Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This is turning out to be a pretty popular story. ^^ So here's chapter three!

One more thing: Does anyone know what color Ravenpaw's eyes are? I can't seem to find my copy of Into the Wild to check. So until I hear otherwise, his eyes are green. Sorry if that bothers anyone.

I don't own any of these cats.

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Chapter Three: The Chosen

"The Tribe?" Graystripe repeated, wrinkling his nose in confusion at the unfamiliar word. "What in StarClan's name is a Tribe?"

Firestar shook his head, just as bewildered as his deputy. "Maybe I should talk to Cinderpelt about this. Hopefully she can make some sense out of it…"

The gray warrior's brow furrowed uncertainly. "I'm not so sure about that." He muttered, glancing around nervously. "Cinderpelt's been a little…Out of it since we left the forest. I think she's really upset about Brackenfur."

A shiver went down Firestar's spine at the mention of the name. The image of the golden tabby's horrific death played before his eyes and he head to shake his head to clear away the vision. He didn't blame Cinderpelt for being so distraught over her brother's death, but she was ThunderClan's medicine cat. She needed to be there for them now more than ever. "Come on, then." Firestar beckoned his deputy with his tail. "Let's go talk to her. Maybe we can make her feel better."

The moon had only just reached its height outside the barn, and most cats were still fast asleep. The only sounds in the barn were the scufflings of mice and the heavy breathing of cats lost deep in dreams of their own. Firestar and Graystripe picked their way carefully through the sleeping cats, careful not to tread on anyone's tail and cause a commotion. The other Clans would not be happy if ThunderClan woke them all up.

Cinderpelt was curled up asleep at the very edge of the group of ThunderClan cats. The tip of her tail twitched restlessly and Firestar could tell she was dreaming as well, though hers didn't seem to be a good dream. As they approached she let out a soft mew of distress and shifted in her sleep. Firestar bent his head and nosed the medicine cat gently, trying not to frighten her out of her sleep. The gray she-cat twitched and raised her head quickly, looking around in alarm.

"Oh, it's just you, Firestar." Cinderpelt sighed as her tired eyes focused on her leader. The skin seemed to be drawn tight over her face and fur was still matted with dried blood from the battle the day before. It didn't seem as though she had bothered to groom herself since the fight.

"Cinderpelt, are you alright?" Firestar mewed in concern, settling next to her and starting to groom her bedraggled pelt. Graystripe sat himself down next to her, running his tongue over her head. "You look downright awful."

"I'm fine." Cinderpelt insisted, not meeting her former mentor's gaze. "I'm just…Tired. We all are." Her voice sounded distant, as if her mind was in a different world; the world her brother currently walked in.

Firestar wasn't convinced. "I'm sorry about Brackenfur, Cinderpelt." The gray medicine cat turned her head away sadly at the mention of her brother's name. "He died a true warrior's death, fighting for his Clan. That's all any cat could ask of him." It was the only condolences Firestar could give, and he could only hope it would be enough for the young she-cat.

Cinderpelt's eyes closed and she heaved a huge sigh. "Why did you come to see me?" she asked, her voice heavy with unspoken emotions.

"Firestar had a dream." Graystripe blurted out suddenly. His whiskers were quivering with anticipation; he was eager to hear more detail on the dream StarClan had sent.

"Yes…" Firestar's tail twitched in exasperation and he fixed his old friend with a stern look. When the warrior looked away in embarrassment, Firestar launched into the story of his dream: "I was in the forest at Greenleaf, and when I got to Fourtrees all the cats who had died in the battle with BloodClan were gathered there, along with Bluestar and the cats who gave me my nine lives." He paused, expecting a response from Cinderpelt, but she was silent. "Brackenfur was their." Firestar pointed out hopefully.

"What did they tell you?" Cinderpelt pressed, ignoring Firestar's comment about her brother.

"Well…Bluestar told me that the Clans must drive BloodClan from the forest." Firestar continued. "Then…Then Cloudtail came forward. He said-"

"Cloudtail?" Graystripe echoed in disbelief. "Cloudtail didn't even believe in StarClan, and now he's making prophecies?"

"I suppose it's a little hard to say StarClan doesn't exist when you're with them, isn't it?" Firestar snapped, tired of Graystripe's interruptions. The gray warrior flicked his ears and looked away, his jaws clamped tight. "As I was saying," Firestar continued. "Cloudtail said that we must travel to the mountains far beyond Highstones and find the Tribe. He said they're our only chance of survival."

Silence met Firestar's words as both cats contemplated the meaning of Cloudtail's words. Finally Cinderpelt spoke up: "Well isn't it obvious what StarClan wants? They want you to travel to the mountains and find this 'Tribe'."

"I suppose." Firestar sighed. "I just wish they'd given me more of an idea how to get there."

Graystripe raised his head and peered through one of the holes in the roof of the barn. The sky was still and inky black color and the stars shone bright. "It's still a long time until sunrise." He meowed solemnly. "Until then we should get some sleep. It isn't wise to take any action before first discussing it with the other Clans."

Firestar nodded in agreement. He and Graystripe didn't bother returning to their own nests; instead they made themselves comfortable around Cinderpelt. Firestar was happy to curl up with his two closest friends after a cripplingly difficult day, and soon slipped into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

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"Could I talk to you three alone?" Firestar asked, padding over to where the three other leaders were sitting in silence together.

Tallstar looked up a Firestar's request and nodded. "Of course. Let's go outside where we won't be bothered." He stood and shook the hay from his pelt, then led the way out of the barn. Leopardstar and Oakfur both glanced uneasily at where their Clans were resting, then followed the older leader.

"What's this about, Firestar?" Leopardstar snapped irritably once they were situated in the cold morning light of leaf-bare.

"I-I had a dream last night." Firestar began, unsure of how to make his story seem plausible to the other leaders. "StarClan told me what we have to do to defeat BloodClan." He launched into the story of his dream once again, wary that the eyes of all three other leaders were drilling into it, hungry for information on how to save their Clans. When Firestar finished, silence fell, just as it had when he had told Cinderpelt and Graystripe.

"So we have to find some Tribe?" Oakfur sniffed finally. "I guess that can't be too hard…Where are these mountains anyway?"

Tallstar shook his head. "You can only just barely see the mountains if you climb to the top of Highstones. Huge peaks far away on the horizon. It would take at least a moon to get there."

"A whole moon!" Leopardstar yowled. "BloodClan will be stronger than ever by then! And there's no way we can take the Clans on a journey that long."

"We shouldn't take the whole Clans." Firestar argued. "Just a few cats that could ask this Tribe for help. The rest of the Clans should wait here."

"Well then, who should go?" Oakfur demanded after a pause.

"Firestar's the obvious choice, since he'd the one who had the dream." Tallstar pointed out calmly. "StarClan would not have sent him the dream if they didn't want him to go. However, he can't very well go alone."

"I suppose you think you should go with him?" Leopardstar sneered.

Tallstar gave a barking laugh. "No, actually, I'd much rather stay here and look after the barn. I'm too old for such a long journey."

"I think Littlecloud and I should go." Oakfur spoke up suddenly. The other leaders turned questioning looks on him, and he looked away in embarrassment. "I have to receive my nine lives from Highstones anyway, and Littlecloud wants to be the new medicine cat now that Runningnose is gone." His voice cracked as he spoke of the utter destruction of his Clan.

Firestar shook his head. "You can come with us to Highstones, but your Clan needs you here. Once you get your nine lives you will need to appoint a deputy."

The brown tom bared his teeth angrily. "And who will be my deputy? Cedarpaw? Smokekit? There are no warriors left in my Clan."

"Then you have a lot of work to do." Tallstar reasoned. "You can't leave your Clan behind for so long when it's in such a state." Oakfur hung his head, knowing the older leader was right.

"That still leaves me going alone." Firestar meowed worriedly. "I can't make such a journey on my own."

"I'll go with you." A new voice piped up and every cat's head whipped around in surprise. Ravenpaw was slipping through a crack in the wall of the barn, his green eyes glittering with mischief. "I've never been to the mountains before, but I have explored a little bit beyond Highstones.

Firestar gave his friend a warm look and purred in thanks. Though it would be a difficult journey, having Ravenpaw at his side would make it just like old times. If only he could bring Graystripe too…

Leopardstar huffed irritably at being interrupted by the eavesdropping loner. "I'd much rather not go with you either, but there should be a RiverClan representative with you. Mistyfoot should go with you, as she's the new deputy of RiverClan." She looked around defiantly, daring anyone to challenge her decision.

Tallstar nodded. "I've made Onewhisker the new WindClan deputy. He should go with you as well."

Oakfur averted his gaze from the others. "There is no one from ShadowClan that can go with you. We are small enough in numbers as it is."

Firestar flicked the unofficial leader with his tail comfortingly. It would be hard to rebuild ShadowClan, but he had faith in Oakfur and Littlecloud to set things right again. "Graystripe should stay here, since I'm going." The ginger leader decided. "But someone else from ThunderClan should go, since Ravenpaw is not a real ThunderClan cat."

"Firestar!" Another uninvited cat bundled out of the crack in the barn wall. This time it was Bramblepaw, Firestar's own apprentice. "Firestar, can I come too?"

"Bramblepaw, you're just an apprentice." Firestar told him sternly. "And you shouldn't eavesdrop on warrior's conversations. It's very rude."

Bramblepaw's tail drooped at Firestar's words, but he wasn't to be discouraged that easily. "Firestar, I was talking to Cinderpelt earlier about…About a dream I had." Firestar's ears perked up at the mention of a dream. Had StarClan sent Bramblepaw a sign as well? "I..I was at the top of a huge peak, higher up than Highstones even, and below me was a waterfall. I saw a few cats going behind the waterfall. Could that have been the tribe?"

Firestar looked at the other leaders in astonishment, but they were just as bewildered as he was. If StarClan had really sent Bramblepaw a sign like that, then it was obvious they wanted the apprentice to travel with them to the mountains.

Bramblepaw scuffled his paws on the ground in embarrassment. "Cinderpelt said the dream meant I should go with you to the mountains." He finished weakly.

"If Bramblepaw is going too, I want Featherpaw to go with Mistyfoot." Leopardstar meowed suddenly, her voice sharp. "Featherpaw shouldn't be without training for so long, and this would be good experience for her."

Firestar curled his lip in annoyance but didn't argue. The spotted leader would never let him talk her down if she though this was fair. "That means two from ThunderClan including me, two from RiverClan, and one from WindClan."

"That's all the cats I want to spare right now." Tallstar sighed. "We don't have any apprentices right now, and I don't want to spare another warrior."

Oakfur was silent, clawing at the ground angrily with his front claws. Obviously he was angry that there was no representative from ShadowClan, but he could not spare anyone to go with them.

"Then it's settled." Firestar announced with finality. "We'll leave in two days at dawn. Until then, ready your cats and make sure they'll be prepared for a very long journey." The other leaders nodded and bounded off to inform their Clans of what was going on. Firestar followed them more slowly, his mind reeling with all that needed to be done.

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Sorry for the long boring chapter. All this had to be explained, but it's a lot of dialogue and not much else happening. The next chapter will be much better, I promise!

Thanks again to all my reviewers!