The wind that rolled across the hills ruffled Sprucekit's fur. She sat in front of her mother's paws, eager for the day to get started. Sootpaw and Leafshine had already returned from their hunting patrol just when Icestar padded onto the hill where Clan meetings were held. Excitement stirred within Sprucekit's heart as she watched the WindClan leader."Let all cats old enough gather around the clearing for a Clan meeting!" Icestar's yowl echoed around the clearing. Sprucekit looked up at her mother proudly before trying to make herself look as composed as ever. As the only kit in the Clan she wanted the Clan to believe that she was warrior material.Cats crept forward despite the cold winds that lashed out at them. Leafbare was still in full swing and the snow that covered their camp made it more apparent. Sprucekit spotted Wildheart and Harewhisker sitting together. Leafshine sat nearby with Sootpaw beside her. Ferretpelt and Whitebirch sat further apart as the two were always argui
Camp was buzzing with activity as the first rays of light poured into the nursery. Reedkit sat impatiently next to his three sisters as they squabbled over who would make the best apprentice. Their ceremony was to be held today at sunhigh. Acornpaw and Pebblepaw weren't looking forward to sharing their den with the noisy kits from what Reedkit had heard. The two apprentices were already glaring at the nursery as they stalked past for battle training.Reedkit rolled his eyes and looked back at his mother, who was speaking quietly to Ambertail. At her belly were three tiny kits that had been born two days ago. One was a dark ginger kit like Scarletpaw, only one of it's paws was white. Ambertail had named the kit Redkit. The second kit was a tortoiseshell kit with dark ginger paws, which Ambertail had named Dawnkit. The last kit was an orange tabby kit – rare to the Clans but not unheard of – named Firekit.The new kits had made the nursery fuller than Reedkit would have liked. He and hi
Early predawn sunlight filtered through the small cave that Birdpaw and the others were currently sleeping in. She had to fight back a yawn as she realized that they would begin moving again once the others were awake.The dens they were currently sleeping in were small and cramped compared to what she was used to. She wasn't fond of sleeping around so many cats, but she knew she would have to get used to it. Darkflower had warned her that even though she was an apprentice, she was still the size of a small kit. Her size was a disadvantage, and Birdpaw hated that.It isn't as if I asked to be made an apprentice too early, she thought angrily. Even though I'm happy about training early, it also means I have to work twice as hard as the other apprentices.She glanced at the larger forms of Ebonypaw and Driftpaw warily. The two siblings were always sleeping together, even when they were in a cramped den like this. Resentment swelled within Birdpaw as she wondered for the first time what
Why in StarClan's name did I think this was a good idea? Flamepaw thought as he tucked in his paws low to avoid getting swatted like an annoying fly.His lungs ached from how much effort it took keeping up with his mentor. Robinwing was faster and stronger in a mock-fight. Flamepaw was only just beginning to realize that the brown and white tabby had been holding back most of their time during the day. This was the first time they were doing intensive night-training, something that Feathermist had admitted was a good idea.The gray and white she-cat had explained to everyone that night-training was a good way of seeing which apprentice needed work on honing in on their fighting skills. Flamepaw's ears flattened in embarrassment when he saw just how behind he was compared to everyone else. Even Shrewpaw and Lilypaw seemed to have a better grasp at battling in the darkness than he did."You can't keep your paws tucked in like that," Robinwing meowed in exasperation. He paused after knoc
Pain was something that Smoke had never experienced before in her entire life. She'd heard horror stories about it from Frost when her mother would warn her about doing mousebrained things with her siblings. And when she heard Frost warn them about doing something that could risk their lives, Smoke wanted nothing to do with it.Nothing could have prepared her for the moment when she was attacked by that intruder. The searing pain that bolted through her never seemed to fade. Her teeth ground together as she struggled to keep herself from wailing at the intensity of the pain.Her mother was careful not to make the injury worse when she gingerly picked her up. Behind her trailed Luna and Dusk as they moved through the undergrowth at a fast pace. Frost wanted tor each the Clans before Smoke bled out on her. She had already lost a great deal of blood, and Frost was worried that her injuries would get infected if they weren't treated right away."Mamma, aren't the creatures going to eat us
Excitement coursed through Sprucepaw as she bounded after her mentor. Wildheart was just as eager to get out of camp.It felt like moons had passed before anything exciting happened. Sprucepaw knew that Wildheart was just trying to keep an eye on her. The last thing he wanted was to over train his apprentice like some mentors did. She'd heard enough stories to know that some mentors had a tendency to train their apprentices to the point of exhaustion. Yet Sprucepaw knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere if she didn't keep pushing herself.He's thinking of my father, she decided after noticing the worried looks he kept giving her.She was getting tired of being treated like a lesser apprentice. Just because her father had died in battle didn't mean she wasn't fit for training! If anything, Sprucepaw wanted to hone in on her fighting skills because of what had happened. She wanted nothing more than to prove that she was fully capable of defending herself in a battle. After hearing s
"I'll bet a day's worth of cleaning the elder's den that he doesn't catch anything today.""I'd take on that bet.""I wonder how long it'll be before Minnowstar gets tired of training him?"It took everything Reedpaw had to ignore the sounds of his sisters chatting like squabbling sparrows. The last couple of days had gone by in a similar manner. Hollypaw, Larchpaw and Willowpaw weren't making life easy for him. He knew that they wanted to put him in his place. That he was the runt of the litter, and that he didn't belong in the Clan. But determination had pushed Reedpaw through the toughest parts of his training so far.Even though it's only been a couple of days, Minnowstar was really impressed with me yesterday, he reminded himself silently.Then again, she could have just been taking pity on him.Reedpaw's ears flattened at the thought.He had been hopeful when the RiverClan leader took him on as a mentor. Few apprentices were lucky enough to claim that they had been trained by th
Climbing the mountains was just as difficult as Birdpaw anticipated.The harsh climate hadn't helped matters when the Clan began moving upwards. Birdpaw had to stay between two cats to keep herself protected from the strong winds that would sometimes pick up. The worst and most terrifying aspect was the biting cold that sometimes gripped the Clan. Between that and the snow, Birdpaw was beginning to wonder if they would ever make it to the top.Emberstar continued leading the Clan forward, despite the overwhelming fear felt by most of his Clanmates. Birdpaw knew that if they stayed in the mountains any longer, their lives would be in danger. As much as she hated to admit it, she understood why he wanted to get away sooner rather than later."I still don't understand why we're wasting our time with this journey in the first place," Ebonypaw complained as she trailed behind her mentor.Birdpaw nearly rolled her eyes at the older apprentice's complaint, especially when she saw Hollowstorm
They were still at odds over how to handle that particular situation. He knew something needed to be done to preserve SkyClan. They deserved that much after everything they had been through. He saw a light flicker across Birdflight's eyes, signaling that she had been thinking the same thing. Since she was directly involved with the prophecy, her concern made sense.I'm supposed to be Thunder, which means that I have to worry about my Clan as well, he reminded himself. He wouldn't let that stop him from worrying about the other Clans though, especially with cats like Icestar and Russetstar in charge. There was so much they had to learn about their past lives. Between that and everything else, he didn't know what was more overwhelming."We still haven't figured out who Shadow's descendant is," Spruceleaf meowed. Flamestrike agreed with her fullheartedly. There was so little communication with ShadowClan these days. He suspected Russetstar's alliance with Icestar had something to do with
Unease rippled through the Clan when the Gathering ended. For the first time since this venture started, Flamestrike suddenly felt overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding.He knew going into this that the other Clans would refuse to accept SkyClan as a fifth Clan. Life around the lake was already difficult enough without another Clan adding to the challenges. With leafbare in full swing none of the Clans would accept the fact that they had even more competition. Now ThunderClan was left to pick up the pieces and decide what to do with the newcomers.They couldn't stay on the farm forever. Too many cats would drawl unwanted attention from curious Twolegs or dogs. Flamestrike was well aware of the fact that the farm was abandoned, but that didn't mean it wasn't too close to Twolegplace. He couldn't shake off the feeling that SkyClan was in danger regardless of where they stayed.Will they ever felt welcome anywhere? he wondered.Guilt stabbed him in the chest at the thought. He had his o
Birdpaw ducked her head in embarrassment. She wasn't sure how that worked. Spruceleaf mentioned that her own scent would have washed away by the time they met. Her uncle and his mate didn't smell anything like a Clan cat; they spent too much time rolling around in the hay for her to recognize WindClan's scent. She simply recognized it from somewhere, though she couldn't explain how."To be fair I was at the Gathering the other night," she tried defending herself.They would have also picked up WindClan's scent if that's the case, a voice argued with. You will have to come up with a better excuse if you want them to believe you.Thankfully they didn't dwell on the topic. Birdpaw glanced over her shoulder nervously when she picked up their scent again in the wind. She remembered what Spruceleaf said about how hostile WindClan had been lately, especially to those outside the Clans. While SkyClan was technically still a Clan, that didn't mean the other Clans believed them.Her tail lashed
Birdpaw watched the scene with growing unease as cats began arguing amongst themselves. She was horrified when one cat suggested slitting Emberstar's throat. She knew other cats would object with the idea of letting SkyClan stay at the lake. What she hadn't anticipated was the protests that would follow. Or the fact that several others didn't believe Emberstar's story.What's going to happen if they reject us? she wondered.Flamestrike stood close beside her, tail wrapping around her almost protectively. Birdpaw glanced at him warily, suddenly aware of how much danger she and her Clanmates were in. The only consolation they had was the fact that the Gathering was a peaceful setting. If the Clans started fighting, StarClan would surely disapprove."This Gathering is over!" Russetstar declared before Emberstar could continue defending himself.The rest of the Clans looked more than happy with that decision.Her heart sank at the thought of what would happen if the other Clans rejected t
Smokefrost watched through narrowed eyes as the WindClan cats picked up the remaining prey from the fresh-kill pile. The other ShadowClan warriors gathered around the clearing were equally uneasy allowing enemy warriors in their camp. What made it worse was the fact that they were allowing these cats to take fresh-kill needed for the rest of the Clan.Russetstar claimed it was necessary for the alliance he formed with Icestar. Though Smokefrost suspected this was Icestar's doing. Unease crawled through her at the thought of letting them get away with such atrocities.With leafbare now in full-swing, the last thing the Clan could afford was losing fresh-kill. Another blanket of snow covered the forest, making hunting more difficult than it already was. Most of the prey was hiding in their burrows or nests, and Smokefrost couldn't blame them for wanting to avoid the cold."I still don't get why this is necessary," Talonclaw muttered under his breath. "I understand the alliance between W
The sounds of waves lapping against the shore were oddly soothing as Reedriver trotted along the bank. Above him lay a blanket of stars and a clawmark of a moon. In spite of the faint light the moon provided, it was clearly cold. A shiver swept through him as the chills of leafbare became prominent.He knew it was inevitable. The first snow had already fallen just a couple of days ago since he returned. Since that fateful day he tried putting the past behind him. Cats questioned where he went and why he was gone for so long. Minnowstar herself had been furious that he disappeared when the Clan needed him the most.He couldn't explain to them what happened even if he wanted to. He knew they wouldn't understand what he and the others had been through during their journey. It all sounded fishbrained in the first place. He had a hard enough time believing himself; he doubted his Clanmates would believe him even if he told him that this journey was a waste of his time.Time I could have sp
"I'm beginning to think that Icestar wants the Clan to suffer through the rest of leafbare," Furzewhisker growled through clenched teeth.She carefully nudged a pile of dried leaves into the corner of her den, hoping that the supply would last her throughout the rest of leafbare. She knew it wasn't much. Borage was good for the queens who were heavily pregnant. With Leafshine getting closer and closer to kitting, she realized that the tortoiseshell queen would need the herbs sooner rather than later. And with so many other queens expecting, she was running low on the herb."I don't get why he's making it a rule for every she-cat in the Clan to be pregnant," Redstripe complained while watching her sort through the pile of leaves.The medicine cat glanced at the dark ginger elder. Redstripe had been suffering with whitecough over the last couple of days. The moment she found out he had whitecough was when she confined him to her den until he recovered. With leafbare in full swing, catmi
Ravenflight looked at the fresh cobwebs covering Smokefrost's face with a wrinkled nose. The medicine cat had been treating her injuries since she returned to camp that evening with Russetstar. No one had questioned where the injuries came from. No one seemed to care one way or another what happened to her. Not that she didn't mind. Smokefrost had learned over time that she wasn't worth looking after once the situation wasn't life-threatening."I still don't get how you were able to scratch your face the way you did running through a thorn bush," Ravenflight scoffed after applying a fresh poultice of herbs on her wounds. She was careful to avoid her eyes. Smokefrost had been afraid that her eye would be permanently scarred, but she was relieved when she managed to open it one morning. She had been able to see through both eyes, improving her hunting skills once more. "It seems as if this is happening more than it should be."Though there wasn't an accusation in her tone, Smokefrost co
For the first time since they started the journey to find SkyClan, relief swept through Flamestrike. It had been nearly two moons since they started their journey, and he realized with a start how happy he was to be back. The familiar scent of the forest wafted around him, and the moment they were back on ThunderClan territory was when it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He picked up familiar scents here and there after tasting the air, including those of his mother and his siblings.His thoughts churned with anxiety as he wondered how the Clan had been since they left.When Spruceleaf had explained how Icestar had risen to power and was determined to spread that power across the lake, it sent a ripple of alarm through him. He knew that the Clans had always been balanced in some way or form. Sure, there were times when battle-hungry cats would get out of line. But they were usually taken care of before they could reach the point Icestar had.Maybe that's why w