Warriors: By the Light Of the Moon
Book 2
It was the night of the Gathering. The moon shone high above the cat's heads. The four great
leaders sat perched in a tree's lower branches. The rest of the Clans milled around on the island,
talking to one another. Tonight, the BloodClan cats were among them.
Rainstorm sat on the island, along with her sister, Redheart, a newly named warrior, Swiftheart,
and a medicine cat-in-training, Silver. They were chatting quietly with some ThunderClan warriors.
The Great Leaders meowed for silence. The cats scattered around the clearing grew closer to one another and turned their heads towards the cats in the tree. Rainstorm twitched her tail in excitement, waiting for Firestar to make a move, but he remained silent. Instead, Leopardstar of RiverClan stepped forward to speak.
"Cats of all Clans," she started. "I bring good news from RiverClan. The boat-place near our camp has been shut down. No more twolegs will be visiting the area for a very long time." Meows of happiness from all the clans met this statement. Leporadstar stepped back to let Blackstar of ShadowClan speak.
"ShadowClan has very little to report. Prey is running well, and our territory has not been challenged. All is well."
Onestar of WindClan was next to speak. "The same goes for WindClan. All is well."
Firestar was the last to step forward. Then he began to speak, in a clear meow that rang across the small island where their gatherings were held. "Cats of all Clans. Tonight, I shall bring up a topic of great debate. It must, however, be brought to attention very quickly. Nearly six moons ago, a young she-cat was brought to me as a prisoner. She was badly wounded, and heavy with kits. She told me a very interesting story that I am sure you would all like to hear. So I will let her tell you."
Right on cue, Rainstorm leaped up onto a boulder in front of the tree. At the sight of the many cats in the clearing below her, her breath caught in her throat. "Cats of the Great Clans," she began, forcing her breath to remain steady. "I am Rainstorm. I came to stay with ThunderClan because I ran away from home."
"You were a kittypet?" a young RiverClan warrior yowled.
Rainstorm shook her head. "No. I was far from a kittypet. A few of you may remember your old home in the forest. And a few of you may even remember Scourge from BloodClan. That bloodthirsty cat was my father."
Yowls of outrage came from this statement. Rainstorm continued her story: "He died before I was even born. My mother raised my brother and sister and I. Then she left us on our own. We learned the ways of the city. Then my brother had a crazy Idea. He wanted to rebuild BloodClan. We were just silly kits at the time. Your Clans left the forest, and we left as well, but we stopped at a development similar to the one we had left behind. There, my brother gathered some stray cats and named the group BloodClan. Eventually, he became very bloodthirsty and vengeful like Scourge. I was scared of his evil power, so I ran away. My kit was born in ThunderClan, then I decided to return to BloodClan and rescue my close friends from my brother. By the time I got there, it was almost too late. My brother had killed my sister's two kits as well as her mate. He was too dangerous to be kept alive, so he was killed." Rainstorm paused. All she heard was silence from the clearing below. "We camped out at ThunderClan until we were strong enough to find another home. We have found a place very near to here. It will give us a chance to become our very own Clan, if you will let us." Rainstorm finished speaking, then waited for the judgment call. She realized now how much depended on this decision.
"You want to be a Clan? A Clan?" Leopardstar meowed in disbelief. "Who would be leader, you?"
Rainstorm shrugged. "Whoever StarClan chooses, if it is their will," She meowed.
"Hm, you believe in StarClan, eh?" Onestar mused.
Blackstar however spat, "Five Clans? There can not be five Clans! StarClan willed there be four!" Yowls of agreement met this statement.
A ShadowClan elder stepped forward to stand at the base of the tree to face the crowd. "If I may," he asked the leaders.
Blackstar nodded. "Go ahead."
The elder raised his voice to be heard over the crowd. "Some may recall hearing the stories: There were once five clans in the forest. The five Clans lived peacefully until SkyClan's camp was destroyed by twolegs. If our ancestors could live together with five Clans, why cant we?"
A gripping silence met the elders speech. Good, Rainstorm thought, At least one cat is on my side.
One by one, cats began to murmur their approval. Even Blackstar and Leopardstar were nodding their heads in agreement. "Perhaps this will right the wrongs committed when we chased out SkyClan," Onestar meowed.
Leopardstar said, "I agree, but where would you settle? We can't make new boundaries to accommodate your clan."
"You wont have to," Rainstorm meowed. "We have found a territory north of ThunderClan that will suit our needs We only need your agreement, and StarClan's, of course."
The cats in the clearing quieted for a moment while the four leaders made their decisions. Firestar was the first to step forward. "I choose to welcome Rainstorm and her clan to the forest."
Onestar was the next to step up. "I also will welcome Rainstorm and her Clan."
Leopardstar also stepped forward. "This makes three of us. How about you, Blackstar?"
The ShadowClan leader shrugged. "It couldn't hurt."
Firestar smiled. "Then we welcome you, Rainstorm and Clan, to the forest."
"What will they be called?" Yowled Mistyfoot, the RiverClan deputy.
Rainstorm looked upward to the moon. "It was by moonlight that BloodClan was vanquished, and by moonlight that the Clan was restored. MoonClan shall be our name."
Firestar nodded, then began to chant, "MoonClan! MoonClan! MoonClan!" A chorus of cats joined in, welcoming the new Clan to the forest.