Hello friends! I will be posting a new Cats Of The Clans at the beginning of chapter 8, 9, or 10. Probably 10 but I kind of feel the need to post it sooner. So we shall see! For now, the first page reflects the cats as they were from the beginning of the story. Once I post the updated list, I will mention it on the first page so that others are aware of what pages the updated lists are on.

To The MoonClanner: Yep, water birds are ducks! I used the term interchangeably in the last chapter. And ohh okay I understand now haha Butterflyflight does kind of seem a bit redundant. Still sounds pretty though! Since this story is thus far written from Butterflysight's and Bravepaw's perspective, there's only so much that they observe. So as far as Tidewhisper telling her mate about that, I'm sure that it's definitely something that will come up in the background and I will see about finding ways to subtly hint at it from these POV's as well.


Chapter 7

Bravepaw couldn't sleep. Redpaw and Wildpaw had been chattering to the moon and back about their warrior assessments tonight, and he couldn't help but envy them. He imagined it were him out there, skillfully leaping after those kangaroo rats - he and Riverpaw had been the ones to show the Clan some tricks in hunting them, after all.

He curled his claws into his bedding, pushing the thoughts aside. I've got a lot left to learn if I'm going to be the best warrior ever! He told himself. Bravepaw's green gaze swept through the apprentices den, settling on the blue-grey she-cat curled up in the nest next to him. Normally he would wake her, but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and he'd overheard Nettlefire saying Finchberry would be doing dawn patrol tomorrow.

Bravepaw brought himself to his paws, stretching his muscles. There was no use in sitting in the dark when he was so wide awake. Since his and Riverpaw's late night hunting excursion, many Clanmates had opted to be more of night owls. Maybe he wouldn't be the only one awake.

He padded into the main cavern, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the minimal light. It seemed relatively peaceful - that is, until a reddish fluff of fur carrying a colorful feather marched into the open, followed by two stumbling kits. As Bravepaw padded within earshot of the group, Featherkit turned around importantly, gesturing with her tail. "This is the warriors den!" She squeaked. "Only the coolest, bravest cats sleep here."

Thunderkit waved her tail excitedly. Quietkit stared into the dark den with wide eyes. "Will they eat us?" He squeaked. Featherkit purred. "No, silly! They're normal cats. It's the coyotes you've got to worry about."

That caught Bravepaw's interest. "Coyotes? What are those?" He inquired, padding closer to the group. Featherkit jumped a little, pelt bristling with fear before she recognized the tom. "Hi Bravepaw!" She squeaked. "Coyotes... well..." The reddish kit trailed off, her expression tinted with fear. "They're really bad," Featherkit mewed finally, voice barely a whisper. "They eat cats, and they can run really fast. That's how my sister Dawn died." She fixed her gaze to her paws, shoulders slumping.

Bravepaw's eyes widened with excitement. "They wouldn't mess with Clan cats!" He boasted. "I'll shred any of them before they come close. What are they like?" His voice dripped with excitement, oblivious to Featherkit's growing discomfort and Thunderkit and Quietkit's wide, frightened eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Featherkit whispered, shrinking back in fear at some unknown enemy.

"Aw, c'mon-"

"Featherkitttt!" Thunderkit wailed loudly, headbutting the reddish she-kit. "You promised to show us around the camp!"

Newtpool padded from deeper in the canyon, appearing annoyed. "There you are," She chided, narrowing her eyes at Featherkit. "It is way too late for you kits to be awake. Come back to the nursery, now."

Thunderkit appeared crushed at the sight of her mother. "Momma, Featherkit was showing us around the camp! We've got to be night hunters so we've got to get used to staying up late." The tiny kit protested. Quietkit hung his head down shamefully.

"You'll do no such thing," Newtpool scolded. "What you learn as an apprentice is moons away yet. Young kits need their sleep, not to be bothering their Clanmates all hours of the night." She glanced toward Bravepaw, expression unreadable. Without another word, she picked Thunderkit up by the scruff and led the remaining two kits back towards the nursery.

Bravepaw tried to hide his disappointment. He got along with kits; they always had so much energy. He peered around the cavern once more, before padding to the entrance of the camp. The night air was as cool as a leaf-bare day. He puffed his fur out against the cold, wondering how Wildpaw and Redpaw were doing on their warrior assessments.

That was when he heard the wailing sound that echoed across the canyons, chilling him to the bone. Now, Bravepaw's pelt was bushed out, but not for the cold.

"You heard it too?" Bravepaw jumped at the sound of a voice beside him, and he glanced over to see the briefest shadow of a dark grey tabby standing on night watch. Rainpoppy's expression was guarded and grim. "I've been hearing it the last couple of nights. Butterflysight and I felt like we were being watched..."

"It's the same sound that Riverpaw and I heard half a moon ago when we came back from the herb place!" Bravepaw exclaimed, eyes wide. "We found a dead bird and the jojoba bush smelled like no animal I've ever scented before!"

At that, Rainpoppy's eyes widened a fraction. "Really?" She asked, voice heavy with seriousness. Bravepaw nodded. "We told Webstar and he sent a patrol to check it out, but I hadn't heard about it since then." He shuffled his paws. "I'd thought maybe we'd just imagined it."

Rainpoppy fixed her gaze out into the darkness, her spine bristling. "I don't think so," She mewed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

That was when the screaming began.


"Butterflysight! Hurry, wake up!"

The grey and silver she-cat blinked through bleary eyes at the cream and white apprentice as he raced into her den. "Bravepaw? What's wrong?" She asked, blinking heavily.

The cream colored tom's fur was standing on end. "It's the night patrol," Bravepaw gasped. "Something's happening. Nettlefire said you need to be ready because it sounds really bad."

That got her attention. Ready? For what? Dread sunk heavy into Butterflysight's chest as the words of the prophecy returned to her. She leapt to her paws, racing out of the den towards the main cavern.

The Clan was in chaos. Yowls of agonized cats echoed from outside, seeming to grow louder by the minute. Nettlefire was trying to gather a group of warriors to assist the night patrol, but every cat seemed too panicked to listen.

Suddenly, it felt as if a slice of ice slashed her chest with a realization. Wildpaw's on that patrol. Her heart sped up, then skipped a beat. Before she knew what she was doing, Butterflysight was unsteadily heading for the camp entrance.

She hadn't gotten very far when a cat came pounding after her. "Butterflysight, wait!" Butterflysight whirled around, staring with wide, worried eyes as Rainpoppy caught up to her. "You're not going alone," The grey tabby she-cat mewed.

Butterflysight felt a lump rise in her throat. "Wildpaw's out there," She mewed hoarsely. "I have to help him."

"I know. I'm coming with you," Rainpoppy mewed grimly. The distant screams seemed to be fading. "But we'd better hurry." Without another word, they raced towards the source of the noise, moving as silently and quickly as possible towards the snake-rocks.

The eerie wailing filled the air once more, sounding closer than ever. Their fur stood on end, but nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to see.

Blood coated the rocks, so much blood that it dripped heavily between the cracks. Tufts of fur scattered in between crevices, and a mauled white body lay in the center. No other cats were in sight. Butterflysight padded cautiously with a sinking heart as she approached the body of the gentle, wise ThunderClan cat. Her face was contorted in a snarl, blue and brown eyes dull with death. Her belly was ripped completely open, and her claws were still unsheathed, clinging to tufts of coarse, light brown fur.

"Oh, Sagefrost," Butterflysight whispered, staring down at the she-cat's bloodied body. "What did this to you?"

"Butterflysight! Over here! I found them!" Rainpoppy called, scanning the landscape alertly. Butterflysight tore her gaze away from her Clanmate, leaping over the stones over to where Rainpoppy was gesturing towards a small hole in the rocks, big enough for a cat but nothing else. "Their scents are strong here, but so is the blood. Butterflysight... I think you should prepare yourself. I'll keep guard."

What could she say to that? Unable to speak, Butterflysight merely nodded, pushing past Rainpoppy and squeezing into the tiny rock cave. "Wildpaw? Redpaw? It's Butterflysight, I'm here to help."

The thick darkness was almost suffocating with the stench of blood and death, but she pushed past it, willing her eyes to adjust to the light.

After what felt like hours, she finally heard it; the voice she'd been desperately praying for. "Butterflysight? Did-" Wildpaw's voice was barely a whisper, and abruptly got cut off.

Shuffling echoed from further into the darkness and she became aware that the tiny crevice was much bigger inside than she'd already thought. Redpaw's voice echoed from the darkness, clearly sounding strained. "He just passed out, Butterflysight. He's lost a lot of blood. Webstar's here too, he's not waking up."

"Rainpoppy, I need cobwebs right now! We're safe in here for the moment. Please be careful!" Butterflysight called, pelt bristling as she navigated the darkness. Though she could somewhat locate her brother and leader by scent (it was incredibly difficult to do so over the scent of blood), she felt as if she were blind.

"Redpaw, what kind of wounds does Wildpaw have?" Butterflysight asked as she came upon her brother's body. She pushed aside the panic at what she was dealing with, forcing her mind to focus instead on what she knew as a medicine cat. Find the source of the bleeding and put pressure on it.

"He has a nasty bite on his leg, I think. Butterflysight, Webstar..." Redpaw trailed off, his voice cracking. For the moment, she pushed his worry aside. "Redpaw, Webstar still has one life left after this one. Wildpaw only has one. I'm sure our leader would agree with my decision here." With that, she pressed down hard on a part of his leg that felt thick with blood.

Redpaw didn't have a chance to respond, and Rainpoppy's voice called down into the crevice. "I brought cobwebs. Nettlefire's patrol is here. He says we need to bring everyone up so we can assess the damage."

"I don't care what he says," Butterflysight snapped, "I'm the medicine cat and neither of these cats can be moved until I've looked them over and put some cobwebs on their wounds!"

"Alright, alright. Here."

Butterflysight signalled to Redpaw with her tail, forgetting for a moment that she was trapped in absolute darkness. She silently cursed the darkness before calling out to the apprentice. "Redpaw, I need you to grab the cobwebs. We can't risk Wildpaw losing any more blood."

Silence filled the makeshift cave. "Butterflysight, I have my paws on Webstar's throat," Redpaw mewed after a moment, his voice coming out choked.

"For StarClan's sake, Redpaw! Webstar has a life left! Come on!"

"He hasn't woken up yet..."

"The cobwebs will help him too! Now!" It wasn't like Butterflysight so be so snappy. She knew, too, in a small part of her mind, that she should at least check on Webstar. But she also knew that if she lost Wildpaw too, she'd never forgive herself.

After several long moments, shuffling sounded as Redpaw squeezed beside her, grabbing the cobwebs from Rainpoppy. He wordlessly passed them to Butterflysight who pressed the cobwebs against Wildpaw's seeping leg wound. She held them there for several long moments before daring to lift her paws from his bloodied pelt. To her relief, the cobwebs held fast.

Butterflysight let out a long sigh. "Alright, Redpaw. Let's send Wildpaw up and I'll see if Webstar has come back around yet," She mewed. Wordlessly, Redpaw obeyed, helping Butterflysight to carefully lift her brother out of the crevice where his Clanmates were waiting for him.

Finally, Butterflysight turned to the still form of Webstar. She lay her head on his chest, listening carefully for the heartbeat. To her relief, though slow, it was steady, and her leader was letting out shallow breaths. "He's back with us. Let's patch up his major wounds and get him back to camp so I can treat for infection," She ordered, grasping the leftover cobwebs and pressing it to her leader's large neck wound.

After Butterflysight was confident in their ability to move the leader, and with the help of Nettlefire's patrol, they made their way back to camp. Dewthistle and Applesplash flanked the edges of the patrol, keeping watch, while Butterflysight, Redpaw, Wildpaw, Sagefrost's body, and the cats helping to carry them stayed in the center. Nettlefire led the group, though he clearly appeared worried for the leader, and Butterflysight was reminded that Webstar was like a father to the deputy.

Once in the sunlight, Butterflysight was able to see that Redpaw had not escaped unharmed either, but his wounds were much more manageable than the serious wounds of her brother and leader. She silently reminded herself to check up on him once Wildpaw and Webstar were stabilized.

"Redpaw," Sparrowdawn mewed after a long moment. "Where's Grassdaze?"

Butterflysight remembered with a start that the young warrior had been part of the night patrol. She had seen neither hide nor tail of the black she-cat; though, she had been focused on treating Wildpaw and Webstar.

It seemed that Redpaw was just as clueless as she was. He shook his head, eyes dull with grief while helping to carry Sagefrost. "She was one of the last cats fighting, along with Sagefrost. We were in the crevice so I didn't see what happened."

Sparrowdawn's eyes were wide and his pelt bristled. "I'll look for her," He began, taking a step away from the group, but Nettlefire stopped the warrior with a sharp glance. "No. We aren't going to lose anymore warriors today. We don't know what we're dealing with. I'll send a patrol out tomorrow to search for her, but for now, everyone goes back to camp."

Sparrowdawn's hackles raised, clearly unhappy about the order, but he knew well enough to keep his jaws shut.

Much later, as she redressed her brother's wounds and made sure her awakening leader remained still so as not to reopen wounds, Butterflysight found something embedded in her brother's legs that she hadn't noticed before.

His fur was ripped away in patches, and in his skin was embedded two large silver teeth.


"By the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Redpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Redwind. StarClan honors your courage and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan." Webstar was hardly mobile with his wounds, but he completed the ceremony with stoic resolve, resting his head on the reddish warrior's head before he turned to Wildpaw. Though the apprentice's leg was still weak, his energy had not suffered, and he nearly vibrated with excitement. Butterflysight withheld a purr of amusement.

"By the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wildpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Wildheart. StarClan honors your courage and enthusiasm and we welcome you as a full warrior of SunClan." Butterflysight raised her head high as her brother's name was announced, yowling deep into the cavern his warrior name.

"Redwind! Wildheart! Redwind! Wildheart!"

It had hardly been more than a couple of sunrises, but despite the medicine cat's protests, Webstar had insisted on giving the two toms their warrior names.

"They fought like warriors. There's no reason to wait," The black striped warrior had told her when she requested more time for them to heal. Butterflysight had reluctantly agreed, under the condition that their movements be kept to a minimum and Webstar remain on level ground during the meeting.

Now, both toms held their heads high, their chests puffed out with pride. Riverpaw emerged from the crowd, padding over towards Redwind with adoring eyes. Butterflysight was just close enough to hear the young apprentice's words.

"You were so brave! And now you're a full warrior. I know our Clan is in good hands with you." At that, Riverpaw entwined her blue-grey tail with Redwind's reddish one, and Butterflysight swore she could see the new warrior turn two shades more red. The medicine cat blinked with confusion. Wasn't Riverpaw close to Wildheart?

Glancing for her brother, Butterflysight spotted the dark grey tom padding over towards Rainpoppy, whose whiskers were already twitching with amusement. "Well, Rainpoppy, I'm a warrior now. You know what that means..." The energetic tom mewed with a wink.

Rainpoppy's tail twitched with laughter, but she otherwise said nothing, and Wildheart seemed to lose some of his resolve at her silence. "It, uh... It means that we can compete together again!" He blurted out. "I'll bet I'm way better at catching prey than you!"

Rainpoppy snorted. "Prey can hear you coming from a mile away, Wildheart."

Butterflysight stifled a purr and padded out of earshot. It seemed he was still mooning after Rainpoppy, despite what he'd seen in the warrior's den with Riverpaw. Purhaps the apprentice was just friendly with her Clanmates.

That's what Butterflysight thought, however, until she saw Riverpaw nuzzling Redwind, entwining her pelt with his in a very affectionate manner. And it seemed that Bravepaw saw it too; she spotted the white and cream tom bristling at the edge of the crowd, a kangaroo rat in his jaws, eyes wide with pain and confusion.

The look in his eyes was enough to break Butterflysight's heart. She took a step towards the apprentice, jaws open as if to comfort him, but Bravepaw spotted her first. His eyes revealed all of the emotions in his heart, and he disappeared before she could say a word.