Applefoot's Alliance chapter one

Seven moons later…

Applepaw yawned and stood up, staggering a bit as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her ears flicked up slightly as she realized it was almost time for the gathering. It was lightly raining and very cloudy outside. Unlike most cats who loved basking in the sunlight, Applepaw enjoyed the rain and clouds. The sun could never scorch her eyes through the gray sky, and rain water meant new growth in the forest. Her forest green eyes scanned the shelf of herbs lying about in the den. They narrowed in on a small pile of borage leaves. Hmm… I could have sworn there were more than just that amount last night! She searched the ground for any that could have blown away, but the ground was cool and clear of any leaves. She instantly stuck her head outside and spotted her siblings, Mudpaw and Hollypaw, scuffling in the wet dirt. Lately, they had been messing up her nest and den and always got away with it. She tried to explain to her parents, Rosefire and Redwing, but they just said they would grow out of it. Flicking droplets off her tail, she stepped outside the den. Tonight was the gathering, and she received the honor of going! Her siblings, however, did not. She purred with delight at the thought of her brother and sister stuck in camp dealing with the elder’s ticks. Her mentor, a cream and brown tom named Mallowfoot, beckoned her over from the other side of the camp. He was crouched over an apprentice named Shellpaw. When she approached, there was a long gash on Shellpaw’s side. Mallowfoot shook his head and meowed, “Shellpaw was swimming in the river when a sharp stone cut her. She’ll need supervision to make sure it doesn’t get infected.” Applepaw moaned inwardly. Mallowfoot was going to make her stay behind from the gathering to help babysit an apprentice!  She opened her jaws to argue when Mallowfoot stood up. “Applepaw, I am going to ask you to go to the gathering without me tonight. I want to observe Shellpaw, and I know how important going to the gathering is to you.” Applepaw’s toes tingled with excitement. “Are you serious?” she asked. When her mentor nodded with a warm smile, she raced around in a circle before trotting over to a group of cats who were waiting for Petalstar’s orders. The deputy, Maplesky, a ginger and cream tabby, was counting who would be going to the gathering. He spotted Applepaw as she walked over to the group. Maplesky glanced behind Applepaw towards Shellpaw and Mallowfoot, and curiously leaned down towards Applepaw. “Are Mallowfoot and Shellpaw alright? I thought they were coming to the gathering with us.” Applepaw dipped her head. “Shellpaw needs attention and Mallowfoot wants to supervise her. He said I could go by myself!” she cheerfully swished her tail. Maplesky twitched his ears and grinned, showing sharp fangs. “Well, I hope you enjoy your first time alone!” he blinked his warm yellow eyes at her and turned to Bluesnow, a senior warrior she-cat with a spotted coat.

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   Wind that Blows Swiftly jumped down from a flat rock. A strong gust of icy cold air almost knocked the pale brown tom off his paws. His darker flecks were barely visible through his wind-slicked pelt turned silver by the moon. His blue eyes scanned the small group he called his tribe mates. A tall brown and black she- cat with slanted but pretty blue eyes glanced back at him and loped towards him. “Hey, Wind, do you know if we’re stopping soon?” the she-cat drew a paw over her long ears. Her name was Ice that shatters in Summer. Wind shook his head, too exhausted to reply properly. Ice was his mother, yet she acted moons younger than she really was. The she-cat swiveled her head towards a gray and white speckled tom with a long tail and had lots of muscle. The tom looked asleep on his paws, with dark circles under his green eyes. Beside him was a she-cat, Wind’s sister, who was named Blossom that opens at Dawn, or Blossom. The she-cat had a grayish-pink pelt that resembled the rosy color of the clouds in the morning. His sister was propping up Wind’s father, the speckled tom called Stone where shadows hide. Ice looked once more at her son then padded up to her mate and daughter. Wind sighed and turned to look back, despite the elder’s warnings and the wind the threatened to snap his head all the way around. The mountains, his home for more than eight moons, looked like a pile of rubble. It had once been a thing of beauty, until the twolegs wanted to build a long tunnel through the mountain for their monsters. He and his tribe mates were forced to leave when half of the tribe, while trying to escape a rock-eating monster, had gotten trapped behind a rock slide. No cat knew what happened to them, all they knew was they couldn't go back. Wind and the other members of the tribe had been without a leader and a healer, and many could not make it all the way. According to the elders, there were other groups of cats who lived by the tiny lake in the distance. The lake did not seem so tiny now, because it had taken them a quarter moon to even get close to the territories of the strange new cats. The elders also told him that they had different ways and customs, and that we would have to adjust to them. Wind frowned. There were four clans, if he was correct. They were their only hope of survival, if they even let them come into their territory.