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“Oatnose! Guess what?” Spiderpaw leapt forward, pouncing on his mentor’s back. Oatnose let out a squeal at the sudden attack, knocking the apprentice over.

“Spiderpaw!” The giant tom fretted over the much smaller tabby.

The apprentice recovered quickly, though; jumping back to his paws. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Spiderpaw exclaimed. “First, I just wanna say that you were wrong about my sneaking skills. I eavesdropped on a Council meeting this morning and no one caught me!” The brown tabby puffed out his chest in pride, waiting for his mentor’s praise to wash over him.

“You what?” Oatnose gawped.

“Cool, huh?” Spiderpaw didn’t notice his mentor’s terrified expression. “Wanna know what I heard?”

“Spiderpaw!” Oatnose lunged forward, crouching lower so he could be eye-level with his apprentice. “Don’t you know how dangerous that is? Honeystar’s had cats punished for less! Beyond that, it’s just inappropriate!”

“Oh, please,” Spiderpaw sighed, disappointed. “I’m not afraid of Honeystar. She’s just an old, washed-out leader who thinks she’s scarier than she is. Besides, we need more freedom in this Clan.”

Oatnose quaked, “Watch your mouth, Spiderpaw, please. You need to be afraid of Honeystar. She’s our leader!”

Spiderpaw scoffed. “I doubt VineClan’s afraid of their leader. Respect ain’t the same as fear.”

Oatnose blinked. “Of course it is.”

“Were you so afraid of the last leader?” Spiderpaw challenged.

“Ryestar?” Oatnose thought back to his early apprenticeship; back when Honeystar was still Honeystream and cats didn’t have to walk on eggshells every day. “Well, no,” he sheepishly admitted. “But that’s different. It was a different time.”

“Let’s go back to that time, then,” Spiderpaw retorted. "What about Cloudfur? What happened to him? We're the only Clan without a Preacher 'cause our leader can't handle flak. That's what my pop says." Spiderpaw stopped himself when he saw Oatnose's fur twitch when he mentioned MeadowClan's former Preacher. “Whatever,” he shrugged, tapping his paws on the ground impatiently. “Wanna hear what I overheard?”

Oatnose was going to reject his offer, but became distracted when Honeystar emerged from her den. The molly situated herself on the boulder that marked the center of camp, her golden eyes sharp and observant. Oh, StarClan… was she looking at them?

Spiderpaw took Oatnose’s silence as a yes. “Honeystar was talking about allying with VineClan!” The young tom’s energy was back as he spoke louder than he should’ve. “Apparently, Rushstar said no, so she said she was gonna force them to comply. I told you, Oatnose, I told you that Honeystar was insane!”

Oatnose briefly snapped back to his apprentice. “Spiderpaw, don’t say—”

Spiderpaw cut him off. “She’s already teaming up with KnollClan and CoveClan. Now she’s going for VineClan. She also said something about a revolution or something. Is that the one Dogstripe leads?”

Oatnose swore he saw Honeystar’s ear twitch at the mention of Dogstripe’s name. “Spiderpaw!” Oatnose grabbed his apprentice and pulled him away, shielding him from Honeystar’s gaze. Spiderpaw let out a confused squeak as Oatnose held him close. “We don’t talk about him,” he warned.

Spiderpaw seemed to finally catch the hint and questioned quietly, “So, there is a revolution! I knew it. That’s awesome!”

“No, it isn’t,” Oatnose objected, glancing over his shoulder to see Honeystar’s eyes still transfixed on him and Spiderpaw. Was she listening? Oatnose prayed that she would chalk up Spiderpaw’s ramblings as a new apprentice’s overactive mind going wild.

“You’re so boring,” Spiderpaw slithered his way out of Oatnose’s grasp. “I wish I had a more exciting mentor.”

Oatnose’s ears flattened against his head. He knew he was disappointing his apprentice, but he just wanted to keep him safe. Maybe he was right; things needed to change. But Honeystar was his leader. Ryestar trusted her to take over the Clan when he retired. Who was he to argue against it? Oatnose was a lot of things, but a disloyal warrior was not one of them.

“I’m sorry,” Oatnose began, but was interrupted by the shocked gasps and triumphant chatter of his Clanmates. The sounds of hissing and snarling started to overpower the camp’s prattling, causing Oatnose to stand protectively over his apprentice.

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Prologue / Chapter 1 Literature Version

Warriors © Erin Hunter
Art, Story, & Characters © ShakespeareNerd

Description

“Oatnose! Guess what?” Spiderpaw leapt forward, pouncing on his mentor’s back. Oatnose let out a squeal at the sudden attack, knocking the apprentice over.

“Spiderpaw!” The giant tom fretted over the much smaller tabby.

The apprentice recovered quickly, though; jumping back to his paws. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Spiderpaw exclaimed. “First, I just wanna say that you were wrong about my sneaking skills. I eavesdropped on a Council meeting this morning and no one caught me!” The brown tabby puffed out his chest in pride, waiting for his mentor’s praise to wash over him.

“You what?” Oatnose gawped.

“Cool, huh?” Spiderpaw didn’t notice his mentor’s terrified expression. “Wanna know what I heard?”

“Spiderpaw!” Oatnose lunged forward, crouching lower so he could be eye-level with his apprentice. “Don’t you know how dangerous that is? Honeystar’s had cats punished for less! Beyond that, it’s just inappropriate!”

“Oh, please,” Spiderpaw sighed, disappointed. “I’m not afraid of Honeystar. She’s just an old, washed-out leader who thinks she’s scarier than she is. Besides, we need more freedom in this Clan.”

Oatnose quaked, “Watch your mouth, Spiderpaw, please. You need to be afraid of Honeystar. She’s our leader!”

Spiderpaw scoffed. “I doubt VineClan’s afraid of their leader. Respect ain’t the same as fear.”

Oatnose blinked. “Of course it is.”

“Were you so afraid of the last leader?” Spiderpaw challenged.

“Ryestar?” Oatnose thought back to his early apprenticeship; back when Honeystar was still Honeystream and cats didn’t have to walk on eggshells every day. “Well, no,” he sheepishly admitted. “But that’s different. It was a different time.”

“Let’s go back to that time, then,” Spiderpaw retorted. "What about Cloudfur? What happened to him? We're the only Clan without a Preacher 'cause our leader can't handle flak. That's what my pop says." Spiderpaw stopped himself when he saw Oatnose's fur twitch when he mentioned MeadowClan's former Preacher. “Whatever,” he shrugged, tapping his paws on the ground impatiently. “Wanna hear what I overheard?”

Oatnose was going to reject his offer, but became distracted when Honeystar emerged from her den. The molly situated herself on the boulder that marked the center of camp, her golden eyes sharp and observant. Oh, StarClan… was she looking at them?

Spiderpaw took Oatnose’s silence as a yes. “Honeystar was talking about allying with VineClan!” The young tom’s energy was back as he spoke louder than he should’ve. “Apparently, Rushstar said no, so she said she was gonna force them to comply. I told you, Oatnose, I told you that Honeystar was insane!”

Oatnose briefly snapped back to his apprentice. “Spiderpaw, don’t say—”

Spiderpaw cut him off. “She’s already teaming up with KnollClan and CoveClan. Now she’s going for VineClan. She also said something about a revolution or something. Is that the one Dogstripe leads?”

Oatnose swore he saw Honeystar’s ear twitch at the mention of Dogstripe’s name. “Spiderpaw!” Oatnose grabbed his apprentice and pulled him away, shielding him from Honeystar’s gaze. Spiderpaw let out a confused squeak as Oatnose held him close. “We don’t talk about him,” he warned.

Spiderpaw seemed to finally catch the hint and questioned quietly, “So, there is a revolution! I knew it. That’s awesome!”

“No, it isn’t,” Oatnose objected, glancing over his shoulder to see Honeystar’s eyes still transfixed on him and Spiderpaw. Was she listening? Oatnose prayed that she would chalk up Spiderpaw’s ramblings as a new apprentice’s overactive mind going wild.

“You’re so boring,” Spiderpaw slithered his way out of Oatnose’s grasp. “I wish I had a more exciting mentor.”

Oatnose’s ears flattened against his head. He knew he was disappointing his apprentice, but he just wanted to keep him safe. Maybe he was right; things needed to change. But Honeystar was his leader. Ryestar trusted her to take over the Clan when he retired. Who was he to argue against it? Oatnose was a lot of things, but a disloyal warrior was not one of them.

“I’m sorry,” Oatnose began, but was interrupted by the shocked gasps and triumphant chatter of his Clanmates. The sounds of hissing and snarling started to overpower the camp’s prattling, causing Oatnose to stand protectively over his apprentice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous Page
Next Page
Cover
Prologue / Chapter 1 Literature Version

Warriors © Erin Hunter
Art, Story, & Characters © ShakespeareNerd