A new sense of determination had dawned on the traveling cats. Flamestrike was eager to see what SkyClan was like. He was even more eager to find out what the Tribe of Rushing Water was like. From what Birdpaw had described them, they had changed over the last few seasons. They were once a peaceful group of cats who had helped the Clans during their journey to the lake. But somewhere along the lines, they had changed. Whatever their reasons for attacking SkyClan, Flamestrike knew that they couldn't tolerate their actions.They had finally left the confinement of Twolegplace. Now they were at the grassy base of the mountains, where Birdpaw and Spruceleaf were busy chatting like they were old friends. Flamestrike wasn't surprised to find them getting along so well. Spruceleaf seemed to get along with just about everyone, and could easily relate to the situation Birdpaw was in."I'm just hoping that everyone made it out okay," Birdpaw sighed when he caught up with them. "I wish there was
She had to work harder than any other apprentice in order to gain her leader's approval. Longkit, Bramblekit, Marshkit and Newtkit had finally become apprentices. Because there was a shortage of warriors, Russetstar had made Snowstorm a mentor at a very young age. She was mentoring Marshpaw, a young apprentice with what felt like boundless energy. Talonclaw mentored his own son, Bramblepaw. Sleetstorm and Nightclaw got Longpaw and Newtpaw as apprentices.Now the apprentice's den was getting cramped, and Smokepaw was forced to sleep outside once again due to her lack of ShadowClan blood. She was furious that she couldn't just rip their fur off and take her place as top apprentice. But that would only make the Clan suspicious of her actions. Whatever happened, Smokepaw knew that her life was completely changed after joining ShadowClan.Her fur now longer had any of it's kit-fluff. Her green eyes were sharp as ever, constantly scanning the forest for signs of danger. Lean muscles showed
"Hey, Stormshadow, what do you know about the Tribe of Rushing Waters?" Spruceleaf asked as the group carried on through the mountains. She knew that the elders used to tell stories about the Tribe, but, she never heard them herself. WindClan didn't have much to offer in terms of telling stories, especially since Icestar was going mad with power."I'm not sure," Stormshadow meowed, looking at her in confusion. "I remember one of our elders used to mention that they had a leader known as Teller of Pointed Stones... or something like that. And they all have weird names like that.""They were never aggressive before," Oakfire put in as he joined them. Spruceleaf glanced at Flamestrike and Reedriver, noticing how the two toms seemed concerned about their path ahead than anything else. "Which leads me to wondering why they attacked an entire Clan without reason."Spruceleaf flinched as she caught Birdpaw's expression. She knew that SkyClan had suffered a brutal blow when the Tribe attacked
The makeshift den Flamestrike had found for their group wasn't nearly as comfortable as the bed of reeds that Reedriver normally slept in. He kept turning around in his sleep, hoping to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. It didn't help matters that he was surrounded by cats from different Clans. Their mingled scents burned his lungs as he tried to breath. He wondered how Acorntail or Blizzardwind could stand it. Both cats didn't seem to mind sharing nests with Oakfire, Stormshadow or Flamestrike.Reedriver's whiskers twitched at the thought of the ThunderClan cats. All they ever seemed to do was boss everyone around like they knew what they were doing. He knew better. Oakfire had seniority over the rest of the group, aside from Blizzardwind. Surprisingly, she was the eldest of the group, having been RiverClan's medicine cat for moons. Reedriver was actually thankful that Minnowstar had agreed to letting the medicine cat go with them.Imagine if we had gone out here without
It felt as if they'd been traveling for days along the mountain's slopes. Birdpaw was beginning to understand the meaning of patience when she noticed how often the ThunderClan and RiverClan cats argued. Of all the cats who seemed to enjoy picking a fight, it was Oakfire and Acorntail. Birdpaw realized with a start that the two were probably clashing personalities, and Clan pride. She was more than annoyed with their bickering, and almost wished that they would both stuff a tail in their mouths for a change.Blizzardwind was the only one with enough sense to stay out of these arguments. Birdpaw suspected she was also annoyed with them, but, Blizzardwind didn't dare speak out against them. She kept glancing at the RiverClan medicine cat warily."I know what you're thinking," the silvery white she-cat murmured, looking at Birdpaw warily. She froze on the spot, staring at Blizzardwind in alarm, "Why am I not taking sides?" Birdpaw only tilted her head to one side, flicking her tail as sh
Working together hadn't been all that difficult. Flamestrike worked alongside Birdpaw to convince a few of the Tribe cats to work with them rather than against them. To his surprise, a few of them had already been against their leader's orders. From what Flamestrike was able to gather, their old leader had suddenly died without warning, and a new order was brought to the Tribe. That in itself had rung a bell of alarm for Flamestrike.He couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that was slowly creeping through him. Seeing the SkyClan cats for the first time was enough to tell him that Birdpaw had been right, all along. What bothered him more than anything was how badly in shape Blizzardwind and a few of the SkyClan warriors were in."It isn't right, what Stoneteller has done to you and the rest of your Clan," the same she-cat who had cornered him during their fight whispered. Her ears were flattened with unease as she looked at him, "I'm sorry for attacking you the way I did. We were un
Time felt as if it had slowed down when Spruceleaf watched the Tribe cats regroup. The battle had been quick and painful. She could still feel the sting of a Tribe cat's claws from where they tried pinning her down and delivering a final blow. It was only thanks to Strike that she had survived that attack. Seeing the tabby now, she noticed that he looked as if he'd suffered the most injuries. She glanced at Stormshadow and Flamestrike warily when she noticed they were all sitting together with Oakfire.Not for the first time, she wondered if all the Clans would continuously feel divided. Acorntail and Reedriver looked equally uneasy, while Birdpaw remained with the SkyClan cats who had fought with her. Spruceleaf was more than relieved that she hadn't suffered from any severe injuries. It was impossible to tell who had suffered the worst, but, Spruceleaf noticed with a start that the Tribe cats seemed smaller and frailer than ever.A shiver of unease swept through her when Strike limp
Anxiety swept through Reedriver as he watched the Tribe cats interact with one another. The injuries that everyone had received during the battle were currently being treated by Blizzardwind. She carefully weaved her way through the crowd, sniffing each wound and making sure that the injuries were tended to. Despite herself, it was obvious that she had received the worst injuries from their little group.Reedriver's claws scraped the stone as he remembered Blizzardwind's announcement. Her words had shaken him to the core when she told them that she would be staying behind. When she told them that the Tribe needed her more than the Clans, he wanted to rake his claws across her muzzle. She had bees in her head if she thought they would appreciate her more than her own Clan.Yet, Reedriver could see the wisdom in her choice. Reluctantly, he agreed that the Tribe would need all the help they could get. Seeing them now only reminded him of what they had done to SkyClan.True, that had been
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