Sorry I haven't updated in so long. :P whew this is the longest chapter ive written -.-
chpter 2 I mean if you search lightningclan in the search engine, it will come first
Ashheart15: but good timing for lightningclan :3
Daisy leapt back, her fur bristling. Claws slid out instinctively from her soft white paws.
Who were these cats?
"Blackbird," warned the gray tabby. "These cats are harmless. They didn't know they were in our territory. Do we need to take them prisoner? And, besides, we don't have the strength to fight them," her voice dropped to a low whisper.
Daisy wasn't sure she was meant to hear the last line. Fight them? None of the five cats knew how to fight, not as a cat. Lionel had been a good martial artist and had even represented his school in various championships. However, none of that punching and kicking would be any use to him now, with his long legs shortened to the stocky, little legs of a little kitten.
"All five of you look like you are around seven moons old," added the she-cat, whirling around to face them. "Would you like to come with us and train as apprentices instead of prisoners?" Her eyes hardened as she said the last word and glared at Blackbird. The black tom said nothing more, but spat in the she-cat's direction. Unsheathing his claws, he dug them deep into the snowy ground.
The other gray she-cat stood up abruptly, her jet-black paws easily visible among the white blanket which covered the forest that was snow. "But… Lightstripe! We don't know who these cats are or where they come from! Can we trust them?" she stared accusingly at Daisy and her siblings.
Daisy felt the fur on her neck rise again. Couldn't she at least be a little more considerate as to lower her voice?
Lightstripe silenced the gray she-cat with a wave of her tail. "Well, Froststar made me patrol leader, and as the patrol leader, I say they're coming with us. If these cats stay outside in this cold weather, they'll probably fall sick. Do you want it to be known that LightningClan sent cats to their death?"
The she-cat looked unconvinced, but she did not protest.
Lightstripe's words had made Daisy realize she was indeed freezing. Her fur was still fluffed out from the cold and she felt a shiver run down her spine.
Before Daisy could say anything, Blackbird spoke up. "I agree with Silentstrike. What if we take them in, and later betray us?"
It was time, Daisy decided, to speak up.
"Hey," she called out to the three cats, "we have ears, you know. We can hear everything you're saying. If you want to discuss about any possible betrayals we'll make to your LightningClan, which we won't, can you keep your voice down?"
Blackbird let out a hiss and padded away with his tail up in the air. Silentstrike flattened her ears in embarrassment, unsure of what to say. Lightstripe nodded. "Okay, these cats have just promised they won't betray our Clan. We can let them be our apprentices. What are your names? No, wait, you can tell Froststar at your naming ceremony. I'll show you the way to our camp."
If Lightstripe felt uncomfortable around Daisy and her siblings, she didn't show it. She nosed Daisy gently, encouraging her forward. Hazel padded along beside the grey she-cat. Lionel let out a quiet hiss, only to be silenced by Jason, flicking his dark ginger tail across Lionel's open jaws. The ginger tom clearly didn't like to be led anywhere. Jason nudged Lionel forward, and at last he relented and followed Blackbird. Ivy was walking alongside Silentstrike, chatting with her excitedly.
All five half-grown cats looked around in wonder at the snowy landscape around them. Daisy's white pelt blended in with the snowy background perfectly. Only her green eyes revealed that she wasn't part of the snow.
"It's so beautiful!" Daisy said aloud.
Silentstrike looked back, and there was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "The snow's beautiful, but it makes prey harder to catch. The whole Clan is starving, and some of the cats are dying."
For the first time, Daisy realized that the three cats guiding them back to the Clan were skinny, with all their ribs showing. Their fur was matted and dull, as if they had stopped grooming their pelt since winter started in this strange place.
"Catch prey?" came Hazel's stunned meow.
Blackbird whipped around to glare at her. "Of course. How do you think we catch food around here? Or do you expect us to starve because we're too lazy to catch prey?"
"What kinds of prey do you catch?" piped up Jason, his voice curious. "Do you catch fish? I thought wild cats like to eat fish."
"Fish? I'd rather die than catch fish. Who wants to get wet paws?" replied Lightstripe humorously.
Ivy stifled a purr of amusement and Jason let out a murmur of agreement. Back when all five siblings were still humans, Jason had never been keen on swimming.
The group of cats made their way among the snowy path, their paws making small holes in the snow. Daisy was too caught up in gazing around at the scenery to realize Lightstripe, the cat leading the group, had stopped.
A large clearing was in front of Daisy, packed with many cats. Daisy realized she could smell a foul stench coming from a sheltered cove at the side of the clearing. As she took in her new surroundings, a snowy white she-cat rose up and pelted across the snow to meet Lightstripe.
"Lightstripe, who are these cats?" the she-cat asked the grey tabby.
Lightstripe dipped her head. "Froststar, we were patrolling our border when we ran into these cats. They're not harmful, and they will make good apprentices for our Clan."
Froststar narrowed her eyes at the five cats in front of her. "They're not harmful, you say? How do you know they will not turn from LightningClan?"
Daisy padded to meet the white cat. As she was the oldest, she felt obliged to be the speaker. "Froststar, we have promised Lightstripe, Blackbird and Silentstrike that we will not betray LightningClan. We just want to be the best apprentices we can be, and give good service to your Clan."
When she had finished speaking, Daisy dipped her head as Lightstripe had done. What Froststar didn't know was that Daisy was telling her a lie. She had no idea what apprentices did for the Clan, and, judging from the blank stares from Jason, Ivy, Hazel and Lionel, they had no clue what Lightstripe was talking about either.
But they had to stay in LightningClan. Where else could they go, with no one to teach them how to catch food as a cat, and without the knowledge of how to build a shelter?
Hazel piped up. "Yes, yes, we promise. Could we please become apprentices and learn what to do for LightningClan?"
Daisy winced. Hazel sounded way too eager and disrespectful, and from Lightstripe's actions, Froststar seemed to be important in the Clan. Surely showing disrespect to the pure white she-cat was only another way to get all five cats thrown out into the freezing, cold snow?
But Froststar's eyes showed no anger; instead Daisy thought she saw a glimmer of amusement in the white cat's blue eyes.
"Alright, I'll tell the Clan right away," Froststar meowed to Blackbird, Lightstripe and Silentstrike. "All three of you can get some rest after the Clan meeting." All three cats nodded agreement.
All of them looked tired and weary, Daisy realized with a pang of sympathy. She remembered what Silentstrike said about the Clan starving, and now she knew the grey cat was right.
Froststar beckoned the five cats with her tail. "Come with me up on that rock," she mewed. Daisy followed Froststar's gaze across the clearing to a huge boulder with cracks in it, hanging over the clearing like a giant waiting to strike.
Froststar bounded up the rock with one leap; Froststar must have been eating more than the others, or she wouldn't have been this strong, thought Daisy.
Daisy followed Froststar up the rock; it was easy to climb and Daisy managed to reach the top in a matter of moments. She was closely followed by Ivy, then Hazel. The white she-cat could hear an encouraging murmur from Jason down below, while Lionel hissed something. Daisy was too far away to figure out what both ginger cats were saying, though she could imagine Jason urging Lionel to climb up the massive rock. Lionel had never been good with heights.
At last, with a pant and a gasp, Lionel appeared at the top. Jason followed him up, but stopped a little way down the rock. There wasn't enough space to hold all six cats, but Jason had found a small platform that would hold his weight just as well.
Froststar's jaws opened and let out a call. "Let all cats old enough to climb a tree join here beneath the Skyrock for a Clan meeting!"
The yowl echoed around the clearing, and soon cats began to appear from their dens. Young and old; spotted and striped; all kinds of cats showed up to hear what Froststar had to say. A few of them gave curious stares at the newcomers; Daisy tried not to feel daunted by their glittering eyes.
"Lightstripe, Blackbird and Silentstrike have just come back from a border patrol, and they found these five cats in our territory. It is their opinion that these cats will make worthy apprentices of LightningClan. From now onwards, these cats will train alongside our apprentices, and learn to hunt and fight."
"Our opinion?" Daisy could hear a murmur from along the gathered cats. "Both of us didn't even have a chance to say anything."
From her vantage point, Daisy could see Blackbird muttering away to Silentstrike. The black tom raised his head and met Daisy's gaze, resentment clearly showing in his eyes.
Daisy ignored him. Blackbird would just have to learn to get along with all five of them.
Froststar went on. "As leader of LightningClan, I call upon our warrior ancestors to look down on these cats. We pray for them to learn our ways quickly, and give good service to our Clan."
Turning to Daisy, Froststar asked, "What are your names? Tell me."
"I'm Daisy." She forced her voice not to shake.
"I'm Ivy." The tortoiseshell she-cat looked up at the leader with wide, scared eyes. Yet Daisy saw respect flickering in her eyes.
Ivy wasn't done. "Um… I heard what you said about fighting, and I'm not so sure I'm the type that likes combat. Could… could there be other things I can do as an apprentice?" she asked in a small voice.
Daisy cringed. Surely it wasn't acceptable to request something like this in front of all these cats, and on this high rock? What was this rock called anyway? The Skyrock? Daisy would have to remember that for the future.
Froststar only nodded. "Of course. When cats engage in combat, they always walk away with injuries. And we need a cat to heal those injuries. That cat is called a medicine cat, and they are able to take on an apprentice. These apprentices are called medicine cat apprentices. And, from now on, you will be known as Ivypaw."
Froststar's blue gaze searched the clearing for a while, probably looking for the medicine cat. "Duskwatcher," she mewed at last. "You will be Ivypaw's mentor. Pass on your ability to heal to this young cat." She motioned for Ivypaw to climb down the rock to meet her mentor.
A golden tom stood up, his dark blue eyes shimmering with shock and joy. He went over to Ivypaw and touched his nose to hers. Ivypaw seemed surprise, but she returned the gesture with a quick lick.
"And," Froststar went on, "this white she-cat will be known as Daisypaw. Lightstripe, you are without an apprentice since Fernpaw died from greencough. LightningClan honors your brave spirit and your determination to move on from her death, and we expect you to pass them on to your apprentice."
Daisypaw picked her way down carefully. How lucky she was! Daisypaw had only just known Lightstripe, but she felt that she already liked the gray tabby a great deal. Lightstripe had been friendly to the five cats when they first came, and now her eyes showed no smugness at being chosen to be a mentor; instead she found surprise and excitement in her eyes. Daisypaw touched noses with her, and Lightstripe led the white apprentice to somewhere more shaded.
"I'm Lionel," she heard her brother say. She looked up at the Skyrock to see the ginger tom crouched on the giant boulder, his fur fluffed up and eyes scared. But his voice was steady as he mewed, "I wish to be known as Lionpaw, since, well, it's closest to my name and I like the thought of being one."
Clearly Lionel didn't want the cats down below to know that he was afraid.
"Very well, Lionel-you will now be named Lionpaw. Grasspelt," she called into the throng of cats in the clearing, "You will be Lionpaw's mentor. Your courage has not wavered since the day you were made a warrior. Teach your apprentice well."
A brown tom padded forward to meet Lionpaw. The sun shone on his long fur, turning his pelt to flame. Reaching down to touch noses with Lionpaw, he murmured, "It's okay. I was scared too on the day I was made an apprentice. The Skyrock isn't called that for nothing, you know!"
Lionpaw purred with amusement, the fear fading from his amber eyes. He should have been called Flamepaw, thought Daisy. The ginger-furred apprentice looked like a brand of fire in the sunlight.
"And what is your name?" Froststar turned to Hazel. The brown she-cat's green eyes gleamed as she replied, "Hazel."
"Very well, Hazel. You will now be known as Hazelpaw." Froststar's gaze searched the gathered cats as she looked for a suitable mentor. Probably one that wasn't sick, thought Daisypaw. She remembered the stench of sickness coming from a den when she had first set paw in LightningClan's territory.
"Blackbird!" yowled Froststar.
Daisypaw started. Uh oh. Blackbird was a very aggressive cat, and the last cat Daisypaw wanted to be her mentor. Yet, she could not help wondering if Hazelpaw and Blackbird would learn to work together in the long run. Daisypaw remembered Hazelpaw's sharp tongue when all of them were still in human form.
"You have proved yourself a worthy warrior, Blackbird, and I expect you to pass on your skills to this apprentice." Hazelpaw sprang down to the snowy ground, paws skidding and sending snow over the nearby cats. Some of them purred with amusement; Hazelpaw bristled but said nothing.
Daisypaw spotted Blackbird coming Hazelpaw's way; his black fur outlined against the snowy landscape, he prowled across the clearing like a lion. He and Hazelpaw touched noses, rather reluctantly, and went to sit near a grey she-cat. Her belly looked ready to burst, and Daisypaw guessed she was pregnant.
"Young cat, what is your name?" asked Froststar, turning to Jason. The ginger tom narrowed his eyes as though he were thinking carefully. When he spoke, his voice ran out clearly.
"My name is Ginger."
Ginger? Daisypaw's eyes widened in surprise. Hazelpaw shot a questioning glance at her, but Daisy only shook her head. Who knew what was on Jason's mind?
"Ginger, from this moment on, you will be known as Gingerpaw. Silentstrike," she added, beckoning the grey she-cat, "you will be Gingerpaw's mentor. Your hunting skills are the finest in the Clan, and we expect you to pass on those skills to Gingerpaw."
The assembled cats instantly sprang into a chorus, shouting all five cats' new names over and over.
"Daisypaw! Hazelpaw! Lionpaw! Ivypaw! Gingerpaw!"
But Daisypaw's mind failed to notice the cheers surrounding her.
Why had Jason called himself Ginger?
Okay, fine, I don't know how to do a medicine cat ceremony.