The moon was high in the sky, the crescent of light making the camp dim. Riverstar sighed and looked out at the river, calm at the moment. His cats were still reluctant to swim, and the day before when an apprentice was trying to swim, they nearly drowned if Riverstar hadn't dove in to get him! Was his Clan destined to live by the river? They did enjoy water, like him, but were used to still waters, not ones that tugged you to join the current. How would he be able to teach them? He looked up at the stars in the sky. StarClan, please give me the answer, he pleaded. But the stars stayed silent. Sighing, he went back to his den.
The next morning, the sun was bright and pale. A few cats were up, waiting expectantly to be assigned to a patrol. Riverstar hopped onto his rock.
"Featherheart, Krestelwing, Applepaw, and Willowpaw, you can go hunting. Foxtail, Fruitblossom, and your apprentices, you can go on a dawn patrol. Frostwing, you can lead it. Oh, and Fawnwhisker and Cloudbreeze, take your apprentices battle training, please." The cats nodded and set off, the rest going off to their dens to get extra sleep or going to the center of camp to talk with others. Riverstar, bored, went over to the prey pile, his stomach growling, and grabbed a skinny mouse. He sighed. Here was no fish on the pile. Sadly, he went back to his den to eat it.
As he ate the mouse, a pale gray she-cat came in.
"Hey, Dawnfall," he said. She sat down, and he nosed the mouse towards her. She took a small bite and passed it back to him.
"I'm not very hungry," she said. Riverstar shrugged and finished it quickly. "Anyway," she said, "What's wrong?" Riverstar licked his paw and drew it over his cheek.
"RiverClan cannot be afraid of the river," he finally confessed. "They need to learn to swim, and fish, and not to be afraid." Dawnfall sighed.
"Riverstar, nobody in the Clan is scared to learn," she said. "However, they are not being taught. You are the only cat in this Clan who can swim and fish well, and they can't do either. You must teach them. It doesn't come easy, I assure you; it will take time, moons, maybe; but that is what it will take. They wouldn't have joined RiverClan if they didn't want to be in the river." Riverstar nodded.
"Thank you, Dawnfall. You have given me wise advice." She nodded and left. Riverstar groomed himself quickly and padded out, just as the hunting patrol returned. Each held a mouse, except for Willowpaw, who had a vole in her jaws. He sighed that there wasn't any fish, then jumped up onto the rock.
"Cats of RiverClan, gather before me to hear my announcement." The cats that were here bounded up. "I'm going to start having special classes so you may learn to hunt fish and swim against the current," he told them. A few cats mewed in delight, while others flicked their tails approvingly or in surprise.
"I will assign groups. Remember yours. I will number them, and when I want to train yours, even if I assigned you to a patrol, or training your apprentice, you will come to the lesson. If you have an apprentice and I call you, your apprentice is in your group as well. Now, part of assessments will be in the river. It will become part of normal apprentice training, once everyone learns it, and it will be passed down through the generations." The cats cheered.
RiverClan is on it's way to glory, Riverstar thought.