Chapter 8

Darkfire and Lightningstrike padded side by side, weaving through the trees. Ahead of them, Hollyleaf padded confidently through the forest. Lightningstrike admired how swift she was for her age, as well as her courage. After hearing what StarClan had said about her, it sounded as though she had made a bad decision and then forced herself to pay. Her heart ached for the elderly she-cat, who had been alone for so many moons.

Hollyleaf stopped and turned to the group she was leading. "Where we are right now was the heart of ThunderClan territory. From here, you have access to the abandoned Twoleg place, which is a good place for herbs, the ThunderClan camp, where we'll be staying, or the tunnels, which no one will be entering until I say so." She paused for a moment to glance at the apprentices, who were wide-eyed. "I know what was going through your heads. You wanted to find the tunnels, am I right?"

Sparkpaw burst out, "Why wouldn't we? They sound like a lot of fun, and could be useful to us!"

Splashpaw added, "It could also be a tactical advantage when we fight our enemies, or if we were to be threatened by something like badgers or foxes."

Hollyleaf cuffed both of them over the ear with a sheathed paw. "Mousebrains! The tunnels are a network that expand from the moors to the pine trees. There are dead ends, tunnels that lead deeper, and no light to give you help. Without the proper training, you would get lost, never to come out again. Also, the tunnels flood when there is heavy rain. I am the only cat that knows how to get out during that occurrence, and that's only because my brother is the one that figured the way out."

Spottedback raised a paw. "Calm down. They didn't know about the tunnels and what dangers they possessed. Now they do, and I'm sure they won't go looking for them. Isn't that right, Splashpaw?" he added meaningfully to the younger she-cat he had lived with.

Splashpaw flicked her tail back and forth. "Yes Spottedback," she said mutinously.

Sparkpaw added, "We won't do anything silly, we promise."

Hollyleaf gave a curt nod. "Good. Now, the ThunderClan camp, as I previously mentioned, is where we will be staying during your training and while we recruit cats for the Clans. Remember that if a cat says no to you, leave them alone. These cats aren't used to having the warrior code in this area, so we don't want to make enemies. If they do, bring them to the camp."

Streamfrost called out, "That's all very well, but how can we bring them to the camp if we don't even know where it is yet?"

Hollyleaf flicked an ear. "Great StarClan, calm down. We're just now getting to the camp, although you need to be careful. None of us know if the hollow is occupied, and if the possible occupants are dangerous. The way into the camp is a bit tricky also, so follow me closely."

Lightningstrike followed Darkheart as Hollyleaf led them around an edge to a deep hollow. As they approached a thorn tunnel, Darkheart whispered to Lightningstrike, "Can you believe all of this? We've made new friends, gotten new names, and now we're really starting our new life."

Lightningstrike murmured, "It's definitely hard to believe, and we still have a lot more to do."

Hollyleaf called out from the front, "Alright, we're here. Please check and make sure we aren't sharing this place with anyone."

As the cats dispersed, Lightningstrike found herself with Honeypaw. Honeypaw's eyes gleamed, and she said excitedly, "Oh Lightning, I mean Lightningstrike, isn't this exciting? I wonder when we start training."

As Honeypaw babbled on, Lightningstrike focused more on the hollow, and was surprised when she heard a noise coming from behind a rotting, fallen tree. Motioning for Honeypaw to be quiet, she dropped into a hunter's crouch and crept around the tree, only to gasp in amazement at what she found. Behind the tree, under its boughs, she saw four cats huddled together.

Lightningstrike mewed softly, "Are the four of you ok?"

A cat about her age looked up and hissed at her. "Leave them alone. I've heard all about you wild cats, and I won't let you hurt them."

Lightningstrike stepped back, confused. "I'm not going to hurt you, I want to know if I can help you. My friends and I can offer you food and protection."

A second cat, a grey she-cat with different colored eyes warily stood up and padded over. "Why would you do that for us? You know nothing about us." As her companions nodded, she went on. "We've been chased out of our homes by our Twolegs, nearly killed by foxes, and no one has wanted to show us a scrap of mercy before now."

Honeypaw came to stand beside Lightningstrike, her amber eyes glowing with friendship. "We want you to join because we believe that you all would be a great addition to what our goal is. You all would also benefit from the food and shelter. Will you please join us?"

As the grey she-cat opened her mouth, Lightningstrike heard Darkheart call out, "Lightningstrike! Honeypaw! Where did you go?"

The grey she-cat took a step back, looking at her friends. "You promise none of you will hurt us?"

Lightningstrike dipped her head. "I give you my word."

The first cat to speak raised her head, a determined glow in her eyes. "Very well. My name is Tangle. That," pointing her tail at the grey she-cat, "is Wolf, and this is Echo and Rowan," nodding in turn to a light grey she-cat and a brown tabby tom in turn.

Lightningstrike flicked her tail. "Come, we can introduce you to the others, as well as our mentor." With those words, she turned and led the four new cats and Honeypaw out from behind the beech tree.

Hollyleaf's eyes widened as she saw what had kept Lightningstrike. "Will they be staying?" she asked curiously, flicking an ear toward the newcomers.

Honeypaw replied eagerly, "Yes, they will. They've needed shelter and food for a while, and they want to join."

Hollyleaf narrowed her eyes at the four cats huddled together. "They do realize they will have to learn to fight, correct?"

Tangle spoke up, fur bristling. "Do you think we have thistle in our brains? Of course we know that, we want to learn how to protect each other."

Sparkpaw interrupted, "It would be so much fun to have more cats. Please let them stay Hollyleaf?"

Streamfrost added quietly, "It does keep with what StarClan wishes."

Hollyleaf shot Streamfrost a sharp look before dipping her head. "Very well, but I am not qualified to perform a warrior ceremony, and we don't have the time to travel back to the Moonpool. All four of you step forward." As the four cats did so, Hollyleaf took a deep breath. "StarClan, please accept these warriors even though I cannot use the proper ceremony. You," looking at Tangle, "will be known as Tanglenose. The tom will be known as Rowansplash." As the cats called out the new warriors' names, Hollyleaf beckoned to the remaining two she-cats. "You will both be apprentices. Wolf, you will be known as Wolfpaw. Echo, you will be known as Echopaw."

Breezestorm glanced at Hollyleaf, his eyes questioning. "Now that they have their names, what shall we do? There's still daylight left."

Hollyleaf purred. "Since today is everyone's first day, we hunt and eat. After, all new warriors will sit vigil."

Rowansplash spoke, his voice hesitant. "What is 'vigil'?"

Lightningstrike raised her paw, confidently replying, "My parents told me about that. We stay awake over night and watch the camp while everyone else sleeps."

Hollyleaf nodded. "Right. Now, let's hunt."