Chapter One

Noticed

Stormfur’s words broke into my limp. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked. My green eyes met his amber ones as I nodded steadily.

“I will be, but it just stings like mouse-bile tastes like, after the burdock root…Good job, by the way, Squirrelpaw.” I nodded towards the ginger she-cat, who mewed absentmindedly back to her before hissing at Crowpaw.

As Stormfur plodded on ahead, my heart beat a little bit faster, yet I didn’t notice.

“Apprentices,” Meowed Feathertail from behind, which I responded to with a:

“You’ve got that right. Hey, Brambleclaw, it’s getting darker. Shouldn’t we find a place to rest for the night?”

“Maybe we should keep going…We want to meet Midnight.” My brother cast a glance at my shoulder, as well as my heavy limp, before shaking his head.

“Look at the kit, young’un.” Purdy mewed. Purdy usually called us kits, and on the best of days, young’uns. I knew what was going through his mind. He wanted the old tom to go get a life. But something else was going on in my own mind.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I keep hearing those words…I know I feel something for Stormfur, I have for a while, but does he

“Fine, I guess we’ll stop…” Purdy had persuaded Brambleclaw. As we took a left, I spotted some tree cover. And moss. “Guys! Over there!” I tried to run, but fell. “Ow!” I winced, and mewed sharply.

Stormfur bounded up. “Need a paw?”

I nodded, and I got up, leaning on him. I felt like I was floating on a cloud, but not exactly Cloud Nine. Maybe Cloud Five or something, because I didn’t really know how I felt about him. Yet. But he did support me all the way to the make-shift nests.

That night, it was shapeless dreams for a while. I ended up chasing Stormfur down a long path, but never yet catching him…

I woke with a start. Feathertail stood over me, pressing wet moss to my forehead. “You were mewing madly in your sleep…”

“Mewing my name.” Stormfur added from across the clearing. Yet he didn’t look angry or confused, only slightly fazed, looking into the distance…or through my eyes.

“What was that, earlier?” Stormfur asked me, as he was, once again, supporting me as we walked along the mountain pass with Purdy and the rest of our friends.

“I don’t know…it was just a dream that I don’t remember, as usual.” I often wake up having no recollection of my dreams…but this time I was lying. I didn’t want Stormfur to know I possibly felt something for him, well, maybe I did, but not for a while.

He shrugged it off, and I almost lost my balance. “Whoops, sorry.” He swiped my ear quickly with his tongue. The spot felt all tingly now, and we walked along in silence, I lost in thought.

What am I going to say when it comes down to it? It may be sooner than I would think… I was a pessimist. I’d always been like that, thinking the worst was about to happen, and from time-to-time, I was right.

“Well,” Meowed my brother, “what are we going to do to get over this?” We stood at the edge of the mountain passage, where there was a gap, large, but not enormous, to the other side.

“Jump, that’s what!” Crowpaw put in. For once, Squirrelpaw mewed her agreement.

But Feathertail had something to say. “What about Tawnypelt? With her shoulder, she couldn’t jump that far.”

I had to agree with my friend’s words, and was about to put in my two mousetails, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure soar to the other edge.

“Crowpaw!” Stormfur and Brambleclaw gasped, slightly annoyed, almost in unison.

“Well, now we all have to jump, it’s too risky to ask Crowpaw to jump back.” Brambleclaw pointed out, when I was about to call to the apprentice.

Squirrelpaw was already in the air, landing neatly, and when she did, she sat down, licking a paw smugly.

Brambleclaw followed suit, and then Stormfur. Feathertail was to go last, just in case anything happened and someone had to jump back. That meant it was my turn.

I leapt as high and with as much power as I could into the sky, but I fell short. My claws scraped rock as I tried to find a hold. I knew this was the end. I want to tell Stormfur that…

Suddenly, strong teeth grabbed me. I was sure it was Brambleclaw. But the eyes I met were amber, not green. I swear I mouthed: My savior. As I was put down gently, Feathertail had landed and had begun to make a fuss. And Stormfur? He just…walked away.

N/A: Good chapter? Boring? Something-or-other? I want reviews—I liked the ones I got last chapter! Anyway, I was being lazy and didn’t want to go dig through my room to find Moonrise (or maybe it’s at school…?), so I just kind of mentally re-created it. You guys can be my editors and see if the sequence of events is right. Anyway, the second chapter will be called Insomnia, and it will be situated when they get to the Tribes. Yes, I do skip time here, it makes it more interesting…Just a little side-note, I’ve started working on the sequel to this, called Choice. And guess what? It’ll be in Stormfur’s POV! Anyone who wants a preview can e-mail me.