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Once Mudtuft and Rowanfrost were gone, the clearing was left in an uncomfortable silence. Honeystar left her place on the boulder, settling by her grassy den. She never dismissed the crowd, though again, she never gathered them to begin with.

“What was that?” Spiderpaw hissed as the crowd dispersed. There was a clear feeling of disappointment and confusion in the air, and Oatnose could only hope that the interaction wouldn’t hang over his head the rest of the day.

“Leader business,” Oatnose guessed. “Uh, c’mon, Spiderpaw. Let’s find Duskbriar and see if—”

“You seriously think I can focus on training today after that?” Spiderpaw cut him off, his tail lashing. “She brought him here for no reason! What is she thinking?”

Oatnose nearly pounced on his apprentice in an effort to shut him up. Before he could react, Honeystar’s voice cut through the crowd. “Oatnose,” the massive warrior froze at the sound of his name, heart pounding. “Control your apprentice.” That was it. She turned her back to him and continued grooming herself.

Spiderpaw huffed defiantly as Oatnose caught his breath. This apprentice would be the death of him.

After her light reprimanding of Oatnose, Honeystar called to a different warrior: Milkflower. The white molly approached her and dipped her head respectfully. “Yes, Honeystar?”

“Milkflower, where’s my niece and nephew?” Honeystar questioned. “I saw you with them today.”

“I went on patrol with them and Badgerheart this morning,” Milkflower answered. “I left to do something with Silentpaw and haven’t seen them since.”

Honeystar hummed in response. “Take me to where you last saw them,” she commanded, her voice trailing off at the end. “But first… how is Silentpaw doing?”

Milkflower tilted her head back and groaned. “Horrible! She’s hopeless. Absolutely hopeless!” When Honeystar didn’t respond, Milkflower took it as permission to continue. “She has terrible timing and a useless sense of smell. And— get this— she’s too timid to catch a mouse. A mouse! Says she feels bad or something. She sure doesn’t feel bad when someone else catches her a mouse to eat. That brat can’t tell a twig from a toad.”

“So,” Honeystar thought aloud. “I suppose she’s not ready for an assessment.”

“I’ll be a great-grandmother before she’s ready for an assessment,” Milkflower moaned.

As Honeystar thought it over, Violetbriar quickly approached the conversing mollies. “Is there a problem Honeystar? Silentpaw’s being held back again?”

“Yes,” Honeystar sighed. “I have no use for such incompetence.”

Violetbriar stared intently at her leader, as if she’d been waiting for this moment forever. “You know, I’ve been… experimenting with different forms of treatment.”

“Treatment?” Honeystar urged her to continue.

Milkflower interjected, “Is it like that weird crap you’re pulling with that KnollClan chimera? Gross.”

Honeystar flicked her tail, signaling for Milkflower to silence. “Let her speak,” she ordered. The white-furred warrior stepped back.

Violetbriar continued. “Silentpaw isn’t useless. Everything wrong with her is in her head. Medicine can’t erase fear or anxiety. However, her head can be, what’s the word? Altered. It might take time, but if it proves successful, then there will be no such thing as a talentless or fearful warrior again.” The medicine cat looked over her shoulder, her eyes running slowly over Silentpaw, who sat far from everyone else in the shade of a tree at the edge of camp. “What I’m saying is… I believe I could fix her… if I can have her.”

Honeystar stayed quiet for several moments. Milkflower eyed Violetbriar suspiciously, but didn’t say anything to sway her leader’s opinion. Finally, Honeystar responded, “Very well. You can keep her. I hope to see improvement in my future warrior.”

“MeadowClan can’t afford to lose any warriors,” Violetbriar said. She spoke quickly and almost thoughtlessly, as if she couldn’t stand to sit around a moment longer.

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Cover
Prologue / Chapter 1 Literature Version

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

Description

Once Mudtuft and Rowanfrost were gone, the clearing was left in an uncomfortable silence. Honeystar left her place on the boulder, settling by her grassy den. She never dismissed the crowd, though again, she never gathered them to begin with.

“What was that?” Spiderpaw hissed as the crowd dispersed. There was a clear feeling of disappointment and confusion in the air, and Oatnose could only hope that the interaction wouldn’t hang over his head the rest of the day.

“Leader business,” Oatnose guessed. “Uh, c’mon, Spiderpaw. Let’s find Duskbriar and see if—”

“You seriously think I can focus on training today after that?” Spiderpaw cut him off, his tail lashing. “She brought him here for no reason! What is she thinking?”

Oatnose nearly pounced on his apprentice in an effort to shut him up. Before he could react, Honeystar’s voice cut through the crowd. “Oatnose,” the massive warrior froze at the sound of his name, heart pounding. “Control your apprentice.” That was it. She turned her back to him and continued grooming herself.

Spiderpaw huffed defiantly as Oatnose caught his breath. This apprentice would be the death of him.

After her light reprimanding of Oatnose, Honeystar called to a different warrior: Milkflower. The white molly approached her and dipped her head respectfully. “Yes, Honeystar?”

“Milkflower, where’s my niece and nephew?” Honeystar questioned. “I saw you with them today.”

“I went on patrol with them and Badgerheart this morning,” Milkflower answered. “I left to do something with Silentpaw and haven’t seen them since.”

Honeystar hummed in response. “Take me to where you last saw them,” she commanded, her voice trailing off at the end. “But first… how is Silentpaw doing?”

Milkflower tilted her head back and groaned. “Horrible! She’s hopeless. Absolutely hopeless!” When Honeystar didn’t respond, Milkflower took it as permission to continue. “She has terrible timing and a useless sense of smell. And— get this— she’s too timid to catch a mouse. A mouse! Says she feels bad or something. She sure doesn’t feel bad when someone else catches her a mouse to eat. That brat can’t tell a twig from a toad.”

“So,” Honeystar thought aloud. “I suppose she’s not ready for an assessment.”

“I’ll be a great-grandmother before she’s ready for an assessment,” Milkflower moaned.

As Honeystar thought it over, Violetbriar quickly approached the conversing mollies. “Is there a problem Honeystar? Silentpaw’s being held back again?”

“Yes,” Honeystar sighed. “I have no use for such incompetence.”

Violetbriar stared intently at her leader, as if she’d been waiting for this moment forever. “You know, I’ve been… experimenting with different forms of treatment.”

“Treatment?” Honeystar urged her to continue.

Milkflower interjected, “Is it like that weird crap you’re pulling with that KnollClan chimera? Gross.”

Honeystar flicked her tail, signaling for Milkflower to silence. “Let her speak,” she ordered. The white-furred warrior stepped back.

Violetbriar continued. “Silentpaw isn’t useless. Everything wrong with her is in her head. Medicine can’t erase fear or anxiety. However, her head can be, what’s the word? Altered. It might take time, but if it proves successful, then there will be no such thing as a talentless or fearful warrior again.” The medicine cat looked over her shoulder, her eyes running slowly over Silentpaw, who sat far from everyone else in the shade of a tree at the edge of camp. “What I’m saying is… I believe I could fix her… if I can have her.”

Honeystar stayed quiet for several moments. Milkflower eyed Violetbriar suspiciously, but didn’t say anything to sway her leader’s opinion. Finally, Honeystar responded, “Very well. You can keep her. I hope to see improvement in my future warrior.”

“MeadowClan can’t afford to lose any warriors,” Violetbriar said. She spoke quickly and almost thoughtlessly, as if she couldn’t stand to sit around a moment longer.

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

Previous Page
Next Page
Cover
Prologue / Chapter 1 Literature Version

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