A Forgotten Land

 To: 

 Erin Hunter 

 My real-life Gingerheart 

 My real-life Foxstar 





 = Allegiances = 

 ThunderClan 



 Leader:  Lionstar— golden tabby tom with amber eyes

 Deputy:  Foxfoot— dark ginger tom

 Medicine Cat:  Jayfeather— gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

 Apprentice, Furrypelt

 Warriors:  Birchfall— light brown tabby tom

 Whitewing— white she-cat with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Berrynose— cream-colored tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Boulderpaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart— gray tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Specklepaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dovewing— pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ivypool— silver-and-white tabby she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rosepetal— dark cream she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Blossomfall— tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bumblestripe— very pale gray to with black stripes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Hazelpaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cherryfall— ginger she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool— light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mousewhisker— gray-and-white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Fernsong— yellow tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Maplepaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stormcloud— gray tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Sparrowpaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ambermoon— pale ginger she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dewnose— gray-and-white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lilyheart— small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches and blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sparkheart— orange tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alderfoot— dark ginger tom with amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Firepelt— flame-colored tom with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bramblethorn— dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart— ginger she-cat with white belly

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafbreeze— tortoiseshell she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Larkspirit— black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Honeyfur— white she-cat with yellow splotches

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brightpelt— neon yellow tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cloudheart— pure white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sunstripe— yellow tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Icepelt— pure white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Squirreltail— orange tom with a white belly and paws and a bushy tail

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistypelt— gray-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall— black-and-white tom with an injured hind leg

<p class="MsoNormal"> Deerfur— brown she-cat with white belly and blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Robinfeather— black tom with white paws

<p class="MsoNormal"> Wolfnose— gray tom with white paws

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stripefur— white she-cat with orange stripes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Beechtail— light brown mottled tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rainspeckle— blue-gray mottled she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dawnfur— pale ginger she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brindlefur— mottled dark brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oakbranch— brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentices:  Furrypelt— long-haired ginger-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Boulderpaw— gray tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Specklepaw— speckled yellow she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hazelpaw— ginger-and-brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maplepaw— brown she-cat with ginger splotches

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sparrowpaw— brown-and-white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Queens:  Daisy— cream long-furred she-cat from the horseplace

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hollytuft— black she-cat (mother to Dewnose’s kits: Applekit, a cream she-kit, and Frostkit, a pale gray she-kit)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Elders:  Millie— striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cloudtail— long-haired white tom with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brackenfur— golden brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brightheart— white she-cat with ginger patches

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thornclaw— golden brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Spiderleg— long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt"> ShadowClan 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leader:  Rowanstar— ginger tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Deputy:  Crowfrost— black-and-white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Medicine Cat:  Puddlefur— brown tom with white splotches

<p class="MsoNormal"> Warriors:  Tigerheart— dark brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ferretclaw— black-and-gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Cedarpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dawnpelt— cream-furred she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Berryheart— black-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cloverfoot— gray tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Seedpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rippletail— white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sparrowtail— large tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistcloud— spiky-furred, pale gray she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stonewing— white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Springpaw

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pinenose— black she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Needleclaw— sleek, silver she-cat with white chest fur and bold green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Yarrowtail— ginger tom with yellow eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Beefoot— white she-cat with black ears

<p class="MsoNormal"> Juniperfur— sleek black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionfur— yellow she-cat with amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchstripe— beige tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Badgerpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Slatewhisker— sleek, gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Strikeclaw— black tom with white paws

<p class="MsoNormal"> Toadpuddle— black-and-brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ivystem— silver she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Blackheart— black tom with two front white paws and tail tip

<p class="MsoNormal"> Elmsong— dark ginger she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thornspots— mottled beige tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sootpelt— dark gray tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stonefoot— gray tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Queens:  Grassheart— pale brown tabby she-cat (mother to Spiderkit, a black tom with an extra toe on one paw, Pigeonkit, a tortoiseshell she-kit, and Vinekit, a dark gray she-kit with a pale belly)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sleekpelt— yellow she-cat (expecting Yarrowtail’s kits)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Elders:  Ratscar— brown tom with long scar across his back

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oakfur— small brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Tawnypelt— tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt"> WindClan 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leader:  Featherstar— gray tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Deputy:  Hootwhisker— dark gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Medicine Cat:  Kestrelflight— mottled gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Snowfall

<p class="MsoNormal"> Warriors:  Crowfeather— dark gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Nightcloud— black she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gorsetail— very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Hawkpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leaftail— dark tabby tom with amber eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Emberfoot— gray tom with two dark paws

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furzepelt— gray-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sedgewhisker— light brown tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Swiftpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oatclaw— pale brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Rustpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Heathertail— light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Tigerstripe— light brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ashpelt— gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Larkwing— pale brown tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Ryepaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smokefur— gray she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brindlepelt— mottled brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mudpelt— brown tom with clumped fur

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brownleaf— brown mottled tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thistlefur— spiky-furred, yellow tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Roseheart— white she-cat with a pinkish tint to fur

<p class="MsoNormal"> Queens:  Flowerblossom— yellow-and-white tabby she-cat (mother to Oatclaw’s kits: Molekit, a black tabby tom-kit, Ravenkit, a black she- kit, Cloudkit, a gray tom-kit with white splotches, and Mothkit, a pearly-white she-kit)

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt"> RiverClan 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leader:  Mistystar— gray she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Deputy:  Reedwhisker— black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Medicine Cat:  Mothwing— dappled golden she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Willowshine

<p class="MsoNormal"> Warriors:  Petalfur— gray-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Heronwing— dark gray-and-black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Podlight— gray-and-white tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lizardtail— light brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Pikepaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Perchwing— gray-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Shimmerpelt— silver she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brackenpelt— tortoiseshell she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayclaw— gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Icewing— white she-cat with blue eyes

<p class="MsoNormal"> Shadetail— dark brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Dustpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Breezetail— light brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Nightberry— pure black she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lilystream— tortoiseshell she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cloverheart— dark gray she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Splashpaw 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Fernstem— tortoiseshell she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brighttail— ginger tom with a neon tail

<p class="MsoNormal"> Emberwhisker— russet tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfur— cream she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Otterfoot— silver she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Briarface— dark brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Queens:  Lakeheart— gray tabby she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppyspots— pretty brown she-cat (mother to Breezetail’s kits: Ripplekit, a cream tom-kit, and Hailkit, black tom-kit with white spots)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Elders:  Minnowtail— dark gray she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mallownose— light brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt"> The Tribe of Rushing Water 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Healer:  Teller of Pointed Stones (Stoneteller)— dark gray tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Leaf That Floats on River (Leaf)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Prey-Hunters:  Stormfur— dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of RiverClan

<p class="MsoNormal"> Screech of Angry Owl (Screech)— black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Splash When Fish Leaps (Splash)— light brown tabby she- cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Moon That Shines on Water (Moon)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)— brown tabby she- cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dark Shadow on Water (Dark)— black tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Sunshine Between Tree Leaves (Sunshine)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pine That Clings to Rock— light brown tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Wind That Blows Across Grass (Wind)— light brown she- cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cave-Guards:  Sheer Path Beside Waterfall (Sheer)— dark brown tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Moss that Grows by River (Moss)— light brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Night of No Stars (Night)— black she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jessy— dark brown she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain— gray she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Snowflake Drifting Through Air (Snowflake)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Snow Falling on Stones (Snow)— white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Glow of Setting Sun (Glow)— pale reddish-ginger tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apprentice, Petal of Tall Flower (Petal)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Fire That Blazes Through Trees (Fire)— bright flame- colored tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Kit-Mothers:  Rain That Passes Quickly (Rain) —gray speckled she-cat (mother to Glow’s kits: Claw of Mighty Lion (Claw), a brown tom-kit, and Reed That Grows by River (Reed), a black she-kit)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lark That Sings at Dawn (Lark)— pale tabby she-cat (mother to Dark’s kits, Fog that Hangs in the Air (Fog), a pale gray she-kit, and Star That Twinkles at Night (Star), a black she- kit with white flecks)

<p class="MsoNormal"> To-Bes:  Leaf That Floats on River (Leaf)— tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat (Healer)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Moon That Shines on Water (Moon)— pale gray tom (prey- hunter)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sunshine Between Tree Leaves (Sunshine)— yellow she-cat with brown flecks (prey-hunter)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Snowflake Drifting Through Air (Snowflake)— white tom with flecks of gray (cave-guard)

<p class="MsoNormal"> Petal of Tall Flower (Petal)— yellow-and-cream she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Elders:  Gray Sky Before Dawn (Gray)— pale gray tabby tom

<p class="MsoNormal"> Wing Shadow Over Water (Wing)— gray-and-white she-cat

<p class="MsoNormal"> Flight of Startled Heron (Flight)— brown tabby she-cat

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt"> Cats Outside of Clans 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;tab-stops:.5in1.0in1.5in2.0in182.15pt">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smoky— muscular gray-and-white tom who lives in a barn at the horseplace

<p class="MsoNormal"> Coriander— tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat who lives with Smoky

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lavender— tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat; daughter of Smoky and Coriander

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stormy— dark gray tabby tom; son of Smoky and Coriander

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ash— gray-and-white tom; son of Smoky and Coriander

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sunshine— beautiful spotted golden tabby she-cat; daughter of Smoky and Coriander

<p class="MsoNormal"> Silky— cream she-cat who lives in the nest nextdoor to Smoky, mother of Furrypelt

<p class="MsoNormal"> Breezepelt— black tom with amber eyes; formerly of WindClan, a rogue

<p class="MsoNormal"> Barley— elderly black-and-white tom who lives in a barn close to the old forest; a loner

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smudge— elderly, plump, black-and-white tom; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Princess— elderly light brown tabby she-cat with a distinctive white chest and paws; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cody— elderly tabby she-cat with blue eyes; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy— light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ginger— ginger she-cat; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Whiskers— pale gray tabby she-cat; a kittypet

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ember— ginger-and-black tom; a loner

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Prologue= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> B lue-gray and muscular, a she-cat slunk through the shadows. She stepped into the sunlight, allowing it to warm her back. It was always greenleaf here, and it couldn’t be better.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A warm breeze ruffled her fur, and she closed her eyes and enjoyed it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Bluestar!” someone called. She turned and saw a big white tom calling out to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Whitestorm,” she called back. She stared lovingly at her nephew, remembering when they were both living, and the day he’d been born.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Things had been very peaceful lately, after the major battle against the Dark Forest and their prophesized four who would destroy the Clans. But something kept nagging at Bluestar, as though something was going to happen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Trying to shake it off, she continued walking, pausing as she smelled prey. Dropping into the hunter’s crouch, she stepped cautiously forward and made sure to step quietly and lightly. Finally she spotted the vole she’d smelled, and pulled in tight, wiggled her hindquarters, then pounced, landing square on its shoulders.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Biting its neck, she killed it instantly and dug in to her meal.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aw man!” someone complained. Bluestar looked up and saw a dark gray tom with a darker stripe on his back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s wrong, Graystripe?” Bluestar asked. Graystripe was the newest cat to StarClan.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You took my meal!” he complained. “I’d heard it and was tracking it, appeared around the bushes and you were eating it!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Bluestar apologized. “I can catch you another one if you’d like.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nah, I can find my own,” Graystripe replied, walking away while talking over his shoulder. He ended up walking straight into a tree. Bluestar let out a mrrow of laughter as Graystripe sat down and started rubbing the bump on his head with a paw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Man, I don’t remember trees hurting so much!” he muttered. Bluestar let out another mrrow of laughter. “Oh, like you’ve never walked into a tree!” Graystripe snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar let the rest of the day slip away, talking with her friends.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> It happened at twilight, Bluestar was sitting on a rock by the lake. She was staring peacefully at the water, when the feeling of something going to happen returned, and she saw shapes moving around in the water. She gasped and jumped back, but continued to stare at the water.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar wasn’t sure if it was a heartbeat or a day, but then the water stilled, and she knew what was coming, and what must be done.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt must know, she thought. ''She must know of the danger. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bluestar?” someone asked. She jumped and turned around, then let out a sigh of relief as she realized it was her sister Snowfur. “Bluestar, are you okay?” Snowfur asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No,” Bluestar replied. “The Clans are in danger. They must know… I have to talk to Furrypelt.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She bolted away with a whisk of her tail, leaving Snowfur utterly confused.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 1= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “D awnfur! Brindlefur! Oakbranch!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Clan started chanting for the three new warriors. Gingerheart stood towards the front, cheering as loud as she could. Dawnfur Brindlefur and Oakbranch were the kits of Mousewhisker and Blossomfall, who had become mates not too long after the battle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Honeyfur, Dawnfur’s mentor, walked up to her and congratulated her. Brindlefur went looking for her mentor, Sparkheart, and ended up getting barreled over. Sparkheart reminded Gingerheart a lot of herself; overly perky and seeing the best in everyone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oakbranch’s mentor, Squirreltail, just nodded from the edge of camp. Wow, Gingerheart thought. Clearly Squirreltail had not inherited her kindness and perkiness, but instead merely got her colored pelt. Must’ve gotten his attitude from Bramblethorn or Bramblestar, she thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionstar stepped away from the new warriors and let their mentors explain their vigil. Gingerheart started thinking about how unlucky Lionstar had been. Two lives lost from the battle against the Dark Forest, a nasty scratch from ShadowClan’s border patrol had gotten infected and cost him another life, Ambermoon and Cloudheart’s only kit, Sparrowpaw, had left camp as a kit, fell in the lake, and Lionstar had been out on patrol at the time. He’d dived into the lake, having to go all the way to the bottom to rescue Sparrowkit. However, Lionstar isn’t the strongest swimmer, and had just barely been able to rescue Sparrowkit before sinking to the bottom again. Cinderheart, who had learned how to swim well from Jayfeather as an apprentice, had been able to rescue him, but by then he’d already lost another life.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Following that, during leaf-bare he’d managed to lose a life to starvation, then another to greencough. Then Lionstar went out by himself and a patrol spotted his body limp and bleeding, near the opening to one of the underground tunnels, and Breezepelt’s scent was everywhere. Finally, last greenleaf, Lionstar had been out when a thunderstorm struck out of nowhere, and lightning caused a tree to fall on him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Now Lionstar was on his last life. It seemed like the same situation as Bramblestar, and Gingerheart and her sister, Furrypelt, could agree that it was scary.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re going to be warriors soon,” someone’s voice mewed excitedly, snapping Gingerheart out of her thoughts. Turning, she spotted Boulderpaw talking to his sister, Specklepaw. They were the kits of Sparkheart and Larkspirit, who apparently had been fighting side by side during the big battle the whole time, leading them to realize how much they care about each other, etcetera etcetera, and then not long after Sparkheart moved into the nursery.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, when our mentors decide we can have our final assessment,” Specklepaw agreed. “I swear they’re purposefully holding it off.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They’re trying to torture us, I think!” Boulderpaw cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Or, they’re waiting because neither of you have been training for six moons,” Berrynose meowed irritably from behind the apprentices, causing them both to jump. Gingerheart let out a mrrow of laughter.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Berrynose looked at Gingerheart, glared at her, then turned away. Gingerheart rolled her eyes. Her sister as a kit had accidentally caused his mate, Poppyfrost, to die, and now he had a grudge against Gingerheart, too.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Feeling like you’re never going to become warriors?” Beechtail asked, approaching the apprentices. His sister, Rainspeckle, walked up next to him. Gingerheart had to say that Rainspeckle had been accurately named; her mottled gray pelt reminded her very much of rain. Gingerheart wondered if Rainspeckle was related to Bluestar and that’s where she got her blue-gray pelt. She knew she was the daughter of Fernsong and Honeyfur, but she couldn’t say anything else. Furrypelt was the one who was good with family trees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s exactly how I’m feeling!” Boulderpaw screamed. “This is insane! I feel like we’ve been training for a million moons!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If that were true, you’d be dead and have been training in StarClan for moons on end,” Beechtail pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t worry,” Rainspeckle assured them. “You’re really close. Just another half-moon, isn’t it?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Specklepaw replied. “But it feels like another five moons, at least!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poor kids, Gingerheart thought. ''I remember the days leading up to my ceremony. It felt similar. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you two complaining again?” someone asked, and Hazelpaw walked up from behind Boulderpaw, closely flanked by Maplepaw. The two sisters looked similar and were inseparable. They were two moons younger than Boulderpaw and Specklepaw. They were the kits of Wolfnose and Deerfur, who also apparently stuck side-by-side during the battle, or so she heard afterwards when the mentors had talked to the apprentices. Gingerheart liked being mentor to Deerfur, and hoped she’d get another apprentice. Firepelt and Bramblethorn still had yet to get an apprentice. Gingerheart thought they should get Hollytuft’s kits, Applekit and Frostkit. Then she realized the likelihood of them both getting an apprentice at the same time was slim, as she remembered when Dustpelt got Ashpaw as an apprentice but Darkstripe got Fernpaw instead of Sandstorm because Fireheart didn’t want two inexperienced mentors at the same time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You two complained about not being apprentices quick enough, too,” Maplepaw sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Isn’t Sparrowpaw complaining, too?” Boulderpaw asked. “It can’t just be us!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, Sparrowpaw is not complaining, despite getting the worst nest and being the youngest.” Hazelpaw meowed irritably. Sparrowpaw was the youngest apprentice, and surprisingly well-behaved. Ambermoon and Larkspirit raised him well, Gingerheart thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smiling to herself, Gingerheart turned and entered the medicine den, where she knew her sister would be. She was never the social type.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Gingerheart,” Furrypelt mewed, without looking up from her herbs. “Jayfeather, I have another stack of wilted willow leaves.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Willow leaves did not like the greenleaf heat, I guess.” He sighed. “We’ll have to go get some more today, before leaf-bare.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The late leaf-fall sun shone into the medicine den, and Gingerheart struggled to remember what willow leaves were for. After long enough without figuring it out, she asked, “What do willow leaves do, again?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stops vomiting,” Furrypelt replied without thinking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey Furrypelt,” Gingerheart mewed. “I was thinking earlier, do you know if Rainspeckle is related to Bluestar?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes she is,” Furrypelt replied again, seemingly without thinking. “Because her father is Fernsong whose mother is Cinderheart whose mother is Sorreltail whose father is Whitestorm whose mother is Snowfur whose sister is Bluestar.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow.” Gingerheart mewed, awed—as always—by how well Furrypelt knew the Warriors family trees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather looked up at Gingerheart. “There’s something wrong with your sister,” he mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is that supposed to be news?” Gingerheart asked. Furrypelt was one of the weirdest people she’d ever met, quite the opposite of Gingerheart but they were friends ever the same. As a Twoleg, Gingerheart had been upbeat while Furrypelt hadn’t really been optimistic and sarcastic instead. Gingerheart’s idea of the best day ever was reading and playing with her siblings, while Furrypelt’s was playing video games all day.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Was there anything else you wanted?” Jayfeather asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nope.” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then get out.” Jayfeather growled. Typical, grouchy Jayfeather, Gingerheart sighed, walking out of the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Exiting the den, she noticed Foxfoot organizing the patrols for the day, and Gingerheart had to wonder if Foxfoot would be the leader of ThunderClan soon. It certainly seemed like it, the way Lionstar was losing lives.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Something else caught her eye, and Gingerheart watched as Hollytuft’s kits, Applekit and Frostkit, rolled out of the nursery. Their cream and gray fur colors blended together as they rolled, so they looked like one, bicolored cat instead of the two solid colored cats they really were. Finally they broke apart and looked up at Hollytuft, who was gazing down at them with amusement in her eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Would I make a good warrior, Hollytuft?” Applekit asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If she’s a good one, would I be a better one?” Frostkit asked, jumping on Applekit and putting her front paws down on Applekit’s head.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Applekit complained, her chin flat against the floor of the hollow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Frostkit, get off of Applekit,” Hollytuft scolded lightly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart chuckled. Kits were so silly! What went on in their tiny heads? Gingerheart couldn't really remember much of when she was a kit, and the part she did remember she didn’t have anyone to play with; Furrypelt had left, and their other two siblings had been adopted pretty quickly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She turned towards the elders’ den and saw that they were all out at the entrance. Brightheart and Thornclaw had recently retired, joining their brother, Brackenfur. Cloudtail was once more the same rank as his mate. Unfortunately, Purdy died of old age, and Graystripe of greencough. But other than that, no deaths since the battle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sighed with satisfaction. Life had been so peaceful since the battle, and she hoped it’d always be this way.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 2= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt leapt at the end of the tree-bridge as she entered the Gathering. She looked around the clearing to see if there were any new faces from the other Clans.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Looking around near where ShadowClan was, she saw a group of apprentices. Cedarpaw was there, standing by his sister, Springpaw, kits of Sparrowtail and Mistcloud. They were the older of the apprentices. The other two were standing there, Seedpaw and Badgerpaw, who were the kits of Lionfur and Strikeclaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Also with ShadowClan, she found Elmsong and Thornspots, the kits of Stonewing and Cloverfoot. Then she found Sootpaw and Stonepaw, kits of Dawnpelt and Crowfrost. They’d had another litter since the battle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> So, nothing new with ShadowClan, unless some of the apprentices had become warriors, but no new apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Perhaps WindClan? There was Hawkpaw, Smokefur and Ashpelt’s kit, along with his sister, Ryepaw. She also found Brindlepelt and Mudpelt’s kits. They were both brown, and ironically, neither of their kits were brown. Their daughter, Rustpaw, was russet, and their son, Swiftpaw, was white and gray. Standing near them were the newest WindClan warriors, Brownleaf, Thistlefur, and Roseheart, Furzepelt’s latest litter, making them Tigerstripe, Ashpelt, and Flowerblossom’s siblings. She thought about Flowerblossom. She’d said that she could make a good mother, and now she was nursing kits! Furrypelt wondered when they’d become apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Alright, now RiverClan was approaching, and the siblings Pikepaw, Dustpaw, and Splashpaw, kits of Jayclaw and Nightberry, were bouncing at the front. Their newest warriors, Fernstem, Brighttail, and Emberwhisker, kits of Brackenpelt and Lizardtail, were close behind, then the other three apprentices, Birchpaw, Otterpaw, and Briarpaw, the kits of Perchwing and Podlight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> So, no new cats, but it was possible some of the apprentices she’d named had become warriors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> And she was about to find out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sat down with the medicine cats. Snowfall was talking excitedly to Willowshine. Oh, Snowfall, Furrypelt thought. ''Hasn’t changed since she was an apprentice. Except that she’s gotten slightly more competent.''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistystar’s yowl silenced everyone, and Furrypelt saw that she was becoming extremely old. Her pelt was clinging to her frame, and her muzzle was silver compared to the rest of her blue-gray body.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have three new warriors,” Mistystar wheezed. “Birchfur, Otterfoot, and Briarface.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfur! Otterfoot! Briarface!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> So, I guess they have become warriors, Furrypelt thought, feeling guilty for mentally calling them apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistystar sat down on the blackened tree branch. Furrypelt will forever remember the night of Halloween on the full moon, when lightning crashed down out of nowhere and struck the tree all the leaders were on, causing each of them to lose a life. The tree was now forever blackened, and Furrypelt half-expected the tree to give out and drop all the leaders every Gathering.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Featherstar stepped forward. “We’ve recently lost our only elder, Whitetail.” She announced solemnly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Didn’t she go on the journey to bring the water back in The Fourth Apprentice''? ''Furrypelt thought. ''She did a good service to the Clans. She will go to StarClan in honor. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionstar stepped forward. “We have three new warriors, Dawnfur, Brindlefur, and Oakbranch.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dawnfur! Brindlefur! Oakbranch!” The three warriors stood up and basked in the attention.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionstar sat back down and let Rowanstar finish.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have two new warriors, Sootpelt and Stonefoot.” Rowanstar announced, and Furrypelt once again felt guilty for mistaking warriors for apprentice, despite having no means of knowing they were warriors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Gathering was fairly boring, but it often was now. Maybe she should socialize more… that’s why everyone else looked forward to the Gathering.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''Nah, that’d be logical. ''Furrypelt remembered. ''I’ll just stay bored out of my mind. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> With no threat of the Clans being destroyed, the Gatherings were just “Oh there’s nothing going on” or “a few cats have changed ranks”. Furrypelt felt she’d seen so many apprentice ceremonies there was nothing special to them anymore, despite the leaders always saying that it was one of the most important days of Clan life.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sighing, she trekked back to camp, hoping something interesting might happen while she was there. Maybe a mentor would go on patrol and ask her to train their apprentice in battle for a bit. Maybe someone would get injured. Maybe she’d need to play with the kits. Quite honestly she’d gladly welcome Gingerheart—well maybe not Gingerheart, but some other cat—getting fatally injured just to have something interesting to do for once.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Being put on a patrol with the Clan leader doesn’t happen very often, so Gingerheart was going to savor every moment of it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She, Lionstar, Berrynose, Cinderheart, and their apprentices were with them. Berrynose kept throwing Gingerheart nasty looks, and she much wished he would stop. ''It’s not my fault my sister was an idiot when she was little, okay?! Stop blaming me! I wasn’t even here yet!''

<p class="MsoNormal">'' What if that’s not the reason he doesn’t like you? '' Said another voice in her head. ''Maybe it’s just because you’re a Twoleg. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Neither reason was a valid one to insist on despising someone, but she didn’t care too much; Berrynose wasn’t exactly worth befriending.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cinderheart, if I catch a really big piece of prey, can I be a warrior?” Specklepaw asked her mentor.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What if I help her?” Boulderpaw asked Berrynose. “Then do I become a warrior, too?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You two become warriors when we say you’re ready,” Berrynose growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But we’ll consider making you two warriors a little early if you make a good catch,” Cinderheart added, glaring at Berrynose. He lashed his stub of a tail angrily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart’s a much better mentor, Gingerheart thought, remembering when Cinderheart was her mentor.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, let’s split up,” Lionstar mewed. “Cinderheart and Specklepaw, you can go that way.” He flicked his tail in the direction of WindClan’s territory. “Berrynose and Boulderpaw, you can head that way.” He flicked his tail towards the edge of Clan territory, opposite the lake. “Gingerheart and I will head closer to the lake. Don’t go too far. We’ll meet back here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionstar led the way down towards the lake. ''Being on patrol with the leader is one thing, but this is even more of an honor! ''Gingerheart thought excitedly. She was on patrol alone with the Clan leader!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bounding through the undergrowth, Gingerheart followed Lionstar as they started towards the lake.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is far enough,” Lionstar decided. “You go that way, I’ll go this way.” He’d flicked his tail to Gingerheart’s right to indicate where she should go. Nodding, she took off, looking desperately to find prey that could impress Lionstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A shrew shot by her and she chased it eagerly, putting on an extra burst of speed to catch it. She finally pounced, landing on it. It squirmed and squeaked beneath her, but she ignored its struggling, then bit its neck, killing it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stepped back to observe the size of the shrew. It wasn’t the biggest, but it was still fairly large, especially since prey had been much shrinking lately. Even the earliest days of leaf-fall seemed to make a difference in prey.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She was about to continue walking when she heard a yowl of pain. Startled, Gingerheart turned to locate the sound of yowl and started running that way. Halfway through, she realized it had been Lionstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar?” she asked worriedly. Pushing through the undergrowth, she found Lionstar laying on the ground, licking his paw with a pained expression on his face. Near him was a small briar patch. “What happened?” Gingerheart asked, most of her worry fading seeing as he was still conscious and had no visible injuries other than his evidently injured paw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I leaped to catch a magpie and instead tripped on this briar patch and a briar stabbed me right in my pawpad,” Lionstar growled. “Geez, this stings!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We should get you to Jayfeather and Furrypelt,” Gingerheart mewed anxiously. “We don’t want it to get infected.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll be fine,” Lionstar insisted, hissing as he stood up, and Gingerheart noticed his injured paw was hovering just a bit off the ground. “Besides, we have prey to catch.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I already got a pretty nice shrew, and the others are bound to get their own fair bit of prey,” Gingerheart pointed out. “And the fact that you can’t even put your paw on the ground isn’t the best sign.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t tell your leader what to do,” Lionstar hissed. “You’re not my medicine cat or my mother.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You realize I have—” she started, then quickly tried to do some mental math.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''Let’s see, I lived to be… eighty-five, right? So eighty-five times twelve… what’s eighty-five times two? Five plus five is ten, eight plus eight is sixteen, so a hundred seventy, then eighty five times ten is a hundred fifty, five plus seven is twelve, eight plus two more is ten so that gives… a thousand twenty? Yeah, that’s right. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “—one thousand twenty more moons’ experience than you, right?” Gingerheart finally finished.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionstar sighed. “Fine. Go get your shrew and tell the others to wrap up without us. I’ll start making my way back to camp. You’ll catch up pretty quick.” He added, seeing the disapproving look on Gingerheart’s face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” she meowed reluctantly. “As leader you have to be right about some things.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> And with that she took off back where she’d left her shrew, picked it up in her teeth, then headed in the direction Lionstar had sent Cinderheart and Specklepaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She scented her former mentor and heard her praising the apprentice. “That was a great catch, Specklepaw!” Cinderheart mewed happily. “I’ll tell Lionstar to consider doing your ceremony soon.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Specklepaw squealed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart pushed her way through the undergrowth. She dropped the shrew so she could talk.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is something wrong, Gingerheart?” Cinderheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar got injured on a briar thorn.” Gingerheart explained. “I’m taking him back to camp. He wanted to me to tell you to carry on and wrap up by yourselves.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, okay,” Cinderheart mewed uncertainly. “I hope Lionstar’s okay!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So do I,” Gingerheart sighed, picking up her shrew again and going to find Berrynose and Boulderpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Boulderpaw, this is not difficult!” she heard Berrynose shout as she approached their spot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That twig was small!” Boulderpaw hissed defiantly. “And it’s not my fault that that vole has ridiculous hearing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Excuse me?” Gingerheart mewed tentatively and awkwardly, entering the small clearing the mentor-apprentice duo were in.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Berrynose spun around. “What do you want?” he growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar got injured on a briar thorn, so I have to help him back to camp. He told me to tell you to carry on and wrap up without us.” Gingerheart explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That all?” Berrynose asked dismissively. Really, you’re not worried about Lionstar? Gingerheart thought bitterly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes.” She growled. “And also, you could be a bit less harsh on your apprentice. Are you seriously expecting perfect from every little thing?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course I do!” Berrynose hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, don’t, because news flash, no one is perfect!” Gingerheart cried. “It’s, like, physically impossible!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t care!” Berrynose growled. “I expect the best from my apprentice, and he should be giving me the best!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I am giving my best!” Boulderpaw insisted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll believe that when you stop making stupid and foolish mistakes!” Berrynose snarled. “Now try that again, and this time, try not to be a mouse-brain!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart rolled her eyes, feeling a mix of anger at Berrynose and pity for Boulderpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She picked up her shrew and ran back to where she’d left Lionstar. He had not made too much progress; trying to quickly limp is difficult, and Gingerheart had no idea how Rockfall was managing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart offered Lionstar her shoulder, and he leaned against her, putting most of his weight on her. Gingerheart, who even as a Twoleg had never been exceptionally strong, struggled under the weight of her large, muscular leader.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Slowly, they progressed towards camp. When they reached the entrance, Gingerheart shoved him in front of her. He limped into the clearing, Gingerheart close behind. She ran forward and dropped her shrew on the fresh-kill pile before helping him to the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt! Jayfeather!” she called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What now?” came Jayfeather’s irritated voice, and Gingerheart gave Lionstar a small shove into the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oy, again?” Furrypelt asked. “Lionstar, how many times are you going to get injured?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Too many,” Lionstar hissed through clenched teeth. “Man, I hate not having my powers anymore.” As soon as the battle with the four was over, Lionstar, Jayfeather, and Dovewing had once again lost their powers.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Here, lie down,” Jayfeather ordered blandly. Lionstar flopped into Furrypelt’s nest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What did he do this time?” Furrypelt asked, directing the question at Gingerheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We were hunting and he got his pawpad impaled by a briar thorn.” Gingerheart explained. “He said it really stings.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It does!” Lionstar cried, wincing as Jayfeather started touching and inspecting the injured paw. Jayfeather continued as though his brother hadn’t said anything. “Can’t you take a hint?” Lionstar growled through clenched teeth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can, I just ignore them.” Jayfeather replied, still inspecting Lionstar’s paw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re going to need marigold, right?” Furrypelt called. “And some comfrey?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that should work,” Jayfeather agreed. Furrypelt pulled the herbs that Gingerheart felt she should recognize out of the store and started chewing them up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart watched as Furrypelt chewed the comfrey into a poultice while Jayfeather started chewing up the marigold. Furrypelt put the comfrey poultice on Lionstar’s paw. “That feels better,” he murmured, a look of drunk relief crossing his face. Jayfeather then put the poultice of marigold on top. ''Clearly comfrey is a painkiller, but what does the marigold do? ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh, what does that marigold do?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It should theoretically keep the wound from being infected.” Jayfeather replied. “And right now I’m really hoping the marigold will actually do its job.” Gingerheart did not have to ask why. Jayfeather did not want his brother losing his last life.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The thing that scared Gingerheart was it was too easily possible that it could happen. She remembered Deadfoot as a kit. Poor Hopkit, Talltail had been teaching him to hunt, and he’d cut his paw on a sharp rock. It had gotten seriously infected, giving him a ridiculously high fever, and he’d been on the brink of death.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stay off that paw for the rest of the day,” Jayfeather warned Lionstar, putting cobwebs around the paw to keep the poultices on.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Please, StarClan, Gingerheart thought desperately. ''Please don’t let Lionstar die so soon. He’s just become leader.''

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 3= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt stared desperately at Lionstar. His paw had not gotten any better in the past few days. In fact, it had gotten much, much worse. He had a high fever, and the chilling leaf-fall winds were no help. His paw had gotten infected.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt, get me some feverfew,” Jayfeather instructed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “All that’s left are the wilted leaves!” Furrypelt cried, digging fruitlessly through the storage cleft. “I haven’t had time to get more!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then give me the wilted ones!” Jayfeather growled. “And get some fresh ones later.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jayfeather,” Lionstar murmured quietly, opening his eyes halfway. His voice was hoarse from not being used much lately. “You know it’s okay if you can’t save me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That doesn’t mean I won’t try,” Jayfeather mewed determinedly, gritting his teeth. “You’ve had a short reign as leader. It can’t end now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt knew Jayfeather had had a rough life, and losing his only remaining sibling would just make it worse times infinity nine. Well, maybe not infinity nine, but at least one hundred.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gazing pitifully at Lionstar, Furrypelt gave Jayfeather the feverfew. She reached into the storage cleft and pulled out wilted marigold leaves. I’ll go herb-picking right after this, she told herself. She chewed up the marigold into a poultice while Jayfeather gave Lionstar the feverfew.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt finally spat out the marigold, as it was now a nice poultice, and spread it on Lionstar’s paw. She wrapped some cobwebs around the paw and backed away. StarClan, let him get better, Furrypelt pleaded, though most of her hope had at this point faded. She had about five percent of it left. A very small spark of hope, and Furrypelt was sure that by sunset that spark would be extinguished.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll go get some more herbs,” Furrypelt announced, exiting the den. The stench of Lionstar’s sickness that she’d grown used to disappeared as she stepped into the fresh air. She walked towards the camp entrance and exited through the tunnel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt started routing where to go as she was walking. She knew feverfew and marigold both grew well near water, so she’d start at the river at the ShadowClan border, then work her way back, stopping by the lake, pass camp and check the river on WindClan’s side, then head back to camp with what she found.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Making her way through bushes and brambles, Furrypelt pushed onward through ThunderClan’s territory, occasionally taking a small detour to avoid a hunting patrol so she wouldn’t disturb their prey.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally she reached the ShadowClan border. She smelled feverfew, and spotted the small bush of daisy-looking flowers. She picked a fair bit, then turned and looked for marigold. She found a single flower. Not worth it, she thought. ''I’ll just check the lake. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> She started towards the lake, and along the way, had to quickly dodge a flying Maplepaw as she leaped towards a blackbird about Furrypelt’s head. Furrypelt knew she wasn’t going to catch it, but didn’t bother saying anything, and instead chuckled to herself as she heard Maplepaw crash and mew, “Aw, man! Mouse-dung!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt reached the edge of the lake, and to her pleasure, spotted a small clump of marigold. She ran over and put down the feverfew, then pulled bit the stems of the marigold plants, then dropped them on the ground next to the feverfew and picked it all up in a big bouquet that was difficult to hold in her jaws all at once.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Deciding she wouldn’t bother with the WindClan border, Furrypelt walked back to camp, tripping over tree roots multiple times, causing her to drop the herbs and curse under her breath.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt finally stumbled into camp and walked back to the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I got some fresh herbs!” Furrypelt announced, spitting them onto the floor. The stench of sickness overwhelmed her, and she resisted the urge to gag.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Excellent!” Jayfeather cried. “I’m glad it’s still early newleaf, so the herbs aren’t wilted and dry yet.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, we don’t have too much of that left before leaf-bare,” Furrypelt sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather turned around where Lionstar was laying—evidently asleep—and shook him awake.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wha—?” Lionstar murmured groggily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Here’s some fresh feverfew,” Jayfeather mewed. “Try eating some. It has to help!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Lionstar murmured, but ate the herbs anyway. Furrypelt noticed him wince as he swallowed, and guessed he had a sore throat, then put his head back down.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Should we give him something for that sore throat?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let him rest,” Jayfeather replied, his tone more gentle than usual.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt gazed pitifully again at Lionstar as he immediately lost consciousness. As Furrypelt studied him—as she’d predicted—she lost all hope of him getting better. ''We’re just delaying the inevitable at this point. ''She realized sadly.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “Seriously?” Gingerheart cried across the border. “That stream is neutral territory!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He was too close to our border!” Mudpelt growled. I prefer his sister, Gingerheart thought irritably.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You hardly use that stretch of woodland in your territory anyway!” Gingerheart pointed out exasperatedly. “And he just fell in! What is the big deal?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mudpelt went to respond, but no words came out of his mouth. ''Ha! He can’t argue against that! He can’t retaliate!''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why should we care what a Twoleg thinks?” Mudpelt hissed. ''And, he retaliated. ''Gingerheart sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Guys, let’s just leave,” Gingerheart suggested. I’m not going to let them get to me, Gingerheart thought smugly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sparrowpaw shook the remaining water out of his fur, splattering Gingerheart and the rest of the hunting patrol, which consisted of Sparrowpaw’s mentor, Stormcloud, Ivypool, Lilyheart, and Alderfoot. Gingerheart remembered when Alderfoot couldn’t make a single catch, but now he was as good as any other warrior.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sparrowpaw, next time try a little harder not to fall in the stream,” Stormcloud scolded gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Sparrowpaw mewed sheepishly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s just keep hunting and forget that happened,” Gingerheart meowed. She’d been put in charge of the hunting patrol, and she was going to be the best leader she could be.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leading the way closer to the middle of their territory, Gingerheart sent Stormcloud, Sparrowpaw, and Alderfoot towards the lake, and she, Ivypool, and Lilyheart took the border opposite the lake. They were to meet at the Sky Oak when they were satisfied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart led the way, and soon stopped, and held her tail erect to tell the others to do the same. Listening and sniffing hard, she located a squirrel, and silently flicked her tail to tell Ivypool and Lilyheart to move to opposite ends of the squirrel so if it ran someone would be ready.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sat and watched as they moved silently into position, then sank behind the bushes. She saw them raise their tails above the bush to signal they were ready. Gingerheart sank to the ground in the hunter’s crouch, then started creeping forward pawstep by pawstep until she was within range.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She accidentally lashed her tail on the leaves as she pounced, alerting the squirrel and it ran towards Ivypool. She leaped, outstretched her claws, but the squirrel saw it coming a split second too early. It quickly changed direction, but was now heading straight for Lilyheart, who was a bit more tactful. The squirrel ran towards her, and at the last possible second, Lilyheart lashed out a paw from behind the bush and killed the squirrel with a swift claw to the neck.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nice catch,” Gingerheart congratulated, trotting over and burying the squirrel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks,” Lilyheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They stood there in awkward silence for a moment, until Ivypool pricked her ears. Gingerheart and Lilyheart turned to her and she mouthed the word, “Shrew.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> This time it was Ivypool’s turn to lead, and Gingerheart and Lilyheart made their way silently to the other side of the shrew. Gingerheart crouched down behind a bush and waved her tail to show that she was ready.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ivypool pounced, and the shrew raced towards Gingerheart. Gingerheart placed a paw on its back and bit its neck.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you think this is enough for now?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re the leader,” Ivypool pointed out. “But, probably, with what the others caught.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The fresh-kill pile is still pretty well stocked at the moment,” Lilyheart added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s head to the Sky Oak then,” Gingerheart decided, taking the lead and walking through the forest. They stopped and unburied their squirrel, then proceeded to the Sky Oak.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They found that the toms were already waiting for them by the time they reached the massive oak tree.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good hunting?” Stormcloud asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, actually,” Gingerheart replied showing them the squirrel and shrew. “What’d you get?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We got this blackbird and this magpie.” Alderfoot replied, gesturing to the two dead birds at their paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Excellent!” Gingerheart cried. “Let’s get them back to camp.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The six cats picked up their four kills and walked back to camp. Gingerheart and Sparrowpaw were the ones left without prey in their jaws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They finally walked into ThunderClan’s camp, and Gingerheart first looked not to the fresh-kill pile or where Foxfoot stood, but to the medicine den. Lionstar was in there, sick. Gingerheart wanted to find out if he was okay.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She quickly trotted over to the medicine den. She didn’t want to walk in just in case it was contagious, even though she was pretty sure it wasn’t. She was no medicine cat, even if she’d wanted to be when she’d first arrived. Furrypelt had a better memory for that kind of stuff anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt?” she called through the bramble screen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gimme a sec!” came her sister’s voice, and soon the ginger-and-white figure of Furrypelt walked out of the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How’s Lionstar doing?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> This question clearly caught Furrypelt by surprise, because she just stood there for a moment, then sighed and mewed, “Not well at all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maybe some of the prey we caught will help?” Gingerheart meowed hopefully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, Gingerheart, he’s beyond help.” Furrypelt sighed solemnly. “Lionstar is dying, and on his last life.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, can I at least see him before he’s dead?” Gingerheart asked. She was so shocked that Lionstar was dying already, and she needed to see him in his final moments of life. She just had to!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Judges?” Furrypelt called inside the den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I suppose it’s fine,” came Jayfeather’s gruff and grumpy voice. “But bring Foxfoot, too, since he’s deputy. He should be able to see his leader off to StarClan.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll get Foxfoot,” Gingerheart mewed quickly, tearing across camp to where Stormcloud was reporting the incident with WindClan to Foxfoot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxfoot!” Gingerheart called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m in the middle of something!” Foxfoot growled, but not too harshly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is urgent!” Gingerheart hissed. “Lionstar is dying.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next thing Gingerheart knew Foxfoot was on the other side of camp, trying to push through the bramble screen quickly to get to Lionstar. It did not go well; he instead got very stuck and tangled. Furrypelt still stood at the entrance.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good job,” she praised her son sarcastically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Could you just get me down?” Foxfoot asked, struggling against the brambles. “Man, these things hurt!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt fell over, letting out mrrows of laughter, so Gingerheart, choking back laughter of her own, had to walk over and untie the knots binding Foxfoot to the brambles.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There,” Gingerheart mewed, watching Foxfoot fall to the ground and pulling a bramble thorn out of her paw. The stinging lasted for a second before disappearing, and she gently pushed her way into the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Once Lionstar is dead you’re going to have to treat Foxfoot,” Furrypelt mewed, coming in after her son.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I feel worried about the fact that he’s going to be leader of this Clan.” Jayfeather sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ve had plenty more experience than you have with life!” Foxfoot hissed, then turned to Lionstar and flung himself at him, then jumped back. “Man, he is really hot!” Foxfoot cried. “Why hasn’t he combusted into flames yet?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My point still stands,” Jayfeather growled, crouching beside Foxfoot next to his brother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar?” Foxfoot asked, pawing Lionstar gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wha, Foxfoot?” Lionstar croaked quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar, please don’t die,” Foxfoot mewed, his voice cracking. “You’ve just become leader!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But I lived a good life,” Lionstar pointed out. “And this is obviously my destiny. Otherwise—” he broke off into a cough, then continued. “I don’t think I’d be here right now.” He forced a weak smile, but Foxfoot did not return it. Nor did Gingerheart, Furrypelt, or Jayfeather.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar,” Furrypelt mewed quietly. “You were my favorite of the Three!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, standing right here!” Jayfeather pointed out. “She disrespects her own mentor like that,” he added in an undertone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Grumpy, blind, mind-stalker or mostly-kind extremely skilled fighter,” Furrypelt meowed. “Which would you choose?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well when you put it that way,” Jayfeather muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just be glad Dovewing lost her powers,” Lionstar croaked, giving a weak smile again. This time Gingerheart had to give a tiny laugh. His body shook as he coughed again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, it’s amazing the damage one little briar thorn did,” Furrypelt murmured thoughtfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Under terrible circumstances, yes,” Jayfeather meowed. “But usually it’s just a scratch that goes away in a day or two.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Instead in a day or two, it made him die.” Furrypelt sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not like I chose for this to happen!” Lionstar hissed hoarsely.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have we forgotten that Lionstar is dying?” Gingerheart pointed out irritably.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you!” Foxfoot agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course not,” Furrypelt meowed calmly. “I just mentioned it. Weren’t you listening?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not my point!” Gingerheart growled. “I meant, why do we have such a sarcastic, joke-filled air? Our leader is dying!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What? Just trying to lighten the mood.” Furrypelt mewed. “Unintentionally.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re fired,” Foxfoot growled. “Get out.” But Gingerheart could tell there was a joking sense about the way he said it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Suddenly they heard a gasp from Lionstar as he choked for breath, and they all huddled close around him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar?” Gingerheart asked worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Squirrelflight?” Lionstar choked. “Bramblestar? Hollyleaf? Are you coming to take me?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lionstar!” Foxfoot screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lead my Clan well, Foxstar.” Lionstar murmured quietly. His eyes closed, his breath rattling in his chest. Everyone remained silent, then, Lionstar’s body stopped moving. He was gone.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 4= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt helped drag Lionstar’s body out of the clearing just in time to see the evening patrol walk out. She hadn’t realized how late it had been when Gingerheart’s patrol got back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, I didn’t become deputy very long ago,” Foxfoot sighed. “And I’m already leader. I remember being deputy like it was yesterday, it was a night like tonight, except a lot colder, darker, and my daughter had just died.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We feel bad enough, stop dampening our spirits anymore.” Furrypelt snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Foxfoot apologized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gasps and murmurs broke out throughout the Clan as Lionstar’s body was laid to rest in the center of the clearing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We can start the vigil now,” Thornclaw mewed, walking away from the elders’ den and crouching beside his leader’s body. “It’s late enough.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That means Foxfoot should go get his nine lives,” Brightheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You heard her, Foxfoot,” came Jayfeather’s voice from behind Furrypelt. “Let’s go to the Moonpool.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sighed.'' My own son, yet it’s another leader ceremony I’m going to miss. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Or was it?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No.” Foxfoot growled firmly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> More gasps broke out, yet Jayfeather stayed silent.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What do you mean, ‘no’?” Birchfall asked, walking up to his former apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jayfeather is not taking me to the Moonpool,” Foxfoot repeated, just as firm. “Furrypelt is.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oh no, Furrypelt thought. As much as she wanted to see a leader ceremony first-hand, she did not want this to be happening. This could only lead to one thing, and that was a thing that she’d been trying to avoid ever since Foxfoot was born.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxfoot, Jayfeather is the medicine cat,” Birchfall pointed out. “Furrypelt is just the apprentice. She can’t take you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t understand.” Foxfoot mewed, turning away and bounding up the steps to the Highledge. Foxfoot, please, Furrypelt begged silently. ''Just let Jayfeather take you, please! ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cats of ThunderClan!” Foxfoot yowled. “There is something you must know.” ''Foxfoot, you are a complete idiot! ''Furrypelt was ready to scream at her son, but knew that wouldn’t be much better.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart and Bramblethorn are not my parents.” Foxfoot announced. Gasps once again broke out, and Furrypelt wanted to disappear into the ground. “Furrypelt and Firepelt are,” Foxfoot continued. “They are the parents of me, Mistypelt, and Rockfall.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about Squirreltail and Icepelt?” Someone called. Furrypelt could not see who, as she was now staring at her paws. She truly didn’t care who said it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Squirreltail and Icepelt are the kits of Bramblethorn and Gingerheart,” Foxfoot replied. “But I am the son of a medicine cat, and I’m not going to hide it any longer. Furrypelt is my mother, and my best friend, and she’s coming with me to the Moonpool, and that is final.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxfoot leapt of the Highledge without another word, and Furrypelt chanced a look up. She saw everyone was either staring at her or Foxfoot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sunstripe immediately ran up to Foxfoot. Furrypelt crept closer, stepping around Lionstar’s body, so she could listen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why did you never tell me?” Sunstripe mewed quietly, her voice cracked and hurt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I couldn’t,” Foxfoot sighed. Then, Wolfnose and Stripefur pushed past Furrypelt to join their mother and father.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxfoot,” Wolfnose mewed sadly. “You didn’t trust us?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We could’ve handled the truth,” Stripefur added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I wanted to tell all of you!” Foxfoot cried defensively. “I really did! But I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk my safety, my parents’ safety, my siblings’ safety. As I said, in the Twoleg world, Furrypelt was my best friend. You expected me to jeopardize her secret?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess not,” Sunstripe sighed. “But I did expect you to be able to trust your mate.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So did I,” Foxfoot sighed, hanging his head.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not his fault,” Furrypelt growled, announcing that she’d heard everything. “Don’t be mad at him. He didn’t sign up for any of this. If you’re going to be upset with someone, be upset with me. I’m the one who broke the code.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I broke the code, too,” Sunstripe pointed out. “So I don’t care about that. It was true love, no one complain about that. I care about the fact my mate didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m the one who made him keep silent,” Furrypelt cried. “He was begging me to let him tell you for moons! But I told him to keep his mouth shut for his own safety. I’m the one with trust issues! Leave Foxfoot out of this!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stood there, feeling more put together than she ever had in her life. She was defending her son, being the mother she should’ve been all those moons ago when Foxfoot was a helpless kit who needed a mother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They stood there in silence, until Furrypelt finally mewed, “Foxfoot, we need to go to the Moonpool. Come on.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> And with that, Foxfoot left his family and followed Furrypelt out of camp. Pure sadness washed over her as she was able to stop and think about what had just happened.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt forced herself to press onwards, taking the familiar path to the Moonpool. Furrypelt glanced at her son out of the corner out of her eye and saw that he looked a bit uncomfortable, and there was a slight fear scent coming off him. She knew she had to say something to reassure him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ve read about many leadership ceremonies, so you know what to expect, and how to brace yourself,” she pointed out. This seemed to help only a little bit, though. “Are you nervous?” she asked sympathetically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “A little,” Foxfoot admitted, seemingly somewhat reluctant.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t be.” Furrypelt meowed. “This will be the highlight of your life. You know, the highlight of your life that you can never tell anyone about.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re helping,” Foxfoot commented sarcastically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not like I’m the one who made the rules that you’re not allowed to talk about it!” Furrypelt cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They reached the stream dividing WindClan and ThunderClan territory, and they turned to follow the slope up to the Moonpool. The sun was on the horizon now, about to dip below. The slightest bit of red light turned everything to flame, especially Foxfoot’s already-reddish coat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They reached the top and Furrypelt started spiraling down, then glanced back and realized Foxfoot was not following her, and was instead standing at the top of the slope, gazing at the Moonpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> He opened his mouth to speak, and Furrypelt interrupted him. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s beautiful, unlike anything you’ve ever seen, etcetera. Can we continue now?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, rude.” Foxfoot muttered, walking down the spiral path to the surface of the pool. “With the Moonstone, you had to wait until the moon was directly overhead before you could use it. Isn’t it the same with the Moonpool?” he asked, staring at the starry surface.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, thank StarClan.” Furrypelt replied. “But if that were the case we would’ve sat vigil for Lionstar a bit before coming here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, right, duh.” Foxfoot realized, looking embarrassed. “Uh, remind me how this works again.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just lay down, lap a few drops of water, then touch your nose to the surface.” Furrypelt mewed, trying to keep her patience. Foxfoot did as she has instructed, and Furrypelt laid down beside him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt lapped the icy cold water and touched her nose to the surface. She closed her eyes and awaited the feeling of cold stone to disappear from under her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Suddenly she felt grass under her paws, and opened her eyes. Where was she? Wait, was this the Fourtrees?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt scanned the clearing. Four giant oak trees at the corners, and a giant boulder flat enough for people to stand on at the edge—the Great Rock. Yep, this was definitely the Fourtrees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxfoot stirred next to her. “Whoa, is this the Fourtrees?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Furrypelt replied. “And there’s no sign of intelligent life anywhere.” She forced a smile at the quip, and then she heard someone speaking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Actually, there’s me,” came a gentle, female voice, that Furrypelt found vaguely familiar, but she wanted to continue the reference.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s that?” she called out, making a sudden movement to turn to the she-cat, who was standing not that far from her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Whoa!” the she-cat cried. ''Thank you! ''Furrypelt thought. ''You did it perfectly. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt looked to Foxfoot. “We did a perfect Toy Story quote!” she cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Squirrelflight?” Foxfoot mewed quietly, disregarding Furrypelt. Furrypelt looked at the she-cat again and with a jolt realized it was her foster mother. She stared at the dark ginger she-cat, her white forepaw glowing in the soft moonlight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Squirrelflight,” Furrypelt murmured, and guilt swept away her grief for Lionstar. If she hadn’t come to ThunderClan, Squirrelflight hadn’t died, which meant Bramblestar wouldn’t’ve died. Indirectly, this meant it was even Furrypelt’s fault that Lionstar was dead!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt, don’t feel guilty,” Squirrelflight mewed soothingly, as though reading Furrypelt’s thoughts. “This was meant to happen. It is not your fault.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Squirrelflight started studying their surroundings. “It doesn’t feel like very long ago I was standing right here, giving Lionstar his first life.” She sighed. “But at least now I’m with him again.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Squirrelflight turned back to Foxfoot. “Argh, I never welcomed you, did I? Sorry. Welcome, Foxfoot. Are you ready to receive your nine lives?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Foxfoot sighed, looking anxious.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I wish I’d known you when I lived.” Squirrelflight mewed solemnly, meeting eyes with Foxfoot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Me too.” Foxfoot mewed. Furrypelt also would’ve liked Foxfoot to have personally known her foster mother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Squirrelflight touched her nose to Foxfoot’s head. He tensed up, and started shaking as though electrocuted. “With this life, I give you protection. Use this to protect your Clan as a mother would her children.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Squirrelflight stepped away, leaving Foxfoot panting slightly. Squirrelflight turned and stood at the edge of the clearing, quickly replaced by a huge dark brown tabby that was all too familiar to both of them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bramblestar,” Foxfoot breathed, staring up at the former ThunderClan leader.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bramblestar did not hesitate to give Foxfoot his life. He placed his nose on Foxfoot’s head, and he shook, though not as badly this time. “With this life I give you sympathy and understanding. Use it for the troubled cats in your Clan.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared from Foxfoot, to Bramblestar, to Squirrelflight, and realized something. “Oh my gosh!” she cried. “Foxfoot, you got Squirrelflight’s fur and Bramblestar’s eyes!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks for pointing that out,” Foxfoot mewed dryly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bramblestar retreated to the edge of the clearing to stand with his mate, and a flame-colored tom entered the clearing, with bright, emerald green eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Firestar!” Foxfoot cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt leaned over to Foxfoot and started whispering in his ear. “Quick! Bow down to the best leader the forest has seen!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I heard that,” Firestar meowed, sounding amused. He stepped forward and touched Foxfoot’s head with his nose. “With this life I give you courage. Use it to fight on when things look bleak.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxfoot seemed shaken by this life, although he stood up with his head held higher and he looked stronger, despite the fact that his legs were shaking madly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Firestar stood off to the edge of the clearing, joining his successor and his daughter. Furrypelt watched as the bushes off to the side of the clearing rustled, and a blue-gray, muscular she-cat with blue eyes stepped in, her muzzle tinged with silver.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt recognized Bluestar immediately, though Foxfoot didn’t seem to as quickly. He seemed to recognize her as she bent down to give him his life. “With this life I give you compassion. Use it for those in the Clan weaker than yourself.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxfoot just stood there afterwards, shaking madly. Furrypelt had forgotten how much the life-giving process hurt the person receiving the lives. She hoped Foxfoot was okay.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Once Bluestar was off to the side like everyone else, the next cat came in. It was another she-cat, gray and flat-faced. “Yellowfang,” Foxfoot murmured. Yellowfang wasn’t exactly hard to recognize, especially with the flat face. Yellowfang bent down and gave Foxfoot his life. “With this life I give you the ability to stand up for what you believe to be right. No matter what anyone else tells you, follow your heart.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt found this life uncharacteristically touching for Yellowfang. She watched as the former ThunderClan medicine cat—who had helped Gingerheart give birth when Jayfeather couldn’t handle her and Furrypelt giving birth simultaneously—walked away to the edge of the clearing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared at Foxfoot. While his legs were still shaking, he looked stronger than he’d ever had in his life, cat or Twoleg.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Next came a golden tabby with tufted ears that Furrypelt had almost forgotten about; he was one of the characters that died early in the Warriors series.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionheart stepped up to Foxfoot, and Furrypelt remembered all that the wise tom had done in the few books he was alive. He was Graystripe’s mentor, Bluestar’s second deputy, and father to Frostfur’s kits, Brackenfur, Cinderpelt, Brightheart, and Thornclaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Touching his nose to Foxfoot’s head, Lionheart mewed, “With this life I give you justice. Even though your Clan must come first, make sure there is fairness for every cat in the forest.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lionheart turned away, taking spot next to Bluestar. Next was a light brown tabby, a long tail, and a torn ear.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Longtail!” Foxfoot cried. “You’re my favorite Warriors character!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I didn’t like him until he became blind,” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rude,” Longtail growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, before that I thought you were on Tigerstar’s side!” Furrypelt cried. “Can you blame me? After that I liked you, too, and was sad when you died. Your death was both brave and completely idiotic at the same time.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, thanks.” Longtail muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt!” Foxfoot complained. “Can we please continue with my ceremony?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, sorry,” Longtail apologized. He touched his nose to Foxfoot’s head, and meowed, “With this life I give you wisdom. Use it when you’re face with the hardest decisions in life.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Longtail stepped away, joining the others on the edge of the clearing. Furrypelt turned to Foxfoot. “You holding up okay?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Foxfoot panted. “Have we hit nine yet?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Longtail was seven,” Furrypelt replied, amused. Foxfoot groaned, and it took all of Furrypelt’s strength not to laugh.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next cat was a large white tom, and Bluestar smiled broadly. There was no mistaking this warrior. It was Whitestorm, Bluestar’s nephew, who died in the battle against BloodClan. He was also Firestar’s first deputy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Whitestorm stepped forward to Foxfoot, who suddenly looked a lot smaller compared to Whitestorm. The white tom touched his nose to Foxfoot’s head. “With this life I give you the understanding that you’re never alone. Sometimes you may feel that you have to make hard decisions as a leader by yourself, but you can always rely on your Clanmates to be there when you need them. Especially your family.” Whitestorm glanced at Furrypelt then backed away. Foxfoot was shaking, but his face did not give a shaken expression, and instead he just gazed at Whitestorm, then turned his head and looked at Furrypelt. Whitestorm smiled warmly then turned and walked to the edge of the clearing and pushed a space between Bluestar and Firestar. Furrypelt chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Only one more life,” Furrypelt promised her son. Foxfoot put on a determined face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next cat made fresh grief swamp Furrypelt. It seemed Foxfoot felt the same.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt saw the flash of grief in Foxfoot’s amber eyes as Lionstar stepped up to him. “Don’t be scared, Foxfoot,” Lionstar mewed. “And do not miss me too much. You will make a great leader.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxfoot did not seem too comforted by these words, but Lionstar took no notice. He merely touched his nose to Foxfoot’s head as though nothing had happened. “With this life I give you the ability to be true to yourself. Remember: you shape your own destiny.” Lionstar stepped away. Foxfoot had received his last life. He stood up strong, and seemingly forced his legs to stop shaking. Lionstar stepped back and the other eight cats fanned out behind him, and more ranks of StarClan gathered around behind them. Lionstar began the traditional words to give Foxfoot his name. “I hail you by your new name, Foxstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ThunderClan. Defend it well; care for the young and old; honor your ancestors and traditions of the Warrior Code; live each life with pride and dignity.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar! Foxstar! Foxstar!” StarClan started chanting, and Furrypelt joined in.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Psst, Furrypelt!” someone called. Furrypelt turned and saw Bluestar standing off to the side. Furrypelt ran over, dreading what she was about to hear.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt,” Bluestar mewed gently. “Is there something you want to ask?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt as though Bluestar was reading her mind. “Yeah,” she replied awkwardly. “Why did Bramblestar and Lionstar die so soon after becoming leader?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “To make room for Foxstar,” Bluestar replied. It took Furrypelt a moment to process the sentence, then she realized what she meant, and felt shocked. Bluestar kept talking. “This was Foxstar’s destiny from the beginning. Why do you think you guys were reincarnated in the first place?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared at Bluestar. Suddenly so much made so much sense!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, one more thing I need to tell you,” Bluestar mewed quickly, but before she could say what it was, Furrypelt was waking up, and StarClan was fading. She opened her eyes at the edge of the Moonpool, and hoped that what Bluestar was about to say wasn’t too important. If it was, Furrypelt thought. ''Then she’ll contact me in my dreams next time I’m asleep. ''Furrypelt then realized it’d be a while before she slept again. She had to sit vigil for Lionstar tonight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned to Foxstar. “Ready to go back to camp, Foxstar?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Foxstar replied. “Man, leader, I’ve dreamed of this moment but never thought it’d happen.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, it did happen.” Furrypelt meowed. “And that can be taken as a good or bad thing depending on how you want to look at it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that’s true,” Foxstar agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have you thought about who you’re going to make deputy?” Furrypelt asked. Moonhigh was nearing; a deputy needed to be picked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, actually, I have.” Foxstar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that’s good.” Furrypelt meowed. “Picked one out?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yep.” Foxstar replied casually.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who is it?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ll have to wait and see!” A playful, mysterious, mischievous glint appeared in Foxstar’s eyes, and Furrypelt just had to chuckle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar led the way back to camp, looking very strong and proud. Taking his role very seriously, I see, Furrypelt thought, amused. She had to resist the urge to laugh out loud and be rude.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar and Furrypelt entered camp and their cheerful air was immediately destroyed by the depressed air of everyone sitting vigil for Lionstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know we’re in the middle of a vigil, but we still have to call a deputy,” Furrypelt reminded her son quietly into his ear.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll interrupt it for a moment, it’ll be fine.” Foxstar whispered back. He leapt onto the Highledge, and called, “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We are gathered, mouse-brain!” Thornclaw called up. “Why are you interrupting the vigil?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I still need to call a deputy,” Foxstar explained calmly. He cleared his throat and meowed, “I say these words in front of StarClan so that the spirit of Lionstar may hear and approve my choice. Rockfall will be the new deputy of ThunderClan!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Shocked murmurs rippled around camp, and Rockfall, just as shocked and confused, awkwardly limped forward. Furrypelt opened her mouth to chant his name, but Foxstar kept talking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall, ever since we were kits, even when you broke your leg, even when you trained in the Dark Forest, in my heart you have been a warrior, and my brother. In the Twoleg world, I never had a brother. Now that I do, I want him by my side.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar dipped his head as though allowing everyone to chant.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall! Rockfall! Rockfall!” Everyone cried, Furrypelt the loudest. The secret was out, and she could announce her love for her kits as much as she wanted. Her son was leader, her other son deputy! Her sons had had a very much eventful life. Then Mistypelt… huh. She was just kinda there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''Oh well. ''Furrypelt sighed. ''I’m sure she prefers it that way, anyway. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 5= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> G ingerheart opened her eyes. She’d closed her eyes, but had not slept all night. Bright dawn light blinded her, and she blinked a few times, then turned to Lionstar’s body, which was now gleaming gold and was rather blinding, too.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stood up and stretched, then glanced towards where Foxstar was sitting. Gingerheart wanted to be able to brag how her own son was leader at the next Gathering, but wasn’t sure if she could. It had been revealed in ThunderClan that she was not Foxstar’s mother, but would they reveal it to the other three Clans, or should the secret be kept? She’d have to ask Furrypelt once the vigil was over. Wait, shouldn’t it be over by now?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart glanced towards Foxstar again. He stood up, caught her eye, then nodded. “The vigil is over!” he announced.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A lot of the cats—particularly the younger warriors and apprentices—let out sighs of relief. Oakbranch looked particularly glad that he it was over.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart realized that just because they’d sat vigil didn’t mean they weren’t doing patrols. Why wasn’t Rockfall doing anything?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart walked over to Foxstar. “Are we still doing the dawn patrol?” she asked, then let out a big yawn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, I’ll get on that.” Foxstar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know you’re not deputy anymore, right?” Gingerheart checked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, but Rockfall’s probably tired. I’ll make sure he gets his job later.” Foxstar replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar stood up tall. “Anyone who’s willing to do a dawn patrol go to Rockfall! He will decide from there!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall looked startled, and Foxstar walked over to him. “It’s not difficult,” he assured him calmly. “You’ll need two patrols; a border patrol and a hunting patrol. You need at least four cats on a patrol, no more than six. It’s that simple.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Rockfall meowed, seemingly trying to calm himself. He turned and realized Gingerheart was right there. “Gingerheart, do you want to do a patrol?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks but no thanks,” Gingerheart replied. “I’m a bit tired, but I’ll do a patrol later, if you like.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, that will work.” Rockfall replied, in a casual voice that seemed forced. “Perhaps you can take the evening patrol?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure,” Gingerheart mewed, turning and heading for the warriors’ den. She turned around and saw that Sparrowpaw had run over to Rockfall, and some of the senior warriors. Dawnfur was over there. Oakbranch, however, was already in his nest in the warriors’ den. She watched Stormcloud walk over to Rockfall, grumbling under his breath. Gingerheart pricked her ears to hear what he was saying. “Now I have to go on patrol because Sparrowpaw is, don’t I?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart chuckled. In some ways, not having an apprentice is better, but she’d still like to have another one.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sighing, she curled into her nest and fell asleep almost instantly.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Blearily, Gingerheart opened her eyes. Bright sunlight was filtering into the den, blinding her as she tried to adjust to the light.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stood up and stretched, then walked into the clearing. Most of the cats were now up, and looking above her, Gingerheart saw that it was a little after sunhigh; probably around two o’clock-ish.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It looked as though the hunting patrol had recently returned—or just that no one had bothered to eat yet—because the fresh-kill pile was pretty well stocked at the moment.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sitting down, Gingerheart grabbed a piece of prey she hadn’t seen in a while; a quail. She bit into it, savoring the taste. She heard someone sit down next to her, and turned to find her sister, Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Enjoying that quail?” Furrypelt asked, eyeing it jealously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you want a bite?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes please!” Furrypelt mewed loudly, snatching the quail from Gingerheart and taking a greedily large bite, leaving very little meat left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Gingerheart complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Furrypelt mewed innocently with her mouth full. “You said I could take a bite, so I took a bite!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I meant a bite a bit smaller than that!” Gingerheart pointed out, frustrated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You never specified that.” Furrypelt pointed out calmly before picking out a squirrel for herself; one bite—no matter how large—couldn’t be enough to fill one’s stomach.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sadly took the last small bite of quail meat from the bone and watched as Furrypelt devoured the squirrel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How are you so hungry?” Gingerheart asked, surprised. Furrypelt just shrugged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart remembered that she’d wanted to ask Furrypelt something.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Furrypelt,” she mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah?” Furrypelt asked, once again with her mouth full.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Now that the secret’s out about you and Foxstar, am I allowed to talk about it at the Gathering?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re going to have to talk to Foxstar about that,” Furrypelt replied. “I never agreed to have the secret be out in the first place. If you were paying attention to my face, I was silently begging him to stop being an idiot.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart was surprised by this answer, but did not question it; it sounded a lot like Furrypelt when you thought about it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart studied Furrypelt’s face. She seemed worried about something.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” she asked, in a voice that said “Don’t try to hide it, I know something’s wrong.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “At the Moonpool last night, after Foxstar got his name and lives, Bluestar called me over.” Furrypelt sighed. “She told me that it was Foxstar’s destiny to be leader, thus why Bramblestar and Lionstar died so quickly.” Gingerheart could not find a problem with this, but then realized it was because Furrypelt was not finished as she kept talking. “She then said there was something else, but then I woke up. I’m hoping it wasn’t too important.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart could do nothing more than stare at her. Now she could understand why Furrypelt was so anxious. What if it was something important?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt, did you sleep while the patrols were out?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No,” Furrypelt replied. “Rockfall said the hunting patrol was short one person so I joined.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why don’t you go sleep and maybe Bluestar will contact you in your dreams?” Gingerheart suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that’s what I was just thinking,” Furrypelt agreed. “But I was so hungry…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I suppose that’s understandable,” Gingerheart consoled. It’s hard to fall asleep when your stomach is growling.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt yawned and walked away. Gingerheart figured she was going to collapse in her nest and hope StarClan talked to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sat there, then stood and walked over to Rockfall. “Any patrols I need to take care of?” she needed something to do.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I just sent one out, and besides, you’re doing the evening one, remember?” Rockfall replied. Gingerheart sighed then looked at Rockfall. She remembered when he was just a little kit, relying on her for milk. The good old days, Gingerheart thought. Now he was all grown up. He was deputy! And he’d had many experiences, such as getting his leg crushed by a boulder and never being able to walk correctly again, and joining the Dark Forest, causing a giant battle, then as the battle began switching to the correct side and having everyone doubt him and risking his life several times. ''Ouch, not the best life. ''Gingerheart realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maybe she could play with the kits. Applekit and Frostkit were so restless lately… Gingerheart hoped that someone would move into the nursery so they’d have some other kits to play with. They were only two moons old, so it wouldn’t take too long for new kits to be able to play with them safely.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart entered the nursery. Hollytuft and Daisy looked exhausted, and Applekit and Frostkit were rolling around and bouncing as if they had all the energy in the world.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, Gingerheart, thank goodness!” Hollytuft cried. “Daisy and I sat the vigil, but the kits fell asleep, and we couldn’t sleep afterwards because we had to keep an eye on these two!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I did get a nap, and I need something to do.” Gingerheart meowed. “Perhaps I can take these kits off your paws?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, that’d be great, thank you!” Hollytuft cried gratefully. Then grief flashed in her eyes. “I just can’t believe my father is gone.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I remember when he was just a little kit,” Daisy sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So do I,” Gingerheart mewed. “I remember exactly where Leafpool and Squirrelflight were when he was born, even.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Daisy looked confused for a moment, then mewed, “Oh, right, your weird Twoleg-reincarnation-thingy. I forgot.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can tell,” Gingerheart meowed. “Applekit, Frostkit! Wanna come play with me?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Applekit and Frostkit froze where they were, scrambled off of each other, stared at Gingerheart with excited eyes, and then ran out of the nursery. “Come on, Gingerheart!” Applekit called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Chuckling to herself, Gingerheart followed the kits outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Look, Applekit!” Frostkit cried, pointing her tail at Gingerheart. “It’s an intruder from ShadowClan!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get her!” Applekit squealed, leaping up at Gingerheart. For a small little kit, her jump height was impressive. She managed to get near Gingerheart’s face, and Gingerheart took a step back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Frostkit leaped onto Gingerheart’s tail, and bit it. It was enough to make Gingerheart gasp in pain, but after she got over the initial shock from not expecting it, Gingerheart didn’t really feel it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Playing along, Gingerheart swatted Applekit away as she jumped up again, but very lightly, so that when Applekit hit the ground, she was easily able to stand back up again, seeming unhurt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> After a while, Applekit and Frostkit were standing side by side, so Gingerheart started trotting towards them, as they were a little ways away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She’s charging us!” Applekit shrieked. “Frostkit, let’s trip her!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The two kits ran up to where Gingerheart’s front legs would be soon and stood stiff. Gingerheart kept running, despite what she knew was coming, and purposefully tripped over the kits, trying carefully not to hurt the she-kits.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lying on her stomach, Gingerheart felt two small weights fall on her back. Twisting her head, she could just barely see Applekit and Frostkit standing triumphantly on top of her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Take that, you fox-hearted ShadowClan intruder!” Frostkit spat. Gingerheart couldn’t help but let out a mrrow of laughter.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart, can you give us a badger ride?” Applekit squeaked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure I can!” Gingerheart replied stood up, and the two kits on her started squeaking as they wobbled, trying to get a secure pawhold. Finally they dug their claws into Gingerheart’s back, and she winced at the feeling of a bunch of tiny needles digging into her. She pretended not to notice, however, and started stomping around camp like a badger. Their squeals of excitement and joy lit up Gingerheart’s spirits.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She suddenly heard growling, and Applekit looking embarrassed. “I’m hungry.” She complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go get milk,” Frostkit suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re not old enough for fresh-kill yet?” Gingerheart asked, crouching down so the kits to climb off of her back. Apparently she wasn’t paying as much attention to these kits as she thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, we’re still on milk,” Frostkit sighed. “I can’t wait to try fresh-kill, though!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Those voles look juicy,” Applekit agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Apples are also pretty juicy, Gingerheart thought, unable to resist smiling with amusement as she did.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s so funny?” Applekit asked in a scolding manner that made it even harder for Gingerheart not to laugh.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nothing,” she assured the kit. “Go get your milk.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Applekit nodded and she and Frostkit ran off towards the nursery. Gingerheart smiled with satisfaction and turned away. She spotted some of her friends, Ambermoon and Sparkheart, and went to chat with them.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 6= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt, following Gingerheart’s suggestion, curled up in her nest in the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Finally decided to sleep?” Jayfeather asked. “I thought you didn’t do that.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I do when I’ve stayed up for more than twenty-four hours and then ran around and expecting a message from StarClan.” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why are you expecting a message from StarClan?” Jayfeather asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “During Foxstar’s leader ceremony, Bluestar called me over, explained to me about destiny and why Bramblestar and Lionstar died early, then said ‘Oh, also,’, then I woke up.” Furrypelt explained quickly. “Now let me sleep; I need to talk to StarClan! That and I’m exhausted.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Jayfeather mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt tucked her nose tight under her nose to keep it warm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It did not take long for her to fall asleep. Her weariness from the vigil on top of the exhilarating hunt had made her exhausted. However, she could not truly sleep, for she was in StarClan’s hunting grounds. While this is what she wanted, it meant she wouldn’t actually get any rest, and she’d be just as tired when she woke up. I’ll take a second nap, she decided.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt looked around. “Bluestar?” she called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes entered the clearing Furrypelt was standing in.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bluestar, what did you want to tell me last night?” Furrypelt asked anxiously. Half of her did not want to know, but she knew it was important.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great danger is coming,” Bluestar mewed seriously, voicing Furrypelt’s greatest fear. I just can’t catch a break, can I? She sighed. Bluestar kept talking. “You must find a new medicine cat apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Furrypelt asked in surprise. “But I am a medicine cat apprentice! I have a mentor, and he’s not retiring any time soon.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar gave Furrypelt a knowing look, and her stomach twisted. “The new medicine cat will know about the Clans and about herbs, and you will find her in the old forest.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The old forest?” Furrypelt repeated. “But that’s a long ways away! With leaf-bare coming up I can’t leave my Clan for that long!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You must!” Bluestar cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why?” Furrypelt meowed. What was going on that required another trained medicine cat? And why ThunderClan? They had her, Jayfeather, Leafpool, and Cinderheart already! If anything ShadowClan needed the new medicine cat apprentice. They only had one—Puddlefur. Littlecloud had died recently, leaving Puddlefur ShadowClan’s only medicine cat. WindClan and RiverClan each had two. Although Mothwing was starting to get old. Furrypelt had noticed that at Gatherings her golden muzzle was flecked with silver.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ll know in due time.” Bluestar replied. “But you must trust me!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, okay, geez, I’ll make a plan to leave.” Furrypelt growled, backing away from Bluestar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good.” Bluestar mewed, turning away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait!” Furrypelt called after her. “One more thing.” Bluestar turned back to face her. “Will you follow us? Will you and other StarClan cats follow us to the old forest, so we’re not doing this alone?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who is ‘us’?” Bluestar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I’m not traveling alone, I’m going to need a group!” Furrypelt explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, I was planning on going back, and I was going to ask Firestar if he was interested in coming, too,” Bluestar assured her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I heard my name,” came a male’s voice, and a flame-colored tom pushed through some brambles at the edge of the clearing. Firestar’s emerald eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Greetings, Furrypelt,” the former ThunderClan mewed, dipping his head in Furrypelt’s direction, then turned to Bluestar. “Of course I’ll come! It’d be nice to see the place again, and maybe catch a glimpse of Princess.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If she’s still alive,” Bluestar reminded him. “Isn’t she getting old for a cat?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If I remember correctly, kittypets live longer than wild cats.” Firestar mewed, then turned to Furrypelt as though asking her to confirm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that’s right.” Furrypelt confirmed, then started doing the math to figure out how old Princess was. “Let’s see, the average lifespan of a kittypet is I think twelve years, Firestar was roughly eight when he died, and it’s been, err, approximately five years since then?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, I don’t know what a year is.” Bluestar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Twelve moons,” Furrypelt replied. “Well, that’d make Princess approximately thirteen years old, but all the kittypets I owned as a Twoleg lived longer. One lived to be thirteen, then got sick and when we figured out it was too late to do anything, so she might’ve lived longer. One lived to be twenty, then died of old age—and probably giving up on life given the circumstances. I don’t remember what my other two lived to, but I’m pretty sure it was more than thirteen. So, that is the long way of saying Princess is probably still alive, Smudge too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I forgot about Smudge!” Firestar cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s Smudge?” Bluestar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Only my best friend as a kittypet!” Firestar replied. “Seriously, you never met him? Even Tigerstar knows who he is!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Was he black-and-white?” Bluestar asked. Firestar nodded. “Then I think I spotted him once or twice. Never bothered talking to him. He seemed totally freaked out by us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Firestar nodded. “He begged me not to join ThunderClan, but I knew I was meant to be free.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah you were,” Bluestar agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh, hello?” Furrypelt asked. “Still here, you know.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, right,” Bluestar mewed. “You can wake up now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Then everything started fading, and then Furrypelt was back in the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did StarClan tell you anything?” Jayfeather asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I need to leave,” Furrypelt replied. “To the old forest, to find a new medicine cat apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do StarClan have bees in their brain?” Jayfeather cried. “That’s the most ridiculous thing ever! One, you don’t need a medicine cat apprentice, because you are the apprentice, and I’m not planning on retiring anytime soon, and two, why would you search for one such a long ways away? That’s just stupid!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bluestar insisted I have to do this!” Furrypelt hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yellowfang insisted I have to stand alone from the other Clans to win the Great Battle!” Jayfeather shot back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt growled. “I don’t like it either, but there are some times when you need to trust, and times to disobey. This is a time to trust.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather glared at her, then sighed. “Alright. Go tell Li—Foxstar.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt could tell he’d almost said “Lionstar”. It does take some getting used to, Furrypelt sympathized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt exited the medicine den and ran up the steps to the Highledge. “Foxstar? You there?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She walked inside without an answer, and saw Foxstar chatting with Sunstripe. Furrypelt had forgotten that the leader’s mate got to stay in the leader’s den with them. At least, that’s what Firestar did with Sandstorm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar looked up at Furrypelt. “What’s up?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Um, does Sunstripe have to stay here?” Furrypelt asked uncomfortably.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I mean, I’m going to tell her later anyway,” Foxstar replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, like you told me about who your parents were?” Sunstripe growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We had kits as apprentices! I’m a reincarnation of a Twoleg, for crying out! And me staying loyal to my mother and keeping a secret I was asked to keep is what bothers you about our relationship?!” Foxstar yowled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh, yeah!” Sunstripe hissed, as though it was obvious.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar sighed and turned away from his mate, rolling his eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sunstripe, please, just let it go.” Furrypelt pleaded. “It’s not his fault.” Sunstripe turned and glared at her, but Furrypelt pretended not to notice. “Now can I please tell you what I need to tell you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What is it?” Foxstar asked, facing her again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “At your leader ceremony, afterwards Bluestar pulled me over, and said it was your destiny to become leader, and that’s why Bramblestar and Lionstar died so early. She then said, ‘Oh, one more thing,’ then we woke up. I just dreamed a minute ago and saw Bluestar. She told me great danger is coming, and that I need to go leave and go on a journey to the old forest to find a new medicine cat apprentice. Firestar said that he and Bluestar would travel with us so we wouldn’t be alone.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Us?” Sunstripe repeated. “Who’s us?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know yet,” Furrypelt replied. “Just a group of a sort. I’m not going by myself!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why would we need another medicine cat apprentice?” Sunstripe continued. “You are the medicine cat apprentice, and Jayfeather’s not retiring any time soon!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s what I asked, as well as Jayfeather,” Furrypelt mewed. “Bluestar wouldn’t tell me. We just have to trust that StarClan knows what they’re doing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m coming with you,” Foxstar declared.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Furrypelt meowed. “Foxstar, you have a Clan to lead.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But I know all about the old forest, and what it’s like now from the Graystripe mangas, as well as Ravenpaw’s Farewell.” Foxstar reminded her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So do I!” Furrypelt cried. “And there are still living cats from our Clan that aren’t retired that remember the old forest. We never actually saw it, unless you count the small glimpses from the mangas, but they weren’t entirely helpful.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you trying to say I’d be no help?” Foxstar growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course not!” Furrypelt cried, aghast. Her own son and friend thought she thought he was useless? How many projects had they done together in elementary school? Clearly less than I thought if he thinks that, Furrypelt thought angrily. “I’m just saying your Clan needs you more than I do.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall can be in charge,” Foxstar hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He has no idea what he’s doing!” Furrypelt shouted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then Gingerheart can stay here and help him!” Foxstar yowled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> This thought made Furrypelt’s heart stop. She wanted Gingerheart to come with her, since they were sisters, and best friends. They had known each other longer in both lives.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar,” Sunstripe mewed softly. “Please don’t go. I want you here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sunstripe, I have to go, I can just feel it.” Foxstar explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not convincing you to stay, am I?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no you are not.” Foxstar replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Now I have to convince Gingerheart to stay,” Furrypelt sighed. “She’s going to want to come. But she has to help Rockfall.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ll make her see sense,” Foxstar assured her. “Who else should we bring?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was thinking Leafpool, since she remembers the old forest and has yet to retire, and Birchfall, since he also lived in the old forest and has yet to retire.” Furrypelt suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But Birchfall was just a little kit when he left the old forest,” Foxstar pointed out. “Would he remember it that well?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that would be why he’d want to go,” Furrypelt explained. “It’s been so long, I’m sure he’d love to see the old forest again. And besides, we’re bringing Leafpool, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hmm, Leafpool was just an apprentice when she left,” Foxstar murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cats have better memories than humans,” Furrypelt reminded Foxstar. “She probably still remembers select moments of her kithood, as do I.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Foxstar agreed. “Anyone else?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Four would be enough, wouldn’t it?” Furrypelt mewed. “I mean, only four cats were supposed to make the journey to see Midnight, after all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But six went,” Foxstar pointed out. “And they needed the help of all six.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think four is fine,” Furrypelt meowed, disregarding her son’s statement.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then it’s settled,” Foxstar mewed. “We leave at dawn.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> He exited the den and yowled at the top of his lungs. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt and Sunstripe ran outside and settled at the front of the gathering crowd. Once everyone was seated and staring up at the Highledge, Foxstar started talking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt has told me about a message from StarClan,” Foxstar announced. “She must go on a journey to the old forest to find a new medicine cat apprentice!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Murmurs started rippling through the crowd. Furrypelt had found this as typical now.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Before you ask questions, we have no idea why, all we know is that there’s some sort of danger coming,” Foxstar continued. “I, Birchfall, and Leafpool will be going with her. Meeting dismissed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt watched as Rockfall ran over to Foxstar—well, as well as he could as his leg was broken. “Foxstar!” Rockfall screamed. “I don’t know how to lead! I barely know how to be deputy!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s why Gingerheart’s staying back, as well as most of the senior warriors and all the elders.” Foxstar explained. “If you need help, just ask any of them.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall still looked skeptical, but nodded and left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt!” someone called, and Furrypelt immediately recognized Gingerheart’s voice. She turned to find the ginger she-cat bounding towards her. “Why didn’t you convince Foxstar to take me with you guys?” she asked crossly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was going to try, but as soon as I realized I couldn’t convince Foxstar to stay, I knew you couldn’t come.” Furrypelt explained hastily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What does him coming have to do with anything?” Gingerheart asked wildly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re the only other Twoleg here, the only other cat who knows every single disaster that’s happened in the series, every ceremony.” Furrypelt explained. “The senior warriors can help Rockfall, but you’d be able to help more. You have to stay here and make sure Rockfall doesn’t destroy the camp while he’s leading. He has no idea what he’s doing, and you’re like kin to him.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I suppose that makes sense,” Gingerheart sighed. “But I want to come, and be with you, Furrypelt! I want to make sure nothing bad happens to you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nothing bad is going to happen to me!” Furrypelt cried comfortingly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t trust that,” Gingerheart mewed. “Look at what’s happened in the past! Feathertail died on the way back from finding Midnight! Smokepaw died on the Great Journey! Lionstar and Hollyleaf as apprentices got in a major fight when they went to help the Tribe! Shaded Moss got hit by a monster while following the Sun Trail! How can I believe that none of that isn’t going to happen while you’re out there?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt could not respond. She really couldn’t, because the odds were high. She herself could not trust that she would come back alive.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart,” Furrypelt sighed. “Please, just trust me. Out here in the wild, we risk our lives every day just by living. You just have to stay here, I’m sorry. I’d love to take you, but…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know,” Gingerheart sighed. “I’m a better use to my Clan if I stay.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good,” Furrypelt mewed. “I’m sorry you can’t come. I’d love for you to come, but, you just can’t.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart!” Rockfall called from across the clearing. “You said you’d do the evening patrol!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Coming!” Gingerheart called. She turned to Furrypelt. “I’m guessing you’ll be sleeping by time I get back?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that nap didn’t do me good, since I visited StarClan,” Furrypelt confirmed. “Will you be up at dawn to see me off?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you want me to,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” Furrypelt mewed. “’Night.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “’Night,” Gingerheart mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart!” Rockfall called again. “The patrol is leaving!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry, I’m coming!” Gingerheart called, turning and running towards Rockfall. Furrypelt watched her for a moment, then yawned and turned to the medicine den. Weariness spread over her as she realized she technically hadn’t slept for almost forty-eight hours.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pushing through the bramble screen, Furrypelt saw her nest and immediately collapsed into it. She felt it had never been more comfortable.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Before you go to sleep,” came Jayfeather’s voice, and, annoyed, Furrypelt looked up at him. “When are you leaving in the morning?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dawn,” Furrypelt replied sleepily, and with that, she curled up into her nest and tucked her nose under her tail, then drifted off to sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 7= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> B right dawn light filtered into the medicine den as Furrypelt helped Jayfeather get some traveling herbs ready. Reaching into the storage cleft, Furrypelt pulled out some more sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet. Mixing them together, she put them in a leaf wrap next to the one she’d finished earlier. Jayfeather put down his second, so that there were four, one for each cat going: herself, Foxstar, Leafpool, and Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll take these to the others,” Furrypelt mewed, grabbing the four leaf wraps in her jaws and pushing through the bramble screen at the entrance to the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> At the far end of camp, Rockfall was standing with the dawn patrol, which consisted of Cinderheart, Specklepaw, Firepelt, Mistypelt, and Lilyheart. ''I’m never going to see Boulderpaw and Specklepaw’s warrior ceremony! ''Furrypelt realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Turning, Furrypelt spotted Foxstar underneath the Highledge, with Leafpool beside him. She looked towards the warriors’ den, and Gingerheart came out, pushing a tired-looking Birchfall in front of her. Furrypelt let out a mrrow of laughter and nearly choked on the herbs in her mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall steered himself towards Foxstar and Leafpool, apparently so tired he couldn’t even walk in a straight line!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt trotted over to the Highledge, and spat out the traveling herbs in front of the three cats. “Bon appétit,” she mewed. Birchfall and Leafpool just stared at her while Foxstar chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall looked down at the herbs in disgust. “I hate eating these things,” he muttered, but ducked down and ate them ever the same.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No one likes eating these,” Leafpool pointed out, bending down and eating hers. Foxstar and Furrypelt bent down and ate theirs as well. Furrypelt realized she’d never actually tasted them, and swallowed them whole as fast as she could, gagging at the taste afterwards.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned to where she’d seen Gingerheart. She was still sitting there, and Furrypelt walked over. “You got up early,” Furrypelt commented as she approached her sister.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course I did,” Gingerheart replied. “I needed to see you off.” They sat there for a moment. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No idea,” Furrypelt replied. “Probably a moon or two, at least.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That long?” Gingerheart mewed disdainfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry,” Furrypelt meowed. “But this is a long trip. For all I know, I may not come back at all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s why I don’t want you going!” Gingerheart cried. “Or for me to at least come with you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart, we talked about this last night!” Furrypelt cried. “You have to stay here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know.” Gingerheart sighed. “I guess I’ll see you in a few moons.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt caught the upset look in Gingerheart’s eyes, with just a glaze of fear. “You’ll be fine without me,” she assured Gingerheart. “I’m sure Rockfall will keep you busy with questions and anxieties!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart turned to Furrypelt, seriousness in her face. “Oh, Lizzie,” she sighed, and Furrypelt knew she was being serious if she was calling her by her Twoleg nickname. “Promise me nothing bad will happen while you’re out there!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If I promise that,” Furrypelt mewed solemnly. “It will be a lie.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned away from her sister. She couldn’t bear to see her sad face any longer. Her heart felt shattered, and knew that if she paid any more attention to Gingerheart, she would not have the strength to leave on the journey StarClan had sent her on.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt looked up at Foxstar, who was talking to Rockfall. “Announce at the Gathering the truth about our parents for me,” Foxstar was telling him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, I don’t think I can even get up there!” Rockfall cried. “I highly doubt anyone is going to trust me after that battle all those moons ago. They still give me dirty looks. On top of that, I have no idea what I’m doing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart will help you,” Foxstar soothed. “And Mistystar is typically nice. Not too sure about Featherstar; don’t know her as well. But, I recommend not sitting too close to Rowanstar.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, Foxstar,” Rockfall mewed uncertainly. “I’m still not sure I like the idea of being in charge. What if I do something terrible? I could seriously hurt the Clan!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stop being so negative!” Foxstar snapped. “If you’re that worried, have Gingerheart, Jayfeather, or the senior warriors check over your idea before you take action. You quite literally have nothing to worry about, with the exception that we won’t come back alive.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, that’s comforting,” Rockfall muttered. “Seriously, I’m fine with you guys leaving, but did you have to go?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes!” Foxstar meowed. “Rockfall, you’re going to fine. Trust me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But—”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall, you will be fine.” Foxstar repeated before turning away from his brother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned around and spotted Gingerheart talking to Leafpool. Being careful not to catch Gingerheart’s eye, she watched and listened to their conversation.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is how you felt, isn’t it?” Gingerheart was meowing. “When Squirrelpaw left on the journey to find Midnight?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool’s eyes clouded. “Yeah,” she sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How do I stop worrying about her?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t.” Leafpool mewed. “You just kinda have to put up with it. If it makes you feel any better, I think Rockfall will keep you busy enough so you’ll hardly get a chance to worry about it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sighed and turned away, and, a split second before their eyes met, Furrypelt turned away, too, facing Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we leaving now?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, probably a good plan,” Foxstar agreed. “Come on, guys, we got a long journey ahead of us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we going through the mountains or Twolegplace?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I figured we’d go through the mountains,” Foxstar replied. “They’re very hospitable.” He leaned towards Furrypelt. “Especially now that Stoneteller is dead,” he added in an undertone. Furrypelt had to laugh; it was so very true.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sounds good to me,” Birchfall agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar led the way out of camp. Furrypelt followed close behind, Leafpool behind her, and Birchfall in the back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They went at a steady trot, casually pushing through bramble patches and dodging tree roots until they reached the stream dividing WindClan and ThunderClan.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we going to wait for a patrol?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nah, we’ll just keep to the edge of the lake.” Foxstar replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leaping the stream, Furrypelt quietly followed Foxstar onto rival territory. They veered right to the edge of the lake, staying two tail-lengths within it. ''You know, we set up these boundaries as neutral territory, so how come every time someone is within the neutral borders, other Clans get upset? ''Furrypelt wondered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Because everyone here is an idiot, said a different voice in her head. When you thought about it, it was very much true.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They continued trekking, and Furrypelt thought that maybe they’d get away without WindClan complaining! And then…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, what are you doing here?” called an angry voice. Sighing and turning, Furrypelt found Oatclaw standing at the top of a rise, with his apprentice, Ryepaw, glaring at them. Behind him stood Tigerstripe, Thistlefur, and Brownleaf. Three brothers all put on a patrol together, Furrypelt thought. Who thought that was a good plan?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s the matter?” Birchfall complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re on our territory,” Oatclaw growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, we’re actually not,” Foxstar pointed out. “We’re within two tail-lengths of the lake.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Tell us where you’re going or else we’ll take you to Featherstar.” Tigerstripe threatened. “And Foxfoot, just because you’re deputy, doesn’t mean you get to go wherever you want.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ooooh, Furrypelt thought, and stared as her son’s neck fur bristled and he curled his lips in a snarl. “I am a Clan leader!” he yowled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ryepaw, looking scared, hid behind Oatclaw, and gazed fearfully at Foxstar. The four toms looked startled, and stared in awe at Foxstar. “Y-you’re ThunderClan’s leader?” Thistlefur mewed. “Lionstar’s dead?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Died the other night,” Foxstar murmured sadly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Oatclaw meowed quickly. “Who’s deputy?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My brother, Rockfall.” Foxstar replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall?” Oatclaw repeated. “One of the prophesied four? Who tried to destroy the Clans?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ryepaw looked up at her mentor. “What are you talking about?” she mewed curiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oatclaw turned to face his apprentice. “You never heard the stories?” he asked, surprised. Ryepaw shook her head. “Remind me when we get back to camp, I’ll tell you then.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oatclaw turned back to Foxstar, expecting a response.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s my brother, and he switched to the right side!” Foxstar hissed. “Don’t question it, alright? You don’t think cats were questioning Onestar’s decision to make Featherpelt deputy? That turned out alright, didn’t it?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Oatclaw glared at Foxstar. “You never answered where you’re going,” he pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “StarClan has given us a mission,” Foxstar replied. “I’m sure you might hear more at the Gathering from Rockfall.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, how long do you think you’re going to be gone?” Brownleaf asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dunno.” Foxstar answered. “Probably two moons at the least.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is your brother going to survive that long?” Oatclaw scoffed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Honestly, I highly doubt it.” Foxstar sighed. “But he’s got his Clan, so theoretically I won’t come home to a mess.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You seem very confident,” Oatclaw commented sarcastically. “Very well, carry on.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Foxstar mewed curtly. “Come on, guys.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> They continued through WindClan’s territory in silence. They started passing Smoky’s barn, and Furrypelt’s first thought was his newest litter of kits, Lavender, Ash, Stormy, and Sunshine, whom she’d helped deliver. They were surely grown up by now. The last time she’d visited had been before the battle, when they were only a moon old.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Furrypelt, can we visit Smoky and the kits?” Foxstar asked. “It’s been a long time. I haven’t seen Smoky since I was an apprentice, and I never met his newest kits.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I suppose we can visit,” Furrypelt replied. She did want to see the kits now that they were grown up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh, I don’t want to,” Birchfall mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Me neither,” Leafpool agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not like we’re going into the Twoleg nest!” Foxstar cried. “Though I was thinking about visiting Silky, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She’s probably worried sick about me and Gingerheart,” Furrypelt murmured. “Can you imagine? She probably thinks we’re going to die every day!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I am not going into a Twoleg nest!” Birchfall cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t have to come in,” Furrypelt pointed out. “But we want to visit.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Birchfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Race ya to the barn!” Foxstar cried. Furrypelt smiled and raced after her son as he ran towards the barn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar ended up winning, but Furrypelt hadn’t exactly been trying that hard.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Smoky, is that Furrypelt?” came a female voice. It sounded vaguely familiar to Furrypelt, but was much lower than she remembered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think it is,” came Smoky’s voice. Furrypelt noted that his voice had not changed at all. “Coriander! Lavender! Sunshine! Ash! Stormy! Furrypelt and friends are here!” she heard Smoky call.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smoky was the first to emerge, followed by a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, a gray-and-white tom, a dark gray tabby tom, a beautiful, golden spotted tabby she-cat, and another tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat. The only possible way to tell apart Ash and Smoky and Coriander and Lavender was one was definitely much younger.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lavender was the one who’d called out first, and who’d entered first. Furrypelt chanced a glance at Sunshine, who had hypnotized her and Gingerheart as a kit. Sunshine wasn’t as adorable as she was a kit, but was instead “hot”, per say.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt looked towards Foxstar. He was staring at Sunshine, with his jaw open. He evidently had to force himself to look away as he cried, “I’m a married spud, I’m a married spud, I’m a married spud,”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, gross, she’s your kin!” Furrypelt cried. “Then again, so is Sunstripe.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?!” Foxstar cried, staring aghast at Furrypelt. “My mate is my kin?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, yeah, you’re both descendants of Firestar,” Furrypelt replied. “I figured it didn’t matter; we’re cats. Also, Willowpelt mated her brother, for crying out loud, so, yeah. I’m pretty sure mating your cousin is better than your sibling.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, fair point,” Foxstar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smoky walked forward. “Foxpaw? Is that you? You’ve gotten so much bigger!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Smoky, I became a warrior forever ago,” Foxstar pointed out. “I became the warrior Foxfoot, and the other night our leader, Lionstar died, so now I’m Foxstar, since I was his deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I thought your leader was Bramblestar?” Smoky asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, he died a while ago,” Foxstar sighed. “When I was a new warrior. Lionblaze—I think you know him—became leader, as he was deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, if you’re no longer Foxpaw, that means Mistypaw Rockpaw Squirrelpaw and Icepaw have new names, too, right?” Smoky clarified.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Mistypaw is Mistypelt, Rockpaw is Rockfall, Squirrelpaw is Squirreltail, and Icepaw is Icepelt,” Furrypelt listed. “Oh, and the secret’s out about me and Foxstar and everything, so, you can talk about that now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, you knew?” Birchfall cried, staring at Smoky.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes I did,” Smoky replied, eyeing Birchfall evenly. “And who are you? I know I’ve seen you walking to Gatherings…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Birchfall, and this is Leafpool.” Birchfall mewed, introducing himself and Leafpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think I know you,” Smoky meowed, looking at Leafpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, something you should know about Rockfall,” Foxstar mewed. “His leg got crushed by a boulder, he retired to an elder way early because of this, joined the Dark Forest in the hopes that he could be a warrior again, switched to the right side at the beginning of a major battle, and is currently my deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smoky just stared at Foxstar. “I only got a bit of that.” He mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Smoky, what are they talking about?” Stormy asked, coming up from behind Smoky.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know.” Smoky replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Smoky, are these the kits Gingerheart wouldn’t stop talking about?” Leafpool asked, looking at the four younger cats behind Smoky.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes they are,” Smoky replied, looking proud as he turned to look as his kits. They walked forward and gazed at the four wild cats. “This is Lavender,” he mewed, walking behind them and touching his daughter with his tail, and doing the same for the others. “This is Ash, this is Stormy, and this is Sunshine.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Whoa, Gingerheart wasn’t exaggerating,” Leafpool commented, staring at Sunshine. “That is one beautiful daughter you’ve got there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think she’s more beautiful than when I last came here,” Furrypelt meowed. “Every time I come she’s more beautiful!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that happens when you get older,” Coriander pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m hoping this is as beautiful as she’ll get,” Stormy muttered. “She gets all the attention!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not my fault I was born perfect!” Sunshine snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my gosh, she’s turned into a teenage girl!” Furrypelt hissed into Foxstar’s ear. Foxstar chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lavender was standing in front of Leafpool and Birchfall. “So who are you?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Birchfall,” Birchfall mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And I’m Leafpool,” Leafpool added. “We’re Furrypelt’s Clanmates.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What am I, a rogue?” Foxstar scolded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt and Foxstar’s Clanmates,” Leafpool corrected irritably.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Foxstar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, this has been fun, but I believe we have somewhere to be,” Birchfall announced loudly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where are you going?” Ash asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have a special mission from our warrior ancestors,” Leafpool replied gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, that sounds fun!” Sunshine cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sounds exhausting to me,” Ash disagreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I agree with the boy,” Furrypelt mewed. “We have to travel through the mountains to reach where the Clans originally came from. Smoky, I believe you remember when the Clans settled here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Very scary day,” Smoky confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why?” Lavender asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Us ‘loners’, as you call us, thought our territory was being invaded.” Smoky explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, I trust that you four have mastered hunting since I was last here?” Furrypelt checked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh-huh!” Lavender cried. “Watch this!” She dropped into a perfect hunter’s crouch and leapt across the cold stone floor of the barn. Coriander chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They grow up, but they don’t grow up, you know?” she sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s not exactly a bad thing,” Furrypelt pointed out. “Especially since they’re not exactly wild cats. If they were, then that would be a bit of a problem.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did I not say we should get going?” Birchfall repeated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, let’s go then,” Furrypelt agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leaving already?” Stormy asked, disappointed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I told you, we have somewhere to be,” Leafpool sighed. “But it was delightful meeting you all!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Goodbye!” Sunshine called. “Visit again soon? It gets boring here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Err, in a few moons, kiddo, maybe,” Furrypelt replied doubtfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sunshine sighed. “Well, goodbye,” she repeated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sighing, Furrypelt turned away and left the barn. She did really like her half-siblings—much more than Berrynose—and would love to spend more time with them, but with all the prophecies and everything, she didn’t have the time. Plus, WindClan would get suspicious.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, let’s visit Silky!” Foxstar cried, running out of the barn. Furrypelt sighed. They grow up, but they don’t grow up, she thought peacefully, chasing after her son.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, we’re not going in there with you!” Birchfall called after them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay!” Furrypelt called back dimissively. She continued to run to the Twoleg nest nearby to Smoky’s barn. Foxstar reached the cat flap first and entered. ''Foxstar! ''Furrypelt thought exasperatedly. ''You need to make sure the Twolegs aren’t home first! ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt bolted through the cat flap and immediately found Silky standing beside Foxstar, looking startled. Furrypelt noticed that she was sitting in the same nest that Furrypelt had been born in.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt?” Silky asked. “Oh, this must be Foxpaw!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar.” Foxstar corrected. “I’m leader of ThunderClan now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow!” Silky cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Silky, before we continue, quick question,” Furrypelt interrupted. “We are alone, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, my housefolk is home, but busy upstairs,” Silky replied. “So, so long as we don’t make much noise I think we’ll be okay.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright.” Furrypelt mewed. “Foxstar, tell her what you told Smoky.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar repeated his summary of the events of the moons since they’d visited Silky, and Silky just stood there, clearly shocked and unsure what to say.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I-I can’t believe that my daughter’s son got injured like that!” Silky finally cried, referencing Rockfall. “And that it turned him to the dark side!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt could so easily picture the night she’d seen Rockfall standing in the Dark Forest, Thistleclaw persuading him to join them. Rockfall had deliberately betrayed Furrypelt. She could hear the words so clearly…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall, no!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sorry,  mother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That was a dark day,” Furrypelt finally mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You didn’t come with anyone else?” Silky asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My Clanmates, Birchfall and Leafpool,” Furrypelt replied. “But they didn’t want to come in.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Again, what am I, a rogue?” Foxstar cried, outraged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine, our Clanmates, Birchfall and Leafpool.” Furrypelt corrected. “Happy now?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m never happy,” Foxstar muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that’s a blatant lie.” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Guys,” came a voice behind them, making Furrypelt jump. Turning, she saw Leafpool’s head sticking through the cat flap. “Birchfall wishes us to leave now, or for you to at least hurry up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why couldn’t he have said it himself?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He was too scared to come in here,” Leafpool replied, amusement lighting up her face. Furrypelt scoffed with amusement and Foxstar chuckled. “But seriously, let’s go, if you’re done here. We have somewhere to be, remember?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, sorry.” Furrypelt mewed. “Silky, gotta go.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Already?” Silky sighed. “I rarely get to see you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Furrypelt repeated. “But I got a mission from StarClan.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Without another word a backwards glance, Furrypelt turned to Leafpool. Leafpool ducked out of the cat flap, allowing Furrypelt to exit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar was close behind, and Birchfall seemed very much relieved that they were all outside again. ''What, did you think the Twolegs were going to snatch us up and hold us prisoner? ''Furrypelt wondered, exasperated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get going,” Birchfall suggested. Foxstar took the lead and they left WindClan territory behind, then entered RiverClan territory, then it morphed into grass. Not tall grass like WindClan’s territory, but typical, short grass.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Climbing a small hill, Furrypelt’s stomach twisted as they left Clan territory. She’d never left Clan territory in her cat life! Even before she was part of the Clans she was on Clan territory!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool turned to Furrypelt. “You’ve never left Clan territory before, have you?” she mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She shook her head. “Not outside reading about it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, let me tell you, it’s amazing how much is out there.” Leafpool mewed. “You’ll love this journey.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You think that how much you saw between here and the old forest is a lot?” Furrypelt meowed. “That is a very, very, very, very, very small portion of what exists. That was probably a few states, which is part of a country that is made up of fifty states. And the world is made up of over a hundred countries, possibly more than two hundred. Don’t know the exact number but there’s a lot. Then the world is just one planet in a solar system of nine planets. And that is just one solar system in a ginormous galaxy, and that’s just one galaxy in the universe!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool was gaping at her. “H-how big is a universe?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s only one universe, and, it’s big,” Furrypelt replied. “As my fifth grade teacher put it, the universe is so big, that however big you think it might be, it’s even bigger. Said it’s so big, it’s physically impossible to imagine it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s insane,” Leafpool mewed. “Now I feel I have gone nowhere in my life.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My job is done, then,” Furrypelt meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt!” Foxstar called. “Why are you lagging behind?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, I was just explaining the universe to Leafpool,” Furrypelt replied, trotting ahead to catch up to Foxstar and Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The what now?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t feel like explaining again,” Furrypelt meowed lazily, walking faster to get ahead of Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow,” Birchfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Looking up, Furrypelt could see the peaks of the mountains in the distance and sighed. This was going to be a long trip.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 8= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> G ingerheart sighed as she watched Furrypelt, Foxstar, Leafpool, and Birchfall exit camp. ''I’m not going to see them for two moons, give or take. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Gingerheart,” Rockfall mewed, walking up to her. “Since you’re up, would you mind leading a hunting patrol?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, sure,” Gingerheart replied absentmindedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great. Go wake up Bumblestripe, Fernsong, Hazelpaw, and Maplepaw.” Rockfall ordered, then limped away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Great, I’m stuck with those two annoying, jabbering apprentices, Gingerheart sighed. She knew they were her kin, but that didn’t change anything. She was just glad that she didn’t end up being their mentors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart walked into the warriors’ den. “Bumblestripe! Fernsong!” she called softly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” came Bumblestripe’s whiney voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hunting patrol,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re coming,” Fernsong mewed. He stood up in his nest and stretched, then slowly and carefully stepped around his denmates.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart left the warriors’ den and walked over to the apprentices’ den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She poked her head in, and realized how much less cramped it was in here, with only five cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Boulderpaw and Specklepaw had nests in the far corner, Hazelpaw and Maplepaw shared a large nest opposite them, and Sparrowpaw was all alone, in the dead center of the den. In the warriors’ den the middle is better because you can use the other cats as a shield against the wind. But for Sparrowpaw, it was the most open to drafts. If only he could’ve had a littermate, Gingerheart sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She pushed her way into the den and walked over to Hazelpaw and Maplepaw’s nest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hazelpaw, Maplepaw, you’re doing a hunting patrol,” Gingerheart mewed, nudging the two sisters with her paw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re coming,” Hazelpaw mewed sleepily. Slowly, she stood up and stretched, and Maplepaw followed suit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’ll be at the camp entrance,” Gingerheart told them, exiting the den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She found Bumblestripe and Fernsong standing groggily near the exit tunnel and walked over. They stood in silence while they waited for the apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, Hazelpaw and Maplepaw stumbled out of the apprentices’ den, just a blur of ginger-and-brown.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That took you long enough,” Bumblestripe muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We needed to wash up!” Hazelpaw snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Our little glamor cats, Gingerheart sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bumblestripe rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll catch a giant bird!” Maplepaw cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll catch a giant squirrel!” Hazelpaw meowed, running for the thorn barrier.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re going to catch nothing if you keep shouting!” Fernsong called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sighed. She felt bad for Bumblestripe and Fernsong. Maplepaw and Hazelpaw were just obnoxious.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What did I do to deserve this?” Bumblestripe asked, padding into the camp tunnel. Gingerheart and Fernsong followed him and they caught up with the apprentices just outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where are we hunting?” Hazelpaw chirped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Fernsong replied. “Gingerheart’s leading the patrol.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where are we going, Gingerheart?” Maplepaw asked, jumping up and down in front of Gingerheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Err,” Gingerheart mewed. “How about towards ShadowClan’s territory?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll race you there!” Maplepaw cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, wait up!” Hazelpaw squealed, chasing after her sister through the trees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t cross the border!” Fernsong called after them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “These apprentices drive me insane,” Bumblestripe sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not just you,” Fernsong sighed. “Let’s go make sure they’re not getting into any trouble.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The three adults ran through the forest, trying to catch up to Hazelpaw and Maplepaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They approached the ShadowClan border to find Hazelpaw and Maplepaw at the edge, panting. “I beat her!” Hazelpaw cried triumphantly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It was a tie!” Maplepaw snapped, cuffing her sister.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Hazelpaw complained, leaping on top of Maplepaw and starting a play-fight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey! Knock it off!” Bumblestripe shouted. “Now if we could please get back to hunting, that’d be great.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry, Bumblestripe,” Hazelpaw mumbled, looking at her paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “To keep you two from getting into trouble,” Bumblestripe continued. “Hazelpaw, you’re coming with me closer to the lake, while Fernsong and Maplepaw head to the edge of Clan territory.” He turned to Gingerheart. “If that’s okay with you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, I think that’s a good idea,” Gingerheart agreed. “And I’ll go with Fernsong.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?!” Hazelpaw shrieked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can’t separate us!” Maplepaw protested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can and will,” Bumblestripe growled. “Now go to your mentor.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart followed Maplepaw to where Fernsong stood. “Alright, we’re not going to go all the way to the border,” she mewed. “Just halfway, give or take.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sounds good to me,” Fernsong mewed, and they trekked onwards.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Hearing a whimper, Gingerheart turned around and saw Maplepaw staring at her paws, looking sad.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s wrong, Maplepaw?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why didn’t you make them keep me with Hazelpaw?” Maplepaw wailed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, I love hanging out with my sister, too, but this is just ridiculous,” Gingerheart sighed. “I just let my sister go on a journey that will take two moons to complete! And you’re upset you’re separated from your sister for, what, twenty minutes? If that?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How long is a minute?” Maplepaw asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sixty seconds,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How long is a second?” Maplepaw continued.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “A second is a moment,” Gingerheart explained. “Maplepaw, my point is, stop whining, okay? You are not going to die, and neither is Hazelpaw.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m dying!” came a shriek from behind them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hazelpaw is dying!” Maplepaw screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hazelpaw, calm down!” came Bumblestripe’s angry voice. “Just because you’re not with Maplepaw does not mean you are dying! You are perfectly fine!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart glared at Maplepaw. “There is something deeply wrong with you two.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We just love each other!” Maplepaw protested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, you’ve pushed the limit of ‘love’.” Fernsong meowed. “Somehow.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s just start hunting,” Gingerheart suggested, exasperated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maplepaw suddenly pricked her ears, and Gingerheart knew she’d smelled a piece of prey. She dropped into the hunter’s crouch and started walking towards a bush, then a squirrel slowly poked its way out. Maplepaw pounced and chased after it, but the squirrel proved too fast. It scurried up a tree before Maplepaw could kill it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Mouse-dung,” Maplepaw cursed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s okay,” Gingerheart assured the apprentice. “Try again.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maplepaw went silent and started sniffing and pricking her ears. Finally she seemed to have detected something, as she dropped to the hunter’s crouch and started advancing on something. Drawing her lips back in a silent growl, she jumped forward over a bush. They heard a snap and Maplepaw came back with a dead mouse body in her jaws, with its back broken.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nice catch,” Gingerheart complimented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Out of the corner of her eye, Gingerheart saw Fernsong drop into the hunter’s crouch and start advancing towards a bush of his own. A vole shot out and he lashed out, stopping the vole in its tracks. He quickly pulled it towards him and bit its neck.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart knew it was her turn, so started searching for prey of her own. Sniffing, she smelled a familiar scent. ''Blackbird? ''She wondered. Her theory was confirmed when she heard a blackbird caw, and she wandered around trying to find it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Crouching and walking slowly, she saw the blackbird pecking at the ground, evidently trying to find some food. Gingerheart sprang, but she was either too noisy or too late, for as she neared the bird it took off. Gingerheart landed and, determined, immediately leaped back into the air, and grabbed hold of its tail feathers. She dug her claws into the sides of the bird, and the weight dragged down the bird. When they were back on solid ground, Gingerheart bit the bird’s neck, finally killing it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Whoa!” Maplepaw cried. “That was amazing, Gingerheart!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Gingerheart meowed, bowing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That was pretty impressive,” Fernsong mewed. “Should we catch up with Bumblestripe?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, I think so,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She led the way through the forest to catch up to Bumblestripe. Maplepaw tripped over a tree root at one point and they had to stop to help her back to her paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maplepaw?” called a voice, and Maplepaw rushed forward, recognizing the sound of her sister, Hazelpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hazelpaw!” Maplepaw cried, leaping forward and barreling over her sister.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I thought I would die if I had to be without you much longer!” Hazelpaw meowed anxiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So did I!” Maplepaw agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And I thought I’d die if you two keep this up much longer.” Bumblestripe growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Seriously, you two are pathetic,” Gingerheart mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We do not know what word means so therefore it is not an insult.” Hazelpaw mewed calmly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And that’s even more pathetic,” Gingerheart sighed. “Let’s just take this prey back to camp.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Everyone was carrying one piece of prey as they walked back to the stone hollow, meaning there was no chatter. Gingerheart found the lack of talking awkward.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, after what seemed like a while, they entered the tunnel to ThunderClan’s camp. Gingerheart spat out her blackbird on the fresh-kill pile and looked around. The camp was fairly busy now that everyone was up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart gazed in the direction of the mountains, barely visible from this distance. Worry for her sister and nephew once again pierced her heart, and she sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Worried about your sister and her son?” came a voice from behind her. Jumping, Gingerheart turned around and saw Spiderleg, the newest elder. Gingerheart nodded solemnly. “I feel you,” Spiderleg continued. “Birchfall is in that group, he’s my only living sibling.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart thought about Spiderleg’s family tree and realized how much pain he’d gone through. First, his brother Shrewpaw. Then, his sisters Hollykit and Larchkit. Then his mate, Daisy, dumped him, per say, then his brother Foxleap died, then his sister Icecloud, then his son mother, Ferncloud, then his son, Toadstep, then finally, his father, Dustpelt. Birchfall and Rosepetal were the only ones left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> I guess I’m not the only one so worried, Gingerheart realized. ''And even if Furrypelt and Foxstar don’t come back, I still have their kits and my kits. Spiderleg has one daughter and a brother. I suppose he has nieces and nephews, but they’ve never exactly been close, unlike me and my kin. Plus I can still visit my parents and half-siblings. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart definitely had it better off than Spiderleg. What was she so upset about? Her life had actually gone very well. But still, she couldn’t keep from worrying so much about Furrypelt and Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 9= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think those traveling herbs are wearing off,” Furrypelt mewed, panting as she trudged up a hill.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s stop for a meal,” Foxstar suggested. “There’s a forest just up ahead.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’ll feel nice to stretch out my legs in a nice hunt,” Birchfall mewed brightly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar sped up towards the very inviting-looking trees and the other three cats followed eagerly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The second they entered the trees, everyone dispersed, looking for food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt dropped to the hunter’s crouch and started sniffing for prey. It did not take long for her to recognize a squirrel, and started following the scent, gently pushing past bushes and carefully avoiding stepping on twigs.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, she spotted it, gnawing on a nut—as she usually found squirrels. She bunched up her hindquarters and sprang, landing right on top of it. The force of the landing snapped its back, killing it instantly. That’s what I call an instant meal, Furrypelt thought contentedly. ''However, I don’t think I should add water. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smiling to herself about her joke, she trotted to the edge of the forest where everyone had scattered. It appeared Leafpool had had the same idea, for she was already sitting there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Toms still hunting?” Furrypelt asked, sitting down next to Leafpool. She had a small mouse, and she was looking a bit thin. Furrypelt wondered if she should offer sharing the squirrel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, I think after this journey it’s time for me to join the elders.” Leafpool murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Furrypelt asked, rounding on her former mentor. “Leafpool, joining the elders is basically giving up and admitting defeat. You have so much more to live for!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Like what, Furrypelt?” Leafpool asked. “What is great about my life? I’ve been stripped of my medicine cat calling, I can’t hang out with my mate, two of my kits are dead and the other is blind, and surely something is going to happen to him because you need your own apprentice, my only sibling is dead, both of my parents are dead, my mentor is dead, what do I have left?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared at Leafpool. She hadn’t thought much about that, but she was right. Firestar, Sandstorm, Squirrelflight, Hollyleaf, Lionstar, Cinderpelt, all gone. Jayfeather, Crowfeather, just a disappointment, really.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You still have Squirrelflight’s kits,” Furrypelt pointed out. “Alderfoot, Sparkheart, Firepelt, Bramblethorn, and their kits, Specklepaw, Boulderpaw, Foxstar, Mistypelt, Rockfall, Squirreltail, and Icepelt. And you still have me. Plus your Clanmates. The majority of the Clan is your kin. Your kin to Spiderleg, Birchfall, and their kits, and in Birchfall’s case, his kit’s kits. You’re related to Brackenfur and his kits, and Brightheart and her kits.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Leafpool mewed. “I’m related to that many cats?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yup,” Furrypelt replied. “I’m a pro at genealogy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know what that is,” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Kin,” Furrypelt explained. “At least, I’m good with kin in the Warriors world, but I couldn’t even name all my parents’ siblings as a Twoleg. Mom was in a family of nine kids, I think.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dang,” Leafpool meowed, impressed. “You? And your father?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Three each,” Furrypelt replied. “Which is the average number of kits Twolegs have. Generally it’s between two and four. Gingerheart had three siblings. Foxstar had five siblings.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about me?” came Foxstar’s voice, and looked up to realize he’d returned.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Took you a while,” Furrypelt commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I got more than one piece,” Foxstar explained, pointing his tail at two birds at his paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nice,” Furrypelt approved. “I only got the squirrel.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I only got the mouse,” Leafpool added, showing her small mouse.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall entered their spot, holding a pheasant.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sweet catch!” Furrypelt cried. “Man, we have more than enough food here!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maybe we can carry some with us,” Leafpool suggested. “It shouldn’t add too much extra weight.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s eat what we can now,” Foxstar decided. “And figure out what to do with the rest later.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall, you’re sharing that pheasant with us,” Furrypelt growled, advancing on the light brown tabby tom.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey! I’m the one who caught this!” Birchfall complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But it’s such a good piece of prey!” Furrypelt whined.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall, share the pheasant,” Foxstar ordered. “Split it four ways.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Birchfall growled, using his claws to divide up the meat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar leaned over to Furrypelt. “Man, I love having power!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt chuckled. Turning to Birchfall, she found he’d finished and she immediately grabbed the quarter closest to her and began gnawing on it. “It tastes so good!” she mumbled through meat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar, letting out a mrrow of laughter, walked over to Birchfall and grabbed his own piece, though being much more diginified about how he ate it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall took his share and looked over at Leafpool. “You want some?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure,” Leafpool mewed, walking over and accepting her share of pheasant. “But I really don’t deserve it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “None of us do,” Furrypelt replied, mumbling once again through the meat. “Except for Birchfall. But that didn’t stop me!” She happily swallowed another bite and started chewing up the last bit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When she’d finished her part of pheasant, Furrypelt walked over to where she’d left her squirrel and started eating that was well.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hungry?” Foxstar asked teasingly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This will be my last one,” Furrypelt assured him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I want to eat more, but I’m not sure I can finish this magpie I caught by myself,” Foxstar meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll split it with you,” Birchfall offered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My mouse will be enough for me,” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool, that thing is practically microscopic!” Furrypelt cried. “Here, take the last few bites of my squirrel, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not that small!” Leafpool shot back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It kinda is,” Foxstar mewed, looking up from his magpie. “Just take Furrypelt’s offer so there’s no arguing and we can keep going sooner.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Reluctantly, Leafpool took Furrypelt’s half-eaten squirrel and started picking the meat off of it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt watched impatiently as Leafpool finished the squirrel and the mouse, then stood up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, we still have a lark here.” Foxstar mewed. “Who wants to carry it?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We should take turns,” Birchfall suggested. “I’ll take it first.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great,” Foxstar approved, tossing the lark to Birchfall. “Now, let’s get going. I was hoping to be nearly out of the trees by sunset.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How fast do you think we can travel?” Furrypelt asked, annoyed. “It’s just the first day!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, okay, fine,” Foxstar meowed irritably. “But we should still cover as much ground as we can.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, you’ll cover a lot of ground, alright,” growled a voice from behind the trees. “With your guts!”

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “NOOO!!!” Gingerheart screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart, what’s wrong?” came a soft voice, and Gingerheart opened her eyes, panting. It was dark, and with a sigh of relief, realized it had all been a dream. She was in the warriors’ den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Turning, Gingerheart saw it was Sparkheart who had spoken.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Gingerheart apologized. “Just a dream.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about?” Sparkheart asked worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll tell you in the morning,” Gingerheart yawned, turning over in her nest and trying to fall back asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But her dream had been too horrifying to fall back asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Envious of Sparkheart, whose breath had already slowed, revealing she was asleep, Gingerheart thought about her dream. The group who had gone to fetch a new medicine cat apprentice had left and returned with four cats—but one was different. An unfamiliar cat stood where Furrypelt should’ve, and Leafpool Birchfall and Foxstar had told her that Furrypelt had died on the journey. Had it not been a likely possibility, Gingerheart might’ve fallen back asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Turning over again, Gingerheart noticed Dovewing’s nest was empty. Probably just went to the dirtplace, Gingerheart thought dismissively. But there she lay for a long time, unable to sleep, and Dovewing had not yet returned. It can’t ''take this long to visit the dirtplace! ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Her curiosity getting the better of her—and getting bored of trying to sleep, as it was evident she wasn’t going to—she carefully stood up and exited the den, careful not to step on anyone. However, it didn’t work out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” whispered a cross voice, and, looking down, Gingerheart realized she’d stepped on her son, Squirreltail’s, fluffy tail.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Gingerheart whispered back, moving her paws awkwardly to step off her son.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where are you going?” Squirreltail asked quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dirtplace,” Gingerheart lied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Squirreltail mewed groggily and dismissively.

<p class="MsoNormal"> He won’t be up to realize I’m gone for too long, Gingerheart assured herself, successfully exiting the den without stepping on anyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Relishing the fresh air, Gingerheart started sniffing the ground to track Dovewing. She followed the scent out of camp.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Getting suspicious, Gingerheart continued following the scent trail towards the ShadowClan border, the scent getting fresher every pawstep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, she heard voices, and darted forward, though keeping quiet and keeping cover behind a bush. She crouched down and silently moved a part of the bush away with her paw so she could see through.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gazing through the branches and leaves, Gingerheart spotted the pale gray she-cat standing with a ShadowClan tom that Gingerheart recognized. ''Tigerheart! ''She realized. I thought she dumped him!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart watched as Tigerheart and Dovewing frolicked around for a little while, then they sat down and Tigerheart started grooming Dovewing. They started talking, and Gingerheart pricked her ears to hear what they were saying.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t believe you’ve been agreeing to meet me at night, just like we used to.” Tigerheart mewed. “I thought you were with that Bumblebee character.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s Bumblestripe,” Dovewing corrected. “And, no, he’s not my mate anymore. He’s Ivypool’s.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He acts about as good as a bumblebee, though,” Tigerheart muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Tigerheart!” Dovewing cried, pushing him playfully. “He’s actually really romantic, but I just couldn’t do it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why not?” Tigerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Because,” Dovewing replied, then sighed. “Because I still had feelings for you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Tigerheart gazed at her lovingly. He gazed up at the sky. Gingerheart looked up too, and realized how low in the sky the moon was, meaning that the sun would be rising soon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dovewing, I have to go,” Tigerheart meowed hurriedly. “It’s getting late; I need to get back to my Clan, and so do you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, when can we meet again?” Dovewing asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Two nights from now,” Tigerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Deal,” Dovewing mewed happily, her eyes shining. “See you in two days.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not if I see you first!” Tigerheart cried over his shoulder, running to the thicket of his territory.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart waited until she was certain Tigerheart was out of earshot, then jumped out from behind her bush in front of Dovewing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ahh!” Dovewing cried, looking frightened. “Gingerheart, w-what are you doing here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart glared at her. “What are you doing here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dovewing sighed and stared at her paws. “How much did you hear?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The vast majority of it,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart, I’m begging you, please don’t tell anyone!” Dovewing pleaded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart thought about this request, then finally mewed, “Furrypelt told me that you kept our secret about her kits for us. In return, I will keep this secret for you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you so much, Gingerheart!” Dovewing cried gratefully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get back to camp now,” Gingerheart suggested. “Others might be getting suspicious.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good plan,” Dovewing agreed, and they walked back to camp together.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dovewing seemed exhausted, but Gingerheart just felt more awake, and was almost certain she would not be sleeping again tonight.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> The four cats spun around in unison to face whoever it was talking to them. They all growled as they saw who it was.

<p class="MsoNormal"> All the way from the shining, sharp claws to the black eartips, it was impossible not to recognize Breezepelt. One the prophesied four to destroy the Clans, and after the battle, was outcast from his Clan. He also took a life from Lionstar afterward by using the tunnels to sneak into Clan territory and caught the ThunderClan leader alone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Breezepelt,” Foxstar growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ah, Foxfoot,” Breezepelt hissed. “Your brother was one of the four, was he not? The first one to betray us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s Foxstar now,” Foxstar snarled. “And he did not betray you—actually, he did, but to join the right side!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar?” Breezepelt repeated. “Lionstar left a bit early, didn’t he? Just like Bramblestar. Both of which lost a life to me. And now you’re going to lose your lives to me!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt glared at Breezepelt. “Every time we face off, the number of cats against you doubles,” she growled. “Which means I just keep getting more and more of an advantage. Which means I’m going to come out less and less injured each time.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s your philosophy, huh?” Breezepelt snarled. “Well guess what? It doesn’t matter in the slightest how many cats I’m fighting. I can kill the whole lot of you if I want to!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then the last two times I fought you you didn’t want to kill me?” Furrypelt asked tauntingly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That was different due to—er—circumstances,” Breezepelt meowed awkwardly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sick ‘em.” Furrypelt ordered, and she, Leafpool, Birchfall, and Foxstar lunged at Breezepelt all at the same time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> This strategy, as always, had very little effect on the black tom, and he batted them each away with a strong paw, seemingly effortlessly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> We are not ''playing this same little game! ''Furrypelt thought angrily. ''Every time I try the same thing and he just bats me away! I’m going to do something different this time. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Trying to think of something good on the spot, Furrypelt gazed around at the surrounding trees and suddenly got a great idea.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Breezepelt was currently busy with Foxstar Leafpool and Birchfall, so Furrypelt climbed up a tree and sat on a branch high above, poised to spring.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Any second now, she thought anxiously, watching the cats below her. She had not told the others what she was doing, because then Breezepelt would know what’s coming.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, where’s Furrypelt?” Foxstar asked, looking around. Wincing, Furrypelt knew what was coming without enough reaction time to prevent it from happening. In Foxstar’s distraction, Breezepelt took his razor-sharp claws and sliced them across Foxstar’s throat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “NOO!!” Furrypelt screamed, leaping off of the tree branch and clawing at Breezepelt’s neck, ears, and face until she was thrown off. He went to attack her again, but Leafpool and Birchfall got there first, and pinned down Breezepelt. They pummeled him with their hind paws, and Furrypelt stood up and sliced his muzzle. Yowling in pain, Breezepelt threw them off and ran into the trees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We did it!” Furrypelt cried, and when she heard a suspicious lack of celebration, turned and remembered that her son had just been fatally injured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Quickly turning to where Foxstar lay on the ground, Furrypelt bolted over and crouched beside him, trying to gently cover up the bleeding gashes with her paw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He didn’t hit any veins,” Leafpool observed. “If we keep him still with cobwebs wrapped around his neck, he shouldn’t lose a life.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Does that mean we’re stuck here until he’s healed?” Birchfall asked gloomily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Unfortunately, yes,” Leafpool sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll go find some cobwebs,” Furrypelt sighed. “And some marigold.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt started wandering through the trees in search of the herbs. Lucky for her, this forest was barely inhabited, which meant that any cobwebs had barely been touched. There were cobwebs on almost every other tree, and leapt up and grabbed all the cobwebs on about ten trees, double checking for spiders before dragging them too far off.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Now the difficult part: finding marigold. This would prove a bit harder, as they were plants in the ground instead of things made by too-common critters. They grew near water, so she’d probably end up looking for a puddle.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She scoured the forest, looking for a puddle or a stream or something. She finally found what she was looking for when she found a small brook next to some rocks, with marigold growing nearby.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt used her teeth to cut the stems of about five plants, then realized she didn’t know how to get back to where Foxstar Leafpool and Birchfall were.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Problem-solving, she put down her marigold and cobwebs and started sniffing the ground to find her own scent-trail. She put the herbs back in her mouth and continued in the direction she’d come from. Whenever she didn’t recognize where she was, she’d put the herbs down and follow her scent trail backwards until she found it overlapping, then would go back and grab her herbs again and continue through the route she’d mentally mapped out when she’d put down the herbs.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It was a bit complicated, and took her a long time, but she finally scented blood and knew she was in the right spot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What took you so long?” Leafpool scolded. “My paws are all bloody trying to keep him from bleeding!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry, got lost,” Furrypelt mumbled through her cobwebs and marigold. She spat them out and Leafpool started chewing up a yellow marigold flower. When it was a nice poultice, she spat it out on Foxstar’s neck and started rubbing it in. When Leafpool was finished, Furrypelt took the cobwebs and secured them onto her son’s neck without choking him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar opened his eyes, which had been closed from the blood loss. “Did we win?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, he left,” Furrypelt assured him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then, let’s go,” Foxstar mewed, struggling to his paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No no no,” Leafpool growled, forcing him back into the ground. “You’re staying here until you’ve recovered.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Foxstar grumbled. “I want to get this trip over with!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So do we!” Leafpool cried. “But you’re in no condition to travel. Besides, you don’t want to lose your first life already, do you? The idea is to not lose lives.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Foxstar growled. “But we should make a temporary camp in that case.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sounds good to me,” Birchfall meowed. “This clearing we’re in here would work fine. I’ll go find some moss.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll go help him,” Leafpool mewed, rising to her paws. “Furrypelt, you coming?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll stay with Foxstar,” Furrypelt replied. After Birchfall and Leafpool were gone, Foxstar turned to Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I want to be able to get moving,” he sighed. “Gingerheart and Rockfall are scared to death without us there!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know,” Furrypelt sympathized. “But they don’t want you coming back to find out you lost a life, especially to Breezepelt. They want to hear that nothing bad happened, and that we all walked away from that battle mostly unharmed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess you’re right,” Foxstar agreed reluctantly. “But do I have to be fully healed before we get going?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, I don’t think so,” Furrypelt assured him. “I mean, so long as it’s not actively bleeding or looks like it might, or looks like it’ll be easily infected, we can leave. Really as soon as it scabs over.”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I hope that’s soon,” Foxstar sighed. “I don’t want to be gone too long.”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 10= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> A s promised, Gingerheart had not told anyone about Dovewing’s secret, though it kept nagging at her. She wanted to tell herself that it was the same thing as keeping Furrypelt’s secret, but, it really wasn’t. She and Dovewing weren’t as close as her and Furrypelt, so, loyalty didn’t come as naturally.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart,” Cinderheart mewed. “Go over to that bush over there.” She flicked her tail over her head.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Gingerheart replied, following her former mentor’s orders. Specklepaw and Boulderpaw were doing their final assessment to become warriors, and a former apprentice of the mentor was asked to watch, too, and judge them; theoretically they should be harder on the apprentice since it was not their own, but Gingerheart felt she would be unfairly kind, and Berrynose would be unfairly harsh.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart and Gingerheart were watching Specklepaw, and Boulderpaw had gotten Berrynose and Larkspirit. They were hesitant to take Larkspirit, seeing as he was the father of the apprentices, but he was Berrynose’s only apprentice, so they took him anyway. This was good for Boulderpaw, for Larkspirit would probably actually judge him fairly, while Berrynose would complain about every little thing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright you two, are you ready?” Cinderheart asked the apprentices in front of her. They nodded vigorously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Remember, we will be watching your every move, but you will not know we are there,” Berrynose reminded them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Specklepaw mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m ready,” Boulderpaw meowed, with a bit more enthusiasm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Make me proud,” Larkspirit told them, and the apprentice dived into some bushes and started the hunt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart, stationed in a bush opposite of Cinderheart, looked and watched as Specklepaw snuck past her, evidently unaware of her being there (she was pretty sure the berries on the bush she was hiding in was also hiding her scent) and pricked her ears. Her nose twitched and she dropped into a perfect hunter’s crouch.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart caught sight of a striped gray tail disappearing into a tree out of the corner of her eye, and knew that Cinderheart had silently sprung for a better seat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Specklepaw approached forward on whatever she was stalking very quietly and slowly, making sure she was stepping lightly and not on leaves and sticks. Smiling, Gingerheart watched as she made sure her belly and tail were not brushing the ground, then bunched up her hindquarters and sprang forward. Specklepaw came back with a black mouse in her teeth. She dug a shallow hole—deep enough to completely cover the mouse, but not so deep she wouldn’t be able to easily find it later—and placed the mouse in. She buried it then stepped back, pricking her ears to find more prey.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart started sniffing, too, and caught whiff of a vole in the bushes to Specklepaw’s left. ''A vole to your left! ''Gingerheart thought desperately. Finally Specklepaw found it and turned, pushing through the bush, and Gingerheart watched as her speckled tail disappeared into the bush.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart carefully left the bushes, picking sticks out of her pelt, then quickly climbed up the tree next to her so she could get a better view of the apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She found a good branch to sit on as Specklepaw landed on the vole and snapped its back. She buried the prey and tried to find another one, though could not find another one. Gingerheart tried tracking one down, too, but also found no more prey in this area. Probably all getting ready for winter, Gingerheart sighed. ''Oh well, this will do for now. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cinderheart? Gingerheart?” Specklepaw called. “This is all the prey I can find. Am I done now?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, you are finished,” Cinderheart mewed, sliding out of her tree. Gingerheart followed suit and left her tree.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You did a good job,” Gingerheart praised. “Actually, you did a great job, an amazing job!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Specklepaw beamed. “Does that mean I’m having my warrior ceremony when we get back to camp?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Absolutely!” Cinderheart cried happily. “Let’s go see what’s happened to your brother.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart, Gingerheart, and Specklepaw walked through the territory, trying to find the boys.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stop!” they heard Berrynose cry after a while. “I’ve seen enough.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did I pass?” Boulderpaw asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just barely,” Berrynose growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh come on!” Larkspirit cried. “He did perfectly fine! You didn’t treat me this harshly!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Actually, I did,” Berrynose hissed. “And you’re just defending him because he’s your son!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay first off, ouch,” Larkspirit growled. “Second off, he did fine. Everyone makes mistakes. He caught three pieces, and tripped over a small tree root once. Then, he managed to recover and caught the squirrel anyway! That’s just impressive, if you ask me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Again, you’re defending him because he’s your son!” Berrynose cried, outraged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, Berrynose,” Cinderheart meowed. “That does sound impressive, and entertaining to watch.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What, are you saying I wasn’t entertaining?” Specklepaw scolded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, perfection is quite boring,” Cinderheart mewed awkwardly. “You really only made one mistake, when you stepped on that dry leaf. But, it didn’t do much harm, as it was a rather small leaf.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Huh, I must’ve missed that when I was scrambling up a tree,” Gingerheart meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, let’s get back to camp and report to Rockfall,” Larkspirit meowed, pushing his kits in front of him. The apprentices trotted back to camp, Specklepaw clearly more happy than Boulderpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When they entered camp, Rockfall went straight to meet you. “So, they’re ready to be warriors now, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re supposed to decide that,” Cinderheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hang on, what?” Rockfall meowed disdainfully. “I don’t know how to judge that! I thought they’ve deserved to be warriors for the past two moons! But clearly they weren’t because Lionstar never performed the ceremony!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know how to respond to that,” Gingerheart mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Look, just go get a senior warrior to listen in and they’ll help you decide,” Larkspirit suggested. Rockfall looked around, then called out to Whitewing. Whitewing walked over.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” she white she-cat asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can you help me decide if these two are ready to become warriors?” Rockfall requested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, sure,” Whitewing replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart and Cinderheart took turns telling Rockfall and Whitewing how Specklepaw did on the assessment, then Berrynose and Larkspirit told about Boulderpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t think he’s quite ready,” Berrynose finished.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Berrynose, open your eyes.” Whitewing meowed sternly. “He tripped and still managed to catch a squirrel. That’s pretty impressive, and I’m not sure most warriors could pull that off.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s what I call great recovery,” Gingerheart agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Whitewing turned to Rockfall. “They both sound ready to me,” she informed him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great, I’ll do the ceremony soon,” Rockfall told the apprentices. “Gingerheart, could I talk to you for a moment?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> White the apprentices bounced up and down like large, furry bouncy balls, Rockfall and Gingerheart stepped away from the crowd.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know how to do a warrior ceremony!” Rockfall hissed urgently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t remember your own?” Gingerheart asked, surprised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not that well!” Rockfall cried. “What if I mess up?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, just listen carefully,” Gingerheart mewed. “First, you need to come up with their warrior names and two good traits they possess.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And, what would those be?” Rockfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, Specklepaw could be Specklepelt,” Gingerheart explained patiently. “And she’s skilled, so there’s one trait. She’s also pretty dedicated.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Boulderpaw is pretty brave,” Rockfall mewed thoughtfully. “And enthusiastic. But what could his name be?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart could not respond. She truly did not know what name could be given to Boulderpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You could go with Boulderfoot,” Gingerheart suggested. “Purely because it has a good ring to it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Rockfall agreed. “So what do I say?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, give me a second to think about the first part.” Gingerheart replied. It starts with I, Leader, leader of Clan, but Rockfall wasn’t a leader. When Firestar had done ceremonies in SkyClan he’d said I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan and mentor to SkyClan, which shows that you are allowed to change it slightly. Perhaps “deputy” would work?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, you would say, ‘I, Rockfall, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Specklepaw and Boulderpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?’ Then when they say ‘I do’ you say ‘Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Specklepaw, from this moment you will be known as Specklepelt. StarClan honors your skill and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.’ Then you’re going to rest your muzzle on her head, she licks your shoulder, then you repeat the last part for Boulderpaw, replacing the names and traits with the ones picked out for him, then you just step back and listen to everyone chant their names.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall stared blankly at her. “I could never remember all of that.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, clearly this will take a while,” Gingerheart sighed.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> After a long while, Rockfall finally memorized the warrior ceremony, and Gingerheart, her last ounces of patience returning, watched as Rockfall leapt up onto the Highledge. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> As everyone gathered, Rockfall leapt back down and beckoned Specklepaw and Boulderpaw forward. “What took so long?” Gingerheart heard Boulderpaw ask, annoyed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall disregarded the question and began the ceremony: “I, Rockfall, deputy of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Specklepaw and Boulderpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I do,” Boulderpaw and Specklepaw replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Specklepaw, from this moment you will be known as Specklepelt. StarClan honors your skill and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall rested his muzzle on Specklepelt’s head, and she licked his shoulder in return.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall turned to Boulderpaw and mewed, “Boulderpaw, from this moment you will be known as Boulderfoot. StarClan honors your skill and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall rested his muzzle on Boulderfoot’s head and he licked his shoulder in return.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The three cats turned to face the crowd as they started chanting, “Specklepelt! Boulderfoot!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t wait to become a warrior,” came a high-pitched voice from the back of the crowd, and Gingerheart turned to find Applekit speaking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You have to become an apprentice first,” Hollytuft reminded her kit. “And that’s still a few moons away.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Applekit sighed. “I want to grow up faster.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Trust me, you don’t,” Hollytuft contradicted. “Adulthood is fox-dung, so enjoy your innocence while you can.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Welcome to the club,” came a male voice, and Gingerheart spun around again to find Oakbranch talking to Boulderfoot and Specklepelt. Gingerheart wondered if he was getting tired of being stuck in the same den as those two. As kits, Oakkit Brindlekit and Dawnkit were only about a half-moon old when Boulderkit and Specklekit were born, then as soon as they became Oakpaw Brindlepaw and Dawnpaw, Boulderpaw and Specklepaw were right behind. Oakbranch Brindlefur and Dawnfur had just had their warrior ceremony, and now, here’s Boulderfoot and Specklepelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Berrynose and Cinderheart walked over and started giving the two new warriors the instructions for their vigil, and Gingerheart walked away, merely glad that her vigil was done and over with and she’d never have to do it again—at least, not that kind of vigil.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart only wished Furrypelt was here. She always liked a good ceremony. Instead, who knew what she was doing, climbing up hills and mountains?

<p class="MsoNormal"> It had been a quarter-moon since Furrypelt and the others had left, and Gingerheart missed her like crazy already. How was she going to make it another seven weeks?

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 11= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> I t was a quarter-moon since they’d left, and Foxstar’s wound had finally gotten healed enough that they could keep moving.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Actually, Leafpool had confirmed it better yesterday morning, and they’d covered some fair ground in that time. Now, it was roughly sunhigh of the next day, and the mountains were looming ever closer.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall strayed from the trail, and Furrypelt turned her head, trying to see what he was after. She figured it out as he pounced and came back with a squirrel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hehe,” Birchfall chuckled. “It thought it could get away from me! Well, it was wrong!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lawl,” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What is ‘lawl’?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s a short way of saying ‘LOL’,” Furrypelt explained. “Which stands for ‘Laugh out loud’. Twoleg reference, it’s how we show that something is funny if we’re writing something to another cat instead of talking face-to-face.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I see,” Birchfall meowed slowly. “Well, now we have some food if we get hungry. I’ll carry it first.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “When you get tired I can take it,” Furrypelt offered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can take it next,” Foxstar added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nuh-uh,” Leafpool corrected. “I know you’re healed, but I don’t want you opening that wound back up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How could I reopen this wound by carrying squirrel?!” Foxstar asked, bewildered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you’re holding it in your jaws and have your neck strained or at a funny angle,” Leafpool pointed out harshly. “I can take the squirrel.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re fighting about who is going to carry a squirrel,” Furrypelt muttered. “What has my life come to?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s what I was thinking my entire life as a Twoleg!” Foxstar cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I know, right?” Furrypelt agreed. “Man, twenty-first century…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I wish I lived to see the twenty-second century,” Foxstar sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I did!” Furrypelt cried. “Barely, but, I did. I did at the age of ninety-six, which would’ve been twenty-one hundred.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aw, I lived to be ninety,” Foxstar sighed. “Two thousand ninety-five.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, you beat Gingerheart,” Furrypelt pointed out. “She lived to be eighty-five. That would’ve been two thousand ninety-one.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stop speaking gibberish!” Birchfall snapped through squirrel, making it a bit difficult to understand.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Actually, we’re speaking English,” Furrypelt corrected. “Would you like me to speak Spanish instead? Cómo está?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall stopped and spat out the squirrel. “Furrypelt, we don’t understand anything you say.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah yeah, let’s just keep walking,” Furrypelt growled, annoyed. Birchfall rolled his eyes and picked up the squirrel again. “I saw that you know!” she called back to him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was hoping we could make it to the mountains by nightfall,” Foxstar was meowing, changing the subject.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, they’re still a bit far,” Leafpool pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh come on, at least the base,” Foxstar mewed earnestly. “I told you, I’m trying to get this done and over with.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Leafpool growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Onward they trekked, leaving the trees behind, faced with a large grassy open space with a few hills here and there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The leaf-bare winds were not cool enough to battle the sun scorching their backs in a cloudless sky. Furrypelt was once again finding herself trudging up hills, panting heavily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Now would be a nice time to split that squirrel,” she panted. “To keep our strength up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt, you’re pathetic,” Foxstar commented. “We’re not having as much trouble as you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You saw me during gym class, right?” Furrypelt hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oooh, right,” Foxstar remembered. “Alright, fine, we’ll divide up the squirrel and settle down for a meal.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good, I was starting to get tired,” Birchfall mewed in relief, putting down the squirrel. Foxstar walked over and clawed the brown squirrel into quarters, burying the leftover bones. They each took a piece—it was a very small piece, but, it would suffice for now—and ate it silently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They rested for a moment afterwards—particularly for Furrypelt’s benefit—for extra energy. Furrypelt was looking around for a puddle or stream or something to drink, but could not see any within sight. There’s gotta be some ''in the mountains, and we’re nearly there. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on,” Foxstar finally mewed. The four cats rose wearily to their paws and started walking down the hill they were sitting atop.

<p class="MsoNormal"> All it seemed to be was walking up one hill and down another. Up and down all day long. There was very little conversation.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, this trip is rather uneventful at the moment,” Furrypelt sighed at one point. “And I suppose that should be taken as a good thing…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh, Furrypelt,” Birchfall mewed. “I don’t think it’s going to be uneventful for much longer.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What do you mean?” Furrypelt asked, then realized what he was talking about. She sniffed and smelled dog, and could hear its barking in the distance, getting steadily louder.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hide!” Foxstar hissed, looking around wildly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where, mouse-brain?!” Birchfall shrieked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh,” Foxstar mewed, gazing around wildly again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There are some trees over there,” Furrypelt cried, flicking her tail in the direction of the mountains. The trees were some ways off, but they should still be able to beat the dog to it, and without running completely out of breath.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They’re a bit far,” Leafpool murmured worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That doesn’t matter right now!” Foxstar yowled. “Just run!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> They did as he said, and bolted towards the distant trees. The barking was growing louder, and Furrypelt glumly remembered that dogs had the advantage of being bigger and having longer legs, thus they could go farther than cats in the same amount of time. This meant that they could catch up to cats fairly easily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> By the time Furrypelt reached the tree, she was practically out of breath, and lagging behind from the others. She could feel the dog’s hot breath on her tail, and tried to whack it in the face with her tail. She heard it bark angrily, and frantically tried to speed up, but she had little energy left.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The others were already up or climbing the tree, and Leafpool turned around mid-climb, and when she spotted her former apprentice, leapt off the tree and landed right on the dog’s head, then clawed and scratched at its face. Furrypelt took the opportunity to use an extra spurt of speed and jump into the tree, outstretching her claws to hook on. She climbed quickly, and finally sat on a branch next to Foxstar and Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool!” Foxstar cried, standing up on his branch worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, Foxstar, stay here,” Birchfall ordered his former apprentice. “She’ll make it up on her own. Don’t risk your life again.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar, clearly annoyed and frustrated, followed the older warrior’s orders, and, sure enough, Leafpool was able to get onto the tree and scrabble up, leaving the dog barking furiously up the tree.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where’s its owner?” Foxstar asked after a few minutes. “Usually they come get their dog by now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maybe it’s a stray,” Furrypelt suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just our luck,” Foxstar growled. “Hey, doggie, get out of here!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It doesn’t understand what you’re saying,” Leafpool reminded him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Should we fight it?” Birchfall asked. “It doesn’t look like it has any intention to leave any time soon.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’d rather not,” Leafpool sighed. “Especially not Foxstar; he could open up that neck wound, and I don’t know where to find herbs around here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Worst case we grab some leaves from this tree and he could hold it in place with his teeth until we meet the Tribe,” Furrypelt told her. “They got herbs and know what to do with them.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Leafpool meowed reluctantly. “Let’s fight this yapping annoyance.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Yowling, Furrypelt leapt off the tree, landing on top of the dog. She sliced its face and clawed the back of its head. Looking at it, Furrypelt noticed the white fur with the brown patches, and wondered what breed it was. She could never tell. She could distinguish poodle, golden retriever, and Chihuahua. That was it. She’d say this one was a beagle, but aren’t beagles smaller than this?

<p class="MsoNormal"> The others had joined her on top of the dog and were clawing randomly. The thing with dogs is they generally had much shorter fur than cats, making it easy to get to skin. It was now bleeding from many places, and it whimpered and desperately tried to shake them off.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let him go,” Leafpool ordered, and they leapt off the brown-and-white dog. They watched as it turned tail and ran away, leaving a thin trail of blood behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did you open up your wound?” Leafpool asked worriedly, turning to Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, I’m fine,” Foxstar assured her. “That dog was surprisingly easy to fight. In fact, I think it might not be a full grown adult.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That would explain it,” Furrypelt agreed. “Where do you think its family is?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who cares?” Birchfall asked, licking a small, thin, seemingly shallow cut the dog must’ve got in. “Point is, it’s gone.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s keep moving, maybe we can still make it to the mountains.” Foxstar meowed. “It’s fairly close now, and we still have a little while before the sun sets.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> So, they set off again. They were slowly gaining elevation, and Furrypelt could feel the temperature difference as they made higher ground. Finally, they’d started to see frost and then slush then snow on the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal"> At this point, the sun as practically below the horizon, with just the smallest semicircle poking above, sending fiery red throughout the sky, which quickly faded to purple, to black at the top of the sky. Furrypelt turned her head opposite the sun and saw a full moon rising. Tonight’s the Gathering, she thought. She turned her head around and focused on what she knew to be the lake, even though she couldn’t see it, and it was just trees in the distance. Well, she could sort of see it. She saw a small dark circle, with trees surrounding it, and a small dot near the shore, which she knew was the Gathering island. ''Right now the Clans are trekking there, to share peace and swap news. And soon, they will all know of the coming peril, which is why we are on this journey. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, let’s stop here.” Foxstar decided. “There’s a small overhang over there, and we can make nests in the snow.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How can that possibly be comfortable?” Birchfall asked skeptically. “Plus, it’ll be freezing cold!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It could be worse,” Foxstar pointed out. “If we all curl up next to each other it’ll keep us warm.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine by me,” Furrypelt mewed, stepping forward and digging under the overhang until she hid ground, then dug around it. Luckily, they were not far enough up on the mountain that underneath was stone; it was still grass here, which would make it noticeably softer. She jerked her tail for the others to come.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You have a thick pelt,” Birchfall muttered, annoyed, and curled up in a corner of the “nest” Furrypelt had dug. Furrypelt curled up in the opposite corner, and Foxstar and Leafpool curled up on either side of her, Foxstar on the outside and closest to the cold drafts. Furrypelt understood why Foxstar had done this; she and him had thick and long fur, so the cold wouldn’t affect them as much as Leafpool and Birchfall, who had shorter fur.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Tomorrow we go to the Tribe, Furrypelt thought. ''Man, that’ll be interesting. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sighing and closing her eyes, Furrypelt let herself drift off to sleep.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t believe this,” Rockfall meowed, pacing back and forth around camp. “I have to go sit on that tree and talk to all the Clans!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rockfall,” Gingerheart mewed, trying to get his attention, but he kept pacing and muttering to himself anxiously. “Rockfall, Rockfall, Rockfall!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Rockfall cried, turning to face Gingerheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re going to be fine, okay? Just calm down. I can help you, if you like, and Mistystar will definitely be kind and patient.” Gingerheart assured her nephew.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Positive?” Rockfall mewed quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Certain,” Gingerheart replied. “Come on, let’s round everyone up. Did you choose who’s going?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Man, I completely forgot!” Rockfall cried. “Who do I pick?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Take the new warriors from this moon, Boulderfoot, and Specklepelt, and I’d take Sparrowpaw, which means his mentor, Stormcloud, but leave Maplepaw and Hazelpaw behind this time.” Gingerheart mewed. “Take a few of the elders, perhaps Brackenfur Thornclaw and Brightheart? They’re all siblings, after all. How about Squirreltail and Icepelt, then a few of the older warriors? Cinderheart, Ivypool, Mousewhisker, Bumblestripe, and Blossomfall.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s a lot to remember,” Rockfall pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not really,” Gingerheart replied. “Oh, and don’t forget Jayfeather. And bring Firepelt and Bramblethorn, why don’t you? And to compensate, bring Whitewing and Rosepetal, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “At this point I’m bringing the entire Clan,” Rockfall told her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nonsense, we’re leaving plenty of cats behind!” Gingerheart replied. “Here, if you want me to, I’ll recite the list.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Rockfall replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart leapt onto the Highledge so everyone could hear here. “Hear ye, hear ye!” she called, and she got a bunch of weird looks from everyone, but did not care. “The cats who are going to the Gathering are: Me, Rockfall, Firepelt, Bramblethorn, Jayfeather, Sparrowpaw, Stormcloud, Boulderfoot, Specklepelt, Whitewing, Rosepetal, Ivypool, Cinderheart, Bumblestripe, Blossomfall, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Brightheart, and Mousewhisker.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re only bringing one apprentice?” Stormcloud asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Would you like me to bring Hazelpaw and Maplepaw?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, and their mentors,” Stormcloud added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine, add Hazelpaw, Maplepaw, and Fernsong to the list of cats going. Now let’s go!” Gingerheart finished. She leapt off the Highledge.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “See, Rockfall, it was that simple.” She told the deputy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just because you have more courage than you should,” Rockfall muttered. “Come on, everyone!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall led the way to the Gathering island, and Gingerheart stuck right beside him, just in case.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They finally arrived, and they appeared to be the last ones. Stormcloud had to rescue Sparrowpaw from falling in the lake while crossing, but, it’s understandable, and Gingerheart knew it was bound to happen; especially with newer apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall, struggling over to the tree with his injured hind leg, left Gingerheart and she took a seat close to the front. Firepelt had to walk over and give his son a boost to get to the top of the tree, and the other eyed him curiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart turned and realized that Tawnypelt, the newest ShadowClan elder, was sitting next to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hello,” Gingerheart greeted the tortoiseshell she-cat. “What’s up?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why is your son up there?” Tawnypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh, that will be explained when the Gathering starts,” Gingerheart replied. She did feel bad for Rockfall; he was so scared and was too young to be doing this. He hadn’t exactly been deputy very long before he was forced to be leader, too.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rowanstar yowled for the Gathering to start, and Gingerheart noticed, as Foxstar had recommended, Rockfall was sitting close to Mistystar, keeping his distance from Rowanstar, and simply ignoring Featherstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “ShadowClan has no news to report,” Rowanstar mewed, nodding to Featherstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “WindClan has nothing either,” the gray tabby mewed. “Except for one of their apprentices straying onto our territory.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “For crying out loud!” Gingerheart screamed. “That stream was neutral territory and he fell in by mistake!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Moving on,” Featherstar growled, nodding to Mistystar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We had a bit of a problem with ShadowClan on our territory,” Mistystar mewed, eyeing Rowanstar. “But other than that we have nothing.” She nodded to Rockfall, who just stood there, evidently unable to talk or unsure what to say.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistystar seemed to sense there was a problem. “Why isn’t Lionstar up here?” she prompted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He died, about a half-moon ago,” Rockfall mewed, his voice emotionless and stony, sounding a lot like a robot. The poor kid, Gingerheart sighed. “Foxfoot is now Foxstar, and I am deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then, where’s Foxstar?” Mistystar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He, Furrypelt, Birchfall, and Leafpool have left on a journey given by StarClan to find a new medicine cat apprentice in the old forest,” Rockfall meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That makes no sense!” a cat cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They have Jayfeather and Furrypelt! Why another one?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why the old forest? That’s forever away!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall seemed too frightened and confused by all the shouting he couldn’t speak, and Gingerheart felt fury rising in her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “SILENCE!” she screamed, and the rumbling of complaints and questions ceased instantly, and everyone was eyeing Gingerheart. “We don’t know why StarClan sent them on that mission! All we know is that there’s danger! And Rockfall, he’s scared to death with all this responsibility! Can’t you see that your questioning what he says is scaring him even more?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Murmuring broke out, and Gingerheart caught some cats that were eyeing Rockfall with loathing, but others who gazed at him with pity, Tawnypelt and Mistystar included. Rowanstar was glaring at him, and Featherstar didn’t seem to care. ''Probably because she already knew Rockfall was taking over. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Mistystar held up her tail for silence, then turned back to Rockfall. “Are there any new kits, apprentices, warriors, elders, or deaths besides Lionstar?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have two new warriors, Boulderfoot and Specklepelt.” Rockfall replied flatly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Boulderfoot! Specklepelt!” the Clans chanted, and Rockfall began to look more relaxed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “One more thing I just remembered,” Rockfall mewed quickly. “Foxstar requested I tell everyone this… I don’t know how to say this…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s alright,” Mistystar mewed soothingly. “Just tell us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Me, Foxstar, and Mistypelt are not the kits of Gingerheart and Bramblethorn!” Rockfall yowled. “We are the kits of Furrypelt and Firepelt!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gasps of shock rippled around, and Gingerheart just rolled her eyes; she was used to this now, and had at least had fair warning this would be announced.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How are they going to be punished?” Rowanstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They’re not,” Rockfall meowed firmly. “I’ve known this since I was a moon old, and I promised I’d keep it a secret. When Foxstar announced it, he did it so we would have to suffer no more, so we can embrace our family openly. Sunstripe and Foxstar were not punished for having kits as apprentices. Furrypelt and Firepelt shall not be punished either.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What is wrong with you guys?!” Rowanstar growled. “Why don’t you punish your cats that do wrong?!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Because, truly, what did they do wrong?” Rockfall mewed. “You can’t deny or complain about true love.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What do you know about love?” Featherstar hissed. “You tried to murder everyone!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart stood up quickly. “The Dark Forest cats can be deceiving, alright? And very persuasive. They’re good at what they do. But Rockfall came back to the right side. And as for breaking the code with kits, StarClan has assured Furrypelt that everything would be alright with her kits, and that it was supposed to happen. Foxstar was destine to become leader from the very beginning. With Sunstripe and Foxstar when they had kits, Bramblestar was right, they’d suffered enough with worry and anxiety. You guys need to loosen up! This was all supposed to happen, so just deal with it! It’s done and over with! Besides, Foxstar is leader, and Rockfall is filling in. If they say no one is getting punished, no one is getting punished, because the leader’s word is the Warrior Code!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gathering dismissed,” Rockfall growled, leaping off the tree, and landing awkwardly but clearly not caring.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart quickly followed the limping Rockfall as he left the island, and the rest of the Clan followed suit, leaving no time to be social.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 12= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt arose bright and early the next morning—mainly because it was freezing cold and she couldn’t sleep like this much longer.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stood up and stretched, disturbing Foxstar and Leafpool. Foxstar opened an eye, and, realizing it was morning, stood up too, which disturbed Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, let’s get going,” Foxstar announced, arching his back and opening his mouth in a wide yawn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This grass was itchy,” Birchfall complained, scratching behind his ear. “Can’t we at least get some food before we start moving again?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall, we don’t know how to hunt up here,” Leafpool reminded the light brown tabby. “We should just try and find the Tribe. They’ll offer us food, I’m sure of it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar led the way into the snow and they started climbing up the mountain. Every now and then they’d hit a difficult spot and Foxstar would turn around and try a different way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Now it was nearly sunhigh, and everyone’s stomachs were growling, and everyone was growing weary. “Foxstar,” Furrypelt mewed. “Let’s take a break.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No!” Foxstar hissed determinedly, pulling himself—with difficulty—up a small ledge that would lead them further up the mountain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, this is getting out of hand,” Furrypelt pointed out, struggling to follow him and ending up cutting her pad on the sharp rocks. She gasped and fell, Birchfall lunging and breaking her fall just in time. “Thanks, Birchfall,” she mumbled through his fur, as her face had flopped into his side.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No problem,” Birchfall replied stiffly. Furrypelt climbed off of him and he stood up slowly, giving each leg a thorough stretch. Furrypelt sat down and lifted up her injured paw to find blood in the snow beneath it. She licked it gingerly, trying to ease the stinging.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you need help getting up?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no, I got this,” Furrypelt replied. How many times had she injured herself as a Twoleg? It was just a little scrape. She could fight through the pain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With more difficulty than Foxstar had, Furrypelt somehow managed to haul herself up, and was pretty sure she’d just made it easier for that cut to get infected.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As Leafpool and Birchfall started making their way up, Furrypelt noticed it had started snowing. First it was just a few flakes, but gradually it was starting to get heavier. This is going to turn into a blizzard soon, she thought ruefully. “Foxstar, we gotta get to the Tribe fast. We need shelter from this storm.” She mewed hastily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine, just wait for Birchfall,” Foxstar reminded her, and Furrypelt turned to watch Birchfall clamber up onto the ledge with them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good, let’s keep going,” Foxstar meowed, hiking up the snowy slope.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The snow was getting so thick Furrypelt could barely see. Then, she saw the silhouettes of a few cats in front of her. “What are you guys doing out here?” one of them called. “In this weather?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I could ask you the same question,” Birchfall yowled back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We were just heading back to the cave,” a different voice replied. “Come on, you can come with us!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar lunged forward, joining the cats. Furrypelt Leafpool and Birchfall followed, and up close, Furrypelt saw a light brown she-cat, a black tom, a yellow she-cat with brown flecks, who looked much younger, a dark brown she-cat, and a flame-colored tom.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on,” the black tom mewed gruffly. “Let’s get out of the storm, and then you can tell us who you are and why you’re on our territory.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt leaned over to Foxstar. “Do you think these are Tribe cats or those other cats?” she asked quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Foxstar replied, equally quiet. “We could ask.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, they’d become suspicious of us,” Furrypelt explained quickly. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> They kept climbing uphill, Furrypelt growing more and more tired by the minute. “Are we almost there?” she panted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes,” the flame-colored tom replied. “In fact,” they rounded a corner and a giant waterfall appeared in front of them. “We have just arrived.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do we have to go through the waterfall?” Birchfall asked glumly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t remember this place very well, do you?” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, because I was just a little kit!” Birchfall snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You go around the waterfall,” the young yellow she-cat explained, her brown flecks blending in with the rocks.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The black tom led the way past the waterfall, and then they were in a cave, full of cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Dark,” a dark brown tabby tom growled, walking up to them. “Where’s the food? We sent out a hunting patrol and expected prey to come back!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The storm kept us from finding anything, Sheer,” the light brown she-cat explained. “And then we found these four in need of shelter.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> A dark gray tom stepped forward. “Wait, I know two of these cats,” he mewed. “Leafpool? Birchfall?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stormfur?” Leafpool cried. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again! Hey, when my sister last came here, she said you had kits?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, yeah!” Stormfur mewed. “Brook and I had kits. Pine! Lark!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> A light brown tom and a pale tabby she-cat came running to Stormfur. Stormfur motioned to the light brown tom. “This is Pine That Clings to Rock, and this one,” he gestured to the pale tabby. “Is Lark That Sings at Dawn.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have kits of our own now, too,” Pine added, and the light brown tabby she-cat stepped forward. “I’m Wind That Blows Across Grass,” she introduced. “And Pine’s my mate!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have you two had kits?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You met one,” Pine replied, gesturing to the flame-colored tom. “That’s Fire That Blazes Through Trees, and I have another son somewhere… Glow!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The cat that came running had a very interesting color. He was a pale reddish-ginger tom. “I’m Glow of Setting Sun,” he introduced. Well, that works, Furrypelt thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Glow!” came a high-pitched squeal. A brown tom-kit came running towards him and hid behind his legs. “Glow, Star is hurting me!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I am not!” came a squeal from a black she-kit with white flecks. “Lark, he’s lying! He’s just trying to get me in trouble!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Glow turned to the Clan cats. “This is one of my kits,” he explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Claw of Mighty Lion,” the kit introduced himself. “But you can call me Mighty Lion!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I believe they’re supposed to call you Claw,” came an amused voice, and a gray speckled she-cat stepped forward with a black she-kit at her paws. “I’m Rain That Passes Quickly, Glow’s mate,” she introduced herself. “And this,” she pushed the black she-kit forward. “Is Reed That Grows by River.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Lark looked up at the Clan cats. “This is one of my kits, Star That Twinkles at Night, and I have one more, probably trying to figure out what happened to the other kits!” She looked down at Star. “Go find Fog for me, okay?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, Lark!” Star chirped, and ran off to the other side of the cave.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The black tom stepped forward to Lark. “I am Dark Shadow on Water, Lark’s mate,” he explained. He turned and Star came back, dragging a pale gray she-kit along with her. “Lark!” the gray kit complained. “Star took me against my will!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Star,” Lark scolded gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You told me to get her!” Star pointed out. She looked up at the Clan cats. “This is Fog that Hangs in the Air.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So we’ve met all of your kits,” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not exactly,” the yellow she-cat mewed shyly. She stepped forward. “I’m Sunshine Between Tree Leaves, and I’m Claw and Reed’s half-sister.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Huh,” Furrypelt mewed. “Do you share a mother or a father?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Father,” Sunshine replied, looking up at Glow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The poor thing fell in love with Snow, then ended up falling in love with Rain, too,” Stormfur explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And I love them both equally,” Glow meowed quickly. “Including my kits.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned to look at Sunshine. “You know, I have a half-sister named Sunshine,” she mewed, remembering the beautiful spotted tabby back at the lake. “So, where are your siblings?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Glow turned around. “Leaf! Moon!” he called. He turned back to the Clan cats. “Sunshine Leaf and Moon are all to-bes,” he mewed. “Sunshine is learning the ways of a prey-hunter from Dark, and Moon from Splash.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about Leaf?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She is Stoneteller’s.” Glow replied proudly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A tortoiseshell she-cat and pale gray tom pushed their way to the front. “What’s up, Glow?” the tom asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This tortoiseshell is Leaf That Floats on River,” Glow mewed. “And the tom is Moon That Shines on Water.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, who’s the mother?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My sister,” Wind mewed. “Snow Falling on Stones.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, can we do the next intro further away from the entrance of the cave?” Birchfall asked. Furrypelt turned to look at him and noticed how badly he was shivering.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They walked forward, and Furrypelt noticed the stinging in her pad that had been numbed by the cold snow going to the cave. She winced every time she put her paw down, and Leaf noticed. “What’s wrong with your paw?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I cut my pad on the way up here,” Furrypelt explained. “Got any dock or anything?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know what dock is,” Leaf replied. “But I can get you some tormentil. It works on almost all wounds or scratches of any kind.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll find my sisters,” Wind mewed, rushing off and disappearing into the crowd of cats. Furrypelt laid down on the stone floor, which was surprisingly warm, or maybe at least in comparison to what she slept on, and watched as Leaf disappeared into a cave that she knew was the Stoneteller’s den/medicine den/their version of the Moonpool; The Cave of Pointed Stones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Wind came back first, with a white she-cat and a gray she-cat. “I’m Snow Falling on Stones,” the white she-cat mewed. “Glow’s mate.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And I’m Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain,” the gray she-cat mewed. “Fire’s mate.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fire, have you had kits?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, only two, and unlike Glow here I only have one mate,” Fire replied. “They’re both to-bes, I’ll go find them.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wind, who are your parents?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Night of No Stars and Sheer Path Beside Waterfall,” Wind replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh yeah, Night was pregnant when Jayfeather Dovewing Squirrelflight and Foxleap left last time!” Furrypelt remembered. All the Tribe cats stared at her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How did you know that?” Stormfur asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Lark, is this cat magical?” Star asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did she come from the Tribe of Endless Hunting?” Claw asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll get into that later. I want to finish Tribe introductions first,” Furrypelt replied, wishing she hadn’t said anything.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “While we talk, here’s an interesting idea,” Birchfall mewed. “We eat. I haven’t eaten since sunhigh yesterday!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, you poor thing!” Rain cried. “I’ll go get you four something.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leaf came back with yellow flowers in her mouth. Furrypelt had never seen these before. The tortoiseshell she-cat ripped off the roots and chewed them up, then put them on Furrypelt’s injured front paw. It immediately began to feel better, and Furrypelt looked up at Snow and Glow. ''Hey, that rhymes! ''She realized. “She really knows what she’s doing,” Furrypelt commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s because she’s my daughter,” Glow mewed proudly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Glow!” Leaf complained. “You’re embarrassing me!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What? Stoneteller would agree!” Glow pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That I’m good because I’m your daughter?” Leaf asked skeptically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that you’re good,” Glow mumbled sheepishly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Fire came back with a white tom with flecks of gray and a yellow-and-cream she-cat. “The tom is Snowflake Drifting Through Air,” Fire introduced. “And the she-cat is Petal of Tall Flower. They’re both cave-guards.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m training Petal,” Glow mewed. “And Pebble got Snowflake.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, they’re being trained by their uncle and mother, respectively?” Foxstar asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Fire mewed slowly like he was just now thinking this through.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I mean, Dewnose was trained by his older sister,” Furrypelt pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned to the dark brown she-cat. “You never told us your name,” she pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, right, sorry,” she apologized. “I’m Jessy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, aren’t you the former kittypet that hung out with ThunderClan during the flood? You came with Frankie, who is currently named Stormcloud.” Furrypelt meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jessy stared at Furrypelt. “You’re scaring me.” She mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, I think that’s all you need to know,” Stormfur mewed. “Tell us about you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, I heard there are visitors out here,” interrupted a voice. They turned and a dark gray tom stepped forward.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Crag!” Leafpool meowed happily, and gasps rippled throughout the cave. Furrypelt gave a sharp intake of breath, and Foxstar winced. Leafpool and Birchfall looked utterly confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt leaned over to Leafpool. “Didn’t Jayfeather tell you?” she hissed quietly. “Stoneteller died, Crag is Stoneteller now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry Stoneteller!” Leafpool cried. “I didn’t realize—”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s fine,” Stoneteller assured her. “I figured the next time the Clans stopped by someone was going to make that mistake. It’s Leafpaw, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s Leafpool now,” Leafpool corrected. “I became a full medicine cat not long after the Clans settled into their new home. Then I broke the code with kits and lost my calling,” she growled the last part.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, are you not allowed to have kits or something?” Stoneteller asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Medicine cats can’t have kits,” Leafpool explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s okay, I broke the code, too,” Furrypelt comforted Leafpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did you lose your calling?” Stoneteller asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, because no one knew until my son became leader, and he wasn’t going to do anything,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, catch me up on what’s happened since the Clans last visited,” Stormfur requested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, let me think,” Furrypelt mewed. “The Forgotten Warrior, Sol comes back, starts a fight between ThunderClan and WindClan that takes place underground in the tunnels, Hollyleaf turns out to be alive and had been living in the tunnels and as she knows the tunnels, helped ThunderClan train to win.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The Last Hope,” Foxstar continued. “Major battle, cats had been being trained in their sleep to fight on the side of the Dark Forest, including Dovewing’s sister, Ivypool, and she turned the majority of the trainees to the right side. StarClan, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, and the Clans fought against the Dark Forest.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Many cats died, from ThunderClan, Mousefur, Hollyleaf, Firestar, Sorreltail, Foxleap, and Ferncloud. From RiverClan, Dapplenose, Hollowflight, Robinwing, and Troutstream. From WindClan, Ashfoot, Owlwhisker, Swallowtail, Thistleheart, Tornear, Webfoot, Sunstrike, and Boulderfur. From ShadowClan, Applefur, Cedarheart, Olivenose, Redwillow, Shredtail, Shrewfoot, Starlingwing, Tallpoppy, Toadfoot, and Weaselkit. From the Dark Forest, Brokenstar, Hawkfrost, Shredtail, Tigerstar. And from StarClan, Spottedleaf.” Furrypelt finished.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Firestar’s dead?” Stormfur asked quietly. “That means, Brambleclaw is leader?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Was leader,” Furrypelt corrected.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you talking about Bramblestar?” Jessy asked. “He was leader when I was there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, not much happened in Bramblestar’s Storm, just the whole flood thing, it was actually a very disappointing book,” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I liked it,” Foxstar pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re weird.” Furrypelt replied. “Anywho, this is where I come in. First, my backstory. I am a reincarnation of a Twoleg, and a Twoleg recorded everything the Clans did, for a long time, so I know everything there is to know about the Clans and the Tribe. By the way the Clans and the Tribe are distantly related to each other. Like, through blood.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Rain cried. “How?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, so, the lake where the Clans currently live, is where the Ancient Tribe originally lived.” Furrypelt explained. “Twolegs started building what we refer to as the horseplace, which is where my cat self was born, and it was scaring all the prey. So, the cats moved to the mountains. Then, seasons later, the mountains were becoming a bit uninhabitable. They hadn’t learned all the tricks to living here. So, half of the cats left to follow the sun, to the Clans’ original home. They settled there for so many seasons everything changed. No memory of the mountains remained. Then Twolegs started destroying that home, so they moved to the lake where they are now. So, we’re all related, and back where we started.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Everyone stared at Furrypelt. “This is ridiculous,” Pine announced.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let me keep going,” Furrypelt requested. “So, I knew of the Clans, and that they were nearby, so I run away from my kittypet life, I join ThunderClan, Bramblestar gives me to Squirrelflight to be taken care of in their second litter of kits, which consisted of Bramblekit and Firekit.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who are their other kits?” Stormfur asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “At the time, Sparkpaw and Alderpaw,” Furrypelt replied. “A few quarter-moons before my apprentice ceremony, Bramblekit, Firekit and I went to attack badgers. Didn’t work out in our favor. Poppyfrost came to help, and the badger killed her, but not before she killed it. Now Berrynose hates me forever, but that’s beside the point. We become apprentices, Bramblepaw, Firepaw, and Furrypaw. I’m a medicine cat apprentice, I visit my mother at the horseplace, find out that only one of my siblings is still there, is about to be locked behind a cage because the Twolegs can’t keep taking care of her, then I find out she’s a reincarnation of my best friend from the Twoleg world, we both love the series about the Clans and Tribe, we go back to camp, Bramblestar names her Gingerpaw.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And this is where it gets terrible,” Leafpool sighed. “Furrypaw had a dream that predicted a battle, where RiverClan WindClan and ShadowClan attacked ThunderClan. So she asked to train as both warrior and medicine cat.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That was tiring,” Furrypelt mewed. “When the battle came, Squirrelflight died. Then later, peace and quiet, Lilyheart and Snowbush’s kits Leafkit Larkkit and Honeykit become apprentices, Leafpaw Larkpaw and Honeypaw. Then Bramblepaw Firepaw and Gingerpaw become warriors, Bramblethorn, Firepelt, and Gingerheart. I became Furrypelt, then fell in love with Firepelt, Gingerheart with Bramblethorn, we had kits at the same time—literally—she had Icekit and Squirrelkit, I had Mistykit, Rockkit, and Foxkit.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Foxkit!” Foxstar cried. “And I’m a reincarnation of Furrypelt’s friend from the Twoleg world, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Everyone was now stunned, but they kept going, explaining about Bramblestar losing lives, the mystery with all the scents, Sunpaw pregnant as an apprentice, giving birth during the battle, the greencough that killed Briarlight, Leafkit, and Bramblestar, Lionstar becoming leader, Rockfall getting injured, the battle of the four, Lionstar dying, and finally why they were in the mountains.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, you went through a lot,” Stormfur commented. “And now I feel really bad for this Rockfall you speak of, and I’ve never met him!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, he was terrified when I left him in charge,” Foxstar sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who would’ve guessed that eagle meat was so delicious?” Birchfall cried. Everyone glared at him. “What? I’ve lived all of this! Why should I be listening?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great story,” Fog yawned.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get you to your nest,” Lark mewed gently. “You too, Star.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned to look at Jessy. “You know, when you told Bramblestar you liked living in the wild, I figured you’d just become a loner. Not a cave-guard!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I guess I liked being part of a group, too,” Jessy replied. “Besides, it’s a fun challenge living up here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, minus the being half-starved through leaf-bare,” Snow mewed sarcastically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, minus that,” Jessy agreed, clearly not picking up the sarcasm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, guess what?” Claw mewed. “Reed and I’s to-be ceremony is soon! Will you be there to watch?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Furrypelt replied. “Like we said, we have to be at the old forest to look for that medicine cat apprentice. Then we should probably be getting back home as soon as possible.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s still another three-quarters of a moon away,” Glow pointed out. He looked up at Furrypelt. “Perhaps you can see it on your way back?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’ll try,” Foxstar promised. “But we make no guarantees.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can you talk more about your battles?” Claw asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw, you should be asleep,” Rain mewed. “It’s getting late.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But Rain!” Claw complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Now now,” Rain meowed sternly yet gently. Claw sighed and plodded after his mother, while Reed followed very willingly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think we’re going to turn in to,” Leafpool yawned. “Not too much sleep on an empty stomach and then hiking on an empty stomach. Been a long few days.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can have Moon and I’s nests,” Sunshine offered. “There’s extra room in each, so you can probably fit two in each.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Moon cried. “I never agreed to that!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t have to. It’s been decided.” Sunshine replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, where do we sleep?!” Moon whined.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can sleep on the stone floor next to them,” Snow told her son sternly. “And not complain about it because you’re doing it for our guests.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s just stupid,” Moon muttered, walking off.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Follow me,” Sunshine mewed warmly, and followed her pale gray brother. Furrypelt Foxstar Leafpool and Birchfall followed quietly and they entered a small cave with nests scattered all around.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is my nest,” Sunshine informed them, motioning towards a small hole in the ground lined with moss. “And the one next to it is Moon’s.” There was an identical hole next to the one Sunshine had shown them. Furrypelt curled up in Sunshine’s nest, and Foxstar curled next to her. Sunshine was right; there was extra space enough for two cats. Leafpool and Birchfall curled up side by side in Moon’s nest, and Moon, grumbling sat down on the stone floor next to them. Sunshine did not seem to care and curled contently on the ground next to Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How long are you staying?” Sunshine asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not long,” Furrypelt replied. “The idea is we leave in the morning, get done what we need to, crash here for another night, then leave again to get home.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You won’t stay for just one day?” Sunshine asked. “Surely you’d want your paw to heal? And don’t think I didn’t notice that wound on Foxstar’s neck. It’d be smarter to let that scab disappear before you go out there and possibly do something hardcore.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You really know your stuff, don’t you?” Furrypelt commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I wanted to be Stoneteller’s apprentice,” Sunshine explained. “But he picked Leaf. It’s all good though; she’s a great Healer. I’ve seen her help Stoneteller make some important decisions, and she helped determine if Claw Reed Star and Fog would be prey-hunters or cave-guards.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s the answer to that?” Foxstar asked curiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw and Fog will be cave-guards, but Reed and Star are prey-hunters,” Sunshine replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Could you keep it down?” Snowflake asked. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry, Snowflake,” Sunshine apologized. Lowering her voice, she turned back to Furrypelt. “Alright, please, just stay one day, then you can go do what you have to. But promise me on the way back, if you get here before Claw and Reed’s to-be ceremony, you stay until they’re to-bes. It’d mean a lot to them. You saw how excited Claw was.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright,” Furrypelt sighed. “I think we can spare a few days. However, just know on the way back we’re going to have an extra person.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s fine with us,” Sunshine assured them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sunshine,” Snowflake complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, goodnight, guys,” and she put her head down and closed her eyes, wrapping her tail over her nose.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt was able to notice that Foxstar fell asleep quite quickly. But for some reason, with her belly comfortably full of eagle meat and her muscles exhausted, she couldn’t fall asleep. Worries of what lay ahead, and what will happen if they can’t find the medicine cat apprentice, kept her awake—and the noisy waterfall didn’t help any—and she slowly watched as the sun set, gradually making the caves darker and darker, until she could barely see outlines, and allowed the waterfall to lull her into an uncomfortable sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 13= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> G ingerheart sat in camp, eating a thin sparrow. Prey had been getting more scarce and thin lately, as leaf-bare would soon be upon them. But for now, it remained leaf-fall, and it was still fairly warm and they weren’t haven’t a prey problem just yet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She turned her head and saw Dovewing talking quietly to Ivypool a little ways away. “You’re what? Really?” she heard Ivypool cry. “That’s great, Dovewing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Gingerheart asked, standing up and walking over. “What’s the great news?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dovewing’s finally expecting kits!” Ivypool cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Finally?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good for you, Dovewing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Other cats had heard and had started to gather around. Dovewing seemed a bit embarrassed but didn’t care too much, until someone asked, “Who’s the father?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart noticed Dovewing go rigid, flash a pleading look at Gingerheart as if saying “Please don’t say anything!” and turned back to the crowd around her. “Er—Bumblestripe,” she mewed, in a way that she seemed to be hoping she sounded convincing. Not to me, Gingerheart thought, but realized that was only because she knew who the true father was.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bumblestripe pushed forwards. “Dovewing? I thought you didn’t want to mate with me. That’s why Ivypool’s my mate now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ve always had a crush on you, I just didn’t want to admit it!” Dovewing blurted, but her eyes were empty of emotion other than fear. Not the best actress, Gingerheart thought. “I assumed you’d never gotten over me, either,”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I didn’t,” Bumblestripe sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Ivypool complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ivypool, I love you too, but I couldn’t lose my feelings for Dovewing,” Bumblestripe apologized. Kinda like Dovewing couldn’t lose her feelings for her mate, Gingerheart thought, feeling smug that she knew something most everyone else didn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t believe it,” Whitewing mewed from the corner. “My kit’s finally having kits of her own! I just wish Birchfall was here to hear this.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait,” Bumblestripe realized. “That means I have two mates. Uhh this will get confusing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s normal for cats to have two mates,” Daisy told Bumblestripe. “I have two mates, Smoky has four mates, Graystripe had two mates, there are plenty of cats who have multiple mates.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Willowpelt had three mates,” Gingerheart pointed out. “Tigerstar had two mates, Goldenflower had two mates, Crowfeather has two mates, Jake had two mates, Gray Wing had two mates, Clear Sky had three, Turtle Tail had two mates, there are plenty of cats who had multiple mates.” Not that you actually have two mates. ''However it is convenient that you love Dovewing. It’ll make the cover-up work better.''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, that makes me feel a bit better,” Bumblestripe muttered. “Dovewing, shouldn’t you be in the nursery if you’re expecting?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bumblestripe, she doesn’t have to be in the nursery all the time!” Daisy cried. “Let her have some space and allow her to finish her meal.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks, Daisy,” Dovewing mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re welcome,” the cream queen replied, disappearing back into the nursery.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is it true?” squeaked a voice, and Gingerheart looked down and saw Frostkit and Applekit at her paws. Frostkit was the one who’d spoken.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re going to have new playmates?” Applekit asked excitedly. “We haven’t had any since Sparrowpaw became an apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, but you’ll have to be gentle with them at first,” Hollytuft told them from the entrance of the nursery. “It’ll be a few moons before they’re ready for your rough games.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re not rough!” Frostkit cried indignantly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not, you are, though!” Applekit argued.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh yeah?” Frostkit mewed threateningly, and leapt on her sister, dragging her to the ground and whacking her face with a paw, claws sheathed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Applekit squeaked, shoving her sister off of her and pinning the pale gray she-kit, rolling over and over in the dirt. Frostkit shoved Applekit off of her and they started jumping all around, pawing at each other.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I see what you mean,” Gingerheart told Hollytuft, watching them tussle about. Their pelts had quickly gone from pale gray and cream to a tan, sand color.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, when you two are done there, you need to bathe,” Hollytuft informed them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But we don’t wanna take a bath!” Applekit wailed, springing away from her sister. She shook her pelt out, and now it was raining sand, and Applekit’s pelt was spiky, with clumps of sand still stuck here and there. Frostkit shook her fur out, too, with the same result.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, you two,” Hollytuft mewed. “You either clean yourselves or I clean you.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re cleaning, we’re cleaning,” Applekit meowed quickly, sitting down and working her tongue through her clumped fur as fast as she could.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Frostkit spat out a mouthful of sand. “Blech, sand is gross!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart had to let out a mrrow of laughter.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So my baby’s having more kits,” came a raspy voice from behind them, and they turned to find Millie standing there. She smiled, then broke out into a cough, and her eyes suddenly looked droopy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Millie, are you okay?” Gingerheart asked worriedly. “Maybe you should go see Jayfeather.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m fine,” Millie insisted, then coughed again. Gingerheart did not believe the silver tabby, but did not argue. If it got worse, she’d tell Jayfeather.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stretched in her nest, then realized she must be disturbing Foxstar, and looked down to apologize, then realized with a jolt her nest was empty. She turned. The to-bes’ nests were empty, and Leafpool Birchfall and Foxstar were nowhere in sight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar?” she called, stepping out of the den. “Leafpool? Birchfall?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They went out hunting with the others,” a voice informed her, and she turned to find Leaf talking to her. “I told them to let you sleep, though. Truly you weren’t too far behind.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where are the other to-bes?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Out training with their mentors,” Leaf replied. “Stoneteller suggested I take you on a tour to show you all the herbs we have here, since apparently they’re different up here than with the Clans.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I’d be honored,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “First, I’d like to put some more tormentil on your pad,” Leaf meowed in an in-charge fashion.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, really, it’s better now,” Furrypelt assured the young tortoiseshell.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just to be sure, we don’t want it bothering you on your long journey.” Leaf pointed out, and Furrypelt relented, following Leaf to the Cave of Pointed Stones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Am I allowed to follow you in here?” Furrypelt asked Leaf before she entered. “Isn’t it sacred or something?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think it’s okay,” Leaf replied uncertainly. “Besides, I’m just treating an injured cat. Where’s the harm in that?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Before Furrypelt could reply, Leaf disappeared into the Cave of Pointed Stones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt was awestruck by the sight she saw inside. It wasn’t called the Cave of Pointed Stones for nothing! She’d read about this, but never could she have imagined such an image. Giant, icicle-shaped stones jutted out from the ceiling or floor, stretching from top to bottom, some meeting in the middle. Furrypelt followed Leaf blindly, gazing around her instead of watching where she was going. Her whiskers touched stone and she jumped back before she walked straight into one of these pointed pillars, her injured paw stinging as it was thrust into the stone floor beneath her as she landed. She gasped in pain and quickly turned her paw over to make sure it wasn’t bleeding—it wasn’t, but it was definitely a bit swollen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You okay?” Leaf asked; she’d obviously heard the gasp, and had turned around to check on Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, but, I could use a bit of that tormentil now.” Furrypelt mewed with clenched teeth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come here,” Leaf mewed gently, and Furrypelt limped over. Furrypelt laid down, and Leaf grabbed the familiar yellow flower she’d used to treat her yesterday. Leaf chewed up the root and then applied the pulp to Furrypelt’s injured pad, and the aromatic scent of the tormentil filled her nose.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There,” Leaf meowed. “Give it a few moments, and you should be able to walk on it. When we get outside the cold of the snow will help.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller walked out of the small den-cave at the far end of the Cave of Pointed Stones. “How’s your paw doing, Furrypelt?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Better, with the tormentil,” Furrypelt replied. Stoneteller turned his attention to his apprentice. “Most of lamb’s ear is wilted, so if you can find any while you’re out with Furrypelt, that’d be great.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Leaf replied. “Furrypelt, ready to go?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, sure,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go, then,” Leaf meowed, standing up. Furrypelt stood gingerly and tested her paw. It did hurt, but a bearable amount. “Your paw good?” Leaf asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good enough,” Furrypelt replied. “Let’s get going.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> They walked out of the Cave of Pointed Stones, and Furrypelt was pretty sure she heard faint wheezing from Stoneteller.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Leaf,” Furrypelt mewed quietly once they had entered the main cave. “Is Stoneteller okay?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s getting old,” Leaf replied solemnly. “I think if you ever come through here again I’ll be Stoneteller.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But you’re so young!” Furrypelt cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, but, Stoneteller is also so old… I’ve learned a lot already, and he’s still got a few moons. I’ll be okay.” Leaf meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They walked out of the main cave past the rushing waterfall. When they hit the snow, Furrypelt’s injured paw immediately felt better as it was numbed by the cold.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s find some lamb’s ear first,” Leaf decided.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where is it?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, it can grow all over the place,” Leaf replied. “But there’s this one spot where it always grows best… No one knows why, it just does.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maybe there’s extra nutrients in the soil there or something,” Furrypelt suggested, following the young tortoiseshell through the snow. “It wouldn’t exactly to be easy to tell if that were so…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good theory,” Leaf agreed. “There isn’t exactly anything different about this spot so far as I can tell, so that may be it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, where is this spot?” Furrypelt asked after a little while.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s pretty close by,” Leaf replied. “Ah, there it is!” She rushed forward to a rather large clump of fuzzy green plants. Furrypelt joined her and watched as Leaf bit the stems of the plants; she didn’t want to find out that this plant was special and had to be picked a different way after ruining it. She then bit off the stems of a few others and carried them in her jaws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s keep going,” Leaf mumbled around the soft leaves.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leaf led Furrypelt up and down hills and up ledges and stuff, all over the place, and showed her ragweed, which looked a lot like a fern, and something that Furrypelt wouldn’t have thought as a thing, called a mountain daisy. It looked very similar to the daisies Furrypelt found around Clan territories, and apparently had a similar usage. The only difference is the name and habitat, Furrypelt thought, intrigued.

<p class="MsoNormal"> While they were walking, something caught Furrypelt’s eye as they were passing a small stream. A green, leafy plant, with purple tops. She dropped the lamb’s ear and mewed, “You guys have watermint up here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, do you have it in the Clans?” Leaf asked, mildly surprised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, actually, we do.” Furrypelt replied. “But I mean, it can grow anywhere near streams or damp earth, so I suppose it makes sense that they can grow up here. Any other plants that Clan cats find?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I highly doubt it, since weather and elevation conditions are entirely different.” Leaf mewed. “But, keep your eyes peeled; you’d know better than me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> As they had suspected, there were no more plants found in both the mountains and the lake. They went back to the cave with the lamb’s ear, and Furrypelt was immediately greeted by Foxstar, Leafpool, and Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where have you been?” Leafpool asked. “We were a bit worried when we came back and you weren’t here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt spat out the lamb’s ear. “Didn’t Stoneteller tell you Leaf took me out?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nope,” Birchfall replied. “But, you’re safe now, so why don’t we eat?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt realized how hungry she was, as she hadn’t eaten this morning.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You go eat with your buddies,” Leaf told her. “I’ll get the lamb’s ear to Stoneteller.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks,” Furrypelt replied, and sat down with her Clanmates.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, anything interesting while you were out?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course not,” Foxstar interrupted. “She was taking a herbology tour, for crying out loud!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt had to chuckle, but also disagreed with her son. Leafpool glared at him, but also looked confused. “You know, Foxstar, my brother was taking herbology in college for a while, and they did small tour on campus. He said it was really interesting.” Furrypelt pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why was your brother taking herbology?” Foxstar asked. “Wasn’t he a computer software engineer?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know how when you start college you have to a few classes of every topic at first—like school—then you can focus on your major?” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, right,” Foxstar meowed. “So, that was only his freshman year then?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Guys, we have no clue what you’re talking about,” Birchfall pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, sorry,” Furrypelt apologized sheepishly. “Hey, Leafpool, apparently watermint grows up here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Leafpool asked, surprised. “How did I not know that last time we came here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Because you were focusing more on keeping your Clanmates healthy enough to keep going instead of looking at interesting plants,” Furrypelt reminded her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Anything else interesting?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s one weird spot where lamb’s ear grows better than anywhere else and no one knows why,” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Huh.” Leafpool mewed. “Intriguing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I have an idea,” Foxstar announced. “Instead of talking about random things, let’s eat! I’m starvin’ here!” The last part seemed to be in some kind of New England accent. Either Boston, New York, or New Jersey, something like that.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, yeah, okay.” Furrypelt sighed, and reached forward to a rabbit they were sharing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, leave some for us!” Birchfall cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was going to,” Furrypelt replied. She clawed a portion of the meat off and pushed it into the middle of the four friends.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sighed in contentment as she dug into her rabbit. Things were going well. It was surprisingly comfortable in the mountains.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But they couldn’t stay much longer. Tomorrow, in the morning, they were going to set off again, get to the old forest, find whoever it was they were supposed to be finding, bring them back, apparently watch a to-be ceremony, then go back home.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Anxiety swam in her belly as she thought about the new medicine cat apprentice. What danger were they going into if they needed a new medicine cat? What was going to happen to Jayfeather to make room for a new medicine cat? Was she really ready to mentor an apprentice?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How are you settling in?” someone asked, and, turning, Furrypelt saw Stormfur walking over.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine, thank you,” Furrypelt replied. Stormfur opened his mouth to say something, but a cough came out instead. His coughing alerted his mate, and Brook came over and put her tail on her shoulder.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on,” Brook murmured. “Let’s to ask Stoneteller for some coltsfoot.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You have coltsfoot up here?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well it does make sense,” Leafpool pointed out. “It grows well in ShadowClan’s territory, and that’s pretty marshy, and in the old forest it grew near a waterfall in RiverClan’s territory. Seeing as those are fairly wet places, and the mountains have a lot of snow and streams, I don’t see why they couldn’t grow up here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stormfur coughed again, and Brook led him away to the Cave of Pointed Stones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think Stormfur’s okay?” Foxstar asked worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Leafpool mewed. “He is getting rather old,”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “True dat,” Foxstar meowed, and Furrypelt laughed. Foxstar smiled, and Furrypelt almost forgot about what bad things must be in the near future.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Almost.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 14= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “C inderheart, what do we do?” Gingerheart asked worriedly. Millie had gotten a lot more sick, which had resulted in Brightheart getting sick, too. And Brackenfur. And a lot of others. Jayfeather was out looking for catmint, and Brackenfur was practically hacking up a lung!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Give him more tansy?” Cinderheart suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is that a question?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s been a while since I’ve been a medicine cat,” Cinderheart pointed out. “And if you don’t remember, Miss I-Know-Everything-There-Is-To-Know-About-The-Clans-And-Clan-Cats, Cinderpelt is no longer a part of me!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, right,” Gingerheart remembered. “Also, isn’t tansy only supposed to be taken in small doses? He’s had quite a bit lately.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine, let him cough until he’s dead!” Cinderheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Please don’t,” Brackenfur croaked between coughs.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s happening in here?” Jayfeather entered the medicine den and dropped a few stalks of catmint onto the ground. “Why is no one helping Brackenfur?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you!” Brackenfur coughed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We weren’t sure what to do!” Gingerheart cried. “We’ve given him so much tansy, we didn’t think it was safe to give him more!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You could’ve tried a different herb!” Jayfeather growled. “Like coltsfoot!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t expect me to know everything, do you?” Gingerheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, but I expect Cinderheart to!” Jayfeather cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cinderpelt is no longer a part of me and I’m out of practice!” Cinderheart cried. “I know memories are in here somewhere, I just don’t know where…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’d enter your mind and show you if I could,” Jayfeather growled. “But I can’t do that anymore.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The gray tabby reached into the storage cleft and pulled out what Gingerheart guessed was coltsfoot, but could not be sure. Jayfeather gave it to Brackenfur, and he managed to swallow it, and after about a minute his coughs began to die down, and his tense muscles relaxed, as did Jayfeather’s, Cinderheart’s, and Gingerheart’s.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think I might have some honey for your sore throat,” Jayfeather mewed, and grabbed a honeycomb out of the storage cleft. There was not much honey on it, but, there was enough.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks,” Brackenfur mewed gratefully, and started licking the honey off the honeycomb. “Finally, someone competent who knows what they’re doing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If Furrypelt were here, he would’ve stopped coughing a while ago,” Gingerheart muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, she’s not, and neither is Leafpool, and apparently Cinderheart doesn’t know what she’s doing, so you’d better figure it out!” Jayfeather hissed angrily to Gingerheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not your apprentice!” Gingerheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, well, with mine not here, I need you to fill her place.” Jayfeather growled. “Besides, didn’t you want to be a medicine cat in the first place?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, yeah, ''in the first place. ''This is not the first place. This is like, the fourth place.” Gingerheart replied. “I don’t have the memory like you and Furrypelt do.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Get one,” Jayfeather hissed, and stalked out of the den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Coughing outside got Gingerheart’s attention, and Maplepaw entered the den. “Fernsong sent me,” she coughed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’ve definitely got whitecough,” Cinderheart mewed. “Better not give her any catmint, though. Save that for the sicker cats. How about some coltsfoot? I think that helps with whitecough.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I thought you said you didn’t know what you were doing,” Gingerheart mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I also said I have the knowledge somewhere, and I just found out where,” Cinderheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I wish Furrypelt were here,” Gingerheart sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re worried about her, aren’t you?” Cinderheart asked gently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wouldn’t you be, too, if one your siblings was out there?” Gingerheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess so,” Cinderheart mewed. “Not sure. With the exception of Lilyheart Fernsong and Hollytuft, my family is pretty much all dead, so I’ve gotten used to pain like that.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s worse if it’s possible they died without your knowledge.” Gingerheart mewed. “And don’t you have Brackenfur Brightheart Thornclaw Applekit Frostkit and all of Brightheart’s kits, which would include Whitewing, Ambermoon, Dewnose, Dovewing, Ivypool, Sunstripe, Brightpelt, Cloudheart, Sparrowpaw, Stripefur, Wolfnose, Hazelpaw, and Maplepaw, then of course Lilyheart’s kits, Honeyfur, Leafbreeze, and Larkspirit, which would then give you Boulderfoot, Specklepelt, Beechtail, and Rainspeckle?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, I guess I do have a lot of family alive,” Cinderheart realized. “Just, not many of them are direct, and that’s really the extent of family as far as cats are concerned.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can we change the subject here?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Cinderheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll challenge you to a battle to prove I’m better!” came Boulderfoot’s voice from outside. Gingerheart and Cinderheart shared a worried glance and bolted from the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They found an interesting sight of Beechtail face-to-face with Boulderfoot, Boulderfoot looking a bit upset and Beechtail confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, it’s just a fact, you’re a younger warrior so there are probably battle techniques you haven’t learned yet!” Beechtail cried. “There are probably some I haven’t learned yet! That’s why I’m going!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s happening here?” Cinderheart asked, walking forward to the two young warriors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bumblestripe is taking Hazelpaw training and asked if we wanted to come since we were being lazy and had nothing better to do,” Beechtail explained. “And Boulderfoot here went nuts saying there was no reason for him to go and I don’t know what happened from there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Boulderfoot, he has a good point,” Gingerheart pointed out. “There’s stuff I probably haven’t learned yet. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or anything.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Boulderfoot ignored her and turned back to Beechtail. “Want me to prove there’s no reason to go?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, I really don’t,” Beechtail replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s no avoiding the fight, is there?” Gingerheart whispered to Cinderheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no there is not,” Cinderheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Just then, Berrynose entered the clearing with a patrol consisting of Stormcloud, Sparrowpaw, Whitewing, and Firepelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Boulderfoot!” Berrynose cried, spotting the two young warriors. “What are you doing?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Boulderfoot, spotting his former mentor, quickly backed away from Beechtail.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I did not train you to behave that way!” Berrynose hissed. “What was that about?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Beechtail quickly interrupted and explained everything, clearly assuming that Boulderfoot was not going to tell the whole thing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Go with Bumblestripe,” Berrynose growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Boulderfoot sighed. He padded sulkily out of the thorn barrier, Beechtail following slowly, trying to keep his distance.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart turned to Cinderheart. “Think the sick cats will be okay?” she asked. “I don’t want Furrypelt to come home to either find a lot of sick cats to take care of or find out that a cat has died.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not sure,” Cinderheart replied. “I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best.”

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “We ready to go?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why are you leaving?” squeaked a small voice, and Furrypelt looked down to find Star at her paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You didn’t think they were staying forever, did you?” came another voice, and Claw walked forward. His voice was deep compared to Star’s and Furrypelt realized how big Claw was. He really shouldn’t still be a kit, she thought, then remembered that Tribe cats didn’t become to-bes until they were eight moons old, as opposed to the Clans’ six moons to become apprentices.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Star replied. “They were fun to have around!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have a mission to carry out,” Leafpool mewed gently to the kit. “But we’re coming back in about a quarter-moon, probably.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’ll have to leave again,” Furrypelt added. “But we’ll stay long enough for Claw and Reed’s to-be ceremony if it hasn’t been done by the time we get back here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Claw asked, amber eyes lighting up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Absolutely,” Furrypelt replied, her blue eyes sparkling as she gazed at the energetic brown kit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, let’s go,” Foxstar meowed, his amber eyes a bit hard. “We have to find that medicine cat apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, let’s get rolling then.” Furrypelt replied, turning away from the kits.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Goodbye!” an adult voice called from the back of the cave, and Furrypelt turned to find Stormfur calling to her. Brook was next to him, and Leaf walked forwards and waved her tail in farewell, looking particularly at Furrypelt. Her leaf-green eyes looked a bit sad, and Furrypelt understood; she was fun to hang around with.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know we’re dropping by again before we get home, right?” Birchfall pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So we can’t say goodbye?” Fire asked from a little ways away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stay safe out there!” Wind called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller entered the main cave from the Cave of Pointed Stones, his amber eyes weary but supportive as he looked at the Clan cats that were leaving. Furrypelt dipped her head to him, waved her tail in final farewell, then left the cave, hugging the wall so as to not get too wet by the waterfall. The other three Clan cats followed and they stepped into the snow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Turning, they headed down the mountain towards the old forest, climbing down ledges, leaping streams, and always keeping an eye out for food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The sun started to set, and Furrypelt was able to find another overhang to shelter in for the night. Once again having no moss, they burrowed into a hole they’d dug in the snow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This wasn’t comfortable last time, and it’s not comfortable now,” Birchfall pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Whatever,” Furrypelt mewed, laying down and curling into a tight ball.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I hope the others are doing okay back home,” Leafpool sighed, curling up next to Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sure they’re doing fine,” Furrypelt assured her former mentor. “Let’s just get some sleep so we can hit the road bright and early tomorrow.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hit the what?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Never mind.” Furrypelt sighed, then closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift into sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When she awoke she was not where she had been expecting to wake up. She was not under the overhang. Instead, she was next to the overhang, and she couldn’t remember going to sleep standing up. Had she been sleep walking?

<p class="MsoNormal"> But as she turned and found her own body lying under the overhang with Foxstar, Leafpool, and Birchfall, fast asleep, Furrypelt realized that she was dreaming.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bluestar?” she called. “Firestar?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar and Firestar walked forward from behind the overhang, yawning. “Oh, hi Furrypelt,” Firestar yawned. “I don’t recall planning for you to be here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, neither do I,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, since you’re here, we might as well chat.” Bluestar mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is it better or worse up here? As far as the journey goes, that is,” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s definitely more prey,” Firestar replied. “But as far as the journey itself goes it’s about the same. However I’m not scraping up my pads and getting attacked by rogues.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt hot with embarrassment—which was nice because she was freezing—as she remembered her scraped pad, and glanced at Foxstar. He stretched in his sleep and the scab on his neck was visible. He rubbed up against Furrypelt’s body, and it flinched, and she felt an inexplicable urge to flinch too, that she could not resist. Firestar chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I noticed you getting friendly with Leaf back there,” Bluestar commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I mean, she’s a medicine cat apprentice, like me, technically,” Furrypelt pointed out. “And I mean, she’s nice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “True,” Bluestar agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Better than Snowfall,” Furrypelt mewed, remembering Kestrelflight’s obnoxious apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned and saw sunlight peaking up from below the horizon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess it’s time to go,” Firestar mewed. “Good luck, Furrypelt.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt opened her eyes in her nest, and, quietly and slowly, as to not disturb the others, she climbed out of the nest and walked on top of the overhang, stopping when she got to top and turned around to face the rising sun.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The bright yellow light slowly rose higher, illuminating the old forest bit by bit, bathing it in golden light.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt?” Foxstar murmured sleepily from behind her. Furrypelt turned around and saw her son standing in the snow in front of the overhang. “How long have you been up?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh, not sure,” Furrypelt replied. “I was up as the sun was just starting to rise.” She looked out again. About half of the sun had cleared the horizon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow.” Foxstar commented. “Well, should we get going? We can stop for food at the first sign of prey.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Works for me,” Furrypelt replied, sliding off the overhang. She walked underneath it and shook Leafpool gently awake while Foxstar worked on Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get going,” Foxstar meowed when Leafpool and Birchfall were up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about food?” Birchfall asked. “I’m starving!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’ll get food when we find some,” Foxstar promised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We shouldn’t waste time looking for food that may not be here,” Furrypelt agreed. “But if we should get some sign that food is nearby, we’ll definitely stop.” She walked over to Foxstar. “Long trips like this were easier as a Twoleg because if you got hungry you could just hop off the interstate at the next exit for a McDonald’s or something.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Or, you could take a plane, where food is complimentary and it’s not going to take nearly as long.” Foxstar added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Definitely both better options than what we’re doing,” Furrypelt sighed. “Think about it, on car this probably would’ve taken twelve hours tops! We could’ve been there and back by now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uhh, guys,” Leafpool interrupted. “You’re the ones who said we need to get going.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, right, sorry,” Furrypelt apologized, and let Foxstar take the lead as they continued down the side of the mountain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cliff!” Furrypelt called as Foxstar almost walked off the edge of a ledge.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Foxstar muttered sheepishly as he turned and kept going.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait!” Birchfall called after a little while. “I smell prey!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool sniffed the air. “He’s right; I think I smell rabbits!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sniffed the air too, and thought she’d never smelled anything more delicious as her stomach growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll catch it,” Birchfall offered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll come with you,” Foxstar mewed. “Rabbits are fast; you may need someone to catch it if it runs off.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright then,” Birchfall agreed, and walked towards a small bush with Foxstar on his heels. Furrypelt watched as they crouched and crept toward the bush, then signaled to each other with tail movements. Then, as Birchfall pounced, and a rabbit shot out of the bushes, its white fur blending into the snow and stones gleaming white under the sun. Foxstar, who was positioned to catch the rabbit if it ran off, chased after the rabbit and pounced on it, breaking its spine and killing it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar walked back to Furrypelt and Leafpool with the rabbit in his jaws, Birchfall behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This enough for all four of us?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Should be,” Leafpool replied. They settled down and started taking bites out of the rabbit, each trying to get as much meat as possible.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When the last of the meat had been picked off the bone, Furrypelt stood up and licked her lips, her belly not full, but definitely better than completely empty. It would suffice for now.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s keep it moving,” Foxstar mewed, standing up and burying the rabbit bones to the best of his ability. “I want to get out of these mountains.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Understood,” Furrypelt agreed, and they set off again.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared out at the old forest, still bathed in golden light. She turned around to see the lake, but it was on the other side of the mountains, and hidden from her view. ''I hope everything is going okay for everyone back there—especially Rockfall and Gingerheart. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 15= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “J ayfeather, get up!” Gingerheart cried. “Thornclaw needs you, Cinderheart is on patrol, and I have no clue what I’m doing!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather murmured wearily in response, not moving from his nest. A sick stench was coming from him, and Gingerheart was hoping that it was just from hanging out in the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thornclaw coughed again—hard. “Ow,” he croaked. “Don’t you have any honey at least?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, we used the last of it on Brackenfur yesterday, remember?” Gingerheart hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, do something to make him stop coughing!” Brightheart cried, looking anxiously at her brother.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, I’m trying to sleep,” Cloudtail growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know what I’m doing!” Gingerheart repeated. “And Jayfeather is clearly no help!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That might be because he got sick from hanging out in here,” Brightheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Spiderleg asked sarcastically from his nest. “I never would’ve guessed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Your sarcasm is not helpful!” Gingerheart screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just go check if Cinderheart is back yet,” Maplepaw suggested irritably. The young apprentice had also gotten worse in the past day. She now officially had greencough.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart rushed from the den just in time to see Cinderheart’s patrol, which consisted of Icepelt, Ivypool, Sunstripe, and Deerfur.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cinderheart!” Gingerheart cried anxiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s wrong?” Cinderheart asked, not even bothering putting her mouse on the fresh-kill pile, but rather dropped it in the middle of camp and ran over to Gingerheart. Gingerheart noticed Mousewhisker glare at her from the side of the clearing and pick up her mouse for her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jayfeather got sick, and I think if Thornclaw coughs one more time his throat will explode in pain,” Gingerheart meowed hurriedly, and Cinderheart brushed past her quickly and into the medicine den. Gingerheart followed so if Cinderheart was on patrol again and Gingerheart wasn’t she could know what to do.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Has Thornclaw had any tansy?” Cinderheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t think so,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t know?” Cinderheart growled. “And you didn’t even bother giving him any?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I couldn’t even remember what it looks like!” Gingerheart cried. Sighing, Cinderheart reached into the medicine den and pulled out some yellow leaves that Gingerheart guessed were tansy, and gave one or two to Thornclaw, who ate them gratefully, wincing as he swallowed. Poor guy, she thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do we have catmint for Jayfeather?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We should have a little bit,” Cinderheart replied, pulling out what Gingerheart easily recognized to be catmint. “Now we just have to make him wake up so we can give it to him.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart shook Jayfeather, and he merely murmured wearily in response again. Cinderheart growled. “Jayfeather, if you don’t get up, I swear I will claw you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Isn’t that a bit harsh, especially for a sick cat?” Gingerheart asked worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s obnoxious and not being cooperative,” Cinderheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather, seemingly understanding what was happening, opened his eyes and sat up a bit, groaning as he did so. “What do you want?” he growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Eat this catmint,” Cinderheart demanded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Give it to the cats who need it,” Jayfeather murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you blind?!” Cinderheart screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, I kinda am!” Jayfeather hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, you’re the worst one here!” Cinderheart growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cherryfall, why is Cinderheart being scary?” Maplepaw asked in a scared voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Cherryfall, one of the other sick cats, replied to the young apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I refuse to believe it,” Jayfeather growled, putting his head back down and closing his eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I may have a sore throat,” Thornclaw croaked. “But at least I can keep my eyes open! Clearly that’s better than Jayfeather over here!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart had to agree with Thornclaw; Jayfeather was in pretty bad condition.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you don’t eat this catmint,” Cinderheart growled. “I swear you are dead!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re exaggerating, right?” Gingerheart checked, scared of her former mentor, and glad she wasn’t like this when Gingerheart was an apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course I am!” Cinderheart snapped. “And thanks for taking the threat out of my threat!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m just going to leave,” Gingerheart mewed quickly, and backed out of the den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart breathed in the fresh air, clear of the greencough stench. She noticed Firepelt in the corner of the clearing, and the flame-colored tom walked over to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sounded like things were going pretty bad in there,” he commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You could say that,” Gingerheart mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I bet it’d be better if Furrypelt was here,” Firepelt murmured. “And/or Leafpool. Remember our first leaf-bare? Jayfeather got sick then, too, and Furrypaw and Leafpool took care of all the sick cats, no deaths. This time, Furrypelt and Leafpool aren’t here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, and it worries me on multiple levels,” Gingerheart sighed. “I just can’t help but think that Furrypelt might not come back from this journey.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You and me both,” Firepelt sighed, sitting down and tucking his paws under his chest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sat down, too, and when she looked up, saw Bramblethorn entering camp from a patrol, and she waved him over with her tail.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” Bramblethorn asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re stressing about Furrypelt,” Gingerheart explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, it’ll turn out alright,” Bramblethorn assured her, sitting down and stroking his mate’s back with his tail. Gingerheart rubbed up against him, purring.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think the sick cats will be okay?” Gingerheart asked anxiously.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Most of them, probably,” Bramblethorn replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Most of them? Probably?” Gingerheart repeated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bramblethorn turned to his brother? “Did I say the wrong thing?” he asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Firepelt shrugged. “Furrypelt’s been saving the day too much for me to figure out how to talk to she-cats.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll, uh, try not to mention that to her,” Gingerheart promised awkwardly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Probably for the best,” Firepelt agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s just, all I can think of…” Gingerheart mewed, switching the subject back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Is that Furrypelt won’t…” Firepelt started finishing her sentence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Neither of them finished the sentence, but they both knew what they were thinking. If Furrypelt didn’t come back alive…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gingerheart!” Rockfall called across the clearing. “Hunting patrol! And bring Bramblethorn, too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go,” Gingerheart murmured to her mate. Bramblethorn stood up and walked to the camp entrance with Gingerheart at his side, and joined the rest of the hunting patrol, which consisted of Specklepelt, Rainspeckle, and Cloudheart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bramblethorn looked at Gingerheart, his amber eyes meeting hers. “Don’t worry about Furrypelt,” he mewed comfortingly. “She’s faced greater dangers than this. She’ll be fine.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart purred, but felt anxious all the same. If only she could believe her mate…

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “Man, this wind just will not let up!” Furrypelt cried, trudging forward through a very heavy wind storm.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s a Twoleg nest up ahead,” Foxstar meowed hopefully. “Maybe they’ll let us crash there until we can walk freely.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We just have to hope that there are actually cats living there and not just Twolegs,” Furrypelt pointed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And that they’re friendly cats,” Leafpool added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, that would be helpful,” Foxstar agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’d better be friendly cats there,” Birchfall growled, losing his footing and almost flying backwards.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is when we find out there’s a category four or five hurricane coming at us, right?” Furrypelt muttered sarcastically to Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, that may be possible.” Foxstar pointed out. “With winds like this?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “In the Twoleg world Mom said there were winds strong enough to blow my brother away when he was little in New Hampshire. There was no storm coming—well, maybe a thunderstorm—and it was a strong wind. This may just be a strong wind.” Furrypelt pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s just stop talking and get to shelter!” Birchfall cried, pressing forward and trudging through the relentless wind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They continued in silence, too out of breath from fighting the wind to speak.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They finally reached the Twoleg nest. Furrypelt reached the back door, and found, to her pleasure, that it was a French-style door; window panes along it went to the bottom of the door, so they could see in. Inside were a ginger tabby and a pale gray tabby playing together. They stopped and looked up at the sight of Furrypelt, Foxstar, Leafpool, and Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Now how do we get in?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cry at the door, and look cute and helpless,” Furrypelt replied, and started howling at the door, scratching, and using cute kitten eyes—the ones that she always loved seeing in her kittypets as a Twoleg.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The tabbies inside started meowing, too, clearly trying to alert their owners to open the door to the strangers.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Two Twolegs appeared, a male and a female adult, and the tabbies started scratching at the door from their side. Furrypelt continued to look adorable and helpless as the Twolegs opened the door, and Furrypelt bolted inside, relieved to be out of the wind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She heard the door being shut, and saw Leafpool and Birchfall huddled together in the corner, and Foxstar sniffing around.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poor kitties,” the female Twoleg murmured. “What do we do with them, Ronald?” She turned to the male Twoleg, whom Furrypelt assumed to be the husband.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess we let them stay here—they’ve been through a struggle. Look at that ruffled fur.” The male Twoleg replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, kitties,” The female Twoleg said softly, leaning over and reaching to pet Furrypelt. Furrypelt jumped up and purred loudly, enjoying the sensation in being pet—she hadn’t felt it since she was just a little kit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why are you letting it touch you?” Birchfall hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Because I like it,” Furrypelt purred.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Pet me, too!” Foxstar called, standing on his hind paws, and the male Twoleg bent over and pet the ginger tabby.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re a Clan leader! Why are you acting like a kittypet?!” Birchfall yowled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ve got kittypet in my blood,” Foxstar replied, purring as he was stroked gently. “And I’ve been a Twoleg, I know they like this.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Look at this, Ronald,” The Twoleg petting Furrypelt murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up?” The male Twoleg asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This ginger-and-white I’m petting, she’s covered in scars.” The female Twoleg observed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The male Twoleg observed Foxstar, and noticed the torn ear and scab on his neck. “This one’s got scars, too,” he noticed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think they’re wild cats?” the female Twoleg asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Must be; they don’t have collars,” The male replied. “Also, those two light brown tabbies over there don’t seem very fond of being in here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The male walked over to Birchfall and Leafpool and stretched out a hand, but Birchfall hissed, and the Twoleg jumped back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They’re not going to hurt you, you know,” the ginger tabby kittypet pointed out. “They care about cats. They just want to let you know you can trust them, and that they want to make sure you’re okay.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m a wild cat to the core,” Birchfall growled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then why are you in here?” the pale gray tabby asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Those two,” Leafpool replied, flicking her tail at Furrypelt and Foxstar. “Said we should come in here for shelter from the wind.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It is pretty bad outside,” the pale tabby agreed. “I can tell you two don’t like it here, but at least stay until the storm lightens up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you’re hungry,” the female Twoleg said gently. “There’s a food and water dish over there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt licked her lips and looked over. Cat food. Something she’d never tried, but the tuna smell was so delicious… It’s against the Warrior Code, she thought desperately, but nothing could convince her that she shouldn’t try something that smelled so good.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She ran over and started eating the tuna-flavored cat food in famished gulps; this was the best meal she’d had since she’d left!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Save some for me!” Foxstar cried, rushing over and trying to get his share.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you insane?!” Birchfall screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, Birchfall, it smells pretty good, and we are hungry,” Leafpool pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Try some,” the ginger tabby urged. “It’s really good!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I take it you’ve never eaten a mouse?” Birchfall checked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course not!” the pale tabby cried. “Why would we bother? We rarely even go outside!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why not?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “All the noises out there,” the ginger tabby murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And there’s so much space, we might get lost!” the pale tabby added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, honey,” the female Twoleg murmured. “Let’s let these guys get used to it here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we going to let them stay?” the male Twoleg asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think they’re sheltering from that wind. When it dies down they’ll probably leave.” The female Twoleg replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “As you insist, Mary,” the male Twoleg sighed, walking away and going up the stairs with loud thuds, his wife right behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So you haven’t introduced yourselves,” the ginger tabby she-cat pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Neither have you,” Birchfall challenged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re house, you go first,” Furrypelt invited.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “House?” Birchfall repeated. “Furrypelt, please speak a language we understand for once!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s the Twoleg term for a Twoleg nest,” Furrypelt growled, getting a little annoyed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “O…kay…” the ginger tabby mewed slowly, seeming confused. “Well, I’m Ginger, and this is my sister, Whiskers.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ginger reminded Furrypelt of Gingerheart. Maybe it was just the name. The stripes were similar, but Ginger didn’t have any white on her, and she had blue eyes, not amber. Whiskers had identical blue eyes, which was proof they were related. Furrypelt could see why Whiskers was named that; her whiskers were oddly long. Her stripes were very light and thin; she almost looked solid.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, what about you?” Whiskers asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Furrypelt,” Furrypelt introduced. “The ginger tabby is my son, Foxstar, and as for the light brown tabbies back there, the she-cat is Leafpool, and the tom is Birchfall.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Those are weird names,” Ginger commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, your names are weird!” Birchfall cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall!” Furrypelt snapped. “Our names are weird! These are very common names amongst kittypets! But Clans are the only cats that use our types of names!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You lost me,” Whiskers mewed blankly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “People get lost a lot when I’m speaking,” Furrypelt mewed. “Anyway, nice place here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks,” Ginger mewed. “Feel free to explore.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt leapt up on the couch nearest her; a light brown one with barely visible stripes. Pretty ugly old thing, Furrypelt thought, and on the sides she could see tears where Ginger and Whiskers obviously sharpened their claws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The couch was comfy, however, and there was a TV remote on one of the cushions. Dish Hopper, nice, Furrypelt thought, staring at the remote that looked ever so familiar, as her family as Twolegs also used the Dish Hopper.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Unsheathing her claws, Furrypelt carefully pressed the power button on the remote, and when it turned on, Cartoon Network was playing an old rerun of Tom and Jerry.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nice! Love this show!” Furrypelt cried, curling up on the couch and staring at the screen. Foxstar leapt up next to her and settled, too, not moving his eyes from the screen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did you just hear the TV?” the female Twoleg asked from upstairs, but Furrypelt took no notice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Twolegs walked down the stairs to find Furrypelt and Foxstar curled up on the couch watching the TV. “Oh,” the female Twoleg laughed. “The cats must’ve stepped on the remote accidentally!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How amusing,” the male Twoleg sighed as Ginger and Whiskers jumped on the TV stand and started attacking Jerry as he ran around the screen, narrowly dodging Tom’s traps.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt laughed in contentment. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be in a Twoleg house, and truly it was nice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But she couldn’t stay. She had to find a medicine cat apprentice and bring him or her back to ThunderClan and prepare for danger.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 16= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “S orry, Cinderheart, this is all there was,” Gingerheart sighed, dropping the catmint at her former mentor’s feet. Cinderheart had temporarily taken over as medicine cat, seeing as Jayfeather was in no position to do it himself.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Seeing Jayfeather so sick allowed Gingerheart to think of nothing other than that Jayfeather would die, making room for Furrypelt’s new apprentice that she would come back with. For a long time she’d been too curious what the new apprentice would be like to think what that meant for Jayfeather.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’ll be good enough,” Cinderheart declared, taking the catmint that Gingerheart had given her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cinderheart,” Gingerheart mewed quietly. “Do you think Jayfeather will be okay? If Furrypelt’s getting a new medicine cat apprentice…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know, Gingerheart,” Cinderheart sighed. “But, chances are slim. If StarClan told Furrypelt to get a medicine cat apprentice, that means Jayfeather can’t remain in his position, or else Furrypelt will be backing down, but somehow I doubt that.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart had never thought that Furrypelt would be the one to lose her position to make way for the new medicine cat. What if Furrypelt did die on the trip, and the new apprentice became Jayfeather’s apprentice? Every day the thought of this new prophecy, the greencough, and Furrypelt not being here became more and more worrying.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why don’t you go do productive?” Cinderheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Gingerheart replied, turning and leaving the den. She found a pregnant Dovewing sitting alone outside the nursery. She walked over and sat down.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think they’ll take after you or him more?” she asked without making eye contact.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m hoping at least one will look like him,” Dovewing replied. “Hey, Gingerheart, you told your kits and Furrypelt’s kits the truth about their parents before they were apprenticed, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “When do I tell mine who their father is?” Dovewing asked. “I know what happened with Jayfeather Lionblaze and Hollyleaf about Leafpool and Crowfeather. Jayfeather still isn’t that friendly with Leafpool. I don’t want that to happen with my kits, for them to hate my father. Your kits love you and Bramblethorn, and Furrypelt’s kits love her and Firepelt. When do I tell mine the truth?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “About a moon old is good,” Gingerheart informed Dovewing. “But you’ve got almost three moons before you have to worry about telling them.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What about Bumblestripe?” Dovewing asked. “Should he know?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s a tough one,” Gingerheart replied. “Bramblestar didn’t know Jayfeather Lionblaze and Hollyleaf weren’t his, but you saw how that went. Actually, I don’t think you did, you wouldn’t’ve been born yet. But truly, Bramblestar never forgave Squirrelflight until he made her deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Dovewing asked. “How did I never notice that?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Couldn’t tell you,” Gingerheart replied. “I guess you should probably tell Bumblestripe, and probably sooner rather than later.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think I should tell him now?” Dovewing asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Up to you.” Gingerheart told her. “But I’d make my decision quick. He’s coming back from patrol now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart stood up and walked away from Dovewing.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think I can come to the Gathering?” Dovewing asked Rockfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not sure—you are expecting…” Rockfall mewed uncertainly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, she’s a quarter-moon in! I think she can go.” Gingerheart pointed out to her foster son. “It wouldn’t be the first pregnant queen to go to a Gathering.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, then, you’ll come, too.” Rockfall decided. “And I’ll make sure to bring Bumblestripe too.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great, great,” Dovewing murmured, turning away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did you tell Bumblestripe?” Gingerheart asked Dovewing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, earlier when he returned from patrol.” Dovewing replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How’d he take that?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not well, but I think he understands. Said he knew it must’ve been too good to be true after the last time I told him I don’t wanna mate.” Dovewing sighed. “Honestly I feel a bit guilty, but, he had to know the truth. I hope he’ll still be able to act like a father to my kits, so the rest of the Clan doesn’t get suspicious.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have you told Ivypool the truth?” Gingerheart inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, crud, I probably should, huh?” Dovewing realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Next chance you get, yeah,” Gingerheart agreed. “And, is the reason you wanted to go to the Gathering so you can see Tigerheart and tell him?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What else?” Dovewing meowed. Gingerheart chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, see you at the Gathering,” Gingerheart mewed, and walked away.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> The Gathering wasn’t very interesting, though Gingerheart had noticed that Dovewing had made a beeline for Tigerheart, and, judging by the excited look on Tigerheart’s face, had told him that she was carrying his kits. She couldn’t help but be reminded of when she caught Dovewing and Tigerheart in the woods that night. Also it had been announced that Sleekpelt had had her kits—Sparrowkit, Sagekit, and Nutkit.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall had definitely a bit more comfortable than last time, however you could still say that he was still getting used to it. ''I wonder if Foxstar will have more courage? ''Gingerheart wondered. ''Probably. He’s always been a bit braver. And Rockfall was always a bit frightened after that battle. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart had pitied her nephew ever since his leg had been crushed. How he could still walk and fight was beyond her. She’d refused to believe it when Furrypelt had told her that Rockfall was a Dark Forest trainee, and when he switched to the right side… Gingerheart didn’t know what she was feeling then.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart curled into her nest, coughs echoing from the medicine den. The poor guys, Gingerheart though sympathetically. ''I hope Cinderheart won’t get sick, too. She’s our only medicine cat left, and it’d be embarrassing to have to ask one of the other Clans for help. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart was now off warrior duties to take Jayfeather’s place as medicine cat until he was better—or more likely, until Furrypelt was back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart seriously hoped Jayfeather didn’t die from this. ''But if he doesn’t, then how will Furrypelt have her apprentice? ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> She had no idea what the future held, and honestly, she didn’t want to find out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She allowed the chirping of crickets to lull her to sleep. Maybe the sick cats would be better tomorrow…

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt awoke and stretched, and it took her a minute to remember where she was. Then she realized: she was in that Twoleg nest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The wind had not stopped all night long, so the cats had to stay overnight. The Twolegs had not seemed to have a problem with it—nor Ginger and Whiskers, which was rare for kittypets; she remembered she had a kittypet as a Twoleg who hated other living creatures other than the ones she lived with—but Birchfall and Leafpool were on their guard the whole time, refusing to believe that it could actually be decent in the nest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> After the Twolegs had gone to sleep—they turned in fairly early, that or the sun set oddly late—Furrypelt found a deck of playing cards laying out, and, using the legs of tables to keep her cards standing up, managed to play Go Fish with Foxstar, while Leafpool, Birchfall, Ginger, and Whiskers stared at them like they were crazy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> After a while Ginger and Whiskers had gone to curl up with their Twolegs, telling the traveling cats that they could curl up on the couches, and Furrypelt did not hesitate claiming a blanket the Twolegs had left out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall Leafpool and Foxstar were still sleeping—but not for much longer. Just then the Twolegs came walking loudly down the stairs, with Ginger and Whiskers at their heels. Her companions bolted upright immediately and watched as Ginger and Whiskers started meowing loudly, climbing their owners’ legs, as the Twolegs reached for the bag of cat food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ginger purred and wove around their legs as her breakfast was served.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall walked over to Ginger. “I forgot these four were here!” the female Twoleg remembered. “They were so well-behaved!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where’s your dirtplace?” Birchfall asked as Ginger crunched on her cat food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Our what?” Ginger mumbled through cat food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He means litterbox,” Furrypelt explained to the kittypet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh,” Ginger mewed, and replied after swallowing. “It’s upstairs. When you reach the top of the stairs there’ll be a room straight ahead, and the floor will have a smoother and harder texture. It’s in there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Birchfall asked, clearly not understanding at all.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just follow me,” Furrypelt growled, annoyed, and walked over to the base of the stairs. “Race ya!” she cried when Birchfall reached her, and ran up to the landing as fast as she could. Turning around, Birchfall was only one step up. “Dude,” she meowed, exasperated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t like Twoleg nests,” Birchfall growled, taking another cautious step up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can tell,” Furrypelt replied bitterly. “Just hurry up!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Seeming reluctant and uncomfortable, Birchfall jogged up the stairs, and Furrypelt turned to the second flight, parallel to the first, so you make a 180-degree turn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s more?” Birchfall cried, and Furrypelt rolled her eyes as she ran up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When she got to the top, to her left, she saw what was evidently the master bedroom, as it looked large, and there was a king-sized bed, with a connected bathroom at the back of the room, which included a double-sink.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Straight ahead, as Ginger had said, was a room that was smaller, and tiled, not carpeted. The litterbox was on the far wall of the room, and next to it where two large white cubes, with doors on the front. Furrypelt recognized them as a washer and dryer, respectively, and realized it was the laundry room. ''Wow, these kittypets must hate going to the bathroom while the washer and dryer are running. It’d be so loud… ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> To the right was a narrow hallway, with a doorway not far down going to a smaller bathroom, and a little further, was a room with a computer in it, and a good microphone and headset hooked up to it. Furrypelt supposed this would be the computer room, or an “office”.

<p class="MsoNormal"> At the very end of the hall was a bedroom, complete with TV, dresser (doubling as a TV stand) and a queen-sized bed. Not bad, Furrypelt complimented, and guessed that, since the Twoleg couple lived alone, it was a guest room. Never had a guest room as a Twoleg, Furrypelt remembered. ''Anyone staying with us had to use a sofa-bed. ''However she had to wonder if they’d had a guest room before she was born.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall finally made it to the top of the stairs. “Now where’s the dirtplace?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Straight ahead on the far wall,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s a dirtplace?” Birchfall asked disdainfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yep.” Furrypelt confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s really small—why doesn’t it get filled up?” Birchfall inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, if it’s manual the Twolegs clean it out, and if it’s automatic, then it’ll push all the dung to the side when you’re done and then the Twolegs just have to switch out the litter once a week.” Furrypelt explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Huh.” Birchfall mewed. “I will never understand Twolegs.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt waited while Birchfall made his dirt, then they ran back down the stairs together.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, guys,” Foxstar mewed excitedly. “The storm died down. I heard the Twolegs saying they could let us go today!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Great, I can get outta here!” Birchfall cried enthusiastically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What, you don’t like us?” Whiskers asked, somewhat offended, her long whiskers twitching.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no, no, it’s not like that,” Furrypelt assured the pale gray she-cat quickly. “It’s just, we’re wild cats. We’re not used to being in houses. It’s unnatural, and some of us—particularly Birchfall—aren’t comfortable in here. That’s all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re plenty used to it,” Birchfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why are you used to it in here?” Whiskers asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have you heard of reincarnation?” Furrypelt checked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think so,” Whiskers replied. “Why, are you reincarnated?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, from a human, and I still remember being one, and living in these houses.” Furrypelt explained. “Then when I was born as a cat, I was born as a house cat, then ran away to join these guys in the wild.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why?” Ginger asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I just thought I’d enjoy living free.” Furrypelt replied. “Admittedly, I’ve had a lot of heartbreak, but, that’s the price I paid, and I don’t regret it.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, that sounds brave.” Whiskers commented, respect in her voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt remembered something, and wandered into the kitchen, then looked up at the wall and saw a calendar, with the days past crossed off. Friday, November fifth, Furrypelt thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Please, can we go?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, okay,” Furrypelt agreed. “Thanks for having us Ginger, Whiskers,” she dipped her head to them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We enjoyed having you,” Ginger replied. “Well, goodbye.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt walked over to the back door of the nest where they’d come in and meowed loudly, pawing at the glass.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay, kitty,” the female Twoleg said. “Goodbye, we’ll miss you!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt gave a little prrp and jumped up so the Twoleg could give her a final pet, then turned as the door was opened—then got shoved out of the way by an anxious Birchfall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall!” Furrypelt complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry,” Birchfall apologized from outside. Rolling her eyes, Furrypelt stepped out of the nest, turning around halfway out and giving the nest one last reminiscing look, then walked outside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The fresh air hit Furrypelt’s nose and the soft grass her pads, and her slight sadness of leaving the nest disappeared instantly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar and Leafpool were close behind her, and the Twolegs shut the door. Furrypelt turned around and saw Ginger and Whiskers gazing at them through the window panes. Goodbye, Furrypelt thought, then followed Birchfall away from the nest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They trekked onwards for almost the whole day, passing rolling hills and distant trees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, Furrypelt looked up, as the sun was halfway below the horizon, and saw a barn, and not far from it, a big set of tall rocks. ''Highstones? ''Furrypelt guessed. ''And Barley’s barn? ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Leafpool,” Furrypelt mewed. “Is that the Highstones?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my gosh, it is!” Leafpool cried. “I never thought I’d see that again.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go!” Foxstar cried. “Perhaps we can reach Barley’s barn before nightfall, then Furrypelt and Leafpool could go to the Moonstone at moonhigh.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How do we know the Moonstone still works?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It worked when the Clans left, didn’t it?” Furrypelt asked. “Firestar Leopardstar Blackstar and Tallstar said that it was cloudy and they couldn’t see StarClan, but they definitely dreamed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But, StarClan isn’t here,” Birchfall reminded her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Bluestar and Firestar promised they’d travel with us, and I met them while we were still in the mountains,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s keep moving!” Foxstar urged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They hurried onwards, and they reached the barn by the time the sun had just set. The thin clouds in the sky were black against a purple sky.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s there?” called an unfamiliar voice from inside the barn. Furrypelt didn’t recognize it, but realized she never actually heard Barley, only read about him. But, still, she’d never imagined his voice to be like that.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re old friends from the Clans,” Foxstar called. “Some of us knew Barley.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Barley!” the voice called, and Furrypelt realized that this must be a different cat, perhaps Ravenpaw’s “replacement”, so Barley wouldn’t be lonely.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wha?” came a groggy voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cats from the Clans you told me about,” the first voice replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, come on in!” the second voice called, and Foxstar Leafpool Birchfall and Furrypelt proceeded into the barn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In a stack of hay lay an elderly black-and-white tom, whom Furrypelt assumed was Barley, and standing near the entrance, a black-and-ginger tom, whom Furrypelt had no clue who this cat was.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Barley stood up, walking over to the Clan cats. “Leafpaw?” he asked, looking at Leafpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Leafpool now,” Leafpool replied. “This is Birchfall, Foxstar, and Furrypelt.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar?” Barley repeated. “That means you’re leader, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, proud leader of ThunderClan,” Foxstar confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, so Firestar is dead?” Barley asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Firestar died a long time ago, before I was born.” Foxstar replied. “But I am one of his descendants. I am the third leader after him.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who was after Firestar?” Barley inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you remember Brambleclaw?” Leafpool asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Barley replied. “He was after Firestar?” When Leafpool nodded, Barley asked, “Who was after him?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My son, Lionblaze,” Leafpool replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, correct me if I’m wrong, but you were a medicine cat, were you not?” Barley questioned. “And medicine cats couldn’t have kits?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, that’s right,” Leafpool sighed. “I broke the code and had kits. But, so did Furrypelt.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re a medicine cat, too?” Barley asked, turning to Furrypelt. “And you had kits? Wow, this generation…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, that’s what I was thinking a lot as a Twoleg,” Furrypelt commented, forgetting that Barley did not know her backstory.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, what?” Barley repeated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And now where it gets confusing and you refuse to believe it,” Foxstar mewed, then explained about Twoleg-reincarnations and the Warriors series.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t believe it,” Barley murmured at last.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Warned you you wouldn’t,” Foxstar meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, who came after Lionblaze?” Barley asked. “I mean, Lionstar, right?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Mhm,” Foxstar replied. “Me, I was his deputy. Furrypelt’s son.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, I can’t believe how much has happened to the Clans since they left.” Barley murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I only caught half of this,” the strange tom mewed, and Furrypelt turned to him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I never caught your name,” Furrypelt pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, sorry, I’m Ember.” The ginger-and-black tom replied. “Live with Barley now. Keep him company since Ravenpaw died.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You didn’t know Ravenpaw, did you?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, just heard the stories.” Ember replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There haven’t been any major battles, have there?” Barley asked. “Like the one with BloodClan?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think four?” Furrypelt replied. “No, five. The one with RiverClan and WindClan versus ShadowClan and ThunderClan—when the sun disappeared—the battle with the Dark Forest, the battle when I was an apprentice, ThunderClan and StarClan versus everyone else, RiverClan and ThunderClan against WindClan and ShadowClan, and finally that one against the four.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Barley gaped at them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And we fear there will be another one.” Leafpool murmured solemnly. “We’re here because Bluestar warned Furrypelt that we need to come here and find a new medicine cat apprentice, to help with the danger coming.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What danger?” Barley asked, standing up. He trembled as he did so, his old and feeble legs shaking. That is not the cat that once fought BloodClan, Furrypelt thought, surprised by how much time had passed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re not sure,” Foxstar admitted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool and I were going to go see if we could use the Moonstone,” Furrypelt mewed. It had taken effort not to say “Moonpool”.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not sure that will work,” Barley meowed. “But if you’re going to try you should leave now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go, then,” Furrypelt mewed, turning from the barn and exiting, Leafpool right behind her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She trekked across the moors, noting that the Highstones were further from Barley’s barn than the Moonpool from ThunderClan camp. No wonder ThunderClan cats always left in the morning, Furrypelt realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When they finally got to the Highstones, Furrypelt allowed Leafpool to lead—Leafpool would be at least somewhat familiar with this.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They entered the cave, complete darkness swamping them quite quickly. Furrypelt’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, but soon enough, she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s been so long,” Furrypelt heard Leafpool murmur through the darkness. “This feels familiar, but at the same time it doesn’t.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, at least you’re somewhat familiar with it,” Furrypelt muttered, feeling the stone wall with her whiskers a split second before she walked headfirst into a wall.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They kept going until Furrypelt felt the walls open up around them, and she stood there, wondering if Leafpool was still there. She thought she could smell Leafpool, and the dusky air was fading and she smelled the ground above them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool?” Furrypelt checked that her former mentor was still there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right here,” Leafpool assured her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How long do we wait here?” Furrypelt asked, though she knew the answer.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right at moonhigh,” Leafpool replied. “And before you ask when we know when that is, we will know because we will be suddenly blinded.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt eventually sat down, her legs getting tired. She just kept sitting, laying down at some point, tucking her paws under her chest.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Out of nowhere, the room was lit up, and Furrypelt was blinded by a dazzling light. When her eyes adjusted again, Furrypelt realized that the light was being reflected from the moon, bouncing off a giant, beautiful stone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Get comfortable and touch your nose to it,” Leafpool instructed gently, and Furrypelt obeyed, laying down right next to the Moonstone and touching her nose to it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She was suddenly lurched into the darkness, and she knew she was about to see StarClan.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Or, whatever they’d see out here.

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 17= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> M aplepaw looked up at Cinderheart. “You’re good to go,” Cinderheart confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart, pleased, watched from the entrance of the medicine den. Maplepaw had just been confirmed to have recovered entirely from her greencough. It had never truly been that bad. Gingerheart remembered when she was an apprentice she got greencough, but it wasn’t bad, and hadn’t lasted. Maplepaw’s was only slightly worse than what she’d had.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Maplepaw happily skipped from the medicine den. “Hazelpaw!” she called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sighed. The few days of not being with her sister had nearly killed Maplepaw—she was in more danger of dying from loneliness than she was of greencough—and Gingerheart suspected there would be a lot of happy drama about Maplepaw not being sick and being able to spend time with Hazelpaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How are the others doing?” Gingerheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cherryfall’s down to whitecough, as is Brackenfur Thornclaw and Brightheart.” Cinderheart recited. “Millie’s still got greencough, but she’ll be okay.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And Jayfeather?” Gingerheart inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cinderheart stared at her for a moment, then at the gray tabby at her feet. Jayfeather was still out cold, as he had been for a while. He woke up every now and then—usually because Cinderheart whacked him in the stomach—but that was the extent of it. Heat was coming off him in waves, as was the stench of sickness.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not doing any better,” Cinderheart sighed. “Before you ask, Gingerheart, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Let’s just trust StarClan know what they’re doing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart gave a pitiful look at Jayfeather before exiting the den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The first thing she saw was Bumblestripe and Fernsong staring at a rolling ball of ginger-and-brown fur.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m guessing Maplepaw is better, then,” Bumblestripe sighed. The two sisters were so excited they would not stop moving; you could not tell where one cat ended and the next began.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh-huh.” Gingerheart replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Maplepaw! Hazelpaw!” Fernsong called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The two she-cats separated instantly and turned to face their mentors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I was hoping now that Maplepaw’s better we could catch her up on her training, but if you two would rather roll around like kits…” Fernsong mewed irritably.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, we can behave!” Maplepaw promised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll teach you all I learned while you were sick.” Hazelpaw mewed, turning to her sister.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''How much could you have possibly learned? ''Gingerheart wondered, bewildered. ''She wasn’t sick that long! ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart watched as the mentor-apprentice pairs left the clearing, Bumblestripe rolling his eyes as he left, the apprentices scrambling around excitedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart watched Applekit and Frostkit walk over to the fresh-kill pile, reaching for a mouse at the top of the pile. It fell on them, then they started fighting over it, scrambling on top of each other. “You two could just share it, you know,” Gingerheart pointed out to the sisters.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But I want a whole mouse to myself!” Frostkit complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So do I!” Applekit cried, jumping on top of her sister.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I doubt either of you could eat a whole mouse by yourselves!” Gingerheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What do you mean?” Frostkit asked. “We’re three moons old now!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart sighed. “That’s really not that old,” she pointed out. Applekit and Frostkit had just barely gotten on fresh-kill the other day, and they both loved it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure it is!” Applekit cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, just share the mouse!” Gingerheart pleaded, exasperated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Fine,” Applekit grumbled, settling down beside her sister and taking a bite out of the mouse.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart stared, satisfied, at the kits. She wished she and Furrypelt could’ve done that when they were kits, but Furrypelt had left before they’d gotten time to bond. Truly, Gingerheart had asked to be reincarnated to be a Clan cat, but after being born as a kittypet, had started having second-thoughts, and then decided she’d like to stay a kittypet, with all the cuddling.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But nobody had wanted her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Then Furrypaw came in, and that’s when Gingerheart knew her destiny was as a Clan cat. It was definitely better to be with Furrypelt than being in a shelter.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt… 

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt had been gone for about two moons now. How much longer would it be? She’d said two moons minimum. What if it was longer? ''What if Furrypelt left and will never come back? ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> That voice kept nagging her. She couldn’t get rid of it. Despite how much she knew Furrypelt was a capable and skilled cat, she couldn’t get past the chance of her not coming back, even if it was slight. ''Seriously, what are the odds? Like, 15 percent? Maybe? ''It was probably 15% max, so that was at least an 85% chance of her sister coming home alive. It was a pretty high chance, but even with this reassurance, Gingerheart couldn’t help but worry.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt solid ground beneath her. Please be StarClan, please be StarClan, she thought desperately, and when she opened her eyes, found herself at the Fourtrees, which she really only recognized from Foxstar’s leadership ceremony.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Looking around, she spotted Leafpool standing next to her, the light brown tabby looking wistful as she stared at her surroundings. “There’s no way it still looks like this…” she murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt remembered that before the Clans had left the forest the Twolegs had uprooted the four Great Oaks and turned over the Great Rock. ''Yeah, our surroundings are definitely inaccurate. ''She determined.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A flaming tabby tom and a blue-gray she-cat entered the clearing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Firestar!” Leafpool cried, running forward to greet her father. Firestar nuzzled her, and Leafpool purred.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How’ve you been doing, Furrypelt?” Bluestar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well enough,” Furrypelt replied. “I’m surprised the Moonstone works, though!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So long as we’re here it will,” Bluestar explained. “If Firestar and I hadn’t traveled with you, though, the Moonstone would not have worked.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, we’re just making sure there’s nothing important you need to tell us or anything,” Furrypelt mewed awkwardly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nope, you four are doing just fine on your own,” Bluestar assured her. “You should find your apprentice tomorrow, then you can go home.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That would be fantastic,” Furrypelt mewed. She’d gotten only too many opportunities to think how the Clan was doing without her. Gingerheart and Rockfall would be worried sick, and speaking of sick, Clanmates could’ve easily gotten sick, maybe some of them died. Maybe there’d been battles. Conflicts between the Clans she needed to know about. She thought about asking Bluestar if everything was okay back home, but she wouldn’t know. ''If she had to make a journey to get here, then she wouldn’t be able to tell me what’s going on back there. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, if that’s all,” Bluestar meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yep, that will do it.” Furrypelt confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Firestar and Leafpool separated.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stay safe, my daughter,” Firestar murmured softly, gazing at her with affection in his beautiful, emerald-green eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool gazed back with amber eyes brimming with emotion. Had Leafpool seen Firestar at all since he died? Well, maybe at that battle when she’d been an apprentice, but that was probably it. She hadn’t run into Firestar like Furrypelt had.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar and Firestar faded, becoming translucent, transparent, gone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt woke up beside the Moonstone, which was losing its light. Leafpool stirred next to her. “Let’s head back,” Leafpool murmured, standing up and walking back along the tunnel.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Moonstone’s light faded, and Furrypelt was left in the dark. “You know, I think I prefer the Moonpool purely because you can see the path to get there,” she commented. Leafpool chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, this is rather annoying, isn’t it?” Leafpool agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When they got out of the cave, Furrypelt stared at the Thunderpath before her. She’d known there was one in front of the Highstones, so she hadn’t thought anything of it, but now she realized it wasn’t just the typical two-lane Thunderpath. It was two sets of a four-lane highway—what the Twolegs had destroyed the forest to make. How she had noticed this fact earlier was beyond her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It had to be, like, midnight; a car passed occasionally, but not very often, so Furrypelt and Leafpool were easily able to cross safely.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They entered back in the barn. Foxstar and Ember were still awake to await their return, but Birchfall and Barley had fallen asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come,” Ember invited, his voice softer than it’d been earlier. “You can make your nests in the hay over here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt and Leafpool followed the black-and-ginger tom—barely visible in the darkness—to the haystacks and leaped up into them. Barley was sleeping near them, Birchfall above them, and Foxstar sitting in a nest next to them, but not sleeping.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt kneaded the hay beneath her into a comfortable nest and curled up to sleep. Leafpool curled next to her, and Furrypelt was dimly aware of Ember going to sleep with Barley.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The crickets chirping in the darkness lulled her to sleep, and the world faded to blackness.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt awoke in her hay nest next to Leafpool. Birchfall, Foxstar, Leafpool, and Barley were still asleep, but Ember was up, catching mice. Three dead mice already lay in the middle of the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt carefully stood up and jumped down from the haystacks, yawned, stretched, then walked over to where the mice lay. “I’m guessing these are for us?” she checked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yep, figured I’d catch a meal for everyone since I’m up,” Ember replied. “Help yourself; I’m catching one for each but I’ll be happy to catch more.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s okay; if I’m still hungry I can catch them myself.” Furrypelt assured him. She leaned down and picked up a gray mouse in her teeth, then settled down for breakfast.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Barley awoke behind her and mewed, “You two up already?” through a yawn.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar stirred. “You know what they say,” the dark ginger tom mewed, standing up and stretching. “The early bird gets the worm.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But we’re not birds,” Ember pointed out. “Nor do we want worms. Yuck!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar, remember when ThunderClan had to resort to that, when Doestar was still leader?” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my gosh, yes!” Foxstar cried, remembering. “I felt so bad reading that book…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, me too,” Furrypelt agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What are you guys talking about?” Leafpool asked, waking up.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, nothing,” Furrypelt mewed innocently—though there was no reason to use that tone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “O…kay…” Leafpool meowed slowly. “So, got some food for us?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Indeed I do,” Ember replied. “Let’s see, Furrypelt got one, three more on the floor, two more mice coming right up!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar jumped down from the haystack and walked over, grabbing a mouse right after Leafpool. Barley too slowly jumped down and trotted over to grab his breakfast.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall—probably awoken by their clatter—jumped down as well and joined the others.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Ember caught a mouse for Birchfall and finally one for himself and sat down. “Thanks, Ember,” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No problem,” Ember replied. “So how long you gonna crash?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We were going to leave today,” Furrypelt replied. “If we’re lucky we’ll find our apprentice today, crash here again for the night, and then head home.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure you don’t wanna stay longer?” Ember asked. “It was pleasant having cats other than me and Barley here. A bit more exciting.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt couldn’t help but remember Sunshine begging her to stay with her, her siblings, and her parents. Both then and now the answer would be the same. She had to find this medicine cat apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry, but we gotta finish what we started,” Furrypelt sighed. “As much as I’d like to just sit in one place and not move.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, you and Barley could just swap lives,” Ember joked. “He’s always wishing he had a bit more spice in his life, and you obviously just want to sit and do nothing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Barley glared at Ember, but Furrypelt could see the playfulness behind his gaze.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do we head out now?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good idea, yes,” Furrypelt agreed, standing up. “Thank you, you two, for your hospitality.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, thank you,” echoed Leafpool.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Anytime,” Barley mewed, dipping his head to the Clan cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The four left the barn and entered the forest. It was definitely looking better than when the Clans left, but still a bit in ruins; there wasn’t enough inhabitable space for all four Clans. All four Clans lived here once, Furrypelt thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Furrypelt,” Foxstar mewed. “Think we could visit some of the others before searching for the apprentice?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What?” Furrypelt asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, if Barley’s still alive, Smudge and Princess might be, too.” Foxstar pointed out. “Wouldn’t hurt to see if they’re still there, and if they are, catch them up on how everyone’s doing.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And break their hearts by telling them Firestar’s dead.” Furrypelt added. “But, I guess. I’d rather them know than believing a lie I suppose.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool, do you remember which way the Twolegplaces are?” Foxstar inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, I should,” Leafpool replied uncertainly, and led them through the forest for a while, everyone tripping over something at least twice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally they arrived at a row of Twoleg nests. One the fence of one, a plump, elderly, black-and-white tom was snoozing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They tentatively walked up. “Excuse me?” Furrypelt asked quietly. The tom jumped and almost fell off the fence—he disappeared, except for his paws, behind the fence then scrambled up again. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Furrypelt apologized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who are you?” the tom asked. “And what are you doing here? You smell like wild cats.” His eyes suddenly filled with fear. “You’re not going to eat me, are you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no, no,” Leafpool assured him. “But we are wild cats. Are you Smudge by any chance?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The tom’s eyes widened. “Who told you? What do you want from me?!” he sounded hysterical now.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Calm down, calm down,” Foxstar soothed. “Leafpool here,” he flicked his tail at Leafpool. “Is the daughter of Firestar. Or as you would’ve known him, Rusty.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Rusty?” the tom repeated, and Furrypelt was now certain this was Smudge. “How’s he doing?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dead,” Birchfall replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smudge’s eyes widened again. “D-dead?” he stammered. “I told him not to join the wild cats! If he’d stayed here, as a house cat, he could’ve lived so much longer…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He died fighting for what he believed in,” Furrypelt put in. “He was very brave, and the best leader the Clans have ever seen.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He may have been born a kittypet, but he was a Clan cat through and through.” Foxstar commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess he made the right choice, then,” Smudge murmured. “Would’ve been miserable staying here. But I hope he knows how much I’ve missed him…”0

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If it means anything, Firestar made the trip in StarClan—where good Clan cats go when they die—and followed us, so he can probably see you now. Might be standing right next to us.” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt suddenly caught flame-colored fur out of the corner of her eye, and turned to find Firestar standing right there. He winked at her, glanced at Smudge, then faded out of sight. Furrypelt smiled; Firestar got to see his friend again. Will he do the same when we visit Princess?

<p class="MsoNormal">'' Is Princess still alive? '' Another voice questioned.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Smudge stared at Leafpool. “You’re Firestar’s daughter?” he inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Indeed I am,” Leafpool replied, and they ended telling the story of everything that’s happened since the Clans left the forest. Furrypelt was getting rather tired of it; you can only reread a book so many times, and similarly you can only tell a story so many times, then it gets boring.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When they were finished, Smudge gaped at them. “That doesn’t even sound like Rusty,” he murmured. “He changed so much…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That happens,” Furrypelt mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We should really get going,” Birchfall interrupted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright, if you must,” Smudge sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The four Clan cats walked off, leaving Smudge staring after them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Think you know where Princess lives?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If she’s still alive and in the same place, yes,” Leafpool replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They kept walking, skirting the forest. They arrived at a different Twolegplace, and Furrypelt started sniffing the air for signs that a cat is there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She did smell a she-cat, on the other side of a fence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Quietly and stealthily, Furrypelt jumped on top of the fence. In the yard, facing another direction, was a light tabby with a white chest and paws—basically Leafpool, but this cat was much older.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The tabby did not turn towards Furrypelt’s direction, but did prick her ears towards Furrypelt. Furrypelt strained to remember Princess’s description. Wasn’t she dark brown? No, maybe she was a tabby. She couldn’t remember! Did Foxstar remember? She didn’t think Leafpool had ever met her aunt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt jumped off the fence back towards Foxstar Leafpool and Birchfall. “Foxstar,” Furrypelt hissed quietly. “Do you remember Princess’ description? I thought she was dark brown but now I’m thinking she might be a light brown tabby with some white—like Leafpool.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Pretty sure she was a tabby,” Foxstar replied, equally quiet. “What made you second-guess yourself?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There’s an elderly she-cat in that yard, light brown tabby with white chest and paws.” Furrypelt explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Might be Princess,” Foxstar murmured thoughtfully. “Did you catch her collar color?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Looked pink,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m pretty certain Princess had a pink collar,” Foxstar meowed. “Might be her, let’s go check it out.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar leapt on top of the fence and Furrypelt jumped up behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar jumped into the yard, landing with a thud that made the she-cat jump. She turned around. “Who are you?” she hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We come in peace,” Foxstar assured her. “We just want to know, are you Princess?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The she-cat’s eyes grew wide, and Furrypelt assumed it was Princess.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who are you?” she repeated, more fearful than last time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool and Birchfall leaped the fence, and Princess shrieked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Relax,” Leafpool soothed. “We’re Clan cats, and, you’re my kin.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And mine,” Foxstar added. “Though, not as direct.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re, what?” Princess mewed, shocked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Firestar’s daughter,” Leafpool explained. “Rusty’s daughter.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And I’m his daughter’s son’s son.” Foxstar added.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So, you live with Firestar? And Cloudtail?” Princess asked, eyes brightened.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Live with Cloudtail and lived with Firestar,” Birchfall corrected.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did something happen to my brother?” Princess whispered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “A while ago,” Furrypelt mewed somberly. “Before Foxstar and I were born.” Remembering they hadn’t introduced themselves, Furrypelt flicked her tail towards Foxstar as she said it. “He died saving his Clanmates.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “As did my sister,” Leafpool sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How’s Cloudtail doing?” Princess changed the subject.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s got a mate, four kits—one dead—and plenty of grandkits and great-grandkits.” Furrypelt listed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s great and bad for him at the same time,” Princess mewed. “I’m glad my son—and my brother—found a mate, and I hope they were as perfect for them as mine was for me.” Princess stared off into space. “Jackie’s dark brown fur, and those handsome blue eyes, the slicked back fur. Wish he lived to see his kits being born, but he caught what the housefolk call cancer.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared. Cancer was often deadly. As a Twoleg she’d lost a kittypet to cancer. She’d only been four… she distinctly remembered as her other cat passed her room she broke the news and her other cat gave a look of pure joy that she hadn’t recognized at the time, but by third grade or something she looked back and realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry for your loss,” Furrypelt murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Princess’s eyes blinked and she turned back to the Clan cats. “Thanks,” she murmured awkwardly. “So, why are you here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The explanation raised a few questions, and then they finally got to introductions, and Foxstar and Furrypelt got to explain the phenomenon of being reincarnated from a Twoleg, that totally made sense and everyone understood the second they hear it. If that had been true they might’ve left Princess’s before what seemed to be about ten, eleven in the morning when they’d gotten up at like roughly six or seven, as much as you can tell by just the sun.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They finally left to find the medicine cat apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They’d decided to look through the forest. There had to be a cat somewhere, right? But one who knew about the Clans, already knew a bit about herbs…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Leafpool called after a while, causing Furrypelt to jump as she wasn’t expecting noise. “I smell catmint!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Would it be wrong to take some back with us?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’d never survive,” Furrypelt pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I would like to see how it’s surviving in a beat-up forest during late leaf-fall,” Leafpool commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool led the way once again, towards the scent of catmint.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But Furrypelt caught another scent, of a young she-cat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pushing through some bushes, Furrypelt saw a small, light brown tabby she-cat with light blue eyes. ''What is it with light brown tabbies? ''Furrypelt wondered. Birchfall, Leafpool, this cat, Princess, her kittypet Misty as a Twoleg, her kittypet Tidbit who’d died of cancer…

<p class="MsoNormal"> The she-cat looked early-apprentice aged, and also frightened.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t be scared,” Leafpool soothed. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Gathering some catnip for my mother,” the she-cat replied. “She’s old, and gets sick kinda easily, this stuff always helps.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool stared at the she-cat. “You know, it’s funny,” Leapfool mewed. “You look exactly like a cat I once knew, named Cody,”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cody’s my mother!” the she-cat cried. “Y-you used to know her?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, just before I left the forest,” Leafpool mewed, eyes widening.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Were you part of a big group?” the she-cat asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes, actually,” Leafpool replied. “We’re Clan cats,”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ve heard of them!” The she-cat yowled. “Mom says she once stayed with them, and helped them out, particularly with a young kitten, made friends with a cat her age learning how to work with herbs.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think you’re talking about me and Birchfall here,” Leafpool mewed excitedly. “Can we meet your mother?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure,” the she-cat mewed, picking up some catmint. “Follow me,” she mumbled through it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As they started walking, following the young she-cat, she mewed, “By the way, my name’s Poppy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m Leafpool,” Leafpool introduced. “The light brown tabby tom here is Birchfall, the dark ginger tom is Foxstar, and the ginger-and-white she-cat is Furrypelt.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure, I’m last,” Furrypelt muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She saved the best for last,” Foxstar pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re insulting yourself, you know, by pointing that out,” Furrypelt commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Eh. Second-to-last. That means I’m the second-most important here!” Foxstar cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can look at it that way,” Furrypelt mewed, continuing to follow the young she-cat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You guys have funny names,” Poppy commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They arrived a short while later, near where Princess lived. Poppy leapt the fence easily, followed by Leafpool, Birchfall, Foxstar, and Furrypelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy dropped the catmint outside a cat flap and poked her head in, called in, and another cat came out, older, but looking nearly the same as Poppy. “Leafpool, Birchfall, Foxstar, Furrypelt, this is my mother Cody,” Poppy introduced.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait,” Cody walked up to Leafpool. “Are you Leafpaw?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “The very same,” Leafpool replied. “Just, I have a different name now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s so good to see you!” Cody cried. “And is Birchkit here by any chance?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Birchfall stepped forward.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh my gosh, you grew so much!” Cody exclaimed. Furrypelt realized that when Birchfall was last here he was just a tiny little scrap, desperate for food.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cody suddenly sneezed, and Furrypelt caught the runny look in her eyes. “Eat some catmint,” Furrypelt urged the old she-cat. “Your daughter brought you some.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, thanks,” Cody mewed gratefully, turning and eating some of the stalks. “This must be the third time in the past few moons I’ve gotten sick,” she sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ouch,” Leafpool mewed. “But, you’re a kittypet, I didn’t think they got sick as easily. Don’t you get special stuff from the Cutter or something?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Old age and misfortune haven’t been doing me well,” Cody sighed. “And even the vet’s clever medications don’t seem to be helping.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My condolences,” Foxstar mewed fervently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s fine,” Cody assured them. “So, why are you four here?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Someone who already knows about the Clans and a bit about herbs…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt went over the description in her head again and stared at Poppy. Apprentice-aged, has heard of the Clans, at least knows catmint…

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''Could we have found our apprentice? ''Furrypelt wondered. If it was true… well, it almost felt too good to be true!

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool, Birchfall, Foxstar, a word?” Furrypelt mewed, motioning away from Cody and Poppy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh, sure,” Foxstar replied uncertainly, and followed Furrypelt to the edge of the yard, Leafpool and Birchfall close behind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What is it?” Birchfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Do you think—the apprentice—it could maybe be Poppy?” Furrypelt asked quietly. The others stared at her with wide eyes, but before they could interrupt, she kept talking. “Think about it; has heard about the Clans, and knows a bit about herbs. Poppy’s apprentice-aged, has heard of the Clans, and knows catmint at least, and she might know more. Don’t you see? We might’ve found our apprentice!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I don’t know,” Leafpool murmured.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, it makes sense,” Foxstar argued. “I think she may actually be our medicine cat apprentice. All the pieces fit.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We could ask her if she’s interested,” Birchfall suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt nodded and walked back over to Cody and Poppy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppy,” Furrypelt started, unsure how to say it. Poppy pricked her ears. “Would you be willing to move to the Clans, and come back with us?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wait, what?” Poppy took a step back, and Cody laid her ears back.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We think you might be the medicine cat apprentice StarClan sent us looking for,” Leafpool explained gently. “It’s up to you, but keep in mind we are desperate; an unknown danger is coming, and we need another medicine cat to protect us.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “From what I’ve heard, wouldn’t warriors be better protection?” Poppy asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, medicine cats are wise, and can speak directly to StarClan, plus can heal their Clanmates, keep them alive,” Foxstar explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy looked between Cody and the Clan cats. “I’d love to help,” Poppy started, and Furrypelt’s heart rose. “But I have to stay with Cody, she needs me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt’s heart dropped again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, Poppy,” Furrypelt was surprised to hear Cody argue against her daughter on this manner—especially given the side her daughter chose. “I’m not going to last much longer. But with your help, the Clans might.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “W—you think I should go?” Poppy stuttered. “But—”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s what’s best for everyone,” Cody murmured. “We’ll definitely miss you around here, but, I think you should go.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well,” Poppy seemed unsure. “Okay. I’ll come.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt’s heart fluttered out of her chest. She felt happier and more relieved than she had since Lionstar’s death, which felt like a year ago at this point.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can stay with Cody and your housefolk a little while longer,” Furrypelt mewed. “Say your goodbyes, and we’ll pick you up around sunset?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Deal,” Poppy mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Excellent,” Birchfall meowed. “Now in the morning we can head back home.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And then in about a quarter-moon, maybe half-moon, we can go make sure that Rockfall hasn’t destroyed anything and that Gingerheart hasn’t died of sadness.” Foxstar determined.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s head back to the barn; we’ll crash with Barley and Ember until sunset.” Leafpool decided.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “See you later!” Furrypelt called back to Poppy and Cody as they jumped on top of the fence.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt approached the Twolegplace, Leafpool just ahead of her and Birchfall and Foxstar just behind. The sun was setting, the sky was blood-red and her shadow was long on red grass. She shivered as a late leaf-fall wind chilled her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leafpool jumped onto the fence marking Poppy and Cody’s yard and Furrypelt Foxstar and Birchfall followed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppy?” Furrypelt called, jumping into the yard.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cody and Poppy exited the Twoleg nest through the cat flap.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ready to go?” Birchfall asked, approaching the tabby she-cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I, I’m not sure,” Poppy mewed quietly. She glanced back at the Twoleg nest. “I’ve lived here all my life, I don’t want to leave Cody, and my housefolk will miss me… the Housefolk kits especially were attached to me.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I feel you,” Furrypelt meowed sympathetically. She recalled leaving her Twolegs, all those moons ago… She’d been hesitant to leave her housefolk and Silky—Silky especially. The housefolk hadn’t wanted to get attached, since they were going to sell her eventually. But still, they couldn’t have been too pleased to find that one of their kittens had vanished in the night.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So are you coming?” Foxstar prompted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I—yeah, yeah I am,” Poppy decided, but still sounding uncertain.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, this isn’t an easy decision,” Leafpool sympathized. “I’m proud of you, and I think you’ll serve ThunderClan well.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Really?” Poppy asked, eyes wide with excitement.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you’re getting trained by Furrypelt, absolutely.” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have you said your final goodbyes to your owners?” Foxstar asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Best I could, seeing as they don’t understand me,” Poppy replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s get going, then,” Foxstar decided.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy turned to stare at her mother. “Goodbye,” she whispered, her eyes suddenly glazed with sadness.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Make me proud, kiddo,” Cody mewed affectionately, eyes a mix of pride and sadness. Cody nudged Poppy forward towards the four Clan cats.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt followed Foxstar as he made to the edge of the yard and leaped on top of the fence, jumping down the other side. Furrypelt followed, then turned and waited as Leafpool and Birchfall jumped over, too. Poppy came up soon after, then turned to get one last look at her home. Poor kid, Furrypelt thought. ''Being taken away from her mother… Gingerheart and I was one thing, we could still visit now and again. But Poppy will never see Cody again…''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt walked away from the Twolegplace as Poppy jumped down from the fence, and they trekked back to Barley’s barn in silence, Poppy looking at her white paws most of the time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They entered the barn without warning Barley or Ember that they were coming in. She noticed Barley jump, and Ember look startled, but they settled as they realized it was just Furrypelt Foxstar Birchfall and Leafpool—and Poppy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s this?” Barley asked, looking at Poppy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is the medicine cat apprentice, Poppy.” Furrypelt introduced. “Poppy, this is Barley and Ember.” She flicked her tail towards the toms as she introduced them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hello,” Poppy mewed uncomfortably, dipping her head to the older toms.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You staying the night again?” Barley asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yep, one more night, then we’re leaving—hopefully for good.” Furrypelt confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What do you mean, ‘hopefully’?” Ember asked. “Don’t you like our hospitality?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, yes,” Foxstar mewed. “But we don’t want to trek all the way out here again. We’ve been gone two moons already, and we still have to go back.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Right, of course,” Ember meowed. “Well, have some food—we have plenty of mice—and then we’ll see you off in the morning.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Mice?” Poppy repeated, seeming self-aware for the first time since they left the Twolegplace.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What were you expecting, that fake stuff the Twolegs give you?” Birchfall asked. “No, we eat real food.” He quickly caught a mouse and tossed it towards Poppy. “Try it,” he encouraged. “Really good.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy looked skeptical, but leaned down and took a bite. “This is actually really good!” she cried, taking another bite.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’d I tell you?” Birchfall asked, catching another for himself.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt decided to join in the hunt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can you teach me to hunt?” Poppy asked when Furrypelt sat down with her own mouse.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Of course, I will eventually,” Furrypelt promised. “Probably not an official lesson until we get back, though.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Poppy mewed. “So, where do we sleep?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can make a nest over here in the hay,” Barley replied, standing up stiffly and walking over to the haystacks. He jumped up and started kneading the hay until it was comfortable.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy followed suit, curling up in the shorter stack next to Barley.

<p class="MsoNormal"> By this point the sun had dipped below the horizon, but dim light still shone; it was still dusk.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, Furrypelt,” Leafpool mewed. “Let’s catch some sleep.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Actually, I was planning on visiting the Moonstone again,” Furrypelt responded, then lowered her voice. “Make sure we got the right cat.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, okay,” Leafpool replied. “I’ll come with you, but let’s wait a bit longer.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Okay,” Furrypelt agreed. She walked over to where Poppy was sitting and flopped down next to her. “So, do you have any siblings?” Furrypelt asked. “I highly doubt you were the only kit in the litter.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I had three siblings,” Poppy replied. “Lilac, my only sister, her bright green eyes, her tabby pattern was the same as mine, but she was light gray as opposed to light brown. She was so fun to play with…

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then there was Jigsaw, my black-and-white brother, his amber eyes and joking attitude. So sarcastic, so funny. Finally was Dewey, he was white with pale gray patches, but we always called him ‘Berry Eyes’ because his small, blue eyes reminded us of blueberries!” Poppy sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What happened to your siblings?” Birchfall asked from above them, on a higher haystack.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “They were sold.” Poppy replied. “I was chosen as the one who would stay as a permanent pet.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry,” Leafpool mewed softly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s okay,” Poppy sighed, blinking the reminiscent, sad gaze out of her eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They sat in silence for a long while, and Barley fell asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy laid her head down too, and Furrypelt watched as the young she-cat drifted off into sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s go,” Leafpool murmured to Furrypelt, informing her it was time to go to the Moonstone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt nodded and carefully stood up, not wanting to disturb Poppy. She trotted over to Leafpool and together they left the barn, walking up the moors towards the distant Highstones.

<p class="MsoNormal"> When they reached the Thunderpath, Furrypelt was pleased that even for this major highway there were few cars—granted it had to be like eleven-fifty, twelve o’clock at night.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt bolted across half of the highway, then, pausing to make sure no monsters were coming, ran across the lanes going the other way.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt and Leafpool walked up to Mothermouth, the cave in the Highstones which led to the Moonstone. That’s a lot of names in one place, Furrypelt realized, wondering who had decided these names, and why they had done this.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stepped back to let Leafpool take the lead down into the cave that Furrypelt knew would soon be pitch-black.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt continued walking, relying on her whiskers to not run into any walls and following Leafpool’s scent. She shivered; the cave was cold and dank, and very drafty.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt the walls open up around her, and knew that they had reached the Moonstone.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Now to just wait for moonhigh.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It was longer than Furrypelt would’ve liked, but it felt quicker than the last time. When the dazzling light blinded her, she turned away and squinted, but advanced nevertheless. As her eyes adjusted, Furrypelt laid down, tucking her paws beneath her chest, and touched her nose to the Moonstone. Leafpool did the same beside her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The ground lurched, and Furrypelt was spinning in blackness. She closed her eyes until she felt sturdy ground beneath her feet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Opening her eyes, Furrypelt was at the Fourtrees again, this time Bluestar and Firestar were already there waiting for her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good job, Furrypelt,” Bluestar mewed before Furrypelt could say anything.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So I found the right cat?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Indeed you have,” Firestar purred. “I’m proud of you. And you too, Leafpool,” Firestar purred again as Leafpool stared at him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Congratulations,” Bluestar meowed. “You just have to get home, then your journey is complete.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can you tell us why we came out here in the first place?” Furrypelt asked impatiently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not, yet,” Bluestar replied slowly. “It is not yet the time.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stared at the blue-gray she-cat disbelievingly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But—”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not the time,” Bluestar repeated, more stern this time.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, continue to make us proud,” Firestar mewed warmly, and StarClan started to dissolve.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 18= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> A quarter-moon later, Gingerheart returned from a hunting patrol and went straight to the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re good to go, Cherryfall,” she heard Cinderheart mewing. “And you’re almost there, Millie. Another day or two.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t wait to just be able to breathe again!” Millie cried. Gingerheart pushed through the bramble screen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s up, Gingerheart?” Cinderheart asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just wanted to check if everything was going okay,” Gingerheart replied. “How’s Jayfeather doing?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m doing fine, thank you,” Jayfeather hissed, standing in the corner of the medicine den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You still have whitecough,” Cinderheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “And you definitely weren’t fine a few days ago,” Millie added, and Gingerheart could not help but picture an unconscious Jayfeather laying in his nest, refusing to take catmint, despite needing it more than anyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s weird,” Cinderheart continued. “Is that Jayfeather’s whitecough just doesn’t seem to want to clear up.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sure it’ll clear up in its own due time,” Gingerheart meowed optimistically.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Uh, I don’t know, Gingerheart,” Cinderheart replied. “I’m thinking if this doesn’t clear up in another half-moon I’ll have to declare it incurable and send him to the elders.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can’t send me to the elders!” Jayfeather cried, blind blue eyes hard.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''Is that what’s going to happen to Jayfeather? ''Gingerheart wondered. It makes sense; if Jayfeather retires that makes room for Furrypelt’s apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> This made Gingerheart feel better. If Jayfeather was standing aside—even if it’s unwillingly—for Furrypelt’s apprentice, then that would mean Jayfeather wouldn’t die, nor would Furrypelt. Fantastic, Gingerheart let out a sigh of relief. No deaths.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The worry that had been nagging Gingerheart for two moons now dissolved. Now Gingerheart just had to wonder when Furrypelt would be back, and who the apprentice would be. Boy or girl? Coat color? Personality? Name? Gingerheart had no idea, but figured by this point Furrypelt had found the apprentice, and would hopefully be back soon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We may have to send you to the elders, Jayfeather,” Cinderheart mewed, snapping Gingerheart out of her thoughts. “If you’re sick you can’t treat other cats.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather growled. “I’m going to get better, and you’re going to eat your words!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “How about you eat some fresh-kill to see if that’ll help this whitecough go away?” Cinderheart suggested, and flicked her tail to signal that Gingerheart should go get some food for Jayfeather.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Understanding, Gingerheart ran into the clearing and chose a vole on the top of the fresh-kill pile.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She trotted back to the medicine den, vole in her jaws, and pushed through the bramble screen. “Here you go, Jayfeather,” she mumbled around vole. She spat it out and pawed it towards the gray tabby. She watched as he bent over and started gnawing on the vole.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Satisfied, Gingerheart backed out of the medicine den again. She spotted Dovewing walk out of the nursery, nearly tripping over Applekit and Frostkit as they bolted past.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Dovewing was now rather chubby, having been pregnant for a full moon now.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Here, have a squirrel,” Hollytuft mewed from behind Dovewing, picking a squirrel up from the fresh-kill pile and dropping it in front of the pregnant queen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks,” Dovewing mewed, pulling the squirrel closer to her and taking a bite out of it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Can we have fresh-kill too?” Applekit asked, walking up to Hollytuft. Hollytuft chuckled.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I suppose,” her mother replied, and Applekit eagerly grabbed a vole.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I want some of that, too!” Frostkit cried, sitting down next to Applekit and stealing the first bite.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” Applekit complained. “I wanted the first bite!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Too bad, because I got it!” Frostkit bragged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Applekit tackled Frostkit to the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Guys!” Gingerheart cried. “Is it really worth fighting over who got the first bite of a vole?!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The kits separated and mumbled, “Sorry.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Finish your vole,” Gingerheart purred.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s really good,” Frostkit informed her sister, and Applekit excitedly took a bite.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Mmm, you’re right,” Applekit sighed contentedly. “This is good!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’d I tell you?” Frostkit mewed, taking another bite.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart now wondered more about the medicine cat apprentice; had he or she tried vole? Maybe they’d been a kittypet… who knows? Furrypelt probably knows by now, the thought hit her again. If so, she’ll be home soon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She’ll be home soon… 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “Aren’t we almost there?” Poppy whined.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nearly, I promise,” Leafpool mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I miss Cody, and my paws are sore!” Poppy complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Suck it up, kit, you’re never going back. We just have to keep moving forward.” Birchfall growled, pushing Poppy up a ledge from behind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall!” Furrypelt scolded, grabbing Poppy’s scruff.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They had made it back to the mountains, and they were trying to find the Tribe. So far, Poppy hadn’t been holding up too well.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As Poppy allowed herself to be lifted, Furrypelt noticed how much weight she’d lost since they’d found her, and her pads were scratched up, and looked quite sore and swollen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re almost there,” Furrypelt echoed Leafpool. “And they have food and herbs that will soothe your sore paws.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The snow must be helping, Furrypelt thought. ''It numbed my paws when I got hurt. ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You know, I’ve never seen snow before, and I must say, I don’t like it!” Poppy hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You haven’t seen snow?” Furrypelt thought disbelievingly, then remembered Poppy was only six moons old. Must’ve been born last newleaf, Furrypelt realized.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy shook her head in response to Furrypelt’s question. “I loved snow as a Twoleg. It’s so fun to play in!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, it also freezes you to death,” Birchfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, snow isn’t my thing, either.” Foxstar agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You were Floridian!” Furrypelt pointed out. “I was raised in New England. Ten feet of snow, still had school.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are you kidding me?” Foxstar asked. “How did you get to school?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Snow plows go out five in the morning,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Feel bad for those guys,” Foxstar muttered, and Furrypelt nodded in agreement.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What are you talking about?!” Birchfall cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Good, you don’t understand either,” Poppy mewed. “I thought you were talking about something Clan-related.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nothing these two say is really ever Clan-related.” Birchfall sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We say some things that you guys understand!” Furrypelt snapped.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not often enough,” Birchfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” someone called, and Furrypelt thought she recognized Leaf’s voice. “Is there someone out there?” the voice continued.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s the Clan cats that dropped by about a half-moon ago!” Leafpool called.

<p class="MsoNormal"> A cat came up over a rise, and there stood the tortoiseshell figure of Leaf.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leaf!” Furrypelt cried happily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, guys!” Leaf called back, a smile crawling over her face. She looked at Poppy. “Who’s that?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s the medicine cat apprentice we were talking about,” Furrypelt replied. “Leaf, meet Poppy. Poppy, Leaf.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Almost sounds like a shortened Tribe name,” Leaf commented. “Although I’m guessing your name is just Poppy, isn’t it?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, what else?” Poppy asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “My name’s Leaf That Floats on River,” Leaf explained. “Tribe names are fairly long, so we all go by the first part.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Odd,” Poppy commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, follow me, we’ll go back to the cave,” Leaf offered. She looked at Poppy as they started walking. “You look a bit young,” she commented. “How old are you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Six moons,” Poppy replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, you’re still kit-aged!” Leaf cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I am?” Poppy asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not for Clans,” Furrypelt added quickly. “Clan kits become apprentices when they’re six moons old. Tribe kits become to-bes when they’re eight moons old, correct?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Leaf confirmed. “I guess the mountains are more dangerous than wherever you guys live, so we need our kits older before they leave the safety of the cave.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That makes sense, I guess,” Poppy mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They walked a while in silence, until Furrypelt heard the roar of a waterfall, and knew they were nearby. “Here we are,” Leaf mewed, as the waterfall came in sight.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we supposed to walk through the waterfall?” Poppy asked disdainfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nah, you go around,” Leaf assured the young tabby, hugging the wall as she slid past the waterfall. Foxstar and Birchfall followed, but Furrypelt and Leafpool stayed back to make sure Poppy didn’t fall behind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy slowly and uncertainly walked past the waterfall, practically grabbing the wall with her short fur. Leafpool and Furrypelt got misted pretty good while waiting for Poppy, and were quite wet when they got in the cave.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That took a while,” Birchfall commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She was scared, okay?” Furrypelt snapped. “And frankly I don’t blame her.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt suddenly thought of another reason Poppy might’ve have been going slow, and looked down at the young she-cat. She took a step forward, and Furrypelt thought she saw a bit of red on the stone where Poppy had been standing. Her sore paws, Furrypelt remembered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Leaf,” Furrypelt mewed, walking forward. “Poppy lived as a kittypet—if you know what that is—so her pads were soft, and now they’re bleeding from the journey. Could you help her out?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh yeah, Jessy told us she used to be a kittypet.” Leaf remembered. “Come on, Poppy, I’ll help you out.” The tortoiseshell to-be gently led Poppy towards the Cave of Pointed Stones, Poppy being rather slow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt turned and saw a brown tom—looking older than Poppy but younger than Leaf—playing in the corner with a black she-cat, looking the same age.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt walked over to them. “Hey, Claw, Reed,” Furrypelt greeted. “You two to-bes yet?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Not yet,” Claw sighed. “Tomorrow is the ceremony. I can’t wait!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, then I guess I’ll be able to see the ceremony,” Furrypelt mewed happily. “Best of luck on your mentor, Mighty Lion.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Claw beamed, and Furrypelt chuckled then turned away, walking back to Leafpool Birchfall and Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller walked out of the Cave of Pointed Stones and headed over. “Leaf told me you guys were back,” he mewed. “And something tells me you’ll be staying for Claw and Reed’s ceremony tomorrow.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Indeed we will,” Furrypelt confirmed. “Then the day after I think we’ll get home. My sister and son must be freaking out without us there!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller chuckled. “It must’ve been difficult to leave your family to do this,” he sympathized. “I respect you four for that.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt hot with embarrassment underneath her pelt.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come, have some food, and I’ll have Leaf and her siblings figure out you can sleep.” Stoneteller offered warmly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thank you,” Leafpool mewed, dipping her head to the healer. The four were ushered to lay down near what seemed to be a fresh-kill pile, and Night, who was standing nearby, picked up an eagle and gave it to them. “That should fill the four of you up,” she commented.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “There are actually five of us,” Furrypelt mewed. “Still, it should fill us all.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s the fifth?” Night asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppy, my soon-to-be medicine cat apprentice,” Furrypelt explained. “I don’t think her pads were ready for mountain terrain.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s understandable,” Night mewed. “With Leaf I presume?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You presume correctly,” Foxstar confirmed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Well, I wish her luck,” Night meowed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll tell her,” Furrypelt promised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As though on cue, Poppy walked over to them from the Cave of Pointed Stones, Leaf right behind her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Better?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “A lot,” Poppy nodded. “That cave is so cool!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I guess now you see why we named it the Cave of Pointed Stones,” Leaf commented. Poppy nodded again. “Don’t hesitate to tell me if your paws bother you again,” Leaf mewed, and Poppy nodded a third time.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Here, have some food,” Leafpool offered, pushing a chunk of eagle meat towards Poppy. Poppy stared at it, disgusted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What? It’s actually pretty good,” Birchfall meowed, and Poppy uncertainly took a bite.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hmm, you’re right, this is rather good!” Poppy agreed, taking more famished gulps.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Like listening to a kit reluctant to try fresh-kill,” Furrypelt commented, earning some laughs from the others—for once not just Foxstar!

<p class="MsoNormal"> The sun began to set, turning the waterfall and the cave red.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Leaf Sunshine and Moon walked over to them. “Who’s this?” Sunshine asked, looking at Poppy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ugh, a fifth cat to find room for?” Moon asked disdainfully.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “This is Poppy, my soon-to-be medicine cat apprentice,” Furrypelt introduced. “Poppy, the yellow and brown-flecked she-cat is Sunshine, and the pale gray tom is Moon.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hello,” Poppy mewed shyly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Let’s find a place for you five to sleep,” Sunshine suggested.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m not giving up my nest again!” Moon cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You don’t have to,” Leaf meowed. “We have some nests out here in the main cave.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Then why did we give them our nests last time?” Moon asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I figured it’d be nicer to have a few more layers of wall to block out the noise of the waterfall,” Sunshine explained. “But this time they have a bigger group, so they can stay out here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppy, you’re the reason we don’t have a better nest,” Birchfall mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Birchfall!” Furrypelt scolded.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Dude, you don’t have to say everything that comes to your mind,” Foxstar pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just follow us,” Sunshine mewed, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They followed the three to-bes to the edge of the main cave, where a few dips in the ground lay.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt curled into one, Birchfall took the one next to her. Poppy slid next to Furrypelt, and she allowed it since Poppy was young and scared. She glanced apologetically at Foxstar, and he shrugged in understanding and took the one next to Birchfall. Leafpool took her own nest in one of the last dips next to Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Goodnight,” Leaf mewed warmly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The three siblings walked away, all heading for the same den, which Furrypelt assumed belonged to the to-bes.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt drowsy, and expected Poppy to be tired and fall asleep, but a glance at the she-cat proved otherwise. Her eyes were wide open, glazed with fear.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, you okay?” Furrypelt asked, glancing at her soon-to-be apprentice worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s just all so confusing and scary,” Poppy sighed. “Taken away from my mother, trekking out here, and I’m supposed to save the Clans from danger?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt hadn’t realized how overwhelming all this must’ve been.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, it’s okay,” Furrypelt soothed. “I’ll help you out, and no one’s expecting you to get it all immediately.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She started licking Poppy between her ears. Poppy’s eyes began to close. “Thanks, Furrypelt,” Poppy sighed. “It’s just… happening to fast, with no warning…”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, you’ll be okay,” Furrypelt assured the young tabby. “Now get some sleep.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy nodded and closed her eyes and laid her head down. Furrypelt continued her rhythmic licking until she was sure Poppy was asleep, then laid her head down as well.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, come on, wake up, wake up!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt was awoken by someone shouting in her ear. She jerked her head up and saw Claw above her. “Our ceremony is about to start!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> His fur was sleek and glossy; obviously Rain had just bathed him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Reed stood nearby, waking up Birchfall. Claw ran over and started shaking Leafpool, and Reed ran over to Foxstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Chuckling to herself, Furrypelt climbed out of the nest and shook Poppy awake.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy stood up wearily. “What’s going on?” she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We’re about to witness a Tribe ceremony,” Furrypelt explained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Most of the Tribe was already up, and Furrypelt watched Lark nose Fog and Star out of the nursery.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We don’t wanna be up!” Star complained.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “But it’s Claw and Reed’s ceremony,” Lark mewed sternly but gently. “You need to be respectful and watch.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller exited the Cave of Pointed Stones, and Leaf walked towards him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Are we all ready?” Stoneteller asked, and Claw and Reed nodded furiously, bouncing up and down. Stoneteller chuckled at them. “Calm down,” he mewed gently, and the siblings immediately stopped, but still gazed at him eagerly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller swished his tail to signal for the Tribe to follow him outside, and Claw and Reed raced to the front.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Clan cats—and Poppy—stayed at the back of the crowd and followed the others; it was not their ceremony, they didn’t need to be front and center.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They got outside and Furrypelt found the sun was barely up at all. Pretty early in the morning for a ceremony, Furrypelt thought, remembering her apprentice ceremony had been at sunhigh.

<p class="MsoNormal"> ''How did I remember a little detail like that? ''She wondered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller was standing on top of the cave, looking down at Claw and Reed, who isolated themselves from the rest of the crowd. Rain and Glow sat at the front, gazing happily at their kits.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller cleared his throat and the crowd silenced. Furrypelt noticed Leaf looking on intently, ears pricked. Probably trying to memorize this, Furrypelt thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Tribe of Endless Hunting,” Stoneteller meowed, his voice loud and clear to be heard over the waterfall, echoing off the rocks. “These two kits have reached the age of eight moons, and are ready to learn how to feed us—the Tribe of Rushing Water—and protect us in the ancient ways you gave us in the home you gave us as the rank of a to-be, and we humbly ask that you watch over them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw of Mighty Lion and Reed That Grows by River, please come forward.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Claw and Reed, who were already isolated from the rest of the group, stepped closer towards Stoneteller.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw of Mighty Lion,” Stoneteller’s voice boomed again. “At birth it was decided you were to be a cave-guard, and you shall be mentored by Jessy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jessy stepped forward and stood beside Claw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jessy, do you promise to train Claw of Mighty Lion to the best of your ability, until he is great as his ancestors?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I do, Stoneteller.” Jessy meowed, dipping her head to Stoneteller.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Reed That Grows by River,” Stoneteller continued. “At birth it was decided you were to be a prey-hunter, and you shall be mentored by Pine That Clings to Rock.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pine stepped forward and stood beside Reed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Pine That Clings to Rock, do you promise to train Reed That Grows by River to the best of your ability, until she is great as her ancestors?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I do, Stoneteller,” Pine promised, dipping his head like Jessy did.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Tribe of Endless Hunting, thank you for these to-bes, and help them live their life to the fullest.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Claw and Reed stood tall, their mentors beside them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw of Mighty Lion, Reed That Grows by River,” the Tribe cats started chanting their names quietly. Furrypelt decided to join in, and the other Clan cats followed her lead.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Claw of Mighty Lion, Reed That Grows by River, Claw of Mighty Lion, Reed That Grows by River,”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Stoneteller climbed down and reentered the cave, and the rest of the Tribe followed him, still chanting quietly.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 19= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “J ayfeather, it’s been a quarter-moon, and I said if you weren’t better you’d have to be an elder!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart was at the fresh-kill pile, listening to Jayfeather and Cinderheart argue nearby.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m fine!” Jayfeather growled, immediately contradicted by a bout of coughs. Cinderheart gazed at him like a mother would when they know their kit did something bad but they won’t admit it. “I’m not retiring!” Jayfeather hissed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Listen to your elders, Jayfeather!” Cinderheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re, like, six moons older than me!” Jayfeather yowled. “If that!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “If you include Cinderpelt’s life, I’m a lot older than you,” Cinderheart pointed out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather opened his mouth to speak, then must’ve realized it was pointless because he closed it without saying anything. “Fine, I’m an elder now,” Jayfeather growled. “Now Furrypelt can have her apprentice.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Thank goodness, Gingerheart thought. There’s room for Furrypelt’s apprentice and no one died.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall passed by as Jayfeather had said it. “I don’t have to do a ceremony, do I?” Rockfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, if a cat retires due to disease or injury there’s no ceremony,” Gingerheart replied. “You don’t remember? You retired due to injury, you didn’t get a ceremony.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Thanks for reopening old wounds,” Rockfall muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sorry!” Gingerheart cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jayfeather stalked into the elders’ den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hello, denmates,” he growled angrily.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh, look!” Gingerheart heard Thornclaw say. “Now we have two grumpy cats in here!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s the first?” Cloudtail asked. There was silence and Cloudtail asked, “What?” Gingerheart assumed they must’ve all just stared at Cloudtail, implying he was the grumpy one.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart chuckled. She’d have to tell Furrypelt what they’d said when she comes back. ''She is coming home soon, right? ''It had felt like Furrypelt had been gone a lifetime.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It may have just been her imagination, but Gingerheart thought she’d gotten some sort of prompting that Furrypelt could be expected to be home soon, as though from StarClan themselves. But, there had been no show.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart turned as she heard noise from the nursery. It was just Dovewing staggering out, large as ever. “Only one more half-moon,” Gingerheart assured the pale gray queen.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever!” Dovewing cried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I feel like Furrypelt’s been gone forever,” Gingerheart mewed. “At least your sister is here, and you can guarantee she’s alive.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’d love to check if Furrypelt is doing okay,” Dovewing meowed. “But I can’t do that anymore, nor would I have been able to see that far anyway.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “She’ll be fine, Gingerheart,” Daisy mewed. “She’s strong. She’s got this. And I’m quite sure she’ll be back soon.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart tried to feel reassured. Furrypelt, please come home, Gingerheart silently begged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Gingerheart!” Rockfall called. “Hunting patrol?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Sure,” Gingerheart replied. “Who do I take?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You can take Sparrowpaw, Stormcloud, and two other warriors.” Rockfall replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’ll take Bramblethorn,” Gingerheart decided. “And how about you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Me?” Rockfall asked, taken aback.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Why not?” Gingerheart asked, tipping her head to the side.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Um, okay,” Rockfall mewed uncertainly. “Just let me make another patrol real quick.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall scanned the clearing. “Ivypool!” he called. “Take Hollytuft Stripefur and Specklepelt to hunt near Sky Oak!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Got it,” Ivypool mewed, going off to find the young warriors.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart scanned the camp for Bramblethorn Stormcloud and Sparrowpaw, then called them over.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The four cats waited for Rockfall by the exit tunnel. Rockfall walked over.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You got Rockfall to do a patrol with us?” Bramblethorn asked, surprised.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I think it comes with being his ‘mother’,” Gingerheart replied. “Also, I want to see how he hunts with that leg!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t let him hear that,” Bramblethorn warned, smiling. “Remember when he was just a little kit?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” Gingerheart mewed. It was all so long ago…

<p class="MsoNormal"> They got into the forest and Gingerheart lead them towards WindClan territory.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I can’t believe I’m on patrol with the deputy!” Sparrowpaw squeaked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s not that special,” Rockfall mewed, but smiling nonetheless. “Frankly I wish I wasn’t deputy.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I, uh, kinda noticed that when Foxstar called you,” Sparrowpaw mewed tentatively.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Did it show?” Rockfall asked. The other four cats nodded. Rockfall shrugged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s a lot more laid back than he has been—ever—isn’t he?” Stormcloud commented, and Gingerheart nodded. How many times had Rockfall changed personality lately?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall stopped and sniffed, pricking his ears. Gingerheart figured he’d scented something.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart located the squirrel her nephew had found, and Rockfall dropped and crouched, looking ridiculous with his injured leg jutting out.

<p class="MsoNormal"> He very carefully—and awkwardly—stepped forward, closer than most cats would get before pouncing. Gingerheart soon saw why he’d done this; with only one hind leg to push off with, he didn’t go very far. Poor kid, Gingerheart thought.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As Rockfall leaped through the air, Gingerheart could not help but stare at that hind leg streaming out behind him like his tail. She suppressed a mrrow of laughter. This would definitely be an interesting hunting patrol.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt stood atop a rise that overlooked Clan territories. They were almost home at last.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s where the Clans live?” Poppy asked, walking up beside her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yes,” Furrypelt mewed. “All four Clans live here.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s a breathtaking view,” Poppy mewed. “Which Clan are we going to?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “ThunderClan, we get those oak woods over there,” Furrypelt informed her, flicking her ears towards ThunderClan’s territory. “Those moors belong to WindClan—we’re going to cross them—the marsh is RiverClan, and the pine forest is ShadowClan’s. That island on the lake is where we have Gatherings, a time of peace where we can swap news between the Clans, once every moon on the full moon. Those Twoleg nests over there is considered the horseplace, because of those large animals running back and forth over there in the fence. They’re called horses. That’s where I was born, the Twoleg nest next to the horses.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” Poppy mewed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Don’t worry; we’ll go slower when we get down there.” Furrypelt assured her. “Now come on; I want to get home by sunset!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sprinted down the hill, feeling the resulting wind through her fur. Foxstar was right on her paws.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt did not want to stop running, and didn’t care if the others were following or not. Home was just a few more minutes away…

<p class="MsoNormal"> But she indeed stopped running before reaching her destination.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey!” someone called, and Furrypelt froze, Foxstar running into her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Turning, Furrypelt saw Ashpelt, with Sedgewhisker, Larkwing, Swiftpaw, and Ryepaw coming up the rise behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Look!” Sedgewhisker cried. “Furrypelt and Foxstar, that means they’re done with their journey!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Congratulations,” Larkwing mewed. “Were you successful?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Indeed we were,” Furrypelt confirmed. “They’re back there, somewhere… We were eager to get home and ran ahead.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Nice leader,” Ashpelt muttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s fine, Leafpool and Birchfall know the way back.” Furrypelt mewed dismissively. “Can we be on our way now?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Absolutely,” Sedgewhisker meowed, and Furrypelt took off running again.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She leapt the stream and dodged trees without even thinking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt skidded to a stop near the camp entrance. “We should enter with all of us,” she decided. She did not want anyone knowing she was here until all five of them were together.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They waited for a little while, until Leafpool and Birchfall showed up, Poppy right behind them—with dripping hind paws. “Couldn’t figure out how to jump the stream?” Furrypelt asked, chuckling.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Couldn’t figure out how to walk and wait?” Birchfall asked, a bit of a harsh tone in his voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Wow.” Furrypelt muttered. “Come on, let’s go in.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> They entered ThunderClan camp, and Furrypelt was relieved to see nothing had changed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But something must have changed, or else Furrypelt would not be able to have her apprentice; there wouldn’t be an open spot.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re back!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You found your apprentice!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Exclamations flew up into the air until Furrypelt could not tell who was talking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt was suddenly knocked over, and she saw Gingerheart on top of her. “Furrypelt!!” Gingerheart screamed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Just like when we were Twolegs,” Furrypelt mewed, chuckling. Every time Furrypelt had run into Gingerheart as Twolegs Furrypelt tackle-hugged.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Gingerheart smiled and backed away, motioning with her tail for the others to do the same.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rockfall limped forward and stared at Foxstar. “Thank goodness you’re back!” Rockfall cried. “It’s been a pain trying to run this place!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That’s exaggeration,” Gingerheart mewed pointedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Either way,” Rockfall mewed. “I’m glad you’re back.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “So am I,” Foxstar sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Everyone seemed to just notice Poppy, and started bombarding her with questions.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt felt pity for Poppy—she wasn’t used to crowds and was nervous already—but she was going to walk away anyway. “Wait here,” Furrypelt mewed to Poppy. “I need to go check something.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt pushed through the crowd, earning herself some curious looks, and entered the medicine den. If she was going to have an apprentice, something must have happened to Jayfeather…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bracing herself for what she’d find, she pushed through the bramble screen and found, to her surprise, Cinderheart sitting there. “Cinderheart?” Furrypelt mewed confusedly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Welcome back!” Cinderheart meowed warmly. “I thought I heard a fuss out there.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What are you doing here?” Furrypelt asked. “Where’s Jayfeather?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Ooh,” Cinderheart mewed, her bright eyes now dull. “Yeah… we got a bout of greencough and Jayfeather never fully recovered.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “He’s dead?!” Furrypelt screamed, her heart hammering. Her mentor… gone?

<p class="MsoNormal"> “No, no, no,” Cinderheart soothed quickly. “No, just retired.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Oh,” Furrypelt mewed, feeling sheepish and trying to slow her pounding heart.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “That means you’re the official ThunderClan medicine cat, if it means anything,” Cinderheart added. “And you can have your apprentice. Did you find him or her?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, she’s outside,” Furrypelt replied.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’d love to meet her,” Cinderheart meowed, and Furrypelt turned away, Cinderheart behind her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> There was still a crowd around the other four.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Stop!” Foxstar yowled. “Let us through.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The crowd moved away and allowed their leader through. Foxstar trotted over to the Highledge, then flicked his tail for Poppy to follow.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppy, seeming uncertain, followed Foxstar and climbed carefully up the Highledge while Foxstar ran carelessly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They got to the top, and Foxstar yowled, “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!” There wasn’t exactly much point to this, however, since most of the Clan was gathered, but there were still a few stragglers in the nursery and elders’ den.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt watched Specklepaw and Boulderpaw pass in front of her. “Welcome back, Furrypelt!” Specklepaw welcomed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hey, Specklepaw, Boulderpaw,” Furrypelt mewed, and Specklepaw looked suddenly uncomfortable and Boulderpaw’s eyes hardened. “Oh my gosh, you had your warrior ceremonies while we were gone, didn’t you?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah, yeah we did,” Boulderpaw replied. “It’s Boulderfoot and Specklepelt now.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m sorry,” Furrypelt mewed quickly.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It’s okay,” Specklepelt assured her. “You had no way of knowing what our new names were.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The three walked up towards the Highledge, where Foxstar was still waiting for quiet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finally, Foxstar was able to speak. “As you can see, Furrypelt Leafpool Birchfall and I have returned from our journey successful, with our new medicine cat apprentice, Poppy.” Foxstar gently pushed Poppy forward. “If any of you who lived in the old forest remember Cody, who helped take care of Birchfall when he was kit just before the Clans left, Poppy is Cody’s daughter, so knew of the Clans, and knew just a bit about herbs, showing potential.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Hang on,” Cloudtail interrupted. “You brought us a kittypet?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “You’re a kittypet!” Thornclaw spluttered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Cloudtail shrank back, clearly embarrassed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar looked at Poppy. “We need to give you a Clan name,” he meowed, more to himself. He glanced at the crowd. “Do I need to do a ceremony or do I just give her her name?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “When I joined there wasn’t much of a ceremony,” Gingerheart recalled. “Bramblestar just said ‘She’s Gingerpaw now and Cinderheart will mentor her.’”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Alright then,” Foxstar decided. “Well, then you, Poppy, will be known as Poppypaw until you get your full name as a medicine cat. And Furrypelt is your mentor.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppypaw! Poppypaw!” The Clan chanted, and Poppypaw looked down at them.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I’m a true Clan cat,” Poppypaw whispered, and Foxstar nuzzled her affectionately.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Foxstar,” Leafpool called. “I wish to join the elders.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> The Clan went silent, and Foxstar stood rigid. The conversation Furrypelt and Leafpool had had in the forest—just before getting attacked by Breezepelt—came back to her mind.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Very well.” Foxstar mewed, and flicked his tail for Leafpool to step forward. She isolated herself from the rest of the crowd and stood to face Foxstar. “Leafpool, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “It is,” Leafpool mewed confidently.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest.” Foxstar finished.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Leafpool! Leafpool!” The Clan chanted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt sighed contentedly. She was home. She’d completed her journey. Life had returned to normal.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =Chapter 20= <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> F urrypelt walked to the Gathering alongside her Clan. It felt like it had been a really long time since she’d done this.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppypaw was beside her, looking almost frightened. “There’s no reason to be worried,” Furrypelt kept telling her, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They got to the tree-bridge, and Furrypelt knew it would be difficult for Poppypaw to cross. “I’ll go first,” Furrypelt told her apprentice. “Gingerheart, can you stay behind her to steady her if needed?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Yeah,” her sister replied, moving behind Poppypaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt’s turn came and she leapt onto the tree bridge, unsheathing her claws and walking easily after many moons of practice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt jumped off and spun around. Poppypaw had barely moved at all, and Gingerheart was just behind Poppypaw, struggling to maintain balance because there was hardly any space between Poppypaw and the edge of the tree.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Come on, Poppypaw,” Furrypelt mewed. “Just walk like you normally would—except you need to keep your claws unsheathed.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppypaw started moving a bit further, Gingerheart having to reach forward and keep her on the tree about five times.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppypaw finally jumped down, though her legs were still shaky. “Follow me,” Furrypelt murmured softly. “I’ll introduce you to the other medicine cats.” When they had gotten home they’d just missed the half-moon.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Poppypaw, once again seeming unsure, followed Furrypelt through the crowd, sticking very close to her side.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt reached the circle of medicine cats, isolated from everyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt!” Willowshine cried. “You’re back!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Who’s that?” Snowfall asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Where’s Jayfeather?” Kestrelflight asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jayfeather got sick and retired early,” Furrypelt replied. “This is the medicine cat apprentice I was sent to search for, Poppypaw.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Pleasure to meet you, Poppypaw,” Puddlefur meowed kindly. “Are you ready to be a medicine cat?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Honestly I’m not sure, but it’s a bit late to go back now,” Poppypaw replied, a flash of sadness clouding her gaze.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “What’s wrong?” Mothwing asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “I miss Cody,” Poppypaw mewed quietly, and the other medicine cats stared at Furrypelt confusedly, and Furrypelt mouthed “Her mother.” The others gave looks of understanding, then sympathy towards Poppypaw.

<p class="MsoNormal"> One by one the other medicine cats introduced themselves—and which Clan they were in—and Poppypaw seemed to grow more relaxed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Rowanstar yowled for the Gathering to start, and Poppypaw seemed on edge again. Furrypelt quickly and quietly told Poppypaw who the leaders and deputies were and which Clan they belonged to.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar stepped forward on the branch. It looked weird to see him up there. “Furrypelt Leafpool Birchfall and I have returned from our journey,” Foxstar announced. “We found our medicine cat apprentice, Poppypaw.” Foxstar glanced at Poppypaw, and Furrypelt gently nudged her to her feet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Poppypaw! Poppypaw!” The Clans chanted.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Also, Jayfeather and Leafpool have retired to the elders’ den.” Foxstar continued.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Jayfeather! Leafpool!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Foxstar nodded to Rowanstar.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “We have two new warriors, Cedarfur and Springleap.” Rowanstar announced.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Cedarfur! Springleap!”

<p class="MsoNormal"> RiverClan and WindClan had nothing of importance, and the leaders jumped down and started leading their Clans away.

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center">



<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt awoke in StarClan. Bluestar was standing beside her. “What’s up?” Furrypelt asked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Bluestar’s eyes looked scared and serious. “Follow me,” She mewed, and Furrypelt did not argue or question why, just obediently and silently followed.

<p class="MsoNormal"> They arrived in a small clearing, with two dark red toms, green eyes sparkling with starlight. Furrypelt was pretty sure one was Pinestar, and the other, slightly bigger and shaggier, was completely unfamiliar to her. Could it be Pinestar’s father? ''But Pinestar’s father was never revealed! Still, I guess that doesn’t mean he never had one.''

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt did not question who the bigger cat was either; clearly this was something important.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Furrypelt,” Pinestar mewed, his voice deep and serious.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She didn’t know why the thought came to mind, but Furrypelt was prompted to ask: “Why did we go on that journey? What is coming?”

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pinestar stared at her, then replied.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Blood shall follow the path to darkness.”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Look for the next book in the series,

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center"> Warriors Path to Darkness: The Hidden Enemy 

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center"> 

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Furrypelt is feeling safe, hoping that the danger will come after she has the time to train her new apprentice.

<p class="MsoNormal"> But all is not peaceful.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> Strange scents an anonymous attacks lead Furrypelt to believe that someone—or something—followed her home from the journey, and her imagination runs wild as she tries to figure out what they’re up against…

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal"> =About the Author= = Warriorcat1195 loves cats, and she loves to sing, and she loves Disney. She also loved Erin Hunter’s series, Warriors. She read the books nonstop and loved them enough to write a sequel. =

For more information on this book, please visit here. . Also visit the other pages for information about the characters on that wiki.