Chapter 2! So will the purple eyed she-cat join LightClan? Or will she decide something else? You know the drill, R&R! I don't mind having suggested cat's and sometimes they are good help BUT (unfortunately for some) I already have about 80 odd cats which I am sorting out into clans for the story line :) but still thank you to Hawktalon for the reviews and cats and I assure you that they will make a definite appearance at some point :D and another thank you to Hawktalon for correcting some mistakes in my typing, if anyone notices any please say then I can edit them :D now to start the story!
Chapter 2!
The small she-cat stood still, eyes wide and her mouth hanging open slightly. "I… I." She stuttered as her face scrunched up into a look of thoughtfulness.
"Do not worry young one, it is an out of the blue question to suddenly ask you to Join LightClan," Brightstar meowed with understanding in his eyes. "I'll let you ponder the question, but will you be alright if I ask you a few questions so that I am prepared if you do ask to join?" He asked.
"Well… Ok I'll answer them but I'd like a few moments to think about joining." She said nervously.
"Of course, I never expected more," He said. The purple eyed cat felt hurt. He's acting as if I'm some kit who knows no better. She thought a bit miffed at the way he was treating her. But then again I do look a lot smaller then SpottedPaw and she's the smallest cat I've seen here! She sighed mentally. I guess I'm fretting over nothing. "Do you have a name of any kind?" Brightstar asked. The purple eyed she-cat blinked in confusion. She gazed off into the distance for a few seconds before sighing.
"Not that I… remember." She said sadly. Brightstar's eyes had a flash of concern in them but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"Do not worry, you are still young and no one knows what has happened to you. Either you never had a name or you simply forgot it," He didn't sound to bothered about her no knowing her name. "Do you know how old you are?" He asked. The yellow furred cat sat in thought. I have no idea! She thought when a voice whispered to her. "Six moons." It said sounding like the rustle of leaves making her blink. Before she knew what she was doing she spoke.
"Six moons." The she-cat blinked in confusion. Why'd I say that? I thought it was just my imagination when I heard the voice? She thought when she caught a glimpse of movement out the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look but saw no one there. Did I imagine it or was there a cat in here with us? I think I'm going crazy. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Brightstar who spoke with no emotion but there was obvious shock in his eyes.
"It's good that you remember something. By being six moons it means that if you do decide to join our clan you'll be an apprentice and it seems you have made friends with a couple of them already," Are Spottedpaw and Riverpaw apprentices? I mean they are both sisters and seem quite young. "Do you still wish to think about joining? I can ask one of the warriors to give you a tour of the camp if you want." Brightstar said as he stood up. The small she-cat nodded and stood up.
"I thank you for all your kindness." She said as she followed Brightstar out of the leader's den. The camp was still busy but the she-cat noticed that a few of the cat's gazes had wandered to her. She glanced around camp trying to avoid eye contact with any of the cats when he gaze passed over the entrance/exit to the clan's camp. Just beside was a cat but before the purple eyed she-cat could think about it the cat was gone, disappearing with a flick of her tail.
"Skyfire, may I have a word with you?" Brightstar called to a tom who stood up from where he was lying on the ground. The tom was snow white with one black ear, his right ear and bright orange eyes. The Skyfire stood In front of Brightstar and dipped his head in a greeting. "This young she-cat," Brightstar said flicking his tail in the purple eyed cat's direction. "Is thinking about joining Lightclan," Skyfire's orange eyes widened in surprise slightly. Brightstar flicked his ear in annoyance but continued speaking. "And I've decided to ask you to give her a tour of the camp. Once you've finished the tour bring her back to my den." And with that Brightstar walked, flicking his tail in a goodbye.
"Um…" The she-cat began shifting uncertainly. "It's uh, nice to meet you Skyfire." She said. Skyfire nodded in a greeting.
"You too," Was all he said. He turned and started to pad away. "Come, Brightstar has asked me to give you a tour." The she-cat followed the tom. He looked not much older than SpottedPaw and Riverpaw. Maybe he recently became a Warrior. They stopped outside a thick cluster of brambles and ferns. The she-cat peered in through the entrance to see many nests made of moss.
"This is the Warriors' Den." Skyfire said avoiding eye contact.
"So this is where you sleep, right?" The she-cat asked. Skyfire answered simply.
"Like all Warriors." He said before walking to the right approaching a large den of brambles built underneath a fallen tree. A cat walked out from inside the den and glanced curiously at them both.
"Ah, you must be the cat Spottedpaw and Smallnose came across by RiverRocks right?" The cat asked in a horse whisper. The small she-cat looked quite elderly. She had grey fur and a long thin muzzle. On her throat was a long, jagged scar.
"Uh yes I am it's nice to meet you." The purple eyed cat said a glint of concern in her eyes when she noticed the scar. The grey she-cat purred, a noise which sound like leaves being trodden on. A sound which wasn't bad just a bit rough instead of the smooth rumble of a purr from most cats.
"My name is Whispersnout. I was once a warrior but now I am sadly too old to fight," Whispersnout said. She then used her tail to point at her jagged scar. "I received this in my last battle and it nearly cost me my life. I would be dead if it weren't for Smallnose. But I was lucky and I only have this scar and my shattered voice to remember that day." Sadness was in Whispersnout's eyes.
"I'm glad you are alive," The purple eyed she-cat said. "Death is not a pleasant thing." Whispersnout purred.
"I would agree with you on that but I know StarClan will be there for me after my death. I will not grieve my own death for I know I shall be joined with my friends one day." The yellow furred cat was uncertain. I've never heard of StarClan before. She thought to herself.
"It was nice meeting you Whispersnout," She said. "I'm guessing this is the elder's den?" She said to Skyfire.
"Yes it is. Cats who retire after being a warrior spend their final moons here." He said sadly before turning around and padding towards the medicine cat's den.
"I'll see you around." The she-cat said to Whispersnout before padding after Skyfire.
"This is-" He began.
"The Medicine cat's den?" She finished.
"Yes it is, how did you know?" He asked.
"Spottedpaw pointed it out to me and told me she would most likely be there if I ever wanted to see," The she-cat replied. The she-cat turned to look at him and was quite surprised. Is he sad? She thought when she noticed a glint of sadness in his eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked. Skyfire blinked at her in surprise.
"I'm fine." He lied. The she-cat could tell he was lying.
"It doesn't seem like it," She said before pausing. "Are you sure?" He nodded in reply and walked to his right for a few paces. He was stood outside a very large cluster of brambles. The she-cat twitched her ears as she heard the sound of mewing from inside.
"This is the nursery. Kits and Queens stay here." He said. The she-cat nodded and turned her gaze to him. He was refusing to make eye contact with her and he walked off to the right a bit more.
"How long have you been a Warrior?" The she-cat asked, trying to make conversation. She was curious about him. He was distant and looked like he was also shy but there was something behind his mask of little emotion.
"A couple of moons," He replied and then looked at the she-cat. "How old are you?" The she-cat was unsure of this question.
"Six moons." She said. At least I think I am. I mean, my else would that voice have told me six moons? She thought.
"So you'll be an apprentice then? I wonder who you'll have as your mentor." He said curiously.
"My mentor?" The she-cat replied tilting her head.
"Yeah, every Apprentice has a mentor who teaches them how to hunt, fight and about the Warrior code."
"So, how do you tell the difference between a Warrior and an Apprentice? Apart from them being two different heights." She said.
"Well Warriors are like me and have earned their full name. Apprentices have their second name as 'Paw' indicating that they are an apprentice," He said padding over to a hollow log. "This is just a hollow log from a tree which obviously fell many moons ago," he then flicked his tail towards a tree behind the hollow log. The bottom of the tree was by far larger than the rest of the tree and it was hollow on the inside. Placed within the hollow tree was a pile of fresh kill. "This is where we keep the fresh kill." The she-cat nodded.
"I think that's everything now, right?" She asked.
"Almost," He walked to the other side of the clearing, past the entrance of brambles where the she-cat had seen the strange cat that disappeared into mist. He walked up to a large nest of ferns.
"This is the Apprentice den and it's also where you'll be sleeping if you become an Apprentice." He said.
"Who are the Apprentices at the moment?" She asked.
"Well you already know SpottedPaw and Riverpaw. The only other Apprentice other than those two is Mosspaw, he's been an Apprentice slightly longer than SpottedPaw and Riverpaw, and they've only been Apprentices for nearly a moon." He replied.
"So now the tour is finished I guess I supposed to make a decision." The she-cat said. She hadn't thought about it at all while Skyfire gave her the tour.
"Yeah I guess," Skyfire said. He then shifted nervously. "It'd be great if you did but I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to." The she-cat purred at his kindness.
"Thank you Skyfire, I'll think about that," She then padded towards the entrance to the leader's den. "I'll see you around, right?" She asked. Skyfire purred, and a passer-by cat looked at him a mixture of surprise, happiness and curiosity.
"Definitely." He said before turning around and walking off to the fresh kill pile. It's obvious that he doesn't talk to many of the cats. She thought to herself. I'm glad he's my friend. She felt happiness inside of herself as she thought of all the friends she had made in the past moments. She walked into the leader's den and saw Brightstar sat at the back, a black silhouette because of the little sunlight which made it to the back of the den.
"Ah there you are, I'm guessing your tour was good?" He asked stretching his long body out before standing up and walking over to the she-cat.
"Yes it was good thank you." She replied.
"And your decision?" He asked. The she-cat sat in silence. I don't know who I am and I would like to find out by exploring but. She thought. I've made so many friends. Maybe I don't need to know who I was. Instead I should be focusing on who I am. She faced Brightstar, her gaze strong and confident.
"I accept your offer." She said. Brightstar purred happily.
"That's great!" he said enthusiastically. "We shall hold your Apprentice ceremony now." He got up and padded outside, the she-cat a paw step behind. It was now Sun high and all the cats were wandering around the camp and their curious eyes wandered to Brightstar as he climbed the side of his den, using the smaller stones as stepping stones allowing him to stand on the top of his den, which was flat.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Tallstone for a clan meeting," Brightstar yowled and all the cats wandered forward and sat on the floor beneath the Tallstone. The purple eyed she-cat sat at the edge, nerves making her body shake in excitement. "Emberkit, please come here," A grey legged and black body tom with orange markings stepped forward and made his way to the top. "This is a proud day for LightClan by naming apprentices we show LightClan will survive and remain strong. Emberkit, from now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Emberpaw," Emberpaw looked like he was about to explode from excitement. Brightstar turned to face the cats of LightClan.
"Moonrider, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Emberpaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your strength and wisdom to Emberpaw, and teach him the skills that will make him a brave warrior of LightClan." A blue-grey she-cat with a black stripe from her muzzle to her tail walked up to Emberpaw, who bounced over to her and nearly bumped into her as they touched noises. Is Moonrider Spottedpaw's and Riverpaw's mother? Because Riverpaw has the same pelt colour as her whereas SpottedPaw has the black stripe from her muzzle to her tail. The she-cat thought as the clan chanted the new apprentice's name.
"Emberpaw, Emberpaw!" They chanted as Brightstar's gaze fell onto the she-cat. They all fell silent and follow his gaze. The purple eyed she-cat's paws shuffled uneasily as she felt the eyes of many cats' on her.
"LightClan, I am also here to introduce a new apprentice to the clan," He said and all the clan as they turned their attention back to him. "She has no home at all but she has great potential." He said. Cats murmured their thoughts but none said anything against him. Well, all except one.
"Are you sure about this Brightstar? She's a loner, anyone can see that!" A muddy brown tom with bright green eyes called out. The leader fixed his green eyes on the apprentice.
"I am sure Mosspaw," He said calmly. "She has great potential and though she may be a loner, that does not mean she cannot be loyal to LightClan and be a great Warrior," He said before turning back to the she-cat, he motioned with his tail for her to climb to the top. She jumped to the top and glanced down at the cats that were sat beneath the Tallstone. She saw Mosspaw sat near the back, a long haired, white she-cat with blue eyes giving him a serious scolding in a hushed whisper.
Brightstar looked at the she-cat, seriousness in his eyes as he performed the ceremony. "Young one," He began, calling the she-cat young one since neither of them knew the she-cat's name. "From now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Lightningpaw," The she-cat's eyes widened in both happiness and shock at her new name. That's my name from now on. And no cat could love it more than I do. She thought to herself as a sense of purpose filled her heart. Brightstar's attention turned to a cat in the group.
"Ashfoot, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Lightningpaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your courage, wisdom and kindness to Lightningpaw, and teach her the skills that will make her a strong warrior of LightClan." A strong and tall ginger tom with ash grey paws padded forwards and stood on the Tallstone in front of Lightningpaw. His look was one of pure happiness and shock as he got an apprentice. He lent forward and Lightningpaw did the same, them both touching noses.
"Lightningpaw, Lightningpaw!" Riverpaw called and SpottedPaw joined her. Quickly Skyfire smiled and chanted the name as well until the whole clan was chanting the new apprentice's name. Lightningpaw started purring happily, excitement running through her head and heart as she padded down of the Tallstone.
"Congratulations!" River said as the bounded over to Lightningpaw.
"Yeah congrats Lightningpaw!" SpottedPaw purred as she stood next to her sister.
"Thank you! I'm so glad I decided to join." Lightningpaw said as she purred happily. Then Skyfire walked across the clearing, and approached Lightningpaw.
"Err, I'm glad you joined LightClan, Lightningpaw." Skyfire said nervously.
"Thank you Skyfire! I'm glad I did too, now I can stay with all my friends!" She said happily. Skyfire nodded and mewed a goodbye before padding to the Warrior's den.
"Follow us," Spottedpaw said as they began to pad towards the hollow log. "We'll go take some food to the Elders and then to the queens in the nursery." Spottedpaw picked up a pigeon, Riverpaw a sparrow and Lightningpaw picked up a rabbit, which ended up being too heavy for her to carry so she swapped prey with Riverpaw. They padded towards the elder's den, and entered through the brambles handing from a fallen tree.
"Congratulations Lightningpaw!" A cat whispered as the apprentices entered the den. Lightningpaw purred loudly.
"Thank you Whispersnout!" She said. Spottedpaw and Lightningpaw padded forward and placed the prey on the ground.
"We brought you and the other elders some fresh-kill Whispersnout." Spottedpaw said.
"Thank you, I'll tell the others when they get here. They've gone to get a drink from Treeriver." Whispersnout said, purring happily. The apprentices left the elders den and padded back to the fresh-kill and Spottedpaw picked up another rabbit whilst Lightningpaw picked up a sparrow before heading of their left and entering the Nursery.
Two blurs of small brown pelts suddenly flung towards the group, and Riverpaw was sent rolling onto her back. She let out a mrrow of laughter as she swiftly stood up, causing the two kits to fall of her.
"No fair Riverpaw!" One squeaked. She was the smallest of the two with dark auburn fur and bright green eyes. Riverpaw patted her head playfully.
"You're one to talk Treekit! Two against one is definitely not fair." She purred as flicked her tail other the other kit's head. Treekit was about to retaliate when the other spoke up.
"She has a point Treekit, there are two of us." He was the biggest of the two with light brown fur and amber eyes.
"Leafkit!" Treekit squealed. "You're supposed to be supporting me!" She said as she playfully leaped at him. He laughed as he fell over, but managed to get to his paws and bat her away. A she-cat padded from the back of the den.
"Come on you two, stop bothering the apprentices." She said licking the top of both kits' heads. She was a brown and black tortoise shell she-cat with sparkling green eyes.
"We brought some food Speckletail." Riverpaw said as they all padded forward and placed the fresh-kill on the floor. Two more kits padded over. One was a light golden furred she-cat with the same bright green eyes as Brightstar and the other was a sandy brown tom with blue eyes. They dove for the sparrow, whilst the Treekit and Leafkit pushed their way through to get a bite.
"Hello SpottedPaw and Riverpaw!" A queen said as she approached from the back of the den. She was an orange and fluffy she-cat with blue eyes. She let her gaze wander to Lightningpaw. "You must be Lightningpaw. Congrats on becoming an apprentice." Lightningpaw nodded a thank you, a but shy now that most of the cats knew who she was.
"Hello Firecloud," SpottedPaw said. "Have you seen Goldentail?" Firecloud nodded.
"Yes, she's asked if I'll keep an eye on Sunkit," She motioned to the golden furred she-cat with bright green eyes. "Whilst she goes to the river with the elders to get a drink. She said she would bring back some water soaked moss for me, Sunkit and Sandkit." Sandkit must be the sandy brown tom. Lightningpaw thought. SpottedPaw nodded then padded to a small light grey she-cat with bright blue eyes, whose whiskers were twitching with curiosity. Though the she-cat was small, it was obvious she had not had her kits yet.
"Hello Fiddlewhiskers," Spottedpaw said. That must be the cat Smallnose mentioned earlier. Lightningpaw thought. "How are you feeling today?" Spottedpaw asked.
"I feel good thank you," Fiddlewhiskers replied before looking down at her belly. "They grow up so fast, when did you say they would be?" She asked anxiously.
Spottedpaw's turquoise eyes were filled with amusement. "Don't fret over it," She purred. "They're not expected for at least another moon." Spottedpaw said reassuringly. Fiddlewhiskers licked SpottedPaw's ear.
"Thank you for being so kind to me," She said. "I'm must be turning into a real pain."
"Nonsense," SpottedPaw said. "It's only natural to worry about your kits; any queen would and probably still does." Fiddlewhiskers nodded before Firecloud and Speckletail padded over with the rabbits and they all began eating.
"Let's go get ourselves some fresh-kill! I'm starving!" Riverpaw said as her stomach growled in agreement. Just then an Auburn furred Tom with bright amber eyes walked in.
"Wow, it's crowded in here." He commented as his eyes scanned the room.
"Hello Redpelt." Riverpaw said cheerfully. Spottedpaw whispered to Lightningpaw.
"Redpelt is the deputy of LightClan. He organises patrols and stuff."
"Hello apprentices. Been doing your duty?" Redpelt asked as his gazed swept across the apprentices, filled with warmth and happiness.
"Yep! Just finished," Riverpaw said. "Can we go eat now? I'm starving!" Riverpaw complained, letting out a mrrow of laughter. Redpelt purred happily.
"If you've done your duties, then of course." He said happily. Riverpaw, SpottedPaw and Lightningpaw rushed out of the den, and headed straight for the fresh-kill pile. They each picked up a mouse and headed over to the apprentice den and sat outside.
"Redpelt was probably checking up on his kits, Treekit and Leafkit." SpottedPaw said as she ate her mouse.
"He has kits?" Lightningpaw asked.
"Yep!" Riverpaw said through a mouthful of mouse. "Look, there's Ashfoot!" Riverpaw said as Ashfoot began to walk over to them.
"There you three are," he said happily. "I was hoping I could talk to you?"
"Sure what about?" Riverpaw asked, tilting her head.
"Well I wanted to talk to my apprentice really, but there's nothing wrong with talking to my two daughters as well." He said purring. He's Spottedpaw's and Riverpaw's father? Lightningpaw thought. Well that does explain Riverpaw's ash grey paws and Spottedpaw's orange pelt.
"Sure." Lightningpaw said.
"Don't feel nervous," He said warmly. "I'm not going to attack you. I just want to know how much you know about clans and how much training you've had." He asked. Lightningpaw tilted her head as she thought.
"I only know what I've been told today and I've never had any training." She said bowing her head in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about, we all start from scratch." He said reassuringly. It felt only a few seconds had passed as Lightningpaw asked and answered questions about the three cats, but it had been a good two hours. Night had come, clothing the camp in darkness. Silverpelt shone brightly in the sky as StarClan watched over all the clan cats. Riverpaw stood up and stretched.
"We should probably go to sleep now, I'm really tired." She said through a large yawn.
"Yes, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." Ashfoot said as he bid them farewell and headed off to the warrior's den.
"Come on," Riverpaw said as we all padded inside the apprentice's den. There were seven beds made of moss inside. Lightningpaw could tell that that three of the seven beds hadn't had any apprentices sleep in them for a while now. "Me and SpottedPaw sleep at the end of the den, opposite each other," Looking down the den Lightningpaw could see that there were three beds on either side, and then one at the very end of the den. "No one's in that bed at the end, and I'm in the one on the left." She padded down to the end and laid down on the end bad on the left. Lightningpaw padded to the end of the den, SpottedPaw close behind as she lay down on the moss bed opposite Riverpaw. Laying down on the end bed Lightningpaw spoke softly.
"Goodnight Riverpaw, Spottedpaw."
"Goodnight." She heard her friends murmur as she fell asleep.
Lightningpaw blinked her eyes open to find she was sat on her bed. Why am I sat up? She asked herself. Then she caught a glimpse of someone outside. Who's that? She thought as she padded out the den to find a small, kit-like tom with light grey fur and the odd black stripe sat in the middle of the camp.
"Who are you?" She asked as she padded over to him. He was taller than her, but only just.
"My name is LittleStar." He said purring as she sat next to him.
"LittleStar? That means you're the leader of a clan," She said. "What are you doing in LightClan's camp?" She asked curiosity getting the better of her.
"I was the leader of TwilightClan," He said, putting emphasis on the 'was'. So that means he's dead? He's a cat from StarClan. Her eyes widened in surprise. "I am here to tell you something." He said.
"What?" She asked, questions buzzing through her head. LittleStar looked her in the eyes, his dark amber eyes filled with wisdom.
"Do not fear the sky predator, for he shall show you the start of the long path that is your destiny." Before Lightningpaw could ask what he meant, darkness swirled around her as LittleStar disappeared, leaving Lightningpaw to fall into a dark, dreamless sleep.
OK, Chapter 2 finally finished :D So LightClan have two new Apprentices! Emberpaw and (my favourite :P ) Lightningpaw! So, what adventures will happen to Lightningpaw? What does the prophecy LittleStar gave her actually mean? And what of the other prophecies? Find out in the next chapter! :D
Oh and if anyone of you is disappointed because I've said no more cats please, well that's not entirely true. I need kits for the other clans, around 10-15. If you have any please put their names (as in all of them so from kit to paw to e.g. pool) and once I have 15 I'll say and ask for no more. If your kit doesn't appear in this story then I am sorry and I will make sure that they appear in the sequel.
And yes I have started planning out a sequel :P
Note: Skyfire belongs to Hawktalon, who kindly let me use four cats of his :) and I thank him for this :D The other three cats shall appear in later chapters :D