Warriors: The Cycle of the Night Flower
Book 1: Budding Moon
Chapter 1

The black she-cat's ice-blue eyes shot open upon being prodded sharply. She let out a soft hiss, her eyes flashing wide to see the sight of a large white paw in her face.

"Get up," meowed the owner of the paw. The cat pulled his front paw back to his chest, green eyes gazing over her pelt as he stood above her. Around her, the she-cat could already hear the rustling of her companions as they were poked awake by similar welcomes. The cat who jousted her into the world of the conscious had a pelt the color of flame, except for his paws which were dotted like snow. The black cat let the smells and sights flood her senses, registering a large number of new scents immediately. Blinking her eyes, she pawed at them repeatedly until finally looking out over the mass of cats weaving through the trees around them.

"Well don't just stand there!" scoffed the orange tom as he nudged her to her feet. "Get your pals up and moving." He flicked his ear sharply and shrugged past her to another cat. She shot an icy stare at the back of his head before turning to the cats nestled closest to her own body. By now, they were awake. A black tom was pushing himself to his paws next to her, unwrapping his feathered-tail from around himself as he did. Tabby markings could barely be seen clinging to his lean frame against his already ebony fur.

"Are these the cats you told us about?" he asked, his green eyes gleaming in the morning light.

"Yes," she replied. "Finding them was easier than I thought."

"Don't jinx anything," came a soft meow as a cat the color of cream cheese wove his way around the bodies of a few other cats before stopping in front of them. "They might not take us in."

"Positive thinking," scoffed black tom. The ebony she-cat's nose twitched as she held back a giggle at her friends. That's when a brown tabby lurched over a fallen branch just out of their vision and bounded into view. His muscles stretched under his pelt as he rushed up next to the she-cat, almost stepping on her silver-tipped tail as he skidded to a stop.

"I think they're about ready to head to camp," he meowed urgently.

"But some of us are hardly awake!" she growled, flattening her ears.

"Well it is their territory..." the black tabby pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Whatever. Just make sure everyone's up!" she insisted and pushed her way out of her nest of friends. Her nose carried her straight to a familiar old tabby tom cat, the one with the crooked tail.

"Are we about to leave?" she asked, raising a paw up as she blinked at him.

"Yes. Hurry and gather your friends. And our warriors have you flanked at every angle. So don't try anything funny," he replied in his gruff meow, his auburn eyes narrowing. Now in the daylight, the she-cat caught a fairer glimpse of the old tom. His muzzle and flanks were torn up with battle scars and his ears were missing a few chips here and there. She rolled her eyes at him and bounded back, having every intention of meeting back up with her friends, but almost immediately she was cut off by a fiery pelt placing itself right in front of her path. Her paws skidded to a stop and she let out a hiss as the soft dirt laced around her toes, her pelt barely brushing the tips of the hairs of the cat in front of her.

"What?" she shot at him, a bit too harshly. It was the cat who had woken her.

"You'll be walking with me," he explained with something of a smirk covering his muzzle. "Twistedtail ordered me to keep an eye on you since you seem to be the leader of this lot of rouges!" Immediately, her ears swiveled backwards and she bared her teeth, but then pulled her lips back down. They weren't rogues, but there was no point in starting a fuss with the cats helping you right? Of course, she had no idea how these cats came to that conclusion. Her? Leader?

"Twistedtail?" she repeated in hopes of hiding her frustrations. The flame-colored tomcat flicked a feathered ear towards the old tabby tom with the broken tail that was weaving his way out of the sight through the trees just ahead. "He's our deputy," he explained. Ha! She knew it! "And I'm Flamefoot," the warrior went on. At this, the she-cat rolled her shoulders boredly.

"Lovely," she murmured nonchalantly.

"And you are?" he shot back, flicking her little pink nose with the tip of his tail. She wiggled it, cross-eyed, and dabbed at it with her paw a couple times.

"I...uh...don't really know," she stammered as she started taking her first steps out of the clearing and in the direction of the other cats, Flamefoot flanking her right with quick and agile steps. She felt a little embarrassed to say it, but that was how it had been with all of her friends since they had woke up in this forest a few days ago. They all knew they knew each other and they all knew they were close friends, but every time one of them opened their muzzles to say one of their names, it was like they couldn't remember. They couldn't even remember their own names! Flamefoot shot her a cynical look, furrowing the hair above one of his brilliant green eyes.

"That's interesting..." he snickered under his breath. She was no longer paying attention to him. Now she was checking up on her friends out of the corner of her eyes. A large ginger tom wasn't far behind her, a well-groomed, dark silver she-cat with long whiskers by his side. Not far away either was the black tabby and the other fluffy, brown tabby who had told her Twistedtail was leaving. Another small tom was by his side, a lighter shade of brown with bark-colored markings. On that tom's other side was yet another tabby, but he was much smaller and of a much darker tone. Towards the back of the group was the cream-colored tom, supporting the weight of an older, raggedy-looking, brown cat with confusing reptile-like markings. Another cream cat, a she-cat, was on his other side, but her paws were dipped in white. A white and brown she-cat was helping as well, not a couple pawsteps away. On the cream tom's other flank was a tall, lean cat with fur the color of rose-faded sand and a tail that was as bright as a fox's.

Somewhere in the middle of the mass was a cluster of cats comprised of a silver speckled tom and another tom who was gray and white with black tabby markings. A white she-cat with ears, paws, and a tail dipped in orange, and a brown-and-red splotched tom padded side by side not far away. Not far from them was a white tom with streaks of gray cascading down his back and flowing over his face. Another white tom was beside him but his face, ears, tail, and paws were dipped in the color of marigolds. Everyone seemed accounted for. Her ears swiveled as she looked around and noticed the mass of cats that carried the scent of the forest on their pelts flanked all of them in a big circle.

"Don't worry," meowed Flamefoot suddenly. For a minute, the black she-cat had forgotten he was there. "We ThunderClan cats don't bite unless you give us a reason too!" Again, she rolled her eyes.

One by one, the cats filed in through the briar entrance that led into the rock clearing which was flourished with scents of the forest and dozens of cat scents. This process seemed to take forever and between the cats already here and the cats coming in, the clearing quickly became just short of crowded. A large stone was centered in the middle of the clearing and a white and bark-colored she-cat sat atop it, giving her just enough height over all the cats in the clearing.

"These are the cats you were talking about, Twistedtail?" she meowed, flicking an ear slightly in surprise as she looked at the old tabby who stepped forward out of the mass of cats. "There's even more than you mentioned."

"My apologies, Hollowstar," he meowed softly with a polite nod. The one called Hollowstar rose a regal head and looked out over the throng of felines.

"Will your leader please step forward?" she asked calmly. The black she-cat had every intention of staying put, but a nudge from behind from a certain white-footed, flame-pelted tom thrust her forward and her ears flattened shyly. Hollowstar blinked for a moment before dropping her amber gaze on the ebony she-cat. "How are your cats?" she asked. The young black cat could tell the leader had almost said 'warriors' out of habit instead of 'cats'.

"Fine," she replied with surprising steadiness to her voice. "We have a couple thorns in our pads, a couple scratches, and some tiredness. But we're fine. Thank you." She bowed her head politely, even lower than was necessary probably, and her ears burned with embarrassment when she noticed her friends not doing the same. Holding back a hiss, she gulped instead, but what was she going to do? They didn't understand Clan life.

"Our medicine cat will tend to your wounded," Hollowstar mewed, ushering to a white she-cat stepping out of a tunnel in the back of the clearing. The medicine cat's pelt was as pure as snow except for a tail splotched with shades of orange, brown, and black. "Now, what is it that you are in need of?" It was such a bold answer that she knew she was going to have to give that she tensed up her entire body.

"A place to stay and rest our paws," she replied. At once, meows arose throughout the clearing from Clan cats. Most of them were gasps of disbelief and then others were scowls of hatred. She knew this hadn't been a good idea. Looking up at Hollowstar, the leader's ears were perked and her eyes only slightly wider than usual.

"A bold request," she meowed softly, her tail flicking back and forth absentmindedly.

"I know," the black she-cat meowed, lowering her head even further. "But we have nowhere else to go and I don't know who else to turn to. We've woken up suddenly in a world in which we're not familiar and I've heard stories of the warrior cat Clans. It's the only option we have." She kept her blue gaze down. She didn't need it to realize the piercing stares she was receiving from ThunderClan cats.

"That's quite an interesting story..." Hollowstar murmured. Ha! She didn't know the half of it... "I'm more than inclined to listen." The silver-muzzled she-cat rose and looked at the ThunderClan leader.

"It's a long story, Hollowstar," she sighed. "Frankly, not one I'm willing to share with so many ears." For a moment, the leader's own ears flattened a little, but then they returned to normal.

"Very well," she nodded. "We will speak in my den." Her lean body leapt down from the rock where she landed in front of her black, non-Clan visitor.

"Wait, Hollowstar!" came a sudden yowl as a light brown tabby shrugged his way into view from the mass of his Clanmates. A sharp, broken front tooth shimmered as he talked. "Can you really trust a mangy rogue alone with you?" The black she-cat held back a hiss. How many times was she going to be called that today? Luckily, the ThunderClan leader came to her defense.

"Calm yourself, Jaggedtooth," Hollowstar meowed with a flick of her tail. "If they've traveled as far as they say, then she will be far too tired to attack a healthy cat like me." Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she looked at the black she-cat. "I'm sure..." she cut herself off. "What is your name again?" she asked. Once again, the black she-cat felt lower than a mouse.

"I...don't have one..." she whispered. This time, the leader blinked repeatedly in surprise. A long strand of silence enveloped the clearing and the black she-cat could feel dozens of gazes burning into her fur. "Come then," Hollowstar finally meowed and turned, weaving into a rocky crevice just ahead. Quickly, the ebony cat bounded after her.

"Think she'll be safe in there?" murmured the cream-colored tom cat as he weaved his lean body through the mass of cats, pushing his way up to his black tabby-marked friend. He flicked his wisp of a tail and wrapped it calmly around his paws as he addressed the lighter-colored cat.

"She knows more about these cats than us," he pointed out. "She knows what she's doing." Just to his flank, the muscular tabby could be seen sheathing and unsheathing his claws repeatedly, the fur along his spine bristling. The large, ginger-pelted tom was making his way through the throng of cats towards them, leaving his place next to the dark-silver she-cat he had been with constantly until now. He took a seat next to the black tabby and opened his muzzle to speak but was cut off as a blur of dark colors swept in front of the cats' vision, appearing as a pair of she-cats that wove up next to them. Both were short and lean, one the color of the night sky with pale green eyes and the other the shade of soot with eyes like marigold.

"Welcome to our camp," meowed the gray one. "I'm Mouseear, and this is Ghosttail," she added, pointing to her friend with her tail. Ghosttail nodded good-naturedly.

"We hope that some of the other warriors didn't make you nervous," she meowed. The large ginger tom and the black tabby exchanged a glance. They could tell these were young cats, albeit kind. "What are your names?" The cream-colored tom flattened his ears and shot his gaze downwards, suddenly interested in his paws.

He shuffled them nervously as he mewed, "We...can't remember..." His friends confirmed his words with a nod or a flick of an ear. Ghosttail and Mouseear seemed to take a step backwards. They blinked a couple times and Mouseear lifted a paw curiously.

"Wow! Really? That's weird!" she giggled. She stuck her nose out about a mouse-length from the ginger tom's nose. He blinked repeatedly, a bit taken back.

"Er..."

"You look like a lion!" she mewed, flicking her tail before averting her gaze to the black tabby at his side. "And you look like a shadow!" Ghosttail chuckled at her friend. "Hey! Can I call you guys that? Lion and Shadow?" The ginger tom took a step back, holding a massive paw up between him and the she-cat.

"I...really don't care..."

"No," the black tabby mewed abruptly and flicked an ear carelessly but Mouseear was already padding away.

"She'll call you that anyway," Ghosttail grinned before following her friend casually.

"She's right about one thing though..." the small, pale tom meowed. "We need names."

"I know!" growled the muscular tabby as he padded up them, his claws out of their sheathes. "I'm tired of being called 'that tabby'!" Just as those words left his muzzle, their lean, black she-cat friend wove her way out of the crevice her and Hollowstar had entered earlier. The leader left the den right behind her, but the white-and-bark-colored she-cat padded over to another group of Clan cats and sat down to talk while the black cat bounded over to them.

"I've got the okay for us to stay!" she meowed brightly. "With some exceptions of course. We've got to stay out here in the clearing, not the warrior's den, and we'll have to hunt with them. They won't just feed us."

"Sounds fair," the ginger tom meowed.

"Oh, and we need names," she added, her whiskers twitching. The small tom and the fluffy tabby gave each other looks.

"Maybe we should come up with Clan names!" came the bright meow of a tom from behind them. The group turned to see their friend, the tom that was white except for the gray circles around his eyes, his paws, and the stripes down his back. "They have really interesting names! And maybe it'll help us fit in more!" The black she-cat shot him a look and then gazed at the others.

"Sounds good to me..." She looked at the others for approval and they all seemed to shrug or cast their glance away. Her eyes scanned out over her group of cats. "Okay, tell the others," she meowed to the white and silver tom.

"Sure," he nodded. "And I already came up with mine... Well, Foxface did."

"Foxface?" repeated the ginger tom, tilting his head.

"That cat over there," the white tom replied, pointing to a dark, rusty-colored cat across the clearing with a muddled red face. "He suggested Icestripe and I like it!" he meowed with a grin.

"Okay then!" the black she-cat purred as Icestripe bounded off.

"Some other warriors were just over here saying that they looked like a lion and a shadow..." the pale tom chuckled, ushering to his friends. The two toms rolled their eyes and the she-cat smirked before looking at the small cream cat.

"How's your dad and sister?" He blinked a couple times before turning and racing off across the clearing but quickly disappeared in the throng of pelts, apparently suddenly racked with an important memory.

"It appears Hollowstar is going to let you stay with us..." came the gruff meow from behind. The black she-cat turned to see Twistedtail giving her a stern stare. "Very well. But you'll need names."

"We know. We're coming up with Clan names for ourselves," she replied to which she was responded to with a furrowed glance and suddenly she felt like an intruder. "But we're not going to get ceremonies or anything..." she quickly added.

"Well..." the deputy grunted, flicking his ear. "I'm sending out a hunting patrol. Select the fittest of your cats to accompany us. We'll need food for us all." The ebony cat lowered her head as the old, dark tabby padded away. ...So... who to take? She would go definitely. Her arrow-shaped head looked out over her cats which were, by now, scattered so as to speak with Clan cats, but they were still relatively in the center of the clearing together. She glanced over at Icestripe and rolled her eyes. He was way too busy gossiping. Her eyes fell on the cream tom in the corner of the clearing. He and his sister, the cream she-cat with white paws, both looked busy. Their rustled brown father was in no condition either and the white-and-brown she-cat next to them seemed a bit busy worrying herself. So they weren't an option.

"Hey, I like your fur," came the smooth meow not far behind her silver-tipped ear. She pivoted to see her red-tailed friend scooting closer to a small, smoky she-cat with white dots along her forehead. She rolled her eyes and strutted over.

"Hey, Casanova!" she growled, lashing her tail. "If you're well enough to flirt, then you're well enough to go hunting!" He glanced up at her and flicked his tail, turning his head indignantly.

"What? You're kidding?"

"Nope. Let's go!" she meowed, calling him over with her tail. "Oh, and be thinking of a name for yourself."

"Call him Blazetail," meowed the little she-cat with the spotted forehead. "Because he's smokin'!" Her whiskers twitched in amusement as she got to her paws and began to walk away, drawing her white-tipped tail underneath the rosy tom's soft chin. "I'm Ashpaw, by the way," she grinned and bounded off. The ebony she-cat blinked her blue eyes in disbelief. She was only an apprentice!

"Blazetail... I like it!" he chortled. She rolled her eyes and glanced at his long, fiery colored tail. At least it fit...

"Fine, Blazetail," she hissed, putting emphasis on his new name. "Let's go." Her gaze scanned the clearing as she shouldered between the cats. Almost immediately, the fluffy tabby pushed his way to her flank. His muzzle brushed against hers for a split second before she backed herself away.

"Busy?"

"Twistedtail said the fittest of us have to go hunting with a patrol," she replied with an uncomfortable smile on her muzzle.

"I'll go then," he said, draping his striped tail over her shoulder. She felt herself shiver but then blinked quickly as a rush of darkness swept in front of her, only for her to realize it was her dark-pelted tabby friend, giving her an excuse to pull back from the fluffy tabby next to her.

"If you need hunters..." he trailed off, flicking a lazy ear.

"Okay, come on Shadow," she giggled with a teasing glance.

By the time she reached the bramble-padded entrance to the camp, she had gathered Blazetail, the large tabby, "Shadow", the red-and-brown splotched tom, the lean gray tom with black specks, and the white and gray tom with black tabby markings. Meeting them at the entrance was the dark tabby tom with the broken front tooth - Jaggedtooth, a pale yellow she-cat that stood tall but was missing most of her tail, Mouseear, and a smooth-pelted silver tom with a sheen to his fur.

"I'm Dawnstorm," meowed the pale she-cat without the tail. Her voice was tired and calm, leading the others to believe she was on her way to the elder's den.

"This is Silverpaw," grumbled Jaggedtooth, ushering to the silver tom. "Our leader's apprentice." The ebony she-cat blinked her icy eyes and gazed at Silverpaw. To be a leader's apprentice...? That was special. She could also tell he was every bit as tall as she was, and the muscles beneath his pelt stood out in all the right places, making him look like quite a warrior.

"Ready to get going?" Mouseear mewed, flanking "Shadow" as she touched his shoulders with her tail. He shrugged it off and flicked an ear. Rolling her eyes, the black she-cat looked ahead and the Clan cats and nodded before they scrambled through the camp entrance and into the forest.