Post by Brownie on Jul 5, 2017 10:21:13 GMT -5
mhmmmmm it's been a full five years since I joined the forums. June 15, 2012.
and of course, the first thing I posted was my own fanfiction: Warriors Reborn, book 1, Prophecy of the Sky.
and who's going to doubt that it didn't follow the erin recipe exactly and had another five books to finish the series?
Sadly, I don't have the original original script. I have the 2014 edit version, which is pretty much the same thing, but with a few autocorrects and a rewritten prologue (that's just as bad as the original lol).
Honestly, the plot wasn't horrible? It was bad, the writing was bad, and the characters were awful, but the plot is still technically part of the "Brownie's canon series" thing and the later parts of DaN and Starless both piggyback a lot off of the results of this abomination.
WAIT HOLY MY GEEZUS I FOUND THE ORIGINAL WORD DOC
just think of this, the raw text, but a bright YELLOW and most of it BOLD and that's exactly how it was on the old boards.
About the Book
This book takes place in SkyClan territory about a year after Firestar leaves in Erin’s “Firestar’s Prophecy”. I had started this book before the Erins' wrote “SkyClan’s Destiny”, so in this fanfic, the things the cats do there never happened or will happen to SkyClan. The map is mostly the same as is in Firestar’s Prophecy, although the forest is extended outward to include more trees and a pine wood/ swampland.
Allegiances
SkyClan
Leafstar- brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Sharpclaw- dark ginger tom
Echosong- cream tabby she-cat with green eyes
Apprentice- Mintpaw
Patchfoot- black-and-white tom
Clovertail- light brown she-cat with white belly and legs
Apprentice- Sagepaw
Sparrowpelt- dark brown tabby tom
Cherrytail- tortoiseshell she-cat
Petalnose- pale gray she-cat
Rockheart- black tom
Bouncefur- ginger tom
Tinycloud- small white she-cat
Sagepaw- pale gray tom
Mintpaw- gray tabby she-cat
Wandering Group
Brown-brown she-cat with green eyes
Swift- dark gray tom
Moss- light ginger she-cat, green eyes
Eagle- brown and white tom amber eyes
Oak- orange and white tom
Cloud- white she-cat with gray flecks
Thorn- brown-and-white tom with amber eyes.
Ice-she-cat with long silver fur and blue eyes.
Twig- very old tan tom
Boulder- dark gray tom with many scars
Daisy- white-and-ginger she-cat
Ash- light gray tom
Night- Black she-cat with dark blue eyes
Fox- reddish tabby tom
Fern- long furred tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Stone- gray and white tom
Rain- Gray she-cat with dark gray flecks and light blue eyes
Heron- tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes.
Prologue
The half-moon shone its pale light on a single cat padding over the Rockpile. She took the winding path across the river and disappeared between a crack in the boulders. Instead of moonlight, a light green glow illuminated the cave turning her white fur to silver. She walked over to the middle of the cave and lay down to touch her nose against the cool moss.
Then, blackness came over her and she awoke to find a bright light in her eyes. The moss in the opposite corner was shining like starlight. She started to walk over and noticed a tunnel leading the opposite direction from the entrance that was not visible in the pale glow of the moss before. Now she could hear voices urging her on down the tunnel. Using her whiskers to feel the sides she continued on.
The ceiling was low and her tail could touch the top but she continued on with the voices of Star Clan whispering in her head. The tunnel never forked and kept going down. Soon, she was running down the tunnel, the mental tug greater and the whispers louder.
She burst out into a cavern bigger than the one she left. There were two other exits besides the one she came from. It didn’t look like either one led directly outside, but to tunnel like the one she had traveled through. The cave had hanging moss, not unlike the one she had just left, although this cave wasn’t glowing. The room was filled with the shining cats of Star Clan. They brushed past her talking to others and wandering around.
“I’ve been waiting for you Echosong.”
Echosong jumped, just noticing the cat sitting directly in front of her, his tail wrapped around his paws. The cat was dark gray, almost black with cool blue eyes and a muzzle flecked with lighter gray.
“Skywatcher!” Echosong exclaimed, “Where am I?”
“Find three cats born during the storm,one in the pines, one in the trees, and one in the gorge.These cats will stop the war that is destined to happen. Remember this,and though the battle has only two sides, there will be three winners. But if these cats are not united, the forest will be stained with blood and SkyClan will be no more,” Skywatcher said fading away until only his voice was heard saying, “Good luck Echosong, this is the new Whispering Cave.”
As he said this, the moss in the cave started to glow. Soft at first but getting brighter and brighter until Echosong had to squint her eyes against the light. As soon as her eyes closed, the glowing stopped and she found herself in the smaller Whispering Cave, which now had stopped shining with the spirits of Star Clan.
Chapter 1
“Get up Cherrytail it’s past sun-up and it’s assessment day!” Rockpaw said excitedly, pouncing on Cherrytail and making the feathers in her nest scatter all over the den floor. “I can’t go anywhere with you on top of me clumsy furball. Get off of me and stop acting a kit the first time out of the nursery. Maybe I can tell Leafstar to postpone the assessment until next green-leaf.” She said shaking the scraps of moss and feathers off her fur. “Sorry Cherrytail, I’ll put your nest back together while you eat. I ate before I came.” Rockpaw said his head and tail drooping.
Cherrytail walked out of her den annoyed, her tail lashing. She didn’t like to be that rude to Rockpaw, he was still an apprentice, but she was in the middle of a dream.
She was running, her paws felt tireless under the canopy of the forest. The pine needles soft under her pads. Then she stopped at the base of a tree. It was the biggest one she had ever seen. It was an oak in the middle of the pine forest, with long branches and a hole in the bottom big enough for a cat to fit through. She walked over and was about to enter the cave-like hole when Rockpaw woke her up. She’d had this dream before but that was the closest she’d ever been to the hole.
“Watch out mouse-brain.” Sharpclaw growled. Cherrytail snapped out of her thoughts. She had almost run into him on her way to the fresh-kill pile. “Stop daydreaming Cherrytail. It’s your apprentice’s assessment today. You better wake up and get ready.”
“I was on my way to the fresh-kill pile.” Cherrytail said indignantly. Mad at herself for not paying more attention. “I have a lot of things on my mind today.” Including being pounced on, weird dreams, and the assessment today, she added silently. “Well I hope you pay better attention to Rockpaw. You don’t want him failing on your behalf.” Sharpclaw said turning around and leaving towards Leafstar’s den.
Sharpclaw can be such a pain in the tail, Cherrytail thought continuing across the warriors cave to the fresh-kill pile. There wasn’t much, just a squirrel, a finch and a crow. The hunting patrol hadn’t gone out yet. She wasn’t very hungry, so she took the finch and walked over to the corner where her brother was eating a mouse.
“Hey Sparrowpelt.” She said her voice muffled by the finch’s feathers. She lay down beside him. “I’m nervous for the assessment. I feel like the apprentice not the mentor.” Cherrytail said.
Sparrowpelt twitched his whiskers in amusement. “I’m excited. Tinypaw’s really good at hunting. She caught a huge squirrel yesterday and insisted on carrying it back even though it was almost as big as her. The first thing she did was give it to Petalnose in the nursery. She’ll make a great warrior.” Sparrowpelt said.
“Rockpaw is great too. He can scent prey halfway across the territory. It’s just I had this dream and I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m also scared I’ll mess up Rockpaw’s assessment.” Cherrytail admitted.
“Well just don’t think about it then. Think about Rockpaw’s warrior ceremony and how important for both of you to have him pass. It’ll be fine. You have Clovertail to help with the assessment too. Be glad you don’t have Sharpclaw as your partner. He’s been grumpy today.” Sparrowpelt said with a glint in his eyes.
“Well I guess that’s a good thing.” Cherrytail said purring. Her brother always knew how to cheer her up. It would be impossible to fail; both of their apprentices were great. All they had to do is try their best and everything would be fine.
“Thanks Sparrowpelt I feel better now. Hope you do well.” She said getting up.
“Hope you do well too.” He said flicking his tail over her shoulders comfortingly before returning to his mouse.
Cherrytail walked down the trail to the apprentice’s den, the rock wet and slippery with dew. Dampness soaked into her pelt and she shivered. Leaf-bare was coming.
The clouds were heavy with rain but Cherrytail thought she could see a break in the clouds. It was just over the treetops, barely a smudge, but she desperately hoped she was right. A rainstorm would make it harder for both of them.
“Rockpaw!” Cherrytail called as she entered the den. As he came towards her she sat down on the den floor. He sat down in front of her, his tail curling over his paws. “Before we met up with Clovertail, I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for being so mad at you this morning. I really shouldn’t have. Are you still excited for your assessment?” Cherrytail asked shifting her weight from paw to paw.
“Of coarse!” Rockpaw said leaping up and dashing to the entrance of the cave.
“Let’s go then.” Cherrytail said barely holding back a purr of amusement. She got up and went to the entrance to stand beside Rockpaw. “Lead the way.” Cherrytail said.
Cherrytail padded up the slope behind him up to the warriors den where they found Sparrowpelt, Tinypaw, Leafstar and Clovertail already waiting at the mouth of the cave.
“Now we’re only waiting for Patchfoot and Bouncepaw.” Leafstar said as Sharpclaw appeared from inside the cave. A couple of heartbeats later, Patchfoot and Bouncepaw scrambled up the last few tail-lengths of the path.
“So,” Leafstar started, “Sharpclaw, you’ll be Bouncpaw’s hunting partner, I’ll be with Tinypaw, and Clovertail will be with Rockpaw. Is that clear? Apprentices, you may go and hunt wherever you want inside the territory. Your mentors and partners will follow and watch you but you won’t see them. At sunhigh, your hunting partners will show themselves. You must give them instructions on where to go and how to help. This is the second part of the assessment. Good luck to all of you.”After Leafstar’s speech the apprentices darted out of the cave and everyone else on the ledge followed behind.
Rockpaw turned and headed for the forest. Good choice, Cherrytail thought her body pressed down to the ground creeping forward, he’ll find lots of prey there and protection if it starts to rain. She scented the air, thrush. Rockpaw had smelled it too and was creeping towards it on steady paws. Now he was only a fox-length away. He gathered his muscles, leaped and came up with the limp body of the thrush in his jaws.
Cherrytail almost leaped out of the holly bush she was hiding under. Rockpaw buried his prey at the base of a beech tree and went deeper into the forest. Cherrytail followed a few fox-lengths behind him stopping whenever he stopped. Rockpaw came out into a clearing and Cherrytail had almost followed him.
She backtracked a little ways and found a clump of bracken with a clear view of the meadow. By then she could only locate Rockpaw by the faint movements of grass and fern. She opened her mouth and scented the air. Rabbit. Rockpaw was stalking it.
Suddenly, the rabbit burst out of the brambles with Rockpaw right behind. Cherrytail watched as the rabbit turned and raced towards her. Rockpaw was gaining on it and took a flying leap towards it. His claws found fur. He quickly nipped it on the neck and thanked StarClan for its life.
Rockpaw was now only a few tail-lengths away from the treeline and another fox-length away from her hiding spot. Rockpaw turned around quickly, his mouth open tasting for scents. Clovertail appeared from behind a clump of ferns and began walking toward Rockpaw. Cherrytail started to follow too. Wanting to ask why she was not hiding, wanting to tell her the assessment wasn’t over. But then she realized it was sunhigh and Clovertail was supposed to come out for partner hunting.
“Mousebrain.” Cherrytail muttered walking silently back to the bracken. Rockpaw was talking to Clovertail, probably telling her his strategy, and then they both set off in the direction of the gorge. Cherrytail waited a few heartbeats before following. She crept along closer than she should have, but she wanted to hear them too.
“We should try for a bigger bird, like a pidgon or a crow, which we couldn’t catch alone. I’ll climb a tree, while you go around and scare it up to me. I’ll drop down on it and you can help me pin it down and kill it.” Rockpaw explained.
It was an unusual strategy, one not used or taught. I’ll tell Leafstar about this, Cherrytail thought. She opened her mouth to check for scents and immediately smelled crow. She padded silently forward and slipped under a bramble bush close to the crow. She seen Rockpaw’s pelt flash as he scrambled up the trunk and out onto the lowest branch. His ears down tail still. Clovertail ran out from behind a clump of ferns hissing. The crow took off flying and cawing loudly. A gray pelt came crashing down on top of the crow making its feathers fly wildly in all directions. Clovertail flung herself on the crow and their combined weight made it drop to the ground.
Rockpaw spun around and neatly bit the crow’s neck, breaking it. He then leaped up in the air twisting and landing on his paws.
“I’m so glad that worked.” He said purring. “All the prey will be gone here because of that alarm call. Let’s go to the forest border before the assessment is over. There will be lots of mice now that the beech nuts are on the ground.” Rockpaw suggested dragging the crow to a clear patch of dirt under the maple he had climbed to catch it. Both cats were needed to bury the huge bird.
They then started off towards the border with Cherrytail padding hidden behind. They were soon running, fast but silent through the undergrowth. It wasn’t long before Cherrytail could smell the scent-marks that lined the border.
“Cherrytail! Cherrytail!” Rockpaw yowled. “I know this is my assessment, but I smell weird cats at the borderline and Clovertail said it was alright if I called you. The assessment is almost over anyways.”
Cherrytail came out from beneath the thorn bush she was hiding under. Jaws parted to scent the air; she did notice a faint smell of cat.
“This could be part of your assessment.” Cherrytail said to Rockpaw. “Track it and tell me what the cat did and where it went. There hasn’t been a patrol around here since last sunrise.”
“Okay.” He said hesitantly. He opened his mouth and started to follow the scent. It traveled in for a little while and then split into three different scents.
“Cherrytail,” Rockpaw said, “there were three different cats. One went ahead…he caught a mouse! On our territory! He ate it right here.” Rockpaw said gesturing to a spot a few tail-lengths away his fur bristling. “Then they turned back out of the territory. I don’t think they knew they crossed a border; it was defiantly a patrol though. They only came here to hunt.” Rockpaw said.
“Well, we better go collect your prey and head back to camp. Leafstar’s going to want to know about this. First the upcoming leaf-bare, now rouge cats stealing prey. We’re going to need more patrols.” Clovertail said turning around the way they came. “I’ll get the crow you two get the rest.” She said disappearing under the trees.
“Let’s get going Rockpaw.” Cherrytail said going in the direction of the meadow. They crossed the meadow and Rockpaw dug up his rabbit, staggering under the weight.
“That’ll feed Petalnose and the kits.” Cherrytail said purring. “Let’s get your thrush.” They walked, slowly because of Rockpaw and his rabbit, back to the beech where Rockpaw buried his thrush.
Cherrytail fetched it and the continued along the trail back to camp. When they returned they found camp empty except for Petalnose and the kits, who came squealing over to Rockpaw.
“Did you really catch that rabbit? It could feed the whole clan!” Sagekit told him excitedly. “You must have run faster than StarClan to catch it!” Mintkit said.
Cherrytail walked over to Petalnose and sat down beside her. “Rockpaw did really well.” Petalnose said. “He also caught a crow. Clovertail went back to get it.” Cherrytail said.
“You trained him very well. I’m glad he’ll be made a warrior.” Petalnose said looking over at Rockpaw playing with her kits. “Thanks.” Cherrytail said licking her chest embarrassed. “Here comes Patchfoot, Sharpclaw and Bouncepaw.” Petalnose said looking over Cherrytail’s shoulder, her tail twitching.
“Bouncepaw was great.” Patchfoot said coming up and dropping two mice at his paws. “Besides the mice he caught a sparrow and a squirrel.” “Hope Leafstar’s back soon. I need to tell her something.” Cherrytail said. “We smelled a few rouge cats at the forest border.”
“She’s here now.” Sharpclaw said coming up behind her. “She’s at her den. She told me to tell all the mentors to come to her den after dropping their prey off at the fresh-kill pile.” Sharpclaw said.
Cherrytail picked up the thrush, said a muffled good-bye and turned to go to the warrior’s den. She dropped off the thrush on the huge fresh-kill pile and left for Leafstar's den. She was the last one there. She quickly sat down beside Sparrowpelt.
“Now, do you think your apprentices are ready to become warriors?” Leafstar asked. “I do.” Patchfoot said. “I do.” Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt echoed. “We still need to hear the other assessors at the ceremony like always but with the fresh-kill pile so big I don’t think anyone will have anything bad to say.”
“Leafstar?” Cherrytail said. “While we were at the forest border Rockpaw scented cat on our side of the scent line. We followed it and there were scents of three cats. One made a kill. He ate it right there. Then the scent went back out of the border.”
“That’s bad news. I’ll announce we need more patrols on that border later. Thanks Cherrytail.” Leafstar said. “And if there is nothing else anyone wants to say I need to get back to other businesses.” Leafstar said as she got up and took the trail to the medicine cat’s den.
Cherrytail left Leafstar’s den relived the situation will be taken care of and her apprentice made a warrior. She headed towards the warrior’s den where she knew a sparrow and a nap were waiting for her before the ceremony at dusk.
Chapter 2
“Great job hunting Eagle, that rabbit looks good,” Smoke said, looking at it longingly,“I only caught a mouse.”
“Well at least I won’t go hungry today,” Eagle replied, “I’m going to share it with Ice. Our kits are coming soon and I want them to be strong.” He left with the rabbit towards the fern clump where he and Ice had their den.
The clearing was filled with cats. They all traveled as a group, moving all Greenleaf to another territory where they spent leaf-bare. Cats came and left the group as they pleased, and everycat hunted in small groups or by themselves.
It was a bad way to live, Eagle thought, but Ice and the kits wouldn’t survive the leaf-bare if we were alone. Even here, only a few cats would help him if he didn’t catch enough for them. Smoke and Maple probably would, and Moss wasn’t a bad cat either.
Eagle stumbled through the fern barrier of their nest and dropped the rabbit at Ice’s paws, exhausted from his long day of hunting. “Thanks for the rabbit Eagle. I really need to rest before the kits come. It will be any day now. Hopefully you’ll be there to see them,” She purred, tearing into the soft flesh of the rabbit’s stomach.
“Hopefully. If they wait any longer, you’ll be too big to move!” He said pointing with his tail to her already big stomach. “I’ll go out hunting early tomorrow so I can spend more time with you. Wake me up before sunrise tomorrow Ice. I probably won’t be able to wake myself.” He plopped down on their nest. “I will,” Ice said soothingly, “Just get some sleep.” The last thing Eagle remembered was Ice’s tongue softly brushing down his fur before he fell asleep.
_________________________________________________________________
Eagle was running across the forest floor. Following a pure white cat. For some reason, he knew it was his sister, Snow, who died as a kit. She led him through the trees deeper and deeper until Eagle emerged into a clearing.
The first thing he noticed was that Snow was gone, the second was that there was a giant pile of boulders in the middle of the clearing. Eagle sniffed around trying to find her scent. He walked around the base of the boulders. When he reached the far side he saw a cleft in the rock.
“Come on Eagle,” Snow said her voice echoing up the narrow tunnel, “One shall become three before there is peace. Find the others Eagle. They are looking for you too.” She started to go further into the tunnel.
“Snow! Wait! I want to see you again! Snow!” Eagle yelled, and as soon as he was about to follow her, darkness slammed upon him and he felt Ice’s paw prodding him awake.
_________________________________________________________________
The forest floor cool against her paws, her weight balanced perfectly as she stalked the mouse. She pounced and landed directly on it, biting it in the neck, tasting the mouse’s warm blood. She took it over to the base of a walnut to eat her freshly killed prey.
“Good one Fern,” Ash said as he and Rain came out from hiding.
“Next one’s mine!” Rain declaired, tackling Fern to the ground playfully.
“Get off of me! You’ll scare away all the prey,” Fern said, rolling over and using her weight to smother Rain.
“It’s fine. This part of the forest is rich in prey,” Rain said, pulling herself up and out from under Fern.
They both started to lick the dirt off their pelts.
“It doesn’t feel right. There are scents of lots of different cats here. We should go somewhere else. What if they see us?” Ash said looking around nervously, his mouth agape checking for scents.
“It’s not like it’s their land or anything. Cats travel, hunting where ever they can. The forests are meant for everyone to share,” Rain said, her ears perked up in astonishment, all playfulness gone, “Isn’t that right Ash? Those cats have no claim on a prey-rich part of forest.”
“Well,” Ash started, “that’s not the way everycat thinks Rain. Some cats stay in one prey-rich place their whole lives. They probably use this place a lot. That’s why we smell so many cats here. We better leave now. There’s always prey in other places and we can even tell some of the others not to hunt there. It’s not like any will listen though.” He snorted as he started to race through the trees.
I wonder why he’s so cranky, Fern thought, but he has a point, it smells like many cats hunt here,and often. As they headed back towards the clearing, Fern saw a rustle in the bushes up ahead. Before she could even scent the air, Rain sprang into the ferns and came up with a huge squirrel in her jaws.
“That was amazing Rain!” Fern said running over to her, “I didn’t even know it was there.”
“Let’s share,” Rain suggested, bringing her squirrel under a nearby holly bush.
Fern dropped down and crawled through the tight space under the branches. “You both eat first. I already caught a mouse.” She crouched down in front of the entrance they had made, looking out into the forest.
As soon as they had finished eating and buried the rest of the squirrel, they started back to the clearing.
“Race you!” Rain yelled, darting off through the undergrowth.
“No fair, you got a head start!” Fern complained, starting after her. Fern put on a burst of speed and now was only a fox-length behind her and catching up fast.
“I’m coming too!” Ash called, running fast even though he was seasons older than the two she-cats.
Fern glanced over her shoulder to see Ash running through the forest almost a tree-length behind them. She purred in amusement we’re way faster than him.
She looked back ahead to see a bramble thicket a tail-length in front of her. She unsheathed her claws trying to grip on the forest floor and stop her momentum, but she was going too fast. “Help me!” she yowled, stuck in the brambles.
Ash came running through the ferns surrounding one side of the thicket followed by Rain.
“You’re sure stuck in there,” Rain said.
“We’ll help you out,” Ash said, “and try not to wiggle so much, your fur is already tangled in the thorns.”
Ash and Rain started to nip the bramble stalks off the bush and soon they were loose enough for Fern to scramble indignantly out, although some of her long tan fur was left behind on the thorns.
“Thanks guys,” Fern said, starting to groom some of the thorns out of her fur.
“Anytime,” Ash said, “Although I do hope it won’t happen every sun-high. We better get back now. You really do need a good wash.”
The three cats left the bush, running slower through the last part of the forest.
Chapter 3
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!” Leafstar yowled, jumping on to Highrocks, the sun setting behind her and only her outline visible.
Cherrytail gulped down the last of her mouse and jumped outside and into the clearing, now filled with cats. She walked over and sat next to Sparrowpelt with the mentors her tail twitching with anticipation. This is what it feels like to be a mentor, she thought, Rockpaw deserved this.
“Sit still,” Clovertail hissed quietly trying to keep the three apprentices from moving as she groomed their fur.
“We’re fine Mother we just washed,” Tinypaw said calmly, stepping away when she noticed Leafstar call them towards the base of the boulder, her brothers following.
“Patchfoot,” Leafstar said, “has your apprentice Bouncepaw learned the skills of a warrior? And does he understand what the warrior code means to every cat?”
“He has and he does,” Replied Patchfoot.
“I can say the same for Tinypaw,” Sparrowpelt said turning his head a little to look at her.
“And I for Rockpaw,” Cherrytail said.
Leafstar jumped down from the Rockpile and landed neatly in front of the three apprentices. “I, Leafstar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend them warriors in their turn,” She looked down at the three sitting cats, pleased that they were finally warriors. “Rockpaw, Bouncepaw and Tinypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect this clan even at the cost of your life?”
The three apprentices looked up and chorused without hesitation, “I do.”
“Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names,” Leafstar paused for a heartbeat scanning the faces of the apprentices.
Cherrytail watched intently. Leafstar didn’t tell them what their new names would be and as she looked beside her she could see Sparrowpelt and Patchfoot had the same interests. All three mentors were shifting their weight from paw to paw hoping their apprentice’s names reflected their personalities.
“Bouncepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bouncefur. Starclan honors your enthusiasm and your strength, and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” Leafstar went over to Bouncefur and rested her muzzle on his head. Bouncefur stepped over and respectfully licked her shoulder before walking with his muzzle and tail raised over to Clovertail and Petalnose.
Cherrytail looked over her brother to see Patchfoot nodding his head pleased.
“Tinypaw, from this moment you will be know as Tinycloud. Starclan honors your wisdom and your courage and welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” After Leafstar touched her muzzle to Tinycloud’s head, Tinycloud walked over to Leafstar and reached up her muzzle to reach the lower part of her shoulder. Sparrowpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement.
“Rockpaw,” Leafstar started. Cherrytail’s ears perked up to hear what she was saying.
“From this moment you will be known as Rockheart. Starclan honors your bravery and your kindness and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” As soon as Rockheart licked Leafstar’s shoulder and he walked to sit next to his siblings, the rest of the clan called their new names to welcome them into the clan.
“Bouncefur! Tinycloud! Rockheart!” Leafstar leaped back up onto the Rockpile and everyone fell silent.
“I have another duty to perform tonight. Sagekit, Mintkit come,” The two kits walked steadily forward and although they tried hard, Sagekit gave a wriggle of excitement before he sat in front of the Rockpile.
Cherrytail saw Petalnose lean towards Clovertail and mutter something. Clovertail twitched her whiskers and whispered something back. Cherrytail had to bite her tongue from purring in amusement. Mothers, she thought, always worrying about their kits. Do I want to be a mother? Her thought surprised her, she’d never given it much thought.
Then Leafstar started to speak, “Sharpclaw, You are a brave and loyal warrior, you will mentor Sagepaw,” Sagepaw gave a purr and excitedly ran over to Sharpclaw to touch noses with him.
“Mintkit, you shown me that you want to be a medicine cat. I talked with Echosong and she is willing to mentor you. Do you want to walk that path?”
“I do,” Mintkit said, an excited glint in her eyes.
“I’ll take you to the Whispering cave tonight Mintkit. Medicine cats have a special ceremony,” Echosong said.
“One last thing,” Leafstar said, surprising Cherrytail and the rest of the clan who had thought the meeting was over. “Rockheart scented some rouges at the forest border. It’s probably just a few loners passing through but I want every cat to keep watch when passing that part of the territory,” She said jumping off of the Rockpile. The clearing was full of murmuring. Cherrytail said good-bye to her brother and walked over to Rockheart and the new warriors.
“Congratulations Rockheart,” She said with a purr, noticing his pride as she used his new name. “Remember, you can’t talk to anyone until sunrise. You can call Leafstar or Sharpclaw if there’s trouble.” He brushed his tail over her shoulders like he was telling her to stop worrying, and walked off to join his siblings on the Skyrock for their silent vigil. Cherrytail sighed and started to walk back to the warriors cave.
It felt good to be on the cool stone path up the cliffside to her nest. The Warriors’ cave was already full of cats. Clovertail was curled up next to Patchfoot, both of them grooming each other and purring. Cherrytail was happy to see them together. Petalnose was close by, already sleeping in her nest. Sharpclaw was sitting near the entrance staring out into the night. Cherrytail looked around to try and find her brother. He was at the back of the cave, digging. She padded over towards him, wondering what he was doing.
“Hey Cherrytail,” He grunted, scenting her approach.
“What are you doing Sparrowpelt?” She asked, looking at the depression he dug in the cave floor.
“Building nests for the new warriors.” He replied, moving over a bit to begin making a third dip. “Would you mind getting some moss? This may take me a while.”
“Sure,” Cherrytail said heading for the cave entrance. She walked past the sleeping cats and out into the open.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A growl voiced from the cave opening. Cherrytail quickly turned around startled, seeing Sharpclaw slide out onto the path.
“Down to get some moss for the new warriors dens,” She said evenly, glad her voice didn’t waver in fright, “Sparrowpelt is digging them and he asked me to get some moss.”
“Fine,” Sharpclaw said with the hint of a snarl, retreating back into the cave.
He doesn’t have to be such a pain in the tail,Cherrytail thought, turning around and continuing down the trail.
She inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh taste of the cool leaf-fall air. The clouds were thick promising the rainstorm that was looming at sun-up. Cherrytail turned onto the narrow path leading to the Whispering Cave. The river swirled only a tail-length beneath the narrow ledge pressed against the face of the rock. Cherrytail quickly walked across and slipped through the crack between two of the boulders that marked the entrance to the Whispering Cave.
She stood, stunned, her mouth agape. The Whispering Cave had stopped glowing. Her head whirled, was this a bad omen? Why did it come to me? Should I tell Echosong or Leafstar? Suddenly, she felt a pull towards an area near the back of the cave swathed in shadow. She resisted the urge, trying to get back to Leafstar. But the pull persisted getting stronger with every heartbeat until it felt to Cherrytail as if she desperately needed to follow.
Trancelike, Cherrytail headed down the passage the shadows had successfully hidden. Her pace was leisurely although inside she was battling herself, trying to go faster. Her brain was empty of all thought except the need to follow the tug. Finally, the tug released her and she collapsed to the tunnel floor, exhausted from her mental struggle.
A few moments later she conjured up what little strength she had and scrambled up into a sitting position.I’m so far into the tunnel, is it worth going back or should I go further in? She squinted her eyes and looked down the tunnel. A light was glowing, barely perceivable in the looming darkness.
Cherrytail staggered to her feet, her legs shaking. I might just make it there, she thought exaustedly, It can’t be more than a few fox-lengths down the tunnel. She trudged down the remainder of the tunnel and emerged into a cave filled with shining moss.
“The Whispering Cave,” Cherrytail said softly, her voice raspy. She stumbled to the wall of the cave and collapsed in one of the soft, glowing moss nests. She touched her nose to the moss and she fell instantly asleep.
Chapter 3
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!” Leafstar yowled, jumping on to Highrocks, the sun setting behind her and only her outline visible.
Cherrytail gulped down the last of her mouse and jumped outside and into the clearing, now filled with cats. She walked over and sat next to Sparrowpelt with the mentors her tail twitching with anticipation. This is what it feels like to be a mentor, she thought, Rockpaw deserved this.
“Sit still,” Clovertail hissed quietly trying to keep the three apprentices from moving as she groomed their fur.
“We’re fine Mother we just washed,” Tinypaw said calmly, stepping away when she noticed Leafstar call them towards the base of the boulder, her brothers following.
“Patchfoot,” Leafstar said, “has your apprentice Bouncepaw learned the skills of a warrior? And does he understand what the warrior code means to every cat?”
“He has and he does,” Replied Patchfoot.
“I can say the same for Tinypaw,” Sparrowpelt said turning his head a little to look at her.
“And I for Rockpaw,” Cherrytail said.
Leafstar jumped down from the Rockpile and landed neatly in front of the three apprentices. “I, Leafstar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend them warriors in their turn,” She looked down at the three sitting cats, pleased that they were finally warriors. “Rockpaw, Bouncepaw and Tinypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect this clan even at the cost of your life?”
The three apprentices looked up and chorused without hesitation, “I do.”
“Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names,” Leafstar paused for a heartbeat scanning the faces of the apprentices.
Cherrytail watched intently. Leafstar didn’t tell them what their new names would be and as she looked beside her she could see Sparrowpelt and Patchfoot had the same interests. All three mentors were shifting their weight from paw to paw hoping their apprentice’s names reflected their personalities.
“Bouncepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bouncefur. Starclan honors your enthusiasm and your strength, and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” Leafstar went over to Bouncefur and rested her muzzle on his head. Bouncefur stepped over and respectfully licked her shoulder before walking with his muzzle and tail raised over to Clovertail and Petalnose.
Cherrytail looked over her brother to see Patchfoot nodding his head pleased.
“Tinypaw, from this moment you will be know as Tinycloud. Starclan honors your wisdom and your courage and welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” After Leafstar touched her muzzle to Tinycloud’s head, Tinycloud walked over to Leafstar and reached up her muzzle to reach the lower part of her shoulder. Sparrowpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement.
“Rockpaw,” Leafstar started. Cherrytail’s ears perked up to hear what she was saying.
“From this moment you will be known as Rockheart. Starclan honors your bravery and your kindness and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” As soon as Rockheart licked Leafstar’s shoulder and he walked to sit next to his siblings, the rest of the clan called their new names to welcome them into the clan.
“Bouncefur! Tinycloud! Rockheart!” Leafstar leaped back up onto the Rockpile and everyone fell silent.
“I have another duty to perform tonight. Sagekit, Mintkit come,” The two kits walked steadily forward and although they tried hard, Sagekit gave a wriggle of excitement before he sat in front of the Rockpile.
Cherrytail saw Petalnose lean towards Clovertail and mutter something. Clovertail twitched her whiskers and whispered something back. Cherrytail had to bite her tongue from purring in amusement. Mothers, she thought, always worrying about their kits. Do I want to be a mother? Her thought surprised her, she’d never given it much thought.
Then Leafstar started to speak, “Sharpclaw, You are a brave and loyal warrior, you will mentor Sagepaw,” Sagepaw gave a purr and excitedly ran over to Sharpclaw to touch noses with him.
“Mintkit, you shown me that you want to be a medicine cat. I talked with Echosong and she is willing to mentor you. Do you want to walk that path?”
“I do,” Mintkit said, an excited glint in her eyes.
“I’ll take you to the Whispering cave tonight Mintkit. Medicine cats have a special ceremony,” Echosong said.
“One last thing,” Leafstar said, surprising Cherrytail and the rest of the clan who had thought the meeting was over. “Rockheart scented some rouges at the forest border. It’s probably just a few loners passing through but I want every cat to keep watch when passing that part of the territory,” She said jumping off of the Rockpile. The clearing was full of murmuring. Cherrytail said good-bye to her brother and walked over to Rockheart and the new warriors.
“Congratulations Rockheart,” She said with a purr, noticing his pride as she used his new name. “Remember, you can’t talk to anyone until sunrise. You can call Leafstar or Sharpclaw if there’s trouble.” He brushed his tail over her shoulders like he was telling her to stop worrying, and walked off to join his siblings on the Skyrock for their silent vigil. Cherrytail sighed and started to walk back to the warriors cave.
It felt good to be on the cool stone path up the cliffside to her nest. The Warriors’ cave was already full of cats. Clovertail was curled up next to Patchfoot, both of them grooming each other and purring. Cherrytail was happy to see them together. Petalnose was close by, already sleeping in her nest. Sharpclaw was sitting near the entrance staring out into the night. Cherrytail looked around to try and find her brother. He was at the back of the cave, digging. She padded over towards him, wondering what he was doing.
“Hey Cherrytail,” He grunted, scenting her approach.
“What are you doing Sparrowpelt?” She asked, looking at the depression he dug in the cave floor.
“Building nests for the new warriors.” He replied, moving over a bit to begin making a third dip. “Would you mind getting some moss? This may take me a while.”
“Sure,” Cherrytail said heading for the cave entrance. She walked past the sleeping cats and out into the open.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A growl voiced from the cave opening. Cherrytail quickly turned around startled, seeing Sharpclaw slide out onto the path.
“Down to get some moss for the new warriors dens,” She said evenly, glad her voice didn’t waver in fright, “Sparrowpelt is digging them and he asked me to get some moss.”
“Fine,” Sharpclaw said with the hint of a snarl, retreating back into the cave.
He doesn’t have to be such a pain in the tail,Cherrytail thought, turning around and continuing down the trail.
She inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh taste of the cool leaf-fall air. The clouds were thick promising the rainstorm that was looming at sun-up. Cherrytail turned onto the narrow path leading to the Whispering Cave. The river swirled only a tail-length beneath the narrow ledge pressed against the face of the rock. Cherrytail quickly walked across and slipped through the crack between two of the boulders that marked the entrance to the Whispering Cave.
She stood, stunned, her mouth agape. The Whispering Cave had stopped glowing. Her head whirled, was this a bad omen? Why did it come to me? Should I tell Echosong or Leafstar? Suddenly, she felt a pull towards an area near the back of the cave swathed in shadow. She resisted the urge, trying to get back to Leafstar. But the pull persisted getting stronger with every heartbeat until it felt to Cherrytail as if she desperately needed to follow.
Trancelike, Cherrytail headed down the passage the shadows had successfully hidden. Her pace was leisurely although inside she was battling herself, trying to go faster. Her brain was empty of all thought except the need to follow the tug. Finally, the tug released her and she collapsed to the tunnel floor, exhausted from her mental struggle.
A few moments later she conjured up what little strength she had and scrambled up into a sitting position.I’m so far into the tunnel, is it worth going back or should I go further in? She squinted her eyes and looked down the tunnel. A light was glowing, barely perceivable in the looming darkness.
Cherrytail staggered to her feet, her legs shaking. I might just make it there,[/] she thought exaustedly, It can’t be more than a few fox-lengths down the tunnel. She trudged down the remainder of the tunnel and emerged into a cave filled with shining moss.
“The Whispering Cave,” Cherrytail said softly, her voice raspy. She stumbled to the wall of the cave and collapsed in one of the soft, glowing moss nests. She touched her nose to the moss and she fell instantly asleep.
[color:YELLOW]Chapter 4
“Hurry everyone!” Moss said from the top of the stump the wandering group used to make announcements.
Eagle looked up from the sparrow he was eating in the clearing to look at the tortoiseshell she-cat. Although the cats’ didn’t have a leader, Twig was the one that told them when to move and where to go, but Eagle wasn’t surprised when his daughter Moss made the announcement since Twig was old and sick.
“My father,” Moss said when most of the cats had entered the clearing, “died at moon-high last night. As many of you know he had many moons behind him.”
Eagle stood up and walked towards the stump where he could now see Twig’s tan pelt lying beneath it. Many of the other cats who had known him well we’re going over to him to pay their last respects. Eagle only knew Twig from how he lead the wandering group, but he liked the gentle, old cat.
I better tell Ice, Eagle thought, already silently walking in that direction. He passed many cats who wanted to see Twig before he was buried, but many, like himself, didn't know Twig intimately and waited in the shadows as the others mourned.
"Ice," Eagle said as he slid through the brambles that protected the entrance to their den, "Twig," Eagle sat down and sighed, "Twig died last night." Ice looked sad but not surprised about the news.
"He was very old, " she said, "and pretty soon he would have left anyway. He wouldn't have been able to keep up with all the traveling we do in green-leaf." Ice struggled to a sitting position as Eagle came in.
"Do you feel anything yet?" Eagle questioned, gesturing towards Ice's stomach. She reached out a paw and lightly swatted him on the nose.
"Sometimes they kick a bit, but they'll tell me when they're ready. Don't worry you'll be the first one to know if anything happens."
"Does Moss know you're close to kitting? I heard she knows a bit about herbs."
"Of coarse mouse-brain. I imagine everyone knows. Both with you telling everyone you see and with me being this huge!"
" Well," Eagle said, "if I'm out hunting go to her. She'll be able to help anyhow."
"I know," Ice said soothingly to the nervous tom, brushing her muzzle against his, "I'll be fine. Now you need to sleep, it's almost dusk and I expect you'll want to be at Twig's burial at sunrise."
"Are you coming?" Eagle asked, silently hoping she would come even when he knew it would be difficult for her.
"Do you really think I would miss it? If only to console Moss about her fathers death. It must be very hard for her, especially when she's pressured in following his pawsteps and leading the group. Get some sleep."
"I'll wake up before sunrise and get you something to eat before we go," Eagle said, padding over to their nest and curling up next to Ice, licking her comfortingly.
" I... I would like that, " Ice said sleepily, her eyes already half closed, soothed by the strokes of Eagle's tongue.
Eagle curled up around her, still stroking her with his tounge, grateful that she and the kits were safe. Her breathing soon became regular and smooth so Eagle stopped licking her and rested his head on the edge of their nest.
she’s so beautiful, I’m lucky to have her,he thought pleased, his eyelids drooping with sleep. His last thought was of Ice, his last feeling was of absoulute bliss.
___________________________________________________________________
"Come on Rain!" Fern said, walking towards the wood surrounding the clearing. She loved the feel of the undergrowth in the oak forest.
"Ash," Rain said, looking over towards his nest where he was curled up, his tail twitching slightly, "are you coming too?"
"Maybe later," he purred, "you should go exploring together. I'll see you at sun-high, we caught enough yesterday to feed us today."
"Thanks Ash! Enjoy your nap. Wait up Fern," Rain called.
Fern stopped walking and waited for the other she-cat to catch up. They waked into the undergrowth with their pelts brushing. Rain stopped and scented the air.
"I smell crow...and mouse… and rabbit. Wow, there's a lot of prey here, want to hunt?" Rain asked, already tracking one of the intermingling scents.
"Are you really hungry Rain? We already caught enough yesterday to last us a while." Fern kept walking forward. "Lets go deeper and explore. This is probably where we're going to stay this leaf-bare."
"Fine. But do you remember Fox? He's good with herbs and he mentioned he was running low on supplies... Maybe we can find some before Leaf-bare. Then he can help others if they get sick or hurt."
"That's a great idea Rain," Fern purred, "we can look as we're exploring." She walked through a clump of long grass and into a meadow.
"Look Fern! There's some yarrow over by that maple," Rain said, pointing with her tail.
"Good eyes Rain. Lets go get some." The two she-cats walked through the meadow to the tree line.
"Eww." Rain wrinkled up her nose. "It's that same smell as yesterday."
"Yeah. Do you want to go farther in?" Fern said cautiously, walking up to the tree line.
"Let's get some of the yarrow and follow the scent a ways." Rain walked over the scent line with her ears back. She nipped a few stalks off and put them in a small pile.
"Let's keep going," Rain mumbled after she picked up the yarrow. They kept going into the brush with Fern scenting for more herbs.
"How can I smell anything with this stench?" She said, her tail waving irritably. “Let’s go back, we can look for other herbs along the way." They turned back into the denser forest, fur brushing, all the while scenting for herbs.
Chapter 5
Cherrytail woke to a paw poking her in the ribs.
"Cherrytail," Sparrowpelt said, "you're on dawn patrol with Petalnose and me." Cherrytail got up and creeped out of the den, careful not to wake any of the other warriors.
"Did you already eat?" Cherrytail asked, padding up to the fresh-kill pile and taking a magpie over to the sunrocks.
"No, I wanted to eat with you." He took a shrew over to where Cherrytail was crouched over her magpie.
"Thanks." Cherrytail was grateful she wouldn’t have to eat alone.
"Didn't yesterday feel like your own warrior ceremony? I'm so proud of Tinycloud! She'll make a great warrior," Sparrowpelt said, his chest puffed out in pride.
"She had a great teacher." Cherrytail shifted closer to her brother, leting their pelts brush, reminding them of when they were kits.
"It's time to go," Petalnose said, already starting up the path to the top of the cliff.
"Let's go," Sparrowpelt sighed, finishing his shrew quickly, "Petalnose won't want to wait long on the Skyrock."
"It's okay," Cherrytail said, taking a few more bites, "I was almost done anyway. Just thank StarClan Sharpclaw isn't on our patrol!" Both cats shared an amused look as they imagined how Sharpclaw would have reacted. They got up and followed Petalnose to the top of the cliffs.
"Let's go to the twolegplace first, then we can check the gorge and end with the forest. With any luck we can hunt on the way back," Petalnose told them. The cats set out for twolegplace, Petalnose in front and Sparrowpelt at the rear.
Twolegplace, Cherrytail thought, I'm glad I left for the cliffs. Now I know why Firestar left too. Being in a clan is amazing, so is training an apprentice.Cherrytail's thoughts strayed to her apprentice, her warrior.
She was jolted out of her thoughts when Petalnose stopped and started to scent the air, checking to see if any cat trespassed on SkyClan territory, while Sparrowpelt renewed the scent markers.
"Let's follow the scentline to the barn. Leafstar told us to check it every few sunrises to make sure the rats don't come back," Petalnose said, already padding in that direction.
They checked the barn and kept going down into the gorge. The cats all got a drink from the river before following the steep trail up the side of the ravine.
"I'm glad we have SkyClan’s abilties," Sparrowpelt commented after jumping staight up onto a boulder 3 tail-lengths high and continuing up the trail and into the woods.
Cherrytail walked up to the border and renewed the scentmarks, her brother a few fox-lenths ahead and Petalnose a few behind. She watched as Sparrowpelt walked through a bramble thicket, continuing along the border. She looked over her shoulder and saw Petalnose a while back.
"Petalnose!" She yowled down the path, "Sparrowpelt is checking the last few fox-lengths of the border. Can I hunt? We still have a while until the rest of the clan wakes up."
"Sure." Petalnose was only a few tail-lengths away now. "Just be back before sun-high."
"Thanks!" Cherrytail said, she liked hunting by herself, but she liked hunting with her brother more. "Can I ask Sparrowpelt to come with me?"
"Fine. Remember, just be back by sun-high."
Cherrytail followed her brother’s scent through the brambles. She crawled through a particularly thick patch of thorns to see Sparrowpelt standing at the scentline with his fur bristling and tail fluffed out. She ran over to him and looked over the border to see two she-cats. One was grey, the other a long-furred creamy tan.
"Where are you two going?" Sparrowpelt growled, unsheathing his claws and flexing them in the soil. The two rouges backed up against the wall of brambles, lowering their ears and tails and whimpering.
"Stop scaring them Sparrowpelt, or well never get any answers out of them,." Cherrytail crawled through the last of the brambles to stand by him. "Well, why are you here?" Cherrytail directed this question at the two cats.
The grey cat raised her muzzle up a mouse-lenth to look at Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt and said, "we were exploring. Our group is camped on the other side of this wood."
"Rain," The other cat said exasperated, "don't tell them everything."
Cherrytail remembered how she felt when Firestar and Sandstorm caught them the same way and her form softened a bit. I can imagine how scary we look to them!Cherrytail thought.
"How many cats are in this group?" Sparrowpelt asked.
"Enough to keep us safe if a badger or some foxes attack," the tan cat said vaguely.
"We should take them back to Leafstar, they may be the ones that came into our territory before. And I don't like the sound of another group of cats on our border."
Cherrytail turned to the two she-cats and walked around them.
"We're taking you to our camp," Sparrowpelt growled, "don't try to escape."
The cats creeped forward and followed Sparrowpelt. Cherrytail slid behind them, scenting the air behind to make sure there weren't more cats hidden in the trees.
Their procession followed the main trail back to camp where they stopped at the river flowing out of the Rockpile. Sparrowpelt led the cats over to the Rockpile where he leaped up onto the ledge running next to the boulders over the river. The two she-cats struggled to climb the boulder up to the trail. Cherrytail padded up to them and pushed the tan one up.
"Thanks," She said, panting at the top.
"Anytime," Cherrytail leaped gracefully up the face of the boulder where the two cats stood with their mouths agape.
"Hurry up!" Sparrowpelt called from up ahead. The cats scampered forward nervously looking over the edge of the ledge at the fast-moving current below them.
Sparrowpelt stopped on the flat rock that sloped down into the water.
"You can drink if you want." he said, spinning around and bounding up the cliff-face.
Sagepaw jumped down from the apprentice cave and looked at the new cats skeptically. Cherrytail looked up to see Sparrowpelt's tail disappear in Leafstar's den before he turned around with her following.
"So," Leafstar said standing in front of the two cats, her tail twitching, "my warriors found you on ScyClan land. Why were you trespassing?"
Again the grey cat was first to answer, "We were exploring."
"Are you kittypets?" Leafstar asked.
Cherrytail knew they were too scrawny to be soft kittypets out for an adventure.
"No, we live in a wandering group. Traveling during green-leaf. We live in a clearing over there now." The grey cat pointed with her tail.
"Rain," the tan cat hissed warningly.
"We didn't know we were crossing any borders," Rain continued "we were just looking for herbs for Fox."
"Well now you know. And tell the rest of your group about it too. We won't let you get away with crossing borders again. My warriors will escort you to the border Rain and... What is your name?"
"Oh," Rain said, "her name is Fern."
"Cherrytail, Clovertail, and Sagepaw, take these two back off our territory. And please," she directed this at Rain and Fern, "don't let this ever happen again."
Leafstar turned around and bounded back up the cliff, knowing her warriors could handle the rouges.
"Are we really going through the forest?" Sagepaw squeaked excitedly, racing forward and leaping the 3 fox-lengths up the side of the Rockpile.
"How do you do that?" Rain asked, amazed. The rocks were almost 10 times the hight of the new apprentice.
"There was a clan here before us," Cherrytail began, "they had lived in a forest with four other clans. But twolegs came and built dens all over their territory. The other clans didn't have room for SkyClan, so they turned them out of the forest. They had traveled her and were thriving until a hoard of rats came and destroyed them. The cats fled, but some of their descendants still live here today. Firestar, the leader of one of the other clans in the forest, had a dream from StarClan to come and rebuild SkyClan. He found Skywatcher, who told him this was where SkyClan had lived. Firestar found the rest of the cats with ScyClan traits and built this clan. That's why we can all jump high and walk on stone. See?" Cherrytail lifted her paw to show them the grey pad underneath while Rain raised hers up to find a light pink one.
"Ohh," Rain said, and unsheathed her claws to grab at the rock face. Both the loners managed to climb onto the boulders and jump down the other side. They used the same trail they came on through the woods. The SkyClan warriors stopped at the scentline while Fern and Rain continued over the border.
"And don't come back!" Sagepaw squeaked, fluffing up his still kit-soft fur. Clovertail purred in amusement.
“We’ll tell everyone not to come over here, Rain said, starting to turn around. They both looked back one last time over the border at SkyClan territory.
Cherrytail met Fern's deep amber eyes for a heartbeat. It was like an electric shock passed through her. I know this cat, Cherrytail thought bewildered, steping back in shock. But before she could call out, Fern spun around and raced into the forest.
You know what was worse than my writing back then? my poems.
the sad part is that's still the style I write my poems in, just not as repetitive and cliche xDDDD
and of course, the first thing I posted was my own fanfiction: Warriors Reborn, book 1, Prophecy of the Sky.
and who's going to doubt that it didn't follow the erin recipe exactly and had another five books to finish the series?
Sadly, I don't have the original original script. I have the 2014 edit version, which is pretty much the same thing, but with a few autocorrects and a rewritten prologue (that's just as bad as the original lol).
Honestly, the plot wasn't horrible? It was bad, the writing was bad, and the characters were awful, but the plot is still technically part of the "Brownie's canon series" thing and the later parts of DaN and Starless both piggyback a lot off of the results of this abomination.
WAIT HOLY MY GEEZUS I FOUND THE ORIGINAL WORD DOC
just think of this, the raw text, but a bright YELLOW and most of it BOLD and that's exactly how it was on the old boards.
About the Book
This book takes place in SkyClan territory about a year after Firestar leaves in Erin’s “Firestar’s Prophecy”. I had started this book before the Erins' wrote “SkyClan’s Destiny”, so in this fanfic, the things the cats do there never happened or will happen to SkyClan. The map is mostly the same as is in Firestar’s Prophecy, although the forest is extended outward to include more trees and a pine wood/ swampland.
Allegiances
SkyClan
Leafstar- brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Sharpclaw- dark ginger tom
Echosong- cream tabby she-cat with green eyes
Apprentice- Mintpaw
Patchfoot- black-and-white tom
Clovertail- light brown she-cat with white belly and legs
Apprentice- Sagepaw
Sparrowpelt- dark brown tabby tom
Cherrytail- tortoiseshell she-cat
Petalnose- pale gray she-cat
Rockheart- black tom
Bouncefur- ginger tom
Tinycloud- small white she-cat
Sagepaw- pale gray tom
Mintpaw- gray tabby she-cat
Wandering Group
Brown-brown she-cat with green eyes
Swift- dark gray tom
Moss- light ginger she-cat, green eyes
Eagle- brown and white tom amber eyes
Oak- orange and white tom
Cloud- white she-cat with gray flecks
Thorn- brown-and-white tom with amber eyes.
Ice-she-cat with long silver fur and blue eyes.
Twig- very old tan tom
Boulder- dark gray tom with many scars
Daisy- white-and-ginger she-cat
Ash- light gray tom
Night- Black she-cat with dark blue eyes
Fox- reddish tabby tom
Fern- long furred tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Stone- gray and white tom
Rain- Gray she-cat with dark gray flecks and light blue eyes
Heron- tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes.
Prologue
The half-moon shone its pale light on a single cat padding over the Rockpile. She took the winding path across the river and disappeared between a crack in the boulders. Instead of moonlight, a light green glow illuminated the cave turning her white fur to silver. She walked over to the middle of the cave and lay down to touch her nose against the cool moss.
Then, blackness came over her and she awoke to find a bright light in her eyes. The moss in the opposite corner was shining like starlight. She started to walk over and noticed a tunnel leading the opposite direction from the entrance that was not visible in the pale glow of the moss before. Now she could hear voices urging her on down the tunnel. Using her whiskers to feel the sides she continued on.
The ceiling was low and her tail could touch the top but she continued on with the voices of Star Clan whispering in her head. The tunnel never forked and kept going down. Soon, she was running down the tunnel, the mental tug greater and the whispers louder.
She burst out into a cavern bigger than the one she left. There were two other exits besides the one she came from. It didn’t look like either one led directly outside, but to tunnel like the one she had traveled through. The cave had hanging moss, not unlike the one she had just left, although this cave wasn’t glowing. The room was filled with the shining cats of Star Clan. They brushed past her talking to others and wandering around.
“I’ve been waiting for you Echosong.”
Echosong jumped, just noticing the cat sitting directly in front of her, his tail wrapped around his paws. The cat was dark gray, almost black with cool blue eyes and a muzzle flecked with lighter gray.
“Skywatcher!” Echosong exclaimed, “Where am I?”
“Find three cats born during the storm,one in the pines, one in the trees, and one in the gorge.These cats will stop the war that is destined to happen. Remember this,and though the battle has only two sides, there will be three winners. But if these cats are not united, the forest will be stained with blood and SkyClan will be no more,” Skywatcher said fading away until only his voice was heard saying, “Good luck Echosong, this is the new Whispering Cave.”
As he said this, the moss in the cave started to glow. Soft at first but getting brighter and brighter until Echosong had to squint her eyes against the light. As soon as her eyes closed, the glowing stopped and she found herself in the smaller Whispering Cave, which now had stopped shining with the spirits of Star Clan.
Chapter 1
“Get up Cherrytail it’s past sun-up and it’s assessment day!” Rockpaw said excitedly, pouncing on Cherrytail and making the feathers in her nest scatter all over the den floor. “I can’t go anywhere with you on top of me clumsy furball. Get off of me and stop acting a kit the first time out of the nursery. Maybe I can tell Leafstar to postpone the assessment until next green-leaf.” She said shaking the scraps of moss and feathers off her fur. “Sorry Cherrytail, I’ll put your nest back together while you eat. I ate before I came.” Rockpaw said his head and tail drooping.
Cherrytail walked out of her den annoyed, her tail lashing. She didn’t like to be that rude to Rockpaw, he was still an apprentice, but she was in the middle of a dream.
She was running, her paws felt tireless under the canopy of the forest. The pine needles soft under her pads. Then she stopped at the base of a tree. It was the biggest one she had ever seen. It was an oak in the middle of the pine forest, with long branches and a hole in the bottom big enough for a cat to fit through. She walked over and was about to enter the cave-like hole when Rockpaw woke her up. She’d had this dream before but that was the closest she’d ever been to the hole.
“Watch out mouse-brain.” Sharpclaw growled. Cherrytail snapped out of her thoughts. She had almost run into him on her way to the fresh-kill pile. “Stop daydreaming Cherrytail. It’s your apprentice’s assessment today. You better wake up and get ready.”
“I was on my way to the fresh-kill pile.” Cherrytail said indignantly. Mad at herself for not paying more attention. “I have a lot of things on my mind today.” Including being pounced on, weird dreams, and the assessment today, she added silently. “Well I hope you pay better attention to Rockpaw. You don’t want him failing on your behalf.” Sharpclaw said turning around and leaving towards Leafstar’s den.
Sharpclaw can be such a pain in the tail, Cherrytail thought continuing across the warriors cave to the fresh-kill pile. There wasn’t much, just a squirrel, a finch and a crow. The hunting patrol hadn’t gone out yet. She wasn’t very hungry, so she took the finch and walked over to the corner where her brother was eating a mouse.
“Hey Sparrowpelt.” She said her voice muffled by the finch’s feathers. She lay down beside him. “I’m nervous for the assessment. I feel like the apprentice not the mentor.” Cherrytail said.
Sparrowpelt twitched his whiskers in amusement. “I’m excited. Tinypaw’s really good at hunting. She caught a huge squirrel yesterday and insisted on carrying it back even though it was almost as big as her. The first thing she did was give it to Petalnose in the nursery. She’ll make a great warrior.” Sparrowpelt said.
“Rockpaw is great too. He can scent prey halfway across the territory. It’s just I had this dream and I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m also scared I’ll mess up Rockpaw’s assessment.” Cherrytail admitted.
“Well just don’t think about it then. Think about Rockpaw’s warrior ceremony and how important for both of you to have him pass. It’ll be fine. You have Clovertail to help with the assessment too. Be glad you don’t have Sharpclaw as your partner. He’s been grumpy today.” Sparrowpelt said with a glint in his eyes.
“Well I guess that’s a good thing.” Cherrytail said purring. Her brother always knew how to cheer her up. It would be impossible to fail; both of their apprentices were great. All they had to do is try their best and everything would be fine.
“Thanks Sparrowpelt I feel better now. Hope you do well.” She said getting up.
“Hope you do well too.” He said flicking his tail over her shoulders comfortingly before returning to his mouse.
Cherrytail walked down the trail to the apprentice’s den, the rock wet and slippery with dew. Dampness soaked into her pelt and she shivered. Leaf-bare was coming.
The clouds were heavy with rain but Cherrytail thought she could see a break in the clouds. It was just over the treetops, barely a smudge, but she desperately hoped she was right. A rainstorm would make it harder for both of them.
“Rockpaw!” Cherrytail called as she entered the den. As he came towards her she sat down on the den floor. He sat down in front of her, his tail curling over his paws. “Before we met up with Clovertail, I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for being so mad at you this morning. I really shouldn’t have. Are you still excited for your assessment?” Cherrytail asked shifting her weight from paw to paw.
“Of coarse!” Rockpaw said leaping up and dashing to the entrance of the cave.
“Let’s go then.” Cherrytail said barely holding back a purr of amusement. She got up and went to the entrance to stand beside Rockpaw. “Lead the way.” Cherrytail said.
Cherrytail padded up the slope behind him up to the warriors den where they found Sparrowpelt, Tinypaw, Leafstar and Clovertail already waiting at the mouth of the cave.
“Now we’re only waiting for Patchfoot and Bouncepaw.” Leafstar said as Sharpclaw appeared from inside the cave. A couple of heartbeats later, Patchfoot and Bouncepaw scrambled up the last few tail-lengths of the path.
“So,” Leafstar started, “Sharpclaw, you’ll be Bouncpaw’s hunting partner, I’ll be with Tinypaw, and Clovertail will be with Rockpaw. Is that clear? Apprentices, you may go and hunt wherever you want inside the territory. Your mentors and partners will follow and watch you but you won’t see them. At sunhigh, your hunting partners will show themselves. You must give them instructions on where to go and how to help. This is the second part of the assessment. Good luck to all of you.”After Leafstar’s speech the apprentices darted out of the cave and everyone else on the ledge followed behind.
Rockpaw turned and headed for the forest. Good choice, Cherrytail thought her body pressed down to the ground creeping forward, he’ll find lots of prey there and protection if it starts to rain. She scented the air, thrush. Rockpaw had smelled it too and was creeping towards it on steady paws. Now he was only a fox-length away. He gathered his muscles, leaped and came up with the limp body of the thrush in his jaws.
Cherrytail almost leaped out of the holly bush she was hiding under. Rockpaw buried his prey at the base of a beech tree and went deeper into the forest. Cherrytail followed a few fox-lengths behind him stopping whenever he stopped. Rockpaw came out into a clearing and Cherrytail had almost followed him.
She backtracked a little ways and found a clump of bracken with a clear view of the meadow. By then she could only locate Rockpaw by the faint movements of grass and fern. She opened her mouth and scented the air. Rabbit. Rockpaw was stalking it.
Suddenly, the rabbit burst out of the brambles with Rockpaw right behind. Cherrytail watched as the rabbit turned and raced towards her. Rockpaw was gaining on it and took a flying leap towards it. His claws found fur. He quickly nipped it on the neck and thanked StarClan for its life.
Rockpaw was now only a few tail-lengths away from the treeline and another fox-length away from her hiding spot. Rockpaw turned around quickly, his mouth open tasting for scents. Clovertail appeared from behind a clump of ferns and began walking toward Rockpaw. Cherrytail started to follow too. Wanting to ask why she was not hiding, wanting to tell her the assessment wasn’t over. But then she realized it was sunhigh and Clovertail was supposed to come out for partner hunting.
“Mousebrain.” Cherrytail muttered walking silently back to the bracken. Rockpaw was talking to Clovertail, probably telling her his strategy, and then they both set off in the direction of the gorge. Cherrytail waited a few heartbeats before following. She crept along closer than she should have, but she wanted to hear them too.
“We should try for a bigger bird, like a pidgon or a crow, which we couldn’t catch alone. I’ll climb a tree, while you go around and scare it up to me. I’ll drop down on it and you can help me pin it down and kill it.” Rockpaw explained.
It was an unusual strategy, one not used or taught. I’ll tell Leafstar about this, Cherrytail thought. She opened her mouth to check for scents and immediately smelled crow. She padded silently forward and slipped under a bramble bush close to the crow. She seen Rockpaw’s pelt flash as he scrambled up the trunk and out onto the lowest branch. His ears down tail still. Clovertail ran out from behind a clump of ferns hissing. The crow took off flying and cawing loudly. A gray pelt came crashing down on top of the crow making its feathers fly wildly in all directions. Clovertail flung herself on the crow and their combined weight made it drop to the ground.
Rockpaw spun around and neatly bit the crow’s neck, breaking it. He then leaped up in the air twisting and landing on his paws.
“I’m so glad that worked.” He said purring. “All the prey will be gone here because of that alarm call. Let’s go to the forest border before the assessment is over. There will be lots of mice now that the beech nuts are on the ground.” Rockpaw suggested dragging the crow to a clear patch of dirt under the maple he had climbed to catch it. Both cats were needed to bury the huge bird.
They then started off towards the border with Cherrytail padding hidden behind. They were soon running, fast but silent through the undergrowth. It wasn’t long before Cherrytail could smell the scent-marks that lined the border.
“Cherrytail! Cherrytail!” Rockpaw yowled. “I know this is my assessment, but I smell weird cats at the borderline and Clovertail said it was alright if I called you. The assessment is almost over anyways.”
Cherrytail came out from beneath the thorn bush she was hiding under. Jaws parted to scent the air; she did notice a faint smell of cat.
“This could be part of your assessment.” Cherrytail said to Rockpaw. “Track it and tell me what the cat did and where it went. There hasn’t been a patrol around here since last sunrise.”
“Okay.” He said hesitantly. He opened his mouth and started to follow the scent. It traveled in for a little while and then split into three different scents.
“Cherrytail,” Rockpaw said, “there were three different cats. One went ahead…he caught a mouse! On our territory! He ate it right here.” Rockpaw said gesturing to a spot a few tail-lengths away his fur bristling. “Then they turned back out of the territory. I don’t think they knew they crossed a border; it was defiantly a patrol though. They only came here to hunt.” Rockpaw said.
“Well, we better go collect your prey and head back to camp. Leafstar’s going to want to know about this. First the upcoming leaf-bare, now rouge cats stealing prey. We’re going to need more patrols.” Clovertail said turning around the way they came. “I’ll get the crow you two get the rest.” She said disappearing under the trees.
“Let’s get going Rockpaw.” Cherrytail said going in the direction of the meadow. They crossed the meadow and Rockpaw dug up his rabbit, staggering under the weight.
“That’ll feed Petalnose and the kits.” Cherrytail said purring. “Let’s get your thrush.” They walked, slowly because of Rockpaw and his rabbit, back to the beech where Rockpaw buried his thrush.
Cherrytail fetched it and the continued along the trail back to camp. When they returned they found camp empty except for Petalnose and the kits, who came squealing over to Rockpaw.
“Did you really catch that rabbit? It could feed the whole clan!” Sagekit told him excitedly. “You must have run faster than StarClan to catch it!” Mintkit said.
Cherrytail walked over to Petalnose and sat down beside her. “Rockpaw did really well.” Petalnose said. “He also caught a crow. Clovertail went back to get it.” Cherrytail said.
“You trained him very well. I’m glad he’ll be made a warrior.” Petalnose said looking over at Rockpaw playing with her kits. “Thanks.” Cherrytail said licking her chest embarrassed. “Here comes Patchfoot, Sharpclaw and Bouncepaw.” Petalnose said looking over Cherrytail’s shoulder, her tail twitching.
“Bouncepaw was great.” Patchfoot said coming up and dropping two mice at his paws. “Besides the mice he caught a sparrow and a squirrel.” “Hope Leafstar’s back soon. I need to tell her something.” Cherrytail said. “We smelled a few rouge cats at the forest border.”
“She’s here now.” Sharpclaw said coming up behind her. “She’s at her den. She told me to tell all the mentors to come to her den after dropping their prey off at the fresh-kill pile.” Sharpclaw said.
Cherrytail picked up the thrush, said a muffled good-bye and turned to go to the warrior’s den. She dropped off the thrush on the huge fresh-kill pile and left for Leafstar's den. She was the last one there. She quickly sat down beside Sparrowpelt.
“Now, do you think your apprentices are ready to become warriors?” Leafstar asked. “I do.” Patchfoot said. “I do.” Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt echoed. “We still need to hear the other assessors at the ceremony like always but with the fresh-kill pile so big I don’t think anyone will have anything bad to say.”
“Leafstar?” Cherrytail said. “While we were at the forest border Rockpaw scented cat on our side of the scent line. We followed it and there were scents of three cats. One made a kill. He ate it right there. Then the scent went back out of the border.”
“That’s bad news. I’ll announce we need more patrols on that border later. Thanks Cherrytail.” Leafstar said. “And if there is nothing else anyone wants to say I need to get back to other businesses.” Leafstar said as she got up and took the trail to the medicine cat’s den.
Cherrytail left Leafstar’s den relived the situation will be taken care of and her apprentice made a warrior. She headed towards the warrior’s den where she knew a sparrow and a nap were waiting for her before the ceremony at dusk.
Chapter 2
“Great job hunting Eagle, that rabbit looks good,” Smoke said, looking at it longingly,“I only caught a mouse.”
“Well at least I won’t go hungry today,” Eagle replied, “I’m going to share it with Ice. Our kits are coming soon and I want them to be strong.” He left with the rabbit towards the fern clump where he and Ice had their den.
The clearing was filled with cats. They all traveled as a group, moving all Greenleaf to another territory where they spent leaf-bare. Cats came and left the group as they pleased, and everycat hunted in small groups or by themselves.
It was a bad way to live, Eagle thought, but Ice and the kits wouldn’t survive the leaf-bare if we were alone. Even here, only a few cats would help him if he didn’t catch enough for them. Smoke and Maple probably would, and Moss wasn’t a bad cat either.
Eagle stumbled through the fern barrier of their nest and dropped the rabbit at Ice’s paws, exhausted from his long day of hunting. “Thanks for the rabbit Eagle. I really need to rest before the kits come. It will be any day now. Hopefully you’ll be there to see them,” She purred, tearing into the soft flesh of the rabbit’s stomach.
“Hopefully. If they wait any longer, you’ll be too big to move!” He said pointing with his tail to her already big stomach. “I’ll go out hunting early tomorrow so I can spend more time with you. Wake me up before sunrise tomorrow Ice. I probably won’t be able to wake myself.” He plopped down on their nest. “I will,” Ice said soothingly, “Just get some sleep.” The last thing Eagle remembered was Ice’s tongue softly brushing down his fur before he fell asleep.
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Eagle was running across the forest floor. Following a pure white cat. For some reason, he knew it was his sister, Snow, who died as a kit. She led him through the trees deeper and deeper until Eagle emerged into a clearing.
The first thing he noticed was that Snow was gone, the second was that there was a giant pile of boulders in the middle of the clearing. Eagle sniffed around trying to find her scent. He walked around the base of the boulders. When he reached the far side he saw a cleft in the rock.
“Come on Eagle,” Snow said her voice echoing up the narrow tunnel, “One shall become three before there is peace. Find the others Eagle. They are looking for you too.” She started to go further into the tunnel.
“Snow! Wait! I want to see you again! Snow!” Eagle yelled, and as soon as he was about to follow her, darkness slammed upon him and he felt Ice’s paw prodding him awake.
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The forest floor cool against her paws, her weight balanced perfectly as she stalked the mouse. She pounced and landed directly on it, biting it in the neck, tasting the mouse’s warm blood. She took it over to the base of a walnut to eat her freshly killed prey.
“Good one Fern,” Ash said as he and Rain came out from hiding.
“Next one’s mine!” Rain declaired, tackling Fern to the ground playfully.
“Get off of me! You’ll scare away all the prey,” Fern said, rolling over and using her weight to smother Rain.
“It’s fine. This part of the forest is rich in prey,” Rain said, pulling herself up and out from under Fern.
They both started to lick the dirt off their pelts.
“It doesn’t feel right. There are scents of lots of different cats here. We should go somewhere else. What if they see us?” Ash said looking around nervously, his mouth agape checking for scents.
“It’s not like it’s their land or anything. Cats travel, hunting where ever they can. The forests are meant for everyone to share,” Rain said, her ears perked up in astonishment, all playfulness gone, “Isn’t that right Ash? Those cats have no claim on a prey-rich part of forest.”
“Well,” Ash started, “that’s not the way everycat thinks Rain. Some cats stay in one prey-rich place their whole lives. They probably use this place a lot. That’s why we smell so many cats here. We better leave now. There’s always prey in other places and we can even tell some of the others not to hunt there. It’s not like any will listen though.” He snorted as he started to race through the trees.
I wonder why he’s so cranky, Fern thought, but he has a point, it smells like many cats hunt here,and often. As they headed back towards the clearing, Fern saw a rustle in the bushes up ahead. Before she could even scent the air, Rain sprang into the ferns and came up with a huge squirrel in her jaws.
“That was amazing Rain!” Fern said running over to her, “I didn’t even know it was there.”
“Let’s share,” Rain suggested, bringing her squirrel under a nearby holly bush.
Fern dropped down and crawled through the tight space under the branches. “You both eat first. I already caught a mouse.” She crouched down in front of the entrance they had made, looking out into the forest.
As soon as they had finished eating and buried the rest of the squirrel, they started back to the clearing.
“Race you!” Rain yelled, darting off through the undergrowth.
“No fair, you got a head start!” Fern complained, starting after her. Fern put on a burst of speed and now was only a fox-length behind her and catching up fast.
“I’m coming too!” Ash called, running fast even though he was seasons older than the two she-cats.
Fern glanced over her shoulder to see Ash running through the forest almost a tree-length behind them. She purred in amusement we’re way faster than him.
She looked back ahead to see a bramble thicket a tail-length in front of her. She unsheathed her claws trying to grip on the forest floor and stop her momentum, but she was going too fast. “Help me!” she yowled, stuck in the brambles.
Ash came running through the ferns surrounding one side of the thicket followed by Rain.
“You’re sure stuck in there,” Rain said.
“We’ll help you out,” Ash said, “and try not to wiggle so much, your fur is already tangled in the thorns.”
Ash and Rain started to nip the bramble stalks off the bush and soon they were loose enough for Fern to scramble indignantly out, although some of her long tan fur was left behind on the thorns.
“Thanks guys,” Fern said, starting to groom some of the thorns out of her fur.
“Anytime,” Ash said, “Although I do hope it won’t happen every sun-high. We better get back now. You really do need a good wash.”
The three cats left the bush, running slower through the last part of the forest.
Chapter 3
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!” Leafstar yowled, jumping on to Highrocks, the sun setting behind her and only her outline visible.
Cherrytail gulped down the last of her mouse and jumped outside and into the clearing, now filled with cats. She walked over and sat next to Sparrowpelt with the mentors her tail twitching with anticipation. This is what it feels like to be a mentor, she thought, Rockpaw deserved this.
“Sit still,” Clovertail hissed quietly trying to keep the three apprentices from moving as she groomed their fur.
“We’re fine Mother we just washed,” Tinypaw said calmly, stepping away when she noticed Leafstar call them towards the base of the boulder, her brothers following.
“Patchfoot,” Leafstar said, “has your apprentice Bouncepaw learned the skills of a warrior? And does he understand what the warrior code means to every cat?”
“He has and he does,” Replied Patchfoot.
“I can say the same for Tinypaw,” Sparrowpelt said turning his head a little to look at her.
“And I for Rockpaw,” Cherrytail said.
Leafstar jumped down from the Rockpile and landed neatly in front of the three apprentices. “I, Leafstar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend them warriors in their turn,” She looked down at the three sitting cats, pleased that they were finally warriors. “Rockpaw, Bouncepaw and Tinypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect this clan even at the cost of your life?”
The three apprentices looked up and chorused without hesitation, “I do.”
“Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names,” Leafstar paused for a heartbeat scanning the faces of the apprentices.
Cherrytail watched intently. Leafstar didn’t tell them what their new names would be and as she looked beside her she could see Sparrowpelt and Patchfoot had the same interests. All three mentors were shifting their weight from paw to paw hoping their apprentice’s names reflected their personalities.
“Bouncepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bouncefur. Starclan honors your enthusiasm and your strength, and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” Leafstar went over to Bouncefur and rested her muzzle on his head. Bouncefur stepped over and respectfully licked her shoulder before walking with his muzzle and tail raised over to Clovertail and Petalnose.
Cherrytail looked over her brother to see Patchfoot nodding his head pleased.
“Tinypaw, from this moment you will be know as Tinycloud. Starclan honors your wisdom and your courage and welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” After Leafstar touched her muzzle to Tinycloud’s head, Tinycloud walked over to Leafstar and reached up her muzzle to reach the lower part of her shoulder. Sparrowpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement.
“Rockpaw,” Leafstar started. Cherrytail’s ears perked up to hear what she was saying.
“From this moment you will be known as Rockheart. Starclan honors your bravery and your kindness and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” As soon as Rockheart licked Leafstar’s shoulder and he walked to sit next to his siblings, the rest of the clan called their new names to welcome them into the clan.
“Bouncefur! Tinycloud! Rockheart!” Leafstar leaped back up onto the Rockpile and everyone fell silent.
“I have another duty to perform tonight. Sagekit, Mintkit come,” The two kits walked steadily forward and although they tried hard, Sagekit gave a wriggle of excitement before he sat in front of the Rockpile.
Cherrytail saw Petalnose lean towards Clovertail and mutter something. Clovertail twitched her whiskers and whispered something back. Cherrytail had to bite her tongue from purring in amusement. Mothers, she thought, always worrying about their kits. Do I want to be a mother? Her thought surprised her, she’d never given it much thought.
Then Leafstar started to speak, “Sharpclaw, You are a brave and loyal warrior, you will mentor Sagepaw,” Sagepaw gave a purr and excitedly ran over to Sharpclaw to touch noses with him.
“Mintkit, you shown me that you want to be a medicine cat. I talked with Echosong and she is willing to mentor you. Do you want to walk that path?”
“I do,” Mintkit said, an excited glint in her eyes.
“I’ll take you to the Whispering cave tonight Mintkit. Medicine cats have a special ceremony,” Echosong said.
“One last thing,” Leafstar said, surprising Cherrytail and the rest of the clan who had thought the meeting was over. “Rockheart scented some rouges at the forest border. It’s probably just a few loners passing through but I want every cat to keep watch when passing that part of the territory,” She said jumping off of the Rockpile. The clearing was full of murmuring. Cherrytail said good-bye to her brother and walked over to Rockheart and the new warriors.
“Congratulations Rockheart,” She said with a purr, noticing his pride as she used his new name. “Remember, you can’t talk to anyone until sunrise. You can call Leafstar or Sharpclaw if there’s trouble.” He brushed his tail over her shoulders like he was telling her to stop worrying, and walked off to join his siblings on the Skyrock for their silent vigil. Cherrytail sighed and started to walk back to the warriors cave.
It felt good to be on the cool stone path up the cliffside to her nest. The Warriors’ cave was already full of cats. Clovertail was curled up next to Patchfoot, both of them grooming each other and purring. Cherrytail was happy to see them together. Petalnose was close by, already sleeping in her nest. Sharpclaw was sitting near the entrance staring out into the night. Cherrytail looked around to try and find her brother. He was at the back of the cave, digging. She padded over towards him, wondering what he was doing.
“Hey Cherrytail,” He grunted, scenting her approach.
“What are you doing Sparrowpelt?” She asked, looking at the depression he dug in the cave floor.
“Building nests for the new warriors.” He replied, moving over a bit to begin making a third dip. “Would you mind getting some moss? This may take me a while.”
“Sure,” Cherrytail said heading for the cave entrance. She walked past the sleeping cats and out into the open.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A growl voiced from the cave opening. Cherrytail quickly turned around startled, seeing Sharpclaw slide out onto the path.
“Down to get some moss for the new warriors dens,” She said evenly, glad her voice didn’t waver in fright, “Sparrowpelt is digging them and he asked me to get some moss.”
“Fine,” Sharpclaw said with the hint of a snarl, retreating back into the cave.
He doesn’t have to be such a pain in the tail,Cherrytail thought, turning around and continuing down the trail.
She inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh taste of the cool leaf-fall air. The clouds were thick promising the rainstorm that was looming at sun-up. Cherrytail turned onto the narrow path leading to the Whispering Cave. The river swirled only a tail-length beneath the narrow ledge pressed against the face of the rock. Cherrytail quickly walked across and slipped through the crack between two of the boulders that marked the entrance to the Whispering Cave.
She stood, stunned, her mouth agape. The Whispering Cave had stopped glowing. Her head whirled, was this a bad omen? Why did it come to me? Should I tell Echosong or Leafstar? Suddenly, she felt a pull towards an area near the back of the cave swathed in shadow. She resisted the urge, trying to get back to Leafstar. But the pull persisted getting stronger with every heartbeat until it felt to Cherrytail as if she desperately needed to follow.
Trancelike, Cherrytail headed down the passage the shadows had successfully hidden. Her pace was leisurely although inside she was battling herself, trying to go faster. Her brain was empty of all thought except the need to follow the tug. Finally, the tug released her and she collapsed to the tunnel floor, exhausted from her mental struggle.
A few moments later she conjured up what little strength she had and scrambled up into a sitting position.I’m so far into the tunnel, is it worth going back or should I go further in? She squinted her eyes and looked down the tunnel. A light was glowing, barely perceivable in the looming darkness.
Cherrytail staggered to her feet, her legs shaking. I might just make it there, she thought exaustedly, It can’t be more than a few fox-lengths down the tunnel. She trudged down the remainder of the tunnel and emerged into a cave filled with shining moss.
“The Whispering Cave,” Cherrytail said softly, her voice raspy. She stumbled to the wall of the cave and collapsed in one of the soft, glowing moss nests. She touched her nose to the moss and she fell instantly asleep.
Chapter 3
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!” Leafstar yowled, jumping on to Highrocks, the sun setting behind her and only her outline visible.
Cherrytail gulped down the last of her mouse and jumped outside and into the clearing, now filled with cats. She walked over and sat next to Sparrowpelt with the mentors her tail twitching with anticipation. This is what it feels like to be a mentor, she thought, Rockpaw deserved this.
“Sit still,” Clovertail hissed quietly trying to keep the three apprentices from moving as she groomed their fur.
“We’re fine Mother we just washed,” Tinypaw said calmly, stepping away when she noticed Leafstar call them towards the base of the boulder, her brothers following.
“Patchfoot,” Leafstar said, “has your apprentice Bouncepaw learned the skills of a warrior? And does he understand what the warrior code means to every cat?”
“He has and he does,” Replied Patchfoot.
“I can say the same for Tinypaw,” Sparrowpelt said turning his head a little to look at her.
“And I for Rockpaw,” Cherrytail said.
Leafstar jumped down from the Rockpile and landed neatly in front of the three apprentices. “I, Leafstar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend them warriors in their turn,” She looked down at the three sitting cats, pleased that they were finally warriors. “Rockpaw, Bouncepaw and Tinypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect this clan even at the cost of your life?”
The three apprentices looked up and chorused without hesitation, “I do.”
“Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names,” Leafstar paused for a heartbeat scanning the faces of the apprentices.
Cherrytail watched intently. Leafstar didn’t tell them what their new names would be and as she looked beside her she could see Sparrowpelt and Patchfoot had the same interests. All three mentors were shifting their weight from paw to paw hoping their apprentice’s names reflected their personalities.
“Bouncepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bouncefur. Starclan honors your enthusiasm and your strength, and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” Leafstar went over to Bouncefur and rested her muzzle on his head. Bouncefur stepped over and respectfully licked her shoulder before walking with his muzzle and tail raised over to Clovertail and Petalnose.
Cherrytail looked over her brother to see Patchfoot nodding his head pleased.
“Tinypaw, from this moment you will be know as Tinycloud. Starclan honors your wisdom and your courage and welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” After Leafstar touched her muzzle to Tinycloud’s head, Tinycloud walked over to Leafstar and reached up her muzzle to reach the lower part of her shoulder. Sparrowpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement.
“Rockpaw,” Leafstar started. Cherrytail’s ears perked up to hear what she was saying.
“From this moment you will be known as Rockheart. Starclan honors your bravery and your kindness and we welcome you as a full member of SkyClan,” As soon as Rockheart licked Leafstar’s shoulder and he walked to sit next to his siblings, the rest of the clan called their new names to welcome them into the clan.
“Bouncefur! Tinycloud! Rockheart!” Leafstar leaped back up onto the Rockpile and everyone fell silent.
“I have another duty to perform tonight. Sagekit, Mintkit come,” The two kits walked steadily forward and although they tried hard, Sagekit gave a wriggle of excitement before he sat in front of the Rockpile.
Cherrytail saw Petalnose lean towards Clovertail and mutter something. Clovertail twitched her whiskers and whispered something back. Cherrytail had to bite her tongue from purring in amusement. Mothers, she thought, always worrying about their kits. Do I want to be a mother? Her thought surprised her, she’d never given it much thought.
Then Leafstar started to speak, “Sharpclaw, You are a brave and loyal warrior, you will mentor Sagepaw,” Sagepaw gave a purr and excitedly ran over to Sharpclaw to touch noses with him.
“Mintkit, you shown me that you want to be a medicine cat. I talked with Echosong and she is willing to mentor you. Do you want to walk that path?”
“I do,” Mintkit said, an excited glint in her eyes.
“I’ll take you to the Whispering cave tonight Mintkit. Medicine cats have a special ceremony,” Echosong said.
“One last thing,” Leafstar said, surprising Cherrytail and the rest of the clan who had thought the meeting was over. “Rockheart scented some rouges at the forest border. It’s probably just a few loners passing through but I want every cat to keep watch when passing that part of the territory,” She said jumping off of the Rockpile. The clearing was full of murmuring. Cherrytail said good-bye to her brother and walked over to Rockheart and the new warriors.
“Congratulations Rockheart,” She said with a purr, noticing his pride as she used his new name. “Remember, you can’t talk to anyone until sunrise. You can call Leafstar or Sharpclaw if there’s trouble.” He brushed his tail over her shoulders like he was telling her to stop worrying, and walked off to join his siblings on the Skyrock for their silent vigil. Cherrytail sighed and started to walk back to the warriors cave.
It felt good to be on the cool stone path up the cliffside to her nest. The Warriors’ cave was already full of cats. Clovertail was curled up next to Patchfoot, both of them grooming each other and purring. Cherrytail was happy to see them together. Petalnose was close by, already sleeping in her nest. Sharpclaw was sitting near the entrance staring out into the night. Cherrytail looked around to try and find her brother. He was at the back of the cave, digging. She padded over towards him, wondering what he was doing.
“Hey Cherrytail,” He grunted, scenting her approach.
“What are you doing Sparrowpelt?” She asked, looking at the depression he dug in the cave floor.
“Building nests for the new warriors.” He replied, moving over a bit to begin making a third dip. “Would you mind getting some moss? This may take me a while.”
“Sure,” Cherrytail said heading for the cave entrance. She walked past the sleeping cats and out into the open.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A growl voiced from the cave opening. Cherrytail quickly turned around startled, seeing Sharpclaw slide out onto the path.
“Down to get some moss for the new warriors dens,” She said evenly, glad her voice didn’t waver in fright, “Sparrowpelt is digging them and he asked me to get some moss.”
“Fine,” Sharpclaw said with the hint of a snarl, retreating back into the cave.
He doesn’t have to be such a pain in the tail,Cherrytail thought, turning around and continuing down the trail.
She inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh taste of the cool leaf-fall air. The clouds were thick promising the rainstorm that was looming at sun-up. Cherrytail turned onto the narrow path leading to the Whispering Cave. The river swirled only a tail-length beneath the narrow ledge pressed against the face of the rock. Cherrytail quickly walked across and slipped through the crack between two of the boulders that marked the entrance to the Whispering Cave.
She stood, stunned, her mouth agape. The Whispering Cave had stopped glowing. Her head whirled, was this a bad omen? Why did it come to me? Should I tell Echosong or Leafstar? Suddenly, she felt a pull towards an area near the back of the cave swathed in shadow. She resisted the urge, trying to get back to Leafstar. But the pull persisted getting stronger with every heartbeat until it felt to Cherrytail as if she desperately needed to follow.
Trancelike, Cherrytail headed down the passage the shadows had successfully hidden. Her pace was leisurely although inside she was battling herself, trying to go faster. Her brain was empty of all thought except the need to follow the tug. Finally, the tug released her and she collapsed to the tunnel floor, exhausted from her mental struggle.
A few moments later she conjured up what little strength she had and scrambled up into a sitting position.I’m so far into the tunnel, is it worth going back or should I go further in? She squinted her eyes and looked down the tunnel. A light was glowing, barely perceivable in the looming darkness.
Cherrytail staggered to her feet, her legs shaking. I might just make it there,[/] she thought exaustedly, It can’t be more than a few fox-lengths down the tunnel. She trudged down the remainder of the tunnel and emerged into a cave filled with shining moss.
“The Whispering Cave,” Cherrytail said softly, her voice raspy. She stumbled to the wall of the cave and collapsed in one of the soft, glowing moss nests. She touched her nose to the moss and she fell instantly asleep.
[color:YELLOW]Chapter 4
“Hurry everyone!” Moss said from the top of the stump the wandering group used to make announcements.
Eagle looked up from the sparrow he was eating in the clearing to look at the tortoiseshell she-cat. Although the cats’ didn’t have a leader, Twig was the one that told them when to move and where to go, but Eagle wasn’t surprised when his daughter Moss made the announcement since Twig was old and sick.
“My father,” Moss said when most of the cats had entered the clearing, “died at moon-high last night. As many of you know he had many moons behind him.”
Eagle stood up and walked towards the stump where he could now see Twig’s tan pelt lying beneath it. Many of the other cats who had known him well we’re going over to him to pay their last respects. Eagle only knew Twig from how he lead the wandering group, but he liked the gentle, old cat.
I better tell Ice, Eagle thought, already silently walking in that direction. He passed many cats who wanted to see Twig before he was buried, but many, like himself, didn't know Twig intimately and waited in the shadows as the others mourned.
"Ice," Eagle said as he slid through the brambles that protected the entrance to their den, "Twig," Eagle sat down and sighed, "Twig died last night." Ice looked sad but not surprised about the news.
"He was very old, " she said, "and pretty soon he would have left anyway. He wouldn't have been able to keep up with all the traveling we do in green-leaf." Ice struggled to a sitting position as Eagle came in.
"Do you feel anything yet?" Eagle questioned, gesturing towards Ice's stomach. She reached out a paw and lightly swatted him on the nose.
"Sometimes they kick a bit, but they'll tell me when they're ready. Don't worry you'll be the first one to know if anything happens."
"Does Moss know you're close to kitting? I heard she knows a bit about herbs."
"Of coarse mouse-brain. I imagine everyone knows. Both with you telling everyone you see and with me being this huge!"
" Well," Eagle said, "if I'm out hunting go to her. She'll be able to help anyhow."
"I know," Ice said soothingly to the nervous tom, brushing her muzzle against his, "I'll be fine. Now you need to sleep, it's almost dusk and I expect you'll want to be at Twig's burial at sunrise."
"Are you coming?" Eagle asked, silently hoping she would come even when he knew it would be difficult for her.
"Do you really think I would miss it? If only to console Moss about her fathers death. It must be very hard for her, especially when she's pressured in following his pawsteps and leading the group. Get some sleep."
"I'll wake up before sunrise and get you something to eat before we go," Eagle said, padding over to their nest and curling up next to Ice, licking her comfortingly.
" I... I would like that, " Ice said sleepily, her eyes already half closed, soothed by the strokes of Eagle's tongue.
Eagle curled up around her, still stroking her with his tounge, grateful that she and the kits were safe. Her breathing soon became regular and smooth so Eagle stopped licking her and rested his head on the edge of their nest.
she’s so beautiful, I’m lucky to have her,he thought pleased, his eyelids drooping with sleep. His last thought was of Ice, his last feeling was of absoulute bliss.
___________________________________________________________________
"Come on Rain!" Fern said, walking towards the wood surrounding the clearing. She loved the feel of the undergrowth in the oak forest.
"Ash," Rain said, looking over towards his nest where he was curled up, his tail twitching slightly, "are you coming too?"
"Maybe later," he purred, "you should go exploring together. I'll see you at sun-high, we caught enough yesterday to feed us today."
"Thanks Ash! Enjoy your nap. Wait up Fern," Rain called.
Fern stopped walking and waited for the other she-cat to catch up. They waked into the undergrowth with their pelts brushing. Rain stopped and scented the air.
"I smell crow...and mouse… and rabbit. Wow, there's a lot of prey here, want to hunt?" Rain asked, already tracking one of the intermingling scents.
"Are you really hungry Rain? We already caught enough yesterday to last us a while." Fern kept walking forward. "Lets go deeper and explore. This is probably where we're going to stay this leaf-bare."
"Fine. But do you remember Fox? He's good with herbs and he mentioned he was running low on supplies... Maybe we can find some before Leaf-bare. Then he can help others if they get sick or hurt."
"That's a great idea Rain," Fern purred, "we can look as we're exploring." She walked through a clump of long grass and into a meadow.
"Look Fern! There's some yarrow over by that maple," Rain said, pointing with her tail.
"Good eyes Rain. Lets go get some." The two she-cats walked through the meadow to the tree line.
"Eww." Rain wrinkled up her nose. "It's that same smell as yesterday."
"Yeah. Do you want to go farther in?" Fern said cautiously, walking up to the tree line.
"Let's get some of the yarrow and follow the scent a ways." Rain walked over the scent line with her ears back. She nipped a few stalks off and put them in a small pile.
"Let's keep going," Rain mumbled after she picked up the yarrow. They kept going into the brush with Fern scenting for more herbs.
"How can I smell anything with this stench?" She said, her tail waving irritably. “Let’s go back, we can look for other herbs along the way." They turned back into the denser forest, fur brushing, all the while scenting for herbs.
Chapter 5
Cherrytail woke to a paw poking her in the ribs.
"Cherrytail," Sparrowpelt said, "you're on dawn patrol with Petalnose and me." Cherrytail got up and creeped out of the den, careful not to wake any of the other warriors.
"Did you already eat?" Cherrytail asked, padding up to the fresh-kill pile and taking a magpie over to the sunrocks.
"No, I wanted to eat with you." He took a shrew over to where Cherrytail was crouched over her magpie.
"Thanks." Cherrytail was grateful she wouldn’t have to eat alone.
"Didn't yesterday feel like your own warrior ceremony? I'm so proud of Tinycloud! She'll make a great warrior," Sparrowpelt said, his chest puffed out in pride.
"She had a great teacher." Cherrytail shifted closer to her brother, leting their pelts brush, reminding them of when they were kits.
"It's time to go," Petalnose said, already starting up the path to the top of the cliff.
"Let's go," Sparrowpelt sighed, finishing his shrew quickly, "Petalnose won't want to wait long on the Skyrock."
"It's okay," Cherrytail said, taking a few more bites, "I was almost done anyway. Just thank StarClan Sharpclaw isn't on our patrol!" Both cats shared an amused look as they imagined how Sharpclaw would have reacted. They got up and followed Petalnose to the top of the cliffs.
"Let's go to the twolegplace first, then we can check the gorge and end with the forest. With any luck we can hunt on the way back," Petalnose told them. The cats set out for twolegplace, Petalnose in front and Sparrowpelt at the rear.
Twolegplace, Cherrytail thought, I'm glad I left for the cliffs. Now I know why Firestar left too. Being in a clan is amazing, so is training an apprentice.Cherrytail's thoughts strayed to her apprentice, her warrior.
She was jolted out of her thoughts when Petalnose stopped and started to scent the air, checking to see if any cat trespassed on SkyClan territory, while Sparrowpelt renewed the scent markers.
"Let's follow the scentline to the barn. Leafstar told us to check it every few sunrises to make sure the rats don't come back," Petalnose said, already padding in that direction.
They checked the barn and kept going down into the gorge. The cats all got a drink from the river before following the steep trail up the side of the ravine.
"I'm glad we have SkyClan’s abilties," Sparrowpelt commented after jumping staight up onto a boulder 3 tail-lengths high and continuing up the trail and into the woods.
Cherrytail walked up to the border and renewed the scentmarks, her brother a few fox-lenths ahead and Petalnose a few behind. She watched as Sparrowpelt walked through a bramble thicket, continuing along the border. She looked over her shoulder and saw Petalnose a while back.
"Petalnose!" She yowled down the path, "Sparrowpelt is checking the last few fox-lengths of the border. Can I hunt? We still have a while until the rest of the clan wakes up."
"Sure." Petalnose was only a few tail-lengths away now. "Just be back before sun-high."
"Thanks!" Cherrytail said, she liked hunting by herself, but she liked hunting with her brother more. "Can I ask Sparrowpelt to come with me?"
"Fine. Remember, just be back by sun-high."
Cherrytail followed her brother’s scent through the brambles. She crawled through a particularly thick patch of thorns to see Sparrowpelt standing at the scentline with his fur bristling and tail fluffed out. She ran over to him and looked over the border to see two she-cats. One was grey, the other a long-furred creamy tan.
"Where are you two going?" Sparrowpelt growled, unsheathing his claws and flexing them in the soil. The two rouges backed up against the wall of brambles, lowering their ears and tails and whimpering.
"Stop scaring them Sparrowpelt, or well never get any answers out of them,." Cherrytail crawled through the last of the brambles to stand by him. "Well, why are you here?" Cherrytail directed this question at the two cats.
The grey cat raised her muzzle up a mouse-lenth to look at Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt and said, "we were exploring. Our group is camped on the other side of this wood."
"Rain," The other cat said exasperated, "don't tell them everything."
Cherrytail remembered how she felt when Firestar and Sandstorm caught them the same way and her form softened a bit. I can imagine how scary we look to them!Cherrytail thought.
"How many cats are in this group?" Sparrowpelt asked.
"Enough to keep us safe if a badger or some foxes attack," the tan cat said vaguely.
"We should take them back to Leafstar, they may be the ones that came into our territory before. And I don't like the sound of another group of cats on our border."
Cherrytail turned to the two she-cats and walked around them.
"We're taking you to our camp," Sparrowpelt growled, "don't try to escape."
The cats creeped forward and followed Sparrowpelt. Cherrytail slid behind them, scenting the air behind to make sure there weren't more cats hidden in the trees.
Their procession followed the main trail back to camp where they stopped at the river flowing out of the Rockpile. Sparrowpelt led the cats over to the Rockpile where he leaped up onto the ledge running next to the boulders over the river. The two she-cats struggled to climb the boulder up to the trail. Cherrytail padded up to them and pushed the tan one up.
"Thanks," She said, panting at the top.
"Anytime," Cherrytail leaped gracefully up the face of the boulder where the two cats stood with their mouths agape.
"Hurry up!" Sparrowpelt called from up ahead. The cats scampered forward nervously looking over the edge of the ledge at the fast-moving current below them.
Sparrowpelt stopped on the flat rock that sloped down into the water.
"You can drink if you want." he said, spinning around and bounding up the cliff-face.
Sagepaw jumped down from the apprentice cave and looked at the new cats skeptically. Cherrytail looked up to see Sparrowpelt's tail disappear in Leafstar's den before he turned around with her following.
"So," Leafstar said standing in front of the two cats, her tail twitching, "my warriors found you on ScyClan land. Why were you trespassing?"
Again the grey cat was first to answer, "We were exploring."
"Are you kittypets?" Leafstar asked.
Cherrytail knew they were too scrawny to be soft kittypets out for an adventure.
"No, we live in a wandering group. Traveling during green-leaf. We live in a clearing over there now." The grey cat pointed with her tail.
"Rain," the tan cat hissed warningly.
"We didn't know we were crossing any borders," Rain continued "we were just looking for herbs for Fox."
"Well now you know. And tell the rest of your group about it too. We won't let you get away with crossing borders again. My warriors will escort you to the border Rain and... What is your name?"
"Oh," Rain said, "her name is Fern."
"Cherrytail, Clovertail, and Sagepaw, take these two back off our territory. And please," she directed this at Rain and Fern, "don't let this ever happen again."
Leafstar turned around and bounded back up the cliff, knowing her warriors could handle the rouges.
"Are we really going through the forest?" Sagepaw squeaked excitedly, racing forward and leaping the 3 fox-lengths up the side of the Rockpile.
"How do you do that?" Rain asked, amazed. The rocks were almost 10 times the hight of the new apprentice.
"There was a clan here before us," Cherrytail began, "they had lived in a forest with four other clans. But twolegs came and built dens all over their territory. The other clans didn't have room for SkyClan, so they turned them out of the forest. They had traveled her and were thriving until a hoard of rats came and destroyed them. The cats fled, but some of their descendants still live here today. Firestar, the leader of one of the other clans in the forest, had a dream from StarClan to come and rebuild SkyClan. He found Skywatcher, who told him this was where SkyClan had lived. Firestar found the rest of the cats with ScyClan traits and built this clan. That's why we can all jump high and walk on stone. See?" Cherrytail lifted her paw to show them the grey pad underneath while Rain raised hers up to find a light pink one.
"Ohh," Rain said, and unsheathed her claws to grab at the rock face. Both the loners managed to climb onto the boulders and jump down the other side. They used the same trail they came on through the woods. The SkyClan warriors stopped at the scentline while Fern and Rain continued over the border.
"And don't come back!" Sagepaw squeaked, fluffing up his still kit-soft fur. Clovertail purred in amusement.
“We’ll tell everyone not to come over here, Rain said, starting to turn around. They both looked back one last time over the border at SkyClan territory.
Cherrytail met Fern's deep amber eyes for a heartbeat. It was like an electric shock passed through her. I know this cat, Cherrytail thought bewildered, steping back in shock. But before she could call out, Fern spun around and raced into the forest.
You know what was worse than my writing back then? my poems.
FEATHER
A little bluebird flew across the sky
A blue and orange streak
Carelessly
Aimlessly
Floating in the air,
Without a thought
A feather would drop
Flying silently downward.
Unlike the bird
It fell
Silently
Softly
Slowly
Floating down
Eventually it was destined
to touch ground.
But while it was there
Floating
Falling
In the air,
It was a sunray
Orange and blue
Like a piece of the bird
Was falling too.
A piece of a bird
A wonderful
Beautiful
Graceful bird,
Falling downward
Ever slowly
Ever gracefully
It was but a feather.
A little bluebird flew across the sky
A blue and orange streak
Carelessly
Aimlessly
Floating in the air,
Without a thought
A feather would drop
Flying silently downward.
Unlike the bird
It fell
Silently
Softly
Slowly
Floating down
Eventually it was destined
to touch ground.
But while it was there
Floating
Falling
In the air,
It was a sunray
Orange and blue
Like a piece of the bird
Was falling too.
A piece of a bird
A wonderful
Beautiful
Graceful bird,
Falling downward
Ever slowly
Ever gracefully
It was but a feather.
the sad part is that's still the style I write my poems in, just not as repetitive and cliche xDDDD
