literature

Goldenstar's Choice: Chapter 6

Deviation Actions

RussianBlues

Published: Jan 5, 2015

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Literature Text

Chapter 6

The warm sunlight soaked into the pelts of the two cats as they walked along the riverbank. The stale air of Leafbare was being replaced by the welcoming scent of Newleaf. There was another scent on the air, one that was heavy with precipitation.

Goldenpaw's pelt was tingling with excitement. He can now explore the territory! He can learn the secrets of battle, the tricks to fishing, and hopefully, get to go to his first Gathering.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mentor's mew. "So this is the river, we fish from here." Goldenpaw looked over at Lionclaw, who winced at how stupid that statement was.

"I already know what the river is," Goldenpaw rolled his eyes.

"I figured, you've been acquainted with it several times." Lionclaw stuck his tongue out and padded forward, leaving Goldenpaw's mouth agape in shock.

The two treaded along the bank, hopping on large, smooth stones and winding through the tall, dead cattails. The reeds haven't sprouted yet, the territory still retained the sleepy look of Leafbare, just with less snow.

"When do I get to learn some fighting moves? I wanna fight!" Goldenpaw let out a long-drawn hiss and puffed out his fur. With his arched back and outstretched claws, he looked quite fearsome.

"Now Goldenpaw, being a warrior isn't all about fighting-"

"But war is in the name!" Goldenpaw whined, interrupting his mentor.

"...Yes, but we have other duties that are just as important as fighting." Lionclaw hopped up onto a large, gray rock and looked out over the river. "Such as hunting."

Goldenpaw huffed. "I know. But fighting is way more fun!" He scored his claws alongside a nearby log, sending shards of wood everywhere.

"Wait until you're in the midst of battle." Lionclaw growled deeply. "I'm sure you'll change your mind."

"As if." Goldenpaw hopped up onto the rock to sit beside his mentor. "Fighting is in my blood. I'm related to Goldensong."

Lionclaw did not seem amused. "The battles spoken of in tales and legends are far less gruesome in words than they are in reality. Besides, you're not going to be fighting anytime soon. You're just out of the nursery." Lionclaw squinted his eyes to peer over at the other side of the river. "Now let's go look at more of the territory... hm?" His sharp, brown ears perked up.

"What is it? What is it?" Goldenpaw stretched up to his toes, leaning sharply forward so he can see for himself what Lionclaw spotted.

"ThunderClan cats on sunningrocks." Lionclaw spat. "That's our territory and they know it!" He leapt down and bounded over to the riverbank. "Goldenpaw, head back to the camp and warn Lonestar. He should organize a patrol to send out."

"Are we going to fight them off?" Goldenpaw's bright eyes lit up even further.

"We warriors are, but you aren't." Lionclaw snorted. "Now go!"

Goldenpaw hissed in frustration and spun around to run back to camp. He sprinted as fast as his small paws could carry him, and he felt as though he was flying over the mud and rocks.

Goldenpaw dashed into camp. "Lonestar!" He yowled.

The RiverClan leader looked over at the fatigued apprentice, who was trying to catch his breath. "Yes, Goldenpaw?"

"Lionclaw and I were just over by the river, and we spotted ThunderClan cats at sunningrocks!" Goldenpaw stood a bit taller, and his tail stuck straight in the air.
The Clan overheard Goldenpaw's message and began to chatter in a frenzy.

"ThunderClan?"

"They took sunningrocks again?"

"Stupid squirrel chasers!"

Lonestar's amber eyes grew wide with worry. "I shall organize a patrol immediately."

He called over Rivertail, Ravenheart, Duststem and Whitepelt. Pebblepaw was joining the patrol. She was almost a warrior, any day now she'll receive her name.

The warriors gathered around the camp entrance, clawing the ground, excited to sink their teeth into ThunderClan fur.

"Rivertail, head down the river and meet Lionclaw to go over strategy. I await your return." Lonestar dipped his head in farewell. "May our warrior ancestors look upon you in favor."

Goldenpaw hurried to join the patrol, but Lonestar stopped him. "I don't think so," he meowed.

"But I gotta go help my mentor, Lionclaw needs me!" Goldenpaw argued as he tried to wrestle himself free from Lonestar.

"You just earned your apprentice name this morning! There will be plenty of future battles to come." Lonestar argued in return. "Now go see if Snowfur needs anything, I'm sure his bedding is stale."

Goldenpaw turned around angrily and stomped away towards the elder's den.

Snowfur was looking up at the sky with a grouchy look across his white face. "I was in the middle of sunning my old hide when the dark clouds decided to block my sunlight. Humph."

Goldenpaw honestly didn't care about Snowfur's old man problems. "Lonestar told me that I'm supposed to change your bedding." He muttered.

"Ah yes!" Snowfur shuffled aside. "Go right ahead." He paused for a moment, watching the young tuxedo apprentice drag out old grass from the den. "So what was it you were saying about ThunderClan? They took sunningrocks?"

Goldenpaw spat out a feather. "Yeah. My mentor and I were going through the territory when we spotted several cats on sunningrocks. Lonestar sent out a battle patrol." He rolled the old bedding into a ball and began to push it past Snowfur and out of the camp. "I wish I was going."

"You don't even know any battle moves," Snowfur pointed out.

"I can use my warrior instincts!" Goldenpaw unsheathed his claws.

Snowfur narrowed his eyes and knew that his words would get lost in Goldenpaw's ear fur. "Thank you for changing my bedding, Goldenpaw. I appreciate it." The elderly tom disappeared into the den, his white plume of a tail swishing behind him.

"Now to get rid of this," Goldenpaw crinkled his nose in disgust at the scent of the dirty grass-ball. He began to head over to the dirt-place, and as he did, an idea hatched in his mind.

He can go to the battle.

All he needed to do was to sneak off through the dirt-place, and he was free!

Goldenpaw skipped in delight at the sheer genius of his plan. He ditched the grass-ball, and wriggled his way through the reeds and out of the camp.

Watch out, ThunderClan! He thought excitedly.

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Storm clouds raged on the horizon. Flashes of lightning dazzled the gray sky and lit the heavens with a white glow. Goldenpaw raced alongside the swollen riverbank, his paws getting drenched with mud. His ears strained for the sounds of battle, but he could hear nothing. Goldenpaw hoped that he wasn't too late.

"Hey what's that over there?" A voice called out.

Goldenpaw's heart throbbed faster as he realized he was about to be caught.

"Is that a ThunderClan apprentice?" A snarl ripped through the rain and Goldenpaw had the wind knocked out of him. When he opened his eyes, Lionclaw had him pinned to the muddy ground.

"Goldenpaw?!" He meowed incredulously.

Goldenpaw laughed sheepishly, and didn't make eye contact with his mentor.

"What are you...? I thought you would be told to stay in the camp!" Lionclaw removed his paws from Goldenpaw and allowed his apprentice to sit up.

"He was told to stay in the camp." Rivertail raised an eyebrow.

Lionclaw darted his attention back to Goldenpaw, baring his teeth in frustration. "Go back to camp! Now!"

"But I want to fight!" Goldenpaw whined.

"How many times do I have to tell you this? There will be plenty more future battles." Lionclaw narrowed his eyes and blinked slowly. He looked down at his paws. "Fine. I know you won't back down and you're just holding up the patrol anyway. You want to fight? Well you're going to fight."

The other warriors gasped at Lionclaw's decision. Letting a new apprentice fight? He didn't even have any training!

"Lionclaw, you can't-" Ravenheart pleaded.

"C'mon, we can't waste any more time." Lionclaw brushed past the patrol and ran ahead to sunningrocks, leaving the other cats in shock.

Goldenpaw ran ahead after his mentor, feeling the rain plaster his fur against his body. He caught up to Lionclaw, who's own pelt was darkened with cold rain water.

Goldenpaw snagged his paw on a branch and fell face first into a puddle.

“Do you have stones in your paws?” Lionclaw roared. “Get going!” The young warrior dashed off, leaving his apprentice behind.

The other warriors followed, and Goldenpaw struggled to regain his balance.

"So this is how it's going to be." He growled. Goldenpaw met up with the patrol, who were lined up on the riverbank, staring down the ThunderClan cats at sunningrocks.

"Sunningrocks belong to RiverClan!" Lionclaw shouted. "If you do not leave peacefully now, we'll take it by force."

Goldenpaw could see a large, gray tom across the river. Goldenpaw knew that it was Graystar, the leader of ThunderClan. He was flanked by several other cats, and each one looked menacing.

"We're not going down without a fight!" The tom meowed. "So if you want sunningrocks, come get them!"

"RiverClan," Lionclaw growled.

This is it, Goldenpaw thought. My first battle.

"Attack!" Lionclaw plunged into the torrent, the other RiverClan warriors following without hesitation.

Goldenpaw felt his hot blood coursing through his veins, he couldn't even feel the chill of the water swirling around him. He was almost across the river, and could almost taste ThunderClan fur in his mouth.

With an explosion of fury, the patrol burst onto the opposite bank and dove into battle.
Goldenpaw became disoriented from the caterwauling and screeching. Pelts blurred by, and he could already feel puddles of blood beneath his paw pads.

“Here’s one!” A loud voice bellowed. A shadowy warrior caught Goldenpaw off guard and pinned him to the ground. The large, furry warrior clasped his jaws around Goldenpaw’s throat. “Little morsel.”

“Get off!” Goldenpaw clawed furiously at his attacker, scoring his claws down the muscular shoulders. With a scream of agony, the warrior let go of Goldenpaw and took a step back.

“Why don’t you run off with your fellow RiverClan fish-faces?” The warrior hissed. Several others cornered the young apprentice. “Or do you wish to fight us?” He took another step forward, inching his way closer to Goldenpaw.

Just as Goldenpaw opened his mouth to answer, Lionclaw gave a battle cry and leapt into battle, bowling over the dark warrior. “Damn you ThunderClan!” He yelled. The RiverClan warrior bit the other warrior’s ear and tore it free from his head. Blood flowed down his face like the river, collecting in pools at his paws.

“Lionclaw!” Two other RiverClan warriors broke free from their own battles; Goldenpaw recognized them as Ravenheart and Rivertail. “Do you need help?”

Between gasps, Lionclaw managed, “All the help I can get!” He gouged out one of the ThunderClan cat’s eyes. With a powerful leap, Ravenheart tackled a small ginger she-cat. It did not take long before she turned tail and fled back deep into ThunderClan territory.

Goldenpaw spotted a struggling ThunderClan apprentice who was hobbling on only three paws. He pinned the apprentice down and with a threatening growl, said, “Hurry your sorry ass off my territory.”

The apprentice nodded so fast Goldenpaw swore he would get whiplash.

“Good. Then get!” He released the apprentice from under his paw and felt the hot blood soak his paw pads.

It felt good.

While Goldenpaw was watching the ThunderClan apprentice cross the river, the breath was knocked straight out from him as he himself was knocked to the ground. He rolled out of the way just in time as a massive paw pounded the ground right where his head was.

Goldenpaw swiftly got back onto his paws and in one move jumped onto the warrior’s back, digging his claws into the brown fur. The old warrior fell to the ground and rolled onto his back, wrenching Goldenpaw free. Red blood spattered the ground and mixed with the mud to create a mahogany color.

With a hiss, the warrior retaliated and swiped an outstretched paw at the RiverClan apprentice. Goldenpaw dodged the attack by ducking, and without missing a beat, clawed the warrior where he left himself exposed. Goldenpaw dug his claws deep into the fur and skin, and pulled his paw down so it tore it open. Screaming, the old tom batted Goldenpaw away, and fled.

“Good move,” Lionclaw smiled at his apprentice. “Looks like you have been observing well.”

“No, I’m just that naturally skilled.” Goldenpaw laughed and dove into the battle. Lionclaw stared after the apprentice; a solemn look shadowed his face.

The storm had continued to grow, and now the sky was as black as the night. The icy Newleaf rain sliced through the pelts of the fighting cats, chilling them to the bone. Goldenpaw had hardly noticed the cold, his mind and body focused on the battle. He saw Grassfur, who was helping Pebblepaw off to the side. He was sent by Lonestar to help heal the wounded at the battle.

Duststem was fighting off a large gray she-cat, and Goldenpaw saw he was protecting Whitepelt, who was lying in a bloody pool in the mud. Her chest was torn open, and the organs were slightly spilling out. Goldenpaw tried not to retch, and decided to divert his attention elsewhere. He was about to attack a small golden tom when a screech sounded across the battlefield.

“ThunderClan, retreat!”

The ThunderClan cats obeyed their leader and ran off into the woods, tails tucked and ears flat. The cats from RiverClan stood on the rocks victoriously, yowling jeers and remarks at the defeated Clan.

“That’ll teach you! Stay off of sunningrocks!"

“Stick to the forest, squirrel chasers!”

Goldenpaw felt a feeling of pride grow in his chest; it was a feeling of pride for both himself and his clanmates. They were the winners. They had succeeded.

“Goldenpaw, we need to talk.” Lionclaw growled, his dark brown eyes glittering. Goldenpaw saw a large gash on his mentor’s shoulder, which was covered in mud and dry blood.

“Goldenpaw!” Pebblepaw bounded up to him. “Wow, you were so good!” Her blue eyes were wide with admiration. “I can't believe that you haven't had any training yet."

“Thanks,” Goldenpaw followed her back to the camp, glancing his shoulder every once and awhile to see Lionclaw seething with rage.

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When the patrol had returned back to camp, Goldenpaw sat on the ground and began washing his wounds. The salty tang of blood bathed his tongue, and he mostly tasted the blood of his enemies.

Dewflower ran over and gasped in horror at her battle-torn son. “Great StarClan! Are you okay?” She immediately began to wash her tongue over his pelt. “You’re a mess, blood, dirt… you’re going to need more than one bath mister!”

“M-o-o-m!” Goldenpaw squeezed himself free from his mother’s iron grasp. “Warriors don’t need baths.”

“They sure do. Your father is always looking his best.” Dewflower brushed her tongue over his curled ear.

“I want to bask in my dirty glory!” Goldenpaw protested.

“Well, fine. But if you go to bed like that, StarClan forbid, I’ll be angry.” Dewflower growled.

Goldenpaw looked over at Lionclaw, who was talking to Lonestar and Pondspots. His heart dropped when all three looked at him.

Goldenpaw knew he was in deep trouble this time.

Go back to the Allegiances: Click here!
Start at the Prologue: Click here!
Read previous chapter: Click here!
Next: Coming soon!

About:

He will rise with the sun at his dawn, and set with the sun at his dusk. RiverClan will drown by blood, but a golden future awaits them

How can one choice affect a whole Clan?

Goldenkit has always dreamed of becoming a great RiverClan warrior- possibly even leader. Since leaving the nursery, he has always tried the hardest to succeed. His life is riddled with hardships, but he leaps over every hurdle life gives him. After moons of work, he finally receives his warrior name: Goldeneyes. His skills continue to sharpen as his ego continues to grow. Everything has turned out the way he had planned.

But then, it all came crashing down. Goldeneyes meets a pretty, young kittypet in the Twolegplace. Falling madly in love with her, he continues to meet her in secret, despite the fact he is shattering the warrior code. When his secret is finally discovered, he has to make a choice... should he stay in the Clans, or leave forever?

A tale of forbidden romance, loyalty, and overcoming challenges, Goldenstar's Choice is a story you don't want to miss!

Okay, so, this chapter got weird to write. I was in a huge writing slump, I mean, writing about RiverClan territory is boring.

So I edited something I wrote a long time ago that you can find called The Egotistic Apprentice this one is unedited and different from what you see here. Just so you know!

Well, Goldenpaw is being stupid yet again, what kind of danger does he put himself in this time?

If you find a typo or anything, don't hesitate to comment!

I'll update the chapter when/if I fix anything.