Circle of Life: Book 3: The Last Battle

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! I'll get around to replying to reviews eventually, I'm just being lazy. :P Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy! :)

(OHMIGOSH, I ACTUALLY UPDATED ON TIME! :OOOO)


Chapter 1: Away From Home

The fronds of a small fern rustled and parted as a tabby tom slipped out. The damp fronds left early morning dew droplets on his shiny, water resistant fur. He shook himself to throw the drops off just as a smaller, younger, lighter colored tabby stepped out behind him. The younger tom jumped out of the way as the drops splattered onto the wet ground underfoot.

"Hey!" he exclaimed teasingly. "Watch where you're shaking those things!"

The older tom gave him a weary look. "It's too early for jokes, Brownpaw. Save it for when I'm more awake."

"Aw, you're no fun," Brownpaw pouted. "Come on, Tanglepath, I was only teasing. You don't have to be such a grumpy hedgehog."

"First of all," Tanglepath exclaimed, exasperated, "the phrase is grumpy badger, not hedgehog. And second of all, I was up all night guarding the camp from intruders. I chased off a fox trying to get inside, as you well know, so I deserve some rest, but instead I'm out here, taking you out for training out of the good of my own heart, so be quiet, and don't argue."

Brownpaw opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it after processing Tanglepath's words, and nodded instead.

They walked in silence for a while, wading through a few narrow streams. Tanglepath reveled at the ease with which he traveled through the territory. Only a few short moons ago, he had been living with a much different Clan, on a much different territory. That Clan had been NorthClan, where he had been raised and trained as a warrior cat. But he had been forced to leave NorthClan.

Well, maybe "forced" isn't quite the right word. Ever since he was an apprentice, Tanglepath had met in secret with a she-cat of another Clan, LightningClan. He had eventually fallen in love with the LightningClan warrior, whose name was Wishsong. But this sort of relationship with a cat from another Clan was forbidden by the warrior code, the laws that governed the hearts, minds, and souls of every warrior cat. He and Wishsong had decided to leave their Clans so that they could live together without having to keep their relationship a secret, and so they had moved to AmberClan together, where they had been living for the past four moons.

Since then, Tanglepath had formed close bonds with AmberClan's deputy, Hawkwing, whom he had known when he lived in NorthClan, and Shadefoot, a warrior who was close to Tanglepath's age. The relationship with Hawkwing had earned him his own apprentice, Brownpaw, who he trained almost every day.

Seeming to suddenly forget Tanglepath's orders, Brownpaw spoke up. "Where are we going, Tanglepath? Is it much farther?"

Tanglepath sighed, but chose not to correct his apprentice's behavior. "Just a little more, Brownpaw. We're heading toward the NorthClan border."

"What are we doing?" Brownpaw asked curiously.

"Fishing," Tanglepath responded. How strange that only four moons ago, he would have scowled and backed away at the thought of getting his paws wet, but now it seemed natural, and he knew the process of catching AmberClan's favorite prey as well as any other warrior of his new home.

Brownpaw pouted. "I wanna do battle training! All you've taught me to do is catch squirrels and swim. I don't know anything about fighting. What if LightningClan attacks us tomorrow?"

"Then you, Fishpaw, and Sweetpaw will go protect the nursery to the best of your ability," Tanglepath retorted. "We're fishing."

Brownpaw muttered something under his breath that Tanglepath couldn't catch. The former NorthClan warrior sighed, frustrated, and turned to face his apprentice. "Look at me. Do you like fish?"

"Yes," Brownpaw mumbled.

"And do you like being able to swim without your fur holding all that water?"

"Yes…"

"And do you think any other Clan is going to get their paws wet so they can steal our fish?"

"No…"

"Then stop whining and do as you're told." Tanglepath turned back around and led the way.

They finally stopped when they reached a small stream that ran through AmberClan territory. "Here we are," Tanglepath told his apprentice.

Brownpaw crept closer to the stream, peering down into the rushing water. "Are there really fish in there? I don't see any."

"No, you wouldn't," Tanglepath meowed. "See how your shadow is falling on the water? The fish will know you're there. You need to be on the other side." He quickly leapt over to the other side, and Brownpaw followed with a mighty leap, landing next to Tanglepath.

"Now what?" he asked eagerly, looking more excited at the prospect of fishing now that they had reached the stream.

"Watch me the first time," Tanglepath instructed him. "That way you'll know what to do."

He turned to the stream and raised a paw, staring down into the rushing water. He waited until a flash of silver caught his eye, and his paw flashed out, scooping a flopping, silver fish out onto the grass. He pressed his paw against its gills until it stopped moving.

"Did you see what I did?" he asked Brownpaw, turning to the tabby apprentice.

Brownpaw nodded. "Can I try now?" he asked excitedly.

Tanglepath rolled his eyes at the young cat's antics. "Okay, go ahead. First, face the water." He coached his young apprentice through his first two fish, and then stood up. "Okay, try to get a couple more. I'm going to see if I can catch anything else." Brownpaw only nodded, his paw poised to strike and his eyes intent on the shimmering water that rushed through the stream. Tanglepath couldn't help a chuckle as he turned and walked away.

He walked along through the forest, hoping to catch sight, sound, or smell of any other prey. Suddenly, the wind switched, blowing the scent of the bordering Clan to his nose.

A pang of homesickness hit Tanglepath's stomach. The scent was that of NorthClan.

Swallowing down the familiar ache of longing, Tanglepath turned to gaze at where he knew the border was. NorthClan's scent was fresh and strong. A border patrol had just come through here.

Wary of being caught, but curious nevertheless, Tanglepath slowly approached the border. He bent his head to sniff the scent marks. He was surprised at how foreign the scent of his home Clan was to him, but he could still pick out the scents of individual cats. There was Duskflame, who had mentored Tanglepath when he was an apprentice, Stripefur, the Clan deputy, and Shadowleaf.

The last of these was the mate of Tanglepath's adopted sister, Silvertail. Though they'd had two other siblings, Smokefoot, a warrior, and Featherstorm, a medicine cat, Tanglepath and Silvertail had always been the closest of the four. When they'd been apprentices, Silvertail had been the only one who knew that Tanglepath had been meeting with Wishsong. And when it came time for him to leave, Tanglepath had confided only in Silvertail before slipping out that night. Since then, Tanglepath had missed his sister terribly.

Of course, she was only his adopted sister. Tanglepath's real parents were not Moonshadow and Mistypool, who were Silvertail, Smokefoot, and Featherstorm's parents. His real parents had been rogues, who had abandoned him in the forest when he was just a tiny kit. Thankfully, Mistypool had found him while on patrol and taken him to Lillypelt, the NorthClan medicine cat. Lillypelt had managed to save him, and Mistypool and Moonshadow had taken him in as one of their own. They had kept the secret of Tanglepath's birth from him until he was an apprentice.

But now he was a warrior. He had earned his full warrior name, which had been given to him by the leader of NorthClan, Stormstar, and he wasn't a NorthClan warrior anymore. He was an AmberClan warrior now, and his first loyalty had to be to AmberClan.

He sent one last nostalgic look over his shoulder at the NorthClan territory, took in a deep breath to smell the familiar scents one last time, and then started heading away, back towards the AmberClan camp.


A/N: So, I don't really like this chapter much. It's kind of slow, and not much happens. It's also pretty short. But we're still just starting out, so don't worry, we'll have more action soon, I promise. :P Next chapter, a Gathering, and we get to see Silvertail! Hooray!

Just so you know, if you ever want information on the next chapter, there's a section on my profile that has a brief summary of the next chapter, along with a short excerpt. It can be found near the bottom, under the section entitled "Coming Soon to a Computer Near You". That way, you don't have to bother me with your useless questions. Just kidding, I love you guys. ;D

Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! :)

Off to take over the world,

Crazy Girl