Chapter 8

The journey had begun just before night fell upon the moors. Crowpaw kept close to the edge of his Clan's territory. Stormpaw couldn't blame him for appearing nervous. He was leading his Clan through his own territory – most cats wouldn't dare do such a thing. She tried not to say anything when they reached the thunderpath. Her pelt was already bristling with unease when she looked at the black path that seemed to stretch on forever.

"We'll have to be careful," Crowpaw meowed over his shoulder. "Thunderpaths are usually quiet during the night, but you can still get those louder monsters during the night."

Stormpaw's tail twitched uncomfortably when she nodded. Beside her Arrowpaw and Mothpaw were crouched. Both cats looked as though they were ready to flee from the terrible sounds as a monster roared past them.

"Now!" Crowpaw's shout caused every one of them to rush forward. Stormpaw nearly tripped over a strange Twoleg object as she ran. She was relieved when her paws touched the raw grass that grew around the thunderpath. Mothpaw and Arrowpaw were quick to join them on the other side of the thunderpath.

"That was scary," Mothpaw gasped after catching her breath. "It reminded me of the time mother took us to RiverClan," she added when she looked down at her paws. Arrowpaw and Crowpaw looked at her as if she had grown wings. "My mother…Sasha was a rogue before she joined RiverClan…she wanted us to live a better life, so she took us to RiverClan."

"So you and your siblings are just a bunch of rogues," Crowpaw sneered.

"No! Our father is…he's…" Mothpaw looked down at her paws, as if she was embarrassed to admit who her father truly was.

"It's okay Mothpaw, you don't have to tell us," Stormpaw mewed reassuringly.

Mothpaw gave her a thankful look before shaking her head. The group continued moving forward throughout the night, avoiding what appeared to be Twoleg homes and other assortments. Stormpaw kept an eye on the sky in the hopes that she would know where she had to go. The path ahead was different from the one Spottedleaf had shown her.

When it came to traveling through Twolegplace the group was even more uneasy. Stormpaw looked around any corner to ensure that they made it through safely. Her silver and gray fur was ruffled with anxiety as she led them through. It was up to her that they made it through safely.

It was dusk by the time they reached the foot of the mountains. The other apprentices just looked at it with their jaws hanging open. Stormpaw sighed when she followed their gazes.

This really is a daunting task, she thought.

"How will we know what we're looking for?" Mothpaw asked.

"We'll know." Stormpaw didn't know why she had said that. The others just gave her strange looks before following her.

OoOo

The assent was slow and difficult. Stormpaw kept tripping over the large boulders, her paws flailing at times when they seemed to reach for the sky. Crowpaw had to grab Arrowpaw by the scruff before he fell off the mountain's base.

By the time they reached a resting stop Stormpaw's pads had been cut and bruised. She looked at them to see how raw they were and winced.

"Hold on, I'll get some cobwebs for that," Mothpaw mewed.

Stormpaw held them up by sitting on her haunches. The dappled golden apprentice had bounded away. Rocks clattered as she scoured them for signs of cobwebs. When she finally found some she returned to Stormpaw's side and wrapped them around her paws.

"How did you know to do that?" Stormpaw asked with a tilt of her head to one side.

"I spend a lot of time with Mudfur," Mothpaw admitted sheepishly.

"You could become his apprentice," Arrowpaw commented after she wrapped his paws in cobwebs as well.

Mothpaw looked down at the ground, her whiskers were drooping in disappointment. "I'd love to become his apprentice but…I prefer fighting. Life as a warrior is where I belong." Her blue eyes glowed for a brief moment before she looked away again.

Maybe Mudfur can't let her become his apprentice because her mother is a rogue, Stormpaw thought.

She was sad for her friend because Mothpaw never had the chance to prove herself. The dappled golden apprentice would have made a wonderful medicine cat if Leopardstar allowed it. But out of her stubborn nature Leopardstar had refused to listen to reason.

Stormpaw looked up at the sky to see that pinkish rays had replaced the blue. A cold breeze ruffled her fur, telling her that they were close to where they needed to be. Crowpaw and Arrowpaw were huddled together, despite their differences. Mothpaw sat alone, her tail wrapped neatly around her paws while she gazed at the stars that were beginning to show.

"It's so different up here, and yet it feels as if even here our ancestors are watching over us," Mothpaw breathed.

"They are speaking to us through the wind," Stormpaw murmured. Already she could hear the faint whispering sounds of Spottedleaf as the tortoiseshell joined them for the night.

"Do you know what will happen to us if we don't find the cats StarClan told us to find?" Mothpaw turned to face Stormpaw. Her eyes were dark and clouded, as if she was trying to conceal her thoughts.

Stormpaw shook her head. She suddenly felt as though the future of the Clans weighed on her shoulders.

"Maybe we won't go back," she murmured after silence followed. "After all…we would have failed our mission."

Mothpaw looked as though a stone had been thrown at her shoulders. She rose to her paws suddenly and stretched out her back.

"Either way, we'll have to do what we can to save the Clans," she whispered.

Without another word she whipped around and returned to where Arrowpaw and Crowpaw had fallen asleep. There were no nests lined up for them. The four of them were forced to sleep on the cold stony ground.

With a sigh Stormpaw followed. She gazed up at the sky once more.

Is this what you wanted, StarClan? Are you punishing us for not listening? Either way she knew that this journey wouldn't end well for them.

AN: I made a mistake with the chapters. This is only chapter eight. The last chapter would have been chapter seven. Not sure why I made that mistake /= Anyways, the votes are still available on the title, and you can make a title cover for the series as well! Don't forget to cast your vote :) By the way, there was a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. Wonder how many readers will catch on...