As the Rogues Rise

 Allegiances

Leader: Emberstar- Jet black tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Hollowflight- Cream she-cat with white patches

Medicine Cat: Ripplestorm- Slate grey she-cat with black spots (Apprentice, Blazepaw)

Warriors: 

Sandfeather- Light ginger dappled she-cat with green eyes

Skyfur- White and grey dappled tom with icy blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Willowfang- Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes and a patch of black on her muzzle (Apprentice, Littlepaw)

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Shadowtail- Black and grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Icywind- White she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Twistedshine- Dark tortoiseshell she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Fogstep- Grey tom with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Sparrowtuft- Young black tom with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Apprentices: 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Pebblepaw- Grey tom with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Littlepaw- Grey and white spotted she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Blazepaw- Orange tabby tom, medicine cat apprentice

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Queens: 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Goldenfern- Spotted golden she-cat with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             -Tawnykit, a tortoiseshell she-kit

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             -Breezekit, a pale grey she-kit

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             -Pinekit, a brown dappled tom

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Elders: 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Clovertail- grey tabby tom, half blind

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Summary:

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Yet another set of sisters closer than brambles on a bramble bush, going on adventures side by side. When unfamiliar scents are found near ShadeClan’s border, Breezepaw and Tawnypaw are up to the challenge. After an important cat was lost in a border skirmish, tempers were lost with it. After a risky call for a meeting between the groups, battle breaks out, and only one group is left standing.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:24.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Chapter One 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnykit bounced around her mother’s paws, bursting with excitement. Her eyes sparkled, and her tortoiseshell fur glowed amber in the sunlight.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Will it be soon? I’ve waited forever,” squeaked a familiar voice from behind her mother. Her sister, Breezekit, and her brother, Pinekit, stood behind her golden fur, looking impatient.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">“It will be as soon as Emberstar comes back from hunting,” their mother responded, her eyes glowing with love and pride. “I’m sure you will all be great apprentices!”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “I’m not an apprentice. I’m better than that. I am a warrior!” Pinekit hopped onto a patch of ferns and squeezed it between his paws. “I can even catch prey!”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “I can too,” Breezekit mewed, padding up behind him. She unsheathed her tiny claws and began shredding the fern plant.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Hey, that was my prey!” Pinekit squealed, leaping onto Breezekit’s back.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnykit watched with amusement as her littermates tussled together in a play fight. When they finally separated, she noticed a familiar scent growing stronger by the heartbeat. She turned to see her father, Skyfur, approaching.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             He padded straight to their mother. “Goldenfern, Emberstar just returned,” he mewed, giving her mother’s fur a few affectionate licks. “Are the kits ready for the ceremony?”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Yes,” she responded with a purr. “Breezekit and Pinekit were rolling around and I need to tidy up their fur. But they have definitely been kits long enough.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Their gazes drifted from each other’s to Tawnykit and her littermates. Tawnykit silently admired her father. His white and grey fur was sleek and glossy, and she could see muscles rippling under his pelt. I want to be as strong as my father when I become a warrior, she thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!” Emberstar’s yowl interrupted her thoughts. The black tom stood like an unmoving boulder on the Highrock, a silhouette against the setting sun.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Her mother raced to Breezekit and Pinekit and began licking them frantically. Tawnykit watched as cats began to crowd around the Highrock. Breezekit and Pinekit bounced around the clearing before sitting beside a grey warrior named Fogstep.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “As you know, we have an apprentice ceremony today,” Emberstar began. “Tawnykit, Breezekit, and Pinekit, please step forward.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnykit shook her tortoiseshell fur and padded slowly closer to the base of the Highrock. Her littermates looked around, but then followed. Their pelts were sleek, reflecting the sunlight and giving it an amber glow. She was suddenly self-conscious when she noticed every cat staring at her, Breezekit, and Pinekit. ''How does Emberstar manage like this? Being the center of attention all the time?''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             She grew used to it when their leader began the ceremony. “As you probably know, these three kits have reached their sixth moon, and it is time for them to be apprenticed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnykit grew comfortable with the Clan looking at her when she was reminded of the things she would get to do as an apprentice. She had never been let out of camp before, and Pinekit was the only one to make a catch.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Breezekit, Pinekit, and Tawnykit, from this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Breezepaw, Pinepaw, and Tawnypaw.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Breezepaw! Pinepaw! Tawnypaw!!” The Clan chanted. Tawnypaw could hear her mother’s voice above the rest of the ShadeClan cats’.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Emberstar continued. “Breezepaw, your mentor will be Hollowflight. Pinepaw’s will be Sparrowtuft, and Tawnypaw’s will be Sandfeather. And new mentors, you have proven to be loyal and skilled fighters, and I expect you to teach all you know to your new apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             <span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Sandfeather, Sparrowtuft and Hollowflight padded up to their apprentices, touching noses with them gently. Sandfeather’s slim ginger body was lined with amber light, and she looked beautiful. ''But she’s swift and kind, too. She will be the best mentor I could get!''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Just when Tawnypaw’s satisfaction was at its highest point, she remembered that Breezepaw had Hollowflight as a mentor. She was the deputy of ShadeClan, and she tried to push away regret about her thought that Sandfeather was the best mentor.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Cats started separating, some padding up to Tawnypaw and her littermates to congratulate them, but Emberstar called them back together. “There is one more thing to be said,” he yowled, obviously impatient.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             When cats collected again beneath the Highrock, he continued. “Hollowflight has found something near the border while on a patrol this morning.” He nodded to his grey and tan deputy. “Would you like to explain?”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Hollowflight nodded sternly and stepped forward. “Prey,” she stated vacantly. “A plump squirrel, flooded in unfamiliar scent, near the willow at the far side of the border.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             She stepped back and sat down, eyes expressionless. Breezepaw may have a skilled mentor, but does she ever have any fun?

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Emberstar dipped his head and turned to the Clan. “There may be more cats here. But before we jump to conclusions, I would like to know if any of you caught it and left it there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             No cat spoke. Emberstar’s amber eyes narrowed to slits, scanning the camp. “Very well,” he mewed. “The new apprentices’ training shall start immediately at dawn. If there is a threat, we need to be ready. Hollowflight, set patrols for tomorrow evening. Icywind will guard the camp tonight.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw’s gaze drifted from Emberstar to Icywind. The young white she-cat’s brilliant blue eyes shone.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw looked around for Sandfeather and her littermates. The sun had vanished behind the horizon, leaving only an eerie golden glow. She finally spotted them, crowded by cats. Even Clovertail, an elder, was coming up to congratulate them.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw padded up to the group. Sandfeather padded over to her, beside a dark tortoiseshell.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Congratulations, Tawnypaw!” The tortoiseshell mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Thanks, Twistedshine,” mewed Tawnypaw, dipping her head. Twistedshine smiled and padded up to a grey she-cat named Willowfang and her apprentice, Littlepaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw padded up to her mentor. Pinepaw and Breezepaw were already talking with their mentors and getting to know them well. Sandfeather was turned around, watching them, when Tawnypaw approached.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             She smiled as the sand-colored warrior’s eyes lit up with excitement when she spotted her apprentice. Tawnypaw decided to start a conversation. “I’m so excited to start training,” she meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “So am I,” Sandfeather responded. “You have the most experienced mentor out of you and your littermates, you know. Sparrowtuft has never had an apprentice before. Hollowflight mentored Icywind before Breezepaw, but I have been a warrior longer than her. And I was a mentor to Shadowtail before you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw’s gaze drifted from Sandfeather to Shadowtail, a black tabby across the clearing. She was a strong warrior- Sandfeather really was a good mentor. When she met Sandfeather’s gaze again, she found it filled with embarrassment. She probably thought she sounded like she was bragging, Tawnypaw predicted.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             She decided to change the topic. “The moon is above the horizon now. We’d better start to go to our dens with everyone else.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Sandfeather gave a nod of agreement. “Training starts immediately at dawn, so expect to be woken up early,” she meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw dipped her head and padded to the entrance of the nursery before she realized she wasn’t a kit anymore. She redirected herself to the apprentices’ den and stepped inside to find Pinepaw and Breezepaw already asleep. The two older apprentices, Littlepaw and Pebblepaw, were whispering in their nests, side by side. They looked up when Tawnypaw entered.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Congratulations,” mewed Pebblepaw. Littlepaw dipped his head and stood, shaking the moss off of her grey and white pelt. “We saved you a nest beside your littermates,” he explained, padding to it.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Her brother followed, smiling. “Littlepaw and I lined it with feathers as a welcome gift to our den.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Tawnypaw blinked, surprised. “Thank you,” she mewed, curling up in her new nest. She closed her deep green eyes and drifted into sleep quickly, to the sound of Littlepaw and Pebblepaw’s synchronized pawsteps back to their nests.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:24.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Bell MT",serif">Chapter Two 

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Breezepaw woke up when a paw prodded her side. She gave a yawn and opened her eyes to see Hollowflight, her mentor. Her silver pelt was dappled in a creamy yellow, and her green eyes were stern and focused. She sat, still as a stone, beside her nest, gazing emotionlessly at her.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Morning, Breezepaw,” mewed Hollowflight, still looking into the distance. “You, Icywind and I are going on patrol. I believe Ripplestorm and Blazepaw are coming with us to collect herbs.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Breezepaw nodded and yawned again, slowly bringing herself to her paws. She followed Hollowflight out of the den and across the clearing to the medicine cat’s den. Ripplestorm and her apprentice, Blazepaw, sat outside, their fur sleek and reflecting the sun. They both carried borage- Breezepaw recognized it immediately because it was given to her mother when she was a kit.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Ripplestorm gave a quick nod and dropped the borage. She padded up to the patrol group, Blazepaw at her tail. Icywind had joined them.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Are we ready to go?” asked Hollowflight, looking around at the cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Yep!” Breezepaw’s boredom immediately turned to excitement. She had never been out of camp before- at least beyond the training hollow. She turned back to Hollowflight, whose gaze was still stern as ever. I see why she’s called Hollowflight, she thought. ''Good and active, but her fun is.. hollowed out.''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             The patrol padded out of camp in silence. Breezepaw took the back, beside Icywind. The white she-cat smiled when Breezepaw padded up to her and walked beside her, matching her pawsteps.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “This is the first time you’ve been out of camp, right?” Icywind asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Breezepaw felt relieved that the awkward silence was broken, and responded, “Yeah. Well, I snuck out to the training hollow with Tawnypaw once, but only for a minute.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Icywind gave a mmrow of amusement. “What you thought was a minute,” she mewed with a smile. “Hollowflight was my mentor, you know. Before she was even the deputy. She will be a great mentor to you, I promise,” she mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “I hope so. But.. does she ever have any fun?” Breezepaw instantly regretted her words. Hollowflight perked her ears and turned around, meeting Breezepaw’s gaze with a hard stare. The patrol froze for heartbeats that felt like moons, but then Hollowflight turned back and padded on with a flick of her tail.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Embarrassment flooded over Breezepaw. She felt Icywind’s flank brush hers. “She has a lot on her mind,” she mewed calmly. “At the end of the day, she’s really fun.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Reassured by Icywind’s words, she scented the air. The many unfamiliar scents of the border overwhelmed her, but one scent was stronger and fresher than the rest. She decided to ask.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “What’s that weird cat smell? The one that’s really fresh?” she mewed, now calm talking to the patrol.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Hollowflight answered with an impatient mew. “What cat scent? There’s no such thing, Breezepaw. No cat scent you shouldn’t recognize.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             ''Of course there’s no scent. No scent I wouldn’t know, ''Breezepaw tried to tell herself. Hollowflight’s words echoed in her mind, but she couldn’t push away the scent- It was too strong. ''Has Hollowflight got bees in her brain? Or do I?''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             <span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">“Breezepaw’s right!”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Blazepaw’s astonished mew snapped Breezepaw out of her daze and back into the patrol. It took long heartbeats for her to make sense of the golden tom’s words, but when she did, she felt waves of hope rush into her mind. ''I don’t have bees in my brain! Blazepaw scents it too!''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Oh Breezepaw.. you’re right,” mewed Hollowflight, her muzzle in the air and eyes narrowed with confusion. “Breezepaw, you have more sense than I thought. That’s not normal, Breezepaw..”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Her voice trailed off. Breezepaw felt relieved. ''Thank StarClan! I already had the reputation of a mousebrain with Hollowflight.. I don’t need any more. ''Suddenly, Hollowflight’s words hit her- that’s not normal. Her emotions became mixed. ''I may have warned my Clan of danger! But we don’t need danger, especially with leaf-bare approaching.''

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             <span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">“It smells like a cat for sure,” Ripplestorm commented. The medicine cat shook her silver pelt as though trying to shake away the tension that hung perceptibly in the air. She lowered her muzzle, deep in thought. “A rogue, maybe?”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Quite possibly,” Hollowflight mewed, giving an approving nod to the idea.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Or a loner,” Blazepaw added, eyes clouded with both fear and curiosity. “I’ve heard they’re nicer than rogues.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             “Because they have no ‘territory’ and no ‘hunting grounds,’” Icywind explained. “There’s no reason to protect what you have when you don’t have anything at all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             Hollowflight gave another nod. “Let’s hope for the worst, though. We’ll be prepared.”

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">             It was just when the patrol began to turn back when rustling leaves made Breezepaw’s ears perk.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bell MT",serif">