Disclaimer: I, KatieK101, do not own Warriors. If I did then SkyClan would've had their own freakin' arc, like, two years ago. Furthermore, this fic should not be considered canon past the events of 'SkyClan and the Stranger'.
Special thanks to InkblotLeaf for creating this beautiful cover art! You're a gem!
Chapter One - Leafstar the Life-Ruiner
Rabbitleap shuffled his paws as he waited for his littermates to show up. Why am I always the first one here? He wondered to himself. Every single night I tell them to be here right before the sun rises. I can already see the sun poking above the mountains, and they're still not here!
In all honesty, Rabbitleap wasn't surprised. He was only inwardly complaining because he rambled about his littermates' tardiness every day, and if he skipped a day, he would break routine. And he was a cat of routine!
It was the reason he insisted on having morning meetings with his littermates every day since they'd become warriors, which was exactly two moons ago.
Has it really been two whole moons since we were apprentices? Training with our mentors, sleeping in the Apprentice Den, being bossed around by the warriors… It certainly didn't feel like two moons had passed. Those memories felt like they were a lifetime old.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud screech. Rabbitleap rolled his amber eyes, took two steps backward, and promptly avoided being crushed; a heartbeat later and Creekfeather fell from the sky. He seemed confused by the hard rock beneath his paws, a look of puzzlement on his features. Three, two, one… "One of these days I'll get you," Creekfeather vowed solemnly, spinning around.
"Sure," Rabbitleap agreed. "Once you learn to caterwaul after you've landed on me."
"Or just, you know, not at all," Nettlesplash meowed sarcastically, as he landed beside Creekfeather. He wore his typical expression: features slightly tense with irritation and amber eyes agleam with aggravation. One might have been inclined to back off and give the pale brown warrior his space, but his littermates knew better: the only times Nettlesplash didn't seem frustrated was when he was asleep.
Creekfeather flicked his tail dismissively. "Not a possibility. The battle-cry is the best part!"
"It's a caterwaul, not a battle-cry," Rabbitleap corrected him.
Creekfeather raised a brow. "What's the difference?"
"It's only considered a battle-cry if you're rushing into some sort of confrontation, because- you know what, forget it. You don't actually care and that's not the topic of discussion today anyway."
"So then what is the topic of the day?" A new voice inquired. Rabbitleap glanced upwards, where Plumwillow was perched upon a tree branch.
He frowned, unimpressed. "We could start with the fact that you're all late, again."
Nettlesplash yawned. "You said to be here before sunrise. It's not sun-rise yet."
"Yes, it is."
Creekfeather scoffed. "Well, who gave you the authority to decide when sun-rise is? For all you know, I could consider this time moon-high!"
The littermates turned to fix the gray tom with matching looks of bewilderment, and his indignant expression was suddenly replaced with one of defense. "I mean, I don't, but-ugh, look, the point is we aren't late. You're just early!"
"Yeah, really early," Nettlesplash yawned. "It's not even sun-high yet."
"You were supposed to be here before sun-high!"
Plumwillow leaped from her perch and then flicked her (uptight) brother with her tail. "We can't all be as perfect as you, Rabbitleap," she meowed simply.
"No, but you could certainly try a little harder."
"Can we hurry this along?" Nettlesplash's dry mew interrupted them. "I would really like to get back to my nest and cease all social interactions for the remainder of my day."
"You, my dear brother," Creekfeather started, "live a sad, boring life."
"You're going to die alone," Plumwillow added.
"Alone, bored, and ugly," Creekfeather finished. His features actually twisted into a grimace, as if being ugly was one of the worst things he could imagine.
But then again, it's Creekfeather. Being ugly probably is the worst thing he could imagine, Rabbitleap reasoned.
"Okay guys," he spoke up. "We really do need to hurry today's meeting along. Not so that Nettlesplash can get back to being anti-social," he continued, as he shot a pointed look towards his pale brown brother, "but so that we can make it back to camp in time for the ceremonies."
Creekfeather frowned. "What ceremonies?" he asked.
"Stormkit and Firekit's apprentice ceremonies, you bird-brain!" Rabbitleap exclaimed, though there was no real venom behind the insult; just disappointment. "Weren't you paying attention at the Gathering last night? Leafstar announced it!"
Creekfeather huffed. "My bad. Maybe I was in the middle of an important conversation when she made that announcement!"
"Which means you were goofing off with Swiftleap," Plumwillow translated.
"Well... yeah."
"Hold on," Nettlesplash started, as a frown played across his lips. "You mean that's today?"
Although confused by Nettlesplash's inquiry, Rabbitleap nodded. Nettlesplash sighed, loud and dramatic. "Great. Now everyone is going to be in and out of the den all day, which means cats are going to step on my tail even more than they already do."
Plumwillow shot the placid tom a side glance. "You know, Nettlesplash," she remarked, "You could avoid having your tail trod on if you spent less time in your nest."
"Not happening," Nettlesplash responded immediately. "My nest is my happy place."
"Guys, we're running out of time," Rabbitleap said, then cast a quick glance towards the sun. "They're going to start the ceremony soon, and we haven't even talked about what we're all going to do today!"
But, as per usual, none of his littermates paid him attention.
"You know what you need, Nettlesplash?" Plumwillow asked, though it sounded more like a statement than anything else. "A mate!"
Nettlesplash groaned. "Not this again!"
"Guys-"
"I'm with Plumwillow on this one," Creekfeather agreed. "I mean, usually I say that it's best to live without a mate so that you're not held down, but... yeah, you're the exception."
"Creekfeather, Plumwillow, this isn't the time-"
"You need a she-cat to bring some excitement and joy to your otherwise pathetic life," Creekfeather went on. "Someone who's bright, energetic-"
"A bit of a daredevil," Plumwillow added with a smirk.
Nettlesplash narrowed his amber eyes. "Don't you dare say her name, or StarClan so help me-"
"Guys-"
"Birdflight!" Creekfeather and Plumwillow chorused gleefully.
"That's it, this meeting is through," Nettlesplash growled, as he spun around and stalked back towards the camp.
"Nettlesplash, come back!" Rabbitleap called, his voice dangerously close to a whine. We never conclude these meetings on my accord! Never!
Suddenly Creekfeather's eyes widened. "Fox-dung, I forgot, I'm supposed to meet up with Swiftleap before the ceremony!"
The dark brown tom spun around. "What?" he demanded, incredulous. "How did you make plans if you didn't even know the ceremony was today?"
But the tom was already chasing after Nettlesplash had climbed. "See you later!" he called before his tail-tip disappeared over the ledge.
Rabbitleap huffed. "Why does no one ever listen to me, Plumwillow?"
Silence.
"Plumwillow?" he glanced around and blinked; the dark gray she-cat had disappeared!
"Ughh," he groaned, before standing reluctantly to his paws and following more slowly after his littermates. "One of these days, they're going to regret never listening to me!"
Of course, that was probably wishful thinking. Rabbitleap's littermates had always disregarded his advice ever since they were kits, and even though this usually resulted in their pain or humiliation, they never seemed to it. If I can't make my own siblings listen to me, then how am I supposed to run a Clan?
Because that was the dream. To one day become the new leader of SkyClan.
Rabbitleap didn't think it was an impossible dream. In his humble opinion, he had all of the necessary skills; he was patient, firm, intelligent, courageous. At least, that's what Fallowfern used to tell him when he was a kit…
They only disobey me because I'm not in a position of authority, that's all. But once he became deputy his Clanmates would have no choice but to carry out his orders! And I'll be a good deputy too; he would be understanding, thoughtful, and much less intimidating than Sharpclaw. The current SkyClan deputy happened to be his former mentor, and he liked to think that gave him an advantage over the competition.
The competition, also known as Mintfur.
Mintfur was his kithood rival. They'd never gotten along and nearly shredded each other on several occasions. She was a few moons older than him so she thought that made her more qualified to lead SkyClan, but really. What were a few moons compared to StarClan given abilities?
However, there was only so much that the two warriors could really do to impress Leafstar and Sharpclaw. They performed their duties flawlessly; volunteered for more patrols than anyone else; and had excellent work habits, but that would only take a cat so far. What I need to really catch their attention is to train my own apprentice.
Rabbitleap had spent the past moon praying to StarClan that Leafstar would give him one of her daughters, Stormkit or Firekit, to train. However, his hopes had been dashed last night, after he overheard her speaking with Sparrowpelt and Waspwhisker about mentoring them.
It's not like she would have let you mentor one of them anyway, the nagging voice in his head said. She's been so protective over them ever since Harrykit…
Harrykit, the only son of Leafstar and Billystorm, had been playing on a cliff ledge with his sisters when he lost his footing and plummeted down into the gorge. Rabbitleap never saw the body himself, but Plumwillow told him that the image was burned into her head forever. Leafstar spent an entire moon in her den afterward.
Oh well. I've only been a warrior for two moons, so it's not like I'm qualified to mentor the Clan leader's kits anyway. Maybe I'll get to mentor one of Cherrytail's kits, he thought, trying to remain optimistic. They're due to be apprenticed in a couple of moons. If I work my tail off until then I'm sure Leafstar will-
A yowl interrupted his thoughts, and his eyes widened when he recognized it as Leafstar's call. "The ceremony!" he gasped, then sped off in the direction of the camp.
Rabbitleap reached the gathering area just a few moments before the ceremony started. Trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, he slunk past his Clanmates and muttered hushed apologies accidentally stepped on their tails.
Finally he settled down between Plumwillow and Sparrowpelt, the latter who looked amused by the late entrance. Rabbitleap fixed him with a hard look, daring his friend to mock him for his tardiness, before leaning close to Plumwillow.
"Where's Nettlesplash?" he whispered.
Plumwillow had been whispering excitedly to Honeyflower, but paused just long enough to reply, "He's in his nest already."
Rabbitleap furrowed his brow. "Already? He isn't going to attend the ceremony?"
"Doesn't look like it," came her whispered response. "Oh, hey, Creekfeather disappeared with Swiftleap after we got here. Should we worry about that?"
He exhaled, annoyed. "Should we? Probably. But are we going to? No. I'm so tired of Creekfeather rushing off and getting himself into trouble - this time, he can just suffer the consequences and deal with Sharpclaw."
Plumwillow visibly cringed. "Great StarClan, we're practically sentencing him to his death!"
Rabbitleap shrugged in response. So Creekfeather isn't attending the ceremony either. That means both of my brothers are choosing to ignore one of the most important ceremonies a leader can host, and it's for Leafstar's own kits, for StarClan's sake! Where's their respect? Where's the patriotism? Where did Fallowfern and Waspwhisker go wrong with those two?
"Cats of SkyClan," Leafstar started, jerking him from his frustrated rambling. "Today is an important day of all of us. Today, I make two promising kits into apprentices."
Leafstar's expression was one of pride and joy. She perched herself proudly upon the Skyrock, and her eyes were alight with passion. Her mate, Billystorm, sat a few tail-lengths away from the Skyrock, and his expression mirrored hers.
Leafstar cleared her throat. "Stormkit, Firekit, please step forward."
Rabbitleap peered over his Clanmates' heads to catch a glimpse of the kits, and when he did he couldn't help but purr in amusement. Both kits were quivering with contained excitement.
Firekit's dark ginger pelt was groomed to perfection whilst Stormkit's gray-and-ginger pelt was a bit ruffled in some areas, although she moved confidently. For a moment, Leafstar simply gazed fondly upon her kits. Then she started reciting the traditional words (the ones Rabbitleap memorized when he was still a kit, just saying): "Stormkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stormpaw. Your mentor will be..."
The cream-and-brown she-cat paused, and Rabbitleap found himself withering in curiosity, and maybe a bit of hopefulness that she would suddenly call his name.
"Sparrowpelt. I hope that Sparrowpelt will pass down all he knows on to you."
Rabbitleap masked his disappointment well enough, shooting Sparrowpelt a warm smile as his friend strolled forward to touch noses with his new apprentice. You knew it wasn't going to happen, the small voice his head spoke. They're Leafstar's daughters. After what happened to Harrykit, there's no way she would trust one of their lives' with such a young warrior. Still, he couldn't help but muse, it would have been incredible if she had.
Leafstar began the Fireit's ceremony, "Firekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Firepaw. Your mentor will be... Mintfur."
WHAT?!
Wait a moment, there's no way I heard her right. There's no way in StarClan that Leafstar just said-
"I hope that Mintfur will pass down all that she knows on to you."
No, no no no no no-!
But to Rabbitleap's absolute horror, Mintfur rose to her paws and stepped forward to touch noses with Firepaw; her new apprentice. Firepaw seemed delighted with her mother's choice of mentor.
"Mintfur," Leafstar continued, as if she didn't just ruined my entire life's plan!, "you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Waspwhisker, and you have shown yourself to be honest and fierce. You will be the mentor of Firepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."
That was it. The ceremony was over.
"Stormpaw, Firepaw! Stormpaw, Firepaw!" The Clan took up the traditional chant; the new apprentices beamed gleefully from beside their new mentors.
The ceremony was over, and so was Rabbitleap's life.
Plumwillow regarded her brother with sympathy. "You would have made an excellent mentor," she meowed softly, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Rabbitleap. I know how badly you wanted this."
He shook his head slightly, stuck in a state of shock. "It's not even that Leafstar didn't choose me; it's that she chose Mintfur. My constant rival, the cat I'm always competing with. What if… what if she thinks Mintfur will be a better Clan leader than me?"
"It'll be ages before Sharpclaw retires," Plumwillow reasoned. "I doubt Leafstar's already thinking that far."
He breathed a deep sigh. "I hope you're right…"
"I'm always right," the she-cat replied, confident.
But as Rabbitleap watched Mintfur speak with her new apprentice, her green eyes bright with pride, he couldn't bring himself to respond.
Nettlesplash didn't consider himself anti-social; he was just someone who kept selective company.
Of course, the only cats he willingly hung around were his littermates, and one of them was Creekfeather, so perhaps his company could stand to be a bit more selective.
It wasn't that he was too shy to make friends, or that he feared rejection (which was Plumwillow's theory); he just disliked the majority of his Clanmates. And maybe that sounded harsh, but he had good reason to dislike them!
Plumwillow was sporting a massive crush on Rockshade, so he was automatically evil.
Mintfur suffered from a superiority complex.
Honeyflower was a ditz.
Shrewtooth couldn't sit still longer than a couple of heart-beats (five, to be exact), and never stopped twitching.
Tinycloud stepped on his tail more than any other cat in SkyClan.
Sharpclaw could intimidate the fur off of a fox.
Bouncefire was too loud.
Sagefoot was too laid-back.
Swiftleap was Creekfeather's best friend so, again, he was automatically evil.
Cherrytail... no. Just no.
He could go on, but that would take forever.
The point is that it wasn't his fault that he don't have many friends; it was everyone else's' fault that they were annoying.
Of course, some cats are more annoying than others. Nettlesplash could be around Sparrowpelt or Echosong and not want to throw himself off a cliff. On the other paw, Bouncefire or Cherrytail could definitely drive him off a cliff.
But there was one cat who was much worse than the rest; a cat who Nettlesplash would gladly shove off a cliff; a cat whose mere mention made him want to claw his eyes out.
Birdflight.
Great StarClan, that she-cat drove him insane!
She was a black she-cat with a lighter-colored muzzle, bright blue eyes, several scratches, and a notable scar on her shoulder. How did she earn that scar, some might ask?
She got it when she jumped on a fox's back and tried to ride it back to camp. It goes without saying that the fox was not pleased.
Now, what kind of bird-brain would attempt to ride a fox into the camp? Not only was the idea incredibly stupid, it was also incredibly dangerous. And yet, Birdflight had hundreds of those stories. She claimed to be a "thrill-seeker" and a "daredevil".
Personally, he thought she was just "insane".
But for some reason, the black she-cat was actually quite popular within the Clan; cats actually liked her. Don't ask Nettlesplash why because he couldn't explain it. Birdflight was a danger to society, and yet, it seemed like he was the only cat with enough sense to recognize it.
Maybe I'll talk to Leafstar about banishing her, the tom mused lazily, as his eyelids fluttered shut. Or at the very least have her banned from camp.
Suddenly a chorus of "Stormpaw, Firepaw!" jerked him out of my near-sleep-state. Nettlesplash practically jumped out of his dusty-brown fur, and then glared at the den opening, where the ruckus was emitting from. Oh, great. The ceremonies are over. Goodbye, peace and quiet.
"I can't believe those two are finally apprentices!"
"Did you see Billystorm?"
"Hah, yeah! I thought he was going to break his back, he was puffing his chest out so far!"
"Pfft, forget about Billystorm; did you see Mintfur? She's walking around like she's just been made Clan leader!"
"Well, that's to be expected. Mentoring an apprentice is a huge honor, and it's even greater for someone so young."
So Leafstar chose Mintfur to mentor an apprentice. Rabbitleap is probably furious… I guess that's what tomorrow's morning meeting is going to be about. Ughh.
Warriors started entering and exiting the den, constantly moving. Nettlesplash made sure to glare at every single cat who trotted past him, and hissed at the ones who stepped on his tail.
"Sorry, Nettlesplash!" Tinycloud cried, exasperated. "But to be fair, your tail is sorta in the way…"
"Do you mean to say that you're too lazy to simply step over my tail?" he challenged.
Ebonyclaw overheard the exchange and rolled her eyes as she passed. "Nettlesplash, you're the laziest cat in the entire Clan."
"No one ask you for your opinion!" Nettlesplash snapped.
"She has a point," Tinycloud meowed. "I mean, it's hypocritical of you to-"
"Just watch where you're stepping," he interrupted sharpy. The small white she-cat huffed but finally exited the den without another word. I'll talk to Plumwillow about how inconsiderate her friend is.
For a few moments, Nettlesplash hoped that he could finally return to his napping. Cats stopped entering and exiting the den, and voices grew softer. Sharpclaw was probably organizing patrols, sending them out of camp and far away from him.
But just as his eyelids grew heavy again, a black blur streaked into the den and tripped over his hunched body. Nettleplash yelped and jumped to his paws, pale brown fur bristling along his spine. When he realized just who had tripped over him, he couldn't keep disgust out of voice as he snarled, "What in StarClan's name d-!"
"Shhh!" Birdflight hissed. Then the insane she-cat had the audacity to slap her tail across his mouth! "Lower your voice!" she whisper-yelled.
The tom spat her tail out of his mouth and made a mental note to have Echosong check him for any diseases he might had just contracted. He didn't think that 'insanity' was contagious, but he certainly wasn't about to take any chances. Then he demanded, "why did you race in here like a nest of hornets were chasing you?!"
Birdflight sneaked a glance over her shoulder. "I had to escape from Sharpclaw," she explained hurriedly. "See, Creekfeather, Swiftleap and I-"
"Forget it," he interrupted her. "If it involved those two then I don't want to know what you were doing."
Birdflight blinked, offended. "We weren't doing anything wrong," she meowed indignantly.
"You're hiding from the deputy, Birdflight. The innocent rarely hide."
"You must not have played hide-and-seek very much when you were a kit," the black she-cat remarked.
"No, I had much more important things to do," Nettlesplash retorted.
Birdflight eyed him suspiciously. "When you were a kit? Like what?"
"Like napping," He replied dryly. "Which I was just in the middle of doing when you darted in here and tripped over me."
"Oh, right," Birdflight smiled a bit sheepishly. "Um, sorry about that. I didn't think anyone was still in here."
"I do not accept your apology, nor do I want to continue this conversation," he said bluntly. "Now, find somewhere else to hide."
The she-cat recoiled as if he'd just struck her (an idea that was incredibly tempting). "Hold on, why won't you accept my apology?"
"Because I don't want to. Now leave."
"That's a terrible reason," Birdflight protested, ignoring his orders; Rude! "My apology was completely genuine, you have to accept it!"
"I don't, and I won't," the brown warrior retorted. "Now, for the last time, leave!"
But this very rude, very incompetent, very-sorry-excuse-for-a-warrior refused to comply with his very reasonable request. Instead she planted her paws stubbornly and glared him in the eye. "If you don't have to accept my apology then I don't have to leave this den," she stated.
A lesser warrior would have tackled her right there and then, but Nettlspash was a cat of maturity.
"If you don't leave right now, then I'm fetching Sharpclaw," he threatened.
Birdflight had the nerve to smirk! "No you won't," she meowed confidently. "You're too lazy to leave your nest."
Now, see, the problem was that she was absolutely, completely, utterly correct. Nettlesplash would not fetch Sharpclaw because he didn't want to leave his nest; even now he hadn't moved from his "happy place". But he had to do something to get that bird-brain away out of the den!
"Fine then," the tom conceded. "Leave right now or else I'll get Rabbitleap, and he'll tattle on you. Everyone knows Rabbitleap wouldn't dare break a rule, so when he finds out you're hiding from Sharpclaw he'll feel he has no choice but to tattle."
Uncertainty flashed brightly in her eyes. "Rabbitleap is moping in the middle of camp. You wouldn't leave your nest to go get him."
"No, I wouldn't," Nettlesplash admitted. "But thankfully, I won't have to leave my nest."
The SkyClan she-cat narrowed her eyes. "What do you-"
"RABBITLEAP!" the tom suddenly shouted. "COME HERE!"
Birdflight's eyes widened and she darted forward to slap her tail over his mouth (again!).
"Quit that!" She hissed. "What do you think you're doing?!"
For the second time that day, Nettlesplash spat her filthy out of his mouth. "Me?!" He echoed incredulously. "What do you think you're doing?! I don't know where your tail's been, and I certainly don't want it in my mouth!"
"What's going on in here?" A rough voice suddenly demanded. Nettlesplash spun around and came face-to-face with none other than SkyClan's adored deputy, Sharpclaw. When his gaze fell on Birdflight he narrowed his eyes. "You!" he growled.
Birdflight mustered a smile and meowed cheerfully, "Hi there, Sharpclaw! I saw your kits today and they're so adorable-"
"Save it," Sharpclaw snapped, efficiently silencing the she-cat. "Come on, Leafstar is waiting on us. I'm not pleased with your latest "joke", and neither is she." The blue-eyed she-cat flattened her ears against her head and, with great reluctance, stepped towards the deputy.
Nettlesplash watched her with unmasked disgust. "Good riddance," he meowed coldly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to visit the medicine cats."
Birdflight stopped and glanced backwards, genuine concern pooling in her eyes. "The medicine cats?" she echoed. "I didn't really hurt you when I tripped over you, did I?"
"No, you didn't," the tom replied, as he padded past her. "I'm going to make sure that I didn't contract any of your diseases when you shoved your tail in my mouth."
Sharpclaw snorted, and Nettlesplash thought the look of annoyance that Birdflight shot him was enough to make this whole experience worthwhile.
Almost.
Allegiances
SkyClan
Leader: Leafstar - brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Deputy: Sharpclaw - dark ginger tom
Medicine Cat: Echosong - silver tabby she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: Frecklewish)
Warriors: Patchfoot - black-and-white tom
Billystorm - ginger-and-white tom
Petalnose - pale gray she-cat
Waspwhisker - gray-and-white tom
Fallowfern - pale brown she-cat with green eyes
Ebonyclaw - striking black she-cat
Sparrowpelt - dark brown tabby tom (Apprentice: Stormpaw)
Shrewtooth - skinny black tom
Rockshade - black tom (Apprentice: Shadowpaw)
Bouncefire - ginger tom with amber eyes
Tinycloud - small white she-cat
Swiftleap - creamy-colored tom with pale blue eyes
Sagefoot - pale gray tom with with green eyes
Mintfur - thick-furred, gray tabby she-cat with dark green eyes (Apprentice: Firepaw)
Rabbitleap - dark brown tom with amber eyes
Plumwillow - dark gray she-cat with green eyes
Creekfeather - handsome gray tabby tom with blue eyes
Nettlesplash - pale brown tom with amber eyes
Honeyflower- light gray she-cat with pale blue eyes
Birdflight - black she-cat with a gray muzzle with bright blue eyes
Sandytail - light-colored tom with a darker tail-tip, legs, and ears
Apprentices: Frecklewish - mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs
Shadowpaw - black tom with amber eyes
Stormpaw - gray and ginger she-cat and blue eyes
Firepaw - long-legged ginger she-cat and green eyes
Queens: Clovertail - light brown she-cat with white belly and legs and green eyes
Cherrytail - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat; Mother to Sharpclaw's kits: Sunkit - tortoiseshell-and-ginger tom; Driftkit - brown tabby tom; Mistykit - pale gray she-kit)
Elders: Tangle - large tabby tom with amber eyes
Cats Outside the Clan
Oscar - muscular black tom with green eyes
Lily - brown and cream she-cat
Bella - tabby and white she-cat
Delilah - creamy-colored she-cat with one white paw
Leo - dark ginger tabby tom
August - ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Question of the Day
Who did you like best in this chapter: Rabbitleap or Nettlesplash?
#Nettlesplash was easier to write, but I think I liked Rabbitleap's the best.
Anndd congratulations, you've reached the end of Chapter One!
I really wish I could have included Creekfeather and Plumwillow in this first chapter as well, but I didn't want to break 6k on the very first chapter. This is a story I've thought about publishing for years now, and I'm very excited to finally publish it! Four viewpoints promise to be difficult to navigate, but I'm up for the challenge!
Finally, I've not read Hawkwing's Journey or A Vision of Shadows arc, nor do I plan to. So this story is canon up until the end of the SkyClan and the Stranger comics, but after that it's all AU. So that explains why some warrior names/couples/and kits may be different from canon.
Reviews are better than sunshine on a stormy day!
Revision Date: 3/6/19