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Warriors of ValleyClan: Rising Sun Book #1
Prologue
Water and Rain had just come to ValleyClan. They were exploring everything there, and making new friends in the nursery. Their parents, Rippedclaw and Syd, had thought that the rouge life was unsafe, so they decided to join ValleyClan. They knew that they would be safe there. So far, everyone seemed to be nice. Syd and Rippedclaw had become friends with a few of the cats, Yellowleaf. Thornfur, and Shadowvision. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. This is where the real story begins.
Chapter one
Golden-brown leaves covered the ground, signifying leaf-fall. The trees were becoming bare, and prey was getting scarce. Rippedclaw padded over to her mate, Syd.
"Syd, have you noticed that prey is getting scarce around here? I don't think the life of a rouge is that safe anymore, especially with the kits."
"Well, I have noticed that prey is even more scarce, and better yet, all the mice I caught this moon were ever so thin. I don't know what we should do." Syd explained. He shifted from paw to paw, as if to ponder their choices. He knew that there was something down the river called "ValleyClan". He'd never heard of it until his friend, Simon, moved into the clan. He said that life was really great there, that no one can have seconds until everyone is fed, and that the fresh-kill pile is always big. Syd considered this, and thought that maybe it would be the place for his family to go. And Rippedclaw was right, the life of a rouge had gotten very dangerous over the last few moons. And now that they had kits, it was even more important that they found a safer life. He was going to tell Rippedclaw.
"Rippedclaw, I have an idea. Do you remember Simon?" He asked. Rippedclaw nodded.
"I remember him saying that he went off to some place called 'ValleyClan'."
"Yes. And that is exactly where I think we should go. It would be very safe there. Rain and Water would be fine there. I think they actually might get another chance to meet other kits. They haven't met anyone since they were born except for us. I think it would be good for both of us." He reached forward and licked her ears.
"Just think, Rippedclaw. This is the perfect life for us." He pointed out, trying to persuade her.
"Well, I have heard a few things about that place. They believe in something called 'StarClan' and have warriors that fight other clan's cats. I'm not so sure on this one, but I think it would be right for us. So where is this place, you say? Down river?" She padded to the river, with Syd and the kits following.
"Mommy, where are we going?" Water asked, unsure of what was going on.
"We're moving, sweetie, to a new home called ValleyClan. There will be a lot of other cats there living with us. You will meet some new friends. It will be better than living here in the forest all alone, wouldn't you think?" She said. Water squealed with joy. Rain wasn't so sure about all this, however. She was definitely the thinker of the two sisters.
"Well, daddy, what about eating? And you? And mommy? And, and, and…" Rain had too many thoughts to keep going.
"Slow down, Rain! Everything will be fine. We both know that you love it there." Syd said. He licked Rain on the top of the head.
"Lets go!" Rippedclaw was eager to get to their new home.
Chapter 2
When the family of rouges got to camp, they were unsure of what to do. Everyone looked like they were clan-born. Syd padded up to one of the warriors.
"Hi. I'm Syd. And this is my family. Rippedclaw, Rain, and Water. We would like to join your clan." He pointed to each of the family members as he said their names. The warrior he spoke to looked gruffly at them, and then his face turned soft.
"I am glad that you would like to join." He dipped his head.
"I am Yellowleaf. Welcome to ValleyClan. But before you join, you must talk to Cinderstar and make sure that it is alright." He gestured with his tail towards the leaders den.
"He would be right in there. He is our leader and makes all or most of our decisions on who stays, but I am sure he will let you stay. He is very kind."
Rippedclaw and the family walked in the direction that Yellowleaf had pointed. When they reached the leaders den, they checked to make sure Cinderstar was inside. And of course, he was. Water and Rain were getting impatient. Rippedclaw tried to calm them down.
"Ssshh. We will be ready to rest soon." She whispered to them. They padded into Cinderstar's den nervously.
"Hi. You must be Cinderstar." Syd said awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. Cinderstar blinked.
"Why, yes, I am. I have never seen you around here before. I assume you were rouges, no?" He said.
"Yes, we were rouges. I'm Syd, and this is Rippedclaw, Water, and Rain. We would like to join your clan. We thought that the life of rouges was too dangerous for the kits, since they were born about 3 sunrises ago." Cinderstar looked at them as if to make his decision.
"I see, I see." He nodded. "We have had rouges join the clan before. I you wish stay, you may. But first, I must give you warrior names. That is unless you would like to keep you current names." Syd pondered this.
"Well, I think I would mind if my name was changed. I wish to remain known as Syd."
"Very well, then. Rippedclaw is already a warrior name, so you don't have to change that." He said, eyeing the rouge.
"Thank you, Cinderstar, for your kindness." Rippedclaw dipped her head. The kits were going crazy!
"Oh oh, Cinderstar! Let us change our names! Please, please, please!" Rain mewed.
"Oh, yes, please Cinderstar!" Water said. Cinderstar let out a chuckle.
"Ok. You shall be known as Waterkit and Rainkit. I have to announce it to the clan." He bounded out of the den and outside, and onto HighHill. The newly made clan cats were confused.
"What is doing? Or going for that matter?" Rippedclaw wondered. Then a she-cat that looked fairly nice came up to them.
"Oh. You must be the new cats that he is announcing. He is going to HighHill. That is where Cinderstar makes all the announcements to the clan. By the way, I'm Leopardtalon. Follow me!" Leopardtalon bounded over to where their new leader was standing.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here under HighHill." Cinderstar announced. Shortly after his statement, lots of other cats emerged from their dens or stopped what they were doing and came over to HighHill. Among many of the cats was Yellowleaf.
"ValleyClan has four new members that join us today. Rippedclaw, Syd, Water, and Rain. Would you all come up here please?" He asked. The four cats exchanged confused glances and padded over to HighHill.
"The two kits that joined us today, Water and Rain, shall be given clan names today. May I introduce Rainkit and Waterkit." He said, proud of having new cats come to ValleyClan. The two kits squealed with joy of their new names. They had never had something exciting happen to them before.
"Now, I see that many of you do not know them. Yellowleaf, would you please show them around? I am sure that they are very new to clan life." Yellowleaf padded over to Cinderstar. He looked pleased that he was chosen to show these new cats around.
"Okay. I will be showing you the way ValleyClan works, and all the places that you are new to. First is HighHill." He gestured to the huge hill that stood in the middle of ValleyClan camp. "Cinderstar will most likely make all of his announcements there. Now, do you see that wall made of brambles and has an entrance on one side?" The new cats nodded. The kits looked around curiously. "That is the nursery. The queens and their kits stay in there until the kits are made into apprentices, which I will explain later. Rippedclaw, you and your kits will be staying in there for a while. Syd, you will stay in the den over there." He pointed with his ears. "That is the Warriors den. All the warriors stay in there. And the den next to it is the apprentices' den. All the apprentices that are training to be warriors will stay in that den. And the den that is on the far side of camp is the medicine cats den." Waterkits ears perked up when she heard this. "The medicine cat and their apprentice will stay in there. That is also where all the herbs are stored." Yellowleaf looked tired. "I hope you enjoy life here in ValleyClan." He dipped his head and walked off.
Rippedclaw walked toward the nursery. Inside were two other queens and their kits. Waterkit was jumping for joy. She ran over to one of the kits and introduced herself.
"Hi! I'm Waterkit! And this is my sister, Rainkit! We are new to ValleyClan." The kit that she had spoken to looked up.
"Oh, hi. My name is Tigerkit. Over there is Nightkit. Do you want to play?" He asked excitedly. He was obviously happy to have more kits in the nursery to play with.
"Okay! What do you want to do?" Rainkit asked. While the kits were playing in the nursery, Rippedclaw was getting to know some of the queens that she would be staying with for the next few moons. One of the queens looked right up as Rippedclaw walked in.
"I see you're new around here. Don't worry, this is the safest place in camp, designed to keep queens and their kits safe. By the way, I'm Rubyheart, the mother of Tigerkit. What's your name?"
"Well, I'm Rippedclaw, the mother of Waterkit and Rainkit. I see that they are getting along well with Tigerkit." Rippedclaw glanced over at the kits play-fighting. She let out a chuckle.
"Yes, kits are quite playful. I see that Tigerkit is happy to have new friends." Rubyheart mewed.
"Well, I think we better get to know each other because we will be living in the nursery for a while." Rippedclaw smiled.
"Really? How old are your kits?" Rubyheart questioned her.
"Well, Waterkit and Rainkit were born about…" She paused to think. "3 sunrises ago, I would say." Rippedclaw said. She then looked around the nursery, for the queen that was the mother of Nightkit. Finding the queen, she went over to her. She introduced herself.
"Hi. I'm Rippedclaw. I just moved into ValleyClan. My kits are Waterkit and Rainkit. They look like they are getting along well with Nightkit." Rippedclaw mewed, not used to introducing herself to other cats. The rouge life was lonely. But Rippedclaw had to get used to clan life.
"Oh. Hi. I'm Fallenshadow. I'm the mother of Nightkit. You do look new around here. But the more cats the better. I hope that you find clan life comfortable." She purred. Rippedclaw could tell by the look in her eyes that she loved living in ValleyClan. Rippedclaw wasn't so sure about this life yet, but if Syd and Simon said it was safe, she must trust them. I have to try this out first. I have to trust Syd. I know that he's telling the truth. Besides, it does look kind of safe here. Rippedclaw thought to herself. The queens were nice to her, and life seemed like it was getting better. She called her kits over, and told them to go to sleep. Rippedclaw was up for what seemed like hours thinking if she had made the right choice. But then she finally let sleep take her.
Chapter 3
The next morning was chaos. Every warrior that you saw was running around screaming "BADGERS!" Rippedclaw woke up. She blinked the sleep from her eyes. The two queens, Rubyheart and Fallenshadow, rushed over to her. Rippedclaw had a confused look on her face.
"Do you know what a badger is?!?" Rubyheart yelled in Rippedclaw's face.
"No!" Rippedclaw yelled back. Fallenshadow answered for Rubyheart.
"Are you crazy? How can you not know what a badger is? Never mind that. Badgers are huge animals that kill many cats. And right now they are invading camp!" She yelled. Rippedclaw gasped.
"That's awful!" She said. Rubyheart spoke up.
"Yeah it is! We have to stay here with the kits." Rippedclaw was still unsure of one thing.
"What about Syd? What will he do?"
"He will fight." Fallenshadow mewed.
"Are you crazy? He has no idea how to fight! He will get killed out there!" Rippedclaw was panicing.
When Syd woke up, he found himself waking up to the sound of cats yelling "BADGERS!" He knew what a badger was, and had never seen one, but knew that they were deadly. He was worried about one thing though-Rippedclaw and their kits. But before he could ask a warrior, he stepped outside of the den and saw a lot of fighting. He knew that he had to help. He hurled himself at a badger that was attacking Yellowleaf. Yellowleaf had a gash in his belly that was oozing blood. He could tell that Yellowleaf needed help. Syd flung himself onto the back of the badger. He raked his claws down the back of badger, making a gash. The badger, feeling Syd on his back, he spun around and caught Syd by surprise. He hit Syd with a heavy paw and threw Syd hurtling through the air. Syd now had a cut over his eye, making blood fall into his eyes. He also had a cut on his back from the fall. He shook his head and his blood spattered onto the grass.
Yellowleaf had broken free. He saw Syd, so he hurled himself into the badger and batted his back paws into the badger's belly, drawing blood. The badger got scared and ran off. Yellowleaf ran over to Syd.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"No. I feel as though I…" His voice trailed off. He no longer had any strength to talk. Despite his wounds, Yellowleaf dragged Syd over to the medicine cat's den.
"Heavenpath! I need you." Heavenpath ran over to Yellowleaf and Syd. She looked them over.
"You both need cobwebs." She went into the den and returned with some cobwebs. She pressed them into Syd's cut over his eye, and onto his back. She went to Yellowleaf and pressed cobwebs onto his stomach.
"Yellowleaf, you are losing a lot of blood. Don't try to move. Just keep the cobwebs pressed to your belly and rest." And then turning her back to the two toms, she returned with more herbs in her paws. She dropped them at their paws. "Here is some Chamonline. Eat this and it will give you physical strength as well as calm you down. You should both eat this." Yellowleaf nodded. "As for you, Syd, I need you to rest as well. And eat the Chamonline." Syd gave a weak nod. He went to the warrior's den with Yellowleaf and slept. The battle was still going on, but they needed to rest.
Rippedclaw was still panicking about her mate. She had seen him get thrown to the ground off the badgers back. She couldn't help but wonder if he was okay. Yellowleaf was a brave fighter, also. The last thing Rippedclaw saw was Yellowleaf dragging Syd to the medicine cats den. "Do you think he will be okay?" She asked the two queens.
"I'm sure he will be fine. He is a brave fighter." Rubyheart purred. "You should be proud." She looked around. "And I believe the attack is over." Rippedclaw looked more relieved than she ever had in her life.
"It's over? I hope Syd is okay." She looked at her kits. They slept through the whole attack. They will never know about this, Rippedclaw thought. I won't tell them for a while.
Waterkit woke up. She stretched in the sun. She awoke her sister. Rainkit looked around. "What do you want? It's dawn. We don't get up till sunhigh." She complained. Waterkit looked at Rainkit.
"Well, get used to clan life! I think they always get up at dawn here." She whispered. Rippedclaw was up, talking with Rubyheart. Fallenshadow was suckling Nightkit. Waterkit went over to Rippedclaw. "Mommy, we're hungry." Rainkit went up behind her sister.
"Yeah. Mommy, we want some milk." Rainkit complained. Waterkit mewed in agreement. Rippedclaw lay down. The kits ran up to her and began to suckle milk from her. Soon, Rubyheart did the same. Rippedclaw let out a sigh of relief. Finally, things are normal for a bit. She thought. She looked at her kits. They were suckling happily. She licked them on the top of their heads. She smiled to herself. Maybe life isn't so bad around here…
Chapter 4
Waterkit was done. She stifled a yawn and stretched in the sun. Her fur glistened in the sun. Rainkit was still suckling, so Waterkit thought she would just play with Nightkit for the time being. She wanted to get to know him. Besides, she was going to be here for another six moons until she was an apprentice. Nightkit was sitting down next to his mother. He drowsily was looking around when Waterkit went over to him.
Rippedclaw nervously looked around, as if her kits would wonder about the fight that they had slept through that morning. She went over to Rubyheart.
"Did Tigerkit sleep through the attack?" She asked nervously, hoping that the question was not too personal. Rubyheart shifted uneasily and stared at Rippedclaw, then smiled to Rippedclaw's relief.
"No… He didn't. He was just staring in awe the whole time. I hope it didn't scare him." Rubyheart shuddered. "If he remembers it, well, he'd better not." She flicked her tail.
"Well I hope he won't. At least my kits slept through it all." She sighed. Looking toward her kits, she remembered Syd. She gasped. I have to see how he is doing! She thought. But first I have to ask Rubyheart to watch Waterkit and Rainkit. The queen was definitely concerned for her mate. She went over to Rubyheart and whispered into her ear, "I have to go check on Syd. Can you watch my kits while I am gone?" her voice shook with concern. Rubyheart nodded, and Rippedclaw padded off.
Syd awoke in the warriors den. He stretched but then winced in pain. A scab had formed above his eye and other places where the badgers had attacked him. He limped toward the clearing, where Sheersight was organizing patrols. "Okay, Yellowleaf, I want you to lead a hunting patrol near the river. Take Stormblaze, Lightpond, and Dawnshadow with you. If you scent any badgers, report to me or Cinderstar." Yellowleaf nodded and headed out towards the river with his patrol. Before Syd could listen to hear the other patrol incase he was assigned, he saw his mate walking towards him.
"Oh Syd are you okay? Waterkit and Rainkit slept through it all." Syd was flustered.
"Yes, I'm fine." Rippedclaw checked him over.
"You don't look fine." She gave a few vigorous licks to the wound over his eye. Syd gently pulled his head away and licked her ears.
"Believe me, I'm fine. Now go back to the nursery, the kits need you." He gave her one more reassuring lick and returned to listening to the patrol assignments. The clan deputy was still giving orders.
"Okay, I want Thornfur to lead a badger patrol to make sure that all the badgers are out of our territory. Take Shadowvision, Leopardtalon, and Windcall with you." Thornfur flicked his tail to gather his patrol and went off. But Sheersight was not done yet. "Okay, last patrol. A border patrol led by me. I will take Syd, Silentbreath, and Berrypaw. Lets go!" Syd went over with Sheersight. Berrypaw was bouncing with excitement. This was his first dawn patrol. Sheersight bounded down to the border near the river. She started to sniff around to check for other clans scent. Syd followed and also went to taste the air. Berrypaw padded over to Silentbreath, his mentor.
"I smell something weird, like as hard as a stone." Silentbreath tasted the air.
"Ah, young one. That is StoneClan, just across the river. Do not worry. They are on their side of the border."
"Oh…" Berrypaw sighed. He still had much to learn as an apprentice. Sheersight whipped her tail.
"Okay everybody. I think we are done here. StoneClan is on their border. We need to get back to camp." She gathered up her patrol and went back to camp.
By the time they reached camp, the hunting patrol had returned, and the fresh-kill pile was nearly stocked. Syd grabbed a magpie and sat down next to Yellowleaf. "So, how did the hunting patrol go? A lot of prey?" He asked. Yellowleaf smiled. He flicked his tail over Syd's shoulder. "Very well my friend, very well. I think that we will have a lot of prey for awhile." He bit into his squirrel.
"Good then. You know that the whole reason we moved here into ValleyClan was because prey was short in the life of a rouge?" Not waiting for Yellowleaf to respond, he continued. "Prey will always be good here." Yellowleaf looked unsure. He doesn't know how hard it can be in leaf-bare…
Chapter 5
Rippedclaw looked over the kits. She made sure they were comfortable and then grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. While padding back to the nursery, she was greeted by Leopardtalon.
"I didn't know you had kits!" She exclaimed. Rippedclaw blushed.
"Well, they are a lot of trouble sometimes."
"Yeah, who is the father if your kits?" She asked, curious.
"Syd. We just moved into ValleyClan with them."
"Oh, okay. That's great! I hope that they do well." She bounded off to the warriors den where she sat with Shadowvision. Rippedclaw had the idea that the she had love for Shadowvision. Maybe they will have kits someday… she thought, while going back to the nursery to discover her kits happily playing together with Nightkit and Tigerkit. They seemed to be getting along well. Rippedclaw sat down and began to munch in her mouse, watching her kits.
"Hey! No fair! I said claws sheathed!" Rainkit growled at Tigerkit. Tigerkit was standing over Rainkit with his claws unsheathed. Realizing that he had gone against the rules, he quickly said,
"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize it." He reluctantly got off Rainkit and gave his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks. In the meantime, Waterkit was wearily watching all the action from her nest with Nightkit.
"Sometimes, I just don't get how they can play fight all day! I would rather be sleeping." Waterkit said.
"Yeah, but I want to be a warrior!" Nightkit growled, and then burst into giggles. "It feels funny saying that I want to be a warrior. Especially the growling." Waterkit looked over at him.
"I think that I would not want to be a warrior. I want to be a medicine cat." Her eyes looked to the sky and shimmered with excitement. "That is my dream." Nightkit stared in awe.
"How would you not want to be a warrior? That is all I would want to do. But that doesn't matter. As long as you follow your dreams." His eyes glimmered for a moment, and then settled down for a nap.
Syd looked at Yellowleaf, he saw that there was something that he knew, his eyes showed it. He seemed to be unsure of something. "Is something wrong?" Syd asked nervously. But there was no need to ask.
"Well… I don't know if this will make you become a rouge again," he shifted nervously. "But prey is very short here during leaf-bare…" He said. To Yellowleafs relief, Syd just shrugged.
"Well, I know that almost every leaf-bare is like that. But if there ever is a time when prey is too short, we will leave." He touched his tail-tip to the worried tom. "But don't worry, we won't leave unless it is really necessary."
Yellowleaf tried not to look deceived, then said, "I hope you don't leave. We all hope that you stay." He dipped his head and bounded to the warriors den. Syd and his family still had mixed feelings about the whole thing, wondering to stay or not. The badger fight had been an unfortunate influence on their decision. Syd and Rippedclaw were used to hardships, you know, being rouges and all. But their decision was not made yet. Maybe they could still be convinced.
Rippedclaw was nursing Waterkit and Rainkit, who seemed to be quite tired, and maybe the least bit afraid of the badger fight that had happened recently. The sun was falling, signifying that it was almost time to sleep. Syd burst into the nursery. The three queens immeadiately looked up and the anxious tom. Syd had a mouse in his jaws.
"I thought I would bring this fr you, Rippedclaw. You look like you've had a long day." Rippedclaw nodded as she examined the battle wounds across his pelt. He didn't look that hurt, but to his mate he looked like he might have been dying. Well, a lot of mates are concerned about the other when they get hurt. It's a normal thing, nothing out-of-the-ordinary. "You look like you might want to rest for a while..." Rippedclaw trailed off. Syd laughed. He felt fine.
"I'm okay, really sweetie, I am. Don't worry the least bit." He smiled and licked her ears. "Good night, my dear." He then looked down at the kits. "Good night, my little bundles of joy." He licked the tops of their heads. Waterkit mewled a laughed, as Rainkit giggled. "we love you too, daddy." They chorused in unison. Rippedclaw and Syd laughed. "They're the greatest thing in the world." Rippedclaw said as her eyes sparkled. "You may as well get to your den, Syd. Every day brings new challenges..." Rippedclaw's voice trailed off as Syd left the den with a flick of his tail.
Chapter 6
Waterkit woke to the depressing sound of rain. She heard the fat silver drops hitting the roof of the nursery, and luckily none of the rain seeped through. She gave a yawn as she prodded Rainkit to wake up. Since she didn't wake up, Waterkit walked over and prodded Nightkit. He stirred, but then awoke, startled.
Waterkit whispered, "Don't worry, it's only me. Want to sneak outside of camp? It would be a real adventure." Her eyes sparkled with amazement and wonder. Though she didn't want to be a warrior earlier on, for training, she decided that maybe she could look for herbs if they snuck out of camp. Nightkit looked up, as his ears pricked, hearing the on-going rain. It wasn't pouring, yet it wasn't exactly calmly drizzling either.
Nightkit fluffed out his fur. "No way, mouse-brain! It's probably freezing cold rain, and plus, if we were caught we would get in tons of trouble! Who knows what Cinderstar would do tNo us?" Waterkit sighed, thinking of the leader who had seemed friendly when they had met the other day. Maybe Nightkit was right. And also, Waterkit wouldn't have a good reputation with Cinderstar if she snuck out now. She didn't want him to think that she was a mischevious kit, which, at heart, she really wasn't. Waterkit sighed.
"You're right, Nightkit." She scanned the clearing. "Hey! I betcha I can catch that leaf first!" Waterkit focused on a small crunchy golden leaf that was fluttering slowly to the ground. Nightkit laughed. He wriggled his hing-quarters as he lunged for it at the same moment waterkit did. Unfortunately, they hit noses, and also in the middle of the rain, the leaf was defeated and hit the ground with the lightest hit.
"OW!" They both exclaimed at the same moment. Nightkit rubbed his head. "Maybe going for that leaf wasn't such a good idea..." Waterkit stared at the rain. She hurried back into the nursery and shook out her pelt, fluffing out her fur, and making her look a little bigger than the little kit that she was. Nightkit did the same. Waterkit's tail flicked back and forth, wondering.
Nightkit suddenly had an idea. "Let's just play in the nursery!" As he said this, Rainkit opened an eye, and saw the two kits discussing. She sighed, being tired from the day before. Rainkit fell back asleep, apparently uninterested.
Waterkit nodded. She playfully batted at Nightkit's tail. She laughed with joy. Nightkit squealed and rolled over onto his tummy, then hit her gently with his hind paws.
They seemed to become good friends. Soon, leaf-bare was approaching. Who knows what changes it could bring?