Prologue[]
I was fading.
My clan, my kits, my mate, everyone had forgotten me. No cat would even mention me again.
But I knew this wasn’t the end. Starclan would hopefully reincarnate me. And I was ready for a new life. Sure, my old one was great, but I felt promise in this new one.
I soon let the forever darkness sweep over me.
Chapter 1[]
Fawnkit ran into his sister, Harekit.
The cream tom trotted in place wanting to play with his littermate. “Come on, Harekit,” he began. “Your always more interested in plants then becoming a warrior!”
Harekit rolled her eyes at her brother and started forming a thick solution with the berries in front of her. She enjoyed feeling them crush under her paws as she pretended to turn them into a pulp.
Harekit saw Fawnkit roll his eyes. She knew all the other kits in the nursery thought she was weird, playing with objects that nature created. In fact, her mother always said that if she was given the choice to eat a plump rabbit or some random berries, she would pick the berries.
All the other kits, though, they enjoyed pretending to run on the moor and practice their battle moves. Sometimes another kit or apprentice would mock her. Harekit left her crushed berries behind and headed towards a small hole in camp that she built.
The outside appeared as if it was just another hole in the ground, but the inside was a completely diffrent story. The inside was big enough for a small warrior to fit into. The floor was decorated with heather and other random leaves she found in Windclan camp. She usually went here to think about things or take a rest.
And this time, she wanted to rest.
Chapter 2[]
The wind woke Harekit up.
She blinked open her eyes and stepped outside the tunnel. She could see Fawnkit was playing with Gorsekit beside a stone.
“Why don’t you play with them, Harekit?” Harekit looked up to see her mother, Waspflight.
“They’re rough,” Harekit commented. Her mother licked her cheek and pointed her muzzle to her brother and his friend.
Harekit knew she would have to play with them.
The she-kit slowly walked towards the two kits. As soon as she was a few mouse lengths away from them, Gorsekit an Fawnkit looked up at her.
“C-can I play with you..?” Harekit stumbled with her words as the two kits held their stares.
Fawnkit pranced over to his sister. “You can be the medicine cat,” he suggested.
His tail tip pointed to a small shady spot beside where they were playing. Harekit walked over to there.
She looked back at Waspflight and saw her smiling. She turned back to her siblings and saw them play fighting. She started playing with a leaf beside her.
Gorsekit And Fawnkit stopped to look at her again. This time it was Gorsekit who walked over to her.
Without saying anything, he stepped on the leaf she was playing with, crushing it.
He stuck his tounge out at her.
Fawnkit came over and sat beside Gorsekit. He snarled at his sister and the two kits continued their game somewhere else.
Harekit looked over at her mother to see Waspflight frowning. She knew she had let her mother down on this attempt to play with her brother.
Chapter 3[]
Night wrapped itself around the moor. The only thing that shined was silverpelt up above.
It was just enough light for Harekit to mess around with the moss on her bed. The only flaw with her playtime was the occasional annoyed kick from her newly awoken brother.
She remembered when she came back into the den she was scolded by Waspflight.
She told her to focus more on her sibling than the plants. At that moment Harekit knew that her mother would continue to try and make her play with her brother.
Harekit wondered for a heartbeat if she could shred the moss in her paws and lay it all over her brother. She decided against it.
Harekit took her eyes off the moss and looked up at the moon. It was a beautiful slit in the night sky, decorated with silverpelt around it. She felt comfort from the night sky. It was as if her ancestors were with her and protecting her. She shook away the feeling and went back to her moss.
Her vision was soon clouded and replaced with images of a pale ginger tabby tom running across the moor! His pale ginger fur swayed in the wind as he purred. Is that what being a warrior was like? She tried to touch the tom but her paw slipped through his pelt.
Her vision cleared and she saw an angry Fawnkit infront of her. Her brother wailed to Waspflight and she shot Harekit an upset glare before telling her to go outside.
Harekit couldn’t get rid of the memory of the pale ginger tom. Why had he disappeared as soon as she tried to touch him?
Chapter 4[]
The next morning, Harekit had told the Windclan medicine cat, Featherberry, all about the vision she had last night. Featherberry listened with full intrest. She had told Harekit that she would tell Goldenstar about the sight the she-kit had.
Harekit waited anxiously for Goldenstar to respond to what Featherberry had told him about her vision. She soon saw Featherberry poke her head out the leaders den. She signaled Harekit to come to her. Harekit followed the medicine cats instructions.
Harekit shuffled her way into Goldenstar’s den.
Goldenstar was sitting down in the middle of the den. His golden tail was neatly curled around his paws as he looked at Harekit.
Harekit sat down beside Featherberry and matched gazes with Goldenstar.
“Harekit,” he began. “Do you know anything about the tom you saw in your dream?”
Harekit shook her head from side to side.
“Do you think he might be a Starclan cat?” the golden-ginger tom asked.
“I don’t know, Goldenstar,” the she-kit squeaked.
Goldenstar sighed and met gazes with Featherberry. He tilted his head down and Featherberry nodded.
“Harekit, we were thinking, since half moon is coming we wanted to make you a medicine cat apprentice on the day of the half moon,” Goldenstars gaze was calm but direct.
Harekit stuttered and looked at Featherberry. Her eyes were hopeful and kind.
“But I’m only three moons old!” Harekit protested.
“Don’t worry, we’ll strictly keep you to duties that do not involve you having to leave camp,” Featherberry said.
Harekit considered it for a moment, then nodded.
Chapter 5[]
“Harekit, from this moment foreword, until you receive your full medicine cat name, you will be known as Harepaw. Your mentor will be Featherberry.”
Harepaw looked over at her new mentor. She knew that they would be heading over to the Moonpool soon. She shuddered at the thought of what the other medicine cats would say about a three moon old apprentice.
“Meeting dismissed.”
While cats began to walk away from the highrock, Harepaw and Featherberry began their trip to the Moonpool.
Featherberry gave her some sorrel before they went and even quizzed her on the herb. Featherberry snapped her out of her day-dream and they began walking.
Harepaw looked at the moor infront of her.
It was beautiful. The open grassy land seemed to stretch on forever.stones decorated with violet heather added in to the sight. She smelled the strong scent of rabbit and licked her lips.
They soon reached the Moonpool and were greeted by the other medicine cats.
“Well Featherberry, it appears you’ve got yourself a apprentice, but she does seem awfully small,” a pale gray tom observed.
“She’s perfectly sized for her age actually,” the pale gray tom’s face turned to confusion. “How old is your apprentice exactly?”
“Three moons,” Featherberry mewed.
The pale gray tom’s face turned to anger.
“Are you making three moon old kits apprentices now?!” he spat.
“Be quiet Hailsong!! She is perfectly qualified to be a medicine cat apprentice,” Featherberry spat back.
Harepaw could feel her face heating up under her pale ginger fur. The eyes of the two other cats there looked at Harepaw as well.
Hailsong looked at her and snorted. “So how exactly is she qualified to be a medicine cat apprentice?” the tom asked.
Harepaw wanted to curl up and hide her nose under her tail. She wished she was back in the Windclan nursery now that she saw how sceptical cats were about her being a apprentice at her age.
Featherberry turned to her apprentice and cocked her head. She wanted her to answer this question by herself.
“I...I had a v-vision,” Harepaw mewed.
Hailsong purred with amusement. “Is that all? I was sure there was a better reason! And how do you know it really was a vision?”
The other cats stares hardened. Harepaw backed away, but Featherberry stopped her from running off. “Let’s just share tounges with Starclan and get this over with.”
The cats headed into the cave where the Moonpool lay. It’s surface was clear and appeared to be glittering with stars.
The cats sat at the edge of the water. Harepaw takes a spot beside her mentor and as far away from Hailsong as possible. Featherberry instructed her to lap up the water from the pool. Harepaw did exactly as she was told and her vision clouded and she found herself in a forest of stars.
Cats with pelts made of stars locked their gazes on her. None of them moved, none of them spoke.
They just stared.
Finally, a skinny black and white tom walked to her.
Harepaw took a step away. She was ready to be criticized.
The tom forced a smile upon his face. “Hello Harepaw,” he meowed. Harepaw looked up at the tom. She noticed that their was no hostility in his eyes, only kindness.
“Is this Starclan?” she demanded.
The tom nodded. “Please come with me, I think we should go somewhere where the whole of Starclan isn’t staring us down.”
He pointed to the stray cats with his long wiry tail. He began to walk foreward and Harepaw followed right behind him. She found herself in a place of Starclan where a few cats passed by, but there was much less tension. The tom sat down and Harepaw sat infront of him.
“I need to introduce myself, don’t I?” he began. “I am Tallstar, one of the former leaders of Windclan.”
Harepaw nodded. She had heared stories about the leader who left his clan to seek revenge.
“I have a question to ask you,” Tallstar said. “Do you feel overwhelmed?”
Harekit looked up at Tallstar with a startled exspression.
Tallstar cocked his head, waiting for an answer. Harekit forced a nod.
“I understand. I understand what you’re going through,” he mewed kindly.
Harepaw looked up at him. “Is that what your here to help me with?”
Tallstar took a sideways glance and sighed. He turned his head back in her direction and gave a nod.
“You’re smart,” he observed. “Listen, Harepaw, Starclan has been choosing cats in Starclan to guide the living cats. The guide watches the living and sometimes visits them in their living life. And it so happens to appear that I have been paired up with you.”
Harepaw stood up in the field. Yes, she was surprised.
But Starclan began to fade from her vision.
“No, please tell me more!” Harepaw blinked. She was back at the Moonpool.
Harepaw looked over to see what woke her up. She looked up to see another apprentice.
Chapter 6[]
The mottled she-cat smiled at Harepaw.
“You were fidgeting in your sleep, so I went over to make sure you were okay.”
Harepaw nodded. She retired to make sense of what she had heard. She even wondered who this cat’s Starclan Guide was.
“I’m Flowerpaw by the way! Don’t let Hailsong startle you. He’s a good medicine cat, really. I am so exited to have another medicine cat apprentice to train with! And since I am a Riverclan cat we can meet at the border and talk to eachother, even if one of us is still basically a kit.” Flowerpaw sounded exited, but Harepaw knew better than to meet at the border with a apprentice, even if she was a friend.
“I can’t, I am not allowed to leave camp until I am six moons old,” she told Flowerpaw plainly.
“You can sneak out and meet me,” Flowerpaw suggested.
Harepaw decided to change the subject. “So, do you know about the Starclan guides?”
Flowerpaw nodded almost immediately. “Mines grumpy old Milkfur. She always tells me to be less exited about everything. Who’s your guide?”
“Tallstar,” Harepaw mewed simply.
“Cool!” Flowerpaw responded. “So, for a three moon old kit, how much do you know about herbs?”
“I know a little bit about sorrel,” Harepaw said quickly. The two apprentices soon began to talk to each other, but they were soon interrupted.
“What in the name of Starclan are you two doing?!”
Chapter 7[]
“You should be sharing tougnes with Starclan!!” Roared a angry eyed Hailsong.
Both apprentices froze in place, fearing of how they would be punished.
Hailsong looked toward his apprentice. “I thought that I taught you to behave better than this!!”
Flowerpaw hid her muzzle under her arm, ducking away from Hailsong’s fury.
“And you, Harepaw, should have been responsible and not have talked to her!!!”
Harepaw looked down at her paws.
Hailsong moved his face closer to hers. “If I was your mentor, I would have given you some real words to think about, kit!!” Harepaw then watched as Hailsong preceded to scold Flowerpaw.
Harepaw felt a pang of empathy for the apprentice. It was half her fault that she was getting scolded. She soon realized why Flowerpaw was so eager to be her friend. It’s because Hailsong is so scary!
Hailsong soon walked over to Harepaw. “We have time left for you to continue to share tougnes with Starclan,“ the tom snarled.
As soon as Hailsong walked away, Harepaw just listened to the occasional ripple on the Moonpool.
Chapter 8[]
By the time Harepaw and Featherberry had come back to Windclan they were greeted with a empty clearing.
“Come with me, I’ll show you the apprentice’s den,” Featherberry mewed. Harepaw quickly followed.
The two cats walked to a nicely made den. It was empty. Harepaw looked up at her mentor.
“You can pick whatever spot you want,” Featherberry mewed. Her mentor walked over to the medicine den.
Harepaw entered the apprentice’s den. The area was roomy and comfortable. It seemed set up so apprentices could practice their battle moves and hunting skills. The moss beds were comfortable enough for apprentices to talk to each other! Harepaw picked a moss bed beside the practice area.
It felt odd sleeping alone, without your littermate to be right beside you.
Chapter 9[]
“So, the diffrence between marigold and chervil that is most noticeable is the smell. Chervil smells sweet and marigold smells sour. But both herbs can be chewed into a pulp.”
Harepaw listened carefully as her mentor talked about marigold and chervil. She couldn’t believe how much she was learning, sure, and she would probably be learning the hunting coach if she was a warrior apprentice. But she thought this was more intresting than warrior training would be.
“Chervil, when it is chewed up into a pulp, is used for belly aches and infected wounds, although juniper would work better for belly aches. While marigold, when chewed up into a pulp, helps infected wounds, but we always have to put cobweb over the pulp. Now I want you to sort out this pile of chervil and marigold.” Featherberry smiled at Harepaw as she began.
“Featherberry.”
Harepaw recognized the voice of her mother.
Fawnkit limped into the medicine den beside Waspflight. “He has a thorn in his paw.”
Featherberry nodded and examened each one of Fawnkit paws. She picked up his left front paw and cleanly pulled it out. “Harepaw, I think we need marigold, can you apply it to the wound?”
“Sure,” Harepaw picked up one of th leaves from her pile. The plant smelled sweet, so she put it back. She picked up another leaf that smelled sour and began to chew it into a pulp. She walked over to her brother. She spit out the pulp onto her paw and smeared it onto his wound.
“It stings,” Fawnkit complained. Her brother scrunched up his face.
Harepaw grabbed some of the stored cobweb and put it carefully on the pulp that was on her brother’s paw. She made sure the cobweb was sealed correctly then nodded to her mentor.
“You can leave, just take it easy on your paw.”
Fawnkit rolled his eyes and walked out of the den. Waspflight dipped her head in thanks and went to watch her kit.
Harepaw looked up at her mentor hopefully. Featherberry nodded and pointed her tail at the pile of leaves infront of her.
Chapter 10[]
Harepaw walked out of the medicine den smelling strongly of herbs.
She walked over to the freshkill pile and picked up a plump rabbit. The rabbit was about as big as her and she had trouble carrying it to Waspflight and Fawnkit.
Fawnkit was still observing his paw when she brought the rabbit into the nursery. Waspflight noticed Harepaw’s arival and purred. She picked up the rest of the rabbit and brought it closer to her and Fawnkit.
Harepaw sat beside her mother’s thick furred tail. Waspflight showed Fawnkit the rabbit and her brother started inhaling it. Harepaw began to nibble at one of the feet of the rabbit while Waspflight ate in the middle of the prey.
“There was once this Thunderclan cat who was blinded by a rabbit,” she mewed. “Please tell us the story,” Fawnkit begged.
“Whell alright, just don’t get to crazy,” Waspflight warned. “At least five gerations ago there was this tom named Longtail. You can guess why he got his name. He was out hunting for prey when he saw a rabbit. He attempted to kill the rabbit but the creature clawed at his eyes. The poor cat was blinded by his own food. He eventualy raced back to Thunderclan and became an elder early.”
Harepaw began to fall asleep beside her mothers tail. Soon enough, she was asleep.
§ § § § §
Harepaw found herself in a dense forest filled with under growth and brambles.
She could see a patrol of warriors heading her way. She walked infront of them, but they just passed through her. She followed them to a camp that was a gorge.
The cats didn’t see her, the cats didn’t react to her. They were just there. Harepaw thought she could see Tallstar among the cats, but she wasn’t sure. She soon faded and she woke up where she fell asleep.