Chapter One

Warriors and Fallear's Death

Bushpaw POV

"Bet you can't catch me Bushpaw!"

"I bet I can!" Bushpaw meowed.

"Be careful, kits!" Feathertwist called from the elder's den.

Feathertwist worried about Bushpaw all day long. She had twisted her leg and had to become an elder. Bushpaw thought that that would stop her. But she was still his mother. Mother's main instinct: worry about kits.

He didn't know why why she worried so much about him. Maybe it was because he had almost drowned when he was a kit. He didn't remember much about this; all he remember was a weird murmuring cat and some creepy words. But that all that was that was in his memory, because, exhausted and half-drowned as he was at the time, he had fallen asleep for the rest of the incident.

"Bushpaw?" Dustpaw asked. "Are you going to catch me?"

Lost in thought, Bushpaw had just stood there, doing nothing. His mother called it flying off to another world. He did that often, standing around and thinking. Bushpaw bounded after his friend.

Featherstar appeared from behind the apprentice's den, a frown spread across her face.

"You're too young to be playing chase!" she scolded. Bushpaw and Dustpaw froze obediently, but confusion was written across their faces. Featherstar's frown turned into a smile. "You've been training for six moons. Do you know what that means?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

"We-we can become warriors?!" Dustpaw yowled with delight. Bushpaw's heart was pumping so hard that he was sure that kittypets all the way in the Twolegplace could hear it.

Featherstar jumped onto the Tallstone and yowled, "RockClan, gather beneath Tallstone to congratulate two apprentices who have completed their training, and are ready to become warriors!" All the cats of RockClan gathered beneath Tallstone.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Bushpaw said under his breath.

"I know," Dustpaw whispered back.

"Bushpaw, step forward. You have trained under Iceflight, and you have trained well. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect your clan under all circumstances?" Featherstar asked.

"I do!" Bushpaw meowed.

"By the power invested in me, I give you your warrior name. From now on, you shall be known as Bushnose. We welcome you as a full warrior of RockClan," the clan leader finished.

"Dustpaw, step forward. You have trained under Littlewind, and you have trained hard. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect you clan under all circumstances?"

"I do!" Dustpaw yowled determinedly.

"By the power invested in me, I give you your warrior name. From now on you shall be known as Dustclaw. We welcome you as a full warrior of RockClan!" Featherstar yowled.

"Bushnose! Dustclaw! Bushnose! Dustclaw!" the clan chanted.

"We're warriors! We're warriors! We made it through all that training without dying," Dustclaw said with a laugh.

"I know! Finally," Bushnose agreed.

Featherstar leapt down from Tallstone, and shook her head at the two toms. "No talking; it's time for you silent vigil," she reminded them. Dustclaw scowled.

"Aw, mouse dung!" he cursed.

"Shh!" Featherstar hushed them through a purr. The two newly made warrior padded on to the camp entrance soundlessly.

Three moons later...

"Time for dawn patrol!" Whitedew purred.

"Again? It's like our tenth time this moon on dawn patrol! We should get a break!" Bushnose complained.

"Just kidding! Fallear already went out with the dawn patrol," Whitedew meowed. "Oh look, they're back already!" she added.

"Bad news," Boulderstrike panted. "Fallear followed a rabbit down its whole, and we don't think he'll make it."

"Get Flametoe!" Featherstar demanded.

"He's already with him," Windflight told them. "Flametoe doesn't think he'll be able to save him."

Bushnose ran to the medicine cat den. Feathertwist was already there. "Is... he... okay...?" Bushnose said between pants.

"Well, I don't know," Flametoe said. "He's got a few broken limbs, and I don't know what happened to his back, but he can't get up." Flametoe sighed. "If we don't want to make him suffer..."

Bushnose followed the medicine cat's gaze to a pile of bright red berries.

"No! You can save him!" Feathertwist hissed.

"What's wrong with a few berries?" Bushnose asked.

"Those aren't just any berries, young warrior. Those are deathberries. One berry can kill even a warrior," Flametoe said.

"Then why would you think of giving them to my father?!" he exclaimed.

"I might not be able to save him. I'm-"

"Could you at least try?" Feathertwist snapped. "You will save him." she meowed firmly and limped away.

"She has to choose a new deputy soon," muttered Dustclaw. "Do you think it'll be Windflight?"

They had just finished vigil for Fallear. The clan was still grieving.

"I'm going to check on Feathertwist," Bushnose mewed.

Feathertwist had gone into shock because she had watched Flametoe feed deathberries to her mate.

He walked into the medicine cat den. "Have you gotten her to eat anything?" he mewed worriedly.

"Nope. She hasn't eaten or spoken since she saw me with Fallear. She won't even look up," Flametoe said sadly

"Gather beneath Tallstone to hear my words, RockClan! The new deputy will be Bushnose."