Chapter 2

Wolf leapt through the air and landed on the sparrow, breaking it's neck quickly. The bird was plump, another sign of newleaf. She had waken up to the sound of dripping snow and the sun was up early. She could almost purr in relieve. She had survived her second leafbare! With the help of Stonepool of course. He had visited her frequently through the cold months, bringing her prey and herbs when she got sick. She owed her life to those herbs. Twice she had whitecough, which developed into greencough the second time.

Suddenly she heard a squeal, breaking her from her thoughts. It sounded like kits! She raced towards the noise, running blindly though the forest. She came to a sudden stop as she reached a clearing, just over the Thunderclan border. A badger had two young kittens cornered and was slowly advancing towards them. Without thinking Wolf leaped onto the badgers back. It madly tried to swing her off but she held on with all of her strength until her legs burned from the effort. At last it flung her off and she flew through the air and smacked into a tree. She landed heavily on her paws winded. The badger advanced towards her.

'At least I distracted it from the kits' she thought meekly.

She ducked the badgers claws as it swiped at her head, only to meet it's other paw. A flash of pain ripped through her as her side was ripped open. She sagged down, unable to stand. She tried to dodge as the badger went for her back legs but hole in her pelt restricted her. She saw black spots on the edge of her vision as the creature slashed her leg. This time she could not support her weight at all and she dropped to the ground in defeat. She was losing too much blood. She was going to,black out.

'Im so sorry kits. I tried to save you' she yowled in her head.

She woke up in a dim forest. It was nothing like the one she was just in; this one had an essence of peace around it making Wolf feel save and protected.

"Hello Wolf." A she-cat mewed from behind her. She spun around to see who it was and gasped. The cat was glowing with a silvery light and she had stars in her pelt.

"I'm in Starclan!" She mewed in awe. "That means...I'm...I'm." She broke off.

"You're not dead Wolf." The she-cat said.

"What!? Well what am I doing here then? Let me go back. The kits. I failed. I need to save them." Wolf was speaking quickly, her breathe coming in short gasps.

"The kits are safe. A patrol found them and chased the badger away." The she-cat explained.

Wolf let out a relieved breath. "Ok. But what am I doing here?"

"Under any other circumstances you would have been killed by those wounds but Starclan has decided to spare you. You have a destiny that is intertwined with the clans."

"What? How? I'm not even a warrior." Wolf was flabbergasted.

The she-cat dipped her head. "I'm sorry I cannot tell you more. Now return to the forest. You are a living cat. You belong with the living."

"Wait. My mother. I know she doesn't walk these sky's but..."

"She is here. She believed in Starclan and she would have been a great warrior if she had the chance. We welcomed her into our ranks with open paws. You can't see her though. She misses you dearly and I'm afraid she wouldn't not want to let you go if she saw you. But don't worry. You'll see her when your time comes."

Wolf's eyes sparkled with sadness but she nodded, understanding. "Send me back."

"Close your eyes." The she-cat coaxed. Wolf did as she was told and suddenly the world came rushing back. An intense burning filled her whole left side as her wounds came back. She groaned and slowly became aware of her surroundings. She was in a dimly lit den that smelled of herbs. The medicine cat den she realized with a jolt. 'Im in the Thunderclan camp!' She thought with wonder.

"Look, Poppyleaf, she's awake!" A young cat called out. There was lots of commotion and a white cat with ginger patches came into her view.

"Smokekit go get Mothstar and Sandstripe. Tell them it's urgent." The grey kit ran out of the den. The cat turned to her. "Did you see Smokekit there? You saved her life. And her brother's. You're a loner. Why did you care about our kits?" The medicine cat seemed to be asking out of curiosity not hostility so she gave her a truthful answer.

"I know what it's like to lose cats. Plus, what kind of cat doesn't stop to help when she hears a kit being torn apart by a badger?"

"Oh there's plenty out there." Poppyleaf seemed to be questioning her motives.

"Well I'm not one of them." She retorted, narrowing her eyes.

"Clearly." Came a voice from the entrance of the den. Wolf whipped her head around to see a golden brown she cat and the yellow tom that she gave the mouse to last leaf-fall standing there. "Greeting. I'm Mothstar." Said the she-cat, the same voice that had just spoken. "You know my deputy already, Sandstripe."

Wolf sat up, slowly so she wouldn't reopen any wounds. Her leg still burned and her side felt like there was a giant hole in it. She tried not to grimace. She didn't want to show these cats weakness. "I'm assuming you know my name."

Mothstar chuckled. "Yes Stonepool and Sandstripe have told me much about you. They told me that I should invite you to join the clan. They told me you were loyal, brave, trustworthy. I didn't believe them until today. What you showed us was crazy. No cat in the right mind would take a badger on one to one. But you did. To save kits you didn't know. And you don't strike me as a cat who is insane Wolf. You are the cat that my warriors told me about. The brave one who gives up her prey to help others in need and risks her life to save young cats and it would be an honour if you would join the clan. We need more young cats and you're the perfect solution."

Wolf stared at her at a loss for words. Join he clan? Become a warrior? It was all she had ever wanted. "Of...of course. I would love to become a warrior. It's all I've ever wanted."

Mothstar purred. "Great I'll tell the clan. Poppyleaf tells me that your wound will take about a moon to heal fully. After that you will start your warrior training. I've been informed that you have prior knowledge of the clan so you will probably only have to train for about 3 moons, depending on how fast you train." Mothstar bounded away to make the announcement. Sandstripe and Poppyleaf followed more slowly. As soon as she was alone she lay back down. Sitting up was exhausting and this was all happening so fast it still didn't make sense in her head. She closed her eyes and listened to Mothstar gather the clan. It was a sound she would get used to soon she realized with a trill of excitement. She was part of a clan!