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed.” He said as he leaned down, taking a bite of the rabbit, chewing the meat and savoring it in his maw. “Thank you, Ambersky. Your vigil should begin in just a few minutes, take your seat beside the entrance and make sure no threats get in.”

Ambersky bowed her head respectively, a proud grin making it’s way across her face as she nodded. “Yes, Wolfstar.” She then turned and bounded out, making her way towards the entrance of the camp once more. She then sat upon a stone on the left of the entrance, sitting up proudly as her hazel eyes scanned the terrain beyond the camp. A few minutes passed, and soon the sun had taken shelter beneath the horizon for the evening, the vibrant night stars dappling the sky, glowing as bright as ever; Ambersky’s vigil had began.

During her vigil, no one was to approach her, and not conversing for several hours would certainly eat the cream tabby up alive, but she did not care. She had reached her goal of being free from Wolfstar, free from her apprenticeship, and she had told the dark forest cat off. Ambersky’s warrior time seemed to be at it’s prime at the mere beginning; a great feeling for the cream tabby.
The other cats of the clan began to head to their slumber, several yipping out Ambersky’s name in an adoring fashion. As difficult as it was, Ambersky did not turn her head, for she had to focus on one thing; protecting the clan on her first night as a true warrior.

[dimi.]

Several hours passed, all of which Ambersky had sat in silence. There had been no commotion in the forest for the most part, with the exception of the occasional nocturnal creature scurrying by, or an abrupt breeze that would startle Ambersky out of her random bursts of being half awake. The sun had began to rise slowly in the distance, the sky splashed with a variety of colors, ranging from the most vibrant shades of red to the dullest, yet softest shades of pure violet. The sun had a bright white aura around it’s rim, the burning rays of light it gave off shining through the clouds, which had thickened in the sky over night.

Ambersky knew her vigil was not over until the sun was fully over the horizon, but she still felt relieved that it was near over. She had a longing desire to slumber for several hours after sitting vigil, for she was tired. Not sleeping before her vigil had grown to be a mistake, she had realized a couple hours into her vigil. She merely thought of it as karma, silently grinned it off with a shake of her head, and went back to focusing on protecting her clan as the newest warrior with Starclan’s blessing.

About another thirty minutes slipped by, which felt like moons to Ambersky, and soon the vibrant sun had fully emerged from the horizon, Ambersky’s maw parting widely as a loud yawn emerged. She then rose to her paws, looking up the sky. “Hope you’re proud, Starclan. I’ll protect the clan with my life.” Ambersky purred in delight before turning over her shoulder, making her way towards the warrior’s den. When she stepped in, she saw her previous mentor and life saver Hauntingchirp, sitting up straight; she was wide awake.

“There you are, Ambersky.” Hauntingchirp purred in delight. Something about her gaze, however, betrayed her upfront excited nature. Behind her vibrant yellow eyes, the red she-cat was hiding something. Something that pained her greatly, but Ambersky could not quite put her paw on what exactly it was, deciding to dismiss it. She didn’t want to get into an argument with her fiery friend over what could easily be a misinterpretation.

“Here I am.” Ambersky said with a tired groan, followed by soft laughter. “How are you, Hauntingchirp?”

“I am great. You’ve grown up so much, and you look absolutely astonishing. You truly give off the aura of a proud warrior. You should be proud of yourself, you have come far from being that near death kit beneath that tree in leafbare.” Hauntingchirp rose to her paws, making her way over to Ambersky. Hauntingchirp had treated Ambersky as her own kin, and now that she was fully grown, she knew what was awaiting; assuming Wolfstar’s contract held.

“I bet you’re exhausted, and hungry too.” Hauntingchirp commented as she looked over Ambersky. Her eyes had began to grow glossy, a natural narrowing present in them from how exhausted she had grown.

“That obvious, huh?” Ambersky said with a soft laugh. “Let’s go eat first, then I can get some shut-eye.” Ambersky suggested, to which Hauntingchirp nodded, ushering for Ambersky to lead the way with a nod of her head.

Ambersky made her way outside of the den, heading towards the prey pile. In Newleaf, the prey pile was plentiful, stocked nicely with plump mice, thick furred rabbits, and squirrels. Ambersky’s eyes locked on a plump gray mouse near the base, which she gently grabbed from the pile, turning to Hauntingchirp. “I’ll just share that with you.” Hauntingchirp said with a smile as she guided Ambersky back to the entrance of the warriors den, sitting outside of it with her.

“So, what do you think your first duty as a warrior will be?” Hauntingchirp asked as they settled in, forcing herself to make casual conversation with the cream tabby.

“Well, I actually already went hunting last night as a warrior, but if you mean with Starclan’s blessing, well.. I’m not sure. I bet I’ll be doing a border patrol today, the south border smelled pretty weak when I went out to the river.” Ambersky said with a soft smile. “Perhaps you’ll tag along?”

“Ack, I wish Ambersky. I already have to be on patrol with Fawneye and Hollowcry today. The two are smitten with each other, so I’ll just be the third wheel in that group.” Hauntingchirp commented with a small laugh, laced with a hint of jealously.

“Working alongside Hollowcry sounds interesting. Actually, working with the deputy in general sounds fun. I was mentored under Wolfstar, but I can’t say I’m particularly fond of him.” Ambersky grumbled, glancing in the direction of Wolfstar’s den with a glint of annoyance in her eyes. Hauntingchirp nodded her head in agreement, huffing out as she began to speak once more.

“Yeah, well, Hollowcry is a bit more.. Reasonable than Wolfstar. It’s a miracle the two of them even get along, you know. Hollowcry seems to oppose many of his views when he’s not directly addressing Wolfstar.” Hauntingchirp said with a soft laugh as she continued. “You see, Hollowcry and I talk sometimes. He always complains about how unreasonable Wolfstar is during conflicts, it’s actually pretty amusing, given the fact he’s deputy.”

“Really?” Ambersky asked, amazed by the concept the leader and deputy didn’t quite get along with one another.
“Yeah! Hollowcry is one manipulative feline. He knows how to grind on the nerves of one, but he also knows how to appeal to cats. It’s why we haven’t fought with the bordering clans in a couple of moons, Hollowcry knows how to calm the mdown after Wolfstar has once again done something to anger them.” Hauntingchirp explained with a disappointed shake of her head. “Although when Hollowcry becomes leader, I’m not sure how that’ll play out.. It really depends on who he appoints to be deputy next.”

“Hmm, I trust Hollowcry if he opposes Wolfstar.” Ambersky retorted, her tail lashing back and forth anxiously as she thought about Hollowcry. He was a silver rosetted feline with stark green eyes. His green eyes reminded Ambersky of algae in rivers, since his eyes weren’t too dark, but they also weren’t incredibly light. His eyes were something that made Ambersky very curious, as she believed the eyes could expose everything about one’s character, but she had always struggled with finding something with Hollowcry’s eyes; now she knew why.

Ambersky leaned down, taking a large bite of the mouse that rested between Hauntingchirp and her, her face flushing a light pink when she realized how big of a bite she had taken. She chewed the bite swiftly before swallowing, looking at Hauntingchirp. “Uh.. S-sorry for tkaing such a big bite. I was starving.”

Hauntingchirp gazed over at Ambersky, looking at her pitiful gaze as she let out a shriek of laughter. “Aw man, you look so guilty! It’s hilarious!” Hauntingchirp cooed out, leaping to her paws to gently bump against Ambersky’s shoulder. “You’re okay, really. I wasn’t too hungry anyway.” Hauntingchirp explained, watching as Ambersky’s shoulders relaxed and her gaze returned to normal, a sigh of relief leaving her pursed lips. The conversation between the two was disrupted when Hauntingchirp saw Wolfstar in the distance, standing atop leader’s rock.

“Ambersky, please come to my den.” Wolfstar called out, not bothering to see if the cream tabby had actually heard before turning over his shoulder, making his way back into his den. Hauntingchirp’s entire body tensed, her eyes widening as she realized what it was time for. Ambersky had sat vigil already; it was the day after she had become a warrior. She knew what was approaching as she turned back to Ambersky, a small forced smile creeping across her muzzle.

“You’re in trouble~” She cooed out playfully, her voice quiet as she choked back tears, which thankfully was easy for her to do.

“As if! I’m gonna be the best warrior here.” Ambersky said playfully before making her way into the leader’s den. Wolfstar sat in the center of the den, directly before Ambersky. It was unusual that the tom wasn’t lingering in the shadows, which Ambersky noted.
“Yes, Wolfstar? Wanting another rabbit?” Ambersky asked with a grin as she made her way forward, sitting comfortably on her haunches before Wolfstar. The two were equal in size, with Ambersky having long legs but a slender upper body.

Wolfstar’s demeanor was as serious as ever, his golden eyes locked on the cream tabby’s frame. She silently felt as if his eyes would pierce through her flesh at any moment, but she knew that was impossible, taking in a sharp breath to calm herself down. “No. I’m afraid it is time for you to leave.” Wolfstar began, looking at Ambersky in silence. Her gaze changed from happy to puzzled as she looked at Wolfstar, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

“Leave? You mean.. On an adventure?” Ambersky said, trying to get the tom to expand on what he meant. Leaving was vague to Ambersky, which startled her slightly.

“No, leave as in leave Howlclan.” Wolfstar repeated coldly, his voice stern.

“What..?” Ambersky drew out the word in confusion, her eyes widening in horror. “But.. why?”

Wolfstar looked on at Ambersky as if she were stupid, scoffing at her question. “Why? Because you don’t possess warrior blood.” Wolfstar said with a cold growl as he rose to his paws, beginning to circle Ambersky. “You are nothing more than a pathetic child of two loners who didn’t even want you. Everyone in the clan has known since the day you came here that you would be leaving today. They don’t care, nor do I.”

Ambersky looked at Wolfstar in silence, her body beginning to tremble as her head hung low, his words ringing in her mind. Pathetic child.. They don’t care.. She swallowed a large lump in her throat, her body continuing to tremble violently as she rose to her paws. “O-okay.. I’ll go..” She said reluctantly, her head hanging low as she began to make her way towards the entrance. Wolfstar watched as the cream tabby exited the den, not a sign of regret present in his gaze.

Once Ambersky was outside of the den, she let out a loud cry as she darted out of the camp, her heart pounding. She began to run for several minutes, her stopping seeming to not be anywhere near. Hauntingchirp watched as Ambersky darted out, her body trembling in guilt as her head began to hang low, her head only raising when she heard Wolfstar’s voice from above.

“May all cats old enough to seek their own kill gather beneath leader’s rock at this time.” The gruff voice called out, fear clouding Applesong’s heart.

[dimi.]

When the meeting was called, it took several minutes for all the cats to actually gather beneath leader’s rock. Several other warriors had to go into each den, awakening each cat that was still sleeping. Groans of annoyance came from each den, tired and dazed cats sauntering out of every den. They each comfortably sat beneath leader’s rock, the sun beginning to hit their backs as it seeped between the thick leafed trees. The clearing was quiet, the cats just beginning to awaken from their slumbers, some only half awake.

Wolfstar sat in silence upon the rock, his yellow eyes individual gazing over each cat. He was mentally doing a roll call, making sure each cat was present at the meeting. One of the queens lingered by the nursery, occasionally peeking back inside the den at the several slumbering kits within. He decided not to usher her over, as she was looking over the young, the young who would one day be the future warriors of the clan; the ones who actually wielded warrior blood.

Hauntingchirp had made herself comfortable at the front of the crowd alongside Fawneye and Hollowcry. Fawneye was a beautiful short-furred brown cat, with darker points of color around her paws and the bridge of her nose, with bright blue eyes that stood out against her dark pelt. Hollowcry’s silver rosetted pelt was mangled, the individual strands of fur entwined with one another. He hadn’t bothered to groom himself before attending the meeting.

Hauntingchirp’s stark yellow eyes locked upon Wolfstar in sheer anger. She was enraged, and it was taking every nerve and muscle in her body to keep herself from throwing herself upon the gray leader. He sensed Hauntingchirp’s eyes upon him, Wolfstar’s yellow eyes returning the glare. While most would be intimidated, Hauntingchirp stood her ground, waiting until the leader went back to observing the activity of the audience.

A few more minutes passed, and soon everyone was in the clearing, some of the members still getting seated. When everyone was settled, he rose to his paws, stepping to the edge of leader’s rock, looking down upon the warriors of his clan.

“I have called upon you all today to discuss a dismissal of a warrior.” Several of the sleepy eyed cat’s eyes lit up, followed by the cats beginning to curiously whisper amongst one another. “As you can see, the newest warrior Ambersky is not present at this meeting today.” The members of the clan began to glance around, whispering questions amongst themselves. With each word the gray leader spoke, the more Hauntingchirp grew angry, her claws digging further into the soil.

“As agreed upon when she joined the clan, Ambersky was to be kicked out the night after she sat vigil as a warrior. She does not wield warrior blood, and for that reason, she will never be a genuine warrior, nor will she be accepted by Starclan.” Wolfstar rose to his paws, looking over the crowd. “If there are no questions, which, I hope there aren’t any, the meeting is dismissed and you may all return to your sleeping.”

The clearing was filled with quiet murmurs, the felines debating on whether or not they agreed with his decision. When Wolfstar was about to dismiss the meeting, Fawneye leapt to her paws, an unmatchable rage shining within her icy blue eyes. “How dare you?!” The chocolate point howled out, drawing the attention of the gray leader, who looked in her direction, one of his brows arching at the notion one of his warriors would challenge him. “Oh, you heard me, Wolfstar.” Fawneye hissed out in a challenging tone. “That warrior trained for 8 moons beneath you, and became one of the best hunters in the clan! Why didn’t you just kick her out earlier, or not even take her in at all, huh?! Implementing false hope into the minds of a young warrior is absolutely lethal!”

Wolfstar smirked at Fawneye’s anger, his lips curling inward as he directed his comments to her. “You see, Fawneye, regardless of how strong that feline was, she wasn’t one with warrior blood. She wasn’t meant to be a warrior, or meant to even be accepted by Starclan. It was a miracle Starclan actually let her sit vigil, but that no longer matters. Besides, she wasn’t even meant to live.” Wolfstar whispered out the last words in a cold tone, smirking at the chocolate point.

Beside Fawneye, her mate leapt to his paws, his green eyes filled with anger at this point. Wolfstar’s eyes widened when he witnessed his deputy leap to his paws in equal anger, his attention turning to him. Wolfstar parted his muzzle to speak to Hollowcry, which was meant with a low hiss. “Don’t you dare utter a word.” Hollowcry commanded, eyeing the leader’s throat as Wolfstar cockily tilted his head further upward. “You are more of a coward than I could ever imagine. You’re always rambling about warrior blood this, warrior blood that, yet you yourself do not even endorse Starclan.”

Gasps emerged from the crowd, with felines questioning how he could not endorse Starclna, yet still be granted his nine lives. Others looked on at Hollowcry, angered by his advanced on their beloved leader. Despite the critics eyes being upon him, Hollowcry stood his ground, looking up at Wolfstar without a hint of fear in his eyes. Wolfstar then looked at Hollowcry, sighing softly.

“Alright. If that is how you would like to play it.. Before Starclan, I demote Hollowcry from his position of deputy, and hereby announce him as a warrior.” Wolfstar smirked, looking down at Hollowcry as if he had defeated him with this demotion. Hollowcry returned the gesture, his light green eyes rolling as he began to speak.

“You’re only proving you’re a coward by demoting me.” Hollowcry said with a smile of delight. “I am free from your grasp regardless. Have fun appointing one of these other duds to be deputy.” He then took a seat on his haunches, glancing in Hauntingchirp’s direction. Hauntingchirp bowed her head, silently thanking the tom before she sat back down, looking in the direction of Fawneye, who had appeared to only grow more frustrated.

“If we are done bickering, I would like to dismiss this meeting.” Wolfstar started, glaring in the directions of Fawneye and Hollowcry, who looked upon him with unshaken eyes. With his glare, Hauntingchirp rose to her paws, hissing at the tom, who instantly turned to her as she leaped up onto leader’s rock, gasps emerging from the warriors below. Fawneye and Hollowcry looked on in horror as Hauntingchirp inched closer towards Wolfstar, her claws unsheathing. The crowd below had grown silent, wanting to observe the conflict in its entirety.

“You kicked out a warrior who didn’t deserve it, you let the same apprentice bury her own dead friend, comforted her. You built a fake character for her as usual, and quite frankly, I think a lot of us are sick of it!” She turned towards the others below, some howling in agreement, their fangs bared. Wolfstar looked down at the warriors, a hint of fear glossing over in his eyes as he turned to the fiery red she-cat, raising his paw upwards. Hauntingchirp saw the strike coming, instantly retaliating by jerking her body forward, her head ramming against Wolfstar’s chest.

The impact sent the gray tom falling off of high rock, dropping about six feet onto the ground below, Hauntingchirp’s strike having sent him a couple of inches away from the actual rock. She then leapt down, her eyes widening as the audience broke out in chaos, cheers and cries of anger coming from each direction. Fawneye and Hollowcry darted forward, leaping upon Hauntingchirp to hold her back from attacking the leader and doing anything brash, the three looking around fearfully as one large cat stepped over Wolfstar, protecting his body as the gray feline lay on the ground.

When the two combatants were seized, the others sat back down, observing the conflict. The cat that stood over Wolfstar was a light gray with a blue tint, the color darkening around her muzzle, paws, and the tip of her tail. She was slightly larger than Wolfstar, and had mint green eyes that pierced through the skin of even the most strong minded of felines. Her appearance alone made the warriors back down, including Hauntingchirp herself, her golden eyes averting from the intimidating blue sepia.
Hollowcry’s eyes locked upon the blue sepia, his maw parting before he whispered softly. “Thank you, Cypresscloud.” He said, bowing his head respectively. Cypresscloud turned her head, looking down at Hauntingchirp briefly, her mint green eyes seeming to be filled with sympathy. She then turned to the other warriors, keeping her body over Wolfstar’s in fears that another warrior would dare to challenge the fearsome leader.

“I know you all are most certainly angered by Ambersky’s dismissal. While I myself am against Wolfstar’s decision, I do not agree that violence is the answer to address this disgusting tom.” Cypresscloud glanced at the tom beneath her, locking eyes with him briefly before continuing. “We must stay alert for right now. It does not make sense that we ourselves are fighting in our own clan. At this rate, we may actually have our own war against ourselves. I beg you to keep your composure, and try your hardest to not break, even if it seems impossible.”

The members of the audience nodded their heads in respect, looking between Wolfstar and Cypresscloud as she stood over the tom. “Now, I am going to step off of Wolfstar. I do not want any of you charging towards him.” She leaped off, sauntering back into the crowd alongside the others. Wolfstar slowly forced himself to his paws, his gray chest heaving as he tried to regain the breath had been stripped from him when he struck the ground. He made his way back up leader’s rock, gazing down at the felines below him.

“With this conflict resolved, I dismiss this meeting. A new deputy will be chosen at moon high.” Wolfstar sneered in the direction of Hauntingchirp before turning over his shoulder swiftly, making his way back into his dark cavern of a den. When the others of the clearing slipped back into their dens, Appleskip approached Hauntingchirp, her vibrant green eyes filled with just as much anger as Hauntingchirp’s. Hollowcry and Fawneye let go of her as Appleskip approached, bowing their heads in respect.

“Thank you. Hauntingchirp, are you alright? Would you like to come into my den to cool off?” Appleskip asked, her voice laced with sympathy and concerned. Hauntingchirp hissed at Appleskip, shaking her head as she turned violently away from her.

“I don’t need a damn herb to make me happy!” She said coldly before sauntering away from Appleskip. The medicine cat sighed softly as she parted, not daring to chase after the warrior, for she had learned it was a bad idea on more than one occasson.

She briefly glanced in the direction of the entrance, sighing softly as she briefly thought of Ambersky. She shook her head before moving towards her own den in silence, the clearing bare once again.

[dimi.]

The cream she-cat had ran for an hour, only stopping to sip from nearby puddles from the previous rainfall. Her body quivered in pain as she continued to run, her paws thumping against the ground in an erratic and unpredictable pattern. Her pace was changing constantly, her legs growing weak beneath her large and disproportionate body, her chest heaving as her lungs violently begged for a deep breath of fresh air. Eventually, her legs gave in beneath the weight, her body collapsing to the ground.

Her body silently thanked her for the brief rest, feeling returning to her limbs slowly, a static feeling pinching each of the nerves in her legs. She winced at the sensation, for it was a painful and somewhat aggravating one. After one more moment, she rose to her paws, her head raising up slowly. Her hazel eyes surveyed the terrain before her, her brows furrowed in confusion. She had made it into new territory, presumably the forest that Ebonypaw’s life had been taken in. Ambersky took in a sharp breath, forcing herself forward.

Her head had tilted towards the grounds, her hazel eyes locked with her paws in silence. The base of her eyes had began to stung as she held back tears of rage, betrayal, and sadness. The cream tabby was confused to say the least. For her to be so abruptly kicked from her clan after feeling as if she were loved within the clan was an action that baffled her. The night after she sat vigil, a night she spent daydreaming of all the ways she would aid Howlclan. The day dreams had become severed opportunities, due to her blood not being one of a genuine warrior.

“Genuine warrior blood.. Tch.” Ambersky huffed out beneath her breath, choking back a coughing fit formed by her tears constricting her throat. An invisible wound, a phantom pain that Appleskip had previously spoken of, stung at her side. The pain was from betrayal and agony, as if claws had been dragged down her spine; she had been stabbed in the back.

The incoming tears soon left Ambersky winded once again, resulting in her weakly taking a seat on her haunches, her head hanging low as her hazel eyes locked on the ground. The grass below her. She staggered her breathing, attempting to calm herself down. She knew that if she were to survive beyond this, she was going to need to regain her composure, and focus solely on her survival. If she were to do anything less, it was very likely that she would succumb to the first thing that attacked her in the forest.




Ambersky sat in silence for several seconds, her hazel eyes filled with confusion as she tried to regain herself, her ears perking when her body suddenly tensed. She felt as if she was being watched, a feeling that struck fear into her core. She tilted her head up, glancing around her slowly. She then dismissed the feeling as her being merely paranoid, her gaze returning to the ground as she took in another sharp breath, her ears remaining perked to pick up on any sounds.

She gave in to the desire to raise to her paws, starting up her journey once again. She didn’t have a particular destination, it was more like a wild goose chase; Ambersky trying to find a new place where she could fit in and not be kicked out by those she loved again. Her tail lashed furiously, but her eyes were narrowed, her jaw kept loose. Aside from her tail, one would assume that Ambersky was rather calm and at peace. But she was the opposite; she felt as if she was going to explode from the inside out.

Her body was jerked upward when she heard a voice in front of her, her body leaping back. She landed on the ground, gazing up at the direction she had heard the voice from.

“I'd say you looked lost, but that would imply you have a destination.” The voice cooed out, a small drop heard as the feline dropped a piece of meat on the ground; a plump mouse. Ambersky took a moment to look over the tom in silence, her eyes narrowing as she studied his frame, suspicious of his intentions. He was a lithe tom, only slightly taller than herself. His pelt was a dark shade of silver with a blue tint, tabby markings struck across his pelt. His tail was rather long, almost the length of his own body. He had light hazel eyes, which were similar to Ambersky’s, but his were more stark in contrast; they intimidated Ambersky.

Ambersky remained silent, looking over the tom briefly. Her ears had flattened against her head, her tail continuing to lash. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of the tom himself, rather the fact he had been following her. He appeared to be older than her, an experienced feline with scars on his shoulder and a small scar on the bridge of his nose. After processing his words, she sighed softly, replying to his remark.

“I have anything but a planned destination. You’d be right with saying I’m lost physically, sure. However, I don’t think one who isn’t seeking a particular destination can be lost.” Ambersky expressed, her aching haunches giving in to the desire to sit down before the tom. Her hazel eyes refused to leave his silver form, still suspicious of the tom. She had given in to the confusion and annoyance that came with being exiled from her clan. The running alone and in silence for several minutes had made her crack. Usually in situations like this, she would talk to herself, vent her emotions out loud. But before her was another tom. She was not foolish enough to talk to herself; no, no, that would just be deranged for her, as distraught as she may be.

Her eyes lifted up to meet the gray tom once more, looking over him in silence. She eyed the scars on his shoulder and the bridge of his nose curiously, quickly looking away to make sure he didn’t see what she had been looking at. The urge to ask what exactly caused the scars on the tom beckoned to her, but she decided against asking. Some cats were sensitive about scarring on their body, and she had only heard this tom say one sentence. She couldn’t presume his character was understanding about questions regarding the scarring on his body, and she didn’t want to anger yet another feline.

Another moment of silent passed, and Ambersky’s eyes suddenly lit up in embarrassment. She realized she had only muttered one line to the tom, one that was somewhat of a ramble. She hadn’t even bothered to introduce herself! She looked at the tom in embarrassment, her body tensing as she forced herself to maintain her strong composure. “Well.. If we are going to be talking for longer, I might as well introduce myself. I’m Ambersky.” She paused for a moment, squinting at the name. “Although you can call me Amber. I’ll need to start going by that.” She huffed out.

The tom, instead of sitting like Amberstar, had remained standing before her. He silently appreciated the formality the she cat offered him, but he also found it incredibly unnecessary. He then replied to her comment, deciding Ambersky didn’t need to know his own name for the time being. “You can call yourself whatever you like. It doesn’t matter to me what other cats used to call you.” He turned his head to the right briefly, peering at the mouse that lay slightly ahead of him before continuing. “If you want me to call you Amber, then I will.”

Ambersky silently noted that the entire time the tom had been speaking, his eyes had not once left her. He was far calmer than her, an aura of masked confidence radiating off of his gray body. She felt as if the tom could see right through her, as if his eyes were going to pierce through her soul and rip out her heart. She tried to maintain eye contact with him, her gaze eventually averting.

She could feel the blood rushing to her face, caused by the wave of embarrassment that flowed over her. Without being alongside another friend, Ambersky herself was quite awkward during social interaction. She needed a friend by her to be a crutch if the conversation got too dry, or an distasteful topic arose. Prior to this encounter, she had never even seen a loner beyond the one that ended Ebonypaw’s life, or the scrawny ones who came to Wolfstar begging for shelter and food, only to be turned away in the blink of an eye.

Another moment of silence slipped by, then Ambersky sighed, deciding to enforce what he had stated. She then took in a soft breath, nodding her head.




“In that case, I guess I’m Amber.” Amber whispered out, wincing at the name. She had grown fond of her warrior name already, and for it to be stripped of her so quickly was as if her life was stripped from her instantly. Her eyes remained lingering on the ground, a habit she had quickly developed while interacting with the tom. She only lifted her head when the tom began to move, her tail slightly expanding when the tom performed a half circle around her. Circling was one way several cats in Howlclan instigated a fight, her senses kicking in instantly.

Her eyes locked on his paws, making sure he wasn’t just going to stretch and unleash his claws into her pelt. She was distraught, and couldn’t quite think. If he was to attack her now, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if she were to be fully aware and not as distraught as she was, she still wouldn’t stand a chance. The tom was older, and seemed far more experience than Amber was herself. Her ears then pricked forward when the tom began to speak mid-stretch, his voice strained as he exhaled.

“Ah..” He drew out as her stretched before turning back to Amber. “Forgive me if I'm not as trusting of strangers. I've gotten into enough disagreements with clan cats to prefer to keep my distance.” The tom explained before moving back to his original position, standing tall before Amber. His eyes still hadn’t left her once, and Amber was beginning to worry if he was just calculating a step to ending her life incredibly quickly, but she kept her cool. Her hazel eyes refused to leave his gray body beyond this point.

At his apology, Amber cocked her head to the side, almost puzzled as to why the tom would apologize for something that seemed so insignificant. She herself might’ve gotten too comfortable, sure, but she didn’t think it was anything the tom would have to worry about. She then mentally shrugged it off before continuing the conversation.

“You don’t need to apologize for that. I understand not trusting strangers, in fact I usually don’t converse with loners. You haven’t done anything though, and I don’t see the point in being hostile towards you when you’ve been just fine.” Amber took in another breath, her voice wavering as she spoke once more. “If.. anything… I’m a little startled by how calm you are. It’s odd, if I’m being truthful with you.”




His eyes studied her once more in silence, and instantly Amber knew she was transparent. It was very apparent that he was flustering her; not necessarily because she had an interest in him, but more so the fact she had never interacted with a cat outside of her clan one on one. She stuck to her clan mates and kept her friend circle very small She was introverted, and awkward without a social crutch; a friend beside her while she was interacting with an unfamiliar individual.

“Well, I never fight. You should never fight when words alone will do.” The tom said in his usual calm tone, his tail slowly lowering and relaxing as he let down his guard. He finally seemed to be calming down, despite Amber being flustered and confused to no end. When the word odd left Amber’s maw, he looked forward at her, a small grin dancing across his muzzle. “Odd, huh? That’s a new one, but I suppose a clan cat would be in their right as to what to think of a loner. That doesn’t mean you aren’t missing something, though.” He said as his grin widened.

At his comment about being odd, Amber decided to quickly correct herself, stuttering and stumbling over her own words. “W-well.. I mean.. Odd compared to the other loners I’ve seen. You yourself are not odd, as an individual at least. It’s just.. how calm you are with me is something I haven't seen with a loner before.” She hoped her explanation would offend him less, or just distract him from the fact she was still flustered.

“I would call myself odd. I wouldn't compare myself to most loners, at least.” The tom agreed, speaking abruptly after she was done talking. Amber looked forward at him, forming an awkward smile across her muzzle before she began to speak.

“Well, regardless of whether or not you believe you’re odd, I’m just glad to have someone to talk to.” Amber spoke softly. She was thankful that the words coming out of her muzzle were at least somewhat understandable; after all, her thoughts might as well have been a bunch of cats screaming war cries in her head. The words slung across her head inconsistently, forming hardly comprehendable strings of words.

“I’m glad some clan cats are still reasonable,” the gray tom commented, his voice laced with grimace. More familiar silence was exchanged between the two before a glint of curiosity shone through his hazel eyes before he broke the silence with a question. “Did you leave your clan on your own? Or did they make you?”

Amber sighed at the question, shaking her head at the fact her clan scent gave away that she was in a clan. Admittedly, she didn’t want to talk about the subject, but she also didn’t want to scare away her one potential ally.
“That’s a bit of a story. I’ll tell it though. Just.. might want to get comfy with your mouse.” She said with a soft smile as she took a seat on her haunches, taking in another breath. The tom’s eyes lingered on her lashing tail, which distracted him from grasping his mouse as he nodded his head, silently urging her to speak.

Amber took a moment to collect her thoughts, sighing softly. To think she was going to stay with those cats for the rest of her life, only to be kicked out because of her blood, it was a bizarre concept. One that seemed cowardly of Wolfstar. After a moment of gathering her messy thoughts, she spoke.

“Well. I guess this is just the brief gist of it. I was brought into the clan when I was about two moons, since my mother abandoned me and just.. left me in the forest.” She huffed out in disgust, hating the discussion of her mother. “I was saved by a warrior on patrol who argued it was against warrior code to let me die, since some of them knew my leader wasn’t fond of loners, kit or not.” She paused for a moment, wincing as she discussed the matter before continuing.

The tom then sat down before Amber, listening to her story intently. His paw continued to idly mess with the mouse, his tail having relaxed and lay against the ground. When he took a seat, Amber held back a sigh of relief.

She had been tense when he still stood while she sat; it left Amberpaw in a state of vulnerability. A state that he could've taken advantage of and struck her if he so desired. However, the tom didn't seem like the type to simply ambush. He was calm, laid-back, and gave off a welcoming, silently troubled aura;

But as she had found out from her clan mates just tossing her out of the clan, any cat was capable of long-term deception to draw a cat's hopes on for long periods of time. He didn't seem like the type to do that though, no, no. After these thoughts, she continued her story, her tail flicking back and forth in agitation.

“My leader then made a decision regarding me. The night after I became a warrior and sat vigil, I was to leave the following morning. All because I did not have warrior blood. It’s foolish, quite frankly. I promised to honor the code and such, and here I am.” She growled out in annoyance, her head hanging low after her explanation.

The tom’s brows furrowed in silent confusion, the rest of his face remaining in it’s normal stoic, and untouchable structure. “Really? Isn't family supposed to be important? I suppose if you weren't born into it..." His voice trailed off as he pawed at the mouse between his paws.

At the mention of the word family, Amber perked up. Not necessarily out of excitement, but the curiosity she wielded herself, since she had never met either of her parents.

“Well, you see.. the cat who brought me to the clan actually found me while she was on a hunting patrol. It was leaf-bare. She told me I was near death when she found me, and according to warrior code, a kit can't be left in danger if found. She picked me up and took me back to the clan. She told me that once she talked to the leader of the clan, she took me to a nursing queen, who only had one other kit at the time. I'm.. guessing the agreements to kick me out at this point were made when she presented me to the leader."

The tom listened in silence, his eyes having remained on Amber the entire time. “Not all clans are like that.” The tom said in a forced reassuring tone. “Well, a lot are. It's pretty normal for them to shun loners and rogues, as I'm sure you learned growing up.”

Amber tilted her head at his last comment before shaking her head. “The others, at least aside from Wolfstar, supported me despite where I came from. I wasn't clan-born, I was an abandoned kit, presumably the product of two loners. But they still treated me as if I was one of them, one that shared their warrior blood.”

The tom then rose to his paws, sighing softly as he pushed the mouse towards the she-cat. “Do you want this? Talking always makes me want to walk or hunt.” Amber looked down at the mouse, her eyes widening. The mouse had only made her just realize something. The entirety of her run, she hadn’t once stopped to eat or drink. The thought mortified her; the fact she went from being organized and very particular about how much she drank or ate to forgetting to do so entirely horrified her. The abandonment by her clan had drastically changed her schedule.

She kept her conflict internal as she gently took the mouse, quietly whispering. “Thank you. Once I eat this, we can start walking around.”

“Excellent,” the tom remarked, pacing back and forth excitedly as he watched Amber quickly scarf the mouse down, raising to her paws. “I’m not from here, do you have any idea where we could find a source of water?” The tom asked, glancing in each direction of the forest.

“Not sure, but water has a distinct smell when it’s near grass. Let’s get a move on.” She said, raising to her paws before following after the tom, looking around the forest in silence.

[dimi.]

Amber and the nameless silver tom walked together in silence for a few minutes, each cat occasionally sniffing to see if any sources of water were nearby. Amber broke the silence with another comment about water, her mind seeming to be wandering elsewhere.

“Water has an oddly relaxing smell. It’s sort of why I like rain so much.” Amber said with a soft smile, her hazel eyes surveying the terrain before her. Her nostrils slightly flared as she took in a deep inhale of air from each direction. However, the smell of water alluded her, her hazel eyes drifting back to meet the back of the tom’s head. He walked slightly ahead of her, seeming to be taking on leading the two through the forest, as he was more experienced than Amber was herself. Without glancing back, the tom replied to her.

“I agree. Rain is… cleansing.” The tom commented, eyeing each direction of the forest warily as he let out a quiet sigh beneath his breath. Out of habit, Amber glanced up at the sky, her eyes narrowing slightly as she peered between the thick leaves. She was looking up at the sky, which was a light blue, lacking any sort of clouds or sun cover. She smiled at the nature, for it was still beautiful even when she was distraught.

“The rain really is nice,” Amber started, turning her head towards the tom. “Especially when it’s just light rainfall. The kind that won’t leave your pelt a dripping mess, but you can still see and hear it tapping against the ground.” Amber closed her eyes briefly, imagining the sounds she was describing in her head, her ears flicking anxiously. Her nose then flared again, and soon she opened her eyes. She had a faint smell of water in her nose, coming from directly ahead of them.

Amber stretched her body upward, utilizing her longer legs to peer over the tom’s head, since he was slightly taller than her. She then squinted, eyeing what appeared to be a crystalline body of water several meters ahead of them. “I think I see something,” Amber cooed out, gesturing to the body of water in the distance.
The tom’s gaze shifted in the direction Amber was looking, his head nodding in acknowledgment. “Looks like it. It smells like it, too.” The tom commented, his nose twitching as he took in the scent of water ahead. His pace began to slow as the two slowly approached the river, his gaze shifting in each direction. The tom was on the lookout for danger, primarily other clan cats or confrontational loners. Water was a popular site of trouble in the clans, since everyone needed it to live.

Clans would often fight over the right to own a body of water within their territory, with bloody battles that resulted in high death counts on both sides of the battle field. Amber noted his observation of the area around the river, appreciating the tom’s cautious nature. He had every right to be cautious, and she should have been on alert as well. After all, this was the forest Ebonypaw had been killed in, or so she thought.

The water ahead of them was barely deep enough to form a light shade of blue, the water of the stream rushing between stones that peeked up from beneath the surface. Small ripples formed in the stream from dragonflies bouncing against it and soaring away afterwards, the breezes that occasionally came by intensifying the current within the stream. The tom’s ears would flick at the slightest sound, whether it be a drip of water or birds chirping from above. He almost seemed paranoid, Amber thought.

The two approached the stream, standing before it in silence for a moment, the two still observing the area surrounding it, studying the landscape. On their side of the stream, the forest was dense, with trees side by side. On the other side of the stream, however, the trees grew more scarce, appearing to be more farmland or grassland like.

The tom’s nose twitched again, the scent of a feline clouding his nose. However, the scent was weak, and he assumed it had came from a cat merely walking through, or that the trees on the other side of the river were border marked by another clan. The tom turned towards the cream tabby behind him, speaking softly.

“Border invitation on the other side of the river. Perhaps they’re recruiting?” He commented, warily thinking about the fact that the she-cat beside him was a brand new loner. She would most likely have preferred the clan life.

When Amber approached the river, she glanced at herself in the water. A few strands of fur on her ears stuck up, so she lapped her paw and grazed it over her ears, slicking her fur back. At the mention of a clan across the stream, her ears went back, her eyes widening.


The idea of joining a clan so quickly after she had been exiled was an idea that terrified, yet comforted Amber all at once. Having another group of cats to watch her back sounded nice enough, sure. Who’s to say the cats across the river aren’t worse than her previous clan, though? What if they would throw her out in the same careless fashion, or even worse, bully and torment her within the clan. The thoughts were irrational, sure, but so was Howlclan exiling her because she didn’t wield warrior blood. She snapped out of these thoughts, addressing the tom as she leaned down to lap at the stream’s surface.

“Perhaps we can cross over and see what’s up over there.” She suggested, glancing at the tom from the corner of her eye. “Then again, it might be a bit of a risk. You don’t seem to mind risks though.” She said with a playful smirk as she went back to drinking from the stream. The tom had watched her fix up her fur, slightly arching a brow. Amber didn’t appear quiet rugged to him, and found no point in her grooming her fur. He was more well equipped than other loners, so naturally he found time to make himself look presentable.

He stood in the water, the water cool against his paws. The stream wasn’t quite deep enough for any swimming, but was certainly deep enough for fish to swim through. The tom’s hazel eyes turned to Amber, followed by a question.

“Amber, did you learn how to fish in your past clan?” The tom asked, his voice laced with curiosity. He had learned how to do so in his past clan, but was unsure if the type of hunting was taught in other clans as well. Many cats seemed to hate the smell of fish after it being outside after being hunted, but it was one of the tom’s favorable meals.

Her ears perked at the question, her eyes lighting up as she turned to the tom, nodding her head. “Well, I wasn’t exactly taught by my mentor. You see, I’m pretty fond of the taste of fish, but I could never catch it, so I just practiced myself. I’m self taught at fish hunting.” She smiled, beaming with pride.

The tom nodded his head, turning his attention back to the area across the stream. He then turned his attention back to the topic of clans, making a remark."In my experience, most clans just want to scare loners from their borders. But some of them will try to start a fight. I'm generally inclined to talk my way out. Usually by lying, but fights aren't worth it." He shrugged as he stepped out of the stream, coming to the conclusion that no fish were present within it at the moment.

“Now, if we intentionally enter their territory...especially with fresher scent markings like this...then we are asking for a fight. But that would require them to find us first." The tom said, looking ahead of them.
He concluded that he had no reason himself to go through, but their journey would be swifter if they were to go through the clan, rather than around its entire territory. When he began to discuss the ways clans treated loners, her ears flicked in his direction as she turned to him, sitting on her haunches.

“Since I've been a clan cat as far back as I can remember, I don't know much about being in the perspective of a loner. Although, my clan did have to scare off this one loner who frequently messed with our clan. I think he had a thing for our leader. My clan, however, actually never fought with loners unless they took the first strike, since loners aren't exactly tended to frequently, and wounds from them can get infected more quickly. Well.. according to some medicine cats I talked to at gatherings." Amber silently acknowledged how odd and, quite frankly, stupid the thing she had just said was.

The gray tom let out a laugh, almost scoffing at what Amber had said. “You don't honestly believe that do you? Sounds like a poor excuse for a poor healer. Disease is one thing, but I'm not infected just because I live on my own. That's the sort of story that keeps kit's brainwashed," the tom spat. While he seemed more aggressive, there was a hint of humor to his remark, layered beneath the harshly spoken words. Her face began to radiate heat as she looked away, grumbling beneath her breath.

"I didn't say I believed it.. I said it was just what multiple medicine cats told me. I was young and naive, sure. I didn't believe it, but it's always at the back of mind in the case scenario that it is real." She said with a slight emphasis on the word "is". The cream tabby then grew puzzled, looking at the tom in silence for a moment, seeming to be staring. She was unsure if the tom was trying to be humorous, or if he was just so offended he couldn’t maintain a consistent enough tone for her to determine.

The tom’s eyes then lit up as he turned to her. “You still smell like a clan cat, we can use that to our advantage. You can say that your clan was attacked by a rogue pack, and you scared me, a poor, lowly loner into taking you to my leader so you can exact your revenge. Or you can just say you’re on a mission to Starclan. Either of those things works.” Amber’s gaze shifted at the mention of Starclan, her eyes narrowing.

“The loner path seems more logical, in my opinion. Plus, I’m not particularly fond of Starclan right now.” She muttered beneath her breath, her hazel eyes narrowing. She stared in no direction in particular, her tail flicking in agitation slightly. Her loathing of Starclan was derived from the fact that she wasn’t warned she was going to be abandoned, however, the tom was unaware of this, simply shrugging off Amber’s comment before speaking.

“Alright then. Lead the way, my dear captor.” The tom cooed out jokingly, crouching his body to the ground to appear smaller and weak, maintaining a fake limp. The two then began to move along the stream, walking beside each other. “So, Amber, do you have a destination in mind? Or are we just out here enjoying the journey?” The tom asked.

Amber took a few steps forward in silence, her hazel eyes peering around, surveying the terrain before her. “No, I don’t have a particular destination. Quite frankly, I was just going to keep following this stream and hope whatever was at the end of it didn’t kill me.” She remarked jokingly, eyeing the tom’s meek position. He looked convincing enough, so much so that Amber questioned how many times the tom had put on this act. “And if you keep acting like that, I think this trip will be a peaceful one.”

A pause was shared, followed by Amber’s claws slightly dragging against the ground. “Although, if a good fight were to present itself to me right now, I can’t say I would decline it with my current state of mine.” She said with a forced laugh. “Anyway, let’s get a move on.” The cream tabby pressed ahead, a long sigh drawing out from her.

[dimi.]

The silver tom and the cream tabby continued to walk beside each other, following the path of the stream. They had walked for a few minutes in silence, with a minimal amount of conversation being shared between the two. The tom briefly came to a stop, sniffing the air briefly. He then froze, looking over at Amber. He then began to speak, making sure his voice was quiet.

“This border crosses over. It reeks, there was a fresh patrol.” He softly murmured as he began to move forward, followed by Amber. The two had began to make their steps more cautious in hopes of remaining quiet and not drawing any sort of undesirable attention to themselves. The two swiftly moved past the sort of warning sign the border served as, the tom appearing to be a bit more frightened and concerned than Amber herself.

Amber eyed the tom as he limped, letting out a soft sigh. She couldn’t help but instinctively feel bad for the tom. She knew the limp was fictitious, but couldn’t help but feel bad, eyeing his leg. The tom looked back at Amber, catching her eyeing his leg. “You look too convincing.” Amber commented with a soft laugh. The tom then shrugged, speaking to Amber calmly.




“It's less a lie and more like...a memory. Pretending to be less capable and as forgettable as possible gives you better odds no one will care enough to pay you more attention than they think you are worth.” Amber cocked her head to the side curiously at this sentence, looking back down at his leg. She noticed the scarring, and nodded her head. He had been injured there before, and had specifically chosen to limp on this leg since he knew what it looked and felt like.

She nodded her head in understanding, the motion somewhat absent minded. The scent of the clan cats was growing more prominent, and Amberstar knew they were intentionally heading for trouble. The tom beside her was just hoping to see how far they could get away with it. Clan cats always tended to fight the loners, or at the very least threaten them. He got a kick out of seeing their reactions when he lied to get through territories he didn’t quite belong in.

Amber stopped before a line of bushes, studying each one. The tom stepped beside her, speaking quietly.

“These bushes aren’t thick enough for a clan. There must be a patrol on the other side, perhaps three cats.” He peered between the leaves of the bush, swearing he had seen a fluffy tail of sorts. Amber peered over the bush, her eyes managing to catch briefly glances of each cat. She then landed back on her paws silently, turning towards the tom.

“My glance wasn’t too good. I saw three cats, and one looks slightly smaller than the others, most likely an apprentice.” Amber whispered, slowly backing up to his side in a crouch. The tom watched Amber, silently lost in her tail, which swished back and forth rapidly. He nodded his head idly, listening as Amber began to speak again.

“In the case scenario that we are attacked by them, do not be loud about it.” The cream tabby began with a soft sigh. “It'll draw attention to us, and it will be more than just three on two, it'll become more, possibly four on two. I have minimal fighting knowledge and experience because I am fresh out of training.. I won't be able to handle much more than maybe three cats.” She said reluctantly, silently thinking about how weak she seemed. “However.. You are a loner, you are bound to have more knowledge than me. But please, only kill them if it is absolutely necessary for either of our survival, promise?" She looked at the tom in the eyes, wanting a straight answer.

The tom stiffly nodded his head, taking in each of the words the cream tabby uttered. “I promise.” Amber then smiled at him before shaking her head, deciding it was time to get into character. She took in a sharp breath, her gaze in the tom’s direction suddenly scornful. Her eyes were filled with hatred; a look that a captor would give to their captive when they pissed them off. That as the exact look she was aiming for.
When the tom was met with a scornful gaze, he began to shrink, focusing on his character. A weak rogue being taken to his leader for the cream tabby beside him to exact revenge on. He returned to limping, staying close, but not too close to Amber. He could feel the confidence radiating off the she-cat as they stepped out into the dirt path clearing before the patrol of three warriors. He slinked behind Amber, eyeing the cats warily.

Amber would occasionally ram against the tom, causing him to stagger, wanting her approach to seem aggressive enough so the cats didn’t catch onto the fact they were actually allies. When they emerged from the corner, Amber looked at the three warriors in silence, studying each one. Her nose twitched in each direction, taking in each of their individual aromas. She made herself familiar with them before she began to study the features of each feline.

The first cat, which was to the right, was a fully ginger tom. The shade of ginger on his pelt was somewhat dark, with no other color present. He had striking yellow eyes, which matched his bright pelt perfectly. The cat to the right was a brown marbled tabby, dark brown stripes swirling across his pelt like wind. Amber couldn’t see the color of that cat’s eyes, as their eyes were narrowed in suspicion, so much so the color of their eyes was blocked out.

The apprentice, who was standing challengingly between the two warriors, was a fully black apprentice with bright green eyes. His black pelt reminded Amber of Ebonypaw, which worried her, but she kept her focus, looking at the apprentice. To her surprise, the apprentice leapt forward, growling as ferociously as a young feline could.

“Who are you?!” The apprentice hissed out, his eyes lingering between the tom and Amber. The warriors had decided to not say anything for the time being. When the apprentice leapt forward and hissed, Wraith skittered behind Amber, peering at the ferocious apprentice from beneath her, eyeing the other warriors warily. Amber, however, simply leaned down, getting to eye level with the apprentice.

“You look a little tense.” Amber pointed out with a small smirk. The apprentice’s fur spiked, his claws unsheathed as he glared at the she-cat. “Are you perhaps.. Afraid of me?” The apprentice scoffed at the mark, shaking his head.

“Me? Afraid? Not me, nope!” The apprentice huffed out, puffing his chest outward to show off his “Strength”. Although she knew the apprentice’s actions were just an act, she played along with the scheme, speaking confidently.



“You’re a fine apprentice, dear.” Her hazel eyes then shifted their focus to the adult cats of the group. She looked over each of them, seeing if either of them appeared to be afraid. The two both lacked emotion as they stared at Amber. The two were unmoving, with the exception of the orange tom moving as he tensed, who then chimed in.

“You heard my apprentice. Who are you two?” The ginger tom’s voice was laced with suspicion as Amber turned to Wraith, ramming against him to knock him forward.

“Do you care to explain, foxbrain?” She hissed out, her hazel eyes filled with hatred. The tom hesitantly looked down, his voice meek as he began to speak.

“The...band I belong to has a camp farther east this way,” he began, eyeing Amber out of the corner of her eye, noting her scornful gaze upon him.

“And? What’s your point?” The ginger tom hissed out, seeming to be suspicious.

“We attacked her clan.” He continued, looking back at Amber fully. “Unsuccessfully.” He added, seeming to be ashamed of his failure. “But my leader escaped in the midst of the battle and I...wouldn't rather not be maimed..." The tom whispered, gesturing in the direction of Amber, who looked enraged.

“And,” the tom began, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you two in our borders?” The ginger tom asked, turning to address Amber herself.

As the ginger tom addressed her, Amber's eyes shifted to meet his. She sat up straight before him, her tone a respective, yet bold one.

"We are simply passing through. This.. meek tom has stated the leader of his band of cats is just north of here. We will not be touching prey or marking any territory in our passing, he is simply taking me to where I can find the tom who caused the ambush on my clan. I'm from a clan a few miles south of here." She said, turning her head in the direction she meant. "We live in the mountains, we're a clan called Hazeclan. Make my scent familiar to you, if that would make you feel more comfortable. I'm not in the mood to fight, and you seem to not want to as well." Her once confident tone had turned to reasoning with the tom, in hopes of avoiding a fight.

The apprentice let out another hiss in the direction of the tom, which he swiftly returned. He may have been acting weak, but he wasn’t going to act entirely helpless, especially when a cat several moons younger than him was treating him poorly.

After a moment, the apprentice suddenly lunged for the tom, the patrol immediately bursting into unpredictable chaos.

[dimi.]

The moment the apprentice lunged for the silver tom, he leapt to the side, dodging the strike. He landed between the ginger tom and Amber, watching as the ginger tom rose his paw up to strike, followed by a snarl to back his apprentice.

The moment Amber saw the apprentice’s advance for the tom, she let out a loud hiss. Her eyes had lit up in anger, her claws all unsheathing in sync as she eyed the tom. She glanced between the ginger and the gray tom, silently debating on shoving the gray tom out of the way and just dealing with the ginger herself. However, she had a better idea; perhaps if she were to thrash his little apprentice around, he would take his attention off of the other tom and put it on her.

Amber peered over the blue tom, who was crouched before her, her eyes piercing over his spine to eye the ginger tom. She then let out a low hiss, slowly making her way forward and around the gray tom, speaking coldly. “We tried to be civil with you clan folk,” she began, a glint of hatred shining through her hazel eyes, which were ignited with rage, primarily directed at the apprentice. “However..” She then turned her head towards the apprentice, smirking slightly. “Your little apprentice here is too.. Fiery. Perhaps I will teach him some manners.”

With her goal being to take the attention off of the tom, she moved to the side, eyeing the apprentice in a silent warning. She then suddenly advanced onto the apprentice, tackling him to the ground. The black apprentice let out a loud yip, looking back at his mentor pitifully, his emerald green eyes clouded with fear. Amber looked down at the apprentice, smirking tauntingly before leaping off, allowing the apprentice to get up. She then snapped forward, grabbing him by the scruff. She lifted him off the ground, the apprentice letting out a cry as Amber thrashed to the side, gaining momentum before tossing the apprentice, aiming to strike the ginger tom.

The ginger tom, however, wasn’t falling for Amber’s ruse, and leapt forward. He made his way towards the blue tom swiftly, the closest of the two opponents. The ginger tom was larger than the tom, and even larger than Amber. The blue tom silently hoped the ginger would target him instead. Amber was a warrior fresh out of training, while he had over a years worth of fighting experience beneath his pelt. It wouldn’t make sense for Amber to be the one to address the largest feline of the attacking group.


The blue tom narrowly dodged the ginger feline’s attempt at a strike, rolling across the ground swiftly. The ginger tom then landed atop him, pinning him down from his belly, also restraining his fore paws. The blue tom swung his hind legs outward, his claws raking through the feline’s long fur as he shoved the ginger tom off, leaping to his paws. His hazel eyes returned to the ginger tom in time to see him standing back up, glaring at him.

The apprentice had only began to make the notion to stand, his legs wobbly as he picked himself up off the ground. He turned his head in the direction of Amber, shaking out his pelt as a low hiss erupted from her. Amber’s claws dragged across the ground, a silent warning for the apprentice that if we was to dare get near her, he would be met with sharp claws. Her hazel eyes, filled with undeniable rage, glanced in the direction of the ginger tom.

She observed the scuffle between her silver friend and the ginger tom, silently debating on whether or not to join their fight. The ginger tom’s size was daunting to her, and she found it shocking that the tom was fighting him off with ease. However, she knew that she would be unprepared for a fight; after all, she had only just been made a warrior. To challenge that ginger tom would be sentencing herself to death.

The cream tabby took in a sharp, long breath, looking at the two toms fighting once more before she forced herself to have faith in her allie’s abilities. She swiftly spun back around, zoning in her focus on the other older cat of the group, the brown marbled she-cat. At this point, the apprentice had grown to be a nuisance, a fly to be batted. Around. Another adult cat, however, could change the entirety of the fight, and which side won.

Amber sheathed her claws for a moment, beginning to dart towards the she-cat with a running start. She ran in an erratic zig zag pattern, the she-cat’s head winging left and right as she tried to pick up on a rhythm from Amber’s unpredictable movements. When their faces were merely a couple tail’s-lengths apart, Amber sprang into the air, pushing her weight downward to pin the she-cat down, standing atop her back.

The brown marbled tabby beneath her thrashed wildly, causing Amber to have some serious problems keeping her down and under control. Amber decided to let the she-cat go, leaping forward, landing in front of her. She then swung back around, turning to face the apprentice, who looked shaken as the two warriors were both in combat, and he stood between the two scuffles. Amber stood in silence for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she eyed the apprentice. She thought that if she could draw attention to the fact that their apprentice was going to be hurt, and left at the sidelines of the battle, perhaps she could give a crucial opening to herself or the blue tom in the fight.

She nodded her head idly out of habit, making her way forward towards the apprentice. Her maw was parted, her eyes locking on his scruff, her eyes glinting in mischief.

Meanwhile, the ginger tom had began to rush towards the blue tom. The blue tom leapt upward to meet him, the two baring fangs in each other’s faces. They wrapped their forepaws around each other, their claws rippling through each other’s pelts. The blue tom’s ears flattened to his head as he abruptly went for the side of the ginger’s neck, which was a seemingly predictable strike as the ginger tom moved his head out to the side swiftly to avoid the strike.

The two fell to the ground, with the ginger tom’s weight proving to be a disadvantage as he landed beneath the blue tom. The large ginger tom let out a loud yowl as the blue tom pinned him down. He attempted to swipe with his back legs, but the blue tom knew better, swiftly dodging the strikes. Suddenly, the ginger tom leaned in close, hissing beneath his breath.

“You’re not much of a fighter, are you runt?” The ginger tom hissed against the blue tom’s ear. The blue tom simply smiled at the comment. At this point, both of their pelts had grown matted with blood, the two exhausted with the scuffle that had lasted several minutes. The brown marbled she-cat came darting from the side, her head ramming against the blue tom’ shoulder, brutally knocking him off of the ginger. The blue tom had already been moving, narrowly avoiding the she-cat’s fangs.

The ginger tom had rushed him once more a second later, and it took every fiber in the blue tom’s body to not run away. He had realized he was no longer alone, and he knew he couldn’t leave Amber, a brand new warrior, behind to take down these warriors herself. He then realized one thing; they were going to have to take out one of the fighters in this battle. The blue tom swung his paw up to meet the ginger tom’s face when he was in range, his claws hooking in the bit of flesh between the tom’s nose and mouth, raking to the side to form a deep gash.

Just before the blue tom was going to land atop the ginger once more, the brown marble she-cat intervened, sending the three tumbling into the grass in a massive heap. However, the blue tom quickly rose to his paws, shaking off the pain before leaping for the dazed she-cat, landing upon her. His claws dug into the she-cat’s side, pinning her to the ground, his jaws unhinged as he stared down at her. The she-cat squirmed desperately beneath the blue tom, resulting in the blue tom’s pressure going more intense. The she-cat’s eyes drifted upward to the ginger tom, a weak word emerging from her.

“Please.” She begged, but not towards the blue tom, towards the ginger tom.

Amber had lunged for the apprentice just a couple meters behind them, her fangs burrowing into the apprentice’s tender nape, which was followed by a loud yowl as he was lifted off the ground aggressively. She jerked her head to the left, her jaw unhinging to release the apprentice, his body colliding with the ginger tom. The weight of the apprentice knocked the ginger tom over, giving Amber an open moment to leap upon the ginger tom’s back, her claws raking both of his shoulders in hopes of rendering him useless. When the she-cat plead, her head lifted up, her hazel eyes glinting in curiosity.

“What are you pleading for?” The cream tabby began, arching a brow. “You instigated this fight. We were merely trying to pass, and you guys decided to escalate it.” She glanced down at the ginger tom. “You and your parade of.. Warriors decided to interrupt our casual passing. Now tell me, what are you pleading for?” Her claws began to dig into the ginger tom’s shoulders scornfully, a soft groan emerging from him.

“Cedarspike, please stop fighting,” the she-cat pleaded once more as the ginger tom thrashed beneath Amber. The ginger tom reluctantly obeyed and stopped thrashing, resulting in Amber stepping off, moving back towards the blue tom. Once the ginger tom was back on his feet, he glared at Amber and the blue tom, a sharp command emerging from his maw.

“You two are to leave immediately. Otherwise, I’ll have the whole clan on your backside.” He growled out before moving back towards the she-cat and the apprentice, who now had a slight limp. “Go.” The ginger tom growled out, dismissing the blue tom and Amber.

"We will leave, just as we intended to in the first place." Amber said in a cold tone, her hazel eyes locking with the ginger tom's. "However, let me give you a word advice for the future. When dealing with loners, don't threaten to have the whole clan come after them. It makes you look weak and like you can't fend for yourself. Farewell." Amber then turned away from the ginger tom, her tail flicking over to gently coil around part of the blue tom’s back, guiding him to follow her away from the group.

They crossed the dirt path, no words exchanged between the two of them as they made their way out of the territory.