this entire wattpad book is great if you dont have prior knowledge of the Warriors Cats series
I will try to make this easy to read so you can have no knowledge of warrior cats to know what the story is about
If you are interested in the warriors series but reading actual books isn’t your style, watch this playlist.
It was very dark. Darkness seemed to be the only thing Thomas could see when he entered the shadows that were cast on to the forest floor. Many scents surrounded him, and many were unknown to him. The strong scent of the forest overwhelmed him, and he pushed forward through the bushes and leaves that he hadn’t yet explored.
The wind whistled and sang through the night, and it rusted his brown fur. Oddly enough, it seemed inviting, as if the forest itself was beckoning him in. So he obliged, and did not retreat back to his house. Somehow the grass and trees felt more like home than the bed his housefolk had gotten for him. The blue collar around his neck felt more like a barrier than anything, and he found himself taking a break from walking in the woods.
The whistling of the wind stopped, and Thomas’ heart began to beat rapidly. Was something there? Was something in the shadows? There was a rustle in the bushes, and he stepped closer to investigate.
“Is anyone there?” He called out.
No response was given, and the rustling stopped. But this did not ease him.
Silence overtook the forest. Well, except for Thomas’ beating heart. It seemed to be the only sound he could hear. The fast thump, thump, thump of his beating heart, which he silently cursed to keep quiet.
And, as his head turned up, something leaped out of the bushes and lunged straight towards him. Thomas flinched back, his claws ready to attack as he-
Thomas’ eyes shot open, as he sat up. A dream. That’s what it was, a dream.
But why did it feel so real? He shook out his fur, deciding to deal with that later. He took a step out of his blue and white bed, stretching his paws and his back on the wooden floor below him. His eyes narrowed. It was nothing like the surreal grass in his dreams.
Thomas padded towards his bowl, what he assumed to be his name engraved on the side. He took a bite from the kibble, before feeling disgusted. His mind, without permission, compared it to looking like rabbit dung. He spit it out immediately. It didn’t taste good, anyway. Wiping his mouth with a paw, he made his way outside.
The backyard was small, hardly enough to contain Thomas’ adventurous nature. Discovering the same tree over and over again got old. He padded past it, and jumped out, landing on the fence that kept the yard contained. He balanced on it, digging his claws into the wood to keep himself stable as he gazed into the forest.
The stars were bright, almost as if they were shining directly upon him. He looked up to study them, watching the clouds pass through the sky.
“Why are you up so late?”
The voice startled Thomas, and he jumped back. He quickly recognised the cat.
“I could ask you the same thing, Joan.” He said, his ear flicking back.
Joan laughed, shoving him slightly. “Actually, you can’t. I’m an ally cat, I do what I want. You, on the other paw, are a house cat.” They pointed out.
Thomas’ gaze went to the other cat’s neck. There was a spot that went around their neck where fur hadn’t grown like the rest of their pelt. You’re an ally cat now, Thomas thought, but you were a housecat.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, Thomas turned away from the self-proclaimed ally cat and turned back to the forest that had been occupying his dreams for moons.
“...you’re not thinking of going in there, are you?” Joan questioned.
“No,” Thomas said. “But don’t you think it’d be fun? No rules, just you and the wild.”
Joan shook their head. “That’s what being an ally cat is about. Those cats in the wild? I heard they’re vicious. One of the cats in the ally told me they sharpen their bones on cats they’ve killed.” They said. “I could probably survive moons in there- you wouldn’t last a day.”
Thomas stayed silent. Their words didn’t discourage him.
“...You’re going in there anyway, aren’t ya?” Joan said, exasperated. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Joan said, using his paw to salute as he hopped off the fence, padding the other way.
Thomas stood there for a moment, taking in what Joan had said. With a deep breath, Thomas leaped off his house folk's fence, padding into the woods.
The woods weren’t exactly as they were in his dreams. It was colder, and the wind seemed much less inviting. Regardless, Thomas pushed forward, ignoring his anxiety that was screaming to turn the hell around.
He heard the bushes rustle, and he stopped, remembering his dream. He claws unsheathed, ready for a cat to spring out at any moment.
Out of the leaves, a figure emerged… a mouse! Thomas’ ears perked up, before leaning down close to the ground. His belly brushed against the grass as he stalked forward. The mouse scurried onto the roots of a tree, and Thomas’ eyes narrowed. He hesitated, before leaping into the air in an attempt to catch the mouse.
He landed… well, he kind of just fell onto it as he crashed into the tree. When he lifted his paws to see his prize, it was gone! He frowned, slightly embarrassed with the attempt.
Thomas’ looked around the small forest he had found himself in. He looked back, his house in sight. He applauded himself silently for not getting lost.
But his celebration was cut short as something leapt out of the bushes, and pinned him.
Thomas didn’t get a good look at the cat, and all he knew is that their claws were out and he swiped at his cheek. He tried to dodge the other attacks, and was quick to get himself out of the wild cat’s grasp.
He quickly got up, trying to sprint away. The other cat was going after him, and his mind was screaming at him WHY DIDN’T I LISTEN TO JOAN?!
Thomas knew he wasn’t going to get to his house in time- it was too far. It was impossible to run away; he was going to have to fight. Turning back and crouching low, he unsheathed his claws and leaped towards the other cat. He was able to get on him for only a second, taking a swipe at the cat’s cheek. The other cat was able to get a hold of his neck, and threw him back.
The stranger leaped onto him, but Thomas used his hind paws to push him back, and got up again. He stood still for a moment, but Thomas’ mind was racing too much for him to take in anything other than the cat’s red eyes.
The cat danced a bit, jumping back and forth as if he were a puppy asking to play. However, this was real. He leaped towards Thomas again, but was surprised when Thomas was able to jump over him.
The cat was faced away, and Thomas took the opportunity to slam his body into the cat’s side, sending him flying towards the other side of the small clearing. He lay there for a moment, and Thomas wondered if he had knocked him out cold.
A moment passed before the cat got back up, his ear flicking. He bounded towards Thomas, and the brown housecat readied his stance.
“Hey there, kittypet!” The cat said with a smile. “Didn’t know tame kitties knew how to fight.”
“I’ll fight you again if I have to,” Thomas said, his gaze never moving from the tom. He could take in his features more clearly now. The tom was large, but not too much larger than Thomas himself. His pelt was bright orange and even borderline red. He had dark brown tabby stripes, and his eyes were an amber-ish red. He wondered how much of his body was fur and how much was skin.
“I’m Tigerpaw, by the way.” The tom said, ignoring his threat. Was he not taking him seriously? “I’m training to be a ThunderClan warrior!” Tigerpaw said with pride.
Thomas let down his guard for a moment, relaxing his fur which had been up since the beginning. He didn’t know why, but this wild cat made him at ease.
“What’s a kittypet like you doing in the woods? Don’t you know it's dangerous?” Tigerpaw’s head tilted.
Thomas licked his paw, his gaze narrowing. “It seems like I held myself.” He said. “I mean, if you’re the most dangerous thing here, I think I’ll be fine.”
Tigerpaw paused for a moment, before letting out a laugh. He composed himself not a moment later. “Well, I AM a very good fighter, but I’m not the most dangerous. If I was a half-trained warrior, though… WOO! Would I give an intruder like you some wounds to deal with.” He said.
Warrior? Intruder? Thomas’ mind was starting to spin. What was this cat going on about?
“Anyway,” meowed Tigerpaw. “You’re obviously not from the other Clans, so I wouldn’t dare hurt a single hair on your cute kittypet head.”
Thomas ignored his comment. “Other Clans?” He asked. What even was a Clan?
Tigerpaw gasped, as if hurt personally that Thomas had asked in the first place. “You’re telling me you haven’t heard of the four Clans that hunt around here? I’m astonished!” He said dramatically. “Well, there are four Clans. WindClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and - the best Clan - THUNDERCLAN!” He said, basically shouting as he announced his Clan.
“ShadowClan is the worst Clan. They have zero honour- always stealing ThunderClan prey. They’d probably kill you, no question asked. That’s how ruthless they are. But when I become a full warrior, I’ll make sure all of ShadowClan knows where they belong.”
Thomas’s ears went back. ShadowClan sounded horrible. This must be what Clan Joan was talking about. “So… you’re not a warrior?” He said carefully.
Tigerpaw looked back at him, almost touched by the comment. “Well, of course you would think that. I’m the best apprentice ThunderClan has ever seen! But, no. I won’t be a warrior for AGES! I have to complete training. Kits can’t even train until they're six moons old, and tonight’s my first time out as an apprentice.”
Thomas nodded. “I think being a housecat would be better, though. You could probably find someone to take you in. All you have to do is-”
Tigerpaw cut him off. “You wouldn’t catch me dead in a twolegplace. Eating slop that looks like dung? Being trapped inside a twoleg den? That’s no way to live! Out here, it’s free. Until you’ve tasted a fresh-caught mouse, you haven’t lived.”
The brown housecat shrunk inside himself, feeling bad that he had asked.
“Have you ever tasted a mouse?” Tigerpaw asked, seemingly already knowing the answer.
“No, I haven’t.” He admitted, looking down at his paws.
“Then I guess you’ll never understand. You weren’t born wild. You have to have warrior blood in your veins; kittypets born in twoleg dens could never feel the same way.”
Thomas looked up at him again, almost feeling bad about how he was born. But how is that fair? I can’t decide how I was born or raised.
Tigerpaw sat up, his fur raising. “You should go before my Clanmates look for me. I don’t think they’d take too kindly to find out a cat was hunting in our territory.”
Thomas nodded, and scented the air. I don’t smell anything? He shook it off, and began padding towards his housefolk’s home before-
Out of the trees, two cats leaped down. One was a slender tom with dark brown tabby fur and amber eyes, while the other was a short-legged cat with mottled cinnamon fur, amber eyes, and a square face.
“Sweetstar!” Tigerpaw exclaimed, looking a little worried. He bowed his head slightly, to which Thomas copied.
“What were you doing near the twoleg place, Tigerpaw?” The smaller cat asked.
Tigerpaw looked at his paws, his ears pulling back. “Sorry, Sootflower, I-”
“Who is this?” Sweetstar asked, his gaze narrowed and fixated on Thomas.
Tigerpaw relaxed a bit, too sure in himself. “He’s not a threat, he’s just a kittypet.” He turned slightly to Thomas. “That’s Sweetstar- he's the leader of my Clan. And Sootflower is my mentor, which means they’re training me to be a warrior.”
“You don’t need to introduce us, Tigerpaw.” Sweetstar’s tail flicked. “We’re capable of that ourselves.”
Sootflower pushed infront of Sweetstar. “You fight well for a kittypet. We’ve been watching you both. You attacked him bravely, Tigerpaw.”
Tigerpaw’s chest puffed up with pride as he sat up, smiling widely. Thomas followed, sitting up as well.
“I’ve never seen a kittypet turn back and attack like that,” Sweetstar said. He sighed, looking away. “You’ve always got a natural hunting ability. Next time, don’t hesitate to pounce. But you shouldn’t even be hunting here- this is ThunderClan territory.”
“I’m sure there’s enough to go around! I can just hunt one or two-”
“There's never enough to go around!” The leader hissed, causing Thomas to pull back. “You threaten our Clan by hunting when you have plenty of food in your twoleg nest already. You come here to hunt for what- to play? Adventure? We hunt to survive.”
Thomas looked at his paws again. “I didn’t… I didn’t think of it like that. I’m sorry. I won’t hunt here again.”
Sweetstar looked like he had been taken aback. He looked down towards Sootflower, nodding slightly. “You’re a very odd kittypet, Thomas.” He conceded.
Tigerpaw sighed, as if relieved to know that Thomas practically promised to never come by again.
“Is survival really that hard?” Thomas asked softly. “I mean, the forest is so wide. Surely you’d be able to over hunt?”
“We share the forest with the other Clans. ShadowClan takes the pine forest, RiverClan takes the rivers, and WindClan takes the moor. Prey is not unlimited, and when new leaf comes late, prey is sparse.”
“Is your territory big?” Thomas asked.
“It’s big enough. Our territory can support us, but there’s no prey left over.” Sweetstar asked. His whiskers twitched, seemingly starting to get annoyed with the questions.
“Are you all warriors then?”
“Some are warriors,” Sootflower answered before Sweetstar could snap at him. “But some are too young or too old or too busy taking care of kits to hunt or fight.”
“And you all live and share prey together?” Thomas knew that the ally cats sometimes shared prey- Joan had told him about their code. But this seemed nothing like the cats in the ally.
Sootflower smiled softly. “Why don’t you come and find out for yourself? Want to join ThunderClan? You could train by Tigerpaw’s side to become a warrior.”
“But kittypets can’t be warriors!” Tigerpaw objected. “They don’t have warrior blood!”
Sweetstar stayed silent, eyeing Sootflower closely. “The first leader of ThunderClan didn't have warrior blood in his veins. Your ancestry does not define you, especially not in the forest.”
Sootflower looked uneasy. “We’re only offering you training. That doesn’t mean you can become a full warrior. The Clan life may not suit you.”
Thomas nodded, but felt weary. “Why are you offering me this?”
Sweetstar looked back towards Thomas, his gaze cold and unreadable. “We need more warriors.”
“Know that Sweetstar isn’t making this offer lightly,” Sootflower said. “If you’re going to train with us, you’ll have to live like us and respect our ways. If not,” their gaze went past the two young cats and towards the twoleg place. “You’ll have to return to your twolegs. You cannot live with a paw in each world.”
“You will have to trade your calm, comfortable life with the harsh reality of the wild. The Clan might not always be able to provide you with such warmth or comfort- leaf-bare is cruel to any cat in the forest. You will have to pledge your loyalty to the Clan above all else, and you’ll have to protect it with your life if necessary. You will train in the ways of a warrior. You will learn what it means to be a real cat. Your Clan will always be with you, even when you hunt alone.” Sweetstar explained, his pelt almost rippling with pride. Thomas could see how much the leader loved his Clan, even if he seemed cold and distant.
“I think it’s time we go, Sweetstar.” Sootflower said. “We have to meet our Clanmates before moonhigh.”
As Tigerpaw began to follow after the two retreating warriors, Thomas called out. “Wait!” They stopped and turned to listen. “Can I think about your offer?” Thomas asked.
Sweetstar studied him for a moment, as if wondering if Thomas was setting up a trap. As if he could do any harm. “Sootflower will be here tomorrow at sunhigh- give them your answer then.” He answered, nodding to Sootflower before disappearing into the woods. Sootflower and Tigerpaw followed soon after.
Thomas was left alone to ponder their offer. The forest, although not as inviting as in his dreams, still pulled him towards it. He couldn’t help but think he belonged there. As he turned around and padded away, he could almost hear the trees and shadows echoing his name, begging him to return.
He already had his answer.
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