[Abyss]

ASHPAW

Gorgeclan Apprentice

The camp rebuilding had been underway for a little while. Dens were pretty well fortified from what he could tell, they had a relatively good kill pile going, and the thought of any creature trying to invade through those sharp thorns made him almost laugh. The clan had been working consistently during it all, but that meant they needed more food all the time. The pile would look fine one minute, and then be low the next. More work meant more hunger.

That was part of the reason that they had been sent out here. The clan needed as much food as possible. What better way to build up a bigger collection than to send particular cats out with the goal of catching as many as they could. There were plenty of Apprentices that kept their roles when Gorgeclan merged together. Being in the tribe had definitely put a damper on any sort of training.

Ashpaw could almost feel the effects of it. Nearly 20 moons old and he hadn’t earned his Warrior name yet. He didn’t blame anyone else for it, though. It wasn’t as if any ceremonies were being held when they were up in the mountains. And it wasn’t like doing any training up there would have really helped, since in the end that wasn’t the land they would be hunting on the daily when the time came. Despite all that they had missed out on as a clan, ceremonies or training or otherwise, there still felt as though there was a shift in the wind once the clan began to fortify the camp.

A lot of older Apprentices were being sent out more often, cats were getting their skills back up in all that they had lost, and it almost always felt like he had eyes on him. He wasn’t sure whether that last part was good or bad, but he felt like there was something coming. Something important.

Maybe all of the older Apprentices are going to get made into Warriors soon.

A smaller thought crossed his mind, but just as quickly as it appeared, he pushed it away.

Maybe I will be made one…

He couldn’t deny that he was hopeful. But was he even ready for it? Was he skilled enough to be a Warrior the clan could depend on? Was he ready to be on his own without a mentor anymore? Was he even worthy of being named a Warrior in front of his family? For just a moment, the ashy tom thought back to his grandfather, thinking of all the times he had been compared to the late tom. Somehow he doubted that he was, but he could only hope that he was half the cat that Nightpetal had hoped he would be.

Ashpaw’s paws came to a stop, peering at the woodlands around him. It was still a strange feeling, being surrounded by trees. If he remembered correctly, the rockier territory that he had once been used to wasn’t too far away. But he had asked to come here. He wanted to learn how to hunt in the shadows of the trees just as he had in the shadows of the boulders. He was determined to catch as much as he could. And, if the extremely subtle suspicions he had in the back of his head were right, maybe this hunting trip into the woods would be special. Something he needed to succeed in.

His amber-orange eyes peered behind him at where his brightly-colored mentor stood. He wanted to make Cloudtail proud. He wanted to be a cat that his mentor could say he taught well. The two of them had come a long way from when they were first assigned together. The white tom had always been so prickly and harsh with his words. Now, a part of Ashpaw was extremely thankful that they had grown closer over his moons as an Apprentice. His mentor wasn’t nearly as pushy or snappy as he once was.

“Should we split up? I know you said we need to catch as much as we can.”

• Friends are happy for me or they're honey-suckle phonies, then they celebrate my metals or they wanna take my trophies •

683

Jos

[Jos]

CLOUDTAIL .:. SC

The merge was very difficult for Cloudtail. He was able to be more accepting of other clans and the tribe while they were refugees in the mountains because he thought life would go back to normal. He wouldn’t have to tolerate all the different, obnoxious quirks. But the clan merger was Cloudtails worst nightmare come true. He remembered having a conversation with Birdstar about letting outsiders into the clan, and being horrified that his brother—his leader—would suggest such a thing. How could they possibly integrate non-clan cats into the clan, how could the ever be loyal to the clan? And with the clans merging into three, how would cats react if they had to fight their former clanmates, or their kin? He worried about that, every night since the merging.



But it surprised him to realize that he wasn’t worried about cats betraying the clan, but about how having to fight kin and former clanmates would make his clanmates feel. Before now, cats were born into their clans, which made their clans their kin. Literally. Now many of his clanmates were strangers to him, and Cloudtail feared he would never be able to have the same relationship with them that he’d had with cats in Stoneclan. Although, Cloudtail wasn’t really known for having relationships, and in some way he knew that.



On top of all those worries, was Ashpaw. His apprentice was working so hard, and he was so deserving of his Warrior name. The only problem was that with Birdstar gone, and in the confusing that followed the earthquake, no apprentices had received their warrior name. Ashpaw was 20 moons old, much too old for an apprentice, and it was no fault of his own. If anything, Cloudtail was to blame, he felt miserable for it.



The white warrior decided to take Ashpaw out on as many excursions as he could manage, and Gorgeclan needed more prey. Much, much more prey. So the toms went out on a hunting trip with one goal in mind: catch as much prey as possible.



“Should we split up? I know you said we need to catch as much as we can.”


Cloudtail flicked his tail, “Good idea. We can cover more ground that way and get a feel for which places have what kinds of prey. It will be difficult with this cold weather, but I’m sure you’ll find something. You’re as skilled a hunter as any warrior. It’s a pity we haven’t been able to do ceremonies yet. This mouse-dung of a situation has put everything on hold. What a burr in my tail!” he grumbled, clawing at the ground, “Anyway. We’ll stay in sight of each other, since there’s no telling if foxes or badgers had to relocate here too. Wouldn’t want to run into them, would we?”


He didn’t see Ashpaw as his apprentice anymore. This young cat was a warrior, and his equal. Cloudtail blinked at him, feeling a bit emotional. He would be forever grateful to Starclan that he hadn’t lost Ashpaw as well as Birdstar. “Which way do you think I should go?”

Abyss