Another Story Time!

Sprucepaw was a very diligent apprentice, his tasks were done to completion, on time and done with a perfectionist touch. He followed the rules at all times and if his mentor, mother (poppyshine), or leader ever told him to do something he would follow their instruction exactly as he could.

He was super friendly and loved meeting new clanmates, however he sometimes was too focused on rules and that could make him a little difficult to deal with at times.

One sunny hot summer day, after he had done his training and fed and taken care of the elders he seeked the cover of some nearby shade. He saw Kitespring also here. Waving his tail to her with a purr he sat nearby. He was pretty curious and always did like a good story, he often loved listening to his mum's stories back when he was in the nursery.

"Good afternoon Kitespring" he didnt know the warrior super well yet but enough to know her name at least and maybe now he could get to know her better.

Kitespring had been thinking about characters in her head when Sprucepaw talked to her. "Good afternoon," she said, a little distracted. "How are you doing today?" She didn't know Sprucepaw that well - probably because she didn't really talk to her clanmates that much - but she could at least try to converse with him. Covering a cough with her paw, she smiled softly at Sprucepaw.

Sprucepaw purred a little settling in. I’m doing alright, thanks for asking! I just finished all my tasks and everything for training. He answered her question. He wondered what being a warrior would be like. It must be super exciting . Kite spring must have a lot of good stories and adventures from her times.

Sprucepaw had always been a fan of stories and so in lots of his spare time he would ask about them. Usually to his mum or the elders but what better way to get to know his new warrior friend? He figured

Can you tell me about one of your adventures? he asked head tilted hoping she would say yes.

If you want to that is… I don’t want to be a bother he added on politely

Kitespring sat patiently while listening to Sprucepaw. Honestly, she didn't mind talking with the young apprentice. He was also Poppyshine's kit, and the russet she-cat knew that the RiverClan deputy would raise her kits well. As Sprucepaw asked her to tell her about her adventures, Kitespring blinked. "My adventures?" she repeated. What did she have for adventurous stories...? Detective Pikepaw, her brain spoke.

But that story's not real, she retorted.

You can tell him that. And he could enjoy it.

She still wasn't sure, honestly. But when Sprucepaw spoke in such a cute, polite way, she felt like she had to tell him something. "I don't have many adventures of my own," she admitted. "But if you want, I can tell you a fictional story I've been thinking of for a while now."

Sprucepaw listened intently and nodded eagerly. He was super happy that the warrior was agreeing to spend time with him. He purred intently sitting closer to her . A made up story sounded super cool and he wanted to hear every bit of it.

I would like that a lot ! he squealed in a meow. A big smile he munched quietly on his snack while he could hear the story .

Kitespring smiled. It seemed like Sprucepaw wanted to hear what was going on in her head. "Okay, I'll tell you the story I've come up with. It's about a RiverClan deputy named Stormgaze who discovers something... eerily strange."

"Now, Stormgaze began to patrol the river and mark the borders, as a good warrior would. But while she's patrolling, she notices something strange in the distance. Covering the beautiful setting sun was a patch of darkness. Almost like the night sky, except there were no stars at all."

"Realizing something was up, Stormgaze walked towards the break in the sky. What she saw next surprised her. Two dark cats, their faces mangled into terribly unnatural forms, talking about... something."

"'Do you think we could break into the stars now?' one of them asked, his voice coarse and rough. 'Give those StarClan cats exactly what they deserved.'"

"'Perhaps so, Brackenspirit,' the other replied, her grin reaching from ear to ear. 'This power is... truly something.'"

"Stormgaze shuddered at the mention of Brackenspirit. Now, Brackenspirit was a ThunderClan cat who murdered Stormgaze's sister, Reedpaw. After RiverClan brought this up to ThunderClan, he was executed personally by ThunderClan's leader, Marshstar. She'd seen it with her own eyes."

"And yet, she just realized that Brackenspirit was standing right in front of her."

"No wonder the voice sounded so familiar."


"She had to tell RiverClan, warn them that the Dark Forest was growing in strength. But before she could leave..."

"'Where do you think you're going, Stormpaw?' Brackenspirit called, pouncing at her back. Stormgaze twisted and turned, trying her hardest to disengage and escape."

"'Not so fast,' the other she-cat growled, slashing at Stormgaze's neck, causing the she-cat to collapse onto the ground. 'You won't be able to tell anyone soon enough. Not even StarClan.'"

"As the two Dark Forest cats left Stormgaze to die, she silently prayed to StarClan. Please, StarClan... I... I need to help get the Clans out of this mess. Please, if anyone is listening... I can't just..."

"As she exhaled what she thought was her last breath, her prayers were miraculously answered. As she passed to another land, she noticed a RiverClan apprentice passing by. Pikepaw. She was Miss Mischief, never really a rule-follower, so it figured she'd be the one out here."

"Her spirit entering Pikepaw's body, the apprentice jolted in surprise. 'Wh-what just happened?' Pikepaw muttered out loud, not really talking to anyone in particular."

"'I, um, entered your body,' Stormgaze said, causing Pikepaw to turn around. 'I have... something to tell RiverClan.'"

"'And what is that?' Pikepaw asked, though Stormgaze's rushing thoughts gave the apprentice enough ample information. 'Okay, apparently I can read your thoughts? Can you read mine too?'"

"Well, she certainly could... Wow, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by-"

"'STOP READING MY THOUGHTS PLEASE.' Pikepaw sighed. I'll help you, on one condition. You tell nobody about what you see in my mind. Promise?"

"Okay, Stormgaze said."

Blinking at Sprucepaw, Kitespring smiled softly. "Are you okay with me explaining this much, or do you want me to get to the good parts?"

Sprucepaw purred softly and scooted closer to his aunt as she began the story time. The young tom loved stories, it reminded him of being a kit curled up next to poppy and getting to hear ghost stories.

He purred softly listening about the brave riverclan deputy doing her duty and following the rules of marking the borders clearly.

His eyes widened a little when the dark forest cats were introduced... when they killed the deputy he gasped and snuggled up next to his protector. awwe... poor stormgaze" he said queitly but didnt want to interpt too much.

He got very nervous when hearing about Pikepaw and how she was out where she was not supposed to be... the dark forest cats were gonna catch her too... He shuddered a little knowing that she was probably not gonna make it if the deputy couldnt save herself... what chance did a solo apprentice have? If only Pikepaw had listened to the rules she would be with a warrior right now and she would be safe and maybe they could even save Stormgaze.

The story continued...

Hmm Pikepaw and Stormgaze were one cat now. Cool! His eyes lit up. Maybe the disobedient apprentice would finally learn a lesson with the responsible deputy here to tell her to get back to safety of camp.


Sprucepaw purred excited I really really like it aunt kite he purred Yeah I like how you are doing it, its super fun he nodded. Purring softly he snuggled his head resting on her shoulder super relaxed and friendly. what happened next aunt kite? he asked wanting badly to know how Pikepaw ended up.

Kitespring smiled at Sprucepaw. If he was enjoying her dialogue, then...

"So, I'm gonna go and meet Lizardpaw on the bo-"

"No!"

"What now? I thought I made it clear I don't want you interfering with my per-"

"The Dark Forest. They were just here, before you came along. They might come back."

"Then we gotta go and warn Lizardpaw of them! Pikepaw argued. And think of it this way, we can have him spread the message to ThunderClan."

"Fine, Stormgaze replied, sighing. We'll meet up with him."

"As Pikepaw stepped onto Sunningrocks, she waved her tail at a brown tom with green eyes on the other side of the border. "Hey, Lizardpaw!" she said. "How's it been?""

"Lizardpaw smiled. "It's been good!" he said. "ThunderClan's still healthy, nothing bad's going on right now. How about you?""

"How about her? How about her? "Well..." She needed to explain everything in a somewhat concise way. "You might not believe me, but... RiverClan's deputy, Stormgaze, is residing in my body right now. The Dark Forest killed her, and they're threatening to take over the five clans. Since we planned to meet here tonight, I was hoping you could... pass on the message to ThunderClan.""

"Stormgaze didn't think she had ever seen Pikepaw this... nervous. Usually, she was fine with speaking her mind, but with Lizardpaw, she acted... differently."

""Yeah, I could do that. But how do I get them to believe me?""

""Tell them that Stormgaze saw Brackenspirit there. If they don't believe you, tell them that she told you Marshstar slashed Brackenspirit's neck when it was revealed that he murdered Reedpaw.""

"Lizardpaw blinked in surprise. "Um... alright," he said. "I'll do that... Pikepaw?""

""That was Stormgaze speaking," Pikepaw said. If you could not do that, I would really appreciate it."

"Yeah, that's my bad."

"After talking to Lizardpaw, the two of them headed back to RiverClan. They needed to hurry, so that the Dark Forest wouldn't be able to take over the clan."

Sprucepaw eyes widened very excitedly and interested in the story. He snuggled closer to his aunt purring as she continued. He wondered why Pikepaw was so nervous talking to Lizardpaw. He looked at his aunt wondering if there was a reason for Pikepaw's nervousness.


The story continued and got even more interesting!
Woah!! he whispered quietly,

Stormgaze can speak through Pikepaw? That is so cool! he squealed

Can she control her too? he asked super curious. And why's pikepaw so nervous around that Thunderclan tom? he asked confused.

He smiled looking up at his auntie. You are a really good story teller Auntie Kite he meowed happily. This was so relaxing, just getting to sit and listen to her stories. He happily leaned against her in companionship. So ... what happened next? Does Thunderclan come to their aid? he ponders

Sprucepaw eyes widened very excitedly and interested in the story. He snuggled closer to his aunt purring as she continued. He wondered why Pikepaw was so nervous talking to Lizardpaw. He looked at his aunt wondering if there was a reason for Pikepaw's nervousness.


The story continued and got even more interesting!
Woah!! he whispered quietly,

Stormgaze can speak through Pikepaw? That is so cool! he squealed

Can she control her too? he asked super curious. And why's pikepaw so nervous around that Thunderclan tom? he asked confused.

He smiled looking up at his auntie. You are a really good story teller Auntie Kite he meowed happily. This was so relaxing, just getting to sit and listen to her stories. He happily leaned against her in companionship. So ... what happened next? Does Thunderclan come to their aid? he ponders

Kitespring smiled at Sprucepaw. "Stormgaze can control Pikepaw, but she doesn't feel right doing so. Unless it's specifically to make her better at hunting or fighting or something like that."

"And the reason that Pikepaw is nervous around that ThunderClan tom... well, she has a crush on him." Not just that, but she was also planned to be in a forbidden relationship with Lizardpaw, but she didn't want to explain that to the rule-follower Sprucepaw. He might not be happy about that.

"Anyways, Lizardpaw does get back to ThunderClan and tell them about the Dark Forest invasion. So they're prepared. The other four clans, on the other hand, still need to be warned."

"So, Pikepaw and Stormgaze rushed back to RiverClan territory, hoping to warn RiverClan of the incoming danger. As they arrived back at camp, Stormgaze made a beeline to the leader's den."

""Hey, Willowstar," Pikepaw said. "The Dark Forest is trying to take over the five clans. We need to get RiverClan prepared.""

"Willowstar blinked. 'The Dark Forest, you say?' he said. "Somehow, I don't believe you, Pikepaw.""

"He doesn't believe me, Pikepaw grumbled silently. Can you enter his body and tell him yourself?"

"I can try, Stormgaze thought. Now, she just... has to exit Pikepaw's mind..."

"She can't."

Pikepaw, who could also read Stormgaze's mind, realized Stormgaze's predicament. She wasn't just a wandering spirit anymore. She was physically connected to Pikepaw's body, kinda like Pikepaw herself was. Are you kidding me? she sighed. Okay, what do we do now?"

"Well... maybe I can try something. Can I speak?"

"Pikepaw nodded, letting Stormgaze take control. "Here's why I know. I am not actually Pikepaw. It's me, your deputy. Stormgaze.""

""I noticed a dark break in the starry sky, when I was on dusk patrol. I began to investigate and noticed two Dark Forest warriors. Brackenspirit and another one I didn't recognize. Don't you find it odd, Willowstar? The dusk patrol arrived later than usual, and I wasn't among them. You're planning to name a new deputy in my absence. I suggest you do that quickly.""

"Willowstar blinked. "You certainly act like Stormgaze now," the RiverClan leader added. "This could also be a trick, though. A Dark Forest cat impersonating a RiverClan apprentice, trying to sneak under my radar. How do I know that you're not that?""

"Stormgaze sighed. "You don't," she admitted. "But doing something's better than doing nothing and getting caught by surprise.""

"Willowstar smiled. "Okay," he said. "You've convinced me.""

Kitespring took a deep breath. "And... that's all I have for now! Do you have any questions about the story?"

Sprucepaw purred happily. He loved stories and Auntie Kitespring was a great story teller!

He smiled ear to ear looking up at her. He was still a bit confused about Pikepaw and the thunderclan tom but he let that go. They must just be good friends or something, he thought to himself.

He didnt understand love or crushes really yet, maybe someday but not now.

The friendly, happy apprentice purred softly nuzzling against his aunt gently. "I love your stories auntie" he mewed happily. Resting his head against her warm shoulder he slowly fell into a steady sleep feeling so safe next to his family member and clanmate warrior.