The Forbidden Friendship

Chapter 1
Birdpaw woke up to see Fogkit. The tom was muddy brown with bright green eyes and the most hyper active kit in the nursery. Birdpaw hoped when she became a warrior she would mentor Fogkit. He's the perfect kit and would proboly someday might become a great leader. Birdpaw looked at Fogkit's sister Sunkit who was calmer then her brother. She was a golden she kit with blue eyes, but she also was playful. She was serious most of the time. Their mother Icecloud was outside the nursery watching her kits play. Lionblaze padded up to her and licked her ear affectionatly. Fogkit saw his dad and hopped over to him and tackled him. Birdpaw mrrowed with amusement. She saw Goldpaw talking with his mentor, Whitewing, who was crouching obviously showing a hunting tactic and instructing Goldpaw to try. He tried, getting it perfect the first time. Him and Whitewing padded out to hunt. Birdpaw could not see her mentor so she waited, but before she could go back to the apprentice den Firestar padded up to her and said, "Birdpaw, Dovewing wants you to have your first assesment. Are you ready?" Birdpaw nods excitedly and follows Firestar to the training hollow. Birdpaw watched Firestar walk up to Dovewing and say, "She's ready" Dovewing and Firestar walk away into the bushes. Birdpaw decided to hunt deeper into the forest where most of the prey is. She saw a robin and crouched down and froze, pinpointing her prey's exact position and where the wind was blowing. She creeped toward the robin and pounced the robin did not see her until it was too late. She bit its throat and dug a tiny hole to cover her prey to find more in the area. she smiled when she saw a squirrel nibbling on a nut. She twitched her whiskers and creeped toward the squirrel and she pounced. She bit its throat before it could squeal. She picked it up and put it with her robin and she continued hunting.

After her assesment Dovewing counted the prey she caught and said "Good job Birdpaw this is enough to feed two clans" Firestar also gave his praise saying "Wow Birdpaw if you were my deputy i would be so proud of you and i am" Birdpaw nodded and picked as much prey as she could and put it on the fresh kill pile Goldpaw asked "Woah Birdpaw thats alot do yo want to share that Robin?" Birdpaw nodded and grabbed the Robin and settled down beside Goldpaw who was already taking a bite of the Robin and as Birdpaw knelt down to take a bite Rushpaw came over with Birdpaws Squirrel in her jaws and she said muffled "You had better luck then me Birdpaw" Birdpaw looked at Spikepaw and obviously he was being scolded by his harsh mentor Ashwhisker. Birdpaw never liked Ashwhisker cause he was too harsh with Spikepaw who knew a lot about battleing cause that is all he did battle training Birdpaw was glad Ashwhisker was not her mentor even Dovewing who scolded her once or twice but gently and showed her what to do but Ashwhisker yelled at his apprentice she heard Spikepaw who was on the verge of wailing "But Ashwhisker i missed it there was nothing i could do" Ashwhisker snapped "Spikepaw you cant miss you are better then that now you wont eat until you actually catch something now go" Ashwhisker trotted off and Rushpaw looked at her squirrel and padded over to Spikepaw and asked "Come here with us I will share the squirrel do you want to?" Spikepaw nodded and followed Rushpaw to their group.

Chapter 2
Birdpaw pounced on Dovewing in their battle training session Birdpaw dodged her paw which was aiming for her shoulder she ducked under her mentor and flopped onto her backside and battered her belly with her paws and pushed Dovewing her mentor looked at her saying "Good job Birdpaw you used your size as an advantage and used that size to beat me even a smaller cat like you could beat a full grown warrior as long as they use their wits" Birdpaw lightened at the praise when Ashwhisker scolds her for every little thing she does wrong. Her and Dovewing came back when Brambleclaw was setting patrols his mew stopped short when Birdpaw and Dovewing came and then he asked Birdpaw and Dovewing "Dovewing can you patrol the Shadowclan border with Cloudtail and Rosepetal and Birdpaw will you go with Goldpaw Whitewing and Ashwhisker to the Windclan border" he nodded to the rest to create a hunting patrol and he padded off to the warriors den to make evening patrols. Birdpaw had a deep respect for her father his control over all the cats left her shocked and she hoped that someday she can be like that then she imagined herself as deputy of Thunderclan consulting with her leader setting patrols and she snapped out of her daydrem and followed Whitewing out of the camp and toward the Windclan border she stopped to smell the air and she reported "Windclan scent marks thats normal" and Goldpaw added "Also the smell of dog" Whitewing sniffed the air "you are both right i can also smell fox" Birdpaw noted to herself ''Coming from our territory and cats scent its familier..... Brambleclaw! ''She crashed through Whitewing to head deeper into their territory she could smell Fox scent and Cat scent which was Brambleclaws scent and also the smell of blood....Cat blood. she crashed through the bushes and saw the one thing she did not want to see which was her father gazing up to the sky....Dead she stared down on the body in disbelief Goldpaw bumped into her and gasped Whitewing and Ashwhisker slowly followed they stared down at the body with sheer shock and Whitewing said "Go with Goldpaw Birdpaw you both need to go back to camp" Goldpaw nodded and guided Birdpaw to camp she went into the apprentice den and curled up the world seemed so much bigger and scarier without Brambleclaw.

She felt a paw poke her side it was a day since her fathers death and she refused to do anything she was struck by grief she smelled the scent of the cat poking her Cherrypaw she opened one of her eyes and looked at Cherrypaw "What now?" Cherrypaw said "You are going to come with me to collect herbs" Birdpaw asked "Um im not a medicine cat why do i need to go with you?" Cherrypaw scolded "So you can get off your furry tail and actually be useful you are not helping your clanmates or your brothers by being useless now come on" Birdpaw got up and followed Cherrypaw she saw Treepaw with his new mentor Toadstep Treepaw was equally upset as Birdpaw but what Birdpaw could not belive was that Ashwhisker was the new deputy and Spikepaw seemed upset about it as she followed Cherrypaw out of the camp she smelled a scent Riverclan she indicated to Cherrypaw that she was going to check it out and Cherrypaw nodded slowly and walked away. Birdpaw headed toward the lake and stopped when she saw two toms scuffling in the dirt she realised who was fighting the tom with pure golden fur was Goldpaw and the tom with the Croooked jaw can only be one cat. "Crookedpaw" she yowled she jumped on Goldpaw and said "Dont you know that he is allowed around the lake two fox lengths?" Birdpaw spat and continued "Are you completly mouse brained?" Goldpaw looked on sadly while Crookedpaw was staring at Goldpaw with sheer shock and said to Birdpaw "Birdpaw let him go i should not have come in the first place" Birdpaw looked at Crookedpaw and asked "Why did you come then?" Crookedpaw said slowly "I saw what happend to Brambleclaw. No i was not there i had a dream and when i woke up i felt as if i was torn by grief. You ok Birdpaw?" Birdpaw looked down she had never thought that Croookedpaw would know but they have a connection of course he would know Birdpaw thought gulityly By being Grief stricken i've cause him pain she said to Crookedpaw "Yeah im ok and i think you should go before a warrior catches you" He nodded slowly and walked away and the look Goldpaw gave her she would need to explain everything.

Chapter 3
Birdpaw was in a large clearing and she saw no cats not even the scent of prey only the starry sky and she sat in the middle she licked her paw and drew it over her ear casually but then she saw a shape come out of the bushes the sky turned completely dark and the clearing was full of trees and fungi she looked at the tom that sat in front of her she widened her eyes "Brambleclaw?" The tom smiled "yes little one it is me Brambleclaw" Birdpaw looked at him carefully and realised he had a scar on his nose and Brambleclaw never had his nose cut. She followed "Brambleclaw" to a clearing and sat down "Brambleclaw leaped onto a rock but before he could say anything a tabby shape like Brambleclaw but with stars in his fur came hurling out of the bushes in front of Birdpaw he said "What do you want with her Tigerstar?" Birdpaw gasped Tigerstar was one of the most feared cats of the forest she looked at Breambleclaw and said "Where are we" Brambleclaw did not take his eyes off Tigerstar but answered "This is the Dark forest, We belong to Starclan" Brambleclaw lead her away from the Dark forest and into the Territory of Starclan she saw a lot of cats she saw a Blue gray she cat who was talking to a long haired flat faced cat with grey fur. Brambleclaw followed her gaze and said "That is Yellowfang and Bluestar the old leader and medicine cat of Thunderclan" Brambleclaw continued "Birdpaw darkness is coming the three have failed to stop the Dark forest the first time the Power of four will be lead by the Thunderbird to defeat the final Blood" Birdpaw looked at his father but he dissapeaared and she woke up.

Birdpaw yawned and saw Rushpaw taking to Icepaw casually saying what normal days they would usually say "I know lets see who can climb the tallest tree first" Rushpaw mewed Icepaw shook his head and said "No how about whoever catches a fish wins" Rushpaw exclaimed "Um no thanks i dont like getting my paws wet" Icepaw laughed mockingly "Your a scaredy cat Rushpaw" Rushpaw cuffed him over the ear before padding up to Birdpaw "Birdpaw control your brother or i will rip his ear off" Birdpaw mrrowed in amusement as her friend huffed and walked away Icepaw shook his head and said "Don't worry about her she's usually in a bad mood these days" Birdpaw mewed "She can't help it" i mean i would be pretty annoyed too" Icepaw shrugged and walked off but he froze and said "Im worried about Squirrelflight" Birdpaw looked at him questionably "Why?" Icepaw pointed out "She's changed since Brambleclaw....." he could not continue and stood there before Birdpaw padded up to him and said "Dont worry about Squrrielflight she will get her old fire back soon enough" Icepaw shook his head and turned away into the apprentices den. Birdpaw watched her brother go into the apprentices den then she saw Firestar watching the two and she sat down and licked her ruffled fur she walked into the apprentice den to see Icepaw and Treepaw talking in hushed whispers then stop when Rushpaw and Birdpaw came in and Rushpaw said "What y'all talking about?" Icepaw shook his head and curled up. She looked at Icepaw sadly then Treepaw said "I dont want the world to see us cause i dont think they would understand when everythings made to be broken i just want them to know who we are" Icepaw added "You bleed just to know you're alive" Birdpaw bowed and went to sleep.

Chapter 4
Birdpaw walked slowly through the cold under growth she looked back at the camp and then continued she froze at the lake looking down she saw her reflection she thought sadly Why do i have to look like him she heard a noise and turned she saw a built white tom with jet black paws stalk out of the bushes toward her she relaxed and looked back down the tom said "You dont have to worry you know just because you look like him does not mean cats won't trust you" She looked at the tom and said "I know Darkpaw it's just what Ashwhisker said" she licked her paw and drew it over her ear and continued "He said that I am bad luck because i look like Scourge" she looked at Darkpaw desperately "What do i do?". Darkpaw shrugged and then pointed out "Prove it to him that you are a better warrior then he is" Birdpaw looked at Darkpaw and got a strange feeling that was forbbiden she had a deep respect for Darkpaw but there was something more to him that gave her the feeling that cats from other clans could never feel toward each other Do i really love him? she shook her head the code said that they could not be together even if he did love her Why does the code restrict us from many things? she nodded at Darkpaw and headed back to camp. She slid into her nest slowly and yawned she knew Darkpaw was right and that she should prove to Ashwhisker that she was worthy but how? it seemed that Ashwhisker was set out to torture Birdpaw. She shook her head there was another cat that had to prove himself worthy and that was Crookedpaw who was diffrent and not warrior worthy cause of his jaw Birdpaw thought that Crookedpaw could prove himself a thousand timed over but with Wavepaw standing in his way of proving himself it seems like an impossible mission for him. Birdpaw closed her eyes and tried to reach Crookedpaw She only saw darkness which meant he was sleeping she decided to go to sleep too and dreamed normally she chased a mouse and pounced she knew it was only a drem but this was the first normal drem shes had so far. She could not wait to be a warrior no more cats to boss her around unless it was the deputy. But someday she will be deputy too the only thing she hoped won't happen is Ashwhisker becoming leader.

Birdpaw woke up to see Dovewing standing over her she said "Wake up. Time for training" Birdpaw groaned "Did you have to wake me up? I was having a good dream about a mouse" Dovewing twitched her whiskers and said "How about catching the real thing?" That was all Birdpaw needed to hear. She jumped out of bed and tripped over Rushpaw, who squeaked and said, annoyed "Watch where you jump" Birdpaw twitched her whiskers as Rushpaw padded out of the den to meet Graystripe who was talking to Sandstorm. Dovewing padded up and nodded "Hello Graystripe, Sandstorm" Graystripe says "You will be on the border patrol with me and Cloudtail and Birdpaw will be hunting with Sandstorm" Dovewing pricked up her ears and so did Birdpaw and Birdpaw asked "Only me and Sandstorm?" Graystripe nodded "We only need some prey as you can see" he flicked his tail at the fresh kill pile "We need some prey" Birdpaw nodded and walked out of the camp with Sandstorm in the lead. Sandstorm stopped and turned towards Birdpaw she asked "Where do you think we should go?" Birdpaw thought'', Why is she asking me? She knows all the places. Or is this a test?'' Birdpaw said "In the trees by the lake. Since its greenleaf there will be a lot of prey by the lake" Sandstorm said "Very good" She flicked her tail above her and Birdpaw followed her toward the lake. She stalked a mouse that was in the undergrowth and she pounced. She killed it and picked it up to add to Sandstorm's small pile. Sandstorm said "This is enough. Let's take it back" Birdpaw nodded and picked some up and dragged it to camp. Goldpaw and Rushpaw were already waiting by the Fresh-kill pile, looking at the prey hungrily, and Icepaw padded out of the elders den and said, "Come on, Birdpaw, we are all starving here" Birdpaw dropped the prey in the pile and joined Goldpaw. Goldpaw nodded and gave her his magpie. He asked "Do you want it I'm not very hungry?" Birdpaw nodded awkwardly. Goldpaw always seemed so nice to her. Especially her, and it kind of freaked Birdpaw out. He's not usually this nice to Rushpaw. She shook her head and bit into the magpie, hungry. She finished it in a few quick gulps and walked into the apprentice den. She curled up and went to sleep. She knew Goldpaw liked her but she did not like him.

Chapter 5
Birdpaw yawned slowly and saw Goldpaw's fur among all the other apprentices fur. Birdpaw shook her head she knew he liked her but she did not like him. Why could he not see that? Birdpaw slowly stepped over Icepaw, who had one eye open and was staring at her with a glare that meant he wanted to be left alone. She poked him with her tail just to annoy him and stalked out to the clearing. Birdpaw sat down and began to wash herself. There was a mist hanging over the camp and there were dark gray clouds that promised a storm. Birdpaw heard stories from the elders that the lake had once been dehydrated so there was barely any water at all and that it was Riverclan suffering the most. That was when Leopardstar died. Birdpaw sometimes wondered who the leader before Leopardstar was and she knew they were one of the old leaders in the old territorys. Birdpaw decided to grab a mouse for Mousefur so she might tell her who the leader was before Leopardstar. Birdpaw sniffed the air and stalked the mouse. She smelled in the undergrowth and froze, pinpointing the exact place where the wind was blowing. It was in front of her, which meant the mouse could not smell her. She pounced and bit its neck. Birdpaw looked at it satisfied and she picked it up to bring to the elders den. Birdpaw padded in and set it down beside Mousefur who was licking her fur. She looked down at the mouse then at Birdpaw and said "What?" Birdpaw flinched and wondered, ''Should I have gotton a vole instead? ''Mousefur ate it in a few hungry gulps and said "I think I know what you want to know" Birdpaw said slowly "Who was the leader before Leopardstar?" Mousefur looked at her and started "He was a wise leader along with Bluestar. You would know Bluestar of course" she continued "I heard they were best friends before they became leaders" she breathed "His name goes down so many ranks to proving he was worthy to his clanmates" Birdpaw flicked her ear. That sounds familier. She asked "What did he have to prove this leader?" Mousefur said "He had to prove that he could be a warrior like everyone else even with his problem. He lost his daughter Silverstream, That's how he died, along with a sickness." Birdpaw asked "What was his name though?" Mousefurs eyes glitterd "Of course, his name. His name was Crookedstar" Birdpaw gasped in astonishment So Windpaw's not the only one named after a famous leader. Mousefur looked at her as if she could tell what she was thinking "Yes, Crookedpaw was named after him, which surprises me because Crookedpaw has his personality and looks except for his eyes" Birdpaw said slowly "Does that mean-?" Mousefur intterupted her "That Crookedpaws going to become leader? I won't doubt it he has a leader quality, but I have seen the way his clanmates treat him" Mousefur nodded and closed her eyes Birdpaw bowed to her and backed out of the den.

"Birdpaw, from this moment you will be known as Birdwing" she looked at Firestar as he yelled out the words for their warrior names. Rushfoot, Goldheart, Iceclaw, Treeclaw, Spiketail and even Cherrypaw got her Medicine cat name Cherryfeather

(Yes i realise the last chapter was short but don't worry)