Chapter 2-Troubles and Friends

Poor England didn't seem to catch a break as he did his best to try to get Canada back and make sure Kumajiro was fed. And adding the fact that it didn't take France and America too long to come over wondering where the heck their son/brother was makes for one British gentleman neck-deep in trouble.

"So let me get this right," America, Canada's older and louder twin brother, started as he looked his former guardian square in the eye, "You had Mattie come over to see you cast a spell that would give us Nations a boost of energy to help us get our work done faster."

"That's right Alfred," England replied nervously since he knows there's no way out of this one.

"And zhen when you were casting zhe spell," France, Canada's former guardian and strong father figure, added as he too followed America's stern glare, "some raccoons made some noise zat scared you both, messed you up on zhe spell, and send mon petit Mathieu to 'oo knows where?"

"Correct," the Brit replied, not bothering to insult his known enemy at the moment.

"And now you've been working your butt off trying to get him back and making sure his bear was fed as the gist of it?" America finished as France felt a paw on his leg.

"Hungry," Kumajiro said to the Frenchman and he replied, "Une minute, s'il vous plaît."

"That is the whole story," England replied as France rubbed his forehead in a way Germany would. "Mon dieu, Angleterre…"

"I did warn him about the bloody raccoons though, frog!"

"It doesn't matter since you screwed up and I have his boss on my butt wondering where the heck he is!" America shouted. "Now I have to tell him that you screwed up on a spell and made him disappear! Oh man, he'll never believe me!"

"Now, now Amérique, you don't 'ave to tell 'im anyting. Angleterre will be doing zhe talking since it's 'is fault in zhe first place," France replied calmly to the American before turning back to England. "Now I need to feed Kumajiro. May I use zhe kitchen?"

"Y-yes…of course," the Brit replied in defeat and thought at the others walked away, *Oh bloody hellwhat have I gotten myself into this time?*

Outside the window, Spottedleaf was purring in amusement as she watched the small family spat. *Don't worry, kin of the maple leafI'll help answer that question soon enough. I do thank you for bringing me back with your magic though and I'll show it tonight.

And it will be then all of you will understand his destiny for the Clans.*

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-WARRIORS/HETALIA-X-X-X-X-X -X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Maplestreak (Canada) was starting to like it in ThunderClan, though the Nation had no idea of what was in store for him from StarClan. He quickly made friends with Dovewing's mate Bumblestripe, a dark grey tom that had stripes on his back like a bumble bee.

"Yeah my mom Millie told me that they were the reason for my name," he sheepishly replied when he was asked, "And she felt better about keeping her old name rather than getting a new one because she said it was given to her and she didn't want to change it, along with Daisy and this other she-cat named Brook before she left for her Tribe. Oh I know, I'll show you around the camp if you'd like."

He accepted and soon was led to each den as Bumblestripe explained what they were for. After he saw the Warrior's den and Apprentice's den (of which Maplestreak was going to temporarily sleep in), they came to a den where the sound of many kits were heard.

"This is the Nursery," Bumblestripe began. "When a she-cat is expecting kits she moves here, gives birth, takes care of them, and the kits remain here until they are 6 moons old."

"What happens then?" the golden tom asked and his friend replied, "They become apprentices. At that point they get the new name of 'paw' from the leader and are given mentors to teach them to be warriors as well as move to the Apprentice's den until they finish their training and gain their warrior names."

Maplestreak nodded in understanding but then he felt something pounce on his tail, making him jump and shout, "MAPLE!"

A bit of giggling was heard and he looked to see a pale grey she-kit laughing at his reaction. "You're funny Maplestreak!"

Bumblestripe snickered a bit himself before looking at the kit with a mock scolding look. "Hey Swallowkit, what did Millie say about pouncing on other cats' tails?"

"Sorry big brother but I couldn't help it!" Swallowkit replied before she turned to the other tom. "Sorry Maplestreak."

"It's O.K. Swallowkit," he replied with a purr. "You just surprised me, that's all."

Millie's voice was soon heard calling her daughter and she soon scooted back inside. The other tom shook his head. "My sister always seemed to have that habit but I still love her all the same."

Maplestreak nodded as he soon fondly thought of his brother America, who was also a huge handful and had his bad quirks but still was well loved all the same. They soon went to the den next door which turned out to be the Medicine den where Jayfeather and Briarlight, who turned out to be Bumblestripe's other sister from the same litter as him, were hard at work sorting out herbs for the sick and hurt. After a few hellos, the two of them reached one last den that had a…rather…interesting smell.

"Oh that's mouse bile you're smelling," Bumblestripe quickly explained when he saw his friend wrinkle his nose in disgust at the stench. "You see this is the Elder's den where warriors and queens retire and rest after service until they pass away. They are usually cared for by the apprentices by bringing food, cleaning out the bedding, and applying mouse bile to get rid of ticks."

"Despite the smell, it's nice to see you have a way of showing gratitude towards cats who done many years of service," Maplestreak soon said and another voice sounded from within, "That's right youngin'. At least some do!"

An old brown tabby tom was seen laying in a mossy nest, purring in appreciation. "The name's Purdy. I helped some of these young cats find a way to this place and they let me stay here until I pass on."

"It's nice to meet you Purdy. My name is Maplestreak and I'm here to learn the Clan ways as well as help the cats in need here."

"Yeah, so I heard. I also hear you're a polite young cat. Not too many of those around here." Soon Purdy gave a yawn. "I think I'll take a bit of a nap now…"

He soon settled down to sleep and the two toms crept away quietly. Soon Maplestreak noticed a pale ginger she-cat near the Warriors' den, looking like she would cry.

Bumblestripe looked solemn. "That's Sandstorm, Firestar's former mate. She still is grieving for him when he died moons ago since she loved him so much. We tried everything but we can't seem to help her."

Maplestreak said nothing as he soon walked over to her and saw that look on her face was truly that of grief. He thought back to the wars he endured and remembered the many close friends he had lost, completely understanding the pain she feels now as he soon gave her a lick of comfort.

"I know your pain," he began softly as she soon looked up at his eyes that now reflect the truth of his words. "I've seen several friends and loved ones die in battle…but that doesn't mean they are gone forever. Cloudtail told me that when a cat of honour dies, they go to StarClan and even though we don't see Silverpelt now, I know that Firestar is watching you, watching all of ThunderClan and I'm sure he wouldn't want to see you like this because it would hurt him too. I think you should keep his memory alive in your heart and keep serving ThunderClan because I have this feeling it's what he wants you to do."

Sandstorm felt touched by this strange cat that only just joined and nodded to see he was right as her pain slowly began to fade. "I'll do it…I won't be caught like this anymore. Thank you Maplestreak, I accept your kindness."

She soon got up, gave him a lick in gratitude, and went to join a patrol that was just leaving.

Bumblestripe was impressed. "That was really good Maplestreak! We tried for days to help her! I think you'll do just fine here!"

He soon blushed in embarrassment at the praise. "I-I wanted to help her, t-that's all."

His friend gave him a gentle nudge. "And you're doing a good job of it too! Let's go get some fresh kill to eat before all of the good stuff is taken."

He followed the grey cat towards a pile of prey that the warriors and apprentices on hunting duty brought in. At first Maplestreak hesitated at the idea of eating a mouse, but then mentally slapped himself.

*Stupid me I'm a CAT now!* he thought in amusement as he picked up a mouse after Bumblestripe chose a sparrow. *Mon dieu I almost kept thinking like a human! I'm sure it's O.K. for me to eat fresh meat while I'm like this!*

As the two toms settled down amongst some other warriors to eat, he realized his theory was right on the money about eating prey; he loved the taste of mouse meat! He also listened in to many tales of past battles from the senior warriors. But soon he was listening the starting of what Bumblestripe's father, Greystripe, was telling the story of how Firestar came to the Clan as the older tom saw the two of them getting along.

"You two remind me so much of my old friendship with Firestar," he began as they ate and listened. "It may surprise you but Firestar was once a kittypet."

At this, Maplestreak almost choked in surprise and Bumblestripe stared as if his father grew two tails before shouting in disbelief, "FIRESTAR WAS KITTYPET BORN?!"

"Yes he was. I just started as an apprentice back then and I found him in our old forest home looking to hunt. At first I thought he was an intruder so I attacked him, but he surprised me in return by fighting back. Most kittypets usually run away but not Rusty, which was his old name at the time because of his ginger fur. No, I saw him more as a warrior than some soft kittypet and we became friends quickly before Bluestar, our old leader at the time, and Lionheart, my first mentor who died in a battle against ShadowClan, came out of the shadows. At first she scolded Rusty for trying to hunt but after he apologized, she offered him to come to the Clan and he accepted the next day…"

The story went on to how he beaten Longtail in a battle to earn his apprentice name Firepaw, how he broke the code when he met Yellowfang by eating before the Clan was fed, how he cared for her, and how he found out that Tigerclaw was a murderous traitor (which caused them to help Ravenpaw leave the camp and into safety of a farm with a loner named Barley since he saw Tigerclaw murder the old deputy Redtail). There was also how he lost his first crush Spottedleaf when his Clan's kits were stolen, but earn his warrior name of Fireheart by helping drive out another killer, named Brokenstar, out of ShadowClan since he used to make kits into apprentices too young and send them out as warriors younger still as well as killing his own Clan's kits (and blaming Yellowfang for it).

There was the mission of bringing WindClan back home after being driven out by ShadowClan, the trap that disabled his first apprentice, the exposure of Tigerclaw's acts that driven the dark warrior into exile and earning him the right to be deputy but allowing the enemy to be the new leader of ShadowClan, the war Bluestar had with StarClan since she was shaken by Tigerstar's betrayal, the dog pack where they lost one apprentice and another became badly scarred, and the plan to get rid of them where Bluestar lost her last life and he became Firstar.

Greystripe finished with the battle against BloodClan and the re-founding of SkyClan and both cats were in awe at the whole thing that they were silent as Maplestreak thought, *Maplehe was a great warrior and leader despite his origins. But will I be the same way? After all, I'm not even a real cat nor a humanNo. I'll do my best for this Clan and the other Clans. As that voice from StarClan said, I need to bring back the light they lost in the Dark Forest War and I already did so with Sandstorm!"

He nodded in agreement with his thoughts then said to Greystripe. "Thanks for telling me about Firestar. It helped me gain some confidence in helping you all recover from the Dark Forest War. I'm sure he is grateful in you sharing his tale as a way of explaining what true courage is about as well as help you with your own grief since you two used to be good friends."

Like Sandstorm, Greystripe was both surprised and touched by his words and did feel that some of his grief did fade away. He smiled and nodded in response before they cleaned up after their meal and he left for the next hunting patrol with the pale golden apprentice Maplestreak saw earlier.

"That's Goldenpaw," Bumblestripe said as the hunting patrol left. "She was made an apprentice a week ago with her brother Oakpaw and her sister Lilypaw."

"Oh I met Oakpaw earlier!" Maplestreak replied. "He's Dovewing's apprentice, isn't he? The small brown tom?"

"That's him! He's quite patient and an easy apprentice for Dovewing since she never had one before. Lilypaw, who's a rosy-ginger she-cat, is being trained by Ivypool, Dovewing's sister. She's a grey and white cat but you won't see her since she's still on that patrol at the ShadowClan border."

"I see. Oh I was wondering something else since I came here. What exactly does 'sharing tongues' mean?"

"It means the way that cats are always grooming each other during sunhigh as well as sharing news of the day, sometimes more the news sharing than the grooming. It helps keep the clan loyalty strong, especially during these times."

Suddenly they saw Lionblaze walk over to them. "Maplestreak, my brother Jayfeather wishes to see you."

Both toms looked at each other in confusion before Maplestreak went to follow his temporary mentor to the Medicine den. There he saw the blind cat, then heard another one being treated.

"Good you're here," Jayfeather said with satisfaction. "I just got a warrior with a bad stomach ache and I used up the rest of my juniper berries on him; apparently he had a bit too much to eat. Could you help me collect more? The juniper bush is not far from camp and I just need someone to lower the branches since Briarlight can't do it and she's needed to watch over this warrior."

"Of course I can help!" the golden tom meowed and they left to the bush that was only a good fox-length and a half from the entrance so he jumped up on a branch and used his weight to lower the berries for Jayfeather to reach.

"That's good and low enough, thank you," he replied as he picked them and Maplestreak beamed as he kept still before the medicine cat told him he could come down and he did, landing beside him.

"It must be hard work being a medicine cat, but I can also see it has it own rewards."

Jayfeather looked at him with his blind gaze in surprise. "Hmm…I guess you can be right, but sometimes we can't save them all."

"I know. But still you seem to have a good role in being a healer as well as a bridge between StarClan in the heavens and ThunderClan down here on Earth, what with the way you earn and translate various signs from the spirits. Reminds me of twolegs that used to do the same thing in the past. There are still some now but so very few."

Jayfeather said nothing as he picked up his bundle of berries and thought carefully of Maplestreak's words as they made it back to camp. *I am getting this feeling that he is the one we've been hoping for even more now! I'm surprised he knows more about twolegs than any other cat and it helps him understand a lot of the basic Clan ways already…Is he actually a twoleg himself? I guess I'll find out tonight.*

As the time passed it soon was nightfall and the cats were settling down for some sleep…except for some minor activity in the Apprentice's Den as Maplestreak was finding out when he was about to go inside.

"We have to make it comfortable for him!" he heard Oakpaw whisper and a she-cat's voice soon said, "I know that! I'm just checking for brambles and thorns!"

"And what's going on here?" he soon said and all three apprentices jumped.

"Oh you must be Maplestreak!" Lilypaw said. "We was just making a nest for you!"

He soon saw there was a larger nest of moss and feathers all ready for him. "How very kind of you!"

"It was my idea actually," Oakpaw admitted with a slight sheepish blush on his muzzle. "I figured you needed a special nest of your own."

"And I was making sure there was nothing to poke you in the middle of the night!" Goldenpaw added in and the older one purred.

"Well I appreciate it from all three of you! Now let's get some sleep; we have training in the morning."

All three nodded as they settled down into nests of their own and he curled up inside the one they made for him. It was warm and comfortable and as soon as he took off his pendant and set it aside, he was out like a light.

Jayfeather soon took that moment to activate his dream-walking ability on the newcomer, not knowing of the surprise he was going to get!

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-WARRIORS/HETALIA-X-X-X-X-X -X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Author's Notes:

I'm working on chapter 3 as well as other chapters for other things!

As you can see I added a little French to it because of...well...France! I know he doesn't use the French names for the countries in the manga or anime but I wanted to be slightly more authentic.

Poor England just can't get a break with the rest of the FACE family now can he? At least Kumajiro is being fed!

Oh and here's the human names for the other half of the FACE family:

America-Alfred F. Jones (There's two possibilities for the "F." to represent: Freedom and Franklin. Don't ask which is official because I don't know.)
France-Francis Bonnefoy

And why did I choose for Canada/Maplestreak to be friends with Bumblestripe? I just felt like it.

On a side note, I started this story up BEFORE the Boston Bombings, hence the reason why America seemed more calmer here. I already had someone mention it so I figured I point this out.

And I put Purdy in here as an elder because he didn't die yet since The Last Hope. (The Warriors Wiki helped with that.)

I mean it makes sense since this took place a little while after the book! Plus new apprentices and kits as well!

And what Maplestreak is referring to is the Native Americans/First Nations People and their medicine men when he mentions of twolegs with similar abilities to medicine cats. He is a Nation that's almost 200+ years old after all so he would remember the Natives.

And since you guys are reading this I guess I'll give you the list of chapters I'm working on:

ANSWB (A New Speed Wind Blows) Ch. 12 (On my DA account. Just Look for Light-Trainer)
P-SoS Ch. 7
TMG'sL Ch.3
MMSF: RWoH (Megaman StarForce: Repeating waves of History) Ch. 2 (Also on my DA account)
SMD: RV Ch. 4
BT&SS Ch. 11

And possible new stories, including the possibility of some comics with my Spellcaster Crew. (On my DA account as well.)

Yeah I got a lot on my plate. Wish me luck!

Enjoy and review!

Warriors is © Erin Hunter
Hetalia is © Hidekaz Himaruya