Author's Notes: In this chapter, there is a section of writing in italics. Anything that is in italic is one of Rowanwind's memories. When you see three dots (like this: ...) it means that the memory has ended and is going on to the next memory.
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters that I made up for this story. Please don't steal any of them.
Chapter 2
Rowanwind lurched to his paws and ran to the apprentice's side. Silverpaw fell to his side as Rowanwind approached. "Somebody get Frostflower!" Rowanwind screeched. He nudged Silverpaw's head to get the tom to look at him. "Silverpaw, where are the others? Where are Clawstar and the others?"
Silverpaw coughed and closed his eyes. "Attack...by the lake..."
Rowanwind spun around just as Frostflower and Maggotpaw came running over. "Oakpelt! Granitetail! Reedclaw! Meadowlark! Thornfur! Cedarspirit! Come with me!"
Without glancing back to see if all of the cats whose name he called were following, Rowanwind sped out of camp and through the tunnel. He let his paws guide him toward the lake, hoping it wouldn't take long to find Clawstar, Dapplefoot, Blackcloud, and Cottonpaw. His heart thundered in his chest, matching his heavy pawsteps on the forest floor. He leaped over a fallen log and sped onward. His breath came in gasps.
Yowling reached his ears. Rowanwind changed direction in a matter of seconds, heading straight for the noise. He came flying out of a bush and skidded to a stop in a clearing of the forest. Dapplefoot and Cottonpaw were lying, motionless, on the ground in puddles of blood. Blackcloud was fiercely attacking three toms and a she-cat, but it was clear he was getting tired. Clawstar's body was nowhere to be found.
"Rowanwind! That way!" Blackcloud pointed with his tail. "They have Clawstar!"
Without another thought, Rowanwind sped the way Blackcloud had pointed. He heard heavy panting ahead of him. His paws sped faster. Within seconds, he came across two toms. They were dragging Clawstar's bloody, lifeless body between them. With a ferocious battle cry, Rowanwind leaped and landed on tom of one of the toms. The two of them rolled away. Rowanwind slashed at the tom's face, yowling and screaming. Giving up, the tom sped away. Spinning, Rowanwind turned to the other tom. He recognized Gore, but the tom looked frightened this time.
"Fight me! Or are you a coward?" Rowanwind spat.
Gore glared at him and slashed at Rowanwind's face. Rowanwind ducked and kicked Gore's feet out from under him. He landed heavily on top of Gore and heard the breath rush out of Gore's lips. Rowanwind pressed a paw to Gore's throat.
"You don't deserve to live!" Rowanwind screamed loudly. Gore struggled beneath him. Rowanwind jumped off and dug his claws into Gore's flank as the tom flipped over. With a yowl, Gore sped off into the distance. Rowanwind screamed after him. When the tom was no longer visible, Rowanwind went to Clawstar's side.
Rowanwind pressed his ear close to Clawstar's nose and found out the leader was breathing. He heard pawsteps crashing through the forest and looked up to see Granitetail and Meadowlark coming toward him. They looked at Clawstar with shock. Granitetail went and sat beside Clawstar's head.
"He's still breathing," Rowanwind panted.
"Rowanwind," Meadowlark said, walking closer. "Cottonpaw is asking for you. You should hurry; I don't think he has much time left."
Rowanwind nodded to her and sped back to the clearing. Oakpelt was lying beside Cottonpaw's body, his nose pressed to Cottonpaw's shoulder. Reedclaw, Thornfur, and Cedarspirit weren't in the clearing, but neither were the DarkClan cats. Rowanwind assumed they'd gone chasing after the DarkClan cats. He spotted Blackcloud lying beside Dapplefoot's motionless body.
"Rowanwind," Cottonpaw croaked when he saw him.
Oakpelt looked up. He gave Rowanwind a nod and walked away to give the cousins some privacy. Rowanwind almost wished his half brother had stayed.
"I'm...sorry," Cottonpaw said.
"Sorry for what, Cottonpaw?" Rowanwind whispered.
"For...being so...angry with you," Cottonpaw whispered, his voice cracking. "I should have...should have...been happy."
"It's okay, Cottonpaw. I forgive you," Rowanwind said.
"How's...Clawstar?" Cottonpaw wondered.
"He's still alive," Rowanwind whispered. "Thanks to your help, I'm sure."
"Dapplefoot? Blackcloud?"
Rowanwind glanced at the two elder cats. "Blackcloud is still here. Dapplefoot...I don't know."
Cottonpaw coughed. Some blood leaked out of the side of his mouth. "I wish...I wish I was...dying with a...a warrior name. Is that...too much...to ask for?"
"No, Cottonpaw," Rowanwind said. "I, Rowanwind, deputy of ThunderClan, in place of an injured Clawstar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on Cottonpaw. He has trained hard to understand the way of your noble code, and I commend him to you as as warrior in his turn.
"Cottonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Cottonpaw coughed.
"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From now and forever more, you will be known as Cottonbrave, in acknowledgment of your bravery in helping keep your leader from losing all of his lives. StarClan honors your bravery and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Cottonbrave opened his yellow eyes, which were fully of happiness. "Thank you...Rowanwind. Thank you...cousin."
"Rest and be at peace now, Cottonbrave," Rowanwind whispered, his voice choking with the difficulty of watching Cottonbrave pass on to StarClan. He looked up at the blue sky between the branches of the trees. "StarClan, please take Cottonbrave into your ranks, where he will no longer be in pain." Rowanwind looked down at his cousin once more. "Good-bye, Cottonbrave."
He watched as Cottonbrave's soul left his body. His last breath escaped through bloody lips. Cottonbrave's happy yellow eyes glowed as he walked upward toward the blue sky, his pelt twinkling like a clear night sky full of stars. Rowanwind could hear many generations of voices shouting, "Cottonbrave! Cottonbrave!" as his cousin's soul disappeared into the heavens above...
"Hello!" Rowankit skidded to a stop beside Cottonkit. The silver and gray, long-furred kit looked cleaner and sleeker than usual. "You look like a kittypet!"
"Oh, yeah?" Cottonkit hissed and went into a pouncing stance.
"Cottonkit! Don't mess up your fur!" Twigleaf ordered.
Cottonkit sighed and sat up. "I don't understand why we have to look so clean! We're warriors, not kittypets!"
"You're not apprentices yet!" Twigleaf said. "You're still kits, so you'll listen to your mother."
Cottonkit sighed again.
...
"Can we go out right now?" Cottonpaw couldn't keep the hopefulness from his voice.
"I don't see why not," Blackcloud replied. "We won't go far, but you can explore some of our territory."
"Can we go, too?" Silverpaw turned his blue eyes on Dapplefoot. The brown she-cat laughed.
"Of course! Let's go now, before Clawfang puts us on a patrol instead!" The four cats headed toward the entrance.
Rowankit felt his heart sink when Cottonpaw and Silverpaw forgot to say good-bye.
"That wasn't very nice of them, was it?" Darkkit sat down with a soft flump. "They didn't even bother to say good-bye to us, did they?" The tip of his tail twitched agitatedly.
Rowankit shook his head. "It's like they forgot about us!"
...
"Rowanpaw!"
Rowanpaw and Ginger turned. Thunderpaw, Darkpaw, Cottonpaw, Silverpaw, and Cloverpaw were trotting over to them. Ginger's ears twitched.
"You haven't properly introduced us to Ginger yet," Cottonpaw said. He was at the head of the group.
"I was showing Ginger around camp," Rowanpaw meowed.
"Well, it looks like you've finished the tour," Cottonpaw commented. He looked at Ginger. "I'm Cottonpaw."
...
The weight was suddenly lifted. Rowanpaw coughed and wheezed. When he got enough breath, he stood and turned. Cottonpaw had taken down the tom who had been sitting on him. Cottonpaw jumped onto the tom's back and dug in his claws before leaping away as the tom rolled over. Silverpaw came racing over and slammed into the tom's head. The tom yowled and took off into the forest.
"Try not to get flattened!" Cottonpaw shouted at Rowanpaw before rushing off to tackle a tom who was pinning Darkpaw to the ground.
...
Cottonpaw sat down and yawned. He looked around camp forlornly. "I hate this."
Thunderpaw blinked sleepily. "Hate what?"
"I hate all of it. I hate DarkClan. I hate Sly. I hate how weak our Clan has become. We're no match for DarkClan by ourselves, especially now. Whoever goes to the next Gathering is just asking for a death wish," Cottonpaw replied.
Rowanpaw stretched his front legs out in front of him and arched his back. "That doesn't mean we're going to stay here and hide away in our camp. Clawstar will ask any able bodied volunteers to go."
"Nobody will want to volunteer," Cottonpaw grumbled.
"They know they won't be coming back."
"Would you go?" Rowanpaw demanded to know.
"Not unless Clawstar ordered me to," Cottonpaw hissed.
"You're a coward, then!" Rowanpaw spat.
"Don't call me a coward!" Cottonpaw lashed his long-furred tail.
...
"Rowanwind?"
He turned to see Oakpelt looking at him.
"Granitetail and Meadowlark are taking Clawstar back to camp," Oakpelt said. "Reedclaw and Thornfur are taking Dapplefoot's body." He gestured at Cedarspirit, whose amber eyes were full of sadness. "Cedarspirit is helping us with Cottonpaw."
Rowanwind shook his head. "No. He isn't Cottonpaw any longer. I did his warrior ceremony. He is Cottonbrave now."
Oakpelt's yellow eyes filled with tears. "Thank you, Rowanwind. That meant a lot to Cottonpaw...I mean, Cottonbrave."
"Your son will be known as a hero," Rowanwind said. "Let's bring him home."
The three of them each grabbed part of Cottonbrave's body and began to slowly drag his lifeless body back to ThunderClan's camp.
"Today we lost two of ThunderClan's members. Dapplefoot was getting older and would have been an elder had she not sacrificed herself today. We will all miss her. As for Cottonpaw, I gave him a final gift before his spirit passed on to StarClan. I gave him the warrior ceremony he so dearly wanted. Now, as he watches us from above, he is called Cottonbrave.
"Because of the bravery of Dapplefoot, Cottonbrave, Blackcloud, and Silverpaw, our leader did not get kidnapped by DarkClan, nor did he lose all of his lives. I regret to say that, as informed to me by Frostflower, Clawstar is on his last life."
There were gasps throughout the Clan at Rowanwind's words.
"Clawstar will take time to heal from his wounds. As deputy, I will take over any duties that would normally be done by Clawstar. In saying so, I ask Switch to come forward."
The DarkClan tom cautiously walked forward.
"Do you still wish to become part of ThunderClan?" Rowanwind asked.
"I do," Switch replied.
"Then, from this day onward, until you are granted a warrior name, you will be called Duskpaw," Rowanwind said.
The newly named Duskpaw bowed his head.
"Crookedfern, you are highly respected in ThunderClan. As one of our eldest warriors, Clawstar and I think that you will be a good mentor to Duskpaw. He will need to know how to follow our ways, and you are the best choice to teach him our code," Rowanwind said.
Crookedfern came forward. He looked at Duskpaw with kindness. "We have to touch noses, Duskpaw."
Duskpaw glanced around before reaching forward to touch his nose to Crookedfern's.
Together, the new mentor and apprentice walked over to sit beside Oakpelt and Webpaw.
"And now, it is time to accept a new warrior into our ranks," Rowanwind continued. "Silverpaw, please come forward."
The apprentice came forward and sat down at the bottom of the Highledge.
"Today has been an extremely difficult day for you, Silverpaw. You've lost both your brother and your mentor. We all know that they are both looking down at you from StarClan with pride at your accomplishments. It is finally time for you to have your warrior name.
"I, Rowanwind, deputy of ThunderClan, in place of an injured Clawstar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on Silverpaw. He has trained hard to understand the way of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn.
"Silverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," quiet Silverpaw said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on, you will be known as Silvermoon. StarClan honors your bravery and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Silvermoon nodded his head in respect of Rowanwind.
"Silvermoon! Silvermoon!" the ThunderClan cats all called.
Mistmeadow came running forward. She pressed her nose to Silvermoon's cheek and whispered something to him. He twined his tail with Mistmeadow's and whispered something back.
Rowanwind climbed down from the Highledge and headed over to Frostflower's den, where Clawstar was sleeping. Frostflower looked up when Rowanwind entered her den.
"How is he?" Rowanwind asked.
Frostflower sighed. "I've done everything I can for him. I believe he will make it." She shook her head sadly. "But this is his last life, Rowanwind. The next time..."
"I know," Rowanwind said. "He won't return next time."
Frostflower touched her tail-tip to Rowanwind's shoulder. "I wish things weren't so difficult for you. I could never have imagined that this was what Stripedpelt meant when she told me that prophecy."
"It's okay, Frostflower. I don't blame you," Rowanwind said. "It's my destiny."
"It's a cruel destiny for such a young cat," Frostflower replied softly.
The entrance of her den rustled and Maggotpaw walked in. She looked frightened to see Rowanwind sitting with her mentor. Rowanwind wondered what was wrong with Maggotpaw.
"I think I'll go now," Rowanwind said.
Frostflower nodded.
Rowanwind left the medicine cat's den. He saw Thunderstripe, Gingerheart, and Duskpaw lying together near the fresh-kill pile. Nearby, Cottonbrave's and Dapplefoot's bodies lay. There were many cats near the two brave warriors' bodies, mourning their losses. Thunderstripe gestured for Rowanwind to join them.
He padded over and lay beside Thunderstripe. "I can't believe this has happened. DarkClan needs to be destroyed."
"I had no idea this is what they were planning on doing," Duskpaw whispered. "If I had known, I would have said something."
"It's okay, Duskpaw. We don't blame you," Gingerheart said.
"No. We don't blame you. We blame Sly," Rowanwind said. "This is all his fault. I can't wait for the moment I get the chance to kill him. I won't hesitate."
"Rowanwind!" Gingerheart gasped. "That's a cruel thing to say!"
"No," Duskpaw said. "He's right. Sly deserves to die."
"Nobody deserves to die," Gingerheart mewed. "No matter what they've done. It's better to give second chances than none at all."
"Sly would refuse a second chance," Duskpaw mumbled.
Rowanwind shook his head. "I'm not going to sit here and argue about it. I need to rest. See you in the morning."
"Good night," the other three said before Rowanwind stood and headed off to the warriors' den to sleep.
End of Chapter Two
More Author's Notes: First thing's first! The allegiances page has been updated for this chapter, so please check to see what has changed!
I have to beg for forgiveness from any of my readers who cried during this chapter. I cried writing it, so you aren't alone in your tears. I know it was really cruel to kill off Cottonpaw/Cottonbrave, but he died doing something noble! Now you all know why I chose 'brave' as the second part of his warrior name.
Killing Dapplefoot was a spur-of-the-moment idea that I had. I've been planning on killing off Cottonpaw/Cottonbrave since Descendant of Fire...and now it's finally happened.
I beg forgiveness from Silvermoon as well, considering I just killed off his brother and his mentor in a single chapter. Oh, well...that is the life of a warrior, is it not?
Thanks again for sticking with me this far! Please review and tell me your thoughts about Cottonpaw/Cottonbrave dying.
