Echoing Hazel

This is my story for Fuz's contest. P.S. Me no likey prologues, so no prologue. Person: Die potato! Potato: Not today! *pulls out weapon* Person: *backs away* Person to The Potato in ASDF Movie 2

hey everyone this is my first finished fanfic so it isn't great, I just fixed it up a little, but please go check out A Life - misty

Chapter 1 - Echopaw - Mistreated and Alone

I'm Echopaw, an apprentice of BerryClan. Nobody likes me. Really, oh, it's just wonderful. And yes, if you couldn't figure it out, I was being sarcastic. My best friend is from another Clan - seriously. Once, my mentor, Blazeclaw mistreated me greatly. It hurt so much. He ignores me and only seems to care about his two sons, Firepaw and Flashpaw. Those two are - well, another story. This is what happens with Blazeclaw:

"Blazeclaw! Can I go train with Flashpaw?" I asked him.

"I don't care." He said coldly, "Have you collected the fresh moss for my nest yet?" He is one of the many cats in the Clan who treat me like a disgrace because "I will never live up to my sister". My sister's name is Forestpaw, and she is spoiled.

She hates me. I hate her back. She's the epitome of a BerryClan apprentice, and in my mother, Specklewing's eyes, she can never do wrong, unlike myself. My father, Darkflight, is a lot better.

"Blazeclaw! That is Echopaw - a fully functionally cat who deserves better than to be your personal slave!" Darkflight tells him, finally snapping after this has been happening for weeks. Darkflight is the only one in my family that likes and respects me. Blazeclaw rolls his eyes.

"She should at least try to live up to her sister." Blazeclaw says (what did I tell you?). Darkflight growls at him, his eyes filling with hatred. Blazeclaw smirks. "She doesn't deserve to be a BerryClan warrior. She doesn't even try!" Blazeclaw yells. This is a downright lie, and everyone in the camp knows this. They're also staring, obviously. Flowstar steps in, watching both toms uneasily.

"Blazeclaw, stop it. All cats deserve the chance to be the best warriors that they can be." Flowstar tells him, and about to retort, he falls silent under her stony glare. She turns to me. "Echopaw, I think we can get you a much better mentor. How about Runningwhisper?" Flowstar asks, her face kind.

"Great!" I reply, a smile lighting up my face for the first time that day. Runningwhisper is a loyal and excellent warrior. Shy, but awesome! Finally, something goes my way.

Chapter 2 - Hazelpaw - Cared-for and Happy

I'm Hazelpaw. Apprentice of DustClan, the greatest Clan in the universe! I'm very popular, unlike one of my good friends, Echopaw. A lot of people ask me why I like her, she being slightly annoying(don't even tell her I said that), and being from a different Clan and all. I guess it originally started with pity, but she's actually really nice. Tonight was a gathering - a fresh and clear night.

"DustClan! We are leaving now!" Hawkstar yowls. He's already announced who's going. I am, my best friend, Amberpaw, isn't, so I get a little free time. I smile as we start to walk out of the game. Adderpaw, a slightly younger apprentice, who is madly in love with most of the she-cats in the Clan, pads up to me.

"Nice night for a gathering!" He comments, tailing behind me most of the way there, trying to make conversation. We arrive and I hurriedly walk away. The cats between all the Clans have good relationships most of the time, so everyone is very friendly. I walk to Flashpaw, a handsome cream point tom with stunning blue eyes who's sitting alone.

"Hey, Flashpaw," I say warmly, smiling at him. It was very hot out. Did anyone else notice that, or was it just me?

"Hi, Hazelpaw," he replies, turning to look at me. His blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and his cream coat rippled.

Anyone else think I have a crush? Yeah, me too. I was distracted from being love-struck by the leaders of the three Clans starting to call order.

"May I start?" asks the JayClan leader, Flightstar(appropriate name, I always joke in my mind). The others nod. "We are doing well in JayClan. We have a new medicine cat to welcome tonight, Squirrelpool."

"Squirrelpool! Squirrelpool! Squirrelpool! Squirrelpool!" the cats chant, and a reddish she-cat stands up, blushing.

"BerryClan, we warn you that we drove out a group of foxes. They headed towards your territory. We lost a warrior by the name of Grasspelt in that battle." Silence rings in the clearing as cats think of that unlucky tom, and Hawkstar moves forward.

"We lost an apprentice, Rockpaw, to a monster this moon." I don't hear what he says after that, a lump is in my throat and I can't swallow. Rockpaw was my brother, and seeing his body, bent and broken...

"..And Flowerdusk has given birth to Lightkit, Shadowkit, and a stillborn. That is all, and you may resume chatting until the gathering is over." Flowstar finishes, hopping down from the One Tree.

"Are you okay?" asks Flashpaw, seeing my solemn expression. I don't feel like I can get out words, so I shrug. He manages to cheer me up (one heck of a feat), and we talk for a while.

"I'm going to say hello to Echopaw," I tell him, and I bound off to where she sits.

"Hi, Hazelpaw!" Echopaw chirps, "What's up?"

"Not that much, what about you?"

"I got a new mentor - Runningwhisper. Blazeclaw was being a piece of fox-dung to me, so Flowstar give me a new mentor!"

"Oh." I reply, unsure of what to say. She seems so happy, though..

"Cats of DustClan! We are leaving now!" Hawkstar yells, and I say my goodbyes.

Chapter 3 - Echopaw - Ignored and Hated

I am so happy having Runningwhisper as a mentor. But now cats notice me less and less now that me and Blazeclaw aren't screaming at each other every five seconds. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. But I'm starting to feel like Hazelpaw never has time for me anymore.

"Echopaw! Are you up for a patrol with Specklewing, Blazeclaw and Forestpaw?" Great. The three cats that hate me the most. A voice inside me says, but I can't exactly turn down my mentor.

"Sure..." I say reluctantly. We head into the forest. The dew is still dripping off plants, and I yawn loudly, and Forestpaw laughs, pretending to be up and alert. Like she appreciated being woken up after the Gathering last night.

"Let's see who can catch the most prey!" Forestpaw says, just to annoy me, because I'm so tired.

"Yes. You against Echopaw, Runningwhisper against me, and Specklewing says who gets the most." Blazeclaw replies. It seems like this whole thing is a plot to irritate me.

"Ready..." Specklewing starts. "Set... Go!" I charge off, then scent the air. A mouse is what I smell, and I crouch next to it. But I'm not the only one. I pounce on the mouse, soon to be followed by Forestpaw, who lands on me with an "oof". She runs back to Specklewing.

"Echopaw stole my prey!" She lies. Specklewing glares at me and says, "then you win this match. Once Runningwhisper and Blazeclaw come back, we will go back to camp." StarClan, these cats are so annoying

"I saw the whole thing!" Runningwhisper bounds in and tells my mother, her face turning to anger. "Forestpaw is lying! I saw Echopaw jump on the mouse, then Forestpaw pounced on it then ran back to you and told that lie!" Specklewing rolls her eyes.

"You just don't want to face the shame of your apprentice losing on the first kill." Specklewing retorts with a smirk. We head back to camp once Blazeclaw comes back, smiling from his 'victory'.

Chapter 4 - Hazelpaw

-still needs to be edited-

"Come on Hazelpaw!" Amberpaw shouts, "I need to show you this!"

"Fine." I say and follow. We walk up to Ashy Hill. It was named after the great fire that once swept through the forest. The elders say it was all black, covered in ash and soot. The queen Nightswift remembered it and named her kits Ashkit and Sootkit, now Ashrain and Sootbreeze. And Nightswift... let's just say she went a little crazy one day. We pass the only standing tree on the hill. I glance at Amberpaw who has stopped.

"Now will you tell me where we are going?" I ask.

"No." She replies. We head close to Water Rock, the biggest rock in the lake. Since my Clan is the Clan of swimming, no one besides us ever go near it. We start swimming past it. We stop at a small island. Once we're on land and we take a short break, we go off again. Amberpaw stops at a hole, that a cat could fit in.

"We are here." She announces.

"Follow me." Amberpaw climbs into the hole. For a hole, it's pretty nice. It's full of soft moss and it has a place where you can store prey. It also has a spot where you can see out into the lake.

"It's all yours." Amberpaw tells me.

"What?" I say.

"This place is awesome! You found it! You can keep it!"

"No, Hazelpaw. I'm becoming a warrior tommorow and I won't have time to come here." Amberpaw sighs.

"Then I name it Amber Pebble. For you, and all the shimmering amber pebbles." I told her. She smiles at me.

A/N The next chapter will be a really short one in Forestpaw's POV.

Chapter 5 - Forestpaw

My life is perfect. Every tom likes me. My mother spoils me. I really like Firepaw and Flashpaw, well, more Firepaw. But besides the fact that I am not a warrior yet, there is one cat that stands in my way from him being my mate. Hazelpaw. I had plans to do stuff. Like getting rid of Echopaw and Hazelpaw. Soon I will become a warrior and then Firepaw will be my mate. But Firepaw is becoming a warrior right now.

"All cats old enough to catch their prey, come beneith the highrock for a Clan meeting. Wildfang, is Firepaw ready to become a warrior of BerryClan?" Flowstar asks him.

"Yes Flowstar, he is." Wildfang tells her.

"Then from this moment on, Firepaw shall be known as Firestrike. Scorchflame, is Flashpaw ready to become a warrior of BerryClan?"

"Yes, he is." Scorchflame replies. "Flashpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Flashwind." The leader meowed.

"Firestrike! Flashwind! Firestrike! Flashwind!" The Clan cheered. I licked Firestrike on the ear. "Congrats." I whisper. Now, running away from your Clan after a warrior ceremony is easier then I thought it would be. I found something with my sister's blood on it, and gave it to some foxes. I ran over the DustClan border. My scent would anger them and probably start a battle.

Chapter 6 - Echopaw

A DustClan patrol of Hawkstar, Amberpaw and Ashrain walked into the camp. Many warriors hissed and growled at them.

"Amberpaw! What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"It's Ambersnow now, and there was BerryClan scent on our territory." She whispered back. I nodded at her and told everyone. None of them believed it.

"What! You are wrong! No BerryClan warrior has been on your territory!" A defiant yell came for the leader's den. Hawkstar solemnly padded out. Ashrain and Ambersnow following. What are we going to do? The question wouldn't leave my mind. Firestrike ran over to Forestpaw.

"We need to attack!" He whispered to her. She nodded at him.

"Come on Echopaw. We need to train in case they attack." Runningwhisper told me.

"Okay." I said. We headed off to the training ground with Windypaw.

"Now, try this." She leaped up and twisted around, and landed on an invisible enemy. Now, Windypaw, when Echopaw lands on you, you try and get on her back, pinning her down. I did the move correctly. "Windypaw, you need to twist a little sooner." Runningwhisper informed her.

"Okay, let's try it again!" Windypaw eagerly shouted. There was a smile on her face and she seemed determined. I purred.

"First I'll show you your part. Echopaw, attack me." I charged at Runningwhisper, jumped over her head and landed on her back. She instinctively rolled over, pinning me down. Windypaw nodded.

"I'm ready." Windypaw said. I jumped on her and she rolled over, pinning me down. I sprang up causing her to go up in the air. She was able to land on me though, really pinning me down. We tried the same thing, just switching positions.

"Okay, let's head back to camp, you two seem a bit tired."

Chapter 7 - Hazelpaw

I was able to get Flashpaw to come to the Amber Pebble with me. I waited for him by the shore.

"So we're staying here for the night?" Flashpaw asked me.

"No, Flashpaw." I told him. "Flashwind." he corrected. I smiled at him.

"You can swim right?" I asked Flashwind. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Great." I muttered.

"Get on my back." I said. It was risky but we made it there.

"So we're staying on this island?" He asked me.

"Sort of." I told him. I led him into the mossy part.

"This, is where we are staying. I will get some food." I answered. I padded out. I was able to catch two fish and a water vole.

"Here. Try the fish." I told him and gave him the fish. He took an wary bite, but he started to eat it hungrily. I smiled and ate my fish. We shared the water vole. A breeze blew in. We went to sleep.

"Wake up!" He hissed in my ear.

"We have to get back!" Flashwind was right, it was almost dawn.

"Can you come back tomorrow?" I asked. He nodded.

"I will teach you how to swim. You will need to know."

Chapter 8 - Echopaw

I couldn't wait. I was becoming a warrior in a few days. I smiled to myself. Also, Specklewing's new litter of kits are due today.

"Dawn patrol?" Firestrike asked me.

"Okay." I replied.

"Can you get two other cats?" He asked me. I nodded. Forestpaw! A part of me screamed. Forestpaw hates dawn patrol. And, Darkflight.

"Forestpaw!" I whispered.

"What?" She groaned. "Dawn patrol."

"No." She replied.

"Firestrike's leading." That made her get up. I headed over to the warrior's den and carefully told Darkflight, "dawn patrol." He got up. He headed out into the forest.

"Fox scent!" I hissed.

"Yeah right. There is none." Forestpaw whispered.

"No Forestpaw, there is fox scent. And it is leading to camp!" Firestrike hissed. We followed the trail speedily. When we got back, it was chaos. Warriors and apprentices were battling, queens and their kits hiding with the elders. I saw Forestpaw grin a little. Now that made me confused.

"Echopaw! Get DustClan!" I ran off. I knew a fox was chasing me, but it was a small one.

"DustClan! We need your help! Foxes are attacking!"

Chapter 9 - Hazelpaw

I was the only one who went with Echopaw. We had to go to JayClan for help.

"Flamestar! We need your Clan's help! Foxes are attacking!" Flamestar nodded.

"S'okay. JayClan will help."

"JayClan! BerryClan needs our help! Foxes are attacking them!" JayClan followed Flamestar.

"Flowstar! No!" Runningwhisper screeched.

"I-I'm sorry Runningwhisper. This is my last life."

"But can't Silvertail sav-" Flowstar cut her off.

"No. My time as leader is over." Flowstar closed her eyes; forever. A tear ran down Runningwhisper's face. They were siblings, and close friends. JayClan had helped defeat most of the foxes, but Echopaw had to avenge Flowstar's death. She leaped on the biggest fox. I was able to tear it's ear.

"No," a cat whispered.

"This is her fight." I watched Echopaw kill the fox. They retreated. But a scream of pain came from the nursery. Echopaw gasped.

"Hold on Specklewing! Only one kit is coming!" A bright golden kit came out. Echopaw ran over.

"What will you name him?" Forestpaw sweetly asked her.

"Flamekit. For Flamestar leading his Clan to save us."

Chapter 10 - Echopaw

I saw Flamestar smile before he led his Clan to go.

"BerryClan, Flowstar has died. The new deputy," Leafjay paused, "is Runningwhisper."

"I'm honored. Truly honored."

"Also, Hazelpaw, are you going to stay with BerryClan?"

"Yes, I am." That day was the worst and the best day of my life. Flashwind seemed happy too.

"Then we have some ceremonies to do. Echopaw, do you promise to hold the warrior code and defend the Clan even at the cost of your life?" My heart skipped a beat.

"I do!" I happily said.

"Then from this moment on you shall be known as Echomoon. Hazelpaw, do you promise to hold the warrior code and defend the Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"Yes Leafjay, I do."

"Then from this moment on you shall be known as Hazelwing. Forestpaw, do you promise to hold the warrior code and defend your Clan even at the cost of your life?" Forestpaw nodded.

"Then from this moment on you shall be known as Forestsun." Leafjay said.

"Echomoon! Hazelwing! Forestsun! Echomoon! Hazelwing! Forestsun!"

Chapter 11 - Hazelwing

BerryClan was recovering quickly, and Flamekit was doing well. Ambersnow snuck up behind me.

"Hazelpaw!"

"Hazelwing." I quickly corrected.

"Yeah, Hazelpaw, Hazelwing, whatever. DustClan is going to attack. Warn your Clan. Please!" Ambersnow begged. I nodded.

"Leafstar! Ambersnow told me that DustClan will attack! Get everyone ready!" I told Leafstar.

"Okay. But if anybody dies, it's your fault." It wasn't much. One extra guard and no patrols. But then...

"DustClan, attack!" I jumped on to Adderpaw. "Hazelpaw! Why are you fighting for them? They are holding you captive!" Adderpaw asked.

"One, Hazelwing. Two, because this is my Clan now. Three, they're not holding me captive."

"No. Come with me. I love you Hazelwing." Adderpaw told me.

"Well, I hate you. You're annoying, arrogant, and stupid! You love all the she-cats, and I bet you've said that to every single one!" When that came out of my mouth, I just didn't know why. That was not how I feel! I could tell I just broke his heart. He lunged at my neck. If I did not move, I would be dead. But Echomoon saved me. Then Forestsun ran for my neck.

"I caused this. I wanted you dead. I want Echomoon dead." She whispered. But Firestrike overheard.

"Why would you want your sister dead? She is kind, caring, and pretty, unlike you!" Firestrike screeched, and ran towards Leafstar to tell him. Forestsun, she had a look of horror in her eyes. Adderpaw whispered back. The battle came to a stop when the two leaders came to face each other.

"Hawkstar - Forestsun, a warrior here caused this. She said she wants Echomoon and Hazelwing dead." Everyone gasped.

"And Adderpaw, an apprentice of DustClan is siding with her." Echomoon sighed in relief, the truth was finally revealed. So it was. And Flashwind could tell I cared.

"Hazelwing, will you be my mate?" Flashwind asked. 

"Yes Flashwind, I will." I told him.

Chapter 12 - Echomoon

Finally, the truth. It was an amazing moment for me.

"Adderpaw, Forestsun, you are both exiled from the Clans. By moonhigh, if we catch you on BerryClan or DustClan territory, you might be killed." Hawkstar told them.

"And, Hazelwing, are you staying with BerryClan?" Hawkstar asked.

"Yes. I am with my loyal mate Flashwind." Flashwind smiled. We chased Adderpaw and Forestsun out. When Firestrike asked me if he could talk to me in private, I said yes.

"Echomoon, will you be my mate?" He asked.

"Yes, I will." I murmured. I was content. Today was amazing.

                                  THE END

Epilogue

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Echomoon

My life was so much better with Firestrike and Hazelwing. Leafstar had gone to the Moonpool one day and never came back. Firestrike was deputy with his apprentice, Flamepaw.

---

Hazelwing

I had Flashwind's kits, Amberkit, Swiftkit and Foxkit. Three she-cats. Amberkit and Foxkit looked like Flashwind and Swiftkit looked like me.

---

Forest

With Adder as a mate, life as a rogue was better. We found a Clan named SkyClan. Adder said when we joined, he will say his name is Adderstrike.