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Post by *~Sunny~* on Apr 17, 2006 19:35:14 GMT -5
Seagaze
A small grey tabby kit awaited the coming sunrise. This kit was no more than 4 moons, but every day he would come early and watch the sunrise, and every night he would come and gaze at the stars. The cats in Riverclan always thought him odd for doing so. Why would such a young kit be interested in watching the sun and stars? His name, Seakit was probably given to him because of his coat and eyes. His eyes were a deep grey, like the sea after a storm. The elders and medicine cats in Riverclan had been taken by these eyes, and immediately pushed his mother to name him Seakit. His two sisters were always jumping around and playing, but Seakit was different. He was always thoughtful, always scanning the stars at night, wondering what it would be like to be in Starclan and shine so brilliantly. His sisters, Ashkit and Bluekit, had almost the same fur as he did, except they weren’t tabbies, and their eyes were blue. The clan had no idea that such a cat would set such a big example to Riverclan.
A ginger ball of fur landed upon Seakit, pushing him to the icy ground. Two grey balls of fur followed, adding to the weight upon the other kit. The grey tom pushed the three giggling she-cats off his body and glared at them. Bluekit, Ashkit, and their friend, Autumnkit, were constantly pestering Seakit, always trying to annoy him. The three kits huddled in a group near the entrance of the nursery, whispering their own little secrets. Seakit looked at the cold winter ground, shivering a little just looking at it. His winter coat was fluffier than usual, and so were the other three kits and he looked like a grey fur ball. His grey eyes scanned the sky, a mite disappointed since it was too cloudy to see the stars that night, and definitely way too cold. How much he wished he could be an apprentice and see the other parts of Riverclan, besides the camp. A familiar call came from the nursery, and Seakit turned his head at the sound. The other three kits had run
into the nursery already and a tabby head was sticking out of the nursery, beckoning for Seakit to come to bed. The grey kitten trotted forward and disappeared into the warm comforting nursery.
It was two moons later, and Bluekit, Ashkit, Autumnkit, and Seakit were all to become apprentices! Seakit was bursting with excitement, as were the other three. The four anxiously waited all day for the call from Berrystar. Finally, it came, “All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Tallrock for a clan meeting!” She yowled out. The four kittens, racing forward, were the first ones there, and Berrystar purred in amusement. Once the clan had gathered, Berrystar began to speak, “These four kits are ready to become apprentices. Autumnkit, you are now Autumnpaw and your mentor will be Eagleclaw,” a white and brown tom touched noses with the ginger cat, smiling as he did so, “Ashkit you are now Ashpaw, and your mentor is Brackenheart,” the deputy, a ginger and brown tabby also touched noses as Eagleclaw had done, trying to figure out which was Ashpaw. The two touched noses, “Bluekit you are now Bluepaw, and your mentor is Moonpelt,” A sleek shimmering white cat gracefully stepped forward to touch noses with the eager apprentice. Berrystar took a deep breath and looked upon the clan’s favorite kit, “Seakit you are now Seapaw, and your mentor will be me,” Seapaw looked in astonishment as Berrystar, hardly daring to breath. His mentor, the leader? This was incredible! Calmly walking forward, Seapaw touched noses with Berrystar, who had leapt off the tallrock. Ashpaw, Bluepaw, and Autumnpaw looked on with jealous stares, knowing exactly why he had been chosen. Because he was different. Ashpaw and Bluepaw sulked and went to explore the apprentice den. Autumnpaw followed soon after, with Seapaw trying to avoid their stares.
“Seapaw always gets the best!” Ashpaw grumbled her two friends and her in a circle whispering. Autumnpaw sighed, “Maybe we should try to be his friends. It is not his fault he was chosen,” Bluepaw looked at the ground; “Maybe…” she looked at Ashpaw, who was still muttering to herself. Ashpaw noticed the other two looking at her, “Do what you want,” she hissed, “But I’m not being his friend!” and with that, the grey cat walked away, deeper into the den. A grey tabby appeared at the opening of the den. Seapaw was staring at the ground, avoiding Autumnpaw’s and Bluepaw’s questioning looks. From deep within the den, Ashpaw was glaring at him.
“Wake up you five!” a warrior’s voice bit into the darkness of sleep, waking the five apprentices. Opening his eyes, Seapaw got up and looked at the warrior, who was Eagleclaw, Autumnpaw’s mentor, “You guys are going to train today. Autumnpaw come with me, Seapaw go to Berrystar, Ashpaw go to Brackenheart, Bluepaw go to Moonpelt, and Elmpaw go to Yellowtail,” the apprentices all got up, except for Elmpaw. The golden cat still was lying down, waiting for the other apprentices to leave. Eagleclaw left with Autumnpaw, and the other two went to get their mentors. Seapaw stayed, “Hi!” he said. The golden tom got up shakily from his bed, trying not to step on a back paw which was badly mangled, “Hi, Seapaw,” Elmpaw said, his voice a little cheerful. Everybody in the camp knew who Seapaw was, but Seapaw had never seen Elmpaw before, maybe once or twice in the nursery, but only for a day or two,
“Hello, Elmpaw. How long have you been an apprentice?” Seapaw asked, going at the slow pace set by Elmpaw, “Only a moon or so,” he said shortly, looking at Seapaw while he walked. When they reached the warriors den, where Yellowtail was waiting, Seapaw said goodbye to Elmpaw, then went to Berrystar’s den.
Berrystar and Seapaw trotted out together into the forest on Riverclan’s side. Berrystar talked as she went, “Today, I’ll teach you how to do some fighting, and then some hunting, if we have time. Then maybe later on tonight, I could teach you about the stars,” she said softly, waiting for him to react. Seapaw’s ears perked up, “Stars? Really?” he said eagerly. Berrystar nodded. The two cats reached the training hollow and Berrystar positioned herself opposite him. The calico she-cat instructed him in what to do, and waited. Seapaw closed his eyes for a moment, her image and position burning into his mind. Opening his intense grey eyes, he raced forward, but instead of doing the old weave-to-the-side trick as Berrystar was expecting, Seapaw went straight at her. Berrystar distinctly moved to the side, but Seapaw weaved towards her again, and pushed at her chest to knock her down. The leader of Riverclan was pushed to the ground, with Seapaw standing nearby. He had a worried look on, “Are you all right?” he exclaimed. Berrystar glanced at him in amazement, “That was amazing!” she got up and shook herself to get rid of the dust, “You will make a good fighter!”
Later that day, as they were walking to see the stars by the river, Berrystar talked to him, “I saw you with Elmpaw today. Nobody has ever tried to be kind to him, except me and Yellowtail,” she said, “You have a natural touch with cats, and your fighting is amazing,” she continued to praise him, but Seapaw didn’t seem interested. He was looking at the ground, tail dragging behind him. Berrystar hesitated, noticing his look. When they reached the river, his mood brightened, and he looked at the stars with bright grey eyes, “It’s beautiful!” he gasped, even though he looked at them every night. Berrystar began to explain about Starclan.
A moon went by, and soon Seapaw and Elmpaw became inseparable. When Berrystar called the cats for the gathering, Seapaw and Elmpaw were extremely excited. They were both to go! Autumnpaw, Bluepaw, and Ashpaw were all going too, this would be so cool!
The cats started off, moving quickly through the forest. Seapaw had slowed down to the pace of Elmpaw; they were both in the back. When they got there, Seapaw gasped in amazement. Cats from every clan were all waiting for Riverclan to arrive. Elmpaw was breathing heavily from the exertion to go this fast, but he also managed to look excited. Riverclan ran down the hill to four trees, and stopped abruptly at the bottom. Berrystar immediately leapt upon the great rock, looking regal among the other leaders. Many of the different clan cats were beginning to go meet other cats, talk to them. Seapaw and Elmpaw stayed where they were, looking around them as if in a whole new world. Then the meeting began.
Berrystar talked first, her voice echoing, “We have five new apprentices; Seapaw, Ashpaw, Bluepaw, Autumnpaw, and Elmpaw,” the cats in the clearing cheered, “The clan is thriving and we have many kits on the way,” Berrystar finished and stepped back. A large brown tom stepped up, yellow eyes gazing across the clearing with an intensity that could be matched by no other, “Shadowclan is fine,” he murmured, yet it seemed to still echo across the clearing, “New kits were born yesterday! That is all,” The brown tom stepped back, letting another tom step forward, a tom with black fur, “Thank you Mudstar,” Seapaw remembered hearing of this black leader, Midnightstar was his name, “Thunderclan is doing well! We have two new apprentices, Violetpaw, and Rockpaw. We also have a new warrior, Canyonheart,” Every clan cheered, “That is all,” Midnightstar stepped back, allowing a beautiful silver cat to step forward, almost as if she was floating. Her voice was soft and was almost like the wind itself, flowing like a trance over the cats, “Windclan is well. Prey is plentiful, and all the cats are healthy,” She nodded and stepped back. After this, the leaders began to discuss things with themselves, and the cats mingled with each other, saying hello. “Clan meeting dismissed!” Mudstar’s voice boomed across four trees. Seapaw and Elmpaw followed Thunderclan back, tired from the long night.
Many moons flew by and Seapaw began to grow bigger, stronger, and even wiser about the stars. He learned everything there was about fighting and hunting, and was very popular with the elders and medicine cat. He also began to get many glances from Autumnpaw. Elmpaw was also growing, though maybe a bit slower than Seapaw and the other apprentices. He took many trips to Clearstream, the medicine cat for his paw, but he never let it get in the way of his activities. The next day, after hard training, an unexpected meeting was called. The cats gathered, looking at Berrystar, “Five apprentices need to become warriors!” she purred, and then continued, “Ashpaw, step forward,” Ashpaw did as told, trembling with excitement, “Ashpaw, you have trained hard and are ready to become a warrior. Will you promise to uphold the warrior code?”
“I do.” She murmured. Berrystar smiled, “Then I give you the name, Ashtail,” Ashtail’s name was shouted by the rest of the clan, and Ashtail went to stand beside the other warriors, “Autumnpaw, step forward,” The beautiful ginger she-cat stepped forward, her hazel eyes looking at Berrystar, “Autumnpaw, you are a very good fighter, and have trained well with Eagleclaw. Will you promise to uphold the warrior code?” Autumnpaw breathed deeply, “Yes!” she exclaimed, “Then I give you the name, Autumnmoon!” Autumnmoon made her way over to Ashtail, embarrassed.
Berrystar did the formal words for Bluepaw, “Bluepaw you are now Bluefur,” Next, Berrystar did Elmpaw, “Elmpaw, I give you the name, Elmheart,” Lastly, Berrystar did Seapaw. Seapaw’s grey eyes were looking at her with calm dignity. After saying the formal words, she said softly, “You are now, Seagaze,” Seagaze smiled and walked over to Elmheart, Bluefur, Ashtail, and Autumnmoon, “You five must all sit vigil this night!”
The cats dispersed, and the five newly made warriors went to sit vigil.
The next day, Seagaze was very tired from sitting vigil all night. He walked slowly into the warriors den with the others and plopped down, falling asleep almost instantly. It was later in the afternoon when he awoke, and the sun was streaming into the den, lighting up his grey eyes. He blinked at the sudden light, and got up, stretching his cramped legs. Autumnmoon also woke, and followed Seagaze out the den, “Seagaze!” she called. The grey tom turned around. Autumnmoon smiled, “I was wondering….If you would like to go hunting?” she said softly. Seagaze shrugged, “Sure!” The two set off, talking.
Autumnmoon and Seagaze became very close friends, and Elmheart began to feel a little left out. The golden tom sulked most of the time, wishing he could still play around with Seagaze as he used to. One morning, he was waiting for Seagaze and Autumnmoon to come back from a hunting trip together. He noticed the familiar shaggy grey coat of Seagaze, “Seagaze!” he said. Seagaze said goodbye to Autumnmoon and trotted over to Elmheart, “Yeah?” he asked, “Can I talk to you?” Elmheart asked hesitantly. Seagaze shrugged and followed Elmheart behind the nursery,
“Seagaze, are you still my friend?”
“Of course!”
“But you’re always hanging out with Autumnmoon all the time,” Seagaze looked at the ground, “Well, she’s nice,” he stuttered, “Aren’t I nice?” Elmheart said softly, tears threatening to fall, “You were the only real friend I had,” Elmheart choked on the words, “And now you’re only hanging out with Autumnmoon,” Seagaze felt horrible, “I’m so sorry, Elmheart,” he looked at the ground with sad grey eyes, “Want to go for a walk?” Seagaze asked apologetically. Elmheart looked up from the ground with his green eyes, “Sure,” the two set off.
They went to the ravine, not very far from the river. The sun was beginning to set, leaving bright fiery colors in the autumn sky. The two friends didn’t talk, just watched. Seagaze finally spoke up, “I love Autumnmoon,” he said softly. Elmheart looked at his friend, “I’m glad for you,” They turned to leave. Elmheart’s bad paw slipped on the rocky ground, making him fall backwards. He scrambled to grab onto the edge, feeling his body fall over the ravine. His paws just gripped the edge, and he looked at Seagaze with frightened eyes, “Seagaze, help!” he said, holding on as best as he could. Seagaze grabbed Elmheart’s front paw with his jaws, pulling him up. Seagaze pulled him up all the way. Elmheart stood there, trembling, “Thanks,” he murmured. Seagaze shrugged, “It was nothing. Are you all right?” the golden cat nodded hurriedly, gulping,
“Going somewhere, cats?” A hissing voice sounded behind them. Seagaze and Elmheart turned around to see a crouching ugly red tom. His jaw was twisted, giving him an even uglier look. The scent was that of a rogue.
Elmheart and Seagaze looked at the cat with frightened eyes. Seagaze gained control, staring at the cat, “What do you want?” he spat. Elmheart just cowered behind him, “I want fresh cat meat!” The rogue chuckled, “No one gets away from Reddeath!” he hissed, almost as if he was talking to himself. Seagaze stepped forward, “Well you won’t find it here!” he said bravely, standing protectively in front of his friend. Reddeath didn’t look as if he was going to do anything dangerous that was until he suddenly leaped at the grey tom. Elmheart ran as fast as his mangled paw could take him a little ways off, wishing he could help Seagaze. He watched with frightened green eyes. Taking a deep breath to keep himself in control, he raced off to camp to get help.
Seagaze was taken down by the sudden attack, but lifted the other cat off him with the use of his powerful back legs. Reddeath went flying over him, giving Seagaze enough time to get up and be ready for the next attack. They circled. Then once again, Reddeath went flying at him. Seagaze moved quickly to the side, skidding a little on the rocks. He struggled to control his legs from skidding even further. Reddeath advanced on him, pushing him farther and farther towards the edge of the precipice. Just then, Autumnmoon, Elmheart, Berrystar, and Brackenheart had come to help. Elmheart stayed behind, watching them go silently towards Reddeath, to surprise him. Seagaze’s usually calm grey eyes were fearful. He knew perfectly well what Reddeath was trying to do. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. Seagaze noticed the three cats, and he almost wanted to cry. For behind the three cats were two other rogues, ready to advance upon the three Riverclan cats. Seagaze mustered all his strength to call out, “Behind you!” his voice was hoarse, but it reached the keen ears of the cats. They turned around just in time to avoid getting killed. They fought viciously with the other cats. Seagaze was still with Reddeath, moving slowly backwards. He stopped suddenly, looking at Elmheart who was standing by miserably, looking at Seagaze.
Elmheart’s heart stopped. He saw the look in Seagaze’s eyes. He moved his mouth silently in the word “No” but a stubborn look of determination was set in his friends face. Elmheart choked up, green eyes shiny with tears. He couldn’t let his friend do this. No, no. Seagaze whispered a silent goodbye to his friend and to Autumnmoon, who wasn’t watching. He yowled to the sky, making all the cats stop their fighting, even making Reddeath pause, “STARCLAN!!!!” Seagaze wrapped his paws around Reddeath’s neck, pulling him with him….over the edge of the cliff. Elmheart screamed almost at the exact same time as did Autumnmoon. A faint thump was heard from below, followed by rocks falling from the precipice. The two rogues ran away, frightened at not having Reddeath. The four Riverclan cats rushed to the edge, looking over. Seagaze’s body was motionless, grey eyes staring up at the star studded sky unblinkingly. The dead rogue was on top of him, teeth just about to be buried into his enemy’s neck. Autumnmoon, Elmheart, Berrystar, and Brackenheart wept for the dead warrior. All the cats climbed down to get him up to be buried, except for Elmheart. The golden tom’s fur was a dusky color in the moonlight. Tears fell unchecked down his cheeks, leaving wet trails, “Goodbye,” He murmured, hanging his head.
The warriors made it back to the camp, with the dead Seagaze. Autumnmoon’s eyes were dry, and her manner was as cold as ice. Berrystar was strong as could be expected, holding back the tears. Elmheart was the worst for wear. Tears still flowed down his cheeks, and he kept muttering to himself about Seagaze. Ashtail and Bluefur rushed out, seeing their dead brother. Their mother also came, looking with horror at her son’s body. Brackenheart helped Berrystar lay down Seagaze in a peaceful position. Berrystar slowly leapt upon the high rock, looking at the other clans with sad eyes, “Seagaze was killed while killing a rogue. He will always be remembered. Those who were closest to him will sit vigil with him this night,” Berrystar, Elmheart, Autumnmoon, Ashtail, Bluefur, and lastly, his mother, Morningstorm, shared tongues with their dead friend. He would always be remembered as the wise young cat who would gaze at the stars every night. Seagaze.
DONE
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