The sound of paw-steps echoed through the marsh. Tails swishing through the reeds followed it. Three cats were returning to a small, murky camp. They leapt through the entrance, a hollow underneath two trees. The first cat, a russet tom with golden eyes picked his way cautiously in between strange plants that hung down close to the ground. Suddenly, the vines wrapped around his front legs, causing him to stumble.
His strikingly yellow eyes flashed in fear. "Help!" he called, just before a tendril wrapped around his mouth. It was starting to strangle him completely when out from the camp, a silver she-cat swooped through the strange undergrowth. "Flamepelt," she growled as she untangled the vines from the tom. "How many times have I told you? Creepers are dangerous! You're acting like a kit who knows nothing!"
The tom called Flamepelt looked down at his paws in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to," he muttered. The two cats who had been with Flamepelt suddenly burst through the stems. One of them, a light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes, hissed in a frustrated voice.
"Don't vanish on us like that again, Flamepelt!" she growled. Then she saw the silver she-cat sternly standing tall and glaring down at Flamepelt, who was pressed against the ground like a kit.
"You didn't-"she began. "Yes, Birchstripe, he very well did!" the silver she-cat snapped, her blue eyes glinting angrily. Birchstripe sighed. "Come, Spottedpaw," she said, gesturing to a small ginger-and-white apprentice cowering at the back of the patrol. "There is nothing to see here."
The two she-cats padded through a small gap in between hanging creepers that led into the camp. But the silver-pelted cat wasn't done yet.
"Flamepelt," she began sternly. "I condemn you to guarding the whole camp while your friends-"she gestured to Spottedpaw and Birchstripe-"get to go on night patrols."
"But Icefur-"the dark ginger tom started to complain. "No," Icefur spat. "No patrols for the rest of the night." Then the silver-gray she-cat padded into camp.
Flamepelt sighed and sat there, condemned to misery. The whole night was as miserable as his punishment. Occasionally, a patrol would come through and nod to him, but nothing else was said to him.
Flamepelt was starting to feel sleepy when a loud growl sounded from through the creepers. He slowly picked himself up and peered closer through the creeper vines to see glowing yellow eyes. Most likely Barkpelt, he thought.
Barkpelt was a cat who often picked on him when he was in punishment. The dark brown tom would hesitate at nothing to jeer at Flamepelt's latest punishment. "Come out, Barkpelt," Flamepelt growled in a bored voice. "I know you're there."
Suddenly, the eyes moved to reveal one scaly gray paw. Flamepelt's eyes widened. Alligator!
He rushed into camp, yowling, "Alligator! Alligator!" The Clan picked themselves slowly out of their dens, muttering irritably. "What is all this nonsense?" the Clan leader, Coldstar, hissed, his green eyes glinting in anger.
"There's… there's…. there's an alligator outside camp!" Flamepelt rushed, breathless with fear. Coldstar growled, his black-and-white pelt shining in the moonlight.
"Are you sure this is true?" Flamepelt couldn't answer, for the Clan was screeching wildly in fear as a monstrous gray alligator crawled into camp. It opened its huge jaws wide and let out a long hiss.
Queens were crowding their frantic kits into the nursery, but some weren't fast enough and kits accidentally went into the jaws of death. Warriors were frantically running around, trying to decide who to save first: themselves or their Clan. Suddenly, Coldstar let out a loud bellow. "Silence!"
Everything going on below stopped. Even the alligator stopped. "Let us group together!" he yowled. "We will kill this beast together because Clanmates die together!"
All of MarshClan yowled agreement. All the warriors charged forward, mobbing the alligator. The beast snapped its jaws at the cats crowding around him. Flamepelt joined as well. He let out a fierce hiss and jumped on top of the scaly creature's back.
He nipped at the back of its neck. The alligator roared and tried to bite him, but it was too busy fighting other warriors to do much damage. Suddenly, he felt the alligator slip from underneath his paws and he thumped on the ground. Two warriors were herding the alligator out of camp, their claws unsheathed and ready to lash out if the scaly creature protested. But it let itself out of the camp, reluctantly picking its way through the entrance and swinging its head around every few heartbeats as if to say to the Clan, "You ruined my fun!"
At last, the alligator was safely in the swamp. The two warriors returned. At once, they started cheering. "That old alligator never scared me!" Berrykit, one of the kits who had survived the attack, mewled. "If I had been a warrior, I would have slashed that beast's nose to shreds and it would get its tail out of camp!" Rainwish, Berrykit's mother, purred in amusement. "Even if Coldstar told you not to attack the alligator?" she meowed, nuzzling her kit closer to her.
Their conversation was lost to Flamepelt's ears of all the cheering and happiness around him. But quickly, he spotted Thunderfur, the deputy talking with Coldstar. He angled his ears toward them to hear their conversation.
"These attacks are so frequent, Coldstar," Thunderfur was saying. "Are you sure there's not a whole pack of them?" Coldstar tipped his head back and studied the sky. He often did that when he was deep in thought. "It might," he mewed, looking at Thunderfur again. "But now, we can just enjoy our victory. And I might even have something planned for Flamepelt." His eyes sparkled in amusement.
Flamepelt felt his blood run cold. Did Coldstar have something bad planned for him? He quickly padded to the center of the clearing, knowing there would be an announcement soon. Coldstar bounded up onto the Highrock at the same time as Flamepelt settled down. Thunderfur padded under the great, smooth stone and sat down as well. Many cats had already gotten the idea of a Clan meeting, but Coldstar called out just in case.
"Let all cats old enough to go on night patrols gather under Highrock!" The formal announcement rang out around the clearing. Berrykit sat in the nursery entrance eagerly, looking up at the huge black-and-white tom. The rest of the cats gathered around. "I have two announcements to make after this joyous victory," he meowed. "One that involves Flamepelt and one that involves Spottedpaw." The ginger-and-white apprentice looked up, surprised. Flamepelt guessed this would be her warrior ceremony. "I shall do Flamepelt first. Flamepelt, come forward."
Flamepelt stepped stiffly underneath Highrock, fear rising in his heart. He looked up into the shining green gaze of Coldstar. "Flamepelt, from now on until StarClan decides to bring you into its hunting grounds, you shall be known as the senior guard of MarshClan." Flamepelt gasped. What an honor! Now, he would be in every single patrol, guard every single cat in the Clan, and share tongues with Coldstar! Excitement crowded out every other feeling he had and he felt pure joy flying like a bird in his heart.
"I see that Barkpelt has been quite fierce to you," he continued, glaring at the dark warrior who was sitting down in the crowd of cats. "Barkpelt, you have been a warrior for far too long. From now on, until StarClan brings you into its hunting grounds, or if it does bring you in, you shall live in the elders' den."
Barkpelt's jaw dropped open in protest then he silently stalked sulkily away to the elders' den. Flamepelt grinned while looking down. What a suitable punishment for the old fur-ball!he thought.
"And Spottedpaw," Coldstar meowed, turning to the small she-cat. "Brindlestripe, do you think Spottedpaw has the abilities and power of a warrior?" Brindlestripe nodded with a smile. "Then from now on until you are brought with the stars, you shall be known as Spottedpelt."
"Spottedpelt! Spottedpelt! Spottedpelt!" Flamepelt cheered, his voice yet being lost in the jubilant yowls of his Clanmates.
A pale ginger she-cat flecked with stars sat there, her eyes shining with warmth as she looked upon her former Clan. "Ah, my precious Flamepelt," she meowed. "You will always be the dearest to me."