Chapter 3
I stared at Leafwhisker. The way she had said those words, in that offhand way, was incredible. We had to choose a leader from amongst ourselves, but I thought it would have to be a long, tedious affair.
"Now," Leafwhisker continued, "I cannot be a leader and neither can any of the kits. They are too young and I have to take care of them."
She swept the four kits to her side and padded over to where the nursery stood at the edge of camp. I could see them silhouetted against the moon, which had just begun to rise.
"I don't want to be leader," Rainpaw meowed, a quiver in his voice. I glanced around at him and could see his wide eyes and the fur standing up along his spine. "I'm the youngest apprentice! Don't make me lead a Clan when I only know basic hunting skills and fighting moves!"
"It's ok, Rainpaw, no one will make you be leader if you don't want to be," Mistpaw reassured him.
"How about Blackpaw?" Breezepaw asked.
Blackpaw didn't answer. He was still crouched in his position of grief. I wondered how long he'd stay like that.
"No," Skypaw said firmly, "Blackpaw needs more time to recover from the shock of... of losing his family." her words died a little in her throat and I saw grief flickering in her eyes.
"All right, then, how about Mistpaw?" Breezepaw suggested.
"All eyes turned to Mistpaw, who had frozen, staring at Breezepaw. "Are you as mouse-brained as you look?" she meowed incredulously, "I'm the medicine cat. The MED-I-CINE CAT!" The last few words she said were spoken loudly, and had every syllable separated.
Breezepaw looked at his paws, evidently abashed. "Right," he muttered, "Sorry."
Skypaw broke in presumably to take the attention off of Breezepaw and to save him from further embarrassment.
I was wrong.
"Now that Breezepaw has proved himself to be a complete idiot," Breezepaw hunched his shoulders and flattened his ears, "we can figure out who will be the next leader."
She paused, looking around at the other apprentices. "I think the oldest apprentice should be the leader, as they would have the most experience."
Rainpaw nodded. "That makes sense. You and Breezepaw are the oldest, right? As you're littermates, I suppose you could choose between yourselves who should be the leader."
"Come on, Rainpaw! We're missing one very important cat!" Skypaw exclaimed. She turned and stared straight at me. "I think Snowpaw should be the leader."
I stared right back at Skypaw. She had to be joking!
But the other apprentices were nodding, looking at me. I felt myself shrinking beneath my fur.
"Skypaw's right," Rainpaw meowed, "Snowpaw would make a great leader!"
"I agree," Breezepaw said, glancing at his sister, "Great idea, Skypaw!"
Skypaw dipped her head in acknowledgement of Breezepaw's words.
Finally, I found my voice. "You all must be joking! I can't be a leader!"
Everyone stared at me.
"Skypaw should be leader!" I ranted, "You saw how she handled this situation; the way she picked the logical choice-"
I froze, horrified at what I had said.
"Exactly," Blackpaw meowed, speaking for the first time, "Skypaw picked the logical choice. You would make a great leader, Snowpaw."
"But-" I protested weakly.
"Snowpaw, you are going to be the leader," Skypaw said firmly, a hint of a growl in her voice.
I looked around at the other apprentices and sighed. I saw no way out.
"All right," I relented, "I'll be the leader."