Honeypaw blinked to see hazel eyes staring at her. "Honeypaw," the soft voice called, "Goldstar will be training you today. She's waiting at the tunnel"

Late Dawn light shone on Acorncloud's pale brown pelt, making it sparkle but, although the light streamed at the hazel eyes, they didn't sparkle with anything. They looked dull and sleepless.

"Why Goldstar?" Honeypaw pondered aloud, stretching as she observed the den. Sunpaw's scent was stale while Chestnutpaw and what she supposed was Hollypaw's scent was more recent. I guess Sunpaw must've gone for the dawn patrol, She thought.

"I don't know," Acorncloud admitted, "Try to behave while she trains you"

Honeypaw's tail lashed. Try to behave!? What's that supposed to mean? She hissed to herself. As Acorncloud padded out of the hollow tree, Honeypaw looked at her fur. It was tangled with moss and stained with mud. She scowled, she didn't remember that being there before.

After what felt like moons of grooming, the apprentice walked out of the den to see a slightly impatient Goldstar tapping her paw against the ground. "Honeypaw" She said, smiling slightly when she saw her, "I'll be showing you the borders today"

The two she-cat's padded out of camp silently, making light pawprints as they went. After not saying a word for what felt like ages, Honeypaw said nervously, "I didn't do anything wrong did I?". She wanted to disappear, she kept asking stupid questions!

"No" Goldstar replied coolly, not looking back at her, "You went onto Deathclan territory by accident". Sunhigh heat was creeping through the air, only to be blown away by the breeze. Suddenly, the prophecy emerged in her mind, as if the breeze had carried it to her.

"If you get a prophecy, are you the chosen one?"

Goldstar stopped abruptly, Honeypaw almost slamming into her. "In a prophecy, there is no such thing as a main character. We all play a part" She said cautiously, clearly missing out a proper explanation, "Why?"

Honeypaw's eyes widened in panic, she hadn't thought about why. She kept her mouth shut.

-------------

The two cats padded towards a sparkling lake, probably filled to the brim with fish. Lakeclan is so lucky, Honeypaw thought with a pang on envy. It can't be difficult to catch fish, there's not many places to hide in the blue abyss. The sun shone everywhere, even through the thick layers of leaves in Deathclan territory.

"The Gathering is tomorrow" Goldstar said, wrapping her tail around her paws. Honeypaw looked up at the leader, who was practically glowing. Her golden, groomed pelt was shimmering as brightly as the lake and her emerald eyes blazed with an unknown emotion.

Honeypaw nodded eagerly. She knew it was Goldstar's choice if she took the apprentice to the gathering or not. Even though she had caught no prey, she hoped she could prove to the leader that it was worth bringing her

"Let's go hunting. I want to see how your hunting crouch has developed" Goldstar meowed, rising to her paws. Honeypaw nodded and closed her eyes. Not only could she hear the swishing of fish wriggling nearby, she could hear the sweet song of a thrush in a tree.

Despite promising herself that she'd catch it, she had no idea how to climb a tree. Keeping her head and spirits high, she dug her claws into the bark of the tall oak. Using ragged edges of the tree to aid her, she pushed with her hind legs, scrambling upwards. Goldstar was watching intently from a bush, her amber eyes watching every move. Feeling the leader's stare burn the back of her light-brown pelt was beyond uncomfortable, but climbing up an impossibility tall tree just to catch a puny thrush was petrifying.

Finally, she was level with the thrush. It was facing the other direction, oblivious of the gruesome fate that would occur, well, at least Honeypaw hoped. She cautiously placed a paw on the branch, which thankfully didn't move. She placed another paw on the branch. Soon all her weight was on the seemingly stable branch as she crept towards the small creature. She gulped as she noticed that the branch became thinner the further she went. Her hope dropping, she continued.

She was a couple tail lengths away from the twittering bird. Propelling herself forwards, she extended her elongated claws, aiming for the thrush. It had looked at her with utter fear before she dug her claws into its neck. She was swelling with pride, that is, until she plummeted down.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am updating the clans section so you can see the members of other clans, which might make things easier at gatherings. If you're enjoying the story so far, click the star button below and add it to your reading list. Have fun ☺️