"The ThunderClan Five"
The story of Leopardtail's Quest
Chapter 3 "Is Her Heart That Of A Warrior? (Part 1)"
Spotty woke up later than usual. She had had another dream that night. She was roaming the forest, the scent of the ThunderClan cats close by. Then, another cat-scent reached her nose. It was strong and sour. She peered into the dark side of the woods. "Spotty…Spotty…" a distant voice caught her attention. "Father?" Once again, the dream ended before she could find him. But this time, she felt different. Her father seemed closer than ever before. The clan cats had given her hope. She stretched out of bed and headed for Sarabi's den. "Good morning child. Come to join me for breakfast?"
"No mother. I'm just here to pick up a few things." She looked at her mother, a feeling of guilt in her throat. Sarabi sensed it. "What's troubling you, my love." The leopardess placed her paw on her shoulder. "*Sigh* You know I blame myself for Father's capture. I feel as though it's my job to find him." "Oh, this old story again." Sarabi groaned. "Spotty, some things you just have to let go…" "No Mother! I'll never let go of my father. I know you think it's dangerous, but I met some new friends that live in the forest. They can help me find Father…I know they can." The sadden queen looked down at her kit. She knew in her heart that there was no stopping her. "Alright…just promise that when you do find Mac…that you'll bring him home." "Of course, Mother" She embraced her leopardess mother one final time before heading out to begin her journey.
Just as she reached her garden, "Hello, Spotty!" a voice mewed from the fence. It was Patch. "You should have been awake an hour ago. The baby sparrows were out stretching their wings." "Did you catch any?" Spotty asked. Patch yawned and licked his nose. "Couldn't be bothered. I'd already eaten enough at home. Anyway, why weren't you out earlier? Yesterday you were complaining about Puff sleeping his time away, and today you're not much better yourself." She sat down on the cool earth beside the fence and curled her tail neatly over her front paws. "I was in the woods last night," she reminded her friend. At once she felt the blood stir in her veins and her fur stiffen. Patch looked down at her, his eyes wide. "Oh, yes, I forgot! How was it? Did you catch anything? Or did anything catch you?" Spotty paused, not sure how to tell her old friend what had happened. "I met some wild cats," she began. "What!" the young kit was clearly shocked. "Did you get into a fight?" "Sort of." She could feel the energy surging through her body again as she recalled the strength and power of the Clan cats. "Were you hurt? What happened?" Patch prompted her eagerly. "There were three of them. Bigger and stronger than any of us."
"And you fought all three of them!" Patch interrupted, his tail twitching with excitement. "No!" Spotty mewed hastily. "Just the youngest one; the other two came later." "How come they didn't shred you to pieces?" "They just warned me to leave their territory. But then…" she hesitated. "What!" mewed Smudge impatiently. "They asked me to join their Clan." Patch's whiskers quivered disbelievingly. "They did!" She insisted. "Why would they do that?" "I don't know," Spotty admitted. "I think they need extra paws in their Clan." "Sounds a bit odd to me," He mewed doubtfully. "I wouldn't trust them if I were you. Wild cats ain't friendly." "But…" "Don't be silly, Spotty. You wouldn't go far with those wild animals."
Rusty looked at Smudge. His black-and-white friend had never shown any interest in venturing into the woods. He was perfectly content living with his housefolk. He would never understand the restless longing that Rusty's dreams stirred in him night after night. "But I do trust them," she purred softly. "I felt so…strong, just by talking to them. I've made up my mind. I'm going to join them, to share their adventures." Patch scrambled down from the fence and stood in front of Spotty. "Please don't go, Spotty," he mewed in alarm. "I might never see you again. Who'll wrestle with me?" she nudged him affectionately with her head. "Don't worry. My housefolk will get another cat. You'll get on with him fine. You get along with everyone!" "But it won't be the same!" he wailed. Spotty twitched her tail impatiently. "That's just the point. If I stay around here till they take me to the Cutter, I won't be the same either." Patch looked puzzled. "The Cutter?" he echoed. "The vet," she explained. "To be altered, like Puff was." Patch shrugged and stared down at his paws. "But Puff's all right," he mumbled. "I mean, I know he's a bit lazier now, but he's not unhappy. We could still have fun."
The leopard kit felt her heart fill with sadness at the thought of leaving her friend. "I'm sorry, Patch. I'll miss you, but I have to go." Patch didn't reply, but stepped forward and gently touched her nose with his own. "Fair enough. I can see I can't stop you, but at least let's spend one more morning together." Spotty found herself enjoying the morning even more than usual, visiting her old haunts with Patch, sharing words with the cats she had grown up with. Every one of her senses felt supercharged, as if she were poised before a huge jump. As sunhigh approached, she grew more and more impatient to see if Redtail would really be waiting for her. The idle buzz of meows from her old friends seemed to fade into the background as all her senses strained toward the woods.
She jumped down from her garden fence for the last time and crept into the woods. She had said her final good-byes to Patch as she transformed into her Twoleg form. Now all her thoughts were focused on the forest and the cats who lived in it. As she approached the spot where she had met with the Clan cats the night before, she sat down and tasted the air. Tall trees shielded the ground from the midday sunshine, making it comfortably cool. Here and there a patch of sunlight shone through a gap in the leaves and lit up the forest floor. She could smell the same cat-scent as last night, but had no idea whether it was old or new. She lifted his head and sniffed uncertainly. Suddenly, a strong wind blew. It wasn't much at first, but as it picked up it swept her off her feet. She tried to claw the ground as Patch's words echoed through her mind. "I wouldn't trust them if I were you." The wind got stronger and she flew from the ground and landed at the paws of a new cat.
"Hello, young one," murmured a white tom. "I've heard a lot about you." Redtail appeared. "This is Whitestorm," he purred. "One of ThunderClan's senior warriors." Spotty looked at the tom and felt her spine tingle with cold fear. Was this a trap? Long-bodied and muscular, Whitestorm stood in front of Spotty and gazed down at her. His white shirt and pants were thick and unmarked and his eyes were the yellow of sunbaked sand. She flattened her ears warily, and tensed her muscles in preparation for a fight. "Relax, before your fear-scent brings unwanted attention," growled Whitestorm. "We are here only to take you to our camp." As fast as the wind itself, the white tom took to the trees. "Come, we can speak more once we are in the camp," ordered Redtail, and, without pausing, he and Whitestorm leaped away into the undergrowth. Spotty jumped to her paws and followed as quickly as she could. The two warriors made no allowances for her as they sped through the forest, and before long she was struggling to keep up. Their pace barely slowed as they led her over fallen trees that they cleared in a single leap, but which Spotty had to scramble over paw by paw. Soon, they were well out of sight. She sank her claws into a tree trunk, attempting to leap the trees as they had done. But the wind began raging again and she was knocked off.
Meanwhile in a nearby tree, Whitestorm was watching. "Why doesn't this child turn back?" he thought as the wind became even more powerful. "And what kind of strength does she posses?" He looked down at the spotted kit. "What?" Spotty had made it to the top of a tree. The wind was so strong, almost like a storm. But with the use of the wind, she managed to leap through the branches with ease. "She used the wind to help shorten distance between the branches. What a clever kit." The tom thought, "But I still want to see how much you can handle." As she jumped from tree to tree, Spotty thought to herself, "As long as I follow Redtail's claw marks, I shouldn't get lost." But suddenly, the trees ended. She skidded to a halt at a large gully half-filled with slimy, foul-smelling water. She spotted Redtail's paw prints on the other side. Spotty had never put a paw in water before. But she was determined not to show any signs of weakness, so she narrowed her eyes and jumped in, trying to ignore the uncomfortable wetness that soaked her fur. "This water…is so thick. Almost like a swamp. I've never…experienced this…before." Another gust of wind blew and Whitestorm appeared on the other side, erasing the paw prints as he ran. "Wait, Whitestorm, wait for me!" she called as she jumped out of the mucky water. It was no use. He didn't stop and the prints were gone. "Great…now how am I suppose to…wait!" The remembrance of the night before came to her. Dawnpaw had used her sense of smell to determine where her clan members were. "Wind…the scent of Whitestorm…follow the scent of Whitestorm!" Spotty closed her eyes and sniffed. His scent was strong in the wind. She followed the trail, determination never leaving her. It was almost moonhigh when she finally spotted more of Redtail's claw marks. But nearby within a bush, the two warriors were watching. "She really is as Bluestar said, she saw no fear in her eyes, even when she scolded her." Whitestorm whispered. "It's unusual for a house pet, but she also wants us to test her determination." Redtail agreed. "Do you think she can catch our scent from here?" "Whitestorm, Redtail, are you around here?" her voice rang out. "Hmmm, I believe she's done so already." "She learns fast" "I'll leave her to you for now." And with that he disappeared.
"Whitestorm, Redtail!" she called. She could sense their presents close by. All of a sudden, something hit her upside the head, knocking her off her feet. It was Whitestorm. "Whitestorm? Where's Redtail?" the snow white tom grinned as he stared down at the young kit. "I Killed him!"