Chapter Four: Start of a Journey

A frigid wind whisked through Firestar's thick ginger pelt, making him shiver as he paced the tramped down grass outside Ravenpaw's barn. Ravenpaw himself followed his friend's movements from where he sat sheltered against the wall of the barn, his green eyes distant and unfocused. Both were waiting impatiently for the rest of their party so they could set off, fearful that if they waited too long they would lose their nerve to make the long journey at all.

Finally Mistyfoot plodded out of the barn, licking the remnants of traveling herbs from her lips. Featherpaw stumbled along behind her, her eyes lidded with tiredness. It looked she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Not long after Bramblepaw joined them, shortly followed by Onewhisker, who nodded warmly to Firestar and took a seat next to Ravenpaw.

"Where are Oakfur and Littlecloud?" Mistyfoot asked dully, looking around for the small brown tom. "They're supposed to come with us to Highstones. I hope they haven't changed their minds."

"I'm here." Oakfur slipped gingerly out of a crack in the barn wall, Littlecloud and Rowanpaw following close behind. Rowanpaw's eyes were wide with surprise and worry. She looked away from the other cat's curious stares and Oakfur explained, "Rowanpaw is ShadowClan's oldest apprentice. She will be ShadowClan's new deputy, though I want StarClan's approval first. She will come with us to Highstones."

Mistyfoot inclined her head to the apprentice. "If this is everyone, then we should get going."

Firestar nodded and was about to take the lead when he was surprised by a yowl from behind him. A pale ginger object flew out of the barn and bowled him over, pinning him to the ground before he could comprehend what was happening. Sandstorm's green eyes glittered with mischief as she stared down at her helpless leader. "You didn't really think you could get away without saying goodbye, did you?" She purred, letting him up and watching with amusement as he shook the dust from his pelt.

"I would never forget to say goodbye to you, Sandstorm." Firestar replied, feeling his pelt grow hot with embarrassment at almost doing just that. He pressed his muzzle against Sandstorm's cheek and murmured softly, "Help Graystripe take care of the Clan. I know it will be safe with you two until I get back." Her only response was to purr louder and lick his shoulder. Then she nodded goodbye to the other cats and disappeared back into the barn.

"Can we get going now?" Oakfur growled irritably. Firestar nodded sheepishly, avoiding the knowing look in Mistyfoot's eyes. With a flick of his tail, Firestar gathered the other cats around him and they set off for the craggy shapes of Highstones looming in the distance.

The short journey was done in silence, each cat lost in their own thoughts as they padded warily around the edge of the forest. The feeling of being watched made their pelts prickle, but no BloodClan cat emerged from the stark leaf-bare forest to challenge them. With a pang of regret, Firestar realized they had no reason to. BloodClan had won, and were already making themselves at home in the forest the Clans had once been able to call home.

It was only Sunhigh by the time the nine cats reached Highstones. Oakfur, Littlecloud and Rowanpaw settled down by the entrance to wait, while the other cats decided to go hunting. Mistyfoot took Featherpaw towards a small stream while the other cats split up to look for prey themselves. Firestar was only able to find a scrawny mouse, and no one else seemed to have much luck either. The rocky terrain housed very little life to begin with, and in the dead of leaf-bare prey was even scarcer.

Finally the sun set, and shortly after the moon peaked its shining face over the horizon. The eyes of the Clan cats followed its ascent through the deep nighttime sky until it had reached its highest point. Firestar nodded silently to Oakfur, and the soon-to-be leader led his cats into the yawning mouth of the mountain. Once Rowanpaw's dark ginger tail had been engulfed by the darkness, Firestar settled himself in next to Ravenpaw and closed his eyes, not expecting sleep to come any time soon. Worry buzzed around his head like a swarm of angry hornets, anxiety sat like a stone in his stomach. The ginger leader tossed and turned for what seemed like moons before sleep finally overtook him.

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Firestar woke again as the first streaks of dawn started to lighten the sky. He stood and stretched, already feeling the stress of travel in his wary paws. Looking around, Firestar saw Oakfur and his party padding out of Mothermouth. Mewing a greeting, the ginger tom hurried over to meet the new leader. He noticed Rowanpaw standing a little straighter, though she looked even more anxious than the day before. "Good morning…Oakstar, now?" Firestar mewed hopefully.

The small brown tom nodded curtly. "Yes, it's Oakstar now. And this is my deputy, Rowanheart." Oakstar flicked his ear towards the young she-cat, who shuffled her paws nervously. "And Littlecloud, ShadowClan's new medicine cat." Littlecloud waved his tail in gretting.

"All went well then?" Mistyfoot padded up behind Firestar and met the gaze of each ShadowClan cat warily. Every cat understood the underlying meaning of her words: Had StarClan given any new message?

"Yes, I received my nine lives without incident, and StarClan advised me to stay behind with the Clans." Was the guarded response from Oakstar. Leaders were not supposed to speak about the nine-lives ceremony to any cat but their medicine cat, but Oakstar's words answered the unasked question regardless.

Firestar nodded and looked up at the lightening sky. "Then we should go our separate ways. StarClan be with you, Oakstar." He gave the nervous new leader a respectful lick on the shoulder, and gave the other two ShadowClan cats an encouraging look. They would need all the help they could get.

"And you as well." With that, Oakstar led his cats back towards the barn, and they soon disappeared from sight behind the rolling hills of the highlands.

The other cats were just starting to awaken when Firestar and Mistyfoot returned to where they'd been sleeping. "Where to now, Firestar?" Bramblepaw asked eagerly. His glittering eyes were in great contrast to the older, tired cats around him, and Firestar envied his youthful energy.

"Over Highstones and to the mountains." Firestar replied, looking to Ravenpaw. "Lead the way, Ravenpaw. You're the only one who's ever gone beyond Highstones." The loner nodded and set off at a steady pace, following a winding path up the side of Highstones. At the top, they were greeted with a breath-taking view. Grassy fields and thunderpaths stretched far into the distance, and just barely visible from their perch on top of Highstones were the indistinct shapes of mountains, their snow-covered peaks shrouded in clouds. But before they reached the mountains, they would have to traverse the vast expanse of twoleg farms before them.

Ravenpaw gave the other cats a moment to take in the view before leading them down a steep path to solid ground. He pointed his nose towards a river when they reached the bottom. "If we head that way, we only have to cross the river and a small thunderpath. Then we can head straight for the mountains."

"Why can't we go that way? It seems more direct." Mistyfoot asked, pointing in the direction of the mountains."

"There's a huge tangle of many thunderpaths that way. We'd have to cross three or four before reaching open country." Ravenpaw explained. "I suppose it's a bit more direct, but it's very dangerous."

"Then that way it is." Firestar decided, starting off towards the river, but soon fell back to let Ravenpaw take the lead. It was good to have someone who knew the territory, even if Ravenpaw had only explored to the small thunderpath once or twice before. Had the loner not been with them, Firestar probably would have led them right to the heart of the tangle of thunderpaths.

Mistyfoot waded confidently into the river when they reached it, Featherpaw following shortly behind. The two RiverClan cats struck out before themselves with strong strokes where the river got too deep to touch the bottom, and reached the other side without a problem. "Come on, it's not that bad." The RiverClan deputy called from the other side of the swift-flowing water. "It's a short swim, you can wade through most of it."

"Maybe not for you RiverClan cats." Onewisker grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Firestar to hear. "We WindClan cats would rather stay on solid ground. Isn't there an easier place to cross?" The last question he directed at Ravenpaw.

The loner shook his head. "I don't know. If there is, I haven't found it. This is where I crossed before."

"We don't have time to look. We'll just have to put up with the water." Firestar meowed with finality. Though he would have also preferred to stay on dry land, Firestar waded out into the water as Mistyfoot had. Though he expected it to be cold, the icy chill of the water still came as a shock, seeping through Firestar's thick winter coat and seeming to freeze the very marrow of his bones. After a few steps the rocky bottom sloped away beneath his paws and Firestar floundered for a heartbeat in the frigid water before he was able to compose himself and swim. Thankfully, it was a short swim, and soon Firestar felt rocks and sand beneath him again.

Once out of the water, Firestar shook himself vigorously, dispelling most of the icy water, then turned back to watch Bramblepaw pulling himself out of the water and Ravenpaw swimming strongly through the deep section. Onewisker still paced opposite bank, his tail twitching nervously. "Come on, Onewisker!" Firestar called to his WindClan friend. "It's not as bad as it looks."

Gathering his courage, Onewisker splashed into the shallows of the river. Just as he was gaining confidence, the ground dropped out beneath him, and with a yowl the tabby tom disappeared beneath the water. He bobbed up again further downstream, sputtering and failing wildly. Without hesitation, Mistyfoot dashed out onto the back, gathered her paws beneath her, and leaped out into the deep waters. She grasped his scruff firmly in her teeth when she reached Onewisker and began to drag him towards the bank. The WindClan tom went limp, letting Mistyfoot drag him through the water until he was able to touch the bottom again.

"Are you alright?" Ravenpaw asked when the two drenched cats returned to the rest of the group.

Onewisker shook himself, spraying the other cats with icy water. "I'm fine. I hate swimming!" He growled.

"I have a feeling we'll make a RiverClan cat of you before this trip is over." Mistyfoot purred, calmly licking the water from her pelt. Her eyes grew serious as she gazed over the land to the distant mountains. "We still have a long journey ahead of us, so we'd best keep our wits about us."

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Sorry again for the long wait between updates. Obviously I'm not a very organized person. ^^;

Anyway, here's chapter four, and the start of the long journey to the mountains. It's a shame ShadowClan can't come with them. I wish I could give Rowanpaw a bigger part in this story.

She's just become my favorite background character, because I found that she changes gender somewhere between Dawn and Starlight, the third and fourth books of the New Prophecy series. At this point in the series she's female, so I hope that clears up any confusion. Hooray for gender confused cats!

Anyway, please leave a review to tell me what you think. :]