Chapter 2: The Clan

Shadowpaw led me up the hill. It took me a while to climb up the steep hill. I had been walking all day, my paws hurt, and I was attacked by another clan cat when I tried to talk to him. Leafpaw's light blue eyes glanced at me for a second, she then turned her tail on me and headed off towards the bushes. She don't trust me. I didn't really blame her. I am a stranger in her clan's territory after all. Her sister, though, is much more trusting.

We soon came to a bracken wall. There was an opening to where we could go through. Leafpaw went through first, fallowed by Shadowpaw. I hesitated before going in. My mother did say in her stories that some clan cats were vicious, conniving cats. "wolf? Whats wrong? Are you coming?" Shadowpaw pooped her head out of the opening. Her bright green eyes reflected the morning light. I knew Shadowpaw was not one of those cats. I fallowed her through the opening.

"Welocme to Skyclan's camp!" I stepped out into a grassy clearing with six dome shaped mounds with moss covering them. The clearing was filled with cats. Two kits ran past us chasing a moss ball. "Those two were Featherkit and Mosskit. Thats their mother over there." Useing her tail Shadowpaw indicated to a light brown she cat, who was eating a mouse. My stomach growled with hunger.

"Shadowpaw! Leafpaw!" A ginger she-cat with blue eyes ran up to us. "Where in Starclan have you been?! The whole clan's been looking for you!" She paid no attention to me. "We're fine, mother." Leafpaw mewed sounding a bit annoyed at her mother's over protectiveness. "Yes, buy-" Dawntail, relax. They're not kits any more. And the whole clane hasn't been looking for them. Just the dawn patrol. Although, might i suggest you don't go exploring at night again." A large black tom with yellow eyes and a white patch on his chest rested his tail over Dawntail's shoulders. I assumed they were mates. "Sure, dad."Shadowpaw mewed. "But Crowheart-" "They are fine, Dawntil." Crowheart purred.

His yellow eyes then fell on me. "Who is that?" His fur fluffed up a bit. I gulped. "Huh? Oh! His name is Wolf. He needs to speak with Cloudstar and-" "You brought a loner into camp?! Are you completely mouse brained?!" He yowled. I flattened my ears and backed away. Shadowpaw and Leafpaw jumped in surprise. "whats going on here?" A large grey tom with white splash on his chest and green up behind Crowheart. Crowheart spun around. "Cloudstar! I'm sorry but it seems my daughters brought a loner into camp. He said. Cloudstar looked over at me. "Well...he don't look like much of a threat." He mewed to himself. I dropped one ear to show annoyance. Then I realized I probably did look a little scrawny. My fur was filthy, I was hungry, my paws hurt, and I was so tired I was half asleep on my paws.

"He claimes he wants to speak with you." Dawntail stated. "Really? What for?" I lowered my head in respect and said: "Please, Cloudstar, I wish to speak with you and your medicine cat. It's about my mother." Cloudstar blinked. "Rosebriar!" He called over to a ginger and brown she cat sitting near one of the mounds covered in moss. He looked at me, Shadowpaw, and Leafpaw and said "Come with me." He turned and walked back to a large boulder near the far right of the clearing.

"Owlclaw." Cloudstar motioned for a brown and grey tabby tom with yellow eyes to fallow. Cloudstar lead us to the boulder which had a lichen and moss curtain over an opening. Inside the rock was a hollowed out area with a moss nest in the center. Cloudstar sat in the nest and Rosebriar and Owlclaw sat on either side of him. Shadowpaw and Leafpaw sat on either side of me. Cloudstar stared at me intently. I stared back, unblinking. "Whats your name?" He finally asked. "Wolf." I replied as calmly as possible. "This is Owlclaw, my deputy, and Rosebriar, my medicine cat. What did you want to talk to me about?" "It's my mother. She's sick. She used to tell me and my brother stories about the clans and I hoped I could find a medicine cat to help her. It was the only thing I could think of to help her" I replied. "What are her symptoms?" Rosebriar asked. "well, she has a fever, she cant keep anything down, and she hardly moves." I said. "Hmm...It sounds like green cough. It is almost leaf bare so I wouldn't be surprised if that what it was." Rosebriar said.

"Why should we waste our healing herbs on a loner? We have nursing and expecting queens, kits, and elders that need them more." Owlclaw hissed. "Please, I'll do anything in return!" I begged. "Well Cloudstar? Will you allow me to help, or will you let his mother die?" Rosebriar challenged. I looked at cloudstar expectantly. after a while he mewed, bluntly: "Will you be willing to becoe a Skyclan apprentice?" I starred at him in shock and confusion. Did he really just ask that? Shadowoaw and Leafpaw stared at me intently. "Yes. I will become an apprentice." I answered calmly. Cloudstar looked sattisfied. "Owlclaw, you and Crowheart will travel to the loner terittory with Wolf to retrieve his mother." Cloudstar said. Owlclaw looked like he wanted to protest but he just nodded and said "Yes, Cloudstar" I was lead out of the den by Owlclaw. We got Crowheart and headed out of the Skyclan camp.

...

When we got to our den ony Scrao was there. Owlclaw and Crowheart walked past Scrap, ignoring him completely, and into the den. "Wolf, I can't beleive it! You actually found them!" Scap mewed excitedly. I hesitated before telling him what I had to do to get them to help. "Scrap, in exchange for their help, I promised to become an apprentice for Skyclan." Scrap's tail dropped with a thud. "Y-you're leaving? How Could you! You're my brother, you're suposed to stay with me!" He yowled. I took a step back. "Why are you so mad?" I asked confused. I thought he'd be happy for me. "Why am I mad?! I'm mad because you"re betraying your family! Clan cats killed our dad!" He screeched. "What are you talking about? He was friends with the clans. Mom told us he dissapeared before we were born" I replied

"That's what mother told us! But I've always beleived he was killed by a clan cat! If you want to go and play warrior with a bunch of murderers then be my guest!" Scrap hissed in m face, turned his back on me and stalked away. Owlclaw walked past me with my mmother lying limply over his broad shoulders. Crowheart stopped next to me. "Come on, Wolf. We need to get back." He mewed sounding sympathetic.

...

By the timw we made it back to Skyclan camp it was past sunhigh. Owlclaw disappeared into what I assumed was the medicine den. I went to fallow but Rosebriar stopped me. "Im sorry but you can't come in yet. I can't risk anyone else catching it." She mewed and went inside. I found Shadowpaw sitting with Leafpaw by the apprentice den. I walked over and sat next to them. "Don't worry about you mom. Rosebriar is one of the best medicine cats Skyclan has ever had." Leafpaw said. I just nodded. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the skyrock for aclan meeting!" Cloudstar's yowl echoed through the clan.

Shadowpaw, Leafpaw,and I gathered under the rock. The warriors gathered with the queens, elders, other apprentices, and several kits. "Wolf, come forward." Cloudstar mewed. I gullped and stepped forward. "This young cat has agreed to become an apprentice in exchange for Rosebriar's help. From now on, untill he heas received his warrior name, this cat will be known as Wolfpaw. His mentor wll be...me. I will try my best to teack him the ways of a clan cat and of a warrior." I stared at Cloudstar in surprise. Several cats muttered to themselved. Cloudstar leaped form the top of the rock and touched noses with me. The cats broke appart and gossiped in their own little groups. "Go get something from the freshkill pile and get sime rest. You look exhausted We'll start training tomarro." Cloudstar said and vanished into his den.

Shadowpaw bounded up to me "Welcome to Skyclan, Wolfpaw!" She mewed. "Thanks," I said. Leafpaw dropped a mouse at my feet. I tryed not to eat it too fast. When I swallowd the last bit, Shadowpaw said "Come on, you have to meet the other apprentices." She led me into one of the dens. There was a white she cat, a bark brown tabby tom with black paws, a brown tabby tom, and a cream collored tom inside. "This is Whitepaw, her brother Adderpaw, Dustpaw, and his brother Molepaw." Leafpaw introduced us. "Hi, Wolpaw. Adderpaw built you're new nest. Try it out." Whitepaw mewed friendly. I sat down in the nest. It was a lot better than what I slept on at my old den, which was dirt. "Goodluck on haveing Cloudstar as a mentor. I heard wen he was a warrior, he had his apprentice fight a fox by itsealf to teack it how to fight." Adderpaw said. "Adderpaw! Stop scareing him!" Leafpaw snapped.

"Don't worry, thats not true. Its just an old story queens tell kits to make them listen to their mentors." Molepaw added. I sighed in releif. Dust paw pointedly turned his back on me. I ignored him. "Shadowpaw! Leafpaw! Lets go, we're going hunting with Ivypelt. Dustpaw, molepaw, you two arre going with Redwhisker on patrol. Whitepaw, Adderpaw, Poppyfern wants you to clean the elders and Queens nests." Owlclaw stuck his head into the den. "See ya!" Shadowpaw mewed and left the dn with the others. I was alone. I yawned and settled down in my new nest, I fell asleep almost instantly.

A/N: sorry it took me so long to update this. I had stupid writers block.