SHARDPAW
Y-Studios's Character

The four cats moved effortlessly through the trees, their padded paws hardly making a sound. Smokespot, Tigerbranch, and Dovenight were moving a lot quicker than Shardpaw would typically travel. Still, he pushed himself to keep up with them.

Tigerbranch glanced back at him to make sure he was keeping up. "This pace," she said, "We call it  'swift' speed. It's how Warriors travel when they want to cover ground quickly, without losing a lot of energy."

Shardpaw did notice that they had covered a lot of forest in the time that they had left camp, three shadow-marks ago. However, he was quite a bit smaller than the other cats and was in a lot less shape than they were. After all, he only became apprenticed a short while ago. He tried to keep himself from breathing hard, and he hoped the warriors didn't hear him.

"Oh, for StarClan's sake, let's stop and take a break for a while," Dovenight said, looking back at Shardpaw. He quickly glanced away, suddenly feeling embarrassed that he could not keep up. "Why Elkstar chose to bring this fresh apprentice rather than Robinpaw, I'll never know." She huffed under her breath.

"No," Shardpaw said, scrunching up his face, "Let's keep going. I can do it," He said.

"I hear a river up ahead," Smokespot said. "Perhaps we can rest there." Tigerbranch and Dovenight both nodded.  

"There is a resting place set up there for journeys such as this," Said Dovenight. "We won't get much chance after this to gather our strength before the climb up the mountain."

The patrol moved off again, toward the sound of the rushing river. Shardpaw had an easier time keeping up now, catching his second wind. He could not see the mountain through the thick trees, but he knew that they were at the base of it. What he did not know is why they were making the journey up there.

"Tigerbranch?" He asked, trotting up to his mentor. "Why has Elkstar sent us on this patrol, anyway?" He never got many details when his mentor woke him up in the morning, telling him that it was time to leave for a mission. They weren't even in ElkClan territory anymore now, he noticed.

"You know of the Keepers of the Cave, right?" Tigerbranch said to him. He nodded. Of course he did. It was his dream to become a Keeper. StarClan chose only the strongest and bravest of all warriors from the three Clans to go high up into the mountains and guard a secret cave. It was said that this cave was where leaders received their nine lives.

"Well then," Tigerbranch squinted to see if she could see the mountain through the thick evergreens,  "Have you also heard that inside the cave is where they guard a great power that is said to be the lifeblood of StarClan ---"

"--- and the ghost of evil cats, long forgotten,are always trying to take the power inside. So the Clans appointed the Keepers, one cat from each Clan -- to go up and guard the cave." Shardpaw said. He'd heard this story a million times.

"But you have not heard that there are also cats who are alive and well that try to take or destroy the stone," Tigerbranch said. 

Shardpaws eyes widened. "is that why we are making this journey? Did something happen to the Keepers?" He asked.

"Yes, but they are alright," Tigerbranch scowled in disgust, as if she was imagining a cat who would want to destroy the core of the Clans. "Word was received that they were attacked last night, and we have been sent to provide reinforcements should the enemy try again."

Shardpaw's eyes widened. "You mean, we'll have to fight?"

Tigerbranch laughed, as if there was something that Shardpaw didn't know. "Oh no, it's highly doubted that the group will try again for a long time, if ever," She said. "But still, Elkstar wants us to question the Keepers about the attackers, see if we can get any information about them." Shardpaw nodded. He liked how Tigerbranch always talked to him as if he was another warrior himself.

Suddenly the wall of trees thinned, and they came out into a vast valley with a raging river cutting through it. Shardpaw had to squint to shield his eyes from the sun a moment, but they soon adjusted.

Broad, smooth boulders were laid out across the riverbank, and Shardpaw was tempted to leap on them and soak up the warm sun. Steep cliffs formed most of the banks of the river, but there was a narrow path down to it where they could drink if they wanted to. Small and shallow dens were carved in the dry dirt of the cliff, where cats would probably make camp if they needed to stay the night.

Shardpaw suddenly got the ominous feeling that something was watching them, and he turned around to watch the treeline. He didn't see anything there.

"What is it?" Tigerbranch asked him.

A) "Oh, it was nothing. Just my imagination," You say. You must be tired from the long walk, perhaps you should rest.
B) "I just thought I saw something over there," Maybe Tigerbranch would come with you to check it out.
C) "Do you feel like something is... watching us?" You couldn't shake the eerie feeling. 

SMOKESPOT
BlueOakStar2's Character

It was early that morning that Dovenight had awoken her, and Tigerbranch as well. Smokespot had already been awake. She had gotten the feeling that she was going to have a mission today, and she had heard Dovenight get up before the sun had even risen.

Consequently, this had kept her from getting a good night's sleep since she'd been up even before Dovenight. My ears are a blessing and a curse, she thought, yawning. It was a good thing she liked being an early riser.

"This has something to do with the word Elkstar received about the Keepers, doesn't it?" Smokespot asked Dovenight. The older she-cat gave her a surprised, skeptical look as if wondering how she knew about it. Elkstar had tried to keep it as secret as much he could. However, Smokespot could not help it if her eyes had caught the sparrow flying into camp, straight for Elkstar's den.

The Clans had a sort of affinity for birds. They would not kill them unless they were necessary for food -- the only exception were the pheasants, grouse, and crows. Killing an owl was seen as the highest offense, especially in OwlClan -- where the warriors would drop everything just to return a fallen owlet to its nest.

Only the Keepers of the Cave used birds as messengers, though. Their medicine cat, Stagthorn, was trained to understand the chirps and tweets of birds. Though he could not really understand what they were saying, he could make out things by the urgency of their tweets. 

"Yes, it has something to do with the Keepers," Dovenight quipped, "And I suppose you know about the attack made on them last night, then." Actually, this was one thing that Smokespot did not know about, though she had her suspicions.

Dovenight explained that Tigerbranch had already been told about the mission, but she and Elkstar decided last minute that they'd need an extra cat. The task given to them was simple. They were to journey the Keepers and provide any necessary help in case of another strike. Smokespot and Dovenight had their own mission, though -- and that was investigating the attack and tracking down the rogues.

Dovenight was one of the best trackers in the Clan, and Smokespot had the makings of one. Along with trackers from the other Clans -- who had also most likely received word from the Keepers, they would surely be able to hunt down the rogues and purge them from the forest.

Only Clan cats knew about the powerful stone inside the cave. That means that those who attacked must be deserters, and anyone who deserted the Clans was eventually found and killed. There were special exceptions, of course, with those who became kittypets. Kittypets were useless and had no point in ever coming into the forest again, much less taking or destroying the Stone.

They met Tigerbranch and her apprentice, Shardpaw, at the medicine den. Stagthorn had already prepared the necessary herbs for their journey, and each cat reluctantly swallowed them.

"Have a safe journey," Stagthorn said. "May StarClan go with you." Each cat nodded at Stagthorn with respect for their medicine cat, and they turned to leave camp.

Smokespot noticed an air of uncertainty about Stagthorn, which immediately got her mind thinking. Was he possibly afraid that they wouldn't be able to track down the rogues, or was he just scared for them should the Keepers be attacked again?

They left camp quickly, nodding to Cinderthroat, who was the camp guard until another cat relieved her. She watched Shardpaw with pride, no doubt happy that it was her son being sent on this task.

At Swift speed, they made good time. The peak of the mountain in the distance grew ever closer, and Smokespot began to dread the climb that they would have to make. She felt even sorrier for Shardpaw, who would have to climb the mountain for his first time.

Tigerbranch made light conversation with Smokespot about nothing in particular, and Smokespot enjoyed the company of the easygoing ginger she-cat. Dovenight, however, seemed unwavering and set in her pace. She did not seem to want to visit at all, so Tigerbranch just gave up trying to converse with her.

"You know, I remember when you were just a kit," Tigerbranch laughed. "And now you have just been made a warrior."

Smokespot chuckled. "You forget that you are only eleven moons older than me. You're just getting to your prime, so stop acting like you're so old."

"I know, but time passes so quickly, doesn't it?" Tigerbranch sighed. She looked back at her apprentice, Shardpaw. He was lagging behind a little, but he was trying his best to keep up.

"He's already starting to grow into a fine apprentice. He has promise, I can tell," Smokespot said. She remembered how hard it was to keep up with the warriors when she was a fresh apprentice, and he was doing well. "And with you as his mentor, he'll be an even finer warrior."

"He tells me he wants to be a Keeper," Tigerbranch noted.

"Really?" Smokespot said. "I'm guessing that is why Elkstar sent him on this mission." Tigerbranch nodded. Smokespot would love to become a Keeper herself, almost every young cat did, but she knew that she better served the Clan as a regular warrior. Still, becoming a Keeper was a dream for those who could never become Leader or Deputy, and it was an even higher honor.

They walked for a while longer before Dovenight finally decided to take a break. After Smokespot had noted that there was a river nearby, Dovenight had told them that it was a resting place for journeys like these. They were at the halfway point now.

Shardpaw talked with Tigerbranch, and Smokespot walked beside Dovenight. It did not take long for them to reach the river, and Smokespot could smell and hear it before they even broke through the treeline.

"We will rest here for a short while," said Dovenight. "And gather our strength. It is a long way up the mountain." Smokespot nodded.

The immense boulders that lay along the riverside looked so welcoming, but she was a little parched as well. Her ears picked up the sound of rodents scurrying through the grass, though she couldn't smell them because of the direction of the wind. She wondered if any of the others were hungry.

A) You decide that taking a quick nap on the rocks was too tempting.
B) You feel a little parched from the long walk, so you go down to the river to get a drink.
C) Your stomach growls slightly. This meadow must be full of prey, and it would be easy to catch a snack.

A/N

I'm pretty sure Tigerbranch is the big sister to everyone in the Clan XD

If anyone is wondering why Shardpaw and Smokespot get to go on this special journey, I've planned and divided the book into 4 main stories, and two cats each get to be in the main action of each little "quest". This one is called The Keepers of the Cave.

~

So I want everyone to vote, do you like longer updates but longer time to post them (Not as long as it took me to post this one, lol) or shorter updates but less time to post them?

(Im putting this after the end of every chapter because I'm not sure if everyone reads through them all)

~Queen