PEBBLEDAWN
Leo-Pad's Character

Pebbledawn tasted the air. There was a strong scent of mice, but he failed to locate where they were. He knew they were right under his nose. There must be mice all around the clearing. A lucky score, if we can catch them.

He glanced over at his hunting partner, Ferngaze. They had set out at climbing-sun to try and locate a flock of geese that were migrating through their territory around this time. A goose was hearty and hard to kill, but the reward was always worth it. It was a tradition for the Clan to catch one goose around this time of year. Mainly it was a competition for young cats to prove themselves – a race to see which cat would catch one first.

Ferngaze had came up to him yesterday and told him that she'd spotted a flock on the high-sun patrol. She'd also went to Sprucefleck and Shattercloud and told the three cats to meet her outside the camp at climbing-sun the next morning if they weren't doing anything. Unfortunately, the Clan was spread thin as it was since preparing for leaf-bare was a busy time, and only Pebbledawn was able to make it.

Ferngaze was crestfallen, but she quickly observed that they could still have a chance at catching a goose; if they really tried. Unfortunately, on their way to the lake just outside ElkClan territory, they came upon the scent of mice. Lots of mice. They couldn't pass up an opportunity to provide for the Clan.

"We'll hunt for goose another day. There's plenty of time left before they head south completely," Ferngaze had said with reluctance.

Pebbledawn had only nodded in a reply, seeing that silence was probably better. Ferngaze was still a little upset that her plans had fell apart.

Now here they were.

"If we can just scatter them in one direction..." Ferngaze whispered. "Away from the tall grass."

Pebbledawn waited for Ferngaze's decision. She was the hunting patrol leader, after all, and there was nothing on his mind for him to say. Scattering the mice seemed like a good idea, but the mice would all run for a place to hide again as they were doing so now.

Ferngaze was a great tactician when it came to hunting strategies, and if anyone would come up with a way it was her. It didn't seem like mice needed all that much thought to hunt them, but if they were to catch more than one mouse each they needed a plan.

Ferngaze's tail shot up like it did whenever she had an idea. Pebbledawn glanced at her, waiting.

"I've got it!" She calmed her tail, her voice still in a hoarse whisper. "I'll jump around the grass and scare them all in your direction. When you start killing them they'll come back my way, and then we'll get as many as we can in one fell swoop."

Pebbledawn flicked his ears, taking a few seconds to think. "Alright then. I'll stay here and wait."

Ferngaze made her way to the other side of the clearing, stalking as quietly as she could. Pebbledawn focused on preparing for when all the prey started coming his way.

Suddenly, Ferngaze leaped up a few tree-lengths away from him and started bounding around, the undergrowth crunching and making loud noises.

A mouse ran by Pebbledawn's paws, and quick as a snake he lashed his paw out and killed it. A flash of brown follwed by a streak of gray came not a tail-length away from him, and he sprang to catch both of them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught two tawny streaks, but his paws only came within a hairbreadth of them before they disappeared back into the thick undergrowth. He didn't have time to curse before another mouse flashed by him, and his paws caught its tail. He swiftly killed it.

Blood tainted the air, and when he saw that the mice were no longer running around he surveyed his catch. Four mice. Not bad. He was already wishing that he had been quick enough to catch the ones that had escaped his grasp, but three was a decent catch.

He gathered the three mice and lay them out in row, placing them by the base of a tree so that he would remember them. It was not a good idea to leave them there long, but he would be back shortly. He then turned to see what Ferngaze had ended up catching.

He snagged his paw in the grass, tripping for a second. He stumbled on his size into the grass. A white mouse scurried from under his paws, and he looked up, shaking the grass off his fur. Ferngaze trotted toward him.

"Wow, Pebbledawn, I thought you were quicker on your paws than that!" She laughed. "And you let one get away, too."

Pebbledawn's gaze followed the path that the white mouse had taken. A white mouse. What could it mean? A sign from StarClan?

A) You should tell Ferngaze about it and see what she thinks it was.
B) It must have been your eyes, it was probably just a gray mouse.
C) You don't really need to tell Ferngaze about it, but you keep it in your mind to tell Stagthorn.
D) White mouse or not, it's most likely not a sign from StarClan. You decide not to say anything to anyone.

FERNGAZE
Fern_Cloud's Character

The leaves falling from the trees. The promise of snow on the horizon. Yes, there was no mistaking it. It was that time of year.

And this will be the year that I finally do it. Ferngaze's fur tingled with excitement. With the coming of leaf-bare, flocks of geese were migrating southward. And ElkClan just happened to have a popular resting-spot for geese just outside their territory.

It was a well known tradition in ElkClan – the tradition of young cats going out and trying to be the first to catch a goose and bring it in for the Clan to share. Last year, when she was barely an apprentice, she had foolishly decided to go out alone to the pond. All her efforts had earned her was a water-logged pelt and white cough.

The thought of her escapade made her cringe, but it was only the act of a cloud-brained apprentice and nobody except herself remembered it. Of course, she was older now, and knew to think before doing whatever mouse-brained idea popped into her head.

However, she was still set on being first this time around. When she spotted the flock of geese flying in the direction of the pond, she knew that it was only a matter of time before a goose was caught. That's why she had to be the first one out there.

She knew she wouldn't be able to get one alone – geese were much too large and strong for that. They were almost impenetrable to a cat's claws and teeth. No, she would have to find other cats to help her... but who?

Of course, Shattercloud was obvious. Though sometimes Ferngaze was intimidated by her size, she would definitely need the she-cat's help. Tigerbranch was out, since she would be training her apprentice. She definitely didn't want Dovenight. Sprucefleck and Pebbledawn were good friends of hers, and they were both good at hunting. She'd ask them.

She saw the familiar spotted pelt of Shattercloud as the large cat padded through camp with some fresh kill. She looked as though she didn't want to be bothered by the look on her face, but this was one of the only chances that Ferngaze would get to ask her. Besides, Shattercloud wasn't known to lash out.

"Hey there!" She trotted up to Shattercloud, who's ears perked with somewhat of surprise.

"Ferngaze, hey," Shattercloud said, setting down her prey. "What is it? Do I have camp guard again?" She sighed tiredly.

"What? No, no," Ferngaze said quickly, shaking her head. "No. I was just wondering if you wanted to come hunt geese with me and some other cats tomorrow at climbing-sun."

"Sure. I'm game," Shattercloud said, snickering at her joke. Ferngaze chuckled uncomfortably. Shattercloud picked up her prey. "So tomorrow at climbing-sun? I'll try to be there."

Well, that went better than I expected... although she's not the easiest cat to talk to. I can't tell if she's bored or angry or sad, Ferngaze thought. Now, I just need to track down Pebbledawn and Sprucefleck.

~

The next climbing-sun came slow. Ferngaze waited outside camp, hoping that Pebbledawn would show up. He was on the East dawn-patrol, but he said he'd be there. Sprucefleck had night-patrol, so he was resting in the warriors den and wouldn't be able to come. Pebbledawn had to go track down dogs last minute, so now her only hope was Pebbledawn.

This is turning out horrible, Ferngaze sighed. Not how I expected at all. Perhaps this wasn't the year she would get a goose. There's always next leaf-fall.

Pawsteps approached, and she looked up. "Pebbledawn? Pebbledawn!" She stood to her paws as the spotted gray tom emerged from the trees.

"I hope I'm not too late," He said. "We ran into some trouble at the OwlClan border."

"Not at all," Ferngaze said. Although I was just about to give up and go back into camp. I'm glad I didn't, she thought. There was still hope if there was two of them.

"The others couldn't come?" Pebbledawn observed. Ferngaze shook her head.

"The geese should be flocking at the water right now, we should probably head out," She said. Halfshade had allowed her to go solely on the excuse that it was a hunting patrol, but they would have to at least bring something back.

They neared the edge of the territory, and stepped out into a small clearing of trees. It would soon be high-sun.

"Do you smell that?" Ferngaze stopped short. The scent of prey wafted through the air. She halted Pebbledawn with her tail. "This clearing must be full of mice." Her heart dropped. It was a choice between going after something that she may fail at catching, or hunting the mice that were right in front of her and that she would definitely be able to catch. But that would mean that the hunt for geese was over.

Pebbledawn glanced at her to see what she would do.

"We'll hunt for goose another day. There's plenty of time left before they head south completely," Ferngaze lowered her head, sighing. She dropped into a hunters crouch. But we won't be able to get more than two mice if we don't do this right, Immediately, her mind went into strategy mode.

"If we can just scatter them in one direction..." She whispered quietly, "Away from the tall grass."

"I've got it!" She whispered hoarsely. "I'll jump around the grass and scare them all in your direction. When you start killing them they'll come back my way, and then we'll get as many as we can in one fell swoop." The solution was fairly easy, and it was the only other option if they wanted to catch as many mice as they could.

Pebbledawn paused with a thoughtful look on his face. "Alright then. I'll stay here and wait."

Ferngaze stalked through the grass, making hardly a sound. She couldn't spook the prey, not yet. Her paw crunched on a leaf, and she winced, but nothing stirred.

Finally, when she was far enough away, she leaped from the grass. A mouse scuttled away from her, but it did not escape her. She continued to beat down the grass and make noise, hoping to scare them in the direction of her hunting partner.

It was working. Pebbledawn had caught at least two mice already. It wouldn't be long before they started coming back her way.

Three mice scatted around her, and she pounced on them, catching two. One wiggled away, and the other she killed swiftly.

Two mice. Not bad, but I hope Pebbledawn got more. She saw the tom walking toward her, but suddenly he tripped over the grass and fell.

Ferngaze couldn't keep herself from laughing. Another mouse ran by him, but he wasn't quick enough to catch it as he was shaking the grass off his pelt.

"Wow, Pebbledawn, I thought you were quicker on your paws than that!" She chuckled good-naturedly, "And you let one get away, too."

Pebbledawn didn't seem to appreciate her jest. He seemed to be staring off into the distance.

A) You curiously ask what he's looking at.
B) You apologize for teasing him, and turn to gather your mice.
C) You walk over to him to see what he's looking at
D) You make a joke about him daydreaming

SHATTERCLOUD
Skyfireoflostclan's Character

Being taller than nearly every cat in the Clan had more setbacks than advantages.

Her only advantage was that, because she looked so intimidating, she was undoubtedly not overlooked or belittled. Her origins were never talked about, though it was because of her appearance that her heritage was so painfully apparent.

Shattercloud suspected that hidden in the Clan; there might be at least three non-clanborn cats, including herself. She had spent some time investigating this when she was an apprentice. But, since they looked just like any other forest cat, they were often overlooked. She, however, was not.

Though she was only a head taller than most, her strange fur patterns and her lithe figure was the biggest giveaway. She did not regret that her father had taken her to the Clans, but she did regret that he did not at least join her, so she didn't have to be alone -- though Tigerbranch had quickly filled that spot for her as her sister. She knew nothing about her father, except for the fact that he'd left her on Clan territory. A patrol had found her shortly, but they had thought she was a four moon old kit when she was only two moons.

The leaf-bare was also very hard on her, with her short fur. She loathed the snow and ice, but she had survived the last leaf-bare when she was a kit. Now, the icy grips of the terrible season were almost upon them, and she'd grown since then. That meant that she would be out in the cold. I'm not looking forward to it, that is for sure. Not that I don't want to provide for the Clan, but--

"Hey, Shattercloud," Cinderthroat's friendly voice scattered her current thoughts, and her mind jerked back. She turned her head to greet the silver warrior. "I've got camp guard now--"

Shattercloud yawned rising to her full height and stretching, her claws digging into the ground as she moved her joints. "Oh, thank StarClan, I thought the sun would never rise..." She said through a half-yawn. She'd been on camp guard since moon-high, so she hadn't got much sleep.

"--...assigned you to a border patrol," As she stretched, Shattercloud was only half-listening to what Cinderthroat had said. She quickly jerked her head up.

"A border patrol? But I've just got done with camp guard," Her voice was surprised, but not whiny in the least.

Cinderthroat nodded. "Night patrol scented dogs at the border with the twolegplace. Halfshade, you, Sprucefleck, and Mistpaw are going to check it out and see how far they've been coming into our territory," Shattercloud remembered the Night patrol cats returning to camp last night. They did seem a little concerned.

The sun was creeping through the trees, a glimmer of light through the branches. It's too early to be traipsing about, looking for dogs, she thought. But the faster we get there, the less time it will take to finish.

"I wonder why Dawn patrol can't go check it out... Oh well, that's Halfshade for you. I hope there's a method to his madness," Shattercloud thought aloud. Cinderthroat gave her a friendly thump to the head with her tail.

Halfshade, Sprucefleck, and his apprentice came through the camp entrance, almost bumping into Shattercloud. She always had quick reflexes, however, and swiftly stepped aside.

"There you are, Shattercloud," Halfshade said coolly. "I suppose Cinderthroat explained to you about the patrol. It's sudden, but we can't allow dogs to roam on our territory -- even for a day."

Shattercloud dipped her head to the deputy. They bade farewell to Cinderthroat, who would likely be keeping tabs on how long this patrol took them, in the case that they didn't return for a while. After all, the camp guard's job was to keep track of the flow of cats from camp.

"So," she started, slowing her long stride so the others could keep up. "Why isn't Dovenight on this patrol? I'd assume she'd be jumping at the chance to go after some dogs." After all, the reason for Dovenight's leg injury and her slight limp was due to a dog attack. She already knew the answer -- Dovenight probably had other duties. Still, she wanted to see what Halfshade would say.

"Dovenight has... other matters. Tigerbranch, too," Said Halfshade. Sprucefleck was a little behind them, talking to Mistpaw. "Regardless, you still would have had to go on this patrol if that's what you're asking."

A vague answer, but Shattercloud wasn't about to complain. She was the biggest cat in the Clan. If a dog were to attack, she might be able to take it on and scare it off. However, Halfshade could certainly hold his own against a dog. The cats of the forest were bigger than any non-clan cat that Shattercloud had seen, and a lot braver.

Dawn passed by far quicker than Shattercloud would have wished it to. Soon, they were upon the border with the twolegplace.

Their border ended at the trees, a few bounds from a row of twoleg dens.The twoleg dens had immense barriers around them. Shattercloud did not know a lot about how they looked except for the ridged roof, which seemed like a mountain to her.

"It's always so loud," Shattercloud grumbled.

"Indeed. I was once on a Night patrol that came through here," Said Sprucefleck. "The noises and lights never stop."

A foul scent wafted to Shattercloud's nose, and her tired feeling disappeared. "And the smell. Oh, StarClan," She shook her head, trying to shake the scent out of her head. "What is that?"

"It smells as if something is dead..." Mistpaw said meekly. "But, I can't tell what scent it is."

Halfshade was sniffing the air as well. "Well, whatever it is, it's not a cat," He tasted the air. "The dog scent crosses into our territory over here. It looks like it's a well-used trail..."

The scent still did not leave Shattercloud's nose. It was not normal.

A) "Wait, shouldn't we go check out what that scent was?"
B) You decide to follow the others and ignore the scent. Most likely, it was some weird two-leg thing.
C) You follow the others. "That scent wasn't normal. We should check it out later if it's still lingering there."

These three cats were really fun to write, and I hope you liked your characters! :) Originally, Shattercloud was her own chapter but I didn't want her all by herself so I put her in here, haha. 

I know I took a long time to update, but all of them together are over 8,000 words! I had everyone's except Pebbledawn, Ferngaze, and Shattercloud's finished by last week, but I thought this would be a good week to post them because it's the last week before Christmas break,so I really cracked down and tried to finish them. (Sorry if they seem a teeny bit rushed!)

~

So I want everyone to vote, do you like longer updates but longer time to post them (Not as long as it took me to post this one, lol) or  shorter updates but less time to post them? 

(Im putting this after the end of every chapter because I'm not sure if everyone reads through them all)

~Queen