Now we find out what happens next.

Chapter 8: Why?

Flowerpaw stared in shock at Blackbird's statement. The white flecked tom stared at the calm, graying face of Leafstar. The old brown, cream tabby narrowed her eyes until they were amber slits.

"Why would you want to join Skyclan?" Leafstar asked.

Blackbird seemed to think about it for a several heartbeats before answering.

"Because it's hard and lonely on my own. And I ran into a fox a few days ago, that's when I remembered that I never learned how to fight."

"Only one?"

Leafstar flicked her tail at Badgerface.

"What happened to the two foxes you fought?" Questioned the old leader, looking into Badgerface's bright blue eyes.

"They went in separate directions. One went towards the Twoleg Place while the other left the territory."

Leafstar then turned her gaze back to Blackbird.

"Where were you when the fox attacked you?"

"I was by the Twoleg Place with another rogue."

"You said you lived on your own."

"I do. The rogue is my mothers mother. She was telling me where she was going to be for a while."

"How come you don't have any scratches?"

"Because Blaze, that's the rogues name, told me to run. I ran until I thought I was a safe distance away from the fight."

"Then what happened?"

"I went back after the sun had set to find that Blaze had died after the fight. She had a large gash on her throat." Blackbird took in a shuddering breath. "That's when I made the decision to try and join the clan."

Leafstar continued to stare into Blackbird's eyes. She saw pain and grief in the young toms eyes. She then sighed.

"I will not make a decision now. I will let you know when I have reached one. Flowerpaw. I want you to help Blackbird settle in while I think about this."

Flowerpaw simply nodded to her leader and limped over to Blackbird as the clan went back to their duties. Blackbird stared at Flowerpaw's injured leg with astonishment.

"What happened to you?"

Flowerpaw simply stared at the ground as she explained.

"Badgerface, Foxtail, and I ran into two foxes. Badgerface told me to run, and that's what I did. I ran blindly through the undergrowth and soon came to edge of the gorge. I tried to hold on and pull myself back up but it was no use. I lost my grip and fell to the bottom of the gorge where I broke my leg."

"That's awful."

Flowerpaw didn't say anything and just led Blackbird down the path to the Whispering Cave. Blackbird stared in awe at the cave walls that are covered with the shinning moss.

"Why does th-" Blackbird began but Flowerpaw answered before he could finish.

"No cat knows why the moss shines, but it doesn't really matter why it does."

The cream and white tabby apprentice began to tear moss from the cave wall and put it into a stack beside her. She then picked up as much of the moss as she could in her jaws and under her chin. Blackbird managed to copy her and take the rest of the moss with him. Flowerpaw leaped up onto the ledge that led to the Apprentices cave, while Blackbird had to scramble up onto the ledge. Flowerpaw dropped her bundle of moss next to a shallow dip in the ground. Blackbird dropped his bundle as Flowerpaw began to build the nest. Flowerpaw soon finished the nest.

"There you go." Flowerpaw said turning her bright green gaze on the blue gaze of Blackbird.

"May I ask why you needed to get this much moss?"

"Sandclaw asked me to get him moss earlier, so I decided to take this chance to get the moss that he wanted." She then flicked her black ears. "I need to bring this moss to the Medicine Cat cave."

Flowerpaw picked up the rest of the moss and leaped down from the ledge, wincing as her leg hit the ground. She padded into the Medicine Cat cave and dropped the moss near the entrance. Flowerpaw pricked ears at the sound of voices. She stuck her head out of the den to see Tuliptai's kits, Snakekit and Lizardkit surrounding Blackbird.

"Why would a rogue want to join the clan?" Lizardkit sneered at Blackbird, his long, black fur bristling.

"Yeah," His sister, Snakekit said joining in. "Maybe he's not even a rogue. Maybe he's just a kittypet that made up the story about the fox!"

"I bet that he even made up the other rogue. I don't even think she exists!"

Blackbird visibly winced when he heard what the kits said about Blaze. Flowerpaw limped over and went in between the kits and Blackbird.

"You don't have any idea about how Blaze's death affected him!" Flowerpaw snarled, the kits shrank back in fear. "You should think before you speak!"

Snakekit and Lizardkit ran away from the bristling apprentice into the Nursery. Flowerpaw smoothed out her fur and turned her gaze to Blackbird. The white flecked tom simply looked down and shuffled his paws.

"You didn't have to do that. I will have to live with it if Leafstar accepts me into the clan..."

"They still shouldn't say all that stuff about Blaze."

Blackbird didn't get to say anything before let out the familiar summons.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!"

The cats that had went into their dens came out and sat at the base of the Rockpile to hear what Leafstar had to say.

"I have made my decision about the young rogue. He will join the clan and train alongside Robinpaw, Jaypaw, and Flowerpaw when she recovers."

Leafstar leaped down the Rockpile and padded to the nervous looking Blackbird.

Blackbird from this day forward until you earn your warrior name you shall be known as Nightpaw. Crowwing," Leafstar said to the pale black tabby. "You shall be Nightpaw's mentor."

Crowwing looked shocked but happy of the fact he was chosen to be the newly named Nightpaw. They touched noses and went to join the rest of the clan.

"Meeting dismissed!"

Leafstar padded away to her cave as the clan went back to their duties.

Authors Note:

That's the end of Blackbird, welcome Nightpaw! If you don't like the idea, well i'm not trying to make to make everyone happy. Can I get at least five more reviews befor I post the next chapter?

Later peoples!