Pumafoot's Journey

==Chapter One: Go!==
Pumapaw sat upright, alert and awed at the broad stretch of forest that seemed to stretch forever. A maze of trees lay before him and his mentor. "Will I learn all of this by heart?" He asked
"Of course you will Pumapaw." The tall, sleek she-cat meowed light-heartedly. "You will know every border and every tree by the time you're a warrior. But for now, we're going to practice our hunting skills. Your mother said you'd already perfected your hunters crouch."
"But shouldn't we see the borders, Brownfeather?" Pumapaw argued, wishing he hadn't asked just after the words slipped from his mouth, "I-"
"No. I know you're excited but tomorrow we'll explore there. Right now the clan needs fed and-" Her voice broke off into silence. Tears welled in her green gazed.
A pang of sympathy hit the apprentice in an instant. Her mate, Foxshadow, had died over a clash for territory. The elders told stories of his bravery and how it went down. Foxshadow had made a vain attempt to take on a cat twice his side, and ended up with a slitted neck. "I didn't mean to-"
"Quiet." Brownfeather snapped "We work on hunting today, borders tomorrow. If you don't want to listen then go back to camp and whine to your mother. This is real stuff, Pumapaw. If you don't learn now, you'll die before you ever get to win a battle. You got that?"
The jet-black cat gulped and nodded. Brownfeather was one of the most strange cats in the clan, and he was her first apprentice. He could already tell how hard he was going to work by her stern words.
"Show me you're hunting crouch."
"Um I dont-"
"Now." The pure brown feline hissed.
Pumafoot obeyed. He dropped so that his belly just hovered over the ground and his tail was kept still. Slowly, he moved forwards clumsily.
"NO! That was horrible. I guess Winterwing lied because a kit could do better than that. Watch carefully." Brownfeather hovered above the bare earth, her tail straight out behind her, and her ears pressed agaist her burnt sienna head. Expertly, she crawled forward, her paws making almost no sound and her fur seemed to blend with the ground. "Now you try." 
"Okay..." The cat responded to his mentor uncertainly. As he slid onto his belly, a sudden sound of pawsteps errupted from just beyond the clearing, yowls following them. Pumafoot leaped to his alabaster white paws ans slunk into the shadows.
"Get out from there right now." Brownfeather scolded watching her apprentice come to her side, quivering. Three cats exploded from a bush up ahead, panting heavily.
In the lead was a tom with brown tabby stripes, blood seeping from his flank. Next to him was a calico she-cat, whose ear was torn and freshly wounded. Flanking her was a russet brown tom with his tail bitten, limping on three paws and he held up his front left one.
"Redspot what happened!" Brownfeather gasped. Before Redspot could respond, cat flooded into the clearing, surrounding Pumafoot and his Clanmates.
"Feather" Said a tortishell tom, his amber eyes glinting, "I haven't seen you in ages Feather. Tell me who this fine tom is."
Brownfeather was stunned. "Pine... I thought you were dead! This here is Pumapaw, my apprentice. Who did you bring with you?"
Pumapaw caught a slight note of happiness in her voice. Was this who she was with when she was a rogue? The borwn cat's apprentice was too shocked to say anything. Redspot looked the most hurt- mentally and physically. Redspot had a huge crush on Brownfeather.
"This is the Shadowed Felines." The so-called Pine declared happily. "I'm sure you recall Maple?"
"Maple?!" Brownfeather gasped as a ginger she-cat stepped out of the shadows. A purr broke from the warriors throat as she greeted the ginger cat.
"Brownfeather? You know these cats?" The brown tabby tom asked his Clanmate.
Brownfeather whipped around, "Oakpelt, it's not what it looks like! I...." She stopped, "I do know them"
Pine paced forwards and entwined his tail with Brownfeather's "I've been looking for you for moons. Will you please come back?" Pine murmered, barley loud enough for Pumapaw to hear.
Pumapaw's mentor froze, as if torn between two worlds. She glanced at Pumapaw then said, "I'll go if Pumapaw can come with me."
Pine looked Pumapaw up and down, "Deal." 
The strange leader took Pumapaw in his jaws and padded off into what was unfamilliar to Pumapaw, leaving the three hurt cats behind. He struggled to get free, but the tom's grip was too strong. Until Pumapaw was far away from the clearing, he was set down.
"No! I want to go back!" Pumapaw whined, "I'm not loyal to the Shadowed what-ever!"
Pine and Brownfeather laughed, "You'll like it here." Pine promised.
"I'm going to leave" The black cat thought to himself, vowing. "They won't decide for me."
==Chapter 2: Learn before you Leap==
W.I.P
Category:Cats
Category:Stories