The Meadow

The

                     Meadow

by Sandy

The tall grasses of The Meadow concealed what lay within. From the outside, The Meadow looked just like a plain, simple meadow, but on the inside... No one speaks of what's inside, all they say is that it is a place that you should never go. But, some cats are unable to believe the stories, and many have risked their lives just to see whether the stories they were told were lies. This is a story of uncanny bravery, terror, love and heartbreak, as some cats discover what The Meadow has been hiding within.

## Allegiances

### FlameClan

**Leader**: Sparkstar - fluffy dark ginger she-cat with wide amber eyes and a rather long tail

**Deputy:** Rootwhisker - pale brown tom with darker cream spots; green eyes

Apprentice: Shadowpaw - black tom

**Medicine Cat:** Foxnose - dark red tabby tom with a thin tail and long legs

**Fighters -those who fight minor to medium battles on behalf of the Clan; the main focus of the leader- :**

Quailmoon - brown mottled tom with Amber eyes and a sleek build

Reedfrost - darker ginger she-cat with black spots covering her Pelt all over

Spottedwing - dappled tom with white paws, sharp tipped ears and feathers around his paws

Brindlefern - large and muscular she-cat with a sandy Pelt and a darker nose

Apprentice: Moonpaw (silver she-cat with white markings)

Goldriver - golden-brown tom

Echopelt - creamy-brown she-cat with short and ragged fur; frosty silver eyes

**Hunters -those who hunt for prey and monitor progress in the prey patterns; usually weaker cats- :**

Appledapple - reddish ticked tabby she-cat with green eyes and a bulky frame

Duskspot - black and brown tom with amber Eyes and a scarred Pelt

Sunflight - pure golden she-cat with a sleek build and Pelt, long claws and green eyes

Apprentice: Dustpaw (light brown tom with dusty brown paws)

Nightwhisker - black tom with white stripes

Waterfang - blue-gray she-cat with deeper blue eyes and black stripes, the colour of the shadows

Apprentice: Ratpaw (black she-cat)

**Seekers -those who search for new grounds the Clan could claim; very few- :**

Farcry - black and white patched tom with long legs and Amber eyes

Windsong - white she-cat with a fluffy pelt and ice blue eyes

**Knowledgables -those whom the leader trusts with important information; very few- :**

Snaketail - long tailed fluffy gray she-cat with darker gray paws and yellow eyes

Apprentice: Firepaw (short and stocky flame-coloured tom with green eyes and lighter ginger stripes)

Frostclaw - small framed white tom

**Apprentices:**

Firepaw - short and stocky flame-coloured tom with green eyes and lighter ginger stripes

Ratpaw - black she-cat

Dustpaw - light brown tom with dusty brown paws

Moonpaw - silver she-cat with white markings

Shadowpaw - black tom

**Queens:**

Smallfoot - ginger and white she-cat with pretty green eyes, Hunter, (mother to Farcry's kits: Fernkit and Mosskit)

Hayclaw - blue ticked she-cat with one blind eye and shorter, knotted fur, Fighter, (expecting Duskspot's kits)

**Elders:**

Gingerpelt - as his name suggests, ginger tom with pale yellow stripes

**The Traitors -cats of the Rebellion who have been taken hostage- :**

Cloudpool - frosty gray she-cat with scars all over her body; sharp Amber eyes and semi-long fur

Clawstrike - brown tom with an attitude

### RippleClan

**Leader:**Wingstar - pale gray she-cat with long fur and white tips

**Deputy:**Splashclaw - blue-gray tom with amber eyes, a stocky build and a slightly crooked tail

**Medicine Cat:** Dapplecreek - dappled she-cat with ginger paws and a small frame

Apprentice: Lavenderpaw - purpleish she-cat with a bright pink nose

**Fighters:**

Ambertail - amber coloured she-cat with short and curly fur, green eyes that deepen to a teal

Waterleap - brown ticked tom with long, lanky legs

Dawnbreeze - cream and brown tabby she-cat with small paws, a narrow muzzle and soft blue eyes

Apprentice: Sootpaw (dotted white tom)

Elmwhisker - golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes

Mistlefern - black and white she-cat with a long scar running over her left eye

Crookedtail - large brown tabby with black stripes and semi-long fur

**Hunters:**

Clawfoot - black tom with white paws and a white streak along the side of his neck

Quailfeather - brown she-cat with a small build but large paws

Apprentice: Autumnpaw (she-cat with mixed brown fur and pretty green eyes)

Kinktail - pinkish she-cat with lighter brown stripes

Mottledpelt - brown, black and gray tom with short fur that curls around his paws, giving him feathers

**Seekers:**

Sparrowhawk - brown tom with gray dapples

Apprentice: Fernpaw (dark gray tabby she-cat with black stripes and green eyes)

Cloudwhisker - white she-cat

**Knowledgables:**

Greenflower - fluffy brown she-cat with green paws and amber eyes; considered the wisest RippleClan cat

Darkfoot - white tom with one black paws and fluffy and curly fur

Softwing - soft furred she-cat with a tortoiseshell and white pelt

Apprentice: Yewpaw (yellow tom)

**Apprentices:**

Yewpaw - yellow tom

Fernpaw - dark gray tabby she-cat with black stripes and green eyes

Autumnpaw - she-cat with mixed brown fur and pretty green eyes

Sootpaw - dotted white tom

Lavenderpaw - purpleish she-cat with a bright pink nose

'*Q'***ueens:**

Creekpool - long furred gray she-cat with darker stripes, (mother to Clawfoot's kits, Shimmerkit, Fishkit, Tallkit and Frecklekit)

Vixenheart

**Elders:**

### The Rebellion

Leader: Darkspirit - former Clan cat, black tom with pale gray paws and deep green eyes

Spiderleap - reddish she-cat with long legs, long fur and two white paws

tbc

## Chapter One

The blinding sunlight filtered into FlameClan's camp, sending out rays of gold to spray across the clearing. The dawn was not always like this, the clouds for once retreating into the horizon. The trees caused the sunlight the flitter through the branches, dappling the ground in patterns that were beautiful.

If only the camp inhabitants were this peaceful.

Yowls of fury and ailing filled the air and Ratpaw was struggling to hold on to her temper. The camp noises had grown more and more familiar to her in her moons of apprenticeship, but when the Queens fought it was hell. Ratpaw was thankful that she didn't have to live by one's side any longer than she had.

"You don't know what it's like, having kits when they may never meet their father!" Smallfoot yowled, her voice loud and clear, making Ratpaw flatten her ears to her head even more. It felt as though her eardrums eere going to burst soon enough. Her head hurt from all the yowling and screeching.

"Farcry may never come back for months and months until it's been a few years! At least you and your mate can see each other everyday!" Smallfoot ranted on, her gaze locked with Hayclaw's, her denmate and her cousin. Despite the two being relatives, Ratpaw failed to believe they had any love for each other.

She got to her paws slowly and let her black Pelt seep into the shadows of the tree's root's as she stretched, before she padded out from under the oak and towards the Queens. She moved straight past them, knowing she would only make them angrier if she intervened. She bounded over to the prey pile where her brother, Shadowpaw, was resting, his eyes almost closed fully.

Almost.

"Hey, Shadowpaw," Ratpaw meowed in greeting, settling next to her brother, whose eyes snapped open immediately. He had always been protective over Ratpaw, but it was all long after sibling love, more like overprotective love. He looked up at her in a friendly way, before he grinned in a small way.

Shadowpaw was better than Ratpaw at almost everything, including his killer grin. "Hey, little sister." He thrust his head forward and looked at Ratpaw with wide eyes. His puppy eyes. His puppy eyes for when he had misbehaved. Ratpaw shoved him hard, but with his large build Shadowpaw barely flinched.

"Hey, big bro." The two black cats shared a glance as the Queens yowled on, but before she could open my mouth to snap at them, Shadowpaw had wrapped his tail around Ratpaw's mouth, muttering in her ear, "Rootwhisker will be on it soon enough."

"Oi! You two shut up! You're disturbing everyone!" Rootwhisker was storming across the clearing, his hackles raised and his glare sharp. He held his head high in his pride, his chest puffed out. The newly appointed deputy was considerably young, but he did a good job and just happened to be Shadowpaw's mentor.

"Told ya." Shadowpaw shot Ratpaw a knowing glance, before Ratpaw glared at him. "Perhaps I knew it too. Maybe I was acting dumb?" She lied, but she knew it was daft. He brother was smart, a lot smarter than her, unfortunately.

Shadowpaw smirked. "Don't play me for a fool. I know you have a crush on my mentor." He laughed as Ratpaw blushed and curled her lips in a snarl. Awkward.

"Look, I've got some, er... Projects, to finish for my assignment." Of course, there was no such assignment, but she used it as an excuse as she fled her brother's side.

tbc