PROLOGUE
"The clan may not be able to offer you such easy food or warmth," Bluestar continued. "In the season of leaf-bare, nights in the forest can be cruel. The Clan will demand great loyalty and hard work. You will be expected to protect the Clan with your life if necessary. And there will be many mouths to feed, but the rewards are great. You will remain a tom, be trained the ways of the wild. You will learn what it means to be a true cat. The strength and fellowship of the Clan will always be with you."
"Wait," Rusty meowed. "May I think about your offer?"
Bluestar looked at him for a long moment. Then, she nodded. "Lionheart will be here for you tomorrow at sunhigh. Give him your answer then."
"Wait!" Rusty meowed again. He thought about his friend, Smudge. "Is it okay, if one of my friends can come with me?"
Bluestar glanced at Lionheart, and then back to Rusty. "Fine, if he is still a tom." With that, the three cats disappeared into the undergrowth.
Rusty sighed, but he stared, excited, past the ferns that enclosed him. He sniffed the air, smelling that scent of those wild cats. As he headed for home, he felt a tingle of excitement, a strange sensation, as he walked through the shadows.
CHAPTER ONE
"Trust me, Smudge! You'll love it there." Rusty exclaimed. He was sitting with his best friend, staring off into the woods.
"I'm not too sure." Smudge shuffled his paws. "What about my housefolk?"
"They'll get another cat. C'mon, this is more fun than living in a house for the rest of your live. This could be an awesome adventure!" Rusty purred.
Smudge sighed. "Well…I guess I don't want to be fixed." He thought for a moment. "Fine. I'll go. But if I don't like it there, I'm leaving."
"Alright, alright." Rusty jumped up. "Come on! Lionheart is waiting for us!" He scampered off into the dense forest.
"Wait! Rusty, who is this Lionheart?" Smudge hurried to catch up to his friend.
As Rusty ran through the forest, he felt the wind through his whiskers, and he loved the feeling. Then, smelling the scent, he immediately stopped. But then, Smudge bowled right into his side. "Oof!" Rusty huffed.
"Sorry!" Smudge apologized. "Don't stop right in front of me like that."
Then, two large, powerful tomcats walked out in front of Rusty and Smudge. "Woah!" Smudge widened his eyes. "Who are they?" He whispered to Rusty.
"Lionheart!" Rusty exclaimed. "Wait, who's this?" Rusty looked at the tom who stood next to Lionheart. His fur was magnificently pure white, and his yellow eyes stared down at the two kittypets.
"This is Whitestorm. He is a senior warrior of ThunderClan," Lionheart introduced the tom.
"Hello, young one." Whitestorm meowed to Rusty. "I've heard many things about you. But what do we have here?" Whitestorm looked at Smudge, who was obviously more scared than Rusty.
"This is Smudge. He's my friend," Rusty explained.
"I see." Whitestorm meowed. "You seem like a healthy cat. You both do."
"Come on," Lionheart meowed. "We've got to get back to camp. Bluestar is waiting for us." With that, the two toms turned and raced into the undergrowth.
"C'mon Smudge!" Rusty hurried after them.
"Coming!" Smudge was right behind Rusty, close.
Rusty felt more and more scents come up, he knew that they were close to the camp. "Lionheart, wait up!" He called.
"We are very close," Lionheart meowed.
Rusty and Smudge were huffing, barely keeping up with the two warriors. Rusty closed his eyes, breathing in the scents of the forest. "I can smell cats," He meowed.
"Good." Whitestorm meowed. "Follow us." He led the way nimbly down the boulders to the bottom of the ravine, and pushed his way through a thick patch of gorse. Rusty and Smudge followed, and Lionheart took up the rear. The grass beneath them flattened into a broad track. It must be the entrance. Rusty thought.
Beyond the gorse, there was a wide clearing. The ground was bare, sandy earth, dappled by sunshine.
Rusty widened his eyes as he looked around. There were many cats! They were all sitting, some were eating, or chatting.
"We had just finished sharing tongues," Lionheart explained.
"Uh, sharing tongues…?" Smudge looked at Lionheart very weirdly.
"Yes," Lionheart meowed. "A time during the day were we spend time with each other."
"Oh." Smudge mewed.
The cats had obviously noticed the two kitten's foreign scent. They were all looking in their direction, wide-eyed.
"Will you show us around camp?" Smudge asked, trying to look normal.
"Later." Whitestorm meowed. "We must get to Bluestar."
Smudge looked at Rusty in confusion. "The cat I was talking about," Rusty whispered. "The leader."
"Right." Smudge whispered back.
Lionheart and Whitestorm led the two kittens up to a large rock at the end of the clearing. Immediately, an elegant, lithe shape of a cat appeared out of the crevice in the rock. It was Bluestar. Her blue-gray coat dappled in the sunlight. She purred as she noticed Rusty, and then her gaze rested upon Smudge.
"I see Rusty came," Bluestar meowed. "Who is this?" She looked at Rusty.
"Smudge," Rusty introduced his friend.
"I see." Bluestar narrowed her eyes. "Well, what do you think of them?" She asked her two warriors.
"They seem healthy, and ready to learn." Whitestorm meowed.
"So it is agreed?" She glanced back at Whitestorm and Lionheart.
Both of them nodded.
"Then I will announce this." Bluestar leaped up onto the rock she had came out of. There, Rusty noticed, Bluestar looked even more magnificent than she had seemed before. As she called the cats, Rusty curled his tail shyly. He noticed Smudge do the same.
The cats looked at the newcomers with weird looks. Some of them narrowed their eyes disapprovingly. Rusty looked around, but then his gaze rested upon a young she-cat, her fur dark, dappled tortoiseshell, her warm amber eyes locked with his, and Rusty turned away, embarrassed.
"Cats of ThunderClan," Bluestar's voice rang across the clearing. "You may have many questions about these newcomers-" Bluestar's gaze quickly shot towards Rusty and Smudge, but then back to the crowd. "But ThunderClan needs new warriors. These two young kittens, I have chosen for training. They will train here to prove themselves."
"Where do they come from?"
"Which Clan do they belong to?"
That was the crescendo of large howling of the cats, some of them even hissed.
"Look at that one's collar!" One cat hissed.
Rusty spun around, it was a pale yellow tabby tom. His stripes were pitch black and sliced his pelt. Rusty looked back to Smudge. "Where's your collar?" He whispered impatiently.
"My housefolk took it off me earlier-" Smudge was cut off by Bluestar's loud voice.
"Enough," She growled at the tabby.
"They are kittypets! Come on! I'd rather have a clanborn cat from a different clan than these two revolting kittypets!" Longtail hissed. The clan cats yowled their agreement.
Rusty felt a rage grow in his chest. His muscles pulsed, ready for a fight.
Longtail reared up, his ringed tail lashing through the air, his growl seemed the only thing Rusty could hear through the yowls of cats.
Prepared for Longtail to pounce, Rusty unsheathed his claws. But instead, he leapt for Smudge.
"No!" Rusty gasped.
He pushed Smudge out of Longtail's way, then he dodged Longtail's attack only slightly. As Longtail turned and attacked, Rusty could hear his instincts tell him to run, but he stopped. Then, Rusty attacked back, clawing at the warrior's fur. Longtail sliced a cut above Rusty's eye, and he fell back a little.
"Not so strong now, eh, kittypet?" Longtail spat.
Rusty leapt, biting Longtail's shoulder. Longtail yowled in pain, but clawed the smaller cat off of him.
Rusty then felt a tugging at his throat, as he could feel his breath tighten.
Longtail had a hold of Rusty's collar! Rusty knew he could die at any moment, he couldn't breath. Longtail tugged more, and in a second Rusty's life could be snatched away from him.
Suddenly, a loud snap sound rang across the clearing. Rusty gasped for breath as he saw his faithful friend, Smudge, holding the collar in his teeth. He had saved Rusty.
"Enough!" Bluestar howled, bounding off the rock she had made the announcement on.
Longtail huffed, his fur clawed and a nick in his ear heavily bleeding. Rusty felt the thick cut above his left eye sting, and he let out a huff of pain.
"These cats have proven themselves to be loyal warriors," Bluestar meowed. "Saving one another is very faithful and loyal. You have got my respect, young ones." She smiled at the two young kits. "From now on, you will be known as ThunderClan apprentices." Bluestar meowed. "Smudge, for acting so swiftly when your friend needed help, you will be granted a true clan cat name. You will be known as Swiftpaw, until you have received your warrior name."
Swiftpaw looked up at Bluestar brightly, and back at Rusty with round blue eyes. Rusty purred in delight for his friend.
"Rusty," Bluestar continued. "You look like a brand of fire." She whispered suddenly. "Rusty, you have fought like a warrior today. You have proven yourself, and from now until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Firepaw."
Fire will save the Clan.