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[adventureclangen]

ADVENTURECLAN BEGINS-PART 2

After fleeing Wolfclan and making the overnight journey to find the other clans, the four apprentices must find a way to survive in an unfamiliar land.

Keep reading below for the second part of the Adventureclan origin story!

"Ow!" Maplepaw yelped as the apprentice's muzzle butted hard into his flank. "You don't have to be so rough."

The apprentice, a small and skinny tom who had been on the dawn patrol that had found the travelling apprentices, only smirked. "And you don't have to be so stupid. Now hurry up before I do it again."

Maplepaw glared at the ground beneath his paws, saying nothing. He knew he should be thinking of an escape plan in case of emergency, but his mind wasn't working properly. Stonepaw had always been better at that sort of thing.

"Where are you taking us?" Coyotepaw asked, looking up at the warriors that flanked her with fear and apprehension. She liked to pretend she was all bravado, but really she was still just a child.

The apprentice that had butted into Maplepaw's side rolled his eyes. "We're taking you back to our camp, mousebrain. Are all Wolfclan apprentices this slow?"

Maplepaw felt Stonepaw bristle beside him and cast him a warning glance. The last thing they needed was to pick a fight with a clan that would potentially become their new neighbour.

"Dustypaw, don't be so rude to our guests." One of the larger warriors, most likely the mean apprentice's mentor, scolded. "It isn't their fault that their clan raised them like a bunch of brainless savages."

Stonepaw looked as if he was going to burst with rage. "What do you know about Wolfclan? We've never even met you before!" He snapped, giving the warrior a scathing glare.

The large tom let out a bark of laughter. "I know Wolfclan better than you ever will. I know that they're all cowardly mange-pelts who fled every battlefield they set paw on. I know that they took the first opportunity to get as far away from the rest of us as they could."

Nightpaw winced. "That's not true! We were protecting ourselves. That's what Beechstar said, and he NEVER lied." She argued.

A smaller feline, a she-cat with unusual markings, scoffed. "Beechstar, eh? That old codger still around?"

The four apprentices exchanged dismayed looks. It was clear that none of the other clans had heard what was going on in Wolfclan these days. Maybe, if they told them, they would be more sympathetic.

"Actually, no. He died a few moons ago. That's...sort of why we're here." Maplepaw said. He may not have been good at thinking of plans, or remembering facts, or being brave, but he was the best at telling stories-and that was what he was going to do.

"Wolfclan loved Beechstar. He was the greatest leader we ever had, or that's what the older warriors said. He was kind, and fair, and really smart." Maplepaw began, and his companions chimed in with nods and affirmative mews. "But he got old, and then he got sick, and all of a sudden he had lost his last life. That put Arcticfang, the deputy, in charge. He became Wolfclan's leader."

The large ginger tomcat who had first spoken to them at the border thought for a moment. "I remember Arcticfang. The only brave cat in a clan full of sissies, that's what I always thought."

Ignoring the warrior's rudeness, Maplepaw continued. "Anyway, Arcticstar was a very different leader to Beechstar. He was mean. He hated any cat who didn't agree with him, and sometimes he had them killed for it. He made kits start training too young, and lots of them died. He told us that Beechstar was a weak, foolish cat, and he was going to return Wolfclan to its former glory. He started assessing the warriors, and if they weren't up to standard, they were...they were found dead the next morning. We apprentices knew it was only a matter of time before something horrible happened to us, too."

"So, I hatched a plan." Stonepaw piped up. By now, every cat's attention was on the apprentices. "I managed to convince three other apprentices to run away with me. We would leave Wolfclan and start our own clan for a while, a safe place for us to train and grow stronger. Then, when we were fully grown and powerful enough to defeat him, we would return to Wolfclan and overthrow Arcticstar."

"You are going to overthrow Arcticstar?" The apprentice walking by Maplepaw mewed sceptically.

"You bet we are. And then everything will be good and fair again, like it was with Beechstar." Nightpaw nodded determinedly.

The dawn patrol was silent for a few moments, glancing at one another over the tops of the apprentices' heads. Then, the she-cat spoke up again.

"Perhaps not all Wolfclan cats are as cowardly as we thought." She admitted reluctantly. "It was a brave thing, for you to come here alone."

"But it was foolish. How did you know we weren't going to eat you all for lunch?" The ginger tom added.

Maplepaw shrugged. "We didn't. We just knew that if we stayed in Wolfclan we'd be no help to anyone."

Just then, a yowl could be heard from just around the bend in the path that they had been following, and the apprentices were hit with a wave of cat-scent. This must be the camp of the dawn patrol.

"The dawn patrol have returned, and they bring guests!" A young feline called from their perching spot at the crest of a sloping hill.

A few more cats appeared beside them, peering curiously down at the group entering the camp. A few looked amused, others wary. Coyotepaw wondered if they could smell Wolfclan from all the way up there.

"Four Wolfclan apprentices, found waiting on the border between us and the wildlands." The she-cat from the patrol reported, addressing an important-looking feline who waited by the camp entrance for their arrival.

The leader's eyes flashed momentarily, shock registering on her face. "Wolfclan? I never thought I'd hear from them again."

"Well, get used to it." Stonepaw said, a hard edge in his tone that suggested he was not one to be played with.

The leader looked the grey apprentice up and down, judging silently. "Lots of cheek for such a scrap of a fellow." She observed, smirking. "Anyway, welcome to Marigoldclan. My name is Jaystar."

The apprentices dipped their heads in greeting, Stonepaw rather reluctantly so.

"What is it that you seek, exactly?" Jaystar prompted, narrowing her eyes. "Wolfclan have never been the confrontational kind."

Swallowing hard, Maplepaw spoke up. Sitting down awkwardly in the dust, he began to recount the same story that he had told the patrol-about Arcticstar's rise to power, and the fearful reign he had over Wolfclan. Then, Stonepaw jumped in once again to tell Jaystar about his escape plan, and what the apprentices aimed to do.

When they had finished, Jaystar let out a long breath. "I see." She mewed. "Well, you're quite mature. But I don't know that I want to give up my territory for a few apprentices with a dream."

"No, you wouldn't have to give up anything!" Nightpaw promised hurriedly. "We would use unclaimed territory, on the outskirts of clan land. We wouldn't be any bother to you, really."

There was a snort of laughter from the ginger tom behind them. "Four little apprentices, going it alone in unfamiliar territory with no warrior supervision? No bother at all."

Jaystar looked conflicted, frowning at her paws as she thought. Eventually, her face cleared and she lifted her head. "Okay, here's how its going to go. I'll allow you to stay in this camp for one night, and one night only. I’ll have one of my warriors show you the unclaimed land around the clans’ settlement. Then, by tomorrow, I want you out of my fur. Got it?” She explained.

The apprentices looked at one another expectantly, before turning back to Jaystat.

“Deal!” Nightpaw mewed with her most winning smile.

Maplepaw gazed up, through the trees and to the sky above. These woods would soon become his new home, and he would be surrounded by unfamiliar cats in unfamiliar territory. It was a daunting thought, but somehow…

He felt ready.

[adventureclangen]

ADVENTURECLAN BEGINS (PART 1)

Four brave apprentices flee Wolfclan in the dead of night, venturing out into the cold in search of a better life. One day, they vow, they will return. And when that day comes, Arcticstar had better watch his back...

Read on for Part 1 of the Adventureclan Begins origin story!

"My paws are cold." Coyotepaw whined, bouncing around in the snow to keep herself warm. "I can't even feel my pads anymore."

Stonepaw looked over his shoulder to shoot her an icy glare. "Quit complaining and move faster. You'll never get anywhere throwing yourself around like that."

The pale grey tom was trotting through the snow faster than any of his companions, keeping the cold out with his long, thick pelt. He had his jaw set in determination, eyes narrowed. Coyotepaw couldn't help but watch him in awe as she stumbled over her own paws trying to keep up.

"Stonepaw's right." Nightpaw piped up, bounding up to match pace with them. "The quicker we get there, the quicker we can find warmth and shelter for the night."

"Well, how long is it going to take? Feels like we've been walking out here for moons." Coyotepaw sighed, her warm breath furling into the air in a cloud of silvery steam.

Nightpaw shrugged, glancing at Stonepaw. "Beats me. This guy made the plan, he knows the route."

Coyotepaw looked expectantly at Stonepaw, her stormy grey eyes shining in the moonlight. He always seemed to have the answers for everything. The young she-cat wondered if there was anything Stonepaw didn't know.

"At the rate we're walking, we'll be there by the time the moon has set." Stonepaw informed her briskly, gritting his teeth.

Coyotepaw cast a resentful look up at the moon, hanging smugly at its highest point in the sky. "I hate this." She muttered bitterly.

Maplepaw, who had remained relatively quiet up until then, let out a humourless laugh. "Don't we all? I could be curled up in my nest right now, and look where I chose to be instead."

Nightpaw looked annoyed. "I know it sucks, but you guys have to remember what we're doing this for." She reminded the two apprentices. "You know we couldn't have stayed in Wolfclan."

"I know, I know." Maplepaw rolled his eyes. "But it doesn't make me any less cold."

That made Coyotepaw laugh. Sighing in frustration, Nightpaw sped up her pace and began trotting alongside Stonepaw, who still wore that hyper-concentrated expression. Guessing he wasn't going to participate in much conversation, she stayed silent. It couldn't have been easy for Stonepaw, back in Wolfclan. Nightpaw could understand why he would be so desperate to distance himself from it all now.

"Could we maybe stop to hunt? I'm getting really hungry." Coyotepaw called up to them pleadingly after a while. Nightpaw didn't even have to turn around to know that she was wearing her adorable please can we eyes.

"It's almost impossible to catch prey at night, Coyotepaw. It's pitch-black in those woods, you can't see your own paws in front of you." Maplepaw informed her sagely.

"Well, have you ever tried it?" Coyotepaw retorted in annoyance, her stomach growling as if on cue.

"No, but it's common sense. Any mousebrain knows that they'll surely trip and fall if they can't see, let alone catch anything good." Maplepaw bit back.

Coyotepaw rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But if I die of starvation, then-"

"Then we'll have one less burden to deal with." Stonepaw interrupted irritably, whipping around to face the bickering cats. "Need I remind you two that this isn't a silly kits' game of let's-be-warriors? This is real life, and we're really doing this. If you want the plan to succeed, you both need to grow up a bit." He snapped, turning back around and trotting further ahead to give himself some space.

Maplepaw looked outraged. "I'm older than him!" He protested.

"Moody ratface..." Coyotepaw mumbled huffily.

Nightpaw felt at a loss for words. Everything was going wrong, even when the group had escaped the danger. Was their bad luck following them wherever they want? Did Starclan even care about what they were sacrificing? Or had they abandoned them long before the plan was formed?

The dark night sky held no answers.

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The moon was dipping below the horizon at last, the sky lightening from unforgiving black to sombre grey. Just as Stonepaw had predicted, the group was nearing the scent markers of other cats- they had arrived in the territory of the rest of the clans.

The forest that they had found themselves in was eerily quiet, the only sign of life a lone yowl far in the distance.

Probably from an adventurous kit, or two warriors meeting in secret. That's what Nightpaw tried to tell herself, anyway, as the four apprentices padded cautiously towards the border.

"It's too early in the morning for patrols. We'll have to wait here until dawn." Maplepaw murmured, looking tense as his eyes darted around the unfamiliar area. Stonepaw nodded his agreement, and the two toms sat side by side in a patch of longer grass. There was no snow around here; none of the group could remember when the ground had stopped being so cold.

Coyotepaw looked anxious, the fur along her back sticking up. "I don't like this. What if the other clans aren't nice? Beechstar always said that the reason we didn't live near them was because they fought so much..."

Nightpaw shrugged, stroking Coyotepaw's flank comfortingly with her tail. "I don't know what they'll be like. But it wouldn't be right for fully grown warriors to attack us when we're so young and helpless." She reasoned. Stonepaw scoffed.

"Speak for yourself. If any cat tries anything, I'll send them running." He vowed, and Maplepaw nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, don't worry. We can protect you." He agreed.

Nightpaw rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, thanks. I can handle myself. I was just trying to comfort Coyotepaw."

The two toms shrugged it off, with Stonepaw grumbling something rude under his breath, but Nightpaw wasn't affected. She knew she could beat either of them in a fight any day.

As the sky went from grey, to pink, to yellow, the four apprentices waited. Sitting shoulder to shoulder in the long grass, they formulated a strategy on how best to approach the dawn border patrol of whichever clan owned the land they were near.

Maplepaw's ears pricked. "I hear something." He whispered. "Cats, talking. Pawsteps."

The rest of the group strained to hear, listening out for the sounds that Maplepaw had described-and sure enough, they were growing louder as the patrol approached. Panic shot through the group as they stood up quickly, brushing themselves down and puffing out their chests.

"Remember the plan. Friendly, open to negotiation, make sure they know that we come in peace." Stonepaw hissed to his companions as the patrol came into view.

The cat at the head of the patrol pricked his ears, looking alert all of a sudden. He signalled with his tail for his clanmates to halt, before cautiously treading up to meet them.

"Who goes there?" He called out, his voice filled with distrust and warning.

Nightpaw cleared her throat, glancing at her companions before speaking up. "Hello. We come in peace!" She called back to the tom. "We've travelled a long way, and we're very tired. We really don't mean to harm anyone." She explained.

The tom, who was ginger and stocky with a fierce look in his eye, seemed to consider them for a moment. He took in the appearance of each individual cat, before sniffing the air suspiciously.

"They're Wolfclan, alright." He nodded, as if confirming a theory. "And they stink of treachery."

[adventureclangen]

ADVENTURECLAN INTRODUCTION

Hi guys! I'm buttercup, I previously ran @antclan-blogs , and this is my new pet project Adventureclan!

Adventureclan is originally formed of four brave apprentices who fled their corrupted clan to train themselves far from the danger, preparing for the day that they would return and overthrow the evil Arcticstar to save their clanmates. Under the cut you will find introductions for the four founding members, and you can find out more about the origins of Adventureclan in the Adventureclan Begins issues that are being posted soon!

Enjoy!

MAPLEPAW-10 MOONS

Maplepaw is the oldest of the four founding apprentices. He is a creative young tom, often found daydreaming or making up stories to entertain the others, but can often get overwhelmed at the weight of being the oldest. He feels that it is his natural job to protect the younger apprentices, but that he falls short of expectations and may not be good enough to take care of everyone.

STONEPAW-9 MOONS

Stonepaw is the second oldest, and the smartest, of the four founding apprentices. He has always been unnaturally intelligent and quick-witted, destined for an early graduation before he fled Wolfclan. His sharp thinking and no-nonsense attitude made him the natural leader of the group when they left, directing the others and thinking of action plans. He likes things to be done his way, and is an extreme perfectionist.

NIGHTPAW-8 MOONS

Nightpaw is the most extroverted and socially confident of the four founding apprentices, striving on contact with others and seeing herself as the glue that holds the group together. She likes everything to be fair and just, often taking charge in social situations to ensure the equality of everyone involved. She is also a good listener, giving out great advice to anyone who asks for it.

COYOTEPAW-7 MOONS

Coyotepaw is the youngest of the four founding apprentices, making her the baby of the group. Though kind and caring, Coyotepaw lacks maturity and still loves to play around like a kit. She feels anxious often in her new life, missing the times before she left and wishing she could return to how everything was before Arcticstar ruined her clan. She doesn't feel ready for the burden that has been placed upon her, but is trying her hardest to learn to be brave like her fellow apprentices.