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Post by Cherrystream on Jan 31, 2024 17:20:04 GMT -5
This is the lengthened version of chapter 1. I will also be posting the next chapters in this thread.
Once again for anyone who didn't see my last fanfiction thread about chapter 1, this story is MOSTLY canon-compliant, taking place about 100 twoleg years after The Last Hope. So the clans are all the same, but the cats are totally different (they may talk about the "Ancient Cats" from canon though).
I hope you all like it! I will post each chapter in a separate reply. Feel free to like if you enjoy! I currently have 14 chapters to share with you, I will be starting on chapter 15 tonight or tomorrow.
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CHAPTER 1 “Fire!” A loud yowl woke Ravenstar from his dreamless sleep. He sat up slowly at first, but hurried out of his den and down the Highledge as the yowl continued. Bluepelt, a bluish-gray tom with horrified blue eyes, stood in the middle of camp, staring intensely at the amber glow in the forest that grew brighter.
Ravenstar stood beside Bluepelt and looked into the forest at the fire. Smoke was already beginning to fill camp, and he coughed. He nodded to Bluepelt and together they began to run to different dens to wake up cats that hadn’t heard Bluepelt’s original call. He called into the warriors den with urgency, his tail flicking back and forth in a panic.
“Warriors! Get out! Fire!” Ravenstar repeated a couple times loudly. He yowled into the warriors den, and saw his clanmates quickly begin to leave their nests and funnel past him into the clearing of camp. Sorrelheart, Thunderclan’s deputy, was near the middle of the warriors den and came to stand with her clanmates in the middle of camp near the fresh-kill pile, whispering quietly to the cats as they coughed from the smoke. Sorrelheart moved from cat to cat, and nuzzled her son, Swiftclaw, briefly before nudging him over to his mate, Bluepelt.
Ravenstar’s head still felt like it was filled with moss from just waking up, and could barely recognize that his clanmates were wanting him to tell them what to do. If he had been deputy under Froststar, he would have been looking for Froststar to tell everyone what to do. The previous leader of Thunderclan had seemed so capable and sure of himself; it intimidated Ravenstar to think he had to live up to the legacy Froststar left behind after many years of service to his clan.
Ravenstar felt himself begin to panic as he thought of what to do. He wanted to run out of camp with his tail between his legs, running towards the lake to stay away from the fire. But he was the leader of Thunderclan; he could never abandon his clanmates even when instinct told him to. They all depended on him.
“Thunderclan, to me!” He yelled through the camp, rushing over the medicine cat den to alert the two medicine cats inside, Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud. Stealthbreeze hurried out a few moments later with Snowcloud behind her. In their panic they hadn’t grabbed any herbs, but Ravenstar didn’t question them and didn’t know which herbs would even be useful in a fire. Stealthbreeze was a wise old she-cat, so if she didn’t grab any herbs then who was he to question her?
Ravenstar quickly did a headcount, missing 3 cats, but Tallfoot quickly ran into the nursery and found Hazelbounce with Graykit and Featherkit inside. The two kits were only a couple moons from becoming apprentices, but they still needed their mother- Ravenstar could tell from the terrified look on their faces. Graykit, the smaller light gray tom, tried to walk inbetween his mother’s legs but he was far too big to stay that close to her, so he eventually rushed over to his larger sister and pressed against her. Tallfoot and Hazelbounce nudged the kits into the clearing and some warriors formed a protective circle around the kits as the fire grew brighter and the smoke grew dark and even more harmful as they breathed it in.
“Where are we going to go?” Sorrelheart asked. Ravenstar pinched his eyes shut for a moment to think, then turned towards the entrance of the camp.
“We’ll go to Windclan, away from the fire. We need to get as far away from the forest as we can.” Ravenstar finally told her.
“But what about camp? The fire’ll destroy all the nests, herbs, and prey!” Hollyfur argued. She was a black she-cat with the sharpest tongue in camp. She even beat Tallfoot in that department, but she had a big heart and cared deeply for her clanmates, especially her best friend Birch.
“There’s nothing we can do about the fire.” Ravenstar said quickly. “But we can rebuild. We’ll catch more prey, rebuild our dens, and restock the herbs.”
Ravenstar turned to his former apprentice, Swiftclaw, and padded to him. Swiftclaw was a fairly scrawny warrior; white with black patches and his ribs showing through his fur. No matter how scrawny Swiftclaw might be, however, Ravenstar knew his legs were powerful and he was one of the fastest runners in the clan.
“We’re going to head towards Windclan. Can you go to Skyclan and warn them of the fire? Stay near the lake, so the fire can’t get you, then head down to Windclan camp.” Ravenstar asked him.
Swiftclaw nodded, and with a soft whisper to Bluepelt, took off into the forest. Bluepelt stared into the forest where Swiftclaw had disappeared, then turned back to his leader. Ravenstar could tell from Bluepelt’s expression, his ears down and mouth slightly open, that he didn’t like Swiftclaw going towards the fire, and especially not by himself. Ravenstar would have sent Bluepelt with his mate, but he couldn’t afford to split up his clan any more than he already had sending Swiftclaw away into enemy territory.
“Thunderclan! We’re going to go to Windclan.” Ravenstar told them. Stealthbreeze caught up to him as they began to scurry from the camp, Snowcloud staying in the back to help the elders as they trudged forward.
The air turned cooler the farther from the flames they got. Ravenstar turned back to check on his clanmates every so often as they got closer to the Windclan border. Ravenstar didn’t see any cat at the Windclan border, and they stopped just before it.
“Should we wait here for a patrol?” Hazelbounce asked, sweeping Graykit and Featherkit close with her tail. Ravenstar shook his head.
“No, we have no idea how fast that fire will spread. We should at least stay in Windclan until the fire clears, if nothing else.” He stared across the moor. “We need someone to go to Windclan camp and tell them what’s happened.”
“I’ll do that.” Stealthbreeze padded to Ravenstar’s side. “I’m a medicine cat, they’d have no reason to attack me. And Featherstar is very reasonable; if I explain what’s happened he’ll help.”
Ravenstar blinked gratefully to the elderly she-cat, and sent her off across the moor. Snowcloud watched her mentor race off with worried eyes. Yellownose, Snowcloud’s uncle, came to her side.
“She’ll be fine,” He soothed. “No one would dare attack her.” Snowcloud nodded, but still flicked her white tail nervously.
Dawnnose stayed near the back of the clan and watched for Swiftclaw and/or the fire, not seeing either. His emerald green eyes were slightly bloodshot from the smoke, and Ravenstar noticed the kits coughing as they leaned onto their mother.
“I hope Applenose has honey for the kits,” Sorrelheart said softly beside Ravenstar. “That smoke wasn’t good for any of us, especially while we were sleeping.”
“Me too,” Ravenstar muttered. “I just thank Starclan that Bluepelt alerted us.” He swung his head over to where Bluepelt stood beside his brother, watching for Swiftclaw.
Over the horizon, Dawnnose spotted Swiftclaw’s black and white pelt streaking across the grass towards them. Ravenstar was surprised how quickly he had made it to Skyclan and gotten back. That was a long trip even from Thunderclan camp; he couldn’t imagine how the trip felt going past the burning forest to Windclan territory. It almost looked like Swiftclaw was flying with how fast he was running, and his long skinny tail was straight out behind him. Ravenstar thought he looked like one of those pieces of material the twolegs would fly into the air during greenleaf, but he kept his brief moment of humor to himself.
“Swiftclaw’s back!” Bluepelt yowled happily. The clan cats all pushed backwards to greet Swiftclaw as he almost collapsed in front of them, gasping for air.
“How is Skyclan? And our camp?” Ravenstar asked. Swiftclaw didn’t answer as he caught his breath, but sat up as Bluepelt purred and pressed into his side. “Speak, Swiftclaw.”
“Skyclan is fine. They thanked us for alerting them to the fire, and they said they’d pass it along to Shadowclan.” Swiftclaw struggled to talk inbetween gulping down air. He looked directly at Ravenstar with a solemn, almost mournful look. “But our camp is gone.”
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Post by Cherrystream on Jan 31, 2024 17:23:49 GMT -5
CHAPTER 2 Shocked gasps raked through the cats. Hazelbounce pressed her muzzle into Tallfoot’s shoulder, and Birch let out a moan of despair. Hollyfur pressed herself against Birch to steady him, but her own paws looked shaky underneath her.
“What do you mean it’s gone?” Sorrelheart asked. The sand-colored tabby deputy padded through the cats to meet her son. “It can’t be gone, camps can’t just walk off.”
“I mean, the fire has already destroyed it.” Swiftclaw told her. “I couldn’t get too close on my way back, because the fire was already in the camp. If the camp survived, we can’t be sure if it’s livable. Worst case, it’s been completely burnt away.”
“Starclan, why have you done this to us?” Birch wailed. Other cats let out their grief with him, then turned to Ravenstar.
“What will we do about camp now?” Hollyfur asked angrily.
“We’ll just have to wait for a couple days, and then see what the fire left us. We can rebuild; Thunderclan will not be beaten by a fire.” Ravenstar told her determinedly.
Most of the clan nodded to Ravenstar and began to look more optimistic, but a few still hung their heads in despair, especially Birch. Hollyfur stayed near Birch, whispering to him with weary glances behind them towards the direction of the fire.
Stealthbreeze let out a yowl of greeting as she raced across the clearing with Featherstar in tow. Ravenstar straightened his posture at the sight of the very elderly Windclan leader, and dipped his head as they both paused in front of him, panting.
“Featherstar, thank you for coming.” Ravenstar said softly. “I assume Stealthbreeze let you know what happened?”
Stealthbreeze pushed into the cats to greet Snowcloud and Yellownose, then sat down beside the two cats to watch the two leaders speak. Ravenstar looked back at her for a moment and saw the elderly medicine cat’s legs were shaking, and her son and granddaughter pressed on either side of her as she caught her breath.
“Yes, she did,” Featherstar croaked as he got his breath back. “Thunderclan may stay in Windclan camp until the fire has died out.”
Ravenstar nodded and turned to his clanmates. They let out cheerful mews, and he raised his black tail in the air. Sorrelheart raised her tail as well, and their clanmates turned their attention to their deputy as she spoke.
“Thank you, Featherstar,” Sorrelheart meowed. “We’ve brought some herbs to help Applenose in return,”
“Stealthbreeze informed me,” Featherstar said. “Applenose can treat any cat who has been affected by the fire. However, we welcome any and all herbs at this time.”
“I think we’d better go,” Hazelbounce interrupted the Windclan leader. Featherstar stared at her for a moment, and she flattened her ears to her head and ducked her head submissively. “Sorry, Featherstar, but my kits are coughing badly. Could I please take them to see Applenose?”
“Of course, Hazelbounce.” Featherstar smiled. “Follow me, Thunderclan!” Featherstar set off across the moor towards Windclan camp. Hazelbounce and Tallfoot nudged their kits and got them walking off behind Featherstar.
Ravenstar stayed near the back, supporting Swiftclaw as he coughed badly. Bluepelt stayed near, letting out worried whines every so often. Dawnnose stayed close to his littermate and littermate’s mate as well, keeping Swiftclaw steady as he stumbled through the tall grass of Windclan territory. Bluepelt’s tail waved nervously near the ground, and it seemed like his anxiety was only getting worse with each cough Swiftclaw let out.
“Is he going to be alright?” Bluepelt called out to Stealthbreeze. The elderly medicine cat turned around and fell back to come near Swiftclaw.
“I think he’ll be alright once we get to Applenose,” Stealthbreeze meowed. “He’ll just need some Tansy for his cough, and Celandine for his eyes.” She glanced ahead of her. “I hope Applenose has enough herbs. A lot of cats got affected by sleeping through most of the fire.”
“We can always ration if we need to,” Snowcloud said from ahead, muffled by a mouth of herbs and herbs under her chin. Sorrelheart padded beside her with her own bundle of herbs in her mouth. “We can give the weakest cats the strongest dose, and then ration for the others. It might take longer to heal them, but it’ll last long enough for us to help Applenose find more herbs.”
Stealthbreeze mewed in agreement, and shifted the bundle of herbs under her chin. Her silver tail swung back and forth near the ground, and Ravenstar cringed when he realized how old Stealthbreeze was.
Ravenstar remembered that Stealthbreeze was his grandmother, being Rainstream’s mother, but also that Rainstream had Ravenstar at a very late age. By the time Rainstream had Ravenstar, Snowcloud and Brambleblaze- his cousins from Rainstream’s sister Rosecloud, were already grown.
Ravenstar felt the loss of his mother deeply, like a place in his heart that had left with Rainstream’s spirit as he left for Starclan. He also grieved for his father, Darkheart, even though he had almost no memories of the dark gray tom, as he died before Ravenstar had become an apprentice.
Out of Stealthbreeze’s four kits that survived until adulthood, only Yellownose was alive now, and Ravenstar had begun to notice Yellownose’s graying muzzle. He made a mental note to suggest Yellownose move to the elders' den soon.
Swiftclaw glanced up to see Ravenstar’s pained expression, and nudged him gently. Ravenstar looked down at his former apprentice as Swiftclaw wheezed.
“What’s wrong, Ravenstar?” Swiftclaw asked. “We’ll rebuild the camp, and Windclan is letting us stay with them temporarily.”
“No, that’s not what I’m upset about,” Ravenstar murmured absentmindedly. “So many cats that I grew up respecting are aging and dying. I’m just thanking Starclan that we didn’t lose any cats in that fire.” He flicked his fluffy black tail across the grass.
“Every cat will die eventually,” Swiftclaw pointed out. “But cats are living longer and longer now with how skilled our medicine cats are. The ancient cats were barely able to make it to retirement, now we have cats that are still as nimble as can be at the retirement age.”
Ravenstar grunted a reply, but stared forward to see Featherstar’s brown-tipped ears over the crowd of Thunderclan cats. Swiftclaw continued to look at Ravenstar, but stopped as Bluepelt’s purring caught his attention, and he shifted his gaze over to his mate.
Featherstar led the clan into Windclan, where Flowerfur was waiting for them. The Windclan deputy raced forward to meet her leader. She was a powerful she-cat, wider and taller than Featherstar, with powerful paws and a sleek tail. She was a formidable deputy, so much so that she intimidated Ravenstar when he was a deputy under Froststar. She had a sharp tongue, but cared deeply for her clanmates and served them in everything she did.
“Is that all of them?” She asked. Featherstar nodded.
“Yes. We can use the abandoned tree log for most of their nests, we just need to get some moss for them to sleep on.” Featherstar looked over the Thunderclan cats. “We can help you find moss for your nests, and show you where to sleep. We have an area that can act like the trees overhead.” Some apprentices behind Featherstar began to laugh at the Thunderclan cats.
“They need protection because they’re too scared to sleep under the stars,” A black and white apprentice whispered. The ginger apprentice beside him nodded.
“There was a fire because of all the trees and bushes around their camp.” She murmured back.
“Badgerpaw and Palepaw!” Featherstar yowled, turning to face the two apprentices. Ravenstar noticed they almost jumped right out of their fur as their leader faced them. “That is no way to talk about our guests!”
“Sorry Featherstar,” The ginger apprentice, Palepaw, muttered, lowering her gaze to the grass. Badgerpaw lowered his gaze, but didn’t apologize.
“I’d expect so. Flowerfur,” He called his deputy. “Badgerpaw and Palepaw will be on tick duty until you are convinced they won’t gossip about our guests again.”
Flowerfur padded over beside the apprentices, and gave them a stern look. Her dappled tail flicked in the grass and her lip curled at the two apprentices.
“Yes, Featherstar. I’m sure the elders will be very tired of them by the time their punishment is over.” Flowerfur said.
Sorrelheart worked her way up beside Featherstar and gave him a concerned look. Ravenstar prayed to Starclan that she wouldn’t challenge the leader and deputy of Windclan, but before he could pull her aside with his tail, she spoke.
“Featherstar, I mean no disrespect, but don’t you think that was a little harsh? All apprentices gossip to each other, a stern talking would have been enough.” She argued. Featherstar flicked his ear.
“Apprentices who are not disciplined will get increasingly belligerent.” He answered gently. “I learned that in my time during the Warrior Rebellion.” He glanced down at Sorrelheart who let out a gasp of shock.
“You were part of the Warrior Rebellion?” She asked.
The Warrior Rebellion was a rebellion fought by a group of clan cats who fought against the warrior code’s outdated rules and the mistreatment of cats due to the rules. Cats from all 5 clans joined, and they became a huge threat. Eventually, the rebellion even took over Windclan, and they settled into the camp. Most of the present-day cats in Windclan were descendants of these cats. It was due to this rebellion that changes to the Warrior Code and Medicine Cat Code were made, including a new rule for medicine cats: Medicine Cats may take a mate and have kits, but only if they have successfully trained their apprentice before leaving their post.
The Warrior Rebellion had been so long ago, it was mostly just stories that queens used to scare and excite kits at the same time. It had been so long ago that not even Stealthbreeze had been around for it, and she was the oldest cat in Thunderclan. Ravenstar looked at Featherstar with a new respect, although it worried him that Windclan had such a feeble and old leader. He glanced over at Flowerfur and knew it probably wouldn’t be long before she became Flowerstar and received her nine lives.
“Yes, I was. Although I was brought into the rebellion as a kit by my mother, Cinnamonstripe.” He said fondly. “When the rebellion took over Windclan, I was given my warrior name of Featherjaw due to my training.”
Sorrelheart stayed silent as he continued.
“The apprentices may resent me for their punishments now, but they will learn respect for their clanmates and the other clans. Punishing cats doesn’t need to be extreme, it just needs to be something you know the cat wouldn’t enjoy so that they learn what’s wrong.” He explained.
Featherstar led the clan over to the tree log and pointed inside with his tail.
“Here’s where you can stay. Not all of you will fit, but you will be protected here.” Featherstar explained. “Those of you who do not find nest space in the log are more than welcome to join our warriors and apprentices in their sleeping areas.”
Ravenstar pushed forward in front of Featherstar. He gazed into the old leader’s green eyes and dipped his head in respect.
“Thank you, Featherstar. Thunderclan is in your debt.” He meowed. Featherstar gazed over at Stealthbreeze, who dipped her head to him as well.
“Speak nothing of it, Ravenstar. All I ask in return is that your warriors help catch prey. Not all of your territory was burned in the fire; you could go into your territory to catch what prey survived, or our warriors can help you adapt to hunting in the open rather than under trees.” Featherstar stated.
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Post by Cherrystream on Jan 31, 2024 17:27:35 GMT -5
CHAPTER 3 “If you’re all finished,” Applenose interrupted, flicking his amber tail in frustration. “These cats need my attention for smoke inhalation.” He turned to Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud. “Would you be able to help me with this?”
“Of course we can,” Stealthbreeze meowed. Snowcloid nodded beside her.
“Good. With you all sleeping through most of the fire, you’ll probably notice breathing issues up until tomorrow..” Applenose told them. “Anyone who’s already feeling bad can follow me to my den.”
Applenose waited for a small group of cats, which included Stealthbreeze, Snowcloud, Hazelbounce with Graykit and Featherkit, Swiftclaw, and Birch. Sorrelheart rushed over to Swiftclaw before they walked off and sniffed him over.
“I’m sorry for not checking you before, I’ve been so busy helping Ravenstar.” She apologized. Swiftclaw flicked his tail and pressed his muzzle against his mother’s. He let out a small cough and Sorrelheart’s ears flattened on her head.
“Don’t worry about it, Sorrelheart. I’ll get some herbs and I’ll feel much better.” He promised. Sorrelheart flicked her tail in the grass nervously as the group began to pad across the clearing to the medicine cat den.
Yellownose lowered himself into the grass with a sigh, and Sorrelheart padded over to lower herself beside her former mentor, licking his ear soothingly.
Ravenstar spoke with Featherstar briefly in a low voice as his clan settled in the grass.
“Where can we go to collect moss?” Ravenstar asked. “I can get our apprentices to do it.”
“There’s some near the lake, the closer to Riverclan territory the better.” Featherstar told him. “I’ll send our apprentices to help.”
Ravenstar rounded up the Thunderclan apprentices; Marigoldpaw, Heronpaw, and Cocoapaw, and they stood beside the Windclan apprentices- Badgerpaw and Palepaw keeping their distance with their heads low.
“Do you know what to do?” Featherstar asked. “Just get as much moss as you can carry. I’ll send…” He swung his head around the clan. “Breezeheart to go with you, just to help you all carry some moss.”
Breezeheart dipped his head and led the patrol of apprentices out, Cocoapaw touching noses with Ravenstar before she left.
“Can I trust Breezeheart?” Cocoapaw asked timidly. “He’s so much bigger than me.”
“Of course you can,” Ravenstar said gently. “As your clan leader, I promise that you will be completely safe.”
Cocoapaw raced off after the patrol and Ravenstar soon lost sight of them as they raced over the grass. Tallfoot slid over beside Ravenstar and purred.
“The apprentices are fond of you,” He purred in amusement. “They see you more as a friend than a leader.”
Ravenstar got ready to claw his ears when he paused to remember what the clan said about Tallfoot. He was a respected senior warrior, although his tongue often got him into trouble. But everything he said was harmless fun. He still mourned the loss of his former apprentice, Rosecloud, and his disregard for emotions could often lead to a misuse of words.
Ravenstar shook his black pelt and cuffed Tallfoot over the ear with his claws sheathed, then licked his paw and began to clean the splash of white fur on his chest.
“Maybe I’m being too soft on them,” Ravenstar meowed back. Tallfoot twitched his ears as he listened. “I think I’ll take them to the moonpool after we rebuild camp. And they’ll soon get to see Featherkit and Graykit become apprentices; hopefully that will remind them that I’m Thunderclan’s leader.”
“We’re all happy to have you as leader.” Tallfoot licked his paw and began to clean behind his ear. “I think that you should have a one-on-one session with all apprentices now, just to talk to them as a leader to apprentice rather than friend to friend.”
“What’s this about one-on-one meetings?” Sorrelheart lifted her head from Yellownose’s sandy-ginger back.
“I think that Ravenstar should have a meeting with each apprentice to talk to them as a leader to apprentice so that they stop thinking of him as just a friend.” Tallfoot repeated.
“Oh, well, I guess that might work,” Sorrelheart meowed, laying her head back down. “Apprentices these days don’t have any respect at all,” she mumbled. Yellownose snorted a reply and flicked his tail.
“New apprentices can always be a bit disrespectful,” Yellownose growled. “But these apprentices are old enough to know to respect their leader.”
Ravenstar flicked his tail uncomfortably. He did agree that the apprentices needed to respect those older than them, but he couldn’t help wondering if the senior warriors were being too harsh on them.
“They’ll learn in time,” He said, dismissing the argument. “I don’t want to hear any more about this.”
Hollyfur sat beside Dawnnose, waiting for Birch to reappear from inside Applenose’s medicine cat den. Her black tail swished back and forth nervously. Ravenstar was proud of Hollyfur’s commitment to her friend Birch. Even though they were very different in both age and personality, he had to admire their friendship. As Birch got older each season, young Hollyfur made sure to keep an eye on him during patrols. She would even bring him herbs for his joints during leafbare. She almost acted like a daughter taking care of a parent, but Ravenstar didn’t think that was their relationship. Many cats used to tease Hollyfur for her friendship with Birch, but her sharp tongue stopped the gossip quickly. Her confidence paired with Birch’s compassion made them a formidable team in camp and against the other clans.
Birch was the first cat to leave Applenose’s den, and Hollyfur twitched her ears as she padded over to him and placed her tail over his back. Ravenstar couldn’t hear what she whispered to him, but he definitely heard Birch’s response- a loud purr as they walked off to join Hazelbounce, who sat by herself while her kits were inside the medicine cat den with Applenose.
Stealthbreeze emerged from the medicine cat den not long after Birch, and wearily walked over to where Ravenstar sat with Tallfoot, Yellownose, and Sorrelheart. Her gray and white tail brushed the grass beneath her paws, and she sat down beside Ravenstar and began to clean his dark grey pelt with soft licks.
“Did Snowcloud tell you to leave again?” Yellownose asked his mother. Snowcloud, eager to show she was a full medicine cat, frequently told her grandmother to go and relax rather than assist with her medicine cat duties. Ravenstar guessed that Snowcloud and Applenose would be enough to treat the sick cats they had just received.
Stealthbreeze nodded slowly, but continued to clean Ravenstar’s fur. She didn’t say anything until she had pulled out a mat of dirty fur from Ravenstar with her teeth, then turned to her son who was still being groomed by Sorrelheart.
“Yes, but I’m glad I came out here anyways. I think my old bones are protesting in this cool morning air.” She tried to make a joke, but Ravenstar could tell her smile was fake and he felt her exhaustion like a thick band of pain in the air. “It might be time for me to retire after all and let Snowcloud handle Thunderclan.”
“You think so?” Tallfoot asked. “You still have plenty of spark in you, Stealthbreeze. If you retire then we’ll all start feeling old.”
Stealthbreeze let out a meow of laughter and shook her head in exasperation. She turned her head to look at Tallfoot and let out a low purr.
“I’ve heard your son has an interest in becoming a medicine cat in a moon or so once he’s apprenticed. I think Graykit would be a fantastic apprentice for Snowcloud. Has he said anything to you about that?” Stealthbreeze asked Tallfoot. Tallfoot looked proud as she spoke about his kit, puffing out his brown and white chest.
“He’s spoken to me about it before,” Tallfoot responded. “He hasn’t mentioned any special Starclan dreams or anything, but I’m sure once he visits the Moonpool he’ll be chosen.” Ravenstar knew Tallfoot was referring to the dreams soon-to-be apprentices might get from Starclan to indicate they have a special connection with their warrior ancestors. Some medicine cats in the ancient clans didn’t believe in Starclan, but by far most medicine cats relied on their warrior ancestors for guidance during difficult times.
“Snowcloud didn’t have a special connection until she visited the Moonpool either, right Stealthbreeze?” Ravenstar asked the elderly medicine cat. She nodded knowingly.
“Yes, her first time having a Starclan dream was at her Moonpool apprentice ceremony. Sometimes Starclan works in mysterious ways. If Graykit thinks being a medicine cat is his destiny then Snowcloud would be ridiculous not to accept him as her apprentice.”
Ravenstar shifted his paws comfortably as Stealthbreeze leaned against him slightly. The small medicine cat seemed almost sleeping on her paws, although her eyes barely stayed open. Ravenstar gave her a small nudge and whispered to her softly, “Grandma, go to sleep for a bit. I will watch for Applenose and Snowcloud.”
As Stealthbreeze padded towards the log that the apprentices had recently filled with moss, Ravenstar noticed Yellownose open his eyes to watch his mother walk away. His pale ginger ear flicked and hit Sorrelheart’s nose and she sneezed. Sorrelheart stretched her neck over and began to lick on Yellownose’s whiskers, her tongue rasping over his graying muzzle. He twitched his nose but didn’t stop her as she continued grooming him.
Ravenstar heard a commotion and turned his head to see the Thunderclan apprentices play-fighting with some Windclan apprentices while a few warriors watched in amusement. The only apprentice not in the group was Cocoapaw, who sat beside one of the Windclan spectators with her brown tail wrapped tightly around her paws. Ravenstar was pleased they had gotten back from moss-collecting so quickly, but he wished Cocoapaw had more confidence in herself.
Cocoapaw was Brownie’s youngest kit from her youngest litter. The runt of the litter, Cocoapaw always had trouble keeping up with her siblings; and Ravenstar felt a connection to the odd apprentice. Brownie was a former kittypet and one of Birch’s best friends; she died a season ago to a rotten squirrel that Cocoapaw’s sibling Heronpaw had shared with her. Heronpaw was sick for a long time from that same squirrel, but managed to survive. Ravenstar noticed Heronpaw glancing over at Cocoapaw from time to time during his free time in the audience.
Cocoapaw snapped her head up with wide eyes when she noticed Ravenstar watching the group. Her ears flattened on her head, and her claws unsheathed. Ravenstar beckoned her over to him with a flick of his tail. Cocoapaw hesitantly padded over to her leader, her small paws barely pushing down the grass underneath them.
“Yes, Ravenstar?” She asked, her head down. She kept on turning to look at the group of apprentices sparring. Ravenstar thought she looked like a guilty kit that had just gotten caught, but he knew Cocoapaw never got into mischief.
“Is everything alright?” He asked her softly. “Why don’t you spar with the other apprentices? I’m sure you’d be a good opponent.”
“I’m not interested. When we got the moss no one talked to me other than Heronpaw and Breezeheart. It made me feel left out.” She said with a quiet voice. Ravenstar took a deep breath, thinking about a good response for the small apprentice.
“Sometimes we all feel left out of a group.” He started slowly. “I’m more introverted like you are, and if I didn’t make an effort to reach out to others I kind of disappeared into the background. I’m happy Heronpaw tried to include you in the group, and I’ll thank Breezeheart later.”
Cocoapaw didn’t answer, and Ravenstar wondered if he had said something wrong. He thought for a moment what Froststar, their previous leader, might have said to the little she-cat. He found himself wondering about Froststar often, trying to do what was best for his clan but also worrying he had made the wrong decision based on what he thought the large gray leader would have done.
“Heronpaw is a good brother.” Cocoapaw finally said. She lowered her head more and leaned in towards Ravenstar to speak softer. “I think he still feels guilty about giving Brownie that squirrel. But he couldn’t have known it was rotten until they had already eaten some of it.” She confessed.
Ravenstar looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Tallfoot padding away towards the medicine cat den with Hazelbounce not far behind. They met Graykit and Featherkit at the entrance, Applenose nudging them out with his nose. Their conversation faded to the background as he turned his attention back to Cocoapaw.
“You can’t control other cats' actions, but you can control your own. Offer to share prey with your clanmates, go out on patrols with your mentor and littermates, and even just start up conversation with them. It could be that they just don’t know you that well and don’t know how to talk to you.” Ravenstar told her.
“I just don’t like being extroverted.” Cocoapaw confessed. “Can we stop talking about it?” Yep, Ravenstar thought. I said the wrong thing. He nodded and watched as Cocoapaw padded back over to Heronpaw and sat down beside him.
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 3, 2024 15:12:43 GMT -5
CHAPTER 4 “Aw, you tried, Ravenstar.” Sorrelheart meowed, taking a break from grooming the now sleeping Yellownose. Ravenstar sighed and tapped his paw on the ground in frustration.
“I should be doing more than trying.” Ravenstar said, smelling the smoke in the air. He turned his head towards the embers still flying into the air from the distance. “I should be succeeding. Froststar always knew exactly what to say.”
“My uncle was a mess.” Yellownose yawned, waking up at the mention of his former leader. “He put on a strong face to everyone, including his own deputies, because he needed to be a strong leader. But secretly, he never got over his mate’s death when he was a new warrior. That’s what Stealthbreeze used to tell us. He fumbled just like any other cat. Don’t feel too bad about Cocoapaw. You tried your best.”
Ravenstar listened to the senior warrior’s words, feeling grateful to have the guidance of cats older and wiser than him. He visibly relaxed at Yellownose’s guidance, stealing a glance over at Cocoapaw who was cheering for her brother Heronpaw as he sparred with their littermate Marigoldpaw.
Bluepelt padded over to sit with his littermate Dawnnose near the medicine cat den. When Ravenstar strained his ears he could hear Swiftclaw coughing, with Applenose and Snowcloud’s words incomprehensible. Bluepelt’s gray tail swished in the grass nervously, and Dawnnose was pawing at the ground, pulling out stalks of grass.
Ravenstar stood up and, with a respectful nod to Yellownose and Sorrelheart, walked over to the two toms. Bluepelt and Dawnnose both looked over at their leader.
“Swiftclaw still isn’t better?” Ravenstar asked, concerned. Bluepelt shook his head.
“No, Snowcloud told us he really inhaled a lot of smoke earlier, probably the most out of everyone in Thunderclan. She said she assumes he didn’t follow your orders of staying near the lake like he should have.” Bluepelt answered.
“Applenose said he might cough for a few days until it all gets out of his lungs.” Dawnnose added. “I think they’re finishing up with him now.”
Snowcloud poked her white head out of the medicine cat den and looked at the 3 toms sitting there. She purred briefly, and bowed her head to Ravenstar.
“I hear you all talking out here. Swiftclaw is going to be fine. We’re giving him another treatment of honey because he said his throat is sore from coughing. He should be out in a few moments.” She told them, then disappeared back into the den.
“That’s great news.” Ravenstar encouraged the two toms beside him. He knew that Swiftclaw’s mate Bluepelt was beside himself with worry, but Dawnnose wasn’t much better. Bluepelt’s brother was close with Swiftclaw, having been friends since apprenticehood.
Not long after that, just like Snowcloud had said, Swiftclaw pushed his way out of the medicine cat den, shaking the brambles and vines from his ears. Bluepelt rushed over and buried his head in Swiftclaw’s neck, his tail swishing back and forth. Ravenstar heard Swiftclaw purring as he nuzzled his mate. Dawnnose stayed back, but stood up with his tail in the air.
Ravenstar squeezed past the 3 toms into the medicine cat den, where Snowcloud and Applenose seemed to be cleaning up the mess they had made treating their patients. Applenose and Snowcloud both looked up at him as he walked in.
“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re sick too.” Applenose groaned. “We just ran out of honey! It’ll take forever to get more.”
“No no, I’m not sick.” Ravenstar assured the older tom quickly. “I just came in to see if you needed any help? Or if you’re hungry?”
“I could sure go for a vole right now.” Snowcloud confessed as she picked clumps of hair out of a bed of moss. “But I know they don’t have those in Windclan. Just whatever you can find would be fine with me.”
“I have a kittypet acquaintance who says she can find voles near Twolegplace often.” Applenose told them. “You might want to check there. She’ll likely be sitting on her twoleg’s fence, she stays there all day.”
“Is she fine with us hunting near her territory?” Ravenstar asked, preparing to go get Snowcloud’s vole for her. Applenose nodded.
“She’s fine with it. She’s okay with anything us clan cats do, as long as we don’t attack her or take any of her kittypet food. I’ve assured her we don’t want any of her kibble.” Applenose stated.
“Fine then. I’ll get you a vole, Snowcloud. Applenose, what about you?” Ravenstar asked. Applenose thought for a moment.
“I think I’ll just have one of our warriors catch me a rabbit, if there’s not one in the fresh-kill pile already.” Applenose stated.
“I think I saw one in the pile, I’ll go grab it for you.” Ravenstar commented, turning around to squeeze out of the den. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a smaller rabbit from the top of the pile. He dragged it by its leg over to the medicine cat den and left it just inside for Applenose.
Backing up, he stood there for a moment considering who to take with him to catch Snowcloud’s vole. He wasn’t familiar with Windclan territory, so he preferred to take a partner with him. Ravenstar gazed around at his clanmates, before settling his eyes on Hollyfur, who laid beside Birch as the elder slept.
“Hollyfur.” He called. Hollyfur’s head shot up and she looked over at Ravenstar with wide eyes before quickly rushing over.
“Yes, Ravenstar?” She bowed her head to her leader.
“I’m going to get Snowcloud a vole, to thank her for her hard work. I’d like you to come with me.” He told her. “If we get her vole with enough time to spare, I’d like us to hunt for our other clanmates too.”
“Sounds good.” Hollyfur said, then arched her back to stretch with a yawn. “I’ll let Birch know I’m leaving and then we can go.”
While Hollyfur said her goodbye to Birch, Ravenstar let Sorrelheart know she was in charge of Thunderclan until he returned. “I’m sure there won’t be any issues, just keep an eye on the apprentices and make sure none of them get hurt sparring.” He told her. Sorrelheart nodded, her gaze already on the young cats.
Hollyfur joined Ravenstar, and they padded out of Windclan camp together. As they walked towards Twolegplace, Ravenstar stopped to scent the air. Hollyfur paused as he did so.
“What are you checking for?” Hollyfur asked him. He shook his head and licked his lips as they continued on.
“Checking for loners or rogues. We don’t know this territory at all, we need to be ready to expect any sort of cats.” Ravenstar told her. She nodded and they continued on in silence.
Finally, they reached the fences surrounding Twolegplace. Ravenstar noticed a few kittypets already balancing on the top of the fence, and they all stared as he and Hollyfur approached. He forced his fur down, but noticed Hollyfur’s fur along her back begin to spike up.
As Ravenstar scented the air, hoping to taste a vole, a plump tortoiseshell she-cat called out to them from where she was sitting on the fence.
“Are you friends of Applenose?” She called.
“Who’s asking?” Hollyfur hissed, unsheathing her claws. Ravenstar leaned down to her ear and whispered a quiet “Calm down.” before looking back up at the kittypet.
“My name is Marble. I live here. If you’re looking for prey, I can show you the best locations for that.” She introduced herself. She hopped down from the fence and slowly padded over to them. “Me and Applenose have been friends for a long time. If he sent you here, you must be okay.”
“He did send us here, in fact.” Ravenstar said. He bowed his head to Marble. “It’s nice to meet you, Marble. I’m Ravenstar, leader of Thunderclan, and this is one of my warriors, Hollyfur. We’re here to catch a vole for a clanmate.”
“Oh, just a vole?” Marble asked. “I can show you where you can find a whole nest of them! It’s a bit of a walk though. Are you ready?”
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 3, 2024 15:15:25 GMT -5
CHAPTER 5 Ravenstar and Hollyfur followed Marble as she took off into some brambles. Hollyfur hissed as a thorn pulled out a piece of her short black fur. As they got through the brambles, they noticed a whole clearing in front of them. It reminded Ravenstar of the training grounds over in Thunderclan territory.
“Are you sure we can trust this kittypet?” Hollyfur spit the word “kittypet”, as she glared at Marble. Marble stood a few tail lengths in front of them with her mouth open, trying to get a scent.
“Keep your fur on. We can easily overpower this she-cat if we need to.” Ravenstar said in a low voice. “We’re here to help Snowcloud, remember that.” Hollyfur bowed her head to him respectfully, and her fur began to fall back down as she relaxed.
Marble walked over a patch of large trees and pointed her paw upwards. Ravenstar and Hollyfur padded over beside her and looked up.
“Up in these trees there are birds that like to antagonize the voles.” Marble started. “Just beyond these trees, if I remember correctly, there’s a huge vole nest! Voles eat bark during winter, so they like to make nests near large patches of trees.” She told them.
“What’s winter?” Hollyfur asked.
“Leafbare.” Ravenstar answered for her. “Kittypets have some weird words.”
“I’ll help you catch a couple, if you want.” Marble offered. Ravenstar shook his head.
“We couldn’t ask that of you. Thank you for guiding us. You can go back to your fence now.” Ravenstar told her briskly. He raised his tail for Hollyfur to follow him, and they began to walk past Marble.
“I wasn’t doing anything anyways besides bird watching.” Marble insisted. “Let me help you. I’d like to talk to Applenose again; he hasn’t come around in a couple months.”
Ravenstar bit back a sigh and he nodded, beckoning the kittypet with his tail. They slipped in between some of the trees, and Marble stopped them with a wave of her tail.
“There’s the nest.” She whispered. “See the voles running around it? I usually wait until one heads away from the nest and grab it so it doesn’t alert the others.”
“We’re warriors, we catch voles every day.” Hollyfur snapped. “We don’t need the advice of a kittypet.” Marble shrugged.
“Okay, whatever you say. I’m just trying to be helpful.”
Ravenstar glared over at Hollyfur, then turned back to Marble.
“Thank you Marble. We appreciate your guidance.” He meowed. Marble puffed out her chest at his gratitude and nodded.
Ravenstar felt in his element again in the trees that bordered Twolegplace. Within a few moments- it felt like, he and Hollyfur had caught a vole each. Marble was still working on her first, so both warriors buried their catch and moved on. Hollyfur slinked into the bushes, and Ravenstar scented a rabbit and guessed that’s what she was going for. He wasn’t quick enough to catch a rabbit, but he knew Hollyfur was light enough to chase one. She hopped over a bush and took off after a young rabbit. Both Ravenstar and Marble lost sight of her, but she appeared a few moments later with the rabbit hanging from her jaws.
“Good catch!” Ravenstar complimented. Hollyfur sat the prey down and began to kick dirt over it like she had the vole.
“Thank you, Starclan, for this prey.” Hollyfur said softly as she buried the small fresh-kill. Marble stared at Hollyfur as she did this, her head cocked to one side in confusion. Ravenstar suppressed a mrrow of laughter at Marble’s reaction; he supposed clan cats had some weird sayings too, but theirs made sense. It was tradition to thank their warrior ancestors for the prey that kept them fed.
After Marble finally got a vole, they decided to head back to Windclan camp. Marble stayed behind the warriors, looking around cautiously.
Not many Windclan warriors noticed Marble as she padded over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped her vole on it. Ravenstar guessed she was a semi-regular in the camp. After she dropped off her vole, Marble headed over to the medicine cat den and disappeared into it. Ravenstar and Hollyfur dropped off their extra voles, and Ravenstar took one of the voles into the medicine cat den and left it for the now sleeping Snowcloud.
Ravenstar was padding towards Featherstar and Flowerfur to speak with them until a wave of exhaustion hit him and sent him staggering. Hazelbounce looked up from her kits and rushed over to support him, Tallfoot following her.
“Ravenstar, you need to rest!” Hazelbounce told him as he lowered to sit down. “You’ve been up since Bluepelt announced the fire, and you’ve been taking care of us. Go rest, if we need you we’ll come get you.” She promised.
Ravenstar sighed. He was still young for Starclan’s sake! Why was he so tired? He felt as tired as he did after his 9 lives ceremony a few seasons ago. He let Tallfoot lead him to a nest near the middle of the log, the warmest spot.
“Wait,” Ravenstar stopped. “Let another cat use that nest, someone who needs it.” He protested. Tallfoot rolled his eyes and nudged him along.
“Come on, Ravenstar, everyone else is already sleeping or sleeping outside with their loved ones. Just accept the nest for Starclan’s sake.” Tallfoot told him. Ravenstar twitched his tail at Tallfoot’s tone, but relented and slipped past the sleeping cats to lay down in the soft moss nest.
Ravenstar yawned, and closed his eyes as he rested his head on the corner of the nest. It was comfortable; it seemed even more comfortable than his usual nest atop the Highledge. He still smelled the fire, although the smell wasn’t as thick as it was earlier. He was thankful it hadn’t threatened Windclan camp yet, and he made a mental note to check on Skyclan when he woke up. He let out one more yawn before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 3, 2024 22:00:43 GMT -5
CHAPTER 6 Ravenstar woke up to the sun shining down on him from a hole in the large log. He groaned as he sat up and stretched, then licked his paw to clean the back of his ear where he felt some fur up. He looked around at the other nests to gauge how long he had been asleep. The only cats left in the log, besides him, were the apprentices and Tallfoot.
He padded out of the log and shook his black pelt, then looked around for either Featherstar or Sorrelheart. He needed to speak to both of them before he left for a mission to Skyclan camp, so when he spotted Featherstar not far away talking to Flowerfur, he walked over to them.
“Greetings, Featherstar, Flowerfur.” Ravenstar greeted with a polite bow of his head. Featherstar and Flowerfur both returned his head bow.
“Hi, Ravenstar. Did you sleep well?” Featherstar asked. Ravenstar nodded.
“I did, I slept very well in fact. I want to thank you again for your hospitality. But I came to speak with you to let you know I will be leaving Windclan temporarily to go and check on both Thunderclan and Skyclan camps. The fire might have threatened Skyclan and I’d like to check on their wellbeing.”
“Very well.” Featherstar nodded. “You have Starclan’s blessing for a safe trip.”
“Will you be taking someone with you?” Flowerfur asked. “You might want to, just in case you need backup.” She dipped her head respectfully to Ravenstar.
“You’re right, Flowerfur. I’ll take a clanmate with me.” Ravenstar nodded and turned away to pad over to Sorrelheart. As he walked over to where she lay with Yellownose and Swiftclaw, he thought about which cat he’d take with him. Hollyfur had gone with him before, so he wanted someone different.
“Sorrelheart,” Ravenstar called as he got closer. Sorrelheart poked her head up and looked at her leader. “I will be travelling to Skyclan camp to check on their wellbeing. I will be taking…” He swung his head around Windclan camp. “...Dawnnose with me.”
“Okay. I’ll have our cats help bring in prey for Windclan.” Sorrelheart meowed. “May Starclan light your path.”
Ravenstar nodded and meowed a quick goodbye before padding towards Dawnnose where he was dozing near Bluepelt.
“Dawnnose!” Ravenstar called to the gray and white cat. Dawnnose snapped his head up and stood up, stretching with a yawn. “We are taking a trip to Skyclan. I’d like to check on them and see how far the fire spread.”
“Yes, Ravenstar.” Dawnnose dipped his head. He meowed a goodbye to Bluepelt and padded over to Ravenstar.
Ravenstar led the way out of Windclan camp. He could still smell a stale smoke smell, and it got worse the closer they got to the Thunderclan border. The grass beneath his paws started to get dry and scratch his paw pads, so he and Dawnnose moved closer to the lake, getting their paws wet but walking over smooth rocks instead. Dawnnose stayed back behind Ravenstar, watching for other cats nervously, while Ravenstar padded ahead with his head held high.
“How long would it take for this grass to all grow back?” Dawnnose asked cautiously, looking out on the now Thunderclan land as the grass grew scorched and black. Ravenstar flicked his ear.
“I have no idea. I’m older than you, but I’m not old enough to remember our last fire. You might want to ask Stealthbreeze or Birch.” Ravenstar said. “With enough rain, though, I’m sure it won’t take too long.”
“I hope so.” Dawnnose said. “This all just looks wrong. And the grass looks like it’ll cut our pawpads.”
Ravenstar nodded to the younger warrior, and they padded along the lake for a while until they came to the brambles that surrounded the entrance to the former Thunderclan camp. The brambles and thorns were charred and thinned out by the fire, but some of the branches and thin trunks remained to let Ravenstar and Dawnnose know they had made it.
Dawnnose whined softly as they padded into the burnt camp, and Ravenstar held his black tail out to stop Dawnnose from pulling ahead. They stopped just beyond the entrance and stared in shock at what remained of their camp. All of the dens were burnt away, and even the large tree that had been in the camp since Firestar’s reign was burnt and its size greatly reduced.
Dawnnose turned his head back to look at the destroyed thorn tunnel, then back to Ravenstar. Ravenstar steadied the younger tom with his tail, then padded a few steps ahead to survey the camp better. The stone walls that surrounded the camp seemed so much colder than usual, and Ravenstar fought back a desperate and hopeless feeling that stung in his chest and throat.
“Let me check the medicine cat den and see if any herbs survived.” Ravenstar told Dawnnose. “If you can, check the tree to make sure the fire has been completely put out.”
“Yes, Ravenstar.” Dawnnose nodded, scurrying over to the now not-so-large tree that separated the camp in halves. As Dawnnose inspected the tree, Ravenstar padded over to the medicine cat den and looked in.
The brambles and leaves surrounding the medicine cat den seemed the most intact of all of the dens in camp, which gave Ravenstar hope as he stepped in. He was relieved to see various herbs still stuck in the cracks of the stone wall, and he pulled out a piece of catmint to check on its condition. The catmint was slightly dry due to the intense heat of the fire, but wasn’t burnt at all. Ravenstar wasn’t trained on herbs, but he had a hopeful thought that Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud could still salvage the dry herbs for their clanmates.
Ravenstar sat in the hot den for a moment, flicking his tail as he thought about how much his clanmates' lives had changed in one night. He mourned for the cats they were the previous day, knowing that many of them would likely have terrible, traumatic memories of last night. He looked up at the sun as it shined down through the brambles, and prayed to Starclan.
“Thank you, warrior ancestors, for protecting our herb supply. Our camp may need rebuilding, but as long as our cats stay healthy we will survive. We are grateful for your protection, and we pray for many more seasons here in camp.” Ravenstar whispered. Then he turned around and squeezed through the brambles into the clearing.
Dawnnose was waiting for him in the middle of the camp, and the younger cat rose to his paws as his leader approached him.
“All of the fire has been extinguished from what I observed, Ravenstar.” Dawnnose reported. “It’s incredible how the fire broke apart the tree, it’s like half the size it was just yesterday.”
Ravenstar nodded in agreement, walking over to the tree and noticing how the trunk had a huge gash through it, like the fire had claws and ripped it in half. The inside and outside of the tree were both charred black, and it left black residue on Ravenstar’s paw pads as he brushed his paw against the charring.
Ravenstar backed up and turned his head to look at Dawnnose who stood hesitantly a few pawsteps behind him. Ravenstar flicked his tail towards the thorn tunnel.
“Come on, I think we’ve seen enough of this burned camp.” Ravenstar said, rubbing his paw in the dirt to get the black residue off. “Let’s check on Skyclan, and then we’ll hopefully return to Windclan camp before sundown.” Dawnnose nodded in agreement and they set off through the brambles of the thorn tunnel and up the steep incline out of the quarry of Thunderclan territory.
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 3, 2024 22:03:10 GMT -5
CHAPTER 7 As they came to the Skyclan border, Ravenstar noticed that the grass wasn’t as burnt here, and wondered if the fire had even been detected by Skyclan at all. Ravenstar opened his mouth to scent for Skyclan, and could tell they had very recently renewed their scent markers at this border. So a patrol wouldn’t be far off, perhaps the patrol had already scented him and Dawnnose at this point.
“What should we do now?” Dawnnose asked.
Ravenstar thought for a moment before responding. Should they proceed into another clan’s territory to find a cat to talk to, or should they wait and see if any cat approaches the border? He didn’t want to venture into Skyclan territory and meet a hostile patrol, but he couldn’t be certain if Skyclan even knew they were there. They could end up waiting until the evening patrol.
“Let’s proceed with caution.” Ravenstar finally decided. Dawnnose’s ears pricked up in shock. “We’ll venture slowly until we meet a patrol. If we do meet a patrol, appear submissive. We don’t want a battle, we’d be greatly outnumbered. This is a peace mission.”
“Yes, Ravenstar.” Dawnnose nodded. “I understand.”
With a hesitant pawstep, Ravenstar crossed the thin strip of Skyclan border and they continued their traveling. Dawnnose twitched his whiskers as the scent of Skyclan flooded his scent glands. Ravenstar twitched his ears as they continued, noticing a fresh Skyclan scent getting closer the more they walked.
Ravenstar barely scented the Skyclan patrol before they were face-to-face. The Skyclan warriors’ fur was pricked up and their hackles raised at the intruders. Dawnnose lowered slightly to the ground, but Ravenstar remained calm and collected towards the group of hostile warriors.
“Greetings, we come in peace.” Ravenstar told them.
“What business do you have in Skyclan territory?” One of the cats, who Ravenstar knew was named Shimmertail, hissed. Her long, plumy gray tail swished the grass.
“A fire has destroyed Thunderclan camp. We wanted to check on Skyclan’s wellbeing. Are you well?” Ravenstar asked, forcing his black fur down. He thought about his father, Darkheart, who was Thunderclan’s deputy when Ravenstar was a kit. How would he have handled being face-to-face and greatly outnumbered by a hostile enemy patrol?
The Skyclan cats looked at each other as their fur began to lie down on their shoulders. One of the younger cats, an apprentice Ravenstar guessed, stood up straight and looked over at another cat. Ravenstar guessed the apprentice wanted to speak, but chose to let their mentor do it instead.
“We are well.” Hollybrook, a dusty brown she-cat, finally spoke. “We smelled the fire, but no damage has come to Skyclan. Is Thunderclan safe?”
“Yes,” Ravenstar replied, remembering not to reveal any weaknesses to the patrol. “We are all safe, and we will rebuild. Thunderclan is strong.”
“Very well, we will let Mothstar know you all are well.” Shimmertail meowed. “She will be pleased to hear of no casualties. But you must leave Skyclan territory immediately, and we will be patrolling to make sure you don’t return.” She said with her small ears pinned back.
Ravenstar nodded and looked back at Dawnnose, who was beginning to relax but betrayed his calm exterior with his fear scent and pinned back ears. Ravenstar swept his tail to brush Dawnnose’s chest, and he turned his head briefly to get Dawnnose’s attention.
“Of course. We will leave now. Please send Mothstar and Skyclan our well regards.” Ravenstar said stiffly. “We know the way out.”
“May Starclan light your paths.” Shimmertail said as she swept her tail around, and the patrol turned their backs on the two Thunderclan cats.
“And yours as well.” Dawnnose meowed to her. Ravenstar and Dawnnose turned around and began to pad out of Skyclan territory. Dawnnose breathed an audible sigh of relief as he hopped over the border back into the scorched Thunderclan grass.
“It was a shame we didn’t get to speak directly to Mothstar.” Ravenstar commented. Dawnnose looked over at him. “Perhaps she’s unwell. We’ll see at the gathering in a few days.”
“What makes you think she’s unwell?” Dawnnose asked. Ravenstar twitched his ear.
“Think for a moment, Dawnnose. A hostile patrol says they will pass on the message rather than taking mysterious enemy cats to their leader for a proper interrogation in their camp. And they allowed us to leave freely without an escort. They were trying to avoid conflict just as we were.” Ravenstar told him.
Dawnnose nodded, and they continued on through the Thunderclan territory. They padded down to the lake and walked along the stones once the grass got too dry and sharp to walk on.
“How is Swiftclaw today?” Ravenstar asked smoothly. Dawnnose tilted his head, thinking.
“He seems to be fine. Bluepelt has spent more time with him today than I have. He still has a nasty cough, but Snowcloud said that’s his lungs trying to clean themselves of the smoke.”
“Good, if he’s coughing then his energy levels are fine. I’m sure he’ll make a full recovery, just as every Thunderclan cat will.” Ravenstar meowed. He looked over at the sun and saw it high in the sky, and he guessed most cats would be woken up and ready to hunt at this point.
Dawnnose lowered his head and pressed his thin tail to Ravenstar’s back. Ravenstar looked over at him in confusion, but Dawnnose pointed with his nose to a squirrel off at the base of a tree. Ravenstar understood instantly, Dawnnose was wanting to make a catch. He backed off as Dawnnose slinked forward, his pawsteps barely making any noise, even on the crinkly leaves.
Ravenstar watched as the younger cat got close to the squirrel, before making a great leap on top of the vermin. The squirrel squealed and dug its front paws into the dirt, trying to escape, before Dawnnose dispatched it with a bite to the neck.
“Fantastic catch!” Ravenstar purred as Dawnnose padded back over with his prey in his mouth. Dawnnose sat the prey down briefly to mutter a thanks to Starclan, before picking it back up and padding alongside Ravenstar proudly.
After a while of walking, they made it to the Windclan border and crossed it effortlessly. The cool air buffeted their thin pelts and Dawnnose shivered. As they got closer to the Windclan camp, Ravenstar spotted Hollyfur and Birch in the distance looking down at the ground at something. He decided not to pad in their direction, figuring they’d resolve the issue themselves.
As the sun slowly began to lower, they entered Windclan camp and Ravenstar relieved Dawnnose of the mission. Dawnnose dipped his head respectfully and padded over to where Bluepelt and Swiftclaw were sharing tongues near the large log they slept in.
Sorrelheart met Ravenstar halfway through the camp, and she swished her tail happily.
“Sorrelheart, give me a report. How did things go?” Ravenstar asked. Sorrelheart nodded.
“No issues here. Every cat was instructed to catch prey for themselves, and then catch extra prey for those who can’t. As far as I saw, everyone has been fed. Hollyfur and Birch haven’t made it back from their hunting yet, but the medicine cats have even been fed for the night.” Sorrelheart said. “How did your mission go, Ravenstar?”
Ravenstar took a deep breath before answering her. “Thunderclan camp is charred and burnt.” Thunderclan cats began to swarm around him as he spoke. “Most dens are burnt, but thankfully our herb supply is intact, but dried by the intense heat. We will begin rebuilding the dens tomorrow.”
“And Skyclan?” Hazelbounce asked beside Tallfoot.
“Skyclan reported they are fine. No fire touched their territory.” Ravenstar reported.
“You said the herbs were intact?” Stealthbreeze asked, welcoming Snowcloud into the group with a wave of her tail. “What do you mean by dried?”
“We checked your herb supply and they didn’t look to be burnt. The medicine cat den was the most intact den. We pulled out some catmint and it was dry, but I think you could still use it in a pinch.”
Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud looked at each other and nodded. “We’ll check the herbs tomorrow when we return to camp.” Snowcloud meowed.
Ravenstar nodded to them and dismissed the crowd of Thunderclan cats. He noticed Flowerfur approaching Sorrelheart and speaking in a low voice. Sorrelheart responded in the same manner, before separating and going different ways. Ravenstar strained to hear what they had said but didn’t have any success.
“Good evening, Ravenstar.” Featherstar meowed as he padded over. In the cooler air, Featherstar’s limbs were surely stiff. Ravenstar could only imagine how old Featherstar was, since he was leader when Stealthbreeze was an apprentice and she was thinking of retirement. It almost gave Ravenstar hope that he could lead his own clan through that many seasons as well, since Ravenstar became leader very young due to Froststar having so many deputies in the past.
“Hello, Featherstar. I assume you heard my report of Thunderclan camp?” Ravenstar asked with a respectful dip of his head. Featherstar nodded.
“Yes. I will permit you to stay here in Windclan camp for the night, but tomorrow I need you to go back to your camp and begin rebuilding. Clans should remain separate.” Featherstar said with a sigh. Ravenstar could tell Featherstar was dreading this conversation.
“Of course, we will be out of Windclan territory once everyone has eaten for the morning tomorrow.” Ravenstar agreed. “We all greatly appreciate your hospitality throughout this ordeal, and we will not overstay our welcome.”
Featherstar purred and dipped his head to the young Thunderclan leader before turning and walking towards Stealthbreeze. Stealthbreeze meowed a happy greeting and the two friends sat down to talk.
Sorrelheart padded over to Ravenstar and stood beside him, looking out at the Thunderclan cats conversing with some Windclan cats. She raised a hind leg to scratch at her flank unsuccessfully, then shook her pelt.
“I’m guessing Featherstar told us to get out of Windclan?” Sorrelheart asked with a joking tone. Ravenstar let out a “pfft” of laughter and nodded.
“That was the gist of it. We have to return to our territory tomorrow. I told him we would leave once everyone had eaten for the morning.” Ravenstar flicked his ear as a bug buzzed near it. Sorrelheart got on her hind paws and swatted at the bug, catching it with her claws and squishing it into the ground.
“That’s fair.” She responded, dropping down to all fours again. “Windclan has been very hospitable to us, we don’t want to overstay our welcome.”
“That’s exactly what I told Featherstar.” Ravenstar meowed.
He and Sorrelheart watched as Hollyfur and Birch finally padded into the Windclan camp, their mouths prey-empty but Hollyfur was dragging a large piece of moss behind her. All of the apprentices, Thunderclan and Windclan, crowded around her.
“Woah, that’s the biggest piece of moss I’ve ever seen!” Palepaw exclaimed. “Where did you find it?”
“The trees near the border.” Hollyfur answered simply. Birch touched her shoulder with his tail tip.
“We wanted to thank you all for your help, so when we stumbled across this moss we thought you Windclan apprentices could use some for your nests.” Birch said warmly, his old voice cracking slightly. “Be sure to share!” He told Badgerpaw and Palepaw as they scrambled over to grab the moss.
Ravenstar smiled warmly as the two Windclan apprentices dragged the huge piece of moss towards the apprentice den. He turned to the Thunderclan apprentices and saw Marigoldpaw on her hind paws, stretching her front paws apart to try and measure how large the moss was. Her brother Heronpaw was laughing at her as she wobbled on unsteady legs, while their sister Cocoapaw watched with an amused flick of her brown tail.
Cocoapaw stood up and walked over to Birch as he conversed with the Thunderclan apprentices, and she pressed herself against his flank affectionately. Ravenstar knew that Brownie’s three kits saw Birch as a father figure, since he and Brownie had been very close. Even though he wasn’t their real father, he saw by Birch’s warm expression that they were HIS kits.
Ravenstar let out a yawn and looked around at his clanmates. Some were eating in pairs or small groups, others were also yawning and curling up for sleep. Ravenstar looked up and saw the moon begin to rise; he stared in shock at the reality that he had spent all day traveling with Dawnnose. Did they spend more time in Thunderclan camp than he thought?
Stealthbreeze padded over to Ravenstar and wrapped herself around him, her fluffy silver and white tail tickling his chest as she wound around him. She then sat beside him and placed her paw over his gently.
“Go get some rest.” She said just above a whisper. “The clan will be fine. Sorrelheart will be awake for a little while longer.”
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 11, 2024 13:53:12 GMT -5
CHAPTER 8 Ravenstar shook his head, both in refusal to her offer and to try and clear the tiredness from his mind. His eyes almost hurt from the strain of staying awake, but he didn’t want to retire to his makeshift nest just yet.
Stealthbreeze watched with concern in her green eyes, but she stayed silent as Ravenstar fought sleep. Her ear twitched as she heard Snowcloud call for her from the medicine cat den, and Ravenstar saw her fight the urge to jump up and rush over.
“I’ll be fine, go help Snowcloud.” Ravenstar meowed.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Stealthbreeze said, rising to her paws. “I’ll join you again soon and we’ll share prey.” She quickly padded away and her gray and white pelt disappeared into the den. He saw Snowcloud’s fluffy white tail swish the brambles covering the entrance as she turned around.
Ravenstar yawned again and readjusted his aching paws. He looked up at Silverpelt and imagined his warrior ancestors looking down on him. He hoped his parents, Rainstream and Darkheart, were watching over him. The former deputy, Brambleblaze, found Ravenstar as a kit on the Thunderpath and saved his life. Rainstream and Darkheart took him in and raised him as their own, and he couldn’t be more appreciative of their love. Even though Darkheart died before Ravenstar became an apprentice, he still knew deep in his heart that his father loved him.
Thunderclan had lost Rainstream about a season ago, and the wound was still fresh like deep claws piercing his chest. Rainstream, despite being a tom, raised Ravenstar in the nursery and kept a close eye on him as he grew up and became a warrior, deputy, and then eventually clan leader. Ravenstar was grateful that Rainstream had been alive long enough to see Ravenstar become leader of Thunderclan, but he still missed the fluffy black warrior dearly. Rainstream had been sick for about a moon before his death, a chest infection that Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud couldn’t treat. Ravenstar knew they tried their best, but when catmint didn’t even work, he knew Rainstream wasn’t going to get better.
It pained Ravenstar just to think about how heartbreaking it was for Stealthbreeze to watch Rainstream, her youngest kit, die. Stealthbreeze was a hardworking medicine cat and loved her clan, but even she had to take time off to grieve after Rainstream joined Starclan. Ravenstar had supported her as much as he could, but there wasn’t much anyone could do for the broken heart of a mother. He was thankful that she still had one kit, Yellownose, still in Thunderclan.
Rainstream used to ask Ravenstar a lot about his foster father, Darkheart, who was the first deputy of Thunderclan under Froststar’s reign. Darkheart had died in a rogue badger attack before Ravenstar had become an apprentice. Ravenstar wasn’t old, but he was only a few moons old when his father died so his memories were hazy. But he knew Darkheart was an honorable deputy, friend, and father. Ravenstar was his only kit, and not even by blood. Brambleblaze, the Thunderclan deputy after Darkheart, had saved Ravenstar from being hit by a Monster on an old dirty Thunderpath. Rainstream and Darkheart adopted him since they had wanted a kit, but couldn’t have one since they were both toms.
Ravenstar knew Darkheart loved him as his own, and he wished so desperately he had been old enough to stop his father from going on the patrol to chase away the badgers that took Darkheart’s life. He could never forget the shrieks and shrill crying from Rainstream when Darkheart’s body was transported back to Thunderclan for their final goodbye. Ravenstar’s foster mother was never the same after Darkheart’s death, and it took a few months after Ravenstar became an apprentice for Rainstream to return to his warrior duties.
Ravenstar had never been as close to Rainstream’s siblings; Rosecloud, Badgerheart, and Yellownose, as he had been with Rainstream. Sure, his uncles visited and played with him even into his apprentice moons, but they were still somewhat distant. Rosecloud left behind her kits, Snowcloud and Brambleblaze, when she died of greencough when they were apprentices. Rainstream never got to meet her in life, but she gave him a life for a mother’s love when he received his 9 lives as Thunderclan’s leader. Badgerheart passed away when Ravenstar was an apprentice, from an infection that Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud couldn’t control. It had been gruesome, seeing the pus and feeling heat from the infection that stretched across Badgerheart’s belly after a terrible fight with Skyclan.
But Yellownose was a bit different- since he was still alive he and Ravenstar had more time to bond and talk. They supported each other when Rainstream died, and Ravenstar told himself mentally again to suggest the elders den for Yellownose. He was already sending Yellownose on less and less border patrols because of the senior warrior’s stiff limbs, but they never had an elders ceremony for the cream-colored tom. He knew Yellownose would protest, but Ravenstar would have to remind him that becoming an elder was a respected position within the clan. It meant you had survived countless battles, and fed and protected your clanmates for many many moons. Elders were one of the most respected cats in any clan, perhaps even more so than the leader due to their knowledge and experience.
Ravenstar saw Snowcloud pad out of the medicine cat den, her tail low and her movements slow. She padded over to a bramble bush in Windclan camp and bowed her head. Ravenstar knew she must still be mourning her brother, Brambleblaze, even though he died many seasons ago. Brambleblaze was Ravenstar’s mentor, and he was still proud of the previous Thunderclan deputy’s skills and perseverance. Brambleblaze had been mauled by a badger during his warrior assessment and lost a lot of motion and stability in his hind legs as well as losing half an ear. His grandmother, Stealthbreeze, helped him strengthen his wounded legs and taught him to be a warrior again. He received his warrior name from Froststar and became deputy of Thunderclan after Darkheart’s death.
He knew Snowcloud took Brambleblaze’s death hard- they were as close as siblings could be. During the warmer seasons of Newleaf and Greenleaf, Brambleblaze would catch Snowcloud’s food for her since her pure white pelt stood out to prey. Brambleblaze lost half of his tail saving Ravenstar’s life, it being run over by a Monster. But the Thunderclan deputy was one of the strongest cats Ravenstar had ever met despite his disabilities. Ravenstar missed Brambleblaze dearly; he had been a terrific mentor and trusted friend as Ravenstar got older.
He turned his attention away from Snowcloud for her privacy and watched Cocoapaw and Heronpaw play-fighting together while their sibling Marigoldpaw watched with amusement. For such a timid cat, Cocoapaw knew her battle moves and executed them perfectly, pinning Heronpaw under her. Ravenstar realized they were almost old enough to become warriors since they had been training under their mentors for nearly 6 moons. When they rebuilt camp, he would have them assessed to see if they were ready to receive their warrior names.
While it was fresh on his mind, Ravenstar rounded up the apprentices’ mentors: Bluepelt for Marigoldpaw, Sorrelheart for Heronpaw, and Tallfoot for Cocoapaw. The three senior warriors dipped their heads to Ravenstar respectfully as he called them over.
“How are your apprentice’s doing?” Ravenstar asked, trying not to give his interest in assessing the apprentices obvious. “Do you think they’d be ready for their warrior assessments once camp is rebuilt?”
All three senior warriors traded glances, and Tallfoot flicked his black and white tail. None of them spoke for a moment while they were in thought, until Bluepelt answered.
“I think Marigoldpaw would be ready for a warrior assessment. She’s been a patient learner, and her hunting skills are excellent. She might not be the best fighter, but I think she’s an asset to Thunderclan.” Bluepelt said. He turned his head to the other cats. “What about you guys?”
“I’m not too sure about Heronpaw,” Sorrelheart admitted. “He tends to hesitate and freeze in stressful or dangerous situations, which could be dangerous for him in battle or ambush. But like Bluepelt said about his apprentice, Heronpaw is an amazing hunter and he is always up for a dawn patrol. But he needs to work on not hesitating.”
Ravenstar nodded. He would assess Heronpaw anyways, so the brown apprentice wouldn’t be left out. He had never seen the hesitation Sorrelheart was talking about, so he hoped he would see it during Heronpaw’s warrior assessment.
“Cocoapaw needs a lot of courage.” Tallfoot started. Ravenstar remembered that Tallfoot had a sharp tongue but cared deeply for his little apprentice. “She doesn’t hesitate, but she’s not the best hunter due to her tendency to overthink. But as you can see with her siblings, she’s a fantastic fighter. I think she’d be an asset to Thunderclan as a warrior.”
“Great, thank you.” Ravenstar nodded. “Once we rebuild the camp, I’d like to give them a warrior assessment and see if they’re ready. Best case scenario: we gain 3 new warriors in the next moon.”
All three cats agreed with him, and with a flick of his tail he dismissed them and turned back to continue to watch the apprentices. He saw Cocoapaw looking over at him while Heronpaw and Marigoldpaw scuffled, and she scurried over to the Thunderclan leader with her tail down.
“I heard you ask about me.” She meowed. “I know I’m not the best hunter but I really do my best for the clan.” She looked ready to cry. Ravenstar placed his tail on her shoulder comfortingly.
“Hunting is an important part of being a warrior, but it’s not everything. You’re an amazing fighter; you’re a cat I’d like to someday lead a battle patrol. Perhaps when we get camp rebuilt you can try a warrior assessment.”
“What was your warrior name, Ravenstar?” She asked, perking up a bit. He turned his ear towards Tallfoot who scolded Cocoapaw from beside Yellownose.
“My name was Raventail.” Ravenstar purred. “A warrior name is something to be proud of. You’ll feel that pride soon hopefully.”
“Ok.” Cocoapaw nodded. “Please don’t give me a bad name, Ravenstar. My name is weird enough as it is, I want my name to be good.” She unsheathed a few claws on a paw to rake at the grass.
Ravenstar purred in amusement. He worried about the same thing when he was an apprentice, he begged Froststar to give him an “authentic warrior name” to make his parents proud. Choosing a warrior name for his clanmates was one of the harder parts of being leader, he had to admit.
“Very well, I will name you according to your skill and value as a warrior.” He nodded. “Now, why don’t you stop worrying and tell your siblings to say goodbye to the friends they made before bed. We will be leaving for Thunderclan camp first thing in the morning.”
Cocoapaw nodded and padded off to her siblings. Ravenstar yawned, and watched as Snowcloud headed over towards him.
“Didn’t grandmother tell you to go rest?” Snowcloud teased, her blue eyes sparkling. Her ears were angled out to listen to conversations in Windclan camp. Snowcloud had hearing issues, Birch told Ravenstar once that a lot of white cats do. To hear someone around her, she has to physically angle her ears towards them or she won’t hear it.
“Yes, boss.” Ravenstar teased back. “I’m going, I’m going.” He hauled himself to his paws and padded to the tree trunk, curling up in his makeshift nest and closing his eyes.
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Post by Cherrystream on Feb 11, 2024 13:53:45 GMT -5
CHAPTER 9 The next morning, Ravenstar got up before most of his clanmates and padded out of the tree trunk. He squinted his eyes as the sun shined in them, and saw Featherstar and Flowerfur already seemed to be expecting him.
“As agreed, you must leave Windclan camp this morning.” Featherstar said. Despite his old age, he sat strong like a cat many seasons his junior. Flowerfur nodded in agreement with her leader.
“Yes, Featherstar. I will wake my clanmates and we will leave.” Ravenstar meowed. “Again, we appreciate your hospitality.”
He and Sorrelheart rounded up the Thunderclan cats and they set off towards Thunderclan territory. Breezeheart and Tangletail of Windclan accompanied them to the border. Hazelbounce and Tallfoot’s kits, Graykit and Feather, swung from Ravenstar’s back as he helped carry them along. They were almost too big to be on his back, and he felt his legs aching from their extra weight. They’d need to be apprenticed around the same time of the trio apprentice’s warrior assessments.
As they reached Thunderclan camp, Birch rushed over to the ancient tree that laid in the middle of camp and let out a sigh. Hollyfur licked his neck comfortingly.
“This isn’t as bad as I expected.” Stealthbreeze commented. “At least the medicine cat den is mostly unscathed. We can rebuild quickly as long as everyone contributes.”
“And contribute they will.” Ravenstar agreed. He climbed up onto the Highledge and called every cat to his attention. “Let every cat old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting.”
Ravenstar watched Graykit and Featherkit sitting excitedly beside their mother. Usually kits were not invited to clan meetings since they cannot catch their own prey yet, but today would be an exception and they knew it.
“Clanmates, we have a long journey of recovery ahead of us. But we are strong, and we will not be beaten by a fire. I have decided that every cat will have a duty in repairing camp. Thus, no cat will eat until their daily chore is done until camp is rebuilt. Elders and kits, of course, will be excluded from this although we wish for their participation in rebuilding as well.”
The clan seemed to be in agreement to this, although Heronpaw groaned when he heard that he couldn’t eat without contributing for the day. Ravenstar knew Heronpaw had a huge appetite. He looked down at the clan, but before he could leap down and end the meeting, Yellownose stepped forward with his ears arched back.
“Ravenstar, I would like to retire to the elders' den.” Yellownose said. “I’m getting too old for warrior adventures, I need my rest.”
Birch padded up beside him.
“I would like to retire as well. My sight and hearing aren’t the best anymore; I think I can best help my clan by teaching the next generation.”
Ravenstar was taken aback for a few moments. He had meant to discuss this with the two senior warriors, but he didn’t expect them to be so willing to retire. Ravenstar recovered quickly and nodded, leaping down from the Highledge to stand in front of the two toms.
“I respect and honor your decision to retire. Yellownose,” He looked over at the cream-colored tom. “You came to Thunderclan from Shadowclan as an apprentice, but you are Thunderclan through-and-through. I know how dearly you miss Rainstream, Rosecloud, and Badgerheart.
“Is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?” Ravenstar asked, remembering the ceremony tradition. Yellownose nodded.
“It is.” He answered confidently.
“Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest.” Ravenstar rested his head atop Yellownose’s respectfully.
The clan stayed silent as Yellownose padded backwards, and Ravenstar turned to Birch.
“Birch, you were born and raised a kittypet but joined and excelled here in Thunderclan. We honor your contributions to Thunderclan as a senior warrior and your loyalty to your clanmates. Is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?” “It is.” Birch nodded.
“Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest.” Like with Yellownose, he rested his head atop Birch’s respectfully, then stepped back. He started the chant for the two new elders. “Yellownose! Birch! Yellownose Birch!”
“Yellownose! Birch! Yellownose! Birch!” The rest of the clan joined in after their leader. Both elders looked proud as their names were called, and Ravenstar let them bask in the glory for a bit before addressing the whole clan.
“Does anyone have anything they’d like to add?” He asked. Cats shook their heads no to him. “Very well then. This meeting is over.” He flicked his tail.
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Post by Cherrystream on Apr 11, 2024 16:37:30 GMT -5
CHAPTER 10 Over the next half-moon, Ravenstar helped his clanmates rebuild camp. They remade nests, planted brambles and saplings, and even was able finally haul the ancient tree out of camp. That was something Ravenstar never thought he would see in this lifetime; after all, it had been laying in camp for hundreds of moons according to stories passed down.
Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud returned one morning from their half-moon meeting at the Moonpool with good news for Graykit, Snowcloud’s prospective apprentice.
“Ravenstar, may we report?” Stealthbreeze asked excitedly. The normally stiff elder she-cat was nearly bouncing with excitement and pride for Snowcloud.
“Yes, please do.” Ravenstar said.
“I have spoken to an ancient medicine cat named Leafpool. She was a medicine cat during Firestar’s reign. She said Starclan will accept Graykit as my apprentice when he is 6 moons old.” Snowcloud meowed happily.
“That is fantastic news! And perfect timing as well, since they are of age now and camp is rebuilt. I will call a meeting now and make them apprentices.” Ravenstar told them.
He leaped up onto the Highledge and watched as the dawn patrol returned from their walk around part of Thunderclan territory. He asked himself who a good mentor for Featherkit would be, and made his decision as cats began to gather at the base of Highledge.
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting.” He watched for the kits to emerge from the nursery, but Tallfoot and Hazelbounce tried to keep them inside. “Hazelbounce, Tallfoot; let them come. This is for them.”
Hazelbounce looked shocked but nodded to her leader and beckoned her kits out. She tried to lick their fur down but they wiggled away from her. At 6 moons old they were almost the same size as their mother.
“Graykit and Featherkit have reached 6 moons of age, and it is now time for them to be apprenticed. Step forward, you two.” Ravenstar leaped down from the Highledge as the two kits padded forward. “From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Featherpaw. Your mentor will be…”
Ravenstar trailed off as he looked around the group of cats for his choice.
“Hollyfur. Hollyfur, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have shown yourself to be strong-willed and quick-witted. You will be the mentor of Featherpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her. You will make a great team.” Ravenstar said.
“Ravenstar, I’m honored.” Hollyfur said softer than usual, getting choked up. She padded over to Featherpaw and touched noses with her new apprentice. Featherpaw flicked her gray tail, then stood up and followed her new mentor to their spot in the group of cats.
Graykit watched his sister leave, then looked nervously up at Ravenstar. Ravenstar nodded to the small tom, trying to comfort him. Snowcloud purred softly and padded up in front of the cats.
“As you all know, I will not be around forever. So it is time I took on an apprentice. Graykit has shown patience and care for his clanmates, even at a young age. Starclan has approved of his apprenticeship to me, and I know he will do an excellent job.” She nodded to Ravenstar.
“Graykit, from this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Graypaw. Snowcloud is an extroverted and deeply passionate medicine cat, and I trust she will teach you everything she knows.” Ravenstar meowed.
Graypaw reached up and touched noses with Snowcloud, then pulled back and sneezed. Snowcloud purred to him and they padded back over to her spot beside Stealthbreeze. Ravenstar nodded to the new apprentices as the clan cheered for them both.
“Graypaw! Featherpaw! Graypaw! Featherpaw!” The clan cheered. Ravenstar ended the meeting soon afterwards, and he heard Featherpaw ask Hollyfur what they’d be doing today.
“Not very much.” Hollyfur answered. “Today’s your first day out of the nursery, so I don’t want to overwhelm you. Perhaps I’ll show you some hunting techniques? We’ll make a hunter out of you today!”
Featherpaw’s tail twitched in excitement, and after a quick morning meal they headed out of camp. Ravenstar saw Graypaw sitting with Snowcloud and Stealthbreeze. The small apprentice was trying to be involved in an herb conversation, but he didn’t know any herbs yet aside from ones all kits must learn about: catmint, poppy seeds, and honey are the main ones that all kits have to learn.
“I think we should replenish our stock of honey, but I don’t want to be the one to get it.” Stealthbreeze admitted. “Those bees sting!”
“I agree.” Snowcloud nodded. “You would think after all these moons we would have figured out an easier way to get it.”
Graypaw leaned forward to seem interested in the conversation, but Ravenstar could tell he wasn’t really following what the medicine cats were discussing. Ravenstar turned away and padded towards Bluepelt and Swiftclaw who were sharing tongues.
“Hi,” Ravenstar greeted as he walked over. “Care to join me on a hunting patrol?”
“I can,” Bluepelt said. “But Swiftclaw’s throat is bothering him today. Perhaps he could just go out on patrol later?”
Ravenstar looked over at Swiftclaw who was looking at the ground and flicking his tail. Ever since the fire, Swiftclaw had been having trouble with his chest and throat, likely from inhaling so much smoke. Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud tried their best to help with different herbs that Ravenstar couldn’t even name, but it did little to soothe his achy chest.
“Hmm, yeah that would work. I’ll let Sorrelheart know so she can put him on an evening patrol.” Ravenstar said. He turned his head to look for Sorrelheart and saw her dragging moss towards the elders den. He dipped his head to the two toms and padded over to her.
“Hi Ravenstar.” Sorrelheart said, dropping the moss from her jaws. “How are you?”
“Fine, fine. I came to request you put Swiftclaw on the evening patrol. His throat is bothering him today according to Bluepelt. I don’t know if he can speak right now.”
Sorrelheart’s ears perked up when he talked about Swiftclaw. Swiftclaw was Sorrelheart’s only kit, fathered by a rogue that traveled into clan territory occasionally. He had been a runt, born early, so naturally Sorrelheart fretted about him often.
“Of course, I’ll check on him before he heads out on patrol.” She lowered her head. “It’s tough, being torn between being a deputy and being a mother.”
Ravenstar laid his tail comfortingly on her shoulders. Ravenstar didn’t have any interest in a mate or kits, so there was only so much he could say to Sorrelheart about her son.
“I can only imagine. I just want you to know that I don’t expect you to put your duties over your family. Family comes first.” Ravenstar soothed. He saw Sorrelheart visibly relax.
“Thank you, Ravenstar. I appreciate it.” She meowed. “You know, you’re doing a great job as leader. No cat could ask for more. Your leadership is…different…from Froststar’s, but we all think you’re doing great.”
Sorrelheart had been close to Froststar, and Ravenstar knew for a while it was hard for her to accept his death. But Ravenstar had been leader for a few seasons, and Sorrelheart was a loyal deputy. He couldn’t have asked for a better first deputy after becoming leader.
“Thank you.” Ravenstar said simply. He pressed his nose to Sorrelheart’s ear, then looked down at the moss. “Do you need help with that?”
“This? Oh no, thank you. I’m just helping Yellownose and Birch get their nests together. It’s been a while since we’ve had elders, and after rebuilding the elders' den we didn’t have any cat makeshift nests.” Sorrelheart said. “Cats are living longer than ever before, it’s amazing how far we’ve come since the ancient cats.”
“I agree.” Ravenstar said. “I’d like to talk to Stealthbreeze soon about her retirement. Snowcloud has Graypaw to help her now, and I think Stealthbreeze deserves to rest. You know she’s the oldest cat in Thunderclan?”
Sorrelheart nodded. Stealthbreeze deserved her retirement; her son, Yellownose, was an elder now. She deserved rest.
Ravenstar said goodbye and padded back over to Bluepelt. Bluepelt was stretching beside Swiftclaw, and he shook his blue-gray pelt and looked over at Ravenstar.
“Who else should we bring with us?” Bluepelt asked.
“Let’s bring…” Ravenstar swung his head around camp. “Hazelbounce for sure. She must be excited to get back to warrior duties. I think a trio will be good for hunting today. We can stop by the training hollow and see how Featherpaw is doing with Hollyfur. I think Hazelbounce would like that.”
“Sure.” Bluepelt shrugged. “I’ll go get Hazelbounce, I think I saw her heading into the warrior dens.”
As Bluepelt padded away, Ravenstar turned to Swiftclaw who was trying to clear his scratchy throat.
“Thanks for giving him something to do.” Swiftclaw coughed. “He’s been driving me crazy with worrying about me.”
“He’s your mate; of course he’ll worry about you.” Ravenstar said, nudging Swiftclaw with a sheathed paw. “And I worry about you too. You’re not my apprentice anymore but you’re still important to me.”
“Thanks,” Swiftclaw purred. “I know I’ll get better; it’ll just take some more time.” He straightened his back, trying to look stronger. Ravenstar nodded.
“It’s no rush, we know you’re doing your best. Sorrelheart will check on you before you go on patrol. If you don’t feel up to it, tell her. Okay?” Ravenstar asked. Swiftclaw nodded to him. “Good. Then I’ll see you later.”
Bluepelt and Hazelbounce padded over to him, and with a quick nod they headed out of camp. Hazelbounce was stretching her legs as she walked, and Ravenstar knew she was grateful to leave camp for a bit without having to worry about her kits. He knew Hazelbounce loved her kits more than anything, but he remembered when she found out she was having them she wasn’t very enthusiastic. She always saw herself as a free spirit alongside her sister Hollyfur, and she told Ravenstar that she felt kits would trap her.
“I’m sorry.” Ravenstar was taken aback when Hazelbounce confessed that to him. “I wish I could say you could choose not to have them, but I think it’s too late.” He said. “Have you told Tallfoot how you feel?” This would be Tallfoot’s second litter; his first litter had been with the late Rosecloud and produced Snowcloud and Brambleblaze. Hazelbounce shook her head.
“I can’t break his heart like that. I’ll simply have the kits and raise them with love. They’ll grow up and move out of the nursery and then I can go on with my life.” She said.
Now, with her kits out of the nursery, Hazelbounce seemed to be in her element. Her ears were pricked for any sign of prey, and she padded softly over the crunchy leaves. She stayed at the back of the trio, and kept her mouth parted open for scents.
Ravenstar and Bluepelt both pricked their ears when they heard Hollyfur talking to their left. Ravenstar turned his head to them in that direction, and they set off to meet Hollyfur and Featherpaw.
Hollyfur and Featherpaw were just outside the training hollow, crouched low to the ground in a hunter's crouch. Ravenstar was impressed to see Featherpaw in a perfect hunter's crouch already; she seemed to be a natural.
“Sorry to bother you.” Ravenstar meowed. “We just wanted to see how Featherpaw is doing.”
“She’s doing well for a first day apprentice.” Hollyfur answered. “Check out her hunters crouch! She’ll be a fantastic hunter if she can keep it up.” She leaned down to whisper into Featherpaw’s ear. “Do your crouch for Ravenstar.”
Featherpaw instantly dropped into a crouch, pulling one paw out a bit further then looking at Ravenstar. Ravenstar was impressed; it was a nearly perfect crouch.
“Good job, Featherpaw. That’s a great crouch.” Ravenstar meowed. Bluepelt and Hazelbounce nodded.
“I’m so proud of you.” Hazelbounce padded forward to lick Featherpaw between her ears. She stepped back to give her daughter space.
After talking to Hollyfur a bit more, Ravenstar led his trio through the woods looking for prey. The forest was beginning to heal from the fire, although the stench of smoke still almost caused Ravenstar’s lip to curl. But at least the scorched grass didn’t scratch his paws anymore.
Bluepelt stopped and lifted his tail for the others to stop too. Ravenstar looked over at him, and Bluepelt angled his tail to show them a squirrel munching on an old acorn near a burnt tree. Ravenstar nodded and let Bluepelt and Hazelbounce take the lead.
Bluepelt whispered to Hazelbounce and she nodded and took off into the undergrowth to scare the squirrel towards Bluepelt, Ravenstar guessed. Bluepelt crouched down, and when Hazelbounce jumped out at the squirrel with a yowl, the squirrel ran right into Bluepelt’s paws.
Bluepelt dispatched the squirrel with a quick bite to the neck, and he sheathed his claws to avoid damaging the precious meat. He licked his lips and picked up the prey in his jaws.
“Thank you, Starclan, for this prey.” Hazelbounce meowed as she padded over to them, chest heaving. Her eyes were bright, and Ravenstar knew she had enjoyed her duty. Bluepelt tipped his head to her.
“Let’s bury this prey and see if we can find anything else.” Ravenstar said. Bluepelt kicked up some dirt and put the squirrel down a few tail-lengths away, covering it with leaves and moss to hopefully hide it from other predators.
After some more hunting, Ravenstar caught a vole and Hazelbounce padded back to camp with another squirrel. They dropped their catches into the fresh-kill pile, feeling proud of their hard work. Sorrelheart noticed them and walked over.
“Wow, great hunt then?” She meowed with a purr. Ravenstar nodded. “Good. Hazelbounce, Graypaw was asking for you. I think he’s having some new apprentice jitters.”
“Oh no, I was afraid of that.” Hazelbounce sighed. “Okay, where is he?” Sorrelheart turned her head to the medicine cat den.
“Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud have been keeping him busy today. I think he thinks he’s not going to be any good as a medicine cat. I could hear him wailing from the elders den.”
Hazelbounce headed over to the medicine cat den, and Bluepelt took off to lay with Swiftclaw. Sorrelheart turned to Ravenstar.
“Ravenstar, do you think Graypaw has what it takes to be a medicine cat? I’m worried about his anxiety.”
“Hmm.” Ravenstar hummed. “Maybe he’d feel better if he got some warrior training with the older apprentices. Maybe tomorrow I’ll assign him to Cocoapaw, she can likely help him with his jitters. She’s old enough to train without her mentor, and she had a similar problem as a new apprentice. I think she can help him. I’ll talk to her about it.”
Sorrelheart nodded. “Good, I think that’s a great idea. I think she’s taking a nap, but it’s about time she wakes up for a meal.”
Ravenstar padded over to the apprentice den and pushed away the ferns covering the entrance. Cocoapaw was sitting up in her nest stretching as he padded in.
“Hi Cocoapaw, I need to speak with you.” Ravenstar said.
“Oh no! Am I in trouble?” Cocoapaw asked. Ravenstar shook his head.
“No, it’s actually about Graypaw. He’s having some new apprentice jitters and I thought tomorrow you could take him out for some battle training? Maybe that will help him feel better. I know you had the same problem when you became an apprentice.”
“I did. Yeah, I guess I can take him to the training hollow tomorrow if Snowcloud doesn’t mind.” Cocoapaw shrugged.
Ravenstar thanked her and left the apprentice den. He knew soon he’d have to assess Cocoapaw, Heronpaw, and Marigoldpaw. They were about of age to become warriors. He had wanted to assess them today, but he wanted the attention to be on Thunderclan’s newest apprentices only.
Ravenstar walked into the clearing and looked around at his clanmates. It still didn’t seem real to him that he had such a responsibility to all of them; at times he wished he could just be a normal warrior again. But he’d never say that out loud- his clanmates depended on him and Sorrelheart to be strong leaders of the clan.
Hazelbounce left the medicine cat den and shook her head. Ravenstar padded over to her with a concerned look.
“Is he okay?” Ravenstar asked. Hazelbounce shrugged.
“Oh I don’t know. Snowcloud is trying to teach him and he just keeps saying he doesn’t think he can remember anything today. Could he just be excused from training today?” Hazelbounce asked. “I don’t think he’ll be any good to them today.”
“Yes, I’ll excuse him from training today I suppose.” Ravenstar said. “But he needs to realize that he’s going to either have to start his medicine cat training tomorrow or change to a warrior apprentice. He can’t just sit in camp being anxious all day.”
“I understand and agree with you, Ravenstar.” Hazelbounce said. “I’ll see if Tallfoot could talk to him. He always knows what to say, even if you don’t want to hear it.”
Ravenstar nodded as Hazelbounce excused herself and padded towards Tallfoot, who raised his tail in greeting to his mate. As he walked into the medicine cat den, he saw Hollyfur and Featherpaw returning from training, but he didn’t see if Featherpaw caught any prey.
“Graypaw,” He greeted as he walked in. The small apprentice whipped his head around to look at his leader. “You’re excused from training today. Go see your sister and see how her day went.”
“Okay,” Graypaw said. He dipped his head to his leader and scurried out of the den. Snowcloud shook her fluffy white pelt and let out a small grrr of frustration.
“I was getting nowhere with him today! I don’t understand, he seemed so excited to become an apprentice but he’s just too anxious to function.” Snowcloud said. Stealthbreeze put her paw on Snowcloud’s shoulder for support.
“Maybe he just needs some time to get used to being away from Hazelbounce. He might have separation anxiety. I think you did well to suggest talking to Featherpaw, Ravenstar.” Stealthbreeze murmured, turning her head to Ravenstar. Ravenstar nodded to her.
After a bit of talking, Ravenstar left the medicine cat den and leaped up to his den in Highledge. His nest was waiting for him, and he curled up to take a rest before evening patrols left. He knew Sorrelheart could handle things while he rested.
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Post by Cherrystream on Apr 11, 2024 16:38:28 GMT -5
CHAPTER 11 A few days later, Ravenstar found himself standing in front of the three older apprentices with their mentors. This would be his first time as leader overseeing warrior assessments. Birch sat not too far away, watching the apprentices as they fidgeted uncomfortably.
“You will be assessed on your hunting, battling, and stalking abilities by your mentor. You will not be allowed to speak with your mentor unless they speak to you first. Your mentor will assign you a task; complete this task and you will be made a warrior. Good luck to all of you, Starclan is watching over you.” Ravenstar backed up and let the mentors take over for the next part.
Birch came over before they left the camp and licked each of them between the ears for good luck, and whispered comfortingly to them.
“It took me two times to become a warrior, so don’t feel bad if you don’t make it. You are still an asset to Thunderclan, all of you.” Birch whispered. The apprentices nodded and headed out of camp. Their mentors waited a few moments then left after them.
Ravenstar decided to take the time to relax, and chose to go to the elders den and sit with his uncle Yellownose. He spotted Yellownose’s gray muzzle sniffing just out of the elders den, and he made his presence known with a yowl of greeting.
“Hi Ravenstar,” Yellownose said, his voice cracking with age. “Glad to see you. Are you going to sit with me?”
“If you don’t mind.” Ravenstar said. Yellownose padded the spot beside him and Ravenstar lowered himself down. “I’d like to hear a story about Froststar; I know he was your mentor.”
“Ah yes, Froststar’s reign was a good reign for Thunderclan.” Yellownose closed his eyes. “I remember when I sought refuge in Thunderclan after my dad was exiled from Shadowclan. Froststar listened to what happened and offered us a spot in Thunderclan. We were so grateful to him. And I still am. I know I was raised in Shadowclan but Thunderclan is my home. I miss Froststar.”
“I can imagine.” Ravenstar said softly. “How was he as a mentor?”
“Oh he was a great mentor. I enjoyed every day we trained together. He was a little rough while battling, but I know he had my best intentions at heart.” Yellownose answered. “I remember once I wrenched one of my claws and didn’t want to sit out of training for the day, so I didn’t tell anyone. Then while me and Froststar were training I caught it on moss and it hurt so bad I had to tell Froststar the truth. He excused me from training the next couple days because I had actually pulled the claw out of my paw. It hurt! Stealthbreeze had to pull it out the rest of the way, and Froststar stayed with me until it was done.”
“I see.” Ravenstar didn’t mention that Froststar had also killed the previous leader, Bravestar, in order to become leader himself. Froststar felt that being leader was his destiny, especially when Bravestar broke the warrior code for Froststar and made him deputy without an apprentice. He took advantage of Bravestar’s kindness and took each of his nine lives from him, then lied to all of his clanmates about Bravestar’s fate. The only cats to know the truth were Ravenstar and Stealthbreeze.
Stealthbreeze had told Ravenstar that she talked to Froststar after he joined Starclan, during a trip to the Moonpool at half-moon. She said that Froststar told her that he had a trial before he could join Starclan, due to his crime. Bravestar was the one to make the decision to let him into Starclan. Froststar said that he was allowed into Starclan because even though he took nine lives from Bravestar, he gave all nine of his lives in service to his clan. Froststar had lost his last life from greencough, refusing to take any catmint for himself so his clanmates would survive.
“I told him he only had one life left.” Stealthbreeze had told Ravenstar sadly. “But he responded that all of his clanmates only had one life too. He was right of course, but it didn’t make watching him slowly die any easier.”
Ravenstar had been with Stealthbreeze and Froststar when Froststar died. Stealthbreeze asked Ravenstar before Froststar’s last breath if he was ready to become leader, and Ravenstar denied being ready. But right after saying this, Froststar’s flank stopped rising, and his spirit left for Starclan. Stealthbreeze said she saw Froststar’s former mate, Badgerpaw, come to retrieve Froststar’s spirit and lead him to Starclan. Ravenstar hadn’t seen the same, but he knew medicine cats saw things that regular cats did not.
They had a ceremony to celebrate Froststar’s life after Ravenstar got his nine lives. He allowed anyone to speak about Froststar, and Yellownose had been the first one to speak.
“Froststar gave Rainstream and me refuge in Thunderclan when we were exiled out of Shadowclan. He was so generous to us, and even mentored me. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and friend. He gave each of his lives in service to his clanmates; he was the most unselfish cat I’ve ever met. We will never have another leader like Froststar, but I welcome Raventail-I mean, Ravenstar, as Froststar’s successor.” Yellownose had said solemnly, turning his head to look at Ravenstar.
Stealthbreeze and Snowcloud had decorated Froststar’s thin body with various herbs to keep him smelling and looking nice. After the ceremony, Ravenstar took the honor of burying him since they had no elders to do so. Rainstream and Yellownose helped him, and together they buried him away from camp, amongst the other former members of Thunderclan.
Ravenstar listened as Yellownose told him various stories about Thunderclan in the past. What Ravenstar was really interested in was when Yellownose started to talk about Darkheart, Ravenstar’s father.
“Darkheart was an amazing deputy. Did you know he was an apprentice when Froststar was born? But you couldn’t tell his age by looking at him, he was still as spry as a kit before he passed. Wait, I guess you could tell how old he was by the gray on his muzzle. Much like me now!” Yellownose let out a mrrow of laughter. “He and Rainstream were made for each other, I think. Sure, there was a big age gap but they didn’t court each other until Rainstream was a full warrior. They always wanted a kit of their own, but they didn’t think they’d ever have one. Rainstream told me he thought you were a gift from Starclan.”
Ravenstar loved hearing about his father. He didn’t remember his birth parents, he was too young when they got separated from him. He only knew Rainstream and Darkheart as his parents, but he knew a lot less about Darkheart than he did about Rainstream. Darkheart had died before he even became an apprentice.
“Darkheart was so proud of you, Ravenstar. The first gathering he went to after adopting you, he told everyone he had been blessed with a son. He was so excited to be a father; and if he hadn’t gone on that Starclan-cursed badger patrol he’d have been with us a lot longer. He wanted so desperately to see you grow up and become a strong warrior.” Yellownose looked up towards the sky. “Do you really think Starclan is watching over us?”
“Of course they are. I believe Starclan watches us all, even if they were separated from us in life. I know Darkheart is watching over me.” Ravenstar murmured. Yellownose let out a sniff.
“I guess in my old age I’m just wondering if there really is a higher power. I’m scared.” Yellownose said. “But I guess you would know, you’ve actually been and spoken to Starclan, right? That’s how you got your nine lives?”
“Yes, I’ve visited Starclan to get my lives. It’s a peaceful place where there’s no clan borders or rivalry.” Ravenstar comforted him. “You’ll get to see all your loved ones again, and the loved ones you leave behind will join you someday. It’s nothing to be scared of, but I understand being scared. I was scared too before I got my nine lives.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Yellownose said. “I just worry that death will be painful.”
“Oh I don’t know about that. I’m sorry.” Ravenstar said. “I wish I could assure you it isn’t, but I haven’t lost any lives yet. But I would think it’s a peaceful experience to slip away into an eternal rest.”
“Can you tell me anything about your nine lives ceremony? If you saw any of my family?” Yellownose asked.
Ravenstar knew he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about his leader ceremony. It was a sacred ceremony only revealed to leaders and their medicine cats. He knew Stealthbreeze would probably claw his ears if she found out he revealed his ceremony, but he also knew it would comfort Yellownose.
“Yes, I can tell you. I saw your brother, Badgerheart. He gave me a life for love of family.” Ravenstar said softly. He saw Yellownose choke up, trying not to cry at the thought of his brother giving familial love as a gift.
“I miss him a lot. Badgerheart was the only one who could cheer me up sometimes.” Yellownose sniffed. Ravenstar wrapped his tail around Yellownose’s shoulders.
“He seemed like a great cat. I saw your other brother Thornkit, has Stealthbreeze ever talked about him?” Ravenstar asked, hoping he wasn’t overstepping a boundary. Yellownose nodded.
“Yes, he was my brother that was born sleeping. I had a sister too, her name is Silverkit. She was born sleeping too.” Yellownose explained. “Go on, Ravenstar. I’m sorry I interrupted.”
“You didn’t interrupt. I saw your grandmother, Lostfrost. She gave me a life of compassion. Bravestar gave me a life for justice.” Ravenstar continued. “I met Firestar, the ancient leader of Thunderclan. He was just as powerful as the stories say, you know.”
“My Shadowclan mom used to tell me I was just as heroic as Firestar, but I always knew that wasn’t true.” Yellownose laughed. “Did Darkheart appear to you?”
“He did. Did you know I’m taller than he was? He gave me the strength of Tigerclan.” Ravenstar said.
“Ah, that’s nice. You were your father’s pride and joy, Ravenstar.” Yellownose said. Before Ravenstar could respond, Yellownose lifted his nose into the air. “I smell the apprentices! They must be done with their assessment.”
“Oh,” Ravenstar was disappointed to end the conversation, but he knew he had a responsibility to the apprentices. He said goodbye to Yellownose and padded over as the mentors, Sorrelheart, Tallfoot, and Bluepelt; padded into camp ahead of their apprentices.
Soon enough, the apprentices strolled into camp, their tails held high in the air. Ravenstar knew that they must have passed their assessments. But he still had to talk to their mentors. He walked over to the three warriors.
“So? What do you have to report?” Ravenstar asked.
“Cocoapaw passed with flying colors.” Tallfoot praised, glancing over at the small she-cat.
“Heronpaw did well. Not perfect, but well enough.” Sorrelheart said.
“Marigoldpaw did her best, and I think her best was enough.” Bluepelt told him.
“Very well. Do they all deserve to become warriors?” Ravenstar asked to clarify. All three mentors nodded. “I’ll call a meeting.”
He leaped up to the Highledge and called out to the cats. The clan began to gather under him as he spoke the ancient words passed down from leader to leader.
“Heronpaw, Marigoldpaw, and Cocoapaw have all passed their final assessment, and it is time for them to become full warriors of Thunderclan.” Ravenstar’s voice rang out through camp. “Come forward, you three.”
Ravenstar leaped down from Highledge as the three cats stepped forward nervously. Ravenstar paused for a second to look down at them, then continued.
“Heronpaw, step forward please.” Ravenstar beckoned. Heronpaw stepped forward. “I, Ravenstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn.”
Cocoapaw wiggled with excitement.
“Heronpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” Ravenstar asked, hoping the apprentice would understand the serious oath he was taking. Heronpaw nodded.
“I do.” He answered. Ravenstar nodded.
“Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Heronpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Heronriver. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan.” He held his tail up to silence the clan until after the ceremony, when they could then cheer the names of the new warriors.
Heronriver licked Ravenstar’s shoulder and stepped back to join the group of cats. Ravenstar turned to Marigoldpaw next.
“Marigoldpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” Ravenstar asked.
“I do!” Marigoldpaw said excitedly.
“Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Marigoldpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Marigoldspring. StarClan honors your compassion and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan.” He rested his head on Marigoldspring’s head, and she licked his shoulder like Heronriver did.
After a brief pause, he finally turned to Cocoapaw.
“Cocoapaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” Ravenstar asked seriously. Cocoapaw nodded.
“I do.” She meowed.
“Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Cocoapaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cocoablossom. StarClan honors your patience and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan!” She licked his shoulder as he rested his head on hers.
Finally, once all three cats had their new names, Ravenstar started to call out their names.
“Heronriver! Marigoldspring! Cocoablossom!” He called out, raising his head to Starclan so their mother, Brownie, could even hear.
“Heronriver! Marigoldspring! Cocoablossom!” The cats of the clan collectively cheered. Birch was, by far, the loudest of them all. He had considered himself their father, and raised them the best he could after they lost their mother.
Ravenstar called off the meeting after the ceremony was over, and the cats dispersed to do their duties for the day. The new warriors stayed near Ravenstar, unsure of what to do now. Ravenstar purred.
“It might be a good idea for you three to rest, because tonight you will be sitting vigil while the rest of us sleep!” Ravenstar said lightheartedly. Cocoablossom nodded.
“Can we talk to each other during the vigil?” She asked. Ravenstar shook his head.
“No, talking is forbidden during vigil. I call it a ‘silent vigil’ for that reason. The only time you may speak is to call out to an intruder, or to call for help.” He said. “If for any reason you need help, you can get me or Sorrelheart.”
The new warriors nodded and headed towards the warriors den. Ravenstar saw them hesitate at the entrance, and he knew it was because they didn’t have dens made yet.
“Maybe we should sleep in the apprentice den until we make nests?” Heronriver said to his littermates.
“Nonsense,” Hazelbounce said, padding over to them with Hollyfur and Birch behind her. She swished her tail lightly across the dirt on the ground. “We made some nests near the back of the den just for an occasion like this. You’re welcome to them.”
“Oh Starclan, thank you Hazelbounce.” Marigoldspring sighed. “And you too, Hollyfur and Birch. That’s so thoughtful.”
“We knew you’d become warriors soon.” Birch meowed with a low purr. “We’re clanmates, we have to take care of each other.” Hollyfur nodded beside him.
Sorrelheart padded over beside Ravenstar and watched as the apprentices disappeared into the warriors den. She placed her tail tip on Ravenstar’s back briefly, then turned her head towards the exit of the camp.
“No kits in the clan anymore,” she meowed. “Are we in danger?”
Ravenstar thought for a moment. It was true, they had no queens or kits in the clan since Graypaw and Featherpaw were apprentices and Hazelbounce had been so eager to return to warrior duties. It was unusual for a clan to not have any queens expecting or nursing kits, especially this time of year when the leaves were beginning to return to the trees and prey was running better and better each day.
“Perhaps you’d like another litter?” Ravenstar asked, nudging Sorrelheart playfully. She purred and shook her head.
“I’m too old to care for kits again. I had my paws full with just Swiftclaw.” She meowed. “Besides, a deputy should be caring for their clan, not kits.”
“You’re just making excuses.” Ravenstar said. “I know how much you miss Brambleblaze, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move on. I’m sure there are plenty of handsome toms in the area.”
Sorrelheart shook her pelt and looked like she was deep in thought with her ears pinned back on her head and claws unsheathed. Ravenstar didn’t mean to push her, but he remembered how much she loved being a queen when she was expecting and nursing Swiftclaw.
“I do miss him dearly. He was my soulmate, and I know he would want me to be happy even if it was with someone else.” Sorrelheart said finally after a long pause. “Maybe I should go visit Twolegplace sometime.”
“Atta girl,” Ravenstar said softly. “You loved being a queen. And don’t worry about your deputy duties, I can handle patrols until your kits are old enough to be on their own in camp.”
Sorrelheart nodded. Ravenstar shifted his paws to show he was done with the subject if she was, and she shook her pelt again in response. She looked over and angled her ears towards Swiftclaw and Bluepelt sharing tongues near the fresh-kill pile.
“I wish my son could give me grandkits.” She meowed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that he found a mate in Bluepelt, but I would love kits to fawn over.”
“Perhaps they could find a surrogate.” Ravenstar said lightly. “Blood doesn’t matter, it’s who raises you that matters.”
“You would know that better than anyone else.” Yellownose’s voice behind them said. Sorrelheart’s tail whipped up in happiness when she turned her head and saw her former mentor padding over beside her. “You weren’t their kit by blood, but Rainstream and Darkheart couldn’t have loved you more.”
Ravenstar nodded with a rumble in his throat. He knew his parents had loved him, no one in the clan would ever let him forget. Sorrelheart purred and pressed her nose against Ravenstar’s shoulder briefly.
“I might ask Swiftclaw sometime if he’d want kits. Maybe it’s not even in his future?” Sorrelheart said. “Just like you, Ravenstar. Unless you can find a pretty she-cat or handsome tom to change your mind.” She teased him with narrowed eyes.
“Yeah right. I’m not interested in all that.” Ravenstar rolled his eyes and batted her ear with his long black tail.
“Yeah I wasn’t either.” Yellownose’s voice cracked with age. He licked his graying muzzle like he had just eaten something rancid. “I was just happy to be a warrior and watch my family have more family.”
“Yes, I was so excited when Rosecloud had her kits.” Sorrelheart smiled. “I was a new apprentice when Snowcloud and Brambleblaze were born. And they grew so fast! Brambleblaze was taller than me before he even left the nursery.”
Ravenstar liked hearing stories about his departed clanmates; especially his former mentor and the deputy of Thunderclan before him. He wondered what Brambleblaze would have been like as a leader. Bramblestar would have been a powerful name for a powerful tom. It was already an honor to have the clan deputy or leader as your mentor, Ravenstar knew.
“It was too bad Badgerheart was never interested in a mate or kits.” Yellownose said. “I thought he and Hollyfur would get along fine. They were good friends at least. I know she misses him.” He swung his head around slowly to watch Hollyfur grooming a sleeping Birch.
Sorrelheart let out a sympathetic meow. “I miss Badgerheart, he always told the funniest jokes. And his singing was horrible but I wish I could hear it just one more time.”
“Hmm hmm, who’s the best vole catcher in the clan? It’s me, Badgerheart, always at the front.” Yellownose swayed slightly as he sang off-tune. “That was his favorite song. Not the best lyrics but he was right, he was an amazing hunter.”
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Post by Cherrystream on Apr 11, 2024 16:40:12 GMT -5
Hey if anyone sees this, as of typing this I'm on chapter 21 at 38,719 words!
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